The Place Where Everything Begins

"I want to know the price of an Evolution Pill." inquired Jeremy.

❰ ... ❱

Upon hearing Jeremy's words, Mercury kept quiet for a few seconds as if the latter fell into skepticism. After all, the price of an Evolution Pill was not cheap in the least.

A few seconds later, Mercury finally asked,

❰ Which rank? ❱

"The intermediate one...."

❰ Let me check... ❱

After some seconds, Mercury's genderless voice resounded within the dark space,

❰ It's three white stars ❱

'Three, huh... If I buy it, then I will have two stars left to...'

❰ If you buy it in fifteen minutes, I won't charge you any delivery fee! So, you better hurry before I change my mind ❱

Jeremy's thoughtful thinking was interrupted by Mercury.

"..."

Having heard such a shameless commercial, Jeremy rolled his eyes slightly before saying,

"Why do you sound like a certain TV channel back on Earth? In fact, I've long known that buying things using white stars won't require any delivery fee. So, you cannot convince me with such a cheap advertisement like that."

"Also, there is no real philanthropist among salesmen."

❰ ... ❱

After hearing such mild sarcastic words, Mercury felt like a sharp needle had penetrated deep into his heart, so he decided to change the topic,

❰ Will you buy it or not? ❱

At this time, Jeremy continued his earlier thought,

'If I buy the Evolution Pill, I will have only two white stars left... I have to leave one out for a decent melee weapon, which is a spear, while another one... let's go for a magic-related talent.'

Having finished his thought, Jeremy replied to Mercury,

"Alright, I will buy the Evolution Pill."

❰ Really? Wait... Before that, let me remind you of something first, or else you might sue and accuse me of selling an inferior product later ❱

Upon hearing Mercury's disrupting words, Jeremy furrowed his eyebrows slightly before asking,

"What do you want to remind me about?"

❰ It's like this; I think you also know that every race has limitations imposed on them ever since before their birth, right? ❱

"Yes, I know..."

❰ Then, that's easy to explain. Due to you guys having the so-called limitations in all aspects, if you intend to break or go past them, you have to pay the 'appropriate price' for going against the shackles. Do you know that? ❱

Jeremy's prior frown became even deeper after hearing Mercury's reminder. Initially, he had expected some side effects but hadn't thought much about it earlier.

Now, Jeremy couldn't help but have some cold sweats trickling down his back after hearing the words 'appropriate price' as he had finally remembered something in his past life.

When Jeremy was still 'frugal' compared to the universe's big shots, he had conducted quite a number of experiments on other races, whether it be race evolution, gene modification, DNA alteration, elemental boost, dantian expansion, or many more.

The harsh truth came after that...

From those experimentations, Jeremy eventually realized that the last thing those experimental creatures should fear was 'severe pain'. In the worst-case scenario, those outlanders would either implode, become goo, or devolve into something else entirely.

Furthermore, more than 99% of Jeremy's experimentations regarding the race's limitations had ended up in failures.

As for the successful ones, even though Jeremy could bypass some limitations, there were still too many side effects, and most of them were severely adverse.

That's why Jeremy finally understood that he had underestimated the thing called race's limitations. The pill bought from the Great Merchant might not achieve the 'good' outcome as he had initially thought...

"Is the consequence for going against the restraints that severe?"

❰ To be frank, I don't know. If you buy the pill, it will be the fifth time someone buys the Evolution Pill from me ❱

"Then what were the outcomes of those four people before me?"

❰ One black star and I will answer you ❱

"Well... If I still have one, I will surely pay you..."

Unfortunately, Jeremy didn't have any black star left within his star account anymore. So, it was only a matter of buying or not buying right now.

'In fact, I can postpone it until I'm strong enough to bear the consequences, but...'

While Jeremy was thinking about his decision, his thought was interrupted by Mercury's question,

❰ Come back to the topic. Will you buy it or not? ❱

"..."

'But... My hunch tells me that... the longer I wait for the evolution, the more severe the consequences will be...'

Shaking his head slightly with a bitter smile, Jeremy promptly said,

"I will buy it."

