Theo kept his head down, holding his bowls.
As he shuffled closer to the front, he found himself standing near a group of armored guards, eating from plates of roasted meat that looked infinitely better than the slave rations.
"I dropped by the commercial bank in the inner city yesterday," one of the guards muttered, tearing a chunk of meat off a bone. "The queues were ridiculous. The sect’s financial stewards were depositing chests of silver straight into the vaults."
"It’s the new quarter’s profits," a second guard replied with a chuckle. "You didn’t see the ledger reports? The profits from selling the standard heal pills have quadrupled this month. The mercenary guilds on the border are buying them up faster than the pharmacy branch can boil the cauldrons."
"Quadrupled? From those trash-tier pills we make the slaves stir?" the first guard asked, sounding genuinely surprised.
"Exactly. The ingredients cost barely three copper coins per batch, but the merchants sell a single heal pill to a mercenary for two whole silvers. It’s pure robbery, but when a man is bleeding out from a beast bite, he doesn’t haggle over the price of his life."
Theo’s ears perked up. Two silver coins for a basic healing pill?
The profit margins in this world’s medicinal market were insane.
No wonder the sect was so wealthy, and no wonder they needed so many disposable slaves to keep the bronze cauldrons burning day and night.
He finally reached the front of the line.
A cook sloshed a ladle of gray gruel into each of Theo’s bowls, then tossed two chunks of rock-hard, stale bread on top.
It looked terrible but his stomach roared in demand anyway.
When he reached their bunk at the very back of the room, Liana was where he had left her.
"Hey," Theo said. "I brought food."
The Reborn Empress slowly opened her eyes.
She reached out with trembling hands. But her fingers were so weak, and her wrists so bruised from the chains, that she couldn’t get a proper grip on the wide bowl.
It tipped slightly, threatening to spill the hot gruel onto her lap.
Theo caught the bottom of the bowl instantly.
"Let me," he offered quietly.
Liana stiffened, her eyes flashing with a sudden humiliation.
Being hand-fed by a stranger in a filthy slave barrack was a new low for a sovereign...
She turned her head away slightly, her jaw clenching tight.
"Don’t be stubborn," Theo sighed. "Your muscles are atrophied. If you drop this, they aren’t going to give us a second serving. Just eat. You can go back to glaring at me once you have some energy."
He held the softened piece of bread toward her.
Though she clearly hated every single second of it, Liana finally parted her cracked lips and took the bite.
She chewed slowly, her throat bobbing as she swallowed the food.
As she swallowed the final spoonful of the meal, the world around Theo suddenly froze once again.
[Investment successful.]
[Investment: One portion of standard nutrient gruel and stale bread.]
[Target Identity confirmed: Reborn Empress Liana.]
[Calculating base investment value...]
[Reward calculation complete.]
[Congratulations, Host! Reward granted: 5,000 System Credits.]
Theo blinked. Credits? He didn’t get a pill? He didn’t get another crazy body constitution?
Before he could even process the disappointment, a second notification popped up.
[System Shop feature unlocked!]
The interface in front of him dramatically shifted.
The text melted away, replaced by a digital storefront.
It looked like the ultimate merchant’s catalog, neatly divided into countless categories:
Weapons, Armor, Bloodlines, Skills, Pills, and Ingredients.
Row upon row of glowing items appeared, each with a neat little price tag next to it.
10-Year Blood-Replenishing Ginseng - 500 Credits.
Bone-Mending Lotus Seed - 1,500 Credits.
The variety of magical herbs available was staggering... he had 5,000 credits sitting in his account just from feeding Liana a single bowl of terrible slave food.
However, buying raw ingredients was useless if he didn’t know what to do with them.
If he just shoved a raw magical ginseng root into Liana’s mouth, her crippled body might literally explode from the density of the spiritual energy.
He quickly closed the ingredients tab and opened the ’Recipes’ section.
Basic Stamina Pill Recipe - 1,000 Credits.
Minor Iron Skin Salve Recipe - 2,500 Credits.
Mortal Vein-Repairing Liquid Recipe - 4,800 Credits.
Theo’s gaze locked onto the last item.
Mortal Vein-Repairing Liquid? It cost 4,800 credits, leaving him with a measly 200 credits to spare.
The description clearly stated it was a slow-acting medicinal bath designed specifically for mortals with shattered or crippled spiritual veins.
It didn’t require a bronze cauldron or deep alchemical fire control to brew; it just needed the right raw materials and proper mixing ratios.
He stared at the interface, his mind racing back to the guards’ conversation in the hall.
A thrilling thought sparked in his mind as he stared at the price tag.
With this... can I actually make a healing recipe for her?