'The rewards from that brutal battle with those wooden-arm Hobgoblins, or 'Flame-leaf Hobgoblins' as the System stated, are actually very much worth all the trouble... In a way' Shitsubo thought.
He then decided to buy the first item on the Codex list that looked genuinely promising without any obvious, immediate downside – The Goblin-Bone dagger.
The immediate instant he mentally confirmed the purchase, a cloud of swirling, green, ash-like particles started to weave and coalesce together in mid-air, right in front of his slightly startled face.
Out of those swirling, dull particles, a dagger, apparently made completely of polished white bone, slowly materialized.
A distinct, bright green-coloured rune was clearly imprinted on each flat side of its wickedly sharp blade.
Shitsubo quickly grabbed it with his left hand just before it could drop onto his lap.
"Nice fuckin' dagger," he commented aloud quietly, as he carefully inspected the newly acquired weapon.
Suddenly, there were loud, sharp thunderclaps from outside, followed almost immediately by the unmistakable sound of heavy rain beginning to drop.
The sound quickly intensified, second by second, and soon a clear, torrential pouring of heavy rain could be heard drumming insistently against the canvas of the tent from the outside.
He returned his focused attention back to the System screen after a few more seconds spent checking out his new dagger.
'I definitely don't need that Crude club; it would just be a complete waste of Coins.
And all those other listed skills, they seem more like fuckin' curses cunningly attached to tempting gifts.
That Goblin-urine skill is pure, unadulterated trash, no question.
And both the Golem skin and that Eraser arm-morph thing demand a hell of a lot from me.
I can't just fuckin' go around permanently altering my own body for some questionable skills I might get from mere E-Grade Aggressors,' Shitsubo commented inwardly.
He noticed that skills and weapons seem to be gotten primarily from the remains of dead opponents, or at least their essence... Some how, and do not just randomly appear out of thin air in the System's Codex.
This was an important observation Shitsubo had made after messin' around with that 'View' option earlier, and noting the acquisition details of various objects that were infused with, or made directly from, mana.
So, he then decided to sell off the rest of what was currently available for purchase in the Codex.
All except for that one Arcane Skill: Eraser.
Because after giving it some more careful thought, it is a very dangerous, if it's exactly like what the Flame-leaf Hobgoblins used down at the subway.
Then it's a game-changing superpower, and it could definitely come in handy someday in the Gates, especially if he ever feels truly cornered, desperate, or utterly hopeless again in grave situations.
He could then just use it once, and then immediately sell it off, effectively making it serve as a powerful, one-time surprise deal, in order not to attract any more unwanted, dangerous attention to himself than absolutely necessary.
He can't be carrying around a mutated body part; those who know him on the streets will definitely know he's been Enhanced, those who don't will try to rip out his heart for some coins.
His StatusPoints immediately increased to 68, while his Coins simultaneously increased to 39, accompanied by a faint, satisfying sound of jingling coins as the number incremented on his display.
Then, he carefully brought out the contents of the purse the contractor had given him, from where he had previously hidden them under the blanket, finally seeing the details provided by his System.
[Item: Goblin's Heart]
Acquisition: Arrow-nose Goblin
Category: Derivative
[Item: Hobgoblin' Eye]
Acquisition: Flame-leaf Hobgoblin
Category: Derivative
[Item: Golem skin]
Acquisition: Goblin Golem
Category: Derivative
There were three dried Goblin arcane-cores (described simply as 'heart'), three disturbingly iridescent Hobgoblin eyes, and a small, heavy chunk of what looked like the Golem's rocky back hide.
Deciding whether to sell them here, directly through the Codex, or to try and sell them later in an actual, physical market somewhere, isn't an easy, straightforward decision to make anymore.
Just a few days ago, Shitsubo wouldn't have even fuckin' considered any other option but selling them for quick cash.
But now, with the strange new power he currently has in his possession, just selling these Elixirs (these raw Aggressor parts) for mere coins might not be worth it in the long run, especially if he could potentially get himself even stronger with them instead, by somehow absorbing their essence.
Thinking along that particular new trail of thought, Shitsubo then decided to try and sell them through the Codex after all, just to see what would happen.
"System, sell everything in my hand" he said calmly, his voice firm.
The various elixirs held in his hand immediately dissolved into swirling particles of ashen dust and then completely dispersed into nothingness.
Then, he noticed the 'Elixirs' amount on his display rapidly incrementing, accompanied by a subtle, yet distinct, bubbling sound effect.
Elixirs: 125
Coins: 39
Shitsubo instantly, profoundly, regretted that rash decision.
He thought he would get more Statuspoints, or at least some more Coins, like he did when he sold those other skills from the Codex earlier.
He gritted his teeth hard, already thinking angrily about how much more actual yen he could have probably gotten for them in a real market.
He even tried, futilely, to somehow reverse the transaction, but, of course, nothing fuckin' happened.
So, he just had to mentally sigh and try to let it go, another lesson learned the hard way.
Then, he cancelled the Codex screen in lingering annoyance, but quickly regained his composure.
He then summoned his Profile screen once more, primarily to look at his newly acquired, and still unexplained, Title – Viking.
