The Strongest Merchant

A lone boy could be seen running frantically in his attempt to escape the chasing mob of goblins.

The darkness of the dungeon heavily obstructed his vision; a few jagged rocks here and there made him trip over a few times as the distance between him and the group of goblins drew closer.

"This is ridiculous! Why is this happening all of a sudden... Damn it!"

He was indeed having a bad day-

In fact, one could say that he's having the worst life possible.

Accidentally entering a damnable, cursed cavern after escaping another perilous situation, the number of misfortunes that happened one after the other could not be counted by one hand, in his entire life, it had always been like this...

The boy could not help but sigh in disappointment. Somehow, everything that happens in his life, good or bad, would always turn into something that is for the "worse".

It isn't his first time being in an utterly bad situation. If he were to rate these "tragedies" that have happened in his lifetime, this just might even be his fourth "worst" one so far.

It says a bit more considering the fact that he was still 14 years old-

Living a tragic state of life at such an age, any person would bend over to anyone and anything just to be granted a chance for a new one; a much, much better one, at any and all cost.

---

A slave for the noble family, the Bernian's;

Jacob had been working on this household for over six years now. This was something that others might not consider as something "fortunate" to befall unto them, but for him at least-

He considered this as some sort of blessing, he isn't mistreated in any way possible, which was odd enough for him, but the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Bernian's daughter, Lisa, had been a friend of his; had been one of the things that made him happier about being a worker for this family.

Having the same age as she was, they became close friends; even though they were technically still within the boundaries of a slave-and-a-master relationship, which Jacob had been keeping in mind all this while.

But truly, this was indeed the much "better" part of his life.

The life of being a slave for this family could easily outshine the previous disastrous eight years of his existence.

---

Back when he was 8 years of age-

Jacob was left on his own devices when both his parents suddenly disappeared...

He had little to no memory of what had happened back then - as to what made his father and mother leave without bringing him along.

Ironically, he had a clear recollection of what happened 'after' he was abandoned;

And it seems like nothing good had happened ever since that day.

Not long after being left all alone, a tragedy befell on the village he was living in.

A neighboring city had suddenly attacked and plundered his home village, leaving nothing but scraps for what was left of the citizens within it.

More than half of the population were either killed or kidnapped- only to be sold as slaves.

It might have been some stroke of "luck" that Jacob had survived said tragedy, but it entailed an even greater consequence just by the fact that he was still somehow alive...

"See? This boy was spared because he's the son of those damnable spies!"

A villager, to whom the chief listened to, exclaimed in sheer ignorance.

It had been news, or more accurately, rumors; that the sudden disappearance of the couple within Rolfe's household, meant that they were involved with the sudden attack.

Jacob's parents were then blamed for the tragedy that had happened, accused of being spies for the city that attacked the village and had thrown them into a pitiful state.

He could barely understand the situation back then, but now that he thinks about it, the man might have been right all along.

Up until now, he did not know for sure as to why he was suddenly abandoned.

He was still too young at that time, barely able to even survive alone without supervision. It had been too much of a mercy if he was executed for something he had never committed.

The chief, that somehow survived the attack, chose to exile Jacob in an attempt to both show his "mercy" and "decisiveness" to do things, all at the same time.

One could say that being an outcast at such a young age would easily equate to him dying.

Jacob had easily proved them wrong.

At his young age, he survived by going towards the city that had attacked his "home" village, in a desperate attempt to search for his parents. In his young mind, it was the best thing to do at that time.

It was not an easy journey...

It might have been a fluke, or he could have just exhausted all of his "luck"-

But an 8-year-old boy had managed to reach somewhere without anyone's assistance.

---

Creia - Capital City of the Grand Empire.

Entering the city wasn't Jacob's objective at first.

But being a child and all, he was unsure as to what to do next; He followed a few familiar faces that he saw back in the village.

A seemingly lone child who's walking on the streets of a city unsupervised would easily mean "business".

He was captured and then sold together with the others as slaves, which includes those that were also held captives from the conquests of the Grand Empire. It seems that their village isn't the only one that had been attacked recently.

