章 18: The Merchant
I woke up and felt as if someone was pressing two hardcover books on all sides of my face.
Surely I was refreshed after sleeping for who knows how long, but my head felt heavy and I had no clue where I was.
The area around me was warm and I could hear crackling sounds. Turning to the source, I found myself near a fireplace.
"Hohoho! The Player seems to have woken up!" A husky, mellow voice greeted me.
I was startled and turned to the voice. A malnourished Santa Claus had his legs propped up on a table and was enjoying a hot beverage while staring at me.
"W-who!?" I was alarmed and quickly got up, taking a defensive stance.
"Hohoho! No need to be afraid, Player. I am but a merchant, and this is a trade zone." The man answered and curled his thick white mustache with his free hand.
"Trade zone?" I asked, not knowing what any of this meant.
"There are items you can purchase with points before moving onto the next section. These items will help you in your future endeavors, hohoho!"
"I see."
"So, what would you like to purchase?"
The moment malnourished Santa said that, a screen with a list of options appeared before my eyes.
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*Common Items:
1. Healing Potion - 50 points
- Restores health by 50%.
2. Stamina Elixir - 75 points
- Increases stamina recovery rate by 25% for 10 minutes.
3. Rusty Sword Upgrade Kit - 200 points
- Enhances the current rusty sword's sharpness and durability.
4. Basic Trap Kit - 120 points
- A set of simple traps that can be set up to slow down or injure enemies.
5. Torch - 5 points
- Provides light in dark areas and can be used to ward off certain creatures.
*Uncommon Items:
6. Enhanced Reflex Potion - 300 points
- Increases reflexes and speed by 20% for 10 minutes.
7. Invisibility Cloak (Short Duration) - 750 points
- Grants invisibility for 2 minutes.
8. Mysterious Key - 1500 points
- A key that can open any one lock or sealed door during the trial.
9. Teleportation Stone - 3000 points
- Allows Player to teleport to a safe location within the trial area.
10. Binding Chain - 1800 points
- A chain that can temporarily immobilize a single enemy.
*Rare Items:
11. Amulet of Immortality (Limited Use) - 3,000 points
- Grants temporary invincibility for 30 seconds, usable only once.
12. Arcane Shield Generator - 3000 points
- Provides a temporary shield that absorbs up to 500 points of damage.
13. Soul Whisperer - 4000 points
- A rare item that allows communication with one deceased individual for guidance or information.
14. Blood Dragon's Bone Elixir - 5000 points
- Increases all physical attributes by 300% for 15 minutes but comes with a hidden risk.
15. Mystic Orb of Clairvoyance - 5000 points
- Reveals all hidden traps and enemies in the trial area for 90 seconds.
*Very Rare Items:
16. Sword of the Demonic Hero - 10,000 points
- A legendary sword with unmatched sharpness and the ability to deal bonus damage to cursed entities.
17. Book of Ancient Runes - 15,000 points
- Contains powerful runes that can be applied to weapons or armor, drastically enhancing their effectiveness.
18. Phoenix Feather - 20,000 points
- Revives Player from death once during the trial.
(Points available to use: 107,234 points)
+
When I saw the points I had for use, my eyes went wide like saucers.
"Is that normal?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Is something the matter, Player?" The Christmas cosplayer asked me back.
"The amount of points I possess… how did I get them?"
I was going to ask whether this many points was normal or not, but then I thought that the merchant might know the answer to that. Thus, I asked the other important question.
I surprisingly got a response from him, and it was that the points were from defeating monsters, from my previous section.
This suppressed my shock considerably when I realized what had transpired.
If we take 25 points as an average, I may have roughly killed 4000+ monsters to gain these many points. It may seem a lot, but monsters were pouring down like rain in the last ten minutes.
Swinging my sword in a random direction was giving me at least a few tens of kills. I was stuffed within a mountain of gremlins, but they acted as my little fortress and helped me kill many in the later minutes.
Now that I saw the points to be a 100k, I was actually a bit disappointed. I could've scored even more had I not stayed cooped up in a gremlin fortress.
In any case, I was satisfied with what I had. I could afford everything on the list and would still have a lot of points left.
