Rewind: A Grimdark LitRPG Series (Pyresouls Apocalypse, Book 1) James Callum (best large ereader .TXT) 📖

Having to deal with his ex again was one of the last things he needed right then. But if he had to, he would put her in the ground again without a second’s hesitation.

As Jacob stepped into the circular marketplace, several merchants had set up shop with big burly guards by their stands. Others had unmoving statues, Golems that would come alive in the blink of an eye, for their protection.

Golems and any enchanted entity would be nearly impossible to take out without significant magical firepower or a heavily enchanted weapon. Like what he wanted to turn his [Mace] into.

Only about a dozen players were visible, bartering and talking quietly. Some with each other, others with the undead merchants. None of them seemed outwardly aggressive, but each clearly marked the other. And as the newest player in the area, Jacob felt each of their stares fall upon him.

For a game with millions of players, he expected there to be more people here already. Even if he was ahead of the curve, he didn’t hope that he was that far ahead.

Most of the merchants were unknown to Jacob. It originally took him several more days until he was able to make it to Hollow Dreams. By that time most of the merchants were sold out.

He spotted a few selling poisons, others armor and weapons, but the merchant he wanted was a simple undead man with a gap-toothed smile and a floppy hat.

“Ah, hello good sir!” he cried, upon seeing Jacob wander up to his spread. Unlike the other merchants, he sat on the floor with a large tattered blanket spread out. Most of the items on display were junk. “Care to partake in my humble wares?” He struggled to keep his tittering quiet.

Jacob knew this man. Undead, but not a Vacant somehow, he was a unique merchant. Not unkind necessarily but he was far from benevolent.

The man always seemed on the edge of giggling with the way his voice hitched up several octaves. He found selling to players to be some sort of joke that nobody else was in on.

None of that mattered though, because this undead merchant could sell upgrade materials.

With 6,248 Souls, Jacob came prepared to spend every last Soul if he had to in order to get those 7 [Dull Sparks] he was missing.

Jacob sat down comfortably across from the man, placing his sword and shield to the side. “I’d like to see Melinda’s wares,” Jacob said, using the correct phrase to open up the merchant’s unique list of items.

The man’s dull-brown eyes lit up at that.

Somewhere in Hollow Dreams was the man’s home, or what was once his home. With enough time and searching, a player could find letters between himself and his mother.

The specifics of the story weren’t told anywhere on the archives that Jacob could find but invoking his mother’s name was enough for him to offer a different set of items. Rare upgrade materials that were difficult to find. He could also repair gear at roughly three-quarters the cost of another merchant.

Not that Jacob needed a merchant to repair his equipment.

“Well then, fine sir, have a gander!” he tittered.

[Undead Merchant’s Shop]

[Repair Service] -- (2 Souls per point of Durability Restored)

[Dull Spark] -- 1,000 Souls

[Bright Spark] -- 3,500 Souls

[Brilliant Spark] -- 10,000 Souls

[Prismatic Spark] -- 8,500 Souls

[Blue Dull Spark] -- 5,000 Souls

[Blue Bright Spark] -- 9,000 Souls

[Blue Brilliant Spark] -- 12,500 Souls

[Red Dull Spark] -- 5,000 Souls

[Red Bright Spark] -- 9,000 Souls

[Red Brilliant Spark] -- 12,500 Souls

[White Dull Spark] -- 5,000 Souls

[White Bright Spark] -- 9,000 Souls

[White Brilliant Spark] -- 12,500 Souls

[Black Spark] -- 7,500 Souls

[Dragon’s Breath] -- 12,000 Souls

He also sold a lot of other common items. Arrows, bolts, poisons, all of varying quality. The types of things that didn’t matter much to Jacob. Ranged players had their work cut out for them since Stamina was used to not only aim and fire the bow but also to run away.

As they would have to do since ranged attackers were typically frail with their light armor.

Jacob was glad for the visor hiding his face when he saw the price of the [Dull Sparks]. All of them were ridiculously expensive, but he had hoped that he would have enough Souls for 7 [Dull Sparks].

With a sigh, he tilted his head at the merchant. “Do you buy items as well?” he asked.

The undead merchant stroked his leathery, long-dead chin for a moment. A bit of white gleaming fingerbone stuck out at the tip of his index finger. “If you got something interesting I might be convinced to give you a discount. But you should know, most merchants don’t even do that. If you’re looking to sell for Souls then you’re shouting at the wrong grave!”

He giggled for a long moment, enough for Jacob to digest his words and understand his meaning behind them.

It was well-known that in Pyresouls there wasn’t a functional economy as in most games. Players could trade items but not Souls - not unless they were in item form - and merchants would sell items for Souls but would not buy for Souls.

Altogether, it made getting items a greater task than normal. Many items could be purchased but most items couldn’t be sold.

You either used what you managed to find or you stuffed it in your [Boundless Box] and left it there.

What the undead merchant was saying, was something altogether different. If Jacob intended to buy something, he could put up items against the value and get a discount.

Considering no other merchant did any such thing, it seemed as if he stumbled upon a bit of information that not even the archives had back on Earth.

Jacob took out any loot of potential value that he found along the way. Out came a collection of rusted armaments and armor shards, a [Small Buckler], and the [Whisper of Insanity].

The merchant looked over the items laid out on the cloth, picking each one up and examining it. When