The carriage kept rolling forward, its wheels clattering against the cobblestones. I found myself in the heart of a town, the bustling sounds of daily life filtering through the wooden slats of the carriage. It was bizarre that no one seemed to give a damn about us being carted around like cargo. Guess it was just another day in this weird place.
I took a good look around. There were even kids here, their eyes wide with a mix of curiosity and fear. They stared at me like I was some kind of monster, probably because they'd heard me talking out loud to that god. Whatever, I had bigger fish to fry.
I turned my attention back to the Midas Shop. First things first, I needed to get out of this mess. I headed straight for the Skill Books section. Weapons wouldn't do me any good in this situation; there were too many of them, and I'd just end up getting myself killed. A skill, on the other hand, might give me the edge I needed.
The shop was a bit of a letdown at first. Midas Shop Level 1, it said. Some of the skills were hidden from view. Great, just great. But how the hell was I supposed to upgrade the shop level?
As if reading my mind, a little chat bot popped up. "[There are several means to upgrade the shop. Any activities can give you experience, but fulfilling tasks and getting trophies will give you the most experience and even reward you with resources.]" Well, that was handy.
I scrolled through the task list. "Kill all the slavers [100 Gold Coins.]" Yeah, I had enough gold for that. I turned back to the shop and started browsing the skills.
The skills were ranked from C to SSS, with SSS being the cream of the crop. But to snag an SSS skill, I'd need to fork over a whopping 1000 Skill Books. I had 100,000 Skill Books at my disposal, so I was sitting pretty, but I knew there might be even better skills waiting for me at higher shop levels. I had to play this smart.
Right now, though, I needed something to get me out of this jam, and fast. We'd be at our destination before I knew it. I scanned the list, and one skill jumped out at me.
[SSS: CHRONOS EYES Lvl 1]
- Effect: See 1 second into the future.
- Cooldown: 30 sec.
Hell yeah, that was a game-changer. I snatched it up without a second thought.
"AUGH!!"
But as soon as I did, a wave of cold washed over me, followed by a searing heat that felt like it was tearing my body apart. I started convulsing, my body thrashing violently in the carriage until everything went black.
"What's going on with him?"
"He just passed out all of a sudden."
"Is he still alive?"
"Yeah, he's breathing. Don't worry about it."
"Alright, get his lazy ass out of the carriage then."
"You there! Give us a hand with him!"
I felt rough hands grabbing me, pulling me down from the carriage. My body ached all over, and I could barely see straight, but I managed to lift my head and take a look around. It was dark, and the air was thick with the scent of damp earth and unwashed bodies.
"Pull yourself together, kid," a gruff voice muttered in my ear. "Otherwise, they'll get rid of you for good."
I turned to see an old man helping me to my feet. His face was weathered and lined with age, but his eyes were kind. I grimaced, still feeling the aftereffects of whatever the hell had happened to me.
I hadn't expected that kind of backlash from obtaining a skill. It felt like my brain had been set on fire, and my body wasn't faring much better. But at least I had the skill now. I could see it in my list: Eyes of Chronos. Still, I wasn't eager to try for another SSS skill anytime soon. Not if it meant going through that again.
"Alright, listen up!" One of the slavers barked, shoving us into a larger cage. There were already more slaves crammed inside, their faces gaunt and hopeless. "Stay quiet and don't cause any trouble!"
"Fuck him," I muttered under my breath, still pissed off about the whole situation.
"Shh! What if he hears you?" Another man hissed, glaring at me.
I shot him a look. "Fuck you too."
"What did you say to me, you little shit?" He lunged at me, but the old man stepped between us.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down!" He said, holding his hands up.
"Who are you, his dad?" The guy sneered.
"No, I'm just trying to keep the peace," the old man sighed.
I ignored them both and staggered to my feet, making my way over to the steel bars that kept us caged in. I wrapped my hands around them, feeling the cold metal bite into my skin.
"I'm getting out of here," I muttered to myself.
"Hey, you! Get back or do you want another beating?" One of the slavers snarled, slapping his sword against the bars. I didn't flinch, just stared at him coldly.
"Kid, you should listen to him," the old man said, pulling me back gently.
I stepped back reluctantly, still seething with anger. I'd always had a bit of a temper, but this was something else. It was like the life I was sharing with this body was amplifying everything, making it harder to keep my cool. I pressed a hand to my forehead, wincing at the lingering pain. I needed to get a grip, and fast. There was no way I was going to let these assholes keep me locked up like an animal.
I pulled up the Midas Shop again, my mind racing. Maybe I should just grab a weapon? I navigated to the weapons category and was blown away by the sheer variety. There were blades, bows, and all sorts of exotic gear, some of them looking incredibly rare and powerful. But the price tags were insane.
It seemed like platinum and gold coins were the currency around here, with platinum being the most valuable. I had over 100 million platinum coins just sitting there, which was almost laughable. But all the money in the world wouldn't do me any good if I was dead.
I needed to focus on survival first. Once I was safe, I could find a secure place to hole up, get stronger, and then figure out a plan to find the first heart of that Demon Emperor. The thought of it all made my blood boil.
"Fuck this!!!" I shouted, slamming my fist into the ground. The people around me flinched, but I didn't care. I was so sick of being used, of feeling like a pawn in someone else's game. This life was no different from my last one, and even the memories from this body were a mess of pain and anger.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. I could do this. If I put my mind to it, I could overcome anything. I turned my attention back to the shop, this time focusing on the lower-ranked skills. Even the lesser skills could be useful if I used them right.
But before I made any decisions, I needed to figure out what the hell I could do with all these platinum and gold coins. I could buy practically anything with gold coins, from a bottle of water to the most ridiculous trinkets. Platinum coins, on the other hand, were for luxury items and incredibly rare stuff.
But what about Divine Crystals? I hadn't even considered them until now. I clicked over to that category and my eyes widened in shock.