'What's even the goddamn reason for this sudden change of Title, anyway? Didn't really know or care why the System gave my nickname 'Ratty' as a Title... but now, maybe there's a deeper reason, right?' Shitsubo asked internally, without any real, serious intent of getting an answer.
But the Title display on his screen then expanded a bit, as if somehow understanding his unspoken question, to show him its detailed content.
Title: Viking
[A warrior born and raised in hardship, cutting down anyone and anything that stands between it and its desires.]
Buff: When Hit point reaches 30%; Damage per Hit and Arcane Energy increases 3x for 25 minutes.
Note: Existing buff from current Title doesn't erase previous Title's buff.
The fact that this Title display seemed to act on its own sometimes, without Shitsubo specifically demanding it to, didn't go unnoticed by him this time.
But it was what was written within that text, specifically the phrase 'Existing buff from current Title doesn't erase previous Title's buff,' that truly struck his mind like a fuckin' whip.
'What the hell was the buff from my previous Title, then?!' he asked himself internally, a surge of turmoil and frustration washing over him.
'I didn't even fuckin' know that previous 'Ratty' Title had any kind of damn buff attached to it! This System is so fuckin' annoyingly opaque sometimes; the really important things are almost never clearly fuckin' explained… Just imagine if I hadn't bothered to activate that 'TheVoice' thing earlier; I wouldn't even fuckin' know when my Arcane Energy is critically low in the heat of a goddamn battle!' Shitsubo thought with intense, bitter annoyance.
"Who the fuck was the completely brainless shit head that made such a crazy, powerful Power-System, but then gave it such a ridiculously poor, inefficient way of actually communicatin' vital information with its fuckin' owner?!" Shitsubo couldn't help but complain aloud, his voice filled with genuine bitterness.
He recalled all the stupid, painful mistakes he'd already made simply because he wasn't properly informed by the System on certain critical things, and had then just decided to wing it, often causing himself a hell of a lot of unnecessary pain and trouble in the process.
Shitsubo remained quite annoyed for some time after that realization, but he eventually forced himself to chill out a bit.
He did this mostly after thinking about the relatively short amount of time it had actually taken him to even get this far in beginnin' to understand the complex way this alien System apparently works.
He somehow, reluctantly, even considered himself a little bit lucky to have it… if there was truly anything as fickle and unreliable as actual 'luck' in this shitty world in the first place.
He then mentally closed all the distracting System tabs and tried to relax his mind, while patiently waiting for the IV drip to finally empty itself.
He idly played around with his new, bone-white dagger as he waited, getting a feel for its balance.
After about another hour and a half, maybe a bit more, the drip bag finally became completely empty.
So, he unceremoniously yanked the IV needle and its connecting tube out of his arm and then carefully got off the bed.
He then proceeded to roughly tear off the now-unnecessary cast from his right arm, and then flexed the limb a little, cautiously, just to check if it had indeed fully healed properly.
Then, he walked over towards the right side of the tent, where his meager stuffs had been placed.
He first put on his worn leather holster around his waist.
Then, he grabbed his two axes and securely placed them into the holster's loops.
After that, he donned his battered, old armor-vest, the one crudely made of matted Ratty fur, and finally grabbed his equally battered backpack.
He took a brief moment to look around the small, temporary tent, just to see if he was forgetting anything important, as he slowly moved his head around, scanning the area.
His eyes then noticed a fresh, unopened roll of medical gauze lying by the side of a small metal drawer that was close to the bed he'd just vacated.
He first quickly glanced towards the closed entrance flap of the tent, listening for any sounds.
Then, he rushed over to pick up the roll of gauze and quickly, deftly, shoved it deep inside his backpack. Waste not, want not.
Just then, someone entered the tent without warning, the moment Shitsubo had zipped his bag shut.
"It is time for you to leave now," a now-familiar female voice said, her tone still overtly rude and noticeably hasty, as if Shitsubo's very presence in her vicinity was somehow similar to that of an overflowing pit of rank human feces.
Shitsubo turned around slowly to see the same woman, the second nurse, who had come in earlier to sternly tell him to leave immediately after the drip was exhausted.
She now wore a drab, gray raincoat over her white medical garment, and she was already holding open the entrance flap of the tent, clearly indicating for Shitsubo to leave immediately.
"Don't go bustin' your balls, lady, especially when you don't even fuckin' have any in the first place," Shitsubo rudely commented towards the woman as he casually walked past her.
He then pulled up his hood to cover his head before finally exiting the relative dryness of the tent.
He might have not faced her directly when he said it, and his voice was low, but she undoubtedly knew that sharp, insulting comment was meant squarely for her.
And she currently looked like she had anything but tolerance or patience left towards Shitsubo.
She didn't reply to his jibe though, not verbally.
She just watched Shitsubo coldly as he disappeared out into the violent, obscuring cover of the torrential rain.
Seeing him finally leave, however, seemed to give her a small, almost perverse bit of vindictive thrill.
She then turned and walked back further into the now-empty tent, presumably to do a few more things before packing up.
Shitsubo became completely, instantly soaked to the bone within mere seconds of being under that heavy, relentless rain.
Even his head, which was now hooded up, was still not entirely safe from the driving force of the downpour.
But he just kept his head down low against the wind and rain, and tried to quickly navigate his way out of this small, temporary military-style camp that had been set up above the now-sealed subway station.