The next best thing that grabbed Botan's attention was a liquor store. Offering a quick mumbled praise to Amaterasu Omikami, he ignored the enthusiastic shopkeeper and went straight to inspecting the wares.
'Konichiwa Botan, welcome to Narodnaja's liquor store' The unsurprised shopkeeper greeted Botan as he rushed past.
Unfortunately, none of the various flasks and pots and bottles were labelled. He could vaguely guess that what he could only describe as a swirly potion, it miraculously just kept swirling inside its bottle without him doing anything to it, was probably not safe for drinking purposes. He figured that he could just ask the overly happy shopkeeper (customers were always rare, and welcome) for advice and set out to do so.
'So what's this? Is it safe to drink? Does it have booze in it?'
'Sorry, we are not privy to that information. But I can tell you that this particular potion will cost you ..... let think about your charisma score for a second ... 400.'
'wtf?' - 'What. Is. In. It.?
Narodnaja mumbled something to himself about rude customers and the problem of shoplifters, then turned to Botan and said, in a calm, clear, and measured voice: 'Look. Chap. That's not how this works, it's 400 gold for that particular bottle. Take it or leave it.'
'Uhm, can I take a sip?'
'Sure go ahead!
Not feeling the need for another invitation, Botan did as he was bid and took a swing out of the weird swirly potion. A Sensation overcame him, unlike anything he had ever experienced in life, he felt himself grow stronger and the earlier poison damage he took to his strength and toughness faded away.
The potion, with the help of the game like system, identified itself to him, as a potion of 'restore ability'. Very helpful indeed. But before he could wonder about the other bottles in the shop, Narodnaja's voice once again rang out:
Thank you for shopping in Narodnaja's liquor store, that will be 400 gold.
'You said I could have a sip!'
'I didn't say you wouldn't have to pay for it, did I?'
Botan gulped, unfortunately he didn't quite have that much money on him. Thanks to the stupid leprechaun. And, upon closer inspection, Narodnaja looked ripped, and determined to protect his interests. With the mad shopkeeper blocking the door, the gloomy rectangular space of the room seemed more and more like a prison to Botan. He pondered his situation for a while. It was a dirty move, inviting him to sample the wares and then demand payment, and not having any money at hand didn't help at all. Worst of all, Narodnaja didn't even seem to be interested in trading for any of the items Botan had in his knapsack. It was a forgone conclusion. Man to shopkeeper combat was inevitable. Botan drew his blade, then thought better of it, and put it away. He might as well have a sip of Narodnajas other potions as their stand-off continued. Botan suspected that Narodnaja wouldn't be willing to throw the first punch. He paced around a bit, picked up a small flask with a shining gold liquid in it, and chugged it down. Where ever the stuff went after it passed his throat, it certainly wasn't his bladder. Come to think of it, he hadn't felt the need to relieve his bladder or skive off a brownie. Just another quirk of this stupid game. However, the potion had an effect. For a moment, he could briefly feel objects around him, he could pinpoint their location and knew what general type they were. He could feel precious gems hidden beneath the walls of the dungeon, weapons and armour buried under broken bones, wares in other shops. He even knew now that Narodnaja held on to three different magic wands, two potions that he couldn't identify, and a key. It was an interesting sensation, but only mildly useful. Narodnaja reacted: 'You drank it, you bought it. That will be 200 gold for a Potion of Object Detection.'
Botan frowned, then smiled. There had to be some magic potion in here that would resolve his current predicament. And he would drink it. Who would have thought that the solution to get away with shoplifting was drinking your way to freedom.