After thinking about it for a while, Liam decided to visit the system shop first. Back in the elven world he did not have access to one when he desperately needed it but now there was one right at his doorstep and there was no one stopping him from taking full advantage of it.
Moreover, the relationship between him and Tilia was also quite good at the moment and he would be losing out if he did not use this to access more knowledge and information about the world they were living in.
This was something he needed to do as soon as possible since there was so much still unknown about the world they inhabited. The mysteries and dangers that lay beyond their current knowledge could be pivotal in shaping their future, and the system shop might hold some of the keys to unraveling solutions to his current problems.
He was a Soulmancer for god sake and his soul was still injured. What was he supposed to accomplish in this condition? Besides, to progress to the next step he had to heal his soul. Otherwise, he was locked in this state.
Now that the issue about his conflicting cores had been resolved, this was the next thing he needed to focus on. He needed to learn and understand more about his soul and find a way to heal it.
From the limited knowledge he had from combing through several of the manuals provided by the other fairy, he so far had managed to concoct a pill that heals and nourishes the soul.
For Alex, this pill had done wonders. It was this same pill he had used to heal her a few days back and she completely recovered with her soul stronger than ever.
However, it did little to nothing for him.
Liam did not know the exact reason for this but he could tell it had something to do with the strength of the soul. Alex was still in first order with respect to soul strength and when her soul was injured, it was healed easily. He had, in fact, done the same for Rey back inside the tutorial world. At that time, it was even easier to heal his soul because it hadn't even touched the first order yet.
But he was currently in the second order and his soul was not merely injured. Thanks to his intense shrinking it and buffing it in a non-stop cycle to take out all the isons, it was almost ripped to shreds and was now only barely being held by strings and threads.
After consuming multiple S-ranked herbs, the condition is a bit better at the moment but the real effect of the supreme treasure herb could only be brought out with the appropriate recipe which he sorely lacked.
A system shop could be his one stop solution for all of his problems so Liam took a trip there first. Upon entering the shop, Liam was greeted by the familiar sight of shelves lined with various items, books, and artifacts.
The fairy Tilia immediately waltzed to the entrance in high spirits to greet him. "Are you finally done with honeymooning?" She asked with a big smile on her face, barely keeping down her giggle.
Liam's face changed but the fairy did not stop teasing him. "The conquests of the esteemed guild leader and the overlord of the new world have spread far and wide. Congratulations on your SSS-Rank stamina."
Liam's face twitched. "You seem to be a bit too interested in my stamina. I have no problem in adding one more to the mix if that's what you are hinting at." He smirked with a grin, instantly making the fairy blush.
"Oh my. I was just teasing you. It looks like you are really interested, hmmm? Is this why you rescued everyone?"
Tilia rolled her eyes at the smug smile but it was good to see the guy in a different mood for once rather than his trademark subzero attitude. "Oh please, not all women are dying to be your wife. Shall we get down to business."
As she mentioned business, the fairy revealed a mysterious, teasing smile that made Liam's gut feelings tingle. Why was this woman acting as if she had one-upped him in some way? Was he missing something?
"Here is your updated and upgraded credit card." Tilia quickly took out something glittering. It was a pitch-black card with silver etchings on the side.
Liam had a bad feeling as he gulped and accepted the card. He immediately checked it with the system interface, only to have his jaw drop on the ground the next instant.
"What the hell is this?" He needed a second to really digest the number of zeros that were cozily settled in his debt numbers. "10000 trillion? Am I reading this right?"
Tilia ruthlessly giggled at the shocked expression. "Oh, yes, you're reading it right."
Liam let out a breath as he tried to process this enormous figure. "How am I supposed to pay this off? This is absurd!"
Tilia waved a hand dismissively. "You're one of the future top experts in this myriad realms. I'm sure you'll figure it out."
The key word was future and his future looked pretty bleak with several powerful figures waiting to slaughter him. Liam shook his head helplessly.
"What did you think? Your entire guild vacationed in a high-level training area for a year. How will the cost be cheap?" "Besides, it's just low-grade mana cores. 10,000 trillion low-grade mana cores is just 100 trillion mid-grade mana cores. And 100 trillion mid-grade mana cores is simply-"
Liam raised his hand to stop the fairy. He did not need a math lesson at the moment. He looked at the fairy who was still grinning ear to ear and rolled his eyes.
The damn woman had conned him good but he couldn't ever bring himself to be mad at her. After all, she had protected what mattered most to him and it did not matter if she charged him a few mana cores in exchange.