Multi-Dimensional Merchant System

In Oliver's opinion, the auction couldn't have been more of a success. The statues alone netted him nearly 250,000 credits. Practically a fortune, as it was.

Not that it would last very long, as he wouldn't hesitate to spend it. Especially when all these credits counted towards his long term success... and survival.

With nearly 450,000 credits to work with, his first priority was obvious enough: raising the rest of his attributes to 20. As unpleasant as the experience could be, even a small increase could make a difference if problems popped up... Not that breaking through his 'human limits' was really a small increase, as far as he was concerned.

Raising his strength was pure agony, as it felt like all of his muscles bugled and tore simultaneously... And Vitality wasn't much better, as it felt like his entire body went locked up in a single, massive muscle cramp...

Willpower felt like electricity running through his brain, so much so that he could barely think for several minutes afterwards. It wasn't until he finally focused on pushing the sensation away that awareness fully returned...

Luck... was the odd one. For whatever reason, there was no pain at all when he increased that attribute. Only an odd, ephemeral tingle... And, unlike the others, no notification from the system that he was exceeding the 'local human limits' for the attribute.

Definitely curious, but not something he would likely find an answer to any time soon...

Of course, increasing his Attributes wasn't without cost- that cost being 80,000 credits. But, considering he felt stronger, tougher... better... than he ever had, it was a price worth paying. For a brief moment, Oliver considering raising all of his attributes again... before immediately discarding the thought.

As tempting as it was, and he definitely wanted to keep boosting his stats, the 154,000 credits it would cost was a bit over his budget at the moment. There were still other things he had planned for his credits, not to mention that he wanted to keep a small buffer for emergencies.

Speaking of plans for his credits...

Opening the Bounty Board, Oliver immediately started placing bounties. While he didn't have any hard evidence that they existed, he could easily infer that if mana potions were a thing, so were any number of others.

So he naturally wanted some. For emergencies, of course.

“Let's see... a Bounty for five-no, ten. Ten low level healing potions... Only five thousand credits to post the bounty? Yes, please!” Oliver practically crowed. “Now, lets take a stab at a few others...”

“Fuck! Thirty thousand for a single invisibility potion! Seventy-five thousand for a potion of flight!? Damn... that Multiversal mark-up is killing me...”

Oliver paused as that statement rang in his head like a gong. At some point, his Bounties would allow him to travel to other Universes... What if he was in a Universe where these potions could be created? The price would be a lot lower to post the bounties... Not to mention, if he went to a planet where they were actually made, he could just pop around to a store and buy them without any extra charge from the system...

Nodding to himself, he muttered idly as he organized his thoughts. “Once I can actually travel to those places, the Bounties will be more for getting what I need in an emergency... But, right now, I can't avoid paying out the ass for even small things from other Universes... I'll definitely have to stock up in the future...”

Shaking off the future possibilities, he refocused on his present dilemma. He had planned to grab both Shadow Bolt and Sludge Bolt, just to give him a few more options for elements with his spells... But he couldn't afford to grab both Spell Tomes as well as the potions. Not if he wanted to keep a decent sized emergency fund.

“Ok... 100,000 credits for the emergency fund... That leaves me with just a little over 260,000 to play with right now. A hundred-K each for the spells...I could get both spells and the invisibility potion, leaving me with a little for other potions- if I can figure out a wording for the bounties that will get me something useful... Or I can drop one spell for the flight potion, leaving me with 60,000 to play around with...”

Sighing softly, Oliver shook his head. “Potions are single use, though. It's possible flight could save my ass... Once. Then I would have to decide if I wanted to spend a good sized chunk of credits again... Or...”

Oliver's eyes flashed with greed and excitement as he quickly started on the form for another Bounty... Only for his hopes to be quickly dashed as he nearly choked in outrage. “Fucking hell! 250,000 credits! I barely have that much to spend! Why the hell is the Spell Tome for flight so expensive?”

Shaking his head, he knew the answer. Demand dictated the price... And plenty of people would want the ability to fly. Not only was it cool- at least he thought so- but it was a very advantageous ability. Especially for a mage.

Guy with a sword comes charging at you? Fly away. Need to get up a cliff? Fly. The plane you're in decides to crash? No problem, just fly.

Looking at it objectively, it was almost worth spending all of his free credits. While it wasn't a spell that could directly end a fight, the pure utility and mobility it offered was a game changer.

He was sorely tempted, even if it meant giving up on everything else he had planned for his credits.

“One big, but extremely useful, expenditure... Or a bunch of smaller purchases, whose uses would be more limited and sometimes situational...”

Oliver leaned back and stared up at the ceiling, his mind sorting though the options. “Flight is useful, no doubt, but its not an instant win button. What if I'm inside a building? Sure I could probably fly out a window, but what if that isn't an option? Like on this Ark; flight could help, but it wouldn't really get me anywhere. There are plenty of situations where flight won't necessarily help... And, since I don't really know what I will have to deal with next, maybe its better to go for a spread of options?”

“I don't always need the perfect answer to a situation, as long as I have an option that at least works...”

“Plus, I can always try to buy a flight spell later... Or trade for one through the auction. Definitely going to get it at some point, though.”

“And maybe there are some cheaper options...”

With the thought in mind to experiment with the Bounties and see what he could find, Oliver did exactly that. It seemed almost like an exploit to him: Fill in the Bounty with what he was looking for, check what the system would charge him for posting the bounty, then decide if it was worth it or not.

He even made notes on the possible Bounties... And he knew he wasn't done with the notes, as he had already filled up several pages and was no where near done with the magic tropes he knew of from games.

“40,000 for a Slow Fall Spell Tome? Or 13,000 for a potion? Potions that can double a person's size temporarily? Potions that can shrink someone... Protection from cold weather? Hot weather? Changing your appearance... Oh, wow! Potions that can conjure a ghostly mount to ride? Huh, I wasn't sure if that was actually possible... And I'm not really sure why I was even checking for that...”

Oliver chuckled to himself. He actually found it quite exciting, discovering the possibilities. He knew he couldn't buy all of them, but knowing what his options were was a good idea if he wanted to prepare to the best of his abilities.

“Ok, I think that settles it. Both Spell Tomes, the healing potions, an invisibility potion... A slow fall potion, just in case... And a potion of night vision, for if I need to sneak around and can't risk using my flashlight.”

“Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?”

“Ah! I need to learn Bind Familiar! I've got a squirrel to tame...”