After a lot of rummaging around in his notes, Irion had actually managed to find some sort of build for a merchant-class brute force specialist.

  I’ll admit, the man could work miracles.

  First I had to get to “just” a thousand strength, otherwise I wouldn’t even be strong enough to break epic orbs, which I needed in my build.

  Within the first area, the limit for any given stat was one thousand. There was a limit of one hundred for rare stats, and a limit of ten for epics. Oddly, legendary stats had no inherent cap.

  Not that there was much lying around the first area.

  In the second area, the limit was much, much higher.

  Leo, Harva, and Ardenidi were all powerful within the first area standards, but compared to the second area, their power was virtually nothing. Leo had called his current level of strength “chump change.”

  According to Irion, the limit was somewhere in the billions, though he’d never heard of anyone brushing up against it.

  I fished another gold ring from my pocket and handed it to the merchant. In return, he gave me a large sack of bronzes, plus some change from my class ability. I bought out the rest of the merchant’s stock.

  {Grind}

  [(+100) 332 Str]

  [(+100) 432 Str]

  [(+100) 532 Str]

  [(+100) 632 Str]

  With every massive orb I purchased, my entire body felt lighter, and stronger, until a single movement threatened to knock me off my feet.

  Thanks to the internal logic of video games, having a hundred strength meant that everything I did had a hundred strength unless I really focused on it. And with every orb, it became harder and harder to push my stats down into reasonable territory.

  And I was only getting started.

  {Grind}

  [(+100) 100 Str]

  [(+100) 100 Str]

  [(+100) 100 Str]

  //(+100) 119 Str//

  //(+100) 135 Str//

  My veins bulged, my hands were shaking, and I seemed to have a faint glow of orange energy, but otherwise, I was doing rather well for the absolutely ridiculous amount of power I just gained.

  Sern stayed close nearby, swishing her dress in wide circles. Whenever a little bird got close, she’d take off running after it.

  The bird would always get away.

  “Pigeon,” Sern huffed, stomping her feet in exasperation. She reached up toward my hand.

  I had to brush her away.

  “Not now Sern,” I said. “I can’t risk hurting you.”

  Sern frowned, but she didn’t object.

  Next, I walked through another section of town, collecting health orbs the size of my entire head. This time, I sat down somewhere away from all the other people, and downed each orb, one after the other.

  {Grind}

  [(+100) 100 Hp] [(+100) 100 Hp] [(+100) 100 Hp]

  [(+100) 100 Hp] [(+100) 100 Hp] [(+100) 100 Hp]

  [(+100) 100 Hp] [(+100) 100 Hp] [(+100) 100 Hp]

  [(+100) 100 Hp]

  The weight was uncomfortable, stewing around my mind. If I let go, there’s a good chance I’d have sunk waist deep into the ground, obliterating the road underneath my feet by sheer nature of my weight.

  But hey, on the positive side of things, I didn’t feel quite so weightless as before. With the added passive weight that came from my health, I could walk around a little.

  Before I left, Irion had warned me about pushing my stats so high in a small period of time. Most players struggled to hold themselves back beyond a hundred stats.

  Toning down a thousand to safer numbers was mentally exhausting.

  At the time, I’d said I’d be fine. I mistakenly believed that if I could hold my strength and health to one or two while it was in the hundreds, then I could hold a thousand down to a hundred or less.

  Now I was paying for that impatience in migraines, nausea, and dizziness.

  I wasn’t even halfway down.

  [MentalFatigue XL : (1:56:42)]

  What was that? Forty?

  Sern sat on the bench beside me, looking worried.

  “Alright,” I grumbled. “I’ll buy a potion.”

  It took all my bronze rings to get one strong enough to have a meaningful impact. Fortunately, that had no effect on my budget, since the bronze rings were a gift of the merchant class.

  The merchant class was still mostly useless, though.

  [Clairvoyance V applied]

  [MentalFatigue XL ~ weakened (75%)]

  [MentalFatigue X ~ (29.09)]

  I took a deep breath, allowing my stats to expand, ever so slightly.

  {Grind}

  [300 Hp 200 Str]

  Each step of mine would crack the street, but it’d respawn at the end of the day anyway.

  In terms of uncommon stats, I chose five hundred dexterity, and five hundred durability. These were the most popular uncommon stats, because they were really, really good, and relatively simple.

