Rather than just fantasizing, John decided to take action.
Without hesitation, he quickly made his way to a shop in Novice Village.
The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man with a thick beard.
He gulped down a swig of beer, burped, and asked,
"Young man, I've got everything here. What do you want?"
John was succinct:
"I need a wallet."
The shopkeeper flipped his palm, and a wallet made from some unknown beast's hide appeared on the counter.
"Five hundred copper coins."
A transaction window popped up before John.
He decisively chose to buy it.
As his 500 copper coins vanished from his account, the wallet transformed into a stream of light and merged into his inventory.
[Wallet bound. Upon death, coins will no longer drop.]
John opened his game panel, and a new function appeared in the top-left corner: [Wallet].
He eagerly opened the wallet panel.
When he saw the numbers next to [gold coin] [silver coin] [copper coin] glowing blue, he almost held his breath.
"So it really can be modified?"
He clicked on the 0 next to gold coin in disbelief.
[1 system point consumed. Gold coins +1]
The number behind gold coin instantly jumped from "0" to "1"!
As expected, any item value could be modified—even the balance in a wallet.
John's lips curled in a grin.
1 gold coin equaled 1,000 silver coins, and 1,000 silver coins equaled 1,000 copper coins.
With just 1 system point, he instantly gained coins worth 100,000 copper coins!
The 500 copper coins he had spent to buy the wallet? A ridiculously good deal!
In the early economy of Apocalypse, most transactions used copper coins.
Even 1 gold coin could secure financial freedom.
Now, John had virtually unlimited funds.
As long as he survived, he could fill the wallet to its maximum limit.
However, he quickly restrained himself from recklessly increasing the gold coin count.
"At this stage, there's nothing that requires such a large sum.
Modifying the gold coin balance to 50 is sufficient."
He was practical, adjusting the gold coin balance only according to his needs.
There were many other uses for system points—money alone was enough.
The server had just opened; resources needed to be invested wisely.
After closing the panel, John returned to the counter:
"Shopkeeper, I want 99 burning flasks and 99 throwing knives."
The shopkeeper's expression changed.
"Young man, those are 50 copper coins each. Are you sure your wallet can handle that many?"
John didn't reply.
He pulled out a single gold coin from his wallet and slapped it onto the counter.
The shopkeeper's pupils suddenly widened.
"!!!"
…
After stuffing 99 burning flasks and 99 throwing knives into his backpack, John wasted no time and headed toward the Assassin Mentor.
In Novice Village, five class mentors sold skill books for their respective classes.
Early-game skill books were extremely expensive, and few players were willing to spend on them.
But John, freshly boosted with 50 gold coins, had no such concern.
He quickly located the Assassin Mentor standing under a crooked tree.
The mentor wore a black robe, exuding a cold and oppressive aura.
The hood concealed most of his face, leaving only a scarred chin visible.
A few Assassin-class players were already crowding around, inquiring about skill book prices.
"How much? 5,000 copper coins for a book, and that's the lowest F-grade skill? Why don't you just steal it?"
The Assassin Mentor replied coldly:
"Buy it or leave."
The players bristled, annoyed:
"Hey, are you an NPC acting all high and mighty?"
John didn't respond.
He pushed through and addressed the Assassin Mentor directly:
"I want Shift, Detection, and Throwing Knife—the highest-level skill books."
Upon hearing this, the surrounding players snickered.
"Dude, that guy's crazy. Highest-level books? There's no way you can afford it."
"Those skill books are expensive, bro. Don't embarrass yourself."
John ignored them.
The Assassin Mentor regarded him and spoke hoarsely:
"B-level skills: Instant Move, Throwing Knife Technique, Detection.
All three together, 10 gold coins. Do you want them?"
The B-level books were fairly priced for early-game players.
John nodded:
"I'll take them."
The nearby Assassin players exchanged shocked glances.
10 gold coins equaled 1 million copper coins—no ordinary player could afford that, not without raiding every single coin in Zone 5.
However, when the Assassin Mentor extended his hand, three glowing orbs containing the skills, John's payment complete, the other players were dumbfounded.
"Holy crap… where did he get so much money?"
"There's no cash shop in this game—how does he have this many gold coins?"
"Ten gold coins, just like that? Not even a flinch—this guy's insane!"
John quickly found a quiet spot and learned all three skills.
[You learned B-level skill Instant Move]
[Instant Move: Instantly move to any position within a 3×3 range.
Cooldown: 30s | MP Cost: 30]
[You learned B-level skill Throwing Knife Technique]
[Throwing Knife Technique: Throw three knives simultaneously.
Cooldown: 180s | MP Cost: 10]
[You learned B-level skill Detection]
[Detection: Reveals information about targets up to 3 levels above your own]
Once John learned the three B-level skills, he immediately maxed their values.
[Instant Move]: Range 3×3 → 50×50 meters
Cooldown 30s → 0.5s
MP 30 → 5
[Throwing Knife Technique]: 3 knives → 99 knives
Cooldown 180s → 1s
MP 10 → 1
[Detection]: Targets up to 3 levels above → up to 9 levels above
After the modifications, these skills were no longer merely B-level.
Detection, in particular, now allowed him to reveal information even about SSS-level targets.
"With these three skills, I can roam the wilderness outside Novice Village freely for the foreseeable future."
John was extremely satisfied with his newly modified skills.
He double-checked his backpack, confirming all items, and hummed a tune as he headed toward the east district of Novice Village.