No Money, More Problems (Part 2)

"Astraea! We have a problem!"

A young-looking woman screamed as she appeared on the marble pagoda floating in the night sky. She pointed at the unconscious body of the man she dragged behind her.

"He shouldn't be here! You have to help me before the others find out about my mistake!"

Astraea chuckled as her long, pale legs slid out from her toga as she stood up from her favorite chair. Her dark hair swayed alluringly with her hips as she strode over to take a closer look at the "problem."

"He's an ascendant." She let out an amused smile as her golden eyes pinned her friend in place. "You've done him a grave injustice by not preparing a gift for him."

"I know! Please, don't tell anyone. Can you fix it for me? I can't do anything once it reaches this stage."

"Fine, but you know what I want for payment, don't you?" 

Astraea's grin sent a shiver down her friend's spine. However, there was no way she could refuse!

"I accept! Now hurry, he won't last much longer."

A pair of golden scales appeared in Astraea's right hand as she placed her left on Ethan's head. The scales quickly tipped to one side, causing a displeased expression to appear on Astraea's face.

"You really messed up big this time." She sighed as her eyes glowed brighter.

A white, ethereal orb appeared on the other side of the scales. As it grew, the scales slowly started to even out. Astraea's frown grew deeper as she sensed the immense drain on her powers it was taking to achieve the desired result.

Eventually, the scales balanced.

With a delicate movement, Astraea plucked the orb from the scales and pressed it against Ethan's forehead. It slid into his skull without meeting any resistance, and the rampaging heat in Ethan's mind started to calm down.

"That should balance the injustice he's suffered. Now, you and I need to have a proper chat. Send him back..."

Ethan groaned as he squinted against the daylight pouring in through the apartment window. 'Ugh, why does my head hurt so much?' Ethan froze as he noticed a strange purple box of text hovering in front of his eyes.

[Congratulations on your Ascension! Welcome to your personal Esper Ability, the Otherworld Exchange System! Here is your Status.

Name: Ethan Li

Race: Human

Class: Esper

Ability: Otherworld Exchange System

Level: 1

Power: 15 

Grade: Novice

Balance: 0 AEC

Stats

Health: 5/5

Stamina: 4/4

Energy: 6/6

Strength: 2

Endurance: 3

Agility: 1

Intelligence: 4

Wisdom: 2

Charm: 2

Luck: 1

Skills

Generate Aetherium Coins:

Create AEC in a cost ratio of 3 energy per coin created.

Deposit:

Deposits physical AEC into your System Balance.

Withdraw:

Withdraws AEC from your System Balance into physical coins.

Otherworld Free Market:

Order items from the Otherworld Market. (Note: All orders cost AEC and are delivered immediately.)]

'Wait, isn't this the same thing they're always talking about on TV?' Ethan vaguely remembered some interviews he had seen where they went over the so-called "stats" of espers working as heroes in the Otherworld.

'I never really paid attention before because I thought it would never affect me.' He wasn't like the majority of other people who had a bad case of "hero" worship. However, it was understandable. 

These "heroes" were often used in adverts, movies, and TV shows. A lot of entertainment was based on the adventures they had in the Otherworld.

The well-known ones also happened to make a crazy amount of money! 'This could be my chance! But...'

Ethan frowned as he glanced at the name of his ability. It didn't sound powerful at all!

'There isn't a cost mentioned with using the market skill. Since I need to use the "Aetherium Coins" to buy anything from it, I should create some coins first.

Ethan mentally thought about activating the skill to generate AEC, and he found he could set it to any amount his energy could cover. He held out his right hand before confirming the usage of the skill.

A small bright light covered his hand from view, and the next moment, he felt a slight weight in his palm before the light vanished!

In its place were two golden coins with an "A" stamped on both. He spent a few seconds admiring their weight before activating Deposit. 'Ok, let's take a look at this market now. I hope I have enough to get something.'

[Welcome to the Otherworld Free Market. Please note that only items suitable for your Grade will be displayed. Your consciousness will now be transferred to the Marketplace.]

"What the..."

A sudden sense of weightlessness overcame Ethan as his vision turned dark briefly before being blinded by neon lights!

Everywhere he looked were vending machines, slots, claw games, and other things usually found in arcades and casinos.

"This... is the Marketplace?"

Ethan rubbed his chin as he took in the sights. He had been expecting another text box or something he could scroll through. This was entirely outside of his expectations!

With a hint of feeling overwhelmed, Ethan approached the nearest vending machine. After all, he figured the machine was the closest thing to actual stalls or shops for selling goods.

Inside the machine, he saw small boxes lined up with a letter and number below them. The item boxes were insanely colorful packaging depicting the item stored inside, along with a label describing what it was.

Most of the items he saw either looked strange or made him dubious as to their actual effects. There was only one item that he felt certain about. 'Well, I need to test it anyway... So it should be fine, right? I'm certainly not buying it because it's the only thing I can afford!'

Ethan clenched his jaw as he looked at what he considered to be outrageous prices for the other items. Some of them even reached into the hundreds of AEC! 

He slowly typed in the ID of his item and selected to buy two of them since each cost a single coin. As the machine moved to collect the items and drop them in the collection point, Ethan belatedly realized the other machines may have sold other more affordable items.

"Damn..." he sighed as he glanced at the numerous other machines that seemed to stretch on forever. "Maybe next time."

He calmly collected both boxes and thought of the mental command to exit the Marketplace. A moment later, he was sitting on his couch holding two brightly packaged boxes. 'It was a success!'

Ethan chuckled to himself as he struggled to believe it.

BANG! BANG!

"Mr Li! Open up!"