Dimension Beta

As Tom reached the city, he headed straight to Pech's alchemy shop to see if anything could be done with the materials he had just collected. On the way, he opened his character interface to allocate his stat points and inspect his updated stats.

[Name: Tom Stein]

[Race: Golem (Human form)]

[Class: Brawler]

[Level: 47]

[Health Points: 5850/5850]

[Mana: 100/100]

[Vitality: 390]

[Strength: 390]

[Dexterity: 40]

[Intelligence: 0]

[Wisdom: 0]

[Level 10 Skills: Beginner Brawler's Stance, Punching Fury]

[Racials: Hard as Stone]

[Status Effects: The Curse of Flesh – Your flesh makes you weak and hinders your growth. All stats reduced by 30%. (inaktiv)]

Even though both Pech and his teacher had advised him against putting any more points into agility, Tom couldn't shake the feeling of unease when he saw his Dexterity stuck at an uneven number. His inner OCD got the better of him, and he decided to invest just enough points to make it 40.

When Tom entered the alchemy shop, he found Pech in the back room, surrounded by crates of potions. "Ah, just the person I was looking for! Come here, Tom," Pech called out.

Tom approached, surprised at the sheer number of potions in the room. Pech handed him a crate full of samples. "Take these and find some customers. This is how we'll start collecting gold through potions."

Tom inspected the potions but couldn't help but glance at the other crates. Just as he suspected, many of the potions in the other crates were only 80% efficient.

"Mr. Pech, I have to ask," Tom began. "Why do you keep trying to scam people? You could make a lot of money just by running a legitimate business."

"What do you mean? I would never…" Pech stopped mid-sentence when he saw the unimpressed look on Tom's face. He sighed. "Fine. If I'm honest, I haven't done legitimate business in so long, I don't even remember how it works. Plus, my reputation is so bad, nobody would come here even if my products were top-notch."

"You're wrong about that, Mr. Pech," Tom said firmly.

Tom then recounted his experience running a small potion business himself. Pech looked at him with mild amusement, surprised to hear that Tom had a crafty side of his own.

"Alright," Pech relented. "How about this? I'll rebrew these potions to bring them back to 100% efficiency. You find the customers, and we'll see how it goes. Deal?"

"Deal," Tom agreed.

"Oh, and one more thing. I've got something for you, see if it's of any use." Tom pulled out one of the rare wasp wings from his spatial pouch and handed it to Pech.

Pech inspected the wing and was visibly impressed. "How many of these do you have?"

Tom proceeded to take out all the wings he had collected, about 500 pairs, all of uncommon and rare quality.

"Not bad," Pech said, examining them closely. "I've got some ingredients I could use to make potions with these, but honestly, it'd be a waste. My current materials are only normal quality, so the potions wouldn't do these justice. I think I have a better idea."

Pech cast an inspect spell on Tom and raised an eyebrow. "Looks like you leveled up quite a bit today. That'll make this easier." He tossed Tom a small pouch. "This has 10 square meters of storage space. If you do well, you might get to keep it."

Tom stared at the pouch in disbelief. This was a high-quality item, not something casually given away.

"Now here's the plan," Pech continued, pulling out a map of the surrounding areas. "About 12 hours from here on foot, there's a clearing where moon grass and moon moss grow. Tonight's a full moon, and at its peak around 2 a.m., the moonlight will infuse the plants. If you gather them, I can use them along with the wings to create a special potion that'll sell for a fortune."

Tom hesitated. "It's already 8 p.m., and I still need to eat. Even if I ran at full speed, I don't think I'd make it in time."

"Who said anything about running?" Pech replied with a sly grin. "For 20,000 gold, we can pay a spatial mage to get you there instantly."

"20,000 gold? Are you sure it's worth it?"

"Absolutely. Trust me on this one," Pech said confidently.

"Alright, let's do it. I'll be back in two hours," Tom said. He packed up the materials and headed to Casper's shop to sell his goods. To his surprise, Smork was waiting for him.

"Good evening, boy. I was just about to leave for the day when I saw you coming in," Smork said.

"What can I do for you, Smork? Sorry, I haven't had time to gather more pelts yet."

"That's fine. I actually finished two new pieces of gear for you and wanted to give them to you," Smork replied, leading Tom to the back of the shop.

Smork handed Tom the items:

[Rare Wolf Boots]

+25 Armor

Weight: 0.5 kg

Attacks with your beine aggainst beasts deal 10% more damage

[Rare Wolf Vest]

+30 Armor

Weight: 0.7 kg

Attacks aggainst you from beasts deal 10% less damage

"They're amazing!" Tom exclaimed. Though the bonuses were specific to beasts, they were perfect for his current hunting needs.

