As I stood on the bus, I began looking at the notifications from the system.
[Tooth Necklace (Grey)]
+0.2 Strength
That wasn't too bad I guess. If I got a bunch of these lower grade items, I would be able to increase my strength to maybe even double an average adult male. I wore the necklace, and it just looked like a cheap fake 'shark tooth' necklace a lot of surfer guys would wear. I then decided to look at the [Shop] feature. I wanted to open the chest but since I was in public I decided to wait until I was in a private place before doing it. I wasn't sure if others could see the chest or not. I had been fiddling with the system this whole time and it confirmed my suspicions that no one else could see my screen.
[Shop]
[Search]
[Buy][Sell]
I clicked on [Buy] and began looking through all the listed items. There were many different things, I had even seen people selling creatures and people from other dimensions. It seemed to be one of the drops you could potentially acquire as a dungeon reward. I didn't really see anything interesting other than some higher grade gear, that were all within the millions of gold price ranges, and the option to exchange gold for money. I decided to click on [Search] now, because my hopeful optimism got the better of me. I searched for different types of potions, hoping there would be something to restore or heal my leg.
[Minor Health Potion: 25 gold.]
[Minor Mana Potion: 100 gold.]
...
[Body Restoration Potion: 50 gold.]
This was it! The Body Restoration potion was what I needed. The description just stated that it would restore the human body to the standards of an average human, which would be useless to almost everyone except those with disabilities or those who weren't happy with the scars they received from the Dungeons.
I immediately bought the potion. I had gotten off the bus and was walking towards a real estate agency, I stepped into an alley. I took out the small orange vial in my inventory, and drank it in one quick gulp. As I finished, a burning sensation began to spread through my body, it caused me pain but I endured. It was nothing compared to the pain of your arm being chewed. I felt the skin on my face tingle, and my entire leg shifting. There was no more pain, however it was definitely uncomfortable. I watched as my leg moved back into its normal position, that it was supposed to be in. I brought my hand up to my face and touched it, and tears began streaming down my face.
It was fixed. These problems I had since I was 15 years old, had finally disappeared. 11 years of ridicule were finally behind me. As I wiped the tears off my face, I reaffirmed my desire to continue going into the Dungeons. It has changed my life, and I'm sure it will continue to do so.
I arrived later at a big office building. It had the words HE REAL ESTATE written on the front. I walked in, there was a luxurious waiting area, and a group of people sitting down talking. They heard the door open, and there was an awkward moment of silence as they stared at me. They were looking at me, up and down, and then their looks changed to one of disdain. They began talking amongst themselves again, before one woman stood up and walked over to me.
"Hello, my name is Kimberly, I'm a real estate agent. Can I help you find something? Are you perhaps looking for an apartment to rent? Because our services don't include renting, we only deal with people who are trying to buy a house or other properties." she said, while looking at my clothes.
I understood now that they were all agents, but they didn't want to deal with me who looked like a beggar. This Kimberly woman looked like one of the younger employees, most likely the newest, and was sent to shoo away the homeless looking man from their prestigious business. I put on a cold look, since I decided I would meet coldness with coldness from now on.
"I want to buy a house. To move in today. It needs to be furnished, and other than it having an open floor plan, I don't have any other specifications."
The woman seemed to take an internal sigh, while maintaining a fake smile, and then began to speak.
"Sir, I'm sorry but for that kind of accommodation it would cost at least $50,000, so I suggest you go and look for possibly a furnished apartment to begin wi-"
"That's fine. As long as the entire cost is lower than $80,000 including processing fees. Get it done with, now please. I would rather not spend any more time here than necessary." I said, bluntly. No longer bothering to look at the woman.
Kimberly was red in the face from embarrassment, because she assumed that Theodore wouldn't be able to afford anything. Little did she expect that he would be the biggest transaction the agency had all month! She had offended this young big shot. She immediately went to her office and began to find a suitable house.
Theodore waited for an hour, just standing by the entryway. Refusing the offers by the other agents, who had overheard my conversation earlier and were now trying to curry my favor. I stood still, just waiting. After a while Kimberly came back with an electronic tablet in hand, which she used to show him several homes that matched his preferences. She had put in the extra effort of considering which homes would accept down payments of at least 20%, which would allow Theodore the best rates of mortgage possible.
Theodore understood this as he looked through the options and began to consider them. He eventually found a house he liked, that was just at the limit of what he wanted to spend today, it was a $400,000 house with two floors and six bedrooms. It was a very nice home, and he would be able to make a down payment of $80,000 giving him his best rates. As he selected it, Kimberly's face was despondent. She had definitely offended the big shot, because he chose the house which would hit his budget limit he set out, meaning she would not receive a larger commission tip. She finished processing everything, and handed the papers over to Theodore to sign. After he signed, he promptly got up and left the establishment. Not wanting to spend anymore of his time there. The person selling the house would meet him there in an hour, and hand over the keys to him personally.
**** Kimberly's POV ****
Sigh
"Of course he just left. It was almost like he was running away. We really embarrassed ourselves today as a company, we discriminated against him because of his looks and now he just bought a house in less than 30 minutes."
As she shook her head, she thought about how she would do better to be professional, and not let her prejudice cloud her goal: to serve people by helping them find homes that fit them.
As she looked over the paperwork, she found that the man had added an additional $5,000 for her. It made her cry, because she truly realized that he was a magnanimous big shot who still tipped her well despite receiving poor service.
(Kimberly later went on to take over as branch manager for the agency, and would become the highest seller for the entire agency. Leading by her ideology of treating every customer with respect and listening to their wants and needs.)