The next day, before dawn broke, Eamond arrived early at the new store to stock it with books, the only problem was which book to pick from the system and sell at the store.
" System, open the store for me."
< Alright, host>
A shimmering interface materialized before him, displaying a neatly organized catalog. Rows of book titles scrolled past, each accompanied by a thumbnail of its cover and a Karma Point cost. His eyes flicked to the corner of the screen—Available Karma P: 20.
Twenty points. A pittance. He'd hoped for more after yesterday's mortar-mixing martyrdom, but no matter. He'd make it work.
< Notification: Host has an unclaimed Starter Pack. Would you like to redeem it now?>
Eamond's eyebrow twitched. "A what?"
< Initial System Provision: Beginner Merchant's Literary Bundle. Contains five (5) pre-selected titles at no cost.>
A slow, predatory grin spread across his face. "Yan Meigui, you forgetful weed," he muttered. "Redeem it."
A soft chime echoed as five new entries appeared in his inventory:
"Pride and Prejudice" – Jane Austen (Romance/Drama)
"The Count of Monte Cristo" – Alexandre Dumas (Revenge/Adventure)
"Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Scarlet" – Arthur Conan Doyle (Mystery/Crime)
"Treasure Island" – Robert Louis Stevenson (Adventure/Pirates)
"Aesop's Fables" – Aesop (Morality Tales/Fables)
Eamond scanned them, nodding approvingly. A solid foundation. The Count for nobles nursing grudges, Pride and Prejudice for romantic souls, Sherlock for the intellectually restless, Treasure Island for adventure-starved youths, and Aesop for… well, children and moralizing elders.
But five books wouldn't fill a shelf, let alone a store. He needed more.
"System, show me the full list of available titles. Filter by cost—cheapest first."
The interface flickered, reorganizing into a neatly categorized list:
Fiction (3 KP per title)
"Dracula" – Bram Stoker (Gothic Horror)
"Frankenstein" – Mary Shelley (Gothic/Science Fiction)
"The Three Musketeers" – Alexandre Dumas (Historical Adventure)
"Jane Eyre" – Charlotte Brontë (Gothic Romance)
"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" – Robert Louis Stevenson (Psychological Horror)
Non-Fiction (2 KP per title)
"Basic Engineering Principles" – Anonymous (Engineering/Education)
"Introduction to Botany" – Anonymous (Science/Agriculture)
"Fundamentals of Arithmetic" – Anonymous (Mathematics)
"The Art of War" – Sun Tzu (Strategy/Military) (Note: Abridged Version)
Miscellaneous (1 KP per title)
"Classic Fairy Tales" – Grimm Brothers (Children's Stories)
"Selected Poetry of William Wordsworth" (Literature/Poetry)
"Common Medicinal Herbs and Their Uses" (Medicine/Herbalism)
Eamond's fingers drummed against the counter. Twenty points. Five have already been claimed. Fifteen left.
He needed a balanced assault—something for every potential buyer.
"Alright, let's strategize," he muttered.
Phase One: The Nobles
"The Count of Monte Cristo" (Starter Pack – FREE) – A noble's wet dream of revenge and opulence.
"Pride and Prejudice" (Starter Pack – FREE) – Guaranteed to make highborn ladies clutch their pearls and swoon.
"The Three Musketeers" (3 KP) – Swashbuckling camaraderie for the restless young lords.
Phase Two: The Thinkers
"Sherlock Holmes: A Study in Scarlet" (Starter Pack – FREE) – For the overly clever and the bored.
"The Art of War" (2 KP) – Merchants, guards, and ambitious lowborns would salivate over this.
Phase Three: The Commoners & Children
"Treasure Island" (Starter Pack – FREE) – Adventure for the masses.
"Aesop's Fables" (Starter Pack – FREE) – Harmless, moralistic, and perfect for parents.
"Classic Fairy Tales" (1 KP) – More stories, more sales.
Phase Four: The Pragmatists
"Basic Engineering Principles" (2 KP) – For guilds and craftsmen.
"Common Medicinal Herbs and Their Uses" (1 KP) – Practical, valuable, and an easy sell.
Total Spent: 9 KP (15 - 6 remaining).
Eamond hesitated. He could stop here, save the extra points for later… or…
A wicked gleam lit his eyes.
"One last addition."
"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (3 KP) – Because nothing sold like forbidden knowledge and moral decay.
Final KP: 3 remaining.
"Perfect."
With a swipe, he confirmed the purchases. The air hummed, and in a shimmer of golden light, the once-empty shelves groaned under the sudden weight of leather-bound volumes, crisp parchment, and embossed titles.
Eamond inhaled deeply—the scent of fresh ink and possibility. Let the enlightenment begin.