It was within that time that he had fatefully fallen into the hands of the Bernian Family; It was indeed a blessing amidst the wave of misfortune.

At his young age of eight, he was then taught the ways of being a slave to a noble family;

Although he was indeed somewhat new to being a worker, he had immediately grasped the basics of it, grabbing the attention of both the head of the family and his co-workers alike.

The hardworking 8-year-old wasn't only capable of doing things on the level of doing chores- he was also strong enough to do hard labor!

He may not have been the sharpest in terms of book-wise intelligence, which is a given fact considering that he may not have been educated at his age, but he could easily understand and do the instructions and orders issues ordered for him without fail.

He was both strong and smart.

This was the reason why the head of the Bernian family had always favored him; Even giving him the basic education at times when he was done with work.

This was the reason why Jacob had then been close with Lisa- the only daughter of the Bernian family.

Mr. and Mrs. Bernian was never against this friendship though. In fact, for them, it was for the better.

They were old enough to not hold any prejudice against people of the lower class, and it was already below them to think that greater riches would even matter at their age.

Their sons were now as successful as far as they could have dreamed them to be, it was now the right time to settle down and let their youngest one, their daughter, to have the part where they would not hold or drag her down against what would make her happy.

---

For six years, Jacob had faithfully served the Bernian Family.

But it was within one fateful day, that would change everything- the thing that would change Jacob's future, for the better, or for the worse?

...

"Isn't this good news for you two?"

Mrs. Bernian exclaimed with happiness after she announced that both Jacob and Lisa were to be sent to the Academia City of the Grand Empire.

"Truly it is, Madame. But, this... Providing me with a shelter and education for over six years, I have truly been grateful- But granting me this, would it not be too much? I am just a mere worker, after all..."

Jacob earnestly replied; For him, it would have been extravagant to be given a higher form of education especially when he's just a slave.

"Oh? Hmmm... you still call yourself a "worker"? For us, we have already considered you as part of this family, regardless of the circumstance, it would be better for you to have this opportunity be granted to you."

Mr. Bernian replied with a genuine smile on his face.

"Besides, it would make us feel better knowing that our daughter would be in your safe hands."

Mrs. Bernian added as she cheerfully laughed together with Mr. Bernian.

"It is fine Jacob, besides, we get to be together more often because of this."

Lisa, who's sitting beside Jacob, added as she cheekily smiled towards him.

"Then, I- I would gladly accept this opportunity as a gift from you. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Bernian."

Jacob stuttered for a moment before decisively replying the moment Lisa proposed the idea.

It may have been because they were childhood friends, but being able to be with her and protect her at all times would make him feel better than not accepting this gracious "gift".

"Good, good! Then, the classes would start a month from now, the time you would need to travel to reach there would at least be a few weeks, it would be the best if you could travel as soon as possible, tomorrow perhaps?"

Mrs. Bernian happily replied as she added the details of the travel to the Academia;

"Hmmm...Although, I have enrolled you both in different classes.

Jacob- you're going to undertake the Knight Class Training;

As for our daughter Lisa- you would be undertaking the Magi Class Training.

I am not sure if you have any affinity with magic, but it would be a shame to not take advantage of your physical strength and not enroll you on the knight's school."

-Mr. Bernian added.

"It is indeed the right choice, Sire."

Jacob bowed deeply as they were then dispersed to prepare for the long journey ahead of them.

---

Southern Grass Plains- the path connecting Creia and a vassal city.

It had been over a week since they have started traveling. It had been a smooth sailing journey so far as they trod these plains with ease;

The sun was already setting when they have reached the end of the plains.

"We might not even need a month to reach the Academia city!"

The coachmen exclaimed as the speeding carriage made its way towards the end of the grassy plains. Brick roads could then be seen on the horizon as the carriage neared its destination.

"Eh? We are almost there?"

Jacob, as someone that had never been outside Creia, randomly commented as he saw the road ahead of them.