"By the way," Tom added, pulling out the rare wasp stingers, "do you know anyone who might be interested in these?"

Smork inspected the stingers and nodded. "I could ask Stahl, though he doesn't make weapons anymore. If you'd like, leave them with me, and I'll make sure they get to the right person."

"Thanks, Smork," Tom said gratefully, leaving the shop.

After selling his goods and preparing for the journey, Tom logged out to check if Felix and his parents were still in Beta. Seeing that they were, he sent them a thank-you message via his phone before leaving their house.

The walk home would've taken 40 minutes, but Tom decided to wait for the bus instead. It only came once an hour, but he was lucky as it was due in 10 minutes. As twilight turned to dusk, Tom spotted a group of classmates approaching the bus stop.

Among them was a boy Tom couldn't stand, the same one who had mocked him after his sparring match with their teacher. Tom decided to ignore them, but the group had other plans.

The boy approached him, sneering. "Well, well, look who it is, the guy who doesn't even know how to use his own class."

Tom tried to remain calm, refusing to engage.

"What's the matter, Tom? Running home to mommy already?" the boy jeered, his tone dripping with mockery.

When Tom continued ignoring him, the boy grabbed his shoulder. "Hey, I'm talking to you! Didn't anyone teach you to answer when spoken to? Oh, wait…" he smirked cruelly, "you don't even have a dad, so who would've taught you anything, huh? Your…"

Before he could finish, Tom's body moved on instinct. His fist shot out, landing squarely on the boy's nose with all his strength. The boy fell backward, blood streaming from his nose.

The rest of the group stood frozen in shock. They hadn't expected Tom to fight back, let alone with such force. Tom himself was stunned by his own reaction, but panic quickly set in. Unsure of what to do, he turned and ran.

Tom covered the 40-minute walk in just 20 minutes, his adrenaline fueling him the whole way. When he arrived home, he was out of breath but relieved to find his mother still logged into Beta, sparing him the need to explain anything.

He found a portion of food in the fridge and devoured it quickly. With a full stomach, he retreated to his room and logged back into Beta, ready to continue his journey.

As Tom logged back into Beta, he immediately made his way to Pech's shop. Once there, he voiced a question that had been bothering him.

"I've never harvested plants before. Do you have any tips for me?"

"That won't be a problem," Pech replied, pulling an encyclopedia from one of the many shelves in his cluttered workspace. He flipped through the pages, tore out two, and handed them to Tom.

"Here are the details for the plants you're looking for," Pech explained. "Harvesting is pretty straightforward. For the moss, just pull it up with the soil and roots intact and toss it into your spatial pouch. The grass, on the other hand, is as long as straw. I'll give you a sickle so you can cut it cleanly at the base."

Pech then emphasized, "Make sure you only collect uncommon or rare grass and moss. Don't waste space in the pouch on lower-grade materials."

Tom nodded in understanding, but Pech wasn't done. "One more thing: getting back. Your teleportation scrolls have limited range. You'll likely need to walk for around 11 hours westward before you can use them. Keep your bearings and try not to get lost."

"Got it," Tom said, making sure he understood everything.

"Good. Follow me," Pech said, leading Tom out of the shop and toward the city center.

On the walk there, a new quest appeared and Tom accepted it.

They stopped in front of a small shop. Tom was surprised by how modest it looked, but as he stepped inside, the interior was much larger than the exterior suggested. The shelves were lined with spatial pouches of varying sizes, the very kind Tom dreamed of owning, but the price tags were far beyond his means.

A middle-aged man emerged from the back of the store, his expression souring the moment he saw Pech.

"What do you want?" the man grumbled.

Unfazed, Pech replied smoothly, "We'd like to purchase your teleportation services."

"Where to?"

"The Eckert Valley in the east."

"20,000 gold," the man said flatly. "Non-negotiable."

"No problem," Pech said, turning to Tom.

Reluctantly, Tom reached into his pouch and handed over almost all his hard-earned gold. His chest tightened as he watched the mage scrutinize the coins as though doubting their authenticity before pocketing them.

"I assume the boy is the one being teleported?"

"Exactly," Pech confirmed.

"Isn't he a little… weak for the Eckert Valley?" the mage asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He'll do just fine," Pech said confidently.

Tom's concern grew. "What do you mean, 'too weak'? What level are the monsters there?"

Before he could get an answer, the spatial mage completed the spell, and a portal materialized beneath Tom's feet. He didn't even have time to react as he fell through.

The last thing he saw was Pech giving him a thumbs-up.