  Dexterity and attack speed had just one difference. Dexterity made affected stats more flexible, and easier to manage, in addition to giving physical flexibility.

  It was a must for mages, and, oddly enough, for voyager merchants, my intended build.

  Alternatively, attack speed boosted cognitive function during times of stress. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t what I needed for this build. Hopefully, I’d be managing a lot of unusual stats.

  A voyager merchant is a merchant who voyages around, fighting monsters and collecting items from them, using special abilities to harvest mana from select areas. Horns from a Wereboar, claws from a Gryphon. That sort of thing.

  As for durability, it just made sense. If I’m throwing myself at the most dangerous specialty monsters in an area, then I’d better be able to survive it.

  {Grind}

  [300 Hp 200 Str]

  [500 Dex 503 Dur]

  In ignorance, I’d expected the uncommon stats to be easier to process, since I was absorbing less of them, and they cost the same amount as the common stats.

  Oh what a fool I was.

  Dexterity was uncomfortable and annoying, causing all my limbs to feel like jelly, flinging around at even the slightest movement, and more than once, I’d almost dislocated an arm.

  Dexterity was the opposite of dexterity, so I figured immediately downing durability orbs would get my arms back under control.

  But Durability was worse. Durability was so, so much worse.

  You know when you’ve got a really nasty cramp? The kind that’s twitchy and painful beyond simple irritation?

  Yeah I felt that over my entire body.

  Even when I suppressed it as far as I could, the effects only got worse, to the point that I couldn’t even move.

  And then I started getting motion sickness, even when standing still.

  Currently, I sat back on the city bench, facedown, trying not to puke..

  And I still had another tantalum ring left to use.

  At this point, any sane person would’ve just called it a day and gone home, continuing their shopping spree once they felt better.

  But I was by no means a sane person.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  As such, I choose to just bite the bullet and plow through all the rest of my stats.

  Besides, there was one item on the list that I was—in a fairly literal sense—dying to get my hands on.

  {Grind}

  //1000 Str//

  Sharp pink crystals exploded into dust, followed by a notification.

  ~Epic~

  [(+1) 1 : Intellect : Accelerates intellectual capacity, intellectual growth, memory, memory capacity, resistance to mind-based paralysis, and increased spirit-to-body functionality and reaction time within pressing situations.]

  [(+1) 2 Int]

  [(+1) 3 Int]

  Three epic stats. Epic stats do a lot of things, but they aren’t very useful without lots of other stats to make full use out of them. A build, in other words.

  That wasn’t even what I was using these stats for.

  Everything I’d purchased was purely done so for the sake of obtaining an epic-level ability scroll.

  Normally, a player has to fight monsters for weeks if not months to get the levels up required to generate a new ability of their choosing. Or, a decent ability, that is.

  However, there are certain items which unlock a specific ability, at the cost of energy, health, money, time and a nasty headache. It’s much faster, much more reasonable, but lacks flexibility.

  An ability scroll will only give one exact power. If that was a good power, great. If not, then you’re stuck with it.

  Worse, that power could only be upgraded by ability scrolls, instead of exp, eventually forcing the player to seek out scrolls of stronger and stronger rarity to improve their power set.

  For my case, the downsides were more than worth the risk.

  The merchant glanced down at the pile of bronze rings laid onto his table. When he finished doing the math in his Npc head, he let out a whistle. “You’re a lucky man. I’ve only got one left and I know plenty of people who’d kill to get their hands on one of these. Like you. There are several people I know who would kill you for this ability.”

  He slapped a little black scroll into my hand, with bright neon-pink trim.

  “Pleasure doing business,” the merchant grunted.

  I made my best attempt at a smile, before Sern helped me hobble over to a bench somewhere.

  Technically, the scroll had only cost seven hundred bronze rings, minus whatever my merchant ability helped with.

  Practically, however, I’d had to buy three intellect orbs just to use the scroll, and before that, a thousand strength to break those orbs, giving the final total cost somewhere in the range of two thousand bronze rings, or twenty gold.

  I let out a sigh.

  “This better work,” I grumbled, popping the seal and unfurling the scroll.

  ~Epic~

  {Scroll of the Harvest}

  [Bestows {Harvest I (Scroll-type)} onto the affected]

  [Once applied, skill cannot be removed or recycled (by ordinary measures)]

  [This item is of an area with a higher magic concentration. Using it will be taxing to an uncomfortable degree, unless used in an area of higher magical concentration.]

