With the deal completed, Oliver ignored the dumbfounded looks the Rach threw his way as he quickly stored the Scrambler in the system warehouse. Waving over his shoulder, he rushed out without bothering to say goodbye.

The few minutes it took to get back to his room felt like forever, he was so eager to check the Bounty Claims.

With the door secured behind him, Oliver dropped on to his inflatable mattress, already opening the system window. Flipping straight to the Bounty Board, he eyed the blinking icon of a new tab for a second before mentally clicking on it.

Bounty Claims

Healing on Demand (2)

Offense is the best defense (7)

Bombardment (4)

Control the flow (3)

Oliver stared at the screen in uncertainty for a moment. What did the numbers mean? Were they the number of claims submitted? While that was the first, and most likely, thought that popped into his head, he couldn't be completely sure. At least, not without checking each of them.

Which he promptly did, starting with his highest priority: healing.

Multiversal Bounty: Healing on Demand

Objective: Acquire and Deliver a Tier 2(minimum) healing Spell Tome

Details: I require a Tome in order to learn a healing spell. The Tome must be at least Tier 2 and capable of working on most organic life forms. A single target spell that can be cast on myself as well as other is preferable. The spell should focus on repairing the physical body of cuts, bruises, abrasions... Mending broken bones is optional, but preferred. With no adverse effects(this is absolutely required).

Healing on Demand claims:

Andras, Seventh Shaman of the Sea of Grass, submitted (Lesser Rejuvenation Spell Tome – Tier 2).

(Accept/Reject)

Abbot Kavin submitted (Prayer of the Fading Light Spell Tome – Tier 2).

(Accept/Reject)

Oliver wasn't sure what to make of the display. A number of thoughts flitted through his mind as he looked it over... Why didn't the system give him any more information on the spells? When spell tomes had been used for bids during his auctions, it had always presented him with a detailed explanation of the spell. Or were the descriptions provided by the people bidding? Did the people submitting the Bounties not include descriptions?

He could see the logic going a number of ways. Maybe they thought he had a better grasp of magic than he really did, and thus did not need an explanation? But a description would help to sell him on selecting their bounty, wouldn't it? Did he have to choose based only on their names?

He was lost as to how to choose...

Part of him was inclined towards Prayer of the Fading Light, but that was more due to who submitted it, rather than the spell name itself. While he had only seen Abbot Kavin attend a few auctions, the man -and he couldn't even be sure it was a man- had left an impression of kindness and morality that Oliver respected. And admired, to a degree.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Though the very religious sounding name of the spell made him hesitate. Faith wasn't really something Oliver aligned with on a personal level, and he wasn't sure he wanted one of his spells to be a prayer.

He already knew there were entities beyond him, so what if gods were real too? Did he want to risk drawing the attention of one? And, from the impression Abbot Kavin left... he wasn't sure whatever god the man followed would approve of Oliver's less than benevolent nature...

A small voice in his mind had to wonder... What had happened to Carl and Jess? He imagined the Abbot had been kind to them, even if he wasn't sure they deserved it... But did they really deserve some of the nastier outcomes they could have faced?

Shaking his head, Oliver brushed aside the thoughts about his former associates. It was beyond his control, anyway... And did he really care? Probably not.

Focusing back on the decision at hand, he knew he should probably pick one. While the salvage job had gone smoothly so far, the next run could easily go bad... And he had been injured enough on these bounties to not want to risk going out without some form of healing again.

Without more information to work with, Oliver made his selection. While he was a bit disappointed that he couldn't send some credits Abbot Kavin's way, the religious connotations of the spell were the deciding factor. With a flex of his Will, Oliver accepted the other claim.

Bounty Claim accept.

Lesser Rejuvenation Spell Tome has be deposited in the Systems Warehouse.

Grinning from ear to ear, Oliver struggled to restrain himself from immediately grabbing the tome to study. He still had a number of claims to go through, and learning the spell would knock him out for at least a couple hours.

Then he noticed something a bit surprising. And exciting.

The other Bounty Claim was still there, waiting for him to accept or reject it.

Oliver stared at the screen for a moment as he considered what that meant. Could he accept multiple claims for the same Bounty? And would that mean that mean he had to pay more credits for each claim? He was fairly sure that the second part was a 'yes', as there was no such thing as a free lunch when it came to the system... And the claim still being there certainly implied that he could accept it.

A moment of searching brought him another surprise when he tried to exit the claim window.

Would you like to close the Bounty?

(Yes/No)

Warning: Bounties cannot be closed while a Claim is still active.

Selecting 'No', Oliver pumped his fist in excitement when it exited the Claim window. The Healing on Demand claim was still on the list, though the number behind it had change to (1)... That meant he could come back to it later if he still wanted the spell!

After a moment, his excitement dimmed as he thought through the possibility more carefully. Sure, he could just hold on to it until he wanted the spell, if he ever did... But was that a good idea? He could imagine the people that submitted the Bounties waiting for a response... And waiting... Only for nothing to happen?

Would the tome they submitted be held in limbo while he dithered about? Would they get frustrated or annoyed at the lack of response? After working in retail and food service for long enough, he could imagine how they would feel- waiting for a deal to go through or be rejected, not knowing if they would get paid? It would definitely piss him off...

And if he made them angry with his indecision and lack of response, would they be willing to take on other bounties that he posted?

It all came down to the choice: Was a spell potentially worth losing their future services? If not, then it would be better to just reject the Claim and hope that that action doesn't offend them either.

But that was the nature of business. And, if they couldn't handle one rejection, did he really care if they fucked off?

And that led to another question... To keep the Bounty open? If he left it open, he would inevitably get more submissions. That meant more spell options... But how many Tier 2 healing spells did he need?

And, of course, leaving it open meant he may have to reject more Claims. That had complications all on its own...

“Better to take it down and just re-post it later if I need another spell. Hell, it only took a couple days to get two submissions as it is... Though higher tier spells would probably take longer...” Oliver muttered to himself as he reluctantly rejected the Abbot's claim and closed the Bounty.

He still had a lot of Claims to go through... And then... Spells to learn.