The Gods’ Gacha Game: Return of the God-King

Chapter 9: Exploitation Starts with Purchasing a Book

Old Decrepit Book of a Senile Old Man

Grade: Uncommon

Type: Magic Tome

An undecipherable collection of scribbles penned by a senile old man. The contents are shrouded in symbols, making it impossible to discern what’s written inside. However, the book’s most surprising feature lies in its incredible resilience—it’s nearly indestructible and can even be used as a blunt weapon in combat.

Durability: ???/???At first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary, worn-out tome. To the uninformed, this book might seem like a worthless relic. Even for those suspecting it held some hidden treasure, uncovering its secrets would prove an impossible task, making this book worthless. What made this particular tome so intriguing to me was that it was once a little treasure I kept in the vault of my divine kingdom. So, why was it here of all places?

Without hesitation, I chose the book as my reward.

You have selected the Old Decrepit Book of a Senile Old Man for the voucher.

The moment I confirmed my selection, the leathery tome materialized in my hands—its worn surface exactly as I remembered.

Unfortunately, with my current stats for Mind and Magic Power, the book’s only practical use was as a blunt weapon. As much as the thought of wielding a book to pummel enemies amused me, it was impractical in combat due to its range and the potential damage dealt. For now, the tome’s deeper mysteries would have to wait.

I then stood up and made my way toward the hooded old lady behind the counter. “Hi, um, I’m looking to purchase a skill book.”

“Finally,” she snorted, shooting me a sharp glance from beneath her hood. “I thought you were going to freeload here all day. Seems you’ve still got some decency left. But first, have you prepared enough money to buy a skill, or are you just here to waste my time?”

“Of course.” I reached into my inventory and pulled out a small, weighty pouch brimming with a hundred soul coins. Setting it on the counter with a soft clink, I added, “I’ve got enough.”

As a matter of fact, soul coins weren’t just digital entries in the System—they could be withdrawn into the real world, taking on a physical form. The coins were silvery-gray, etched with intricate soul marks in their centers, giving them an almost ethereal glow.

The old lady’s eyes flicked to the pouch and uttered in a slightly less annoyed tone, “Good. And what skill are you looking for?”

“Do you have an ‘Alchemy’ skill book?” I asked, leaning slightly forward.

In order to survive this death game, I needed to grow stronger—and fast. Fortunately, there were many ways to increase stats and gain skill proficiency. Extensive training through repeated practice was one method, but it wasn’t nearly fast enough to meet my immediate needs. If I was going to become powerful quickly, I had to rely on a different approach that only I could do: through exploitation.

Now, by exploitation, I didn’t mean interfering with the System or abusing bugs. I wasn’t yet capable of that, and Divine Will was perfect; I stood by that assessment. What I meant to do was through using my knowledge of alchemical recipes.

Without a word, her thin, wrinkled fingers rummaged under the counter before she pulled out a small, leather-bound book and plopped it onto the counter with a dull thud. “Here,” she said curtly. The cover was adorned with the image of a beaker etched faintly in gold.

As I glanced at the book, the old lady raised a brow and said, “I don’t feel like asking, but do you even have an alchemy-related class?”

“No,” I replied, shaking my head slightly. “But I haven’t changed my class yet.”

“Whatever,” she muttered with a shrug.

Normally, combat-oriented classes like Apprentice Martial Artist couldn’t learn non-combat skills like Alchemy without the aid of a skill book. Even then, leveling such a skill would be a slow and grueling process for someone outside an alchemy-related class. But my current class, Novice, was different. It allowed me to learn any skill without restriction and debuff, and that versatility was one of the reasons I had deliberately avoided changing it so far.

On the other hand, remaining stuck in my current class meant that leveling up provided fewer stat gains compared to those with combat-oriented classes. As such, I had to be creative to grow stronger. Fortunately, if I decided to switch to a combat class later, the stats I should have received up until that point would be awarded retroactively. In that sense, there was nothing to worry about.

But as I was about to grab the book, she snatched it back with an almost playful smirk. “Nuh-uh-uh.” She wagged a bony finger at me. “Money first—it’s one hundred soul coins.”

Grumbling under my breath, I handed her the pouch. Only then did she push the book back toward me with a satisfied nod. Wasting no time, I placed my hand on the worn cover and activated the skill book, causing it to disintegrate into me. In a moment, a warm, tingling sensation coursed through me as foreign knowledge integrated into my mind.

You have acquired a skill: [Basic Alchemy Lv.1].

[Basic Alchemy Lv.1]

Rank: Uncommon

Type: Active

Allow for the creation of basic potions, tinctures, and other concoctions. Efficiency and success rates depend on the quality of tools, ingredients, and the user’s skill level.

Although skills of this rank typically came at a higher price, Alchemy was a non-combat skill, which made it much cheaper compared to offensive or defensive skills. Moreover, practicing alchemy without a specialized class wasn’t exactly efficient—alchemy tools and high-quality ingredients were notoriously expensive. However, what I was aiming for was to do simple alchemy, which didn’t involve using specialized equipment and with only minimal resources.

There was, after all, a simple potent concoction that not many people knew how to make. As a matter of fact, I might be the only one who knew how to make it here, in Fantasia.

