Transmigrