Krrr... Krrr...
The Shadow Imp struggled to drag its small body across the pile of corpses. Its left leg was gone, leaving only a charred stump of black flesh that emitted faint wisps of smoke. The E-Rank creature opened its mouth, baring small, razor-sharp fangs, preparing to lunge for Klein's throat even as it hovered on the brink of death itself.
Klein froze. His oxygen was down to the final seconds. His head felt light, his vision narrowing into a tiny pinhole. In the midst of this death trap, Old Man Hobb's words echoed like a bell in his ears.
Sell your life for more than the cost of your death.
"You're... hungry, aren't you?" Klein whispered, his voice nearly gone.
He didn't flee. With hands trembling violently, he held out the remains of the moldy bread toward the monster.
[Zzzzt! Transaction Initiated...]
[Analyzing Target Desire...]
[Target: Shadow Imp (Hungry & Dying)]
[Desire: Hunger (High)]
[Offer: Rotten Bread (Value: 1 Point)]
The system in Klein's eyes suddenly flared with a deep purple radiance, devouring the entire blue, monotonous AI Corp holographic display. A confirmation window appeared, overriding his dying vision.
[Exchange Value Found: Monster Blood Core (D-Rank)]
[Do you wish to proceed with the transaction?]
A D-Rank Blood Core? That was equivalent to a year's salary for a slave in these mines, or thousands of extra oxygen canisters. And it was being traded for a piece of trash bread?
"Confirm," Klein hissed.
[Agreement Locked. Cursed Merchant Rules Applied: Fair Trade in Desperation.]
The Shadow Imp suddenly stopped snarling. Its glowing yellow eyes fixed on the bread with insane intensity. Without hesitation, it snatched the moldy bread from Klein's hand and devoured it ravenously. The sound of its crude chewing was the only noise at the bottom of the foul disposal pit.
As the last morsel vanished down its throat, the monster looked up. It let out a heavy, hacking cough, as if something were lodged in its neck. Suddenly, it vomited a glowing, oval-shaped crystal that radiated a blinding, deep purple light.
The crystal landed right in the palm of Klein's hand. It felt hot, pulsing, and incredibly pure.
[Transaction Successful!]
[Gained: 1x Monster Blood Core (D-Rank)]
[Status: System Fully Activated]
[Passive Skill Unlocked: Language of the Void (You can now understand the desires and languages of Rift creatures)]
After vomiting the Core, the Shadow Imp exhaled its final breath. Its body slowly crumbled into black dust, leaving Klein sprawling atop the pile of corpses.
[Warning: Oxygen 0.1%. Heart Failure in 5... 4...]
"Dammit!" Klein didn't have time to think. He knew that consuming a raw Blood Core without filtration could make a human body explode from the excessive Mana pressure. But dying in an explosion was better than suffocating like a coward.
He shoved the purple crystal into his mouth and swallowed it whole.
BOOM!
It wasn't a physical explosion, but a blast of energy inside his chest. Klein felt as if he had just swallowed the sun. Searing heat burned through every blood vessel, tearing his nerves apart only to reconstruct them in an instant.
[Consuming D-Rank Blood Core...]
[Oxygen Fully Replenished: 100% (Locked for 24 Hours)]
[Fatigue Reset: 0%]
[Progression: Level Up! Level Up! Level Up!...]
[Current Level: 8]
Klein gasped for air. He bolted upright with a surge of incredible power. The shackles were still on his wrists, but he felt as though he could crush stone with his bare hands. The sensation of "weakness" that had been crushing him vanished, replaced by a cold, sharp flow of strength.
Srakkk! Srakkk! Srakkk!
The sound of space tearing echoed again from the micro-Rift in front of him. The scent of the bread the Imp had just eaten had apparently left a lingering trail in the neighboring dimension.
From behind the dark fissure, dozens of pairs of red and yellow eyes began to emerge. Hungry growls—which Klein now heard as raspy sentences begging for food—echoed against the walls of the disposal pit.
"Hungry..."
"Meat... Sweet meat..."
"Give us... something..."
Klein looked down at the pile of corpses beneath his feet. To him, this was no longer a mass grave. This was a "Warehouse." In the hands of a Merchant, these corpses had value. Their clothes, their leftover mining tools, even their gold teeth—everything was merchandise for monsters who had never seen human civilization.
Klein wiped the blood from the corner of his lip. He stood tall in the darkness, facing the dozens of monsters ready to crawl out of the Rift. A thin, cold smile spread across his face.
"Alright, you guys want a snack?" Klein casually picked up a rusted pickaxe from a nearby corpse. "But remember, in my shop, nothing is free."
[Current Reputation with Monsters: The Mysterious Peddler]
[Next Market Demand: Low Grade Metal & Organic Tissue]
"Who's first?"