The news came as a shock.
Can I go there right now? I thought I wouldn't be granted entry since I didn't have freedom of movement.
â¬The Supreme Merchant of All Things says you are technically not allowed to, but also adds that she can make an exception.â
Then I want to go there right away! Please take me out of this cageless prison!
Granny God delivered on her promise.
â¬Â«System» [The Supreme Merchant of All Things] invites your consciousness to [The VIP Point Shop]. Accept the invitation?â
Yes! A thousand times, yes! At this point, I would follow you even if you were kidnapping me!
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World reprimands you for saying such things.â
â¬The Supreme Merchant of All Things bursts into laughter and claims no god in their right mind would kidnap [The Voice that Shapes the World's] first apostle.â
Meanwhile, a new system message popped up.
â¬Â«System» Transferring your consciousness to [The VIP Point Shop].â
Then my senses immediately returned. A dark veil was removed from my eyes, and I could see once again. I realized I was in the occult shop of sorts, which I had visited several times before. But something was different.
Why is everything black and white? There were no colors to be seen around me.
"Dreams can often appear in black and white. Let's just say I brought you here as a part of a lucid dream." The beaded curtain to the back of the shop parted, revealing a lady wearing bright colors. "But you and I are exceptions to the rule."
I stared at her for some time before I finally managed to speak.
"Umm... Granny God?"
"Yes, that's me. It's been a while, dear."
"But you aren't a granny anymore."
Her features looked similar, but her face wasn't as wrinkly as it used to be. She seemed like a wise woman in her fifties at best. Then I remembered what had happened.
"Oh, no. My mortal vessel has been damaged. I may need to visit you in a different form next time."
I remembered how Granny God's physical manifestation turned faint right after she mentioned how the Strict Order and Goodness screwed up the grand project of the Divine Realm.
"You became younger. Should I call you an auntie now?"
â¬The Critic for Balance is impressed by your skills in flattery.â
But the merchant wasn't pleased.
"I'm sad. I lost all my wrinkles of experience and wisdom."
"Oh. I didn't realize you were into those..."
"What?" she snapped at me.
"I wish I could have wrinkles as elegant as yours when I grow old."
"You have a fine taste, child," she said, chuckling in delight.
I figured I owed her a thank-you. "Thank you so much for inviting me here. It's such a release from the prison of my body."
"Yes, I thought you might be bored in there. You may stay here until the time is up."
â¬The Advocate of Confidentiality isn't pleased about how you avoided the penalty through a loophole.â
"Thank you so much, once again!" I expressed my gratitude for the middle-aged Granny God.
"Since you're here, why don't you take a look at my merchandise?" she said, beckoning me closer.
â¬The Critic for Balance says she's subtly manipulating you to purchase something out of courtesy.â
The merchant god took a puff from her tobacco pipe and glared.
"Oh, shut up, Critic."
â¬The Supreme Merchant of All Things warns [The Critic for Balance] not to slander her goodwill.â
Zap!
I felt the hair rise around my body when divinity sparked out of her tobacco pipe. I could sense how powerful she was.
â¬The Critic for Balance is frightened by the +10 Reinforced Tobacco Pipe.â
â¬The Eye Overseeing All Chaos urges [The Critic for Balance] to apologize.â
â¬The Critic for Balance apologizes.â
I never knew how terrifying the tobacco pipe was. It reminded me of the person who got beaten with the tobacco pipe and kicked out of the Library of All Things after trying to reach into my satchel. It left a bitter aftertaste, but I tried not to let my mind linger on the past.
"Don't worry. I wanted to buy something anyway."
"Don't mind what Critic said, dear."
"But I do have something I need."
"Do you? What is it?"
"I need the Luxury Wristwatch."
It was the artifact that allowed a transmigrator to loop like a returner. I felt the need for it since I knew battles would only get more difficult from here on out.
The Granny God immediately brought the item out, but not without adding a few words of caution. "You're probably getting this as a backup, but try not to use it if you can help it. I hope you realize returning to the past can easily drive one mad. And in your case, you'll return to the point you initially transmigrated to once you use this item."
"That means I'll be a ten-year-old again. Perhaps I could finally get the child-care fantasy I've always wanted..."
She didn't respond.
"It was a joke."
I never wasted a day in this life, and there was no way I was doing that all over again. It turned out I had access to the inventory at the VIP Point Shop, so I stored the Luxury Wristwatch right away.
Oh, speaking of which... I found the perfect task to pass time. I opened the inventory again and brought out an artifact I had stored in it. It was the empty box with a question mark on top, the so-called Mystery Box of Synthesis that I had received as reward for clearing the fifth Grand Priest quest.
