─────[Shop]─────

[Section --> Cosumable]

[Luck Halo]

: A glowing, ring-shaped candy that hums faintly before dissolving on the tongue. For five minutes, probability subtly bends in the user's favor — dice roll high, doors open easier, and bullets seem to miss. Once the effect ends, misfortune equal in weight to the gained luck immediately follows.

Price: 15,440 SP

[Blink Serum]

: A small syringe filled with pale blue liquid. Injecting it grants instantaneous reflexes and enhanced perception for thirty seconds. After the effect wears off, the user experiences five minutes of blurred vision and delayed reaction times. Price: 12,120 SP

[Fate Draught]

: A silver vial that smells of ozone. Drinking it lets the user foresee a single, near-future event within the next ten minutes. He will lose a memory of the same duration.

Price: 41,870 SP

[Pulse Extract]

: A vial of viscous red serum. Drinking it amplifies strength and adrenaline output by 200% for two minutes. Once the body stabilizes, exhaustion sets in so violently that movement becomes impossible for ten minutes.

Price: 9,660 SP

─────[Shop]─────

I looked through the [Consumable] section of the system shop.

Usually, I tended to avoid this section. It wasn't so much that the items weren't useful, but they were typically one-time use and extremely expensive. The downsides were also a little too much for me.

'There's also the fact that I could never afford them before.'

These were all 'Third Order' items, and ever since reaching the Third Order, I hadn't found myself needing to look at the shop often, besides the pills.

This was the first time I was doing so in a while.

I knew that I had to go all in for this mission.

[Balance: 100,532 SP]

I had converted exactly 1,000,000$.

With that much SP, I decided to buy one 'Luck Halo', one 'Blink Seurum', one 'Fate Draught', and lastly, one 'Pulse Extract'.

That came to a total of 79,090 SP.

This left me with 21,442 SP.

I didn't rush to use the remaining SP. I saved them up in case I needed anything else later down the line.

However, I wasn't very optimistic.

'If my guess is right, the moment I find the cult, I won't be able to purchase any items.'

I didn't even know what I was supposed to do.

The mission stated that I had to find the cult. But was that truly it?

No, in fact, was it even a wise decision to go?

I pulled up the quest once more.

[Continuation Quest]

Difficulty: Fourth Order

Reward: 210,000 SP

Objective: Locate the main branch of the cult.

Location: N/A

Description: The cult and you can no longer co-exist. Locate their hideout in Malovia

and find out more about the architect, alongside their doctrine. Best be careful, as the

cult will now actively look for you. They have eyes and ears everywhere!

Time Limit: 6 months.

"...."

'Locate their hideout. Find out more about the architect, alongside their doctrine.'

There was nothing that stated that I had to attend the quest.

But...

'I have to go.'

I had a very large feeling that the mission was related to the reason for the sudden shift in the world, and the main cause of my disease. Just like the Conductor said, I'm slowly starting to turn. I can't afford to remain idle.

"Okay, everything is almost set up. Are you ready?"

Jamie's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. When I turned to him, I saw a strange-looking drone hovering beside his shoulder. A small red light blinked on its surface, and as I stared at it, I couldn't help but be surprised.

This was new...

"Like this?" he said with a grin. "It's a new model I picked up online. It tracks all my movements and records in full 360 degrees. The camera quality's great too, and best of all, I don't have to hold a stick while filming. Makes the whole experience way smoother."

"...."

I couldn't say he didn't have a point.

But...

"How much was this?"

The smile wiped from Jamie's face.

"...Let's not talk about it."

"That much?"

"Like I said, let's not talk about it."

Jamie cleared his throat and pulled out his phone. A moment later, a notification popped up on my screen.

"You should've gotten the notification. It's a co-host invite."

Jamie started explaining.

"With it, you'll be able to see the viewers' comments and the stream stats too."

I tapped the link, and a new interface opened on my phone. Since the stream hadn't started yet, the comment section was empty, but I could already see the layout: every panel, every stat, ready to update the moment we went live.

'This is pretty neat.'

"Do you need a bit more time to get ready? I'm good to go whenever you are. I already posted online to let everyone know we're about to start the stream. Just give me the word, and I'll hit start."

"...Okay."

I cleared my throat and looked at the weird drone.

It would take a bit for me to get used to the drone, but it wasn't a big deal as I turned my attention to my phone.

"You can start it."

"Okay!"

Fiddling with his phone, Jamie officially began the stream.

[●Live]

Viewers — 0

I paid close attention to the viewer count.

The numbers began climbing the instant the stream went live, the comment section flooding with messages that quickly filled the screen.

—The stream has started?

—Eyooo!! Where is this?

—It's him!

—I'm early leeel. Let's go!

[●Live]

Viewers — 11,029

I remained calm, even when the viewership count increased rapidly.

I stared at the comments in silence, waiting for several more minutes before starting to speak.

"It looks like a lot of you have shown up today."

The comments continued to flood.

A lot of them were asking about the situation with 'Nightmare Forge Studios'. In particular, they were asking about my involvement in the 'Night of Terror'. I deliberately ignored those comments while speaking.

"Today, I will be doing a stream with Jamie."

The drone panned in Jamie's direction as he waved his hand.

"How are ya'll?"

He was a professional.

The moment the drone panned on him, he smiled and threw a few entertaining lines. I wasn't like him. The only thing I could do was introduce them to the setting.

"Behind me is an abandoned factory," I said, turning the camera slightly to show the looming structure. "Jamie and I will be exploring it today, and trust me, it's going to be really scary."

I licked my lips.

They were quite dry.

Scratching the back of my head, I checked the comments.

—Huh? You're going into an abandoned factory? You're not going to talk about your involvement?

—Was that all bait for this?

—Seriously...?

—I don't give a fuck about this. Talk about the incident!

The comments were about what I'd expected; most people wanted to know more about the situation. Still, I ignored their questions and kept quiet about it, refusing to let the topic take over the stream.

Reaching into my pocket, I took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on.

At the same moment, I pushed open the factory gate, its rusted hinges groaning slightly, and stepped inside.

"Let's go."

A certain tension settled in my chest as I stepped in.

The cult quest began.

[●Live]

Viewers — 42, 193

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