"No, silly. That's the road that connects these plains to the nearest industrial city from Creia, the City of Dantalian. From there, it would only take another week for us to reach the Academia, which would mean that it's not gonna take a month but only two weeks for us to reach there!"

Lisa cheekily smiled at the innocence of Jacob as she filled him in with the necessary information regarding where they were heading.

Jacob might have undergone schooling, but the world's geography had never been a subject of his interest.

Instead, He had shown the skills and prowess when it comes to handling finances;

He had been entrusted by the family to handle several business-related transactions that would most of the time require professionals and experts, yet Jacob had done so easily.

He wasn't just all brawns, he had the brains as well; On a certain aspect, that is.

The carriage sped on the brick road as it made its way towards the City of Dantalian...

---

The darkness settled as the only sound resounding within the streets were the hooves of the horses that were dragging the carriage.

Silently hiding behind the thicket beside the brick road, a group of cloaked strangers is waiting for there "prey" to step into the "trap".

It would have been too foolish to think that one might not encounter anything bad during a long travel-

Although one could say that tragedies and disasters are bit unavoidable, one could always prepare beforehand.

"There are at least 10 of them surrounding us..."

A prominent mage that came together with Jacob and Lisa informed them after she used her [Area Scanning] ability.

Thinly spreading the clumped mana on her hand towards the direction of the ground, she could easily "see" and count how enemies there are.

Aside from the mage, three private guards of the Bernian family escorted the two on this journey.

It could be said that Mr. and Mrs. Bernian was a bit too worried for them, proof that they might have overdone the whole "escorting" thing a bit too much, but perhaps, it's better safe than sorry.

But this time, the fact that the number of guards they have was easily outnumbered by how many there were on the side of the attackers, would easily mean that this is far from being "safe".

-It could not be described well enough on how this would easily end up in them being slaughtered.

Although Jacob could fight, he was still 14... Barely mature and strong enough to fend off a single adult fighter, even more so against 10 of them.

"What do you people want? Were just merely passing by-"

The coachmen tried to feign ignorance towards these people, he might have been used to common thieves here and there, but it seems like these people were most likely not just robbers; with their decent equipment, they could've been knights themselves.

Without uttering any reply, one of the cloaked strangers rushed behind the coachmen, as a dagger cleanly slit open his throat, killing him in an instant.

The people inside the carriage could barely make out the situation outside...

They could not carelessly go out now and just charge blindly against 10 people. It seems that there was no other option but to actually open the carriage door and run as fast as they could to escape, it may not be the best plan, but that was all they could think of to survive.

"We could fight against them!" Lisa quipped against the plan of just putting all their luck into running and escaping.

"No, miss Lisa, it would be too dangerous to do that... We're heavily outnumbered!"

"It would be best that we stay and fend them off while you two escape..."

"Jacob, please stay with miss Lisa and escape as fast as you could, don't get caught for our sakes."

The three knights immediately retorted against Lisa's proposal, as the only magi within the cart added, "I'd distract them as much as I can... Please, you two escape with your lives."

---

The door of the carriage slightly opened as thick fog emerged from the inside- the surrounding was immediately covered in thick mist as the visibility dropped to zero.

Grabbing Lisa's hand, Jacob blindly ran as fast as he could towards the opposite direction of the freight, he did not think too much about anything as he focused his gaze towards the direction he was heading.

A sudden jolt of pain could be felt on his back as he still tried his best to run as fast as he could...He tried ignoring it for the longest time possible as he felt that he was starting to lose his balance...

His eyesight started to get blurry... as he gradually lost his consciousness.

His body dropped face flat on the ground from being drugged out...

-In Lisa's hands was a dagger coated with a liquid concoction that causes [Paralysis].

"Oh, you're as ruthless as ever, milady"

One of the cloaked strangers approached Lisa as the mist settled... Nobody amongst the 4 escorts was hurt! All of them, including the 10 strangers... were all in cahoots with Lisa's plan.

"I am not that ruthless you know? I did not dare kill him." Lisa coldly replied as she instructed, "You. Dispose of his body, don't kill him. Let him survive and suffer for a little while."