TM gods said this is supposed to be an incredible artifact. I opened my eyes and read the description that appeared.
â¬Â«Artifact» [Mystery Box of Synthesis]
The mysterious box is wrapped up like a present, but it's empty inside. The large question mark on its lid begs your curiosity.
This is no ordinary mystery box filled with items nobody wants. This is a special divine artifact made in collaboration with [The Voice that Shapes the World] and [The Executive of Creative Economy]. Only transmigrators who have achieved [Transmigration to an SS-Class World], [Destined to Save the World], and [Protagonist of the World] may use this extraordinary and magnificent item... (Read more)â
I decided the other day that I would go through the long description once and for all, so I could praise Lord Voice's generosity. Hence, I clicked "read more" to find out how I was supposed to utilize the artifact.
"My goodness. Is that what I think it is?!" Granny God suddenly shouted in surprise. Perhaps she could save me the trouble of reading the long manual after all. "That's the Mystery Box of Synthesis! It's an extremely rare, limited-edition artifact... Ah, yes. You are one of the few transmigrators who meets all of its requirements," she said, chuckling to herself.
"All the gods seem to say the same thing. This must be quite an item indeed."
"Of course! You can only use it once, but the box can synthesize any artifact its user needs the most at a given point in time."
"Oh. So it can create anything I sorely need at the moment, huh?"
I rubbed my chin and carefully thought it over. Reed could cause a great calamity like the Doomsday incident again at any moment. So, what would I need to stop him?
"Hmm, will it give me something I can use to defeat Reed?"
Technically, I would need many things to that end. I thought it would be nice to have a weapon that can overpower Reed, an item that could keep him tied up, and a potion that would buy me enough time to face him. But the box could only give me one of those things, so I had to think which of them I needed the most.
Granny God took a puff from her tobacco pipe as a mysterious smile bloomed across her face. "But are you sure?" she asked.
"About what?"
"What you need is based on what you want. So, do you truly want to defeat him?"
I couldn't answer that question.
You don't, do you? The god seemed to be implying those words with her gaze. My reaction was a telltale sign that she was, ultimately, right. I let out a soft sigh, since there was no point making any excuses now.
"Then perhaps the artifact could tell me what I want and need."
"That's right." Granny God let out a fragrant puff of herbal smoke and opened the lid of the box. "First, you need to place an artifact to serve as a base material for the synthesis. It doesn't matter what you put in, so use something cheap."
"What's the cheapest artifact you have?"
"The replica of Eyes of Passion."
"I'll take one then."
I placed the red-rimmed sunglasses inside the mystery box the moment she handed it to me and closed the box's lid.
I feel like it might give me a quest. And I was right.
â¬Â«Quest» Synthesize â â â â (Difficulty Level: Unknown)
You need the [â â â â ] artifact to fulfill your highly ambitious dream. Place the following artifacts in the Mystery Box of Synthesis to synthesize what you require.
Artifacts worth 50,000 points and above (0 of 3)
Wristwatch of Returning (0 of 1)
Save Point (0 of 1)
Sacred Place Establishment (0 of 1)â
The name of the item that would be synthesized was blurred out, as I expected. But that was hardly the issue.
"I can't believe I have to use up seven artifacts just to create one! Wasn't this box supposed to synthesize items?! Now, that is a creative economic maneuver indeed!"
â¬The Executive of Creative Economy is proud that their collaborative effort reflects their holy title.â
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World tries to explain that the resulting artifact will be greater than the sum of its parts.â
The Supreme Merchant of All Things already laid out artifacts worth 50,000 points in front of me. She had no doubt that I would purchase them.
The good news was that Tesilid had earned a lot of money, and the shopping I did the other day gave me many points to spare. I chose any three that met the requirements and thought about the other things the quest demanded. The other three artifacts were rather tricky.
"The rest sound quite familiar," I remarked.
"Those artifacts are likely owned by the people your dream involves or have functions related to them."
"Oh well. That sounds perfectly reasonable."
But it was troublesome. Save Points had gone out of production, so there weren't any of those available for sale. That meant I would have to take back the one I gave Tesilid. Nothing was worse than asking a person to return a gift they were given.
But the Save Point wasn't the only problem. I tried to see if I could purchase the rest, but the Granny God answered in the negative for the other two as well.
"The Sacred Place Establishment is only available in your world."
"I guess that means I'll have to take it from Reed."
"And you can only buy one Luxury Wristwatch per Loop."
"Oh, dear."
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World stresses that there won't be any returns in your genre anymore.â