  ~

  [Minimum requirements : (1 Int)]

  ~

  [Suggested requirements : (3 Int, 1k Str, basic anti-backfire magical protection, recovery potion, uncommon anti-pain medication, helmet, burn lotion, fire extinguisher, teddy bear, pre-usage safety inspection, insurance agent, health care provider, eighteen hours of sleep, aspirin, and a good therapist, if available)]

  ~

  [Y/N]

  I blinked.

  “Wasn’t this supposed to be a relatively safe process?” I asked myself.

  Technically, the scroll only said that it would be “uncomfortable” to use.

  My stomach was doing flips and the ground behaved more or less like the side of a boat, tipping and tilting around. Getting any more uncomfortable might have some sort of lasting effect. It could be dangerous.

  Of course, I wasn’t going to buy a magical scroll and not use it.

  What was the worst it could do? Kill me?

  I let out a chuckle, poking the screen. “Yeah, I’ll use it.”

  The scroll dissolved into a hundred straps of cloth.

  “Well. That wasn’t too bad,” I mumbled.

  Sern was poking the remains in my hand. She suddenly jumped back, as the strand lit up like fire, shredding into small and small pieces, each forming some sort of symbol. The symbols floated up into the air in a dense cloud, twinkling with energy.

  Then they turned in my direction and blasted me in the face with such force that I was flung from the bench into a nearby fruit stand.

  When I got back to my senses, burning pain blossomed across my blistered face. There was one particularly uncomfortable symbol the size of a baseball etched into my forehead, which I could only hope would fade with time.

  Sern was standing over me. She huffed, making a series of elaborate gestures from which i understood that she was not happy.

  “Well I’m never doing that again,” I sighed, pushing a squashed gourd off my head.

  After paying the vendor what little money we had left, I checked the new notification.

  [Special ability : {Harvest I}]

  [Slots available 8/10]

  ~

  [Upon defeating an enemy, collect a certain number of items from its remains, preserved and in perfect condition. These do not despawn. Should multiple notable drops be present, they will be assigned a percentage, based on the difficulty of collection. Drops already collected without ability will not be recollected by Harvest. Ie. not taking two horns from the same rhino.]

  [Current harvested items per animal : 1]

  [Additional items may be given during fights of unusual difficulty or instability]

  [Additional stats of normalic to mythical value may be granted based on relativistic differences in power, and in the type of monster faced.]

  This ability was the key to creating the Voyager Merchant build.

  Actually, it was the voyager merchant build.

  Voyager merchants wander around the area, looking for trouble. They find monsters and beat them up, take their extra shares of loot, and sell that to get more gear to fight bigger monsters faster.

  And Harvest was essential. While it is possible (technically) to obtain parts of a monster and sell them without an ability, Harvest gives monster parts in perfect condition, which skyrockets their value.

  Out of curiosity, I swung Crapsholver at a nearby rat. With my strength at the nonsensical level it already was, the rat got vaporized.

  In its place, a white box puffs into existence, with several gray latches on the side.

  ~Hypercommon~

  {RatTail}

  [Uses : none]

  [Worth : Minimal~0.1 iron rings]

  From what Irion understood of the ability, most drops would be useless junk, like pig kidneys, which existed in the game only to be looted and sold. But sometimes you would get a tooth or claw or meat, or something that could be turned into an elixir.

  That said, it would only ever become useful when fighting absolutely ridiculously powerful monsters.

  But the Voyager merchant build was more than just killing and harvesting, with abilities to locate enemies, create magical items, and barter like there was no tomorrow. Those abilities were expensive, and specialized, meaning they were unlikely to be found in this area.

  Beyond that, adventurers have only ten ability slots. That meant that I’d have to be careful about any additional merchant abilities I chose to pick up, because while those would help my current build, they would also take up space.

  Speaking of which, I ought to get a couple levels and invest in Deep Pockets.

  With an inventory clogged in random parts, I’d need all the space I could get. Perhaps if I upgrade Harvest further, it would start directly adding the loot to my inventory.

  Of course, I had all the time in the world to figure this stuff out.

