Chapter 8 | Spoiling The Girls
Dexter’s hands were trembling slightly as he finished drying the bowl.
Half of the ingredients listed in his memories, he hadn’t seen them. And half he recognized but they were to expensive.
He pulled out his phone and began searching for the price of the ingredients.
It took Dexter half an hour to find what he needed.
There was a commercial district nearby called the Merchant Quarter. Most of the shops there are equipment stores, potion suppliers and other stuffs.
Tucked between a weapon smith and a potion brewery was a small shop called "Heaven’s Taste: Cultivation Cuisine Supplies."
Dexter scanned their online catalog and found everything he needed.
Spirit Ginseng: 400 credits per root
Phoenix Feather Root: 300 credits per bundle
Ground Dragon Bone: 500 credits per packet
Serenity Willow Bark: 200 credits per portion
Starlight Mushroom: 350 credits per batch
Moonlight Dew: 250 credits per vial
Essence Spring Water: 150 credits per bottle
Blood Rice: 100 credits per bag
For Meal 1 — the Meridian-Soothing Broth — the daily cost was approximately 1,100 credits for three servings.
For all five meals rotated throughout the week, the daily cost averaged around 2,000 credits.
It was astonishingly expensive. A regular family could eat for a month on what Dexter would spend in a day.
Dexter’s eyes flickered and he wondered if it was going to be worth it spending so much money on food. But he quickly shook the thought of. With the system, he didn’t need to be worried.
Dexter did the math in his head.
If he spent 2,000 credits per day on ingredients, that was 14,000 credits per week. Over a month, that was roughly 56,000 credits.
If he maximized the "significance" of each investment, the returns could far outweigh the costs.
•••
The next morning, Dexter woke up early, showered and dressed in a simple black hoodie and sweatpants, pulling the hood low over his face.
The walk to the Merchant Quarter took forty minutes.
He reached the Merchant Quarter and it was quite less crowdy as people were still preparing for work.
Delivery trucks were unloading crates and the shop owners were setting up displays.
Heaven’s Taste was a narrow storefront with a green awning and a hand-painted sign. The windows displayed jars of dried herbs, bundles of roots, and packets of powder.
Dexter pushed open the door.
"Morning," Dexter said, keeping his voice low. "I need a week’s supply of specialized ingredients. Sun-moon fruit, Juniper bark root, Dry Dragon-Leaf, and premium spiritual pearl rice."
An elderly man with thick glasses was behind the counter. The man gave a warm smile and replied. "How much quantity do you want to purchase?"
Dexter calculated for a bit and replied.
The merchant nodded his head."Two thousand dollars for a single day’s supply of genuine Sun-moon fruit and Juniper bark root. For a week, that will be fourteen thousand dollars."
Dexter did not hesitate. He tapped his phone against the payment terminal, confirming the transfer. "I’ll take them. Please pack them securely."
The old man smile widened.
’What a nice customer. He didn’t even haggle’
Then he replied. "Please wait while I prepare them do you."
He then left the counter and headed deeper into the shop.
After the transaction was done, Dexter bought more things, two large bags of premium organic rice, fresh vegetables, lean chicken breast, and high-quality beef from the organic section, spending another five hundred dollars.
While walking on the street , he used his phone to browse a reputable local security agency online.
The bungalow’s wooden doors and thin window frames were far too easy to breach, as Kreg had proven. He selected a high-grade home defense package that included reinforced steel deadbolts, heavy iron security bars for all ground-floor windows, and a basic motion-sensor alarm system.
He paid five thousand dollars upfront for an express, same-day installation. The agency promised to send a team of technicians that same morning.
...
While walking through the district, he stopped in front of an Relic shop. Relic are tools with special effects to increase one’s damage power, speed and even mana.
The higher the type of Relic the stronger they are.
The Relic shop was called "Essence Emporium".
The interior was larger than Heaven’s Taste, with glass display cases arranged in a grid pattern.
Each case held jewellery, weapons, accessories and all of them faintly glowing with stored mana.
Type 1 Relics were the lowest tier of enchanted items, but even they were expensive.
A young man in a neat uniform stood behind the counter. "Welcome to Essence Emporium. How can I help you today?"
"I need equipments with Pain reduction and Calming effects. Do you have anything like that?"
The clerk’s expression became professionally interested. "We have several options. For pain reduction, I’d recommend the Serenity Bangle. "
The youth to a display case of silver bracelets — "Type 1, reduces pain signals by up to 10% and takes the edge off chronic conditions."
"How much?"
"Eight thousand credits."
Dexter’s eyes twitched. That was more than he’d expected. He sighed and replied.
"I’ll take one."
The clerk retrieved the bracelet and placed it on the counter. It was plain thin silver band with a small blue gem set in the center. But there was actual beauty in its simplicity.
"For calming effects," the clerk continued, "we have the Tranquility Band. Type 1, reduces anxiety and stabilizes emotional fluctuations. It’s often prescribed for heroes with PTSD or anxiety disorders."
"Does it help with seizures?"
The clerk hesitated. "It’s not designed for that specifically. But if the seizures are triggered by emotional instability or stress, it might reduce their frequency. I can’t make any guarantees."
Dexter thought of Selene and replied.
"I’ll take two," he said.
"Two Tranquility Bands?"
"Yes."
"That’s five thousand each, so ten thousand total."
Dexter’s remaining balance was shrinking rapidly.
But the system would reward him. He had to trust that.
He paid and took the three bracelets — one Serenity Bangle for Mira, two Tranquility Bands for Selene and Lyra.
After confirming the payment, Dexter took the three small jade boxes and slipped them into his backpack.
His also stopped at a licensed medical supply pharmacy. He purchased a few bandages, painkillers and other things. While standing at the counter, he hesitated, his face turning slightly red as his eyes fell on the hygiene section. He realized that three young women living in an old house would eventually need basic personal supplies.
Embarrassed but resolute, he grabbed several packs of premium tampons and personal hygiene wipes, placing them on the counter.
"Is that everything, sir?" the pharmacist asked, hiding a small smile.
"Yes," Dexter said, clearing his throat. "That’s everything."
On his way back to the bungalow, as he passed a high-tech electronics store, a display in the window caught his eye.
It was a pair of sleek AI smart glasses. The advertisement claimed the glasses could translate spoken words into real-time text projected onto the lenses, or translate it to other languages so one can speak across several languages.
Dexter paused as an idea formulated in his mind.
He entered the store and purchased two pairs of the smart glasses for twenty thousand dollars.
By the time he finished his shopping spree, his bank account had been reduced from 150,000 thousand credits to exactly 6000.
He had spent forty-four thousand dollars in a single morning. But he did not feel a single shred of regret.