Glancing towards the leader of the cloaked group, she added

"Send a letter to my dear parents about the "kidnapping". Hmmm as for the ransom, ask the totality of the inheritance, including those that are for my dear old brothers."

---

"He's good as dead already... Why do I even have to bother carrying it this far..." One of the Lisa's "workers" questioned the purpose for doing this as he struggled to drag the body further away from where they were.

Throwing the body away at the woodlands further east of the grass plains, the worker left Jacob with nothing but bloodied clothes and his dying breath...

The smell of dried blood from the calloused wound attracted several beasts within the forest.

The clogged-up cut prevented him from dying of blood loss-

But it seems that Jacob is far from safe as feral beasts started surrounding.

It may have been a coincidence, or his instincts might have signaled the upcoming mortal danger; He regained his consciousness just in time to notice that he's in deep trouble.

If he woke up a second too late, he may have already been food to these wild beasts!

He was still in a daze from both the pain and confusion.

For some unknown reason, He was still somehow alive?

But it seems that escaping death one more time would depend on him being able to- rather than relying on luck or another mere coincidence.

He could barely remember anything as to why he passed out; and as to what happened after they were ambushed. But forcing himself to recall everything right now would be pointless.

It wasn't exactly the right time worry about it... because currently-

He's up against four gray wolves that are hungrily staring down at him!

For a prominent adventurer or a professional knight, this would have been an easy task.

But for a 14-year-old boy with nothing but the will to live, this was a bit trickier.

Although, these grey wolves weren't exactly as big as Jacob had remembered them...

During his studies back then; He read a book about the common wild beasts that dwell within the forests that surround the city of Creia...

It seems that he wasn't totally unlucky, this is just a group of adolescent wolves;

But fighting them in groups would still pose a certain threat-

Breathing out the fear and anxiousness that had built up inside; Jacob braced himself as he took the initiative to charge against this group of wolves.

The fact that he charged towards them and not the other way around had thrown the group of wolves into confusion!

Defending oneself would be the most logical choice...

Fleeing immediately would've been the instinctive option...

-But fighting head-on without hesitation caught the beasts off guard!

The wolves instinctively avoided the charging figure of Jacob that had tackled one of them.

Dragging the poor wolf across the ground, Jacob used his own weight to pin the beast down.

Without a moment's hesitation, Jacob rained down punches towards the immobilized beast.

His fists landed directly on the wolf's head!

Each punch was strong and decisive; all delivered with the intent to kill! The barrage of blows immediately smashed the wolf's skull-

"One down..."

Immediately kicking away the other three that were trying to maw him down-

Jacob stood up as he used the wolf's corpse as some sort of weapon, clubbing the charging wolves away every time they pounced closer.

Double teaming him, it did not take long before one of the three remaining wolves managed to slip past the swinging carcass and had successfully got near him.

The wolf bit off Jacob's shoulder, severing the entirety of his left arm!

...Yet- He seemingly felt no pain, none at all! His adrenaline pumped even higher!

This isn't the time to anguish, he has to survive this first!

The pre-occupied jaw of the wolf that bit his arm off provided the small window of opportunity that he needed. The poor figure of the wolf flew from Jacob's kick, towards the other two that were eagerly salivating.

Losing his arm was heavily detrimental in fighting these wolves... His next move should be escaping as fast as he could.

Without a second thought, Jacob ran deeper towards the forest, sprinting without care.

Instead of attacking and chasing him down, the other two wolves snagged for a piece of the severed arm that was still stuck on the jaws of the unconscious wolf; Jacob's figure disappeared on the horizon as he ran further away.

---

"Arghhh!..."

Reaching a mountain-side cavern after running deeper into the forest;

Jacob screamed in pain as he tried detaching the cracked bone that was left dangling from the severed arm.

Tearing off a piece of cloth from his bloodied shirt, Jacob tried his best to clean the wound and stop the profuse bleeding.

Having little knowledge regarding medicine, his chance of surviving after this was still pretty low...

