Lucian felt sorry and was unable to help the woman. But just then, she mustered her strength once more and spoke.

  "Potion... Shop..." she muttered cryptically.

  Thankfully, Lucian knew what she meant at once. While playing around with the System Panel earlier, he had found it. One of the buttons on it was named "System Shop."

  "System Open!"

  The familiar blue and red windows popped up. Lucian focused on the blue window and pressed the said button—the Shop button.

  As he did, another window appeared, looking the same as the grid of his inventory.

  It displayed an array of 5 × 8 item icons, each with its name listed. On top, a small search bar appeared. Lucian tapped it and saw a virtual keyboard floating before his eyes.

  With a speed that showed he was accustomed to it, he typed "potion" and pressed search.

  A moment later, the shop's display blurred. And then the contents switched to an array of potion vials.

  From it, he checked each item and found what he wanted soon enough.

  [ Health Potion (E) - 30 days of Lifespan ]

  "This..." Lucian sighed, checking his status once more.

  He only had 15 days of [Life] remaining—not enough to buy the potion. He was puzzled as to why it had increased by 5 days since he last checked it, but he didn't have time to think about it now.

  "Sorry, I can't afford a potion," he sighed, apologizing to the woman.

  He could see that her eyes flickered with suspicion before resignation settled in. She was full of wounds and unable to move to her heart’s content. Still, she didn’t want to give up.

  She painstakingly raised her right palm forward. She mustered all the strength she could, raising her voice. "S-System... OPEN!"

  The next second, a blue window popped up before her eyes. Visible even to Lucian.

  ---

  [ Name: Kathleen Granger ]

  Class: Sniper

  Lifespan: 30 years, 11 months, 5 days, 2 hours, 17 minutes, 51 seconds.

  ---

  Her fingers pointed at the shop, trying to press it. But they fell powerlessly. She didn’t have enough strength to even navigate the shop!

  Her lips curled into a frown. Her expression was like she wanted to cry. Lucian saw this, and an idea popped into his mind.

  "Excuse me."

  He sidled to the wounded woman—Kathleen—sitting right beside her, and... navigated through her system panel!

  Just as he predicted, he could touch her system panel.

  He was curious as to why she only had a blue system panel, though. But it wasn’t the time to ask questions.

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  With ease, he switched to the shop and searched for a potion. After that, hearing a soft whisper of "B" from her, he chose a potion with the said rank and bought it.

  [ Health Potion (B) - 3 years of Lifespan ]

  It was a lot more expensive than the E-rank one, but not something she couldn’t afford. After buying it and pressing the confirm button, a new icon appeared in Kathleen’s inventory. Lucian didn’t delay, pressing the potion’s icon and selecting withdraw.

  The next moment, blue particles—cubes—gathered before Kathleen. They slowly formed a vessel, like a test tube. It contained a translucent green liquid, sealed with a simple cork stopper at one end.

  In seconds, the item materialized completely. Moments later, it started to react with gravity, falling toward the ground.

  "Oops!"

  Lucian reacted fast, catching the glass vial and avoiding a tragic ending for it.

  He carefully inspected the item. He felt a strange power coming from it as he held it cautiously.

  He seemed to be in a daze, staring at the glowing liquid absentmindedly... Until a tug brought him back to his senses.

  He turned to Kathleen, no longer having the strength to speak. He recalled what he needed to do and carefully poured the potion's contents into her parted lips.

  Some of the liquid dripped down the corner of her mouth and fell onto her chest. The deep valley covered by her shredded shirt glowed with a fluorescent green light.

  It was eye-catching in a lot of ways.

  After the potion’s contents were gone, Lucian carefully let her lean against the wall. Right then, before his eyes, a mysterious phenomenon occurred.

  Kathleen’s wounds, bruises, and cuts started releasing a phosphorescent golden light. When the light faded, the injuries disappeared with it—almost like magic.

  About ten seconds later, the light show ended. Kathleen finally heaved a deep sigh, relieved. Her wounds had finally healed.

  "I thought... I was going... to die..." she whispered, her voice cracking with pain and fatigue.

  Although she had recovered, it didn’t mean she could already move. She had lost too much blood—something that only an A-rank potion costing 10 years of [Life] could restore instantly.

  Lucian nodded his head, his expression the same as usual. Deadpan and flat.

  "Don’t mind it."

  "..."

  Kathleen’s gaze flashed with worry once more, along with a hint of suspicion.

  After all, saving someone usually came with a "payment." She wasn’t sure what Lucian wanted from her. But as she was right now, she couldn’t even fight back.

  Still, she had enough energy to close her system panel.

  That way, she could avoid the "worst" scenario.

  Lucian observed the woman, whom he could tell was wary of him. They were strangers to each other. And although he knew her name from peeking at her system panel, she wasn’t able to read his.

  To let her rest, he knew he had to leave her alone for a while.

  "...I’ll leave for now, so you should rest. I’ll return before sundown."

  He explained as he stood up, heading for the ladder. He didn’t wait for her confirmation.

  After all, the reason he was going out wasn’t just to let Kathleen rest easy. It was also to confirm his thoughts.

  The increase in his lifespan.

  It had increased by 5 days after the last time he saw it.

  He thought about what he did before opening his system panel once more. And what he had done "before" checking his system the first time. Lucian concluded:

  'Hunting monsters increases Lifespan.'

  His lifespan—the remaining days he had to live.

  And, at the same time, the currency used by the system itself.

  He figured out some things with his intellect. But this didn’t change the fact that he had too little information.

  His mind drifted to Kathleen, thinking she could help him fill out what he lacked.

  But before then, he first needed to gain her trust.

  Under her curious gaze, Lucian climbed up the ladder and opened the hatch. Carefully, he scanned the outside. No goblins in sight—not even wild animals around. Only the raindrops could be seen, falling endlessly.

  He climbed out carefully and silently before locking the hatch behind him.

  He wasn’t sure if goblins could open the hatch. As such, he made sure not to roam too far just in case. Thankfully, he wouldn’t be wasting his time outside.

  "So they really came..."

  On the path Lucian and Kathleen took—the one where he had left thick footprints—countless presences could be felt. Goblins. In the dozens.

  Lucian pulled the daggers out of his jeans’ pockets and held them aloft.

  His stance was sharp and steady.

  It was time to hunt!