Balthazar rested on his cushion, staring pensively at his money pouch lying on the ground in front of him.

  [Bag of Holding Money (6668)]

  As his mind wandered in thought, his left silver pincer idly pyed with a .

  Was the crab self-tered? He’d like to think not, but not once had he sidered the possibility of his choices and as ively impag those around him.

  Could Tom’s tales be believed? Had there been others before him who gained access to that bsted system who weren’t meant to? And if so, did they truly meet a tragiding together with those around them?

  “I mean,” Balthazar said, with ay stare at the ground, “the skeleton could just be telling fairy tales, myths, or simply be wrong.”

  He hopped up from the pillow, still flig the between his pincer.

  “And even if they were true, who’s to say they didn’t disappear of their own accord? Maybe they just took off a on a perma vacation to somewhere nicer… right?”

  He began pag bad forth in front of his tent.

  “Although I don’t really see why anyone would ever do that. Traveling sounds like such a chore. But there’s people up for the strahings out there.”

  He stopped and pihe , eyes still fixed on the ground.

  “I’m losing focus here. Where was I? Right! If, for the sake ument, we assume there’s truth to the tales, and bad things did happen to those who used something they shouldn’t, what could I even do? Nobody told me not to touch… it. I’m just a crab, toug things. How could I be bmed for it? Crab see, crab pinch. That’s just nature.”

  He began pag again, faster.

  “What could I even do if some form of… I don’t know, sequences came knog? I’m sure I could deal with it. I’m not scared, but what if something happeo someone else who lives here? Or maybe even Madeleine? I’m sure that Rye boy take care of himself. I’m not w about him. That’s asking for too much.”

  The crab kept flig the bad forth even faster.

  “I don’t want the responsibility for that on my shoulders. I don’t even have shoulders to bear it! And what has this system ever brought of good to my life? Excluding the ability to speak. And make money. A pastries. And read. And a spiffy set of cws and shell... Alright, whatever, despite all that, it alss me a lot of headache. Maybe I’d be better off just stopping, not push my luy further, and leave the damhing alone?”

  The slipped from his pincer and fell on the sand.

  “What do you think I should do?” Balthazar asked, pig up the .

  The golem sitting by the shave him a shrug. “Friend?”

  “Ah, maybe that’s what I should do. If I just lie low, don’t touything else I shouldn’t, nothing weird or bad will happen.”

  Balthazar pced the ba the bag and raised his silver pio his silver monocle, dislodging it from his eye and unhooking the from his shell.

  “That includes you, old pal. No spying any hidden information through you. I’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way. I’m sure I’ve grown enough as a mert to do it fine.”

  Stepping inside his tent, he lifted the cover over his hiding hole aly pced the Monocle of Examinatioo the Scroll of Character Creation.

  After c it all up again, the crab stepped back outside. Looking at the er of his visioried his best to ighe blinking notification of his level up.

  sidering how much that thing had been malfuning tely, he didn’t want to risk even bring it up anymore.

  “Back to nature!” Balthazar decred, stretg his arms and inhaling deeply. “No more artificial enhas. Just pure business crab now.”

  Crossing the bridge cheerfully, the crab waved at Druma and Blue, who were pying by the shore. The goblin had at least been wise enough to stop using his fio py with her since she suddenly grew up, and instead now pyed a slightly less dangerous game of catch with the drake.

  The green goblin gave him a wave back, while the blue lizard gave him nothing but an indifferent gre.

  “Bah, you’ll e arouually,” Balthazar said, shrugging off the petunt creature’s behavior.

  Arriving at his trading post, the mert tidied up some bottles while cheg for spots in need of dusting.

  “No need for silly little letters and number in front of my eyes,” he said to himself. “I know all my goods like the bay cw. And I’ve done hundreds of trades by now. I totally got this.”

  The bell by the entrance rang.

  “Hello!”

  Turning around towards the sound, Balthazar saw a man iher armor standio the bell, his hand still holding the rope attached to it.

  “You realize you didn’t that since I’m right here, don’t you?”

  “Oh, uh, sorry,” the man said, letting go of the rope. “I just saw a bell a pelled t it.”

  “Yes, I’ve noticed people really like to do that,” said the crab, stepping forward to meet the man in the middle.

  He instinctively squi the adventurer for a moment, before realizing he could not see the usual level and css above the other’s head.

  This was fine for him. It didn’t matter, anyway. So long as he had gold, who cared what level the individual was. And his css robably… something fight-y. He had a set of generic leather armor, a generic sword, and everything else about him was also generic. Likely not a wizard, that much the crab felt fident about. Unless swords could cast spells, too? He wondered if that had ever been a thing.

  “Anyway,” Balthazar said, trying to push aside his other thoughts, “what I do for you today?”