The first rays of dawn had barely touched the cobblestone streets when the door of Eamond's Emporium creaked open. Mira, ever the early riser, stepped inside first—and froze.
Her sharp eyes widened, scanning the once-empty shelves now laden with rows of leather-bound books, their spines gleaming under the soft morning light. Her lips parted slightly, but no sound came out.
Jake, trailing behind her, nearly walked into her back. "Oi, what's the—" His grumble died mid-sentence as he followed her gaze. His scowl deepened, then slackened into pure disbelief. "What the hells?"
Garret, ever excitable, squeezed past them and gasped. "BOOKS! ACTUAL BOOKS!" He lunged forward, skidding to a stop before a shelf, fingers hovering reverently over the embossed title of Treasure Island. "Are these real? Did you steal these?!"
Vale entered last, his usual stoic demeanor faltering for a fraction of a second. His sharp eyes darted across the room, assessing, calculating—searching for signs of forced entry, hidden accomplices, or divine intervention. Finding none, his gaze settled on Eamond, who leaned casually against the counter, arms crossed, grinning like a cat who'd not only gotten the cream but the entire dairy.
"Good morning, my skeptical comrades," Eamond purred. "I told you the shelves wouldn't stay empty."
Mira was the first to recover. She ran her fingers along the embossed title of Pride and Prejudice, her brow furrowing as she flipped it open to a random page.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
She blinked, then looked up sharply at Eamond. "This... this is written in perfect Alcasa Imperial."
Eamond froze mid-step, his merchant's pitch dying on his lips. A beat passed before his practiced smile returned. "Well, of course it is. Did you expect me to sell books no one could read?"
Mira's eyes narrowed. "But these are supposed to be from distant lands. Exotic tales." She grabbed The Count of Monte Cristo and scanned a page. "This one too. Flawless Alcasa grammar, idioms, and all."
Jake squinted at Treasure Island in his hands. "I can read this just fine. Ain't that the point?"
A chime sounded in Eamond's mind alone:
< System Notification: All literary works have been automatically localized to Alcasa Imperial standard dialect for maximum market penetration. No additional translation required.>
Eamond's eye twitched. How remarkably convenient, he thought with bone-dry sarcasm. The goddess forgets to give me magic but remembers to hire phantom translators?
Aloud, he waved a dismissive hand. "What did you think 'exclusive translations' meant, Mira? That I'd make customers struggle through foreign syntax?" He plucked the book from her hands. "This is a business, not a linguistics lesson."
Vale, who had been silently examining The Art of War, looked up. "These read like Alcasa scholars wrote them. The phrasing is too precise to be translated works."
"You're selling military strategy to commoners?"
Eamond waved a dismissive hand. "Abridged. And heavily philosophical. Perfect for merchants, guards, and, say, overly cautious bodyguards." He smirked. "No revolutions today, Vale. Just… enlightened self-interest."
Eamond's grin didn't waver. "Perhaps you'd prefer something more... practical?" He slid a copy of Basic Engineering Principles across the counter.
Garret, oblivious to the tension, happily waved Aesop's Fables. "I can read every word! Even the hard ones!"
"This one's even got pictures!" he announced, delighted.
Mira wasn't deterred. "Eamond, no translator is this good. These don't read like translations at all. They read like—"
"Like we're about to have our first customers," Eamond interrupted, spotting movement outside the window. He straightened his cuffs. "Shall we focus on the miracle of literacy rather than question its origins?"
Mira crossed her arms. "And who's going to buy these? Half the town can't read."
"That," Eamond said, stepping forward and sweeping an arm toward the display, "is where marketing comes in. These aren't just books—they're status symbols. The nobles will buy them to flaunt their sophistication. The merchants will buy them to pretend they're nobles. And the ones who can read?" He grinned. "They'll pay extra to be the first to know how Monte Cristo gets his revenge."
A beat of silence. Then—
"This might work," Jake declared.
Mira exhaled sharply, shaking her head. But the corner of her mouth lifted upward. "You truly are magical."
" Took you all long enough to see that," Eamond replied, puffing out his chest.
Vale merely sighed and set The Art of War back on the shelf. "I'll double the perimeter checks."
Eamond's grin widened. "Excellent. Now!" He clapped his hands. "Let's discuss pricing. Because culture, my friends, doesn't come cheap."
" How about 10 copper for these pragmatic books and fairy tales. And 10 silver for the rest?" Jake said.
" Hmmm, not a bad idea. Not too expensive for the commoner to have and expensive enough for nobles to take an interest." Eamond said with a hand on his chin. "Okay, we'll go this way for now, and when we become popular, we'll increase some of the books that the nobles like."
They all nodded to this plan.
" Okay, now let's welcome our first customer," Eamond said as he straightened his clothes.