[Shop Opened. Welcome, Merchant.]
The golden status screen floated in the air, paying no attention to the fact that a monster was approximately a few meters away from ripping Julien's throat out.
Time seemed to stop, moving in a loop. The monster's jaws were wide open, rows of ugly teeth coated in saliva that looked just like acid.
A list unfolded before his eyes. It wasn't a skill menu. It looked like an online store, but for weapons.
[Featured Items]
Star-breaking Greatsword (Grade: S) – Cost: 50,000,000 Gold + 1 Dragon heart.
Elixir of Immortality (Grade: SSS) – Cost: Your Firstborn + 3 Planets.
Holy Hand Grenade (Grade: A) – Cost: 500,000 Gold.
'Where the fuck would I get the money from?'
"I don't have any money! Is there anything for 10 dollars?" Julien screamed mentally.
His vocal cords were shaking in fear. He didn't even recognise his own voice anymore.
"I'm broke! I'm unemployed! Just give me something!"
The System seemed to pause, taking into account his pathetic financial situation.
[Alert: User funds are insufficient.]
[Scanning Assets...]
[Asset Located: Desperation.]
[Asset Located: Future Labour.]
[Proposal: Emergency Loan initiated.]
[Item Selected: "The Debt-Collector" (Grade C - Godtail Revolver)]
[Price: 500 Credits.]
[Payment Method: Deferred. Interest rate: 25% daily compounded.]
[Collateral: Right Arm (Temporary Usage).]
'Right arm or my life? Of course, I choose my life.'
"Buy it! Just buy it!"
[Transaction Complete.]
[Thank you for shopping with the Infinite Warehouse.]
'Time seemed to resume.'
From the shadow of the golden status window, a heavy, stylish black revolver dropped onto his chest.
It was huge, not like those things seen in movies. The barrel was etched with glowing power that jumped like a heart with violet light.
The air seemed to disappear around him. The monster screeched, quickly shutting its big-ass jaws.
Julien had never shot a gun before, but that didn't matter. It might be hard to aim for first-timers, but a monster of this size was easy to hit.
When its face closed in on him, he closed his eyes.
His finger found the trigger. He stopped thinking about anything and squeezed.
BOOM!
There was no recoil. Surprisingly!
But then, he felt a sensation like his soul was being pulled out of his arm. The "Collateral" system mentioned wasn't a metaphor.
His right arm went instantly numb, turning a terrifying shade of grey as its life was sucked into the gun to power the shot.
A beam of violet energy didn't just shoot out; it erupted.
There was no sound, which was more terrifying than a bang. The beam atomised the back of the monster's throat, punched through its skull, tore through the ceiling of his apartment, pierced the roof of the building, and shot straight up into the dark, grey sky.
The monster didn't even have time to let out a scream. Its head simply tore away from its body.
Holy shit.
The massive body went cold, collapsing without balance, and then started falling towards him.
No, no, wait a minute.
"OOF!"
The weight was crushing his body.
The concrete slab was on his legs, and now a headless monster corpse was on his chest. Julien gasped for air, inhaling dust and the smell of rubble.
[Target Eliminated.]
[Experience Gained: 500]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Current Debt: 500 Credits.]
His right arm hung uselessly at his side, feeling like a block of wood. He tried to push the corpse off, but his strength, even with the level-ups, was pathetic.
"Is anyone... alive in there?"
A voice could be heard outside. It was not that of a weak survivor; it sounded authoritative, filled with power.
The ringing in his ears didn't stop, but Julien could hear boots running outside on the destroyed building, footsteps echoing throughout.
"Mana activity detected! It was strong. As strong as an S-rank skill."
"Be careful. It could be a high-ranking monster. Let's spread out."
Three figures jumped through the hole in the wall.
Probably Hunters.
Even through the dust, Julien recognised their gear. High-quality dungeon armour, enchanted weapons glowing with faint light, maybe blessed by gods and goddesses.
They moved with a grace that made him sick with envy.
These guys came to farm aura, didn't they?
The leader, a woman with a massive shield, kicked a piece of the cement wall aside.
Her gaze then landed on him.
"Civilian!" she shouted. "Under the wall! He's breathing!"
They rushed over. The guy with the gauntlets grabbed the monster's corpse and tossed it aside like it was made of paper.
Then, with gentle precision, he lifted the concrete slab off Julien's legs.
Thank you, kind sir.
He groaned, the blood rushing back into his crushed limbs agonisingly.
"Kid, can you hear me?" The woman knelt beside him, checking his pupils to see if he was still in one piece.
"What happened here? We saw a beam of light."
Julien opened his mouth to speak. He wanted to say, 'I bought a gun from a shop and blew its head off.'
But before he could speak, a golden window popped up in his vision.
[Passive Skill Triggered: Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)] [Protecting Trade Secrets.] [Witnesses are not authorised customers.]
"I..." he stammered.
The woman blinked.
Her eyes glazed over for a split second, a look of confusion washing over her sharp features. She shook her head, as if waking up from a daydream.
"The... gas line," she muttered, looking at the headless corpse. "Must have been a pocket of mana gas. Exploded right in its mouth when it bit down to eat this guy."
"Yeah," the gauntlet guy agreed, looking at the smooth, flawless hole in the ceiling. "Freak accident. Looks like the monster triggered a mana-discharge from the gate's instability. Lucky kid."
Julien stared at them, dumbfounded.
'Are they serious?'
The gun, which he bought by sacrificing his arm, had dissolved into particles of light the moment he let go of it, returning to the inventory. There was no evidence left of it. Just a headless monster and a broken boy.
"Can you walk?" the third hunter asked.
Julien shook his head. "My legs... and my arm. I can't feel my arm."
"He's in shock. Vitality is low," the woman said, tapping her earpiece. "Commander, we have one survivor at the breach point. The gate is neutralised. The monster... uh... neutralised itself. Requesting extraction."
Just take me out of here, Julien grumbled.