  “I got this here thierday.” The man pulled a rge bow from his pad prese to the mert. “I tell it’s ented, but don’t know what it’s supposed to do. Either way, I’m not much of a bow guy, so was hoping you’d give me something good for it.”

  The crab looked at the ranged on in front of his eyes. It had a clear magical glow to it, but he had no idea what entment it erfect timing to not be wearing his monocle.

  “Hmm, right, I see,” Balthazar said, attempting to look knowledgeable and thoughtful. “Very iing on, indeed. Could be worth something. Maybe not too much, though.”

  “Great,” said the adventurer. “What does it do, anyway?”

  The crab stared at the man.

  Sometimes, it was very difficult not to hate adventurers.

  “It shoots arrows, my friend,” Balthazar said in a pin tone. “You want money or items for it?”

  “Oh, hmm, I don’t know,” the other said. “I was thinking about maybe getting a sedary on.”

  “Sounds good. What kind of on do you want?”

  “That’s the thing,” the man said while scratg the top of his head. “I ’t figure out what would be a good choice. Do you have any suggestions?”

  The crab felt like he was being pyed a joke on. He would have little trouble suggesting a on to him, had he any idea what css the man was at all.

  “Sure thing,” Balthazar said while grinding his mouth parts.

  Opening a drawer with an abrupt move, the mert retrieved a crude metal fork from within. “Here’s a good one for you.”

  “Isn’t… isn’t that just a fork?” the generic adventurer relutly asked.

  “Just a fork? No, no, you don’t know what you’re talking about. This here is a multipurpose tool! Got in a fight and dropped your on? Stie of these in your enemy’s eye and it’s guarao do a lot of damage. ’t open a locked door? Try ramming this in the lock. It might do the trick. Trying to eat a steak with your hands? Savagery! Use a freat for eating pie too, if you’re one of those hand-having creatures.”

  “Oh…” the other said, looking slightly fused about the crab’s words.

  “Multipurpose fork! Endless possibilities! You really should take it. You won’t regret it.”

  “If it has so many uses, maybe I should? But I still feel like that doesn’t really cover the entire value of an ented bht?”

  “Oh, fine, I’ll throw 10 gold io sweeten the deal. Happy?”

  The man squinted as he looked up, before finally reag a decision. “Alright, deal!”

  “Great!” the impatient crab said, tossing the bow on a nearby rad shoving the fork into the man’s hand before ting ten s out of his bag. “All sales are final. Thank you!”

  “Wow, hang on, I still had more I wao sell.”

  With his eye stalks sagging in frustration, Balthazar turned back to the man.

  “Of course. What else will it be?”

  “I got this from some fancy chest, but I got no use for it,” the adventurer expined, while pulling a long robe from his pack. It was stilting and its color seemed to shift between blue and purple depending on the ahat light hit it at. It emanated a pure aura of magic to it, and whatever material it was made of, Balthazar had seen nothing like it before.

  The defeated mert stared at the pieagical clothing held in front of him.

  “What do I look like to you, an appraiser?”

  The man looked at the crab with a fused expression.

  “It means someone who assesses things for others.”

  The adventurer squinted slowly.

  Balthazar took a deep breath.

  “It’s someone who looks at thing, and tells what thing is.”

  “Ooooh! Gotcha, alright,” the other finally said. “And no, you don’t look like o least I don’t think so? Do abrasivers usually have cws?”

  The mert released a sigh, along with a portion of his will to live.

  “Just… just fet I asked,” the crab said. “Have you sidered putting the robe on to find out what it does?”

  “This thing?” He skeptically looked at the piece of clothing in his hands. “No way, it looks ridiculous!”

  “It’s not about the looks of it, it’s… Just never mind that either.”

  “Do you think it has some kind of prote entment?” the man asked, eyes widening.

  “Could be, I guess?”

  “Maybe it’s a fire prote entment? I could use one of those.”

  “It could be a lot of things. But if you need prote from fire,” Balthazar said, while turning to a nearby shelf, “I got some potions for that around here somewhere. Ah, there they are.”

  As he turned back to the adventurer, he found him hunched over the robe on the floor, holding a small lit torch against the fabric.

  “What the hell are you doing?!” the crab yelled.

  “I’m trying to find out if it has fire prote,” the other said, looking up from the floor aing the fme touch the robe, which quickly caught on fire.

  “Are you stupid?!” Balthazar yelled, as he quickly grabbed a bucket and ran to fill it from the pond.

  Rushing back with it, the mert dumped the water over the sm robe, which was now mostly destroyed.

  “Oh,” said the adventurer, with a dumb expression on his face. “I guess it was a different entment.”

  Balthazar put the bucket down, rage shaking the inside of his shell.

  “Just get out of here, before your burn this whole pce down.”

  He did not need a monocle or a system to know whatever level or css the adventurer was, his Intelligeat was stupidly low.