It would be a huge mistake staying out here in the open while he's covered with the stench of fresh blood. Staying inside the cavern would be his safest choice for now...

It was an eerie coincidence for him to stop by at a seemingly uninhabited cavern the moment he felt exhaustion, but questioning anything that resembled some sort of blessing would just be plain dumb at the moment.

He was just happy that he somehow survived from all that...

But at the same time, he was worried-

He was unsure as to what happened after he lost his consciousness, even more so as to what happened to Lisa back then when they tried escaping.

Recuperating his wounds and regaining his strength would be his biggest priority, for now.

It might have been the blood loss, but he could not clearly think straight as what to do at this point.

Closing his eyes to gain some needed rest, he could not help but hear ominous noises resonating from the insides of the cavern.

He was barely staying near the cavern's entrance and had not ventured deeper-

It might have been helpful to stay inside to avoid the wild creatures from smelling him; but at the same time, it wasn't that reassuring for his safety to go any further than where he is now.

He had heard rumors of people getting trapped within dungeons or something of the likes, and he was not willing to risk falling into the same fate;

He had some sort of fear being locked up, ironic considering he had been a slave for six years.

*whoosh!*

The sound of a speeding dart subtlely echoed around the enclosed walls of the cavern as it landed on Jacob's chest...

His vision started to blur. He felt the familiar sensation of light-headedness-

*thud!*

Jacob fell, face flat on the ground.

---

The suffocating smell of the smoke awakened Jacob's senses.

His eyes were greeted with the bizarre looks of goblins dragging him towards a cauldron filled with boiling water.

He's about to be eaten!... yet again.

Trying to calm himself down, all he needed right now was to time everything perfectly in order to escape.

Acting as if he never woke up, Jacob then prepared himself to run as fast as he could the moment they'd untie him.

*schlik!*

The rope on his feet was then cut loose. Two goblins grabbed a hold of his legs as they prepared to toss him on the pot of boiling soup.

In an instant, the goblins flew like rag dolls being tossed aside, hitting their head on the cavern walls.

It was yet another familiar scene, for the third consecutive time- Jacob ran as fast as he could to escape yet another perilous situation.

But it did not take long before the mob of goblins could keep up to him.

Their legs may be tiny, but the injured Jacob could not run any faster than he did back then, his steps started faltering...

Tripping over some jagged rocks, he could barely muster enough strength to stand back up and run.

'This is it I guess- I could never utter the words to say that "it had been a good run" though. It had been pretty terrible.'

Closing his eyes, Jacob had accepted his fate as he smiled for the last time...

He tried his best, yet maybe he was meant to die today.

After all, ending this terrible path of life is better than continuing it miserably.

He could feel the numerous tiny stabs landing on his back, yet it felt like ecstasy for him to finally be relieved from all this running and escaping and whatnot.

---

[Tsk tsk... What in the name of the great heavens had befell unto you, brother?]

'Huh? I could clearly hear a voice resounding within the cavern... But, shouldn't I be dead by now?'

'How am I still hearing this? Am I already in the afterlife? Wait- The voice just called me "brother"?'

'I do not remember having any sibling though...'

The fazed soul of Jacob, blindly floating over his body, was still in confusion as to what is happening, [I could not believe that the day would actually arrive when I could see one of the most powerful beings to fall in such pitiful state... *sigh*]

"Who... Who are you? Are you- are you God?"

[Come on now, don't make me laugh big brother]

"And why are you calling me "brother" anyway, as far as I know, I am the only child of my parents"

[Hahaha, that couple? They aren't your parents, per se, but- Ah, I've said too much.]

"Too much? You haven't said anything relevant at all! Damn it, talk straight, who are you!"

[Ah, You're still as hot-headed as ever...]

[But still, I couldn't do so, besides, it had been a part of your request back then to not remind you of anything.]

[...I couldn't stay for long, but I am just glad to see that you'd be just fine, it seems that besides your powers and memory, you didn't remove that 'thing' from you back then, a smart move as always, brother.]

"What? Wait- For once, could you make any sense from what you're saying? Am I not dead already?"

