The limitations of my wealth-carrying capacity struck right where it hurt more and more, as I looked through the various shops despite finding many items that did fit the requirements I was looking for, they were always being sold at a price that I either wasn’t willing to put up or that I flat out couldn’t afford.
It turned out that the type of items I was looking for were the most coveted kind of items in the whole marketplace, and because of that the Sellers weren’t shy in asking for anything short of your soul.
I decided to lower my expectations and look for items that were more around my power level, but even those items were extremely expensive.
It seemed even just a minor power boost of the permanent type was enough to make every Ranker in the event go after it.
I saw many shops around the event sell out of their stock quickly and thereafter close down.
The writing was on the wall, every Ranker present had a similar objective in mind.
In a way, it was a relief to me since it further confirmed that my train of thought was the right one.
Most injuries, near-death experiences, or big defeats I suffered occurred because my opponents were more physically imposing and skilled, or because I was tired or winded.
I realized my body was just too ordinary.
I had made up for a little of that deficiency with the Martial Arts training and Inner Martial Arts training I had learned, but I knew I was still way behind the average Ranker.
Even my last opponent didn't seem to know any extravagant Martial Art or have any amazing energy abilities, but his instincts, battle abilities, reaction time, and overall skill were off the charts.
He felt like he was more than a match for me, who was actively augmenting my body with Inner Energy and had been under the effect of a buff.
It was obvious I was still missing quite a bit of innate power.
I looked around and although many foods and items did just that, I wanted to get something that would give me the most bang for my buck without breaking my bank.
I found a cool shop that caught my eye.
The sign-out front read; “Genius Gut- get the gut of a Genius”.
Its name was funny so it didn’t attract much attention from most Rankers in its vicinity.
But something about it made me check it out.
I went inside the hut shop to look around.
What immediately surrounded me was a variety of vials, and jars, full of what looked to be fermented foods all over the shop.
It seemed like some sort of weird cold-cuts butchery, deli, or produce store.
It was hard to tell what I was looking at but it all looked intriguing, especially the names on some of the items.
“Magic Metabolizing Micro Bacteria”, “Spirit Biome Inducing Microbes”, “Chi Absorbing Culture”, “Gene Therapy Fermented Drink”, and so on and so on.
A lot of these labels had crazy implications!
Suddenly someone within the store talking to the shop attendant screamed out loud.
“This place is a scam! I'm better off buying an Elixir, what a useless product!”
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One of the few customers in the shop left in a fit of anger, seemingly angry his time was wasted.
That immediately worried me; I couldn’t afford to make a fraudulent purchase, as my Ranker economic finances were just starting.
I decided to ask the main shop Clerk at the front desk of the store what exactly he was selling.
I usually refrained from doing so, to not come off as a noob, or get hustled, but I didn’t think that was the case in this shop; most of the people inside looked just as confused as I did.
I went to the front of the shop where stood the quirky-looking middle-aged man wearing the common scientific cloak over some goofy clothes.
“Excuse me, sir, I’m a bit confused about what the items in your shops are or what they do. I can tell they're exceptional and have garnered my interest but I have some questions; I was hoping you'd be kind enough to make things clearer for me.”
The clerk smiled and weirdly chuckled.
“You have a good eye son, these specialized consumables were cultured and prepared by my boss, an Expert Bio-chemical Scientist whose expertise was in Microbiomes within large living creatures.”
The Clerk reached under his counter and pulled out a chart and many glass vials with weird goo inside of them.
“My boss is a genius among geniuses and has achieved great success both in the field of Biology and Chemistry, but once he encountered the nascent field of Gut Science he became enamored with it and dedicated all his life and effort to its study. At the cost of future glory, prestige, and power, having given up other more lucrative fields, he went and discovered many breakthroughs and secrets concerning human and non-human gut biomes, and their functions and features. Thanks to this knowledge helped him create specific foods and consumables that remarkably change one's Gut function, granting you fantastic new digestive traits that range from everything helping you improve the functions and strength of your body, to promoting and improving existing bodily systems, to budding brand new systems, effects, and functions within the body all in a more efficient, natural, and profound way.”
I became very interested; I didn't understand all that the Clerk was saying but I got the basic gist of it.
They were basically like the foods and potions outside that promoted one's physical attributes.
Happy I had found the kind of place I was looking for, I immediately decided what would be my next question.
“How are they different from the potions, elixirs, and foods I can find outside, why should I buy these instead?”
The Clerk gave me a knowing and reassuring smile as if he already knew I was going to ask that question and proceeded to answer my question in a friendly and very informative manner.
“Truly all those Items you’ve mentioned are spectacular, almost miraculous items for their purpose and serve their function well, in either upgrading one or many of an individual’s qualities permanently in an unnatural and set manner, or temporarily giving someone a boost or buff during a pinch; this item is neither of those.”