  After spending the next hour flat on my back, waiting for my body to settle down, I headed back to the party, or what was setting up to be the party. Union officials had built a stage, with hundreds of tables, some forming a buffet line that wound around the town square, filled with all manner of food and drink.

  “They really are going all out for this,” I stated.

  Sern squeezed my hand, pointing to a pile of chicken, then to her mouth.

  “Hungry?” I asked. “Come’on, let's see if we can get a nibble.”

  Once the union workers realized who we were, they gave much more than a nibble.

  Sern giggled, cradling the entire baked turkey.

  I got one of those little sandwiches with the toothpick. It was quite lovely.

  As we munched, I noticed a familiar fellow talking to a couple ladies. “Is that Leo?” I asked.

  At the mention of his name, the two rank glanced in our direction. There was a certain feeling about him that had been drastically increased, likely mana or aura.

  Sern waved.

  This, of course, got the girls talking, and they wandered over.

  Leo cleared his throat. “Grind, this is Lin and Jenifier. Lin and Jenifier, this is Grind. And Sern.”

  Lin had long brown hair, hanging off her shoulders, while Jenifier had black hair in a bun. Beyond that, they were relatively ordinary, with adventurous robes and some sort of magical item.

  “Is that your daughter?” Lin asked, beaming.

  Sern beamed back, showing the hint of fangs and sharp teeth. She bit into a turkey, swallowing meat and bone whole, before wiping her face like a proper lady.

  A noticeable amount of color drained from the girl’s faces.

  Jenifier nodded. “Charming.”

  “Leo, these friends of yours?" I asked, changing the subject.

  Lin giggled, looking wide eyed toward Leo. “Oh this charming rogue was just telling us all about how he managed to kill the Core.”

  “Which time?” I asked.

  Jenifer blinked. “Which?”

  “It went through two stages.”

  “Did it?” Lin glanced at Leo.

  Leo glanced somewhere else.

  “You said you’d kill it, right?”

  “Well I was instrumental in killing both forms,” he stated.

  “But you didn’t actually kill it?” Lin asked.

  “No.”

  “Who did it?”

  Sern pointed to Grind.

  The girls looked at the scrawny boy with messy black hair, who was struggling to eat a fancy sandwich without getting mustard over his white t-shirt. He also had a giant symbol burned into his forehead, only half faded away.

  “You?”

  “Yeah,” I said.

  “What’s with the mark?” Lin asked.

  Sern tilted her head, now finished with the turkey.

  “So,” Leo started. “Are you staying for the party in the town square?”

  Lin cleared her throat. “We really should get going. Right Jennifer?”

  Jeneifer glanced at Sern. “Yes. So nice to meet the two of you. So nice.”

  They rushed off without another word.

  Leo huffed. “Thanks Grind. There goes my plans for the night.”

  “Sorry,” I said, though not quite sure what got the girls so spooked.

  Sern frowned, looking down at her messy hands.

  “Oh it wasn’t you for once,” Leo stated. “You’re odd but charming, Sern. Grind, cut me some slack and tone it down, would you?”

  “Tone what down?” I asked, oblivious.

  “You know,” he gestured to the air around him. “Reign it in a little.”

  It took me a moment to get what he meant. “My stats?”

  “Yeah, they’re all over the place,” Leo grumbled. “Serious, don’t you have the slightest idea what kind of a ruckus you're causing?”

  He took a napkin from our table, holding it up into the air. After a couple seconds, it split apart into a bunch of little pieces.

  “Your control over stats is sloppy,” Leo grumbled, getting up from his chair. “Work on it before the party.”

  I rubbed my head, more than slightly confused. “My strength is only at three.”

  Leo gagged. “Well that explains that! What are you, stupid?! You can’t compress a thousand stat points to THREE and expect no issues. At least give your stats room to breathe in the hundreds.”

  I relaxed, and the air pressure seemed to shift around me. Even the temperature changed a little.

  “I don’t have any idea how to use the stats I have,” I stated.

  “Oh that’s plenty obvious,” Leo snapped. He took a deep breath. “Sorry. I’m a little crabby. You better be in the town square when evening comes. Tonight, we party, and we party hard.”

  I sighed. “Yeah.”

  “Look, I’m sorry, alright. You just need training. Now brighten up, would you?” Leo asked. “Think about it! There’s a whole party just for us! What’s the worst that could possibly happen?”