[Dead? Hahaha, see? You've still got that humor with you brother, here, let me help you]

Looking around, Jacob noticed that everything stopped. The group of goblins even halted from all the stabbing...well-

Halting was a bit of an understatement, literally, nothing is moving, not even the debris of rocks from the ceiling of the cavern- It was as if time had stopped in itself.

A gigantic scythe appeared out of nowhere...

With one swift motion, the heads of all the goblins popped off in an instant!

"Wait... Who exactly are you!"

[I've told you countless times, You made me swear on your name that I won't tell you.]

[Anyways, I'd be going now. It had been a decade and a half almost, please hurry up with what you're doing in this place. Oh, and by the way- ]

[Mother said that I should hand this over to you...]

A tiny speck of light appeared from the void.

[You might not want a portion of your powers back, but she had been worried that you might not ever finish the things that you so dearly wanted, so might as well.]

"Mother? Wait... who- Argh!"

Jacob could not finish his sentence when he suddenly felt the surge of immense pain as the blot of light entered his forehead...

The chilling coldness of it ran down through his spine as he snapped back to the land of the living, his soul landed on his body, that was lying "dead" on the ground.

Huffing and puffing, Jacob tried to recover from what happened as he inspected the surroundings...

"...So it wasn't a dream." Around him were the bloodied corpse of the goblins;

Each of them was cleanly beheaded.

"Then what was all that?" Rubbing his head as to make sure that it was not bleeding or injured, an astonishing thing happened-

His forehead glowed as the sudden gush of information flooded his consciousness...

Multiple 'tabs' of unknown and mysterious information presented themselves in front of him as a ringing noise resounded on his head...

[Ding... System Initializing... Now activating the "Merchant's Hack"]

"Merchant's Hack?"

["Merchant's Hack" is online, Updating system...]

Still confused, Jacob kept rubbing his forehead while repeatedly blinking, making sure he wasn't dreaming or anything.

Jogging his head back and forth, he was then pretty sure that he isn't within some sort of illusion.

This was real.

The illusory parchments floating inside his "head" feels too real to just be his imagination.

Which meant that the person he was talking to a few moments ago was also real...

"-I am his brother? And my parents, weren't my "real" parents?" Jacob then remembered the things in the exchange of words that happened back then.

The mysterious person sounded deceptive and untrue, yet, the fact that the "gift from our Mother" was genuine...

"...Just who am I- what am I, exactly?"

He had been questioning his life's worth for the longest time, it had not been easy. But now, questioning his own identity feels far worse.

Adding insult to injury was the fact that the "buzzing sound" within his head isn't stopping...

The floating parchments then started compressing into a single rolled up case, as another ring resounded.

[Ding... The Merchant's System is now active and ready to go... What can I do for you today?]

A mysterious black and blue image appeared in front of Jacob that contained the words...

-[Shop], [Boost], [Customize] and [Hack].

'...What's with these foreign words?'

Aside from the word "Shop", something that he clearly knows based on how he interacts with them most of the time, the other three were all alien to him.

"Boost?"

It might have been a slip of the tongue, but Jacob had said the unknown word out loud.

Within the next instant, another mysterious panel appeared in front of him...

It was- Him?

What appeared within the mysterious black and blue parchment was his image containing words he could barely understand.

"What is all this?"

Poof, another buzzing sound, and the parchment "disappeared" as a different one took its place

[Would you like a run-down on the basics of using the Merchant's System?]

"...Yes?"

[Great choice!]

["Shop"- Purchase anything and everything that exists between heaven and earth!]

["Boost"- Strengthen one's soul, mind, and body, with money!]

["Customize"-Not satisfied with one's purchase? Change it to one's own preference!]

["Hack"-What's the point in running the system when you're low in cash. Hack your way into it!]

"...Erm?" Jacob paused for a few seconds, waiting for the 'voice' to spew more information, but-

"Wait, was that it?"

[Would you like another run-down on the basics of using the Merchant's System?]

The same question reappeared on the parchment.