❰ Yes! Hahaha! That's the spirit! ❱

❰ Transaction accepted! ❱

After Mercury's voice ended, the System's notifications suddenly appeared before Jeremy...

...

『 Transaction has been accepted 』

『 A total of 3x✰ have been deducted from your star account for the trade 』

『 You have 2x✰ remaining in your star account 』

『 Commencing the spatial breaching process... 』

『 ... 』

『 You have acquired an intermediate-ranked Evolution Pill 』

『 Transaction is concluded 』

...

'This is the first time I've spent so much money to buy an item...'

Jeremy thought to himself while waiting for the spatial breaching to be commenced.

Then...

*Whoong*

The space before Jeremy promptly distorted, just like when he had bought the mystic shell.

Simultaneously, Jeremy reached his hand out to grab a small round rainbow pill the size of a medium-sized blueberry.

The small pill on Jeremy's palm felt lightweight like a feather, but its 'intent' exuded out from within was like an enormous mountain, pressuring and shadowing even Jeremy's very soul.

'This little thing is not normal no matter a person looks at it from which angles...' Jeremy thought in amazement as he felt pressured by a small round pill.

❰ Congratulations! You have just made the biggest transaction in the past seven eras! I still cannot believe that you will actually buy it ❱

❰ As a thank you gift, I will tell you the fates of those four people who have purchased the Evolution Pills before you ❱

After Jeremy had heard that Mercury would gift him information worth one black star for free, his eyes widened for a bit as he kept quiet and waited patiently for the narration.

❰ Alright, starting with the first guy who is from the night elf race. Actually, I didn't know much about her because she was a quiet person and didn't even talk with me for more than five sentences. However, I know that she imploded three minutes and fifteen seconds after taking the pill ❱

"..."

❰ The second guy is from the angel race. He ended his own life after experiencing the constant severe burning sensation all over his body for an entire week upon taking the pill ❱

"..."

❰ The third guy is from the draconian race. He was an irregular the same as you. If I don't remember wrong, he told me he wanted to become a true dragon, so he decided to buy the pill from my shop. Fortunately, he could indeed transform into an enormous dragon before his entire body changed into dust and scattered with the wind ❱

"..."

❰ Well, the last guy is a bit special. It's a being from the ent race. It told me that it wanted to become something beyond as it desired to restore the lands and embrace the livings on Ortus. I can't say that it failed or not because it indeed achieved its initial goals. However, it hasn't moved a single inch from the spot where it took the pill for hundreds of eras since then ❱

"..."

❰ That's all four of them who have bought the pills before you. There is no need to thank me, just consider it as a generous gift from me ❱

"So... No one survives? Are you kidding me?"

Jeremy said in disbelief after hearing Mercury's narration.

❰ Unfortunately, it's a 'yes' if you don't count the guy from the ent race. Hehehe, I've told you that there would be consequences before you bought the pill, so you couldn't sue me or return the pill to me. Hmph! ❱

*Sigh...*

Upon hearing Mercury's words, Jeremy promptly sighed in depression as he hesitated even more than before.

'What to do with the pill...'

'There must be something...'

Jeremy thought hard to himself for a while...

'The first two guys have ended up dead bizarrely, but the two from the draconian and ent races have partially achieved their goals.'

'There must be something more to the story for sure...'

'Wait...'

Then as if Jeremy had suddenly realized something crucial, his blue eyes promptly lit up,

'The draconian wants to be a dragon, and he has become a true dragon before death...'

'The ent wants to be a world tree, and it has become a world tree that stands tall even until today...'

'That is...'

'If I underlie the assumption that the pill will evolve the eater into something they want to be... then...'

After thinking until here, Jeremy's eyes suddenly brightened as he smiled and thought further,

'It's not hopeless after all...'

'Alright, I will think about that later. Now, let's see...'

Simultaneously, Jeremy commanded inwardly,

'[Analyze]'

A transparent window popped up before Jeremy...

...

Name - Evolution Pill (Intermediate)

Rank - Special

Ability: After eating this pill, an organism's race will be forced to undergo an evolution. (Only useable in a low-ranked organism)

Note - A pill collected from the Unknown