Looking at the list, I asked for the total of all items and it stated:
74,300 points.
I could buy everything, but I carefully read each option so as to not waste my points.
If I could redeem my points now, chances were I could redeem them again later too. Saving some wouldn't hurt anyone.
I spent five minutes looking at the list, and it was then that the merchant said,
"Hohoho, Player, I suggest you hurry, for time is running out."
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[Labyrinth of Shadows — 02:14:59_29]
[Labyrinth of Shadows — 02:14:59_28]
[Labyrinth of Shadows — 02:14:59_27]
[Labyrinth of Shadows — 02:14:59_26]
[Labyrinth of Shadows — 02:14:59_25]
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"What the— the second section has already started?"
"It's been almost 5 hours since it did, hohoho!"
"What!? How come I wasn't notified?"
[The Player was notified.]
[The Player did not respond.]
"I was!? When?"
[When the Logic section — Labyrinth of Shadows — started, i.e. 05:01:47 ago.]
"Shit." I cursed. Was I sleeping this whole time?
And the section can start even with me joining it?
Also, wait!
Can't I just leave the tutorial since I have enough points?
"You can, but I advise you not to." A familiar voice rang in my ears.
"…"
How can you even speak directly in my mind…
"Huhuhu… Daddy can do whatever she wishes. Daddy is a free spirit."
Does that mean you can also watch me at all times?
"As long as you are in the Tower, yes. But don't worry, Daddy respects her son's privacy."
I am not your son!
"Oh, you sure. I had a chat with your mother, even she accepts it now."
"What!?!" I exclaimed, surprising the merchant.
"Hoho, is something the matter, Player?" The merchant put his hot chocolate down on the table and asked.
"Ahem. Nothing. I was just shocked by the price of this item." I made an excuse.
"Hohoho, they are all reasonably priced, Player."
I gave the man an understanding nod and continued to scroll the screen in front, pretending to read the items on the list.
Hey, you said I should continue, right? Why is that? Can't I just exit the tutorial now?
"As I said, you can. But I advise you not to. There's some things you can only get when you're in the tutorial, with experience being the most crucial aspect of it."
Surprisingly, she was giving me some proper advice right now without joking around.
"Climbing the Tower is dangerous and may not always be prosperous. However, finishing the tutorial has always been fruitful for every beginner. If you quit now, you'll lose out on a lot."
But… isn't it going to be dangerous? Won't I die?
"Of course it's dangerous, you dingus. What did you think the Tower was? It's dangerous at every single step. The only place that's not dangerous is your mother's embrace. If you want to avoid everything, go be there, and rest on her soft lap like me."
"What?"
"Nothing."
Hey! Hey! What did you say in the last part!? Repeat it!
"I said nothing! In any case, you should continue on with the tutorial. You're not going to die from this measly tutorial."
I literally died in the beginning itself. Did you not see it?
"Oh, I did. But I knew you had it in you to overcome such trivial stuff. And didn't it all turn out well in the end? Didn't you enjoy it?"
Well…
I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. Yes, it sucked to die and it pained a lot to get third degree burns… but now that I'm fully healed and look back… it surely was thrilling and enjoyable.
"Your misfortune will flare up in every step of your life. This is just the beginning. You need to get used to it and learn how to work around it. If you quit now, you won't learn anything."
You're right. I guess I should continue.
"Yes. Don't quit, just focus on doing your best. Daddy's with you, okay?"
Can you not say that?
"Hurry up and make the purchases, son. Time's running out. You're already five hours late to the second section."
Right…
I shook my head and focused on the list. I was indeed getting late.
I bought everything from the shop, except the rusty sword kit. I had the hero's sword now, so I didn't need it.
Also, I could only buy five potions and elixirs because that was the max for one player. There was a limit on torch too, with it being ten.
I hoped that I could buy more Phoenix Feathers, but sadly one was the limit for it.
With the purchases done, I was left with 31,234 points.
I couldn't spend more even if I wanted to. I had maxed out everything.
The merchant was really happy with my purchases and bid me farewell for my tutorial.
The world around me then crumbled into pixels and everything went dark.
After a while, I heard:
[Welcome, Player, to the Logic section — Labyrinth of Shadows!]
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