"Ah... No thanks, " He immediately declined the very "generous offer" from the system.

Yet somehow, the vague idea that he got from it felt enough for him. It was simple, so it might have been all that he needed to know.

Trying it out, this time, with a broader perspective, Jacob uttered the keyword, "Shop"

...

"Nothings happening? Hmmm, Ah-"

"Open shop?..."

"Open system shop?..."

"Open the Merchant's System Shop?"

A different black and blue parchment appeared in front of him, containing myriads of different items, labeled with different price tags.

"... It did not work when I just said "Shop"? Hmmm... But it worked when I said., "Boost"?"

Poof! The [Merchant Shop]'s page disappeared as the previous parchment for the "Boost" reappeared.

"The word "Shop" might have been too vague, huh..."

It would have been logical for the system's shop to be a bit more specific compared to the other words that are seemingly non-existent within this world...

Figuring out this "new thing" called the Merchant's System might be a bit hard for now, but Jacob has this feeling that this would be something that could change his fate, for the better.

Finally! Something that would help him not get screwed every single time.

'Hmmm if it works with the word "Boost", it should work the same with the other two.'

"Customize"

Another parchment appeared, this time, it has nothing on it.

"Empty?... Ah, I have nothing on me that I could possibly "change". Not even my arm, heh."

Jacob snorted as he remembers that he barely survived today.

Well technically, he did die, sort of. But he didn't survive as a whole. It literally cost him an arm.

The [Merchant Shop]'s page suddenly reopened after Jacob dismissed the thought about his tragic life. A parchment labeled as [Suggested Purchase] and [Starter Pack] appeared at the topmost part of the page.

[Suggested Purchase]- [Arm of Cronus] (1 Gold Coin)

[Starter Pack]- Contains ["Your" Training Blade], ["Your" White Robes], ["Your" Parcel], and ["Your" Ring]. (1 Silver Coin)

"Oh?" The "offer" that appeared definitely sounds enticing, and it was obviously structured on what Jacob currently needs, but alas; A single gold and silver coin is not that easy to earn in this world.

A hundred copper coin would equal one silver coin, then; A thousand silver coin would equal a single gold coin!

Given that the standard currency in this world is silver, and even within the medium-class noble family like the Bernian's, their annual income from the taxation of the lands would barely reach 30

Gold coins! That's how hard it is to earn one.

The Starter Pack was viable for now, but the replacement arm could be purchased at a much later date.

"It seems that this power actually belongs to me? I still don't know if this is true though- I have yet to find out if any of this works."

The fact that every item within the starter pack was labeled as his own was a definitive proof that this System was once his.

But none of this proves or points towards anything that would let him know his true identity. But perhaps by seeking the "truth" that his mysterious "brother" had said to him would actually answer all these questions he has in his mind.

"... I definitely have something important to do back then- But what is it, exactly?"

"I should just retrace my steps since I was young... My home village then? Ah... But I can't remember where it was. Hmmm..."

"Open the Merchant's System Shop"

The dark-colored parchment reappeared as the [Starter Pack] and [Suggested Purchase] page closed.

"Map"

A different set's of geographical maps appeared on the shop's page...

'Now this is a bit of a problem... Which one is the "right" one...Hmmm. Ah!- '

"Map of the Grand Empire."

*whoosh!*

The items that appeared on the page immediately lessened, finally stopping at a single map.

"50 copper coins, that's not too bad... But... I do not have any money right now."

[Would you like to activate the "Merchant's Hack"?]

A small parchment suddenly appeared the moment Jacob worried about not having any money.

"Sure... Hack?"

Poof!

"Huh?"

Jacob felt like nothing changed after uttering the keyword "Hack".

"Is it another 'secret line' or-"

Without him immediately noticing, He was suddenly surrounded by piles of copper coins, the corpses of the beheaded goblins disappeared entirely as it was replaced by tons of money.

Around 20 of these goblin carcasses slowly turned into cash!

Is this the effect of the "Merchant's Hack"? This is just, absurd!

"What in the name of heavens is happening..."