Chapter 322: Don’t Think Too Hard About It

“It’s a first edition too,” the tradesman said with a proud grin as he held the leatherbound book in front of the crab.

“It sure looks like it,” the merchant said with irony in his voice.

“It used to be given out to every adventurer on the beach upon arrival, but then you know how it is… budget cuts. I managed to save this copy, though.”

“That’s great,” Balthazar said, extending a pincer as he grew more impatient. “Can I have it?”

The Trader brought the book closer to his chest, still grinning.

“Ahhh, I’m afraid not, mate. The information in this beauty is much too valuable in my trade. I have a lot more to gain by keeping it and providing information as needed than by just giving it all away. Maybe I could have considered trading you a few pages from it in exchange for those letters from the ruins, but alas… you did not bring them with you.”

He punctuated his answer with another broad smile while the crab’s mouth twisted with annoyance.

“Anything in particular you’d like to know?” the man asked.

Balthazar knew there was something he had been putting off doing for a while now, because he did not know what to do about it anymore.

The crab opened his system level-up screen.

[Name: Balthazar]

[Race: Crab]

[Level: 41]

[Class: Master Merchant]

[Sub-Class: None]

[Health: 370/370]

[Stamina: 15/30]

[Mana: 40/50]

[Attributes:]

[Strength: 5]

[Endurance: 5]

[Agility: 5]

[Perception: 5]

[Intellect: 20]

[Charisma: 99]

[You have 40 unspent base stat points]

[You have 21 unspent attribute points]

It felt like such a long time ago since he had last looked at his character sheet and started putting off choosing what to do with them.

But to be fair, a lot had happened in just a few days.

He’d explored the core of the mountain beneath his pond, been shot across the world, landed on a mysterious island that wouldn’t let him leave, and spent far too much time getting sidetracked. One could hardly blame the merchant for not having time to focus on silly system matters.

“Alright,” Balthazar said. “First off, does your little guide there have anything that could help with choosing where to spend attribute points after having maxed out your main one to 99?”

The Trader blinked a couple of times in complete silence, unopened journal still held in his hand.

“Have you… considered putting points into your other attributes, maybe?”

“Hmm,” said the crab, stroking his chin in thought as if that was the first time such a thought even occurred to him.

He could put points into Strength, but then he pictured himself being a bigger crab with muscles bulging out of his shell and having to walk sideways to pass through his bazaar’s entrance.

Horrible! No thanks. I don’t wish to be a beef-crabcake.

He considered Endurance, but becoming more resistant to damage when you already have a nice hard shell and an imbuing skill to help with that felt like a waste, and improving recovery rates when he had no intention of wearing himself out wasn’t much different either.

Endurance is straight up boring!

Agility felt tempting at first, but then the crustacean imagined himself swinging from tree branch to tree branch like a monkey and breakdancing to dodge incoming arrows, and that felt incredibly embarrassing for someone with a crab body to do. He still had a sense of pride after all.

I’m never going down that route, thank you very much!

At first Perception seemed like a worthy choice to invest into next, but once again, a little thinking made him realize how much of a curse a high perception could turn into.

Becoming unavoidably aware of every time one of his clients was trying to discreetly pick their nose while browsing his wares at the bazaar. Being forced to hear every time one of them thought they were being quiet while passing gas in his home. The torture of becoming painfully aware of every individual smell an adventurer was carrying after spending five days delving through a dungeon killing things, trudging through all sorts of nasty substances, and showing up at his doorstep still completely unwashed on their way back to town.

Hell no! I’d rather stay blissfully unperceptive of some things.

Finally, there was also Intellect, but that one was a no-brainer. If he started investing into this attribute, next thing he knew, he’d be some kind of mage crab.

Ain’t no one ever catching me wearing a wizard hat!

With a sigh, Balthazar came to the same conclusion from before.

“There’s no other attribute worth putting points into besides Charisma.”

The Trader tapped on the tip of his nose with a finger while pondering.

“You know,” he said, “I think there might be something in this here guide that could interest you.”

The tradesman flipped through the pages like someone who already knew exactly where each paragraph was within them, suddenly stopping about three quarters in and quickly scanning the text with his eyes.

“Here it is. A mythical scroll that can only be found in the DLZ area of Battershoal.”

Balthazar frowned. “DLZ area? What’s that?”

The Trader glanced at the crab through the corner of his eye, face still partially covered by the open journal.

“Uhh… It means ‘Designated Limited Zone,’ because you know, no one can leave Battershoal.”

The merchant’s frown turned into a full scowl.

“A Designated Limited Zone… area? That doesn’t make any sense.”

The hooded figure switched his gaze back to the journal.

“Yes, it’s a lot like saying ATM machine, heh-heh. Don’t think too hard about it.”

“What the hell is an ATM machine?!”

“Look, do you wanna know how to increase your Charisma beyond 99 or not?!”

The crab’s eyestalks stood up to attention.

“Wait, I can do that?!”

The Trader’s shoulders dropped slightly and he let out a quiet sigh.

“Yes. Like I was trying to tell you, there is a scroll somewhere on this island that can grant adventurers a special trait that allows them to convert 10 attribute points into 1 legendary extra point to 100 and beyond in an attribute of their choice.”

Balthazar nodded.

“You know what, fine! What’s one more sidejob anyway, right? At least that sounds like something tangibly useful. Give me the details, trader-man!”

The Trader grinned.

“Simple enough, my crustacean friend.” He tore a note glued to the page from the journal and handed it to the crab. “You need to head northwest from here until you find a statue that looks like this. There you will find the Proving Grounds, which hold the scroll you seek.”

Balthazar took the piece of paper and looked at it. On it was a pencil drawing of a woman dressed in veils holding up a scale in her hand.

“Proving Grounds, eh? Pfft, typical adventurer bait. Alright, I’ll check it out.”

“Good. Good,” said the man in the trench coat. “This pays for your information on the explorers from the ruins. Pleasure trading with you, mate.”

“Ah, but hang on a minute there, pal,” the crab said, holding a pincer up. “We haven’t yet settled what you’ll give me in exchange for that marble I just delivered to you.”

Instead of looking annoyed or disappointed, the Trader’s grin widened even more and he wagged his finger approvingly.

“Good catch, mate,” he said. “As sharp as your pincer, as I expected from the merchant crab! Go on, tell me what more I can help you with.”

Balthazar was ready for his next question. Since he had already gotten something out of that journal in terms of what to do with his spare attribute points, it might also contain something on sub-classes that would help him get to his ideal one.

But before the crab could answer the Trader’s question, a noise came from the jungle that made him turn his eyestalks with a snap.

Hurried steps were approaching rapidly through the vegetation.

Balthazar frowned as he saw the silhouettes of three figures emerge from the bushes.

And then that frown turned into an expression of shock as he realized he knew the trio that had just appeared in front of him.