That aside, I didn’t purchase any more skill books and exited the store. I could have bought magic skills and spells, but simply owning a spellbook wasn’t enough. Learning magic required a related element proficiency skill, as well as foundational skills like ‘Mana Sense’ and ‘Mana Manipulation,’ which could easily be gained by choosing the Apprentice Mage class. But for someone like me, even learning a single magic spell would be extra expensive. For now, I set that ambition aside.

Anyway, my next destination was to find an herb vendor to gather ingredients. Thankfully, I spotted one just a short distance from the bookstore. Surprisingly, the vendor wasn’t human; he was a rat-man—or more accurately, a rat beastfolk. I mean, considering that more than half the divine warriors here hailed from worlds beyond Earth, it wasn’t strange to encounter non-human races.

The rat-man’s beady eyes gleamed as I approached. His fur was patchy, and his long whiskers twitched with every movement, giving him a sharp, almost jittery appearance. He rubbed his clawed hands together and let out a chittering laugh.

“Ahhh, a new customer, yes-yes!” he squeaked with a high-pitched voice. “What does sharp-eye human want? Rare herbs? Secret blends? Or maybe somethin’… spicier, eh?”

I ignored him and picked up two stalks of different herbs from his stall. One was a thorny stem with crimson red leaves clustered around it, while the other was an azure-blue flower with delicate petals. “I want these two.”

The rat-man’s whiskers twitched as he scratched his chin. “Crimson thornleaf? Hot-hot and dangerous, yes. Azure mistflower? Cold and tricky. Bad-bad mix, yes-yes. Why would you want such... unstable things, hmm?”

“That’s none of your business. Do you want to sell these or not?”

He sniffed the air, his nose twitching. “Both, yes-yes. But pricey. Very pricey. Worth big-big coins, hmm?”

“How much?”

His claws clicked together as he chirped, “For human? Fifty soul coins for the red herb, seventy for the blue one.”

Obviously, this dishonest vendor was trying to rip me off, mistaking me for a greenhorn. If I didn’t know their market price, I might have fallen for his ploy.

“These two herbs are not rare. You even have two full crates of them. Eighty soul coins, no more,” I said flatly.

“Ahhh, but not many have it fresh-fresh like me, yes-yes!” he countered, his tail flicking. “You want quality? You pay price. Else, go-go somewhere else!”

“Whatever.” I placed the two herbs back on his stall and turned to leave.

But not even a second passed before the rat-man scurried around to block my way, clutching the two herbs in his clawed hands. “Here-here! Eighty, fine. But careful-careful! Don’t mix them, or kaboom!”

With a smile, I handed him the coins, and he clutched them tightly, chittering with glee. “Good deal, yes! Crafty-crafty human. Come back if not dead, hmm?”

I smirked and put the ingredients into my inventory. The transaction left me with 320 soul coins, but considering the potential benefits of the concoction I planned to create, it was a worthwhile investment.

After that, I searched for a miscellaneous goods store to sell some of my items. And again, it wasn’t hard to find one, as it seemed the street I was on was the main street of District F—despite looking more like a slum.

“Welcome.” This time, the owner appeared to be a man in his thirties with reddish hair. His demeanor was the most welcoming I had encountered so far.

“Yes. I want to sell these items,” I said, taking out the steel rebar, the three magistones, and the makeshift wooden club. I placed them neatly on the counter.

“Oh, what an interesting youngster,” he said with a chuckle, expertly inspecting the items. “It’s been a while since anyone has come to sell me anything worthwhile. How about one hundred soul coins for all? Ten for the steel rebar, twenty-five for each of the magistone, and another fifteen for the club.”

Rather than immediately agreeing to his offer, I placed the rusty short sword on the counter and asked, “Can you polish this sword?”

“That should be no problem as long as you pay me twenty soul coins,” he replied, nodding confidently. “Do you need anything else?”

“You sell armor?”

“Of course. I have a bit of everything here, even if they’re not the best in the field,” he said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. He ducked behind the counter and emerged with a set of leather armor. Placing it carefully in front of me, he added, “Hmm, for your stature... this should do. You can have it for one hundred soul coins only.”

I touched the armor and inspected it with the System.

Ordinary Leather Armor

Grade: Common

Type: Body Armor

A leathery armor made from cowhide with a very ordinary quality. It provides adequate protection but not much else.

Durability: 25/25I held my chin thoughtfully. Having extra protection was important, but I was contemplating redoing the first scenario, which would demand a lot of agility. While this leather armor wasn’t overly heavy, it wasn’t effective for my current strategy; I wasn’t planning on getting hit anymore.

“Got something that gives bonus stats and magic effect?” I asked, placing the armor back on the counter.

“Ah, magic armor. It’s rare to come by, but I sure do have a few,” the owner replied with a knowing nod, crossing his arms. “But it’ll cost you extra. I don’t think you can afford it.”

I shook my head. “I don’t need full body armor—just something smaller and cheaper, no matter what it is.”

The owner’s eyes gleamed as if he’d been waiting for this exact moment. “Then, this coat should do it.” He walked to a wooden wardrobe at the back of the store and carefully retrieved a black coat. Bringing it back to me, he laid it out on the counter with a faint smile.

“But I must warn you… this coat is cursed!”