Sees wanted to pat himself on the back. The cane had been a brilliant choice.
The system shop was full of expensive items with flashy, talent-enhancing abilities, but as he'd suspected, all the starred items here had triple the price of equivalent items value from the gacha pool.
What a scam.
Not to mention how most items were just for aesthetics, with boosts that weren't quite right for either him or Oathria.
There were only three functional items in the shop. A cane, a candle holder, and an… undeniably ugly shawl.
And their descriptions were weirdly simple.
[Cane]
[Keeps you from stumbling!]
[Candle Holder]
[Helps you know where you're going!]
[Ugly Shawl]
[Keeps you warm!]
All three were the only four-star items priced at the base conversion rate of 1000 G, while the other, more ornate items started at 3000 G.
"Interesting," he mused, his mind latching onto the anomaly. "The other items have clear enchantments alongside their talent boosts. These three don't seem to have any… Can I add enchantments to them?"
[Correct!]
[You can add Def%, HP%, or ATK% to any of them, with a 10% boost for every rank you upgrade!]
"Hmmm, is that their only function?" he hummed, his suspicion growing. There had to be a catch. These were four-star items, after all.
"Lady Oathria has a limp. Perhaps the cane is the perfect birthday gift, after all," he nodded.
[Eh? Sees, there are many more suitable items for Oathria Alicei! We recommend—]
"No," he cut the system off. "The other items look too luxurious. Too much. It wouldn't feel thoughtful for a first real gift between us. I need to choose something that's helpful, not 'in your face'."
[U-uhh, dragons are a prideful species! Sees, don't you think giving her a cane might… hurt her pride? A Dragon Lord can heal herself without any he—]
"There's something you're hiding about these items, isn't there?" Sees interrupted, a smug smile spreading across his lips. The system's desperate backtracking was all the confirmation he needed.
[...]
[...]
[Correct!]
[Do you want to buy Four Star Item: Cane?]
[Yes/No]
Sees chuckled, "Yes, let's try this one. And rank it up twice."
He spent 3000 G to buy three identical canes and fused them together, watching as the system upgraded the item twice. After that, he invested another 1500 G to layer it with an ATK% boost across all three ranks. 30% attack boost!
DING!
[Congratulations! You have unlocked a special enchantment slot for a unique four-star item! Would you like to add 'Unbreakable' (1000 G) to the item?]
What?! So this seemingly cheap item was a money pit after all! It was a trap!
Ah, fine! He was in far too deep to back out now.
He had a 5000 G reward from leveling up Oathria's love affinity, after all. Add to that the 700 G from converting the seven three-star junk items from his first gacha roll… he had the funds. Most of it was about to be poured into one deceptively simple item—it had better be worth it!
DING!
[Congratulations! You have successfully ranked up your Cane!]
[Cane]
[Rank 3]
[Keeps you from stumbling, whether it is a pebble on the road or an attack coming your way!]
[All kinds of attacks targeting you have a 42.8% chance to miss!]
Wha—?!
His eyes snapped open, just in time to see the newly forged, powerfully enchanted cane materialize in his hands. The surprise of the revelation made him almost stumble, right as Oathria returned from her hunt and caught his shoulders to steady him.
Wouldn't this be a completely broken item?! A near 50% chance for any attack to just… whiff? It was insane!
He couldn't wait to tell Oathria all about it once she was done washing up. To top it all off, he still had 200 G to spare!
For now, duty called. He had some meat to cook.
Sees surveyed the beautiful, marbled cuts of elk Oathria had provided. The usual methods of cooking felt too civilized for the moment. So, he decided on the most primal method of all, the caveman steak.
Selecting the thickest, most promising cut, he laid it directly onto the bed of glowing charcoal at the fire's edge. A satisfying hiss greeted him, and he watched as the part of the coal touching the rich, red meat was instantly extinguished, creating a perfect, sterile seal that locked in the juices and kept pesky ash at bay.
This was the beauty of the method. The carbon itself became a pure, bacteria-killing oven, everything harmful long since incinerated by the intense heat.
While one hand turned the apples he'd nestled near the flames to roast slowly, their skins beginning to pucker and sweeten, his other hand hovered over the buried treasure.
With a delicate tendril of mana, he reached through the coals, sensing the steak's transformation. Cooking times were fickle, dictated by thickness and coal heat, but his magic gave him a perfect internal thermometer.
He guided the meat's core to a perfect temperature, the sweet spot for medium-rare where the elk would be supremely tender, juicy, and bursting with its robust, wild flavor. The aroma rising from the coals was intoxicating. It was a smoky, savory perfume that made his stomach growl.
As he waited, he took a crunchy bite from a fresh apple in his lap, its bright, tart juice a perfect counterpoint to the rich scent of the cooking meat.
Seeing the sheer volume of meat left, he made a practical decision. As soon as each steak was perfectly cooked, he would whisk it into his spatial inventory.
He had discovered that the inventory would store quite a bit of organic material where time stood still, ensuring every future meal would taste as if it had just come off the coals. The only downside was the retrieval process. Whenever he needed something out, it would come out of his… chest. Like the cane had. With… dramatic, divine-looking lights…
Seeing how that had turned out with Oathria, people might see him pulling out elk meat from his inventory as his spontaneously producing sacred meat. A new holy sacrament, courtesy of Prophet Cecilius's ribcage.
Wait. A dragon should need more food than a human, right? Then perhaps Oathria would finish everything in one sitting. She had even offered to add fish to the menu!
So, should he even bother storing it? Should he take them back out…?
It wasn't the first time something resembling meat had come out of his chest, he supposed. His heart was technically meat, too.
Come on… why would he make that connection now…?
As he contemplated this bizarre train of thought, he rubbed his chest with a dazed expression. The hollow space inside couldn't be seen from the outside, thanks to the miracle elixir's work. The wound itself was closed, but his heart was gone, ripped out and destroyed in Arwen's hand.
Thankfully, his broken chest bone and ribs had been reattached, and his ripped skin and muscle repaired. As long as there wasn't too much mass missing, the elixir had done its job.
Seven years. Truly, they had meant nothing.
DRAP—DRAP—DRAP—
The sound of heavy, rapid footfalls shattered his reverie. Sees raised his face to see a pack of beasts bursting from the treeline. They were quite far away, but he could still make out their features.
Werewolves.
Some were in their half-beast form, hulking and bristling with fur. Others were in full beast form, massive wolves the size of large stallions. Only one of them had the closest form to a human.
You could generally gauge a beast's level of strength by the forms they could take. The closer a beast resembled a human, the stronger and more controlled they were. It meant they had mastered their primal instincts and unique traits.
And yes, mating with a human supposedly helped with that control, not that he was offering. The practice was still unpopular, given the vast differences in culture.
Sees focused his eyes on the woman with the most human appearance. Her frame was tall and sturdy, with short black hair and a nonchalant, confident gait that screamed authority.
She was likely the leader of the pack.
Seeing him sitting alone by the fire, two or three of the half-beast forms stepped forward. But the woman with the most human appearance raised a single hand, and they immediately froze, falling back into line.
They spoke among themselves in low, rumbling growls before the entire pack began to back away. They turned and crossed the river upstream, no longer acknowledging him.
The black-haired woman was the last to move. She faced Sees, her expression flat and unreadable. But after she made sure everyone had crossed the river, she gave a single, sharp nod, her hand placed over her chest.
Sees bowed his head slightly to return the gesture, and watched her turn to effortlessly catch up with the rest of her pack.
Smart.
His hand was already firmly grasping the handle of the cane resting beside him.
If push had come to shove, he would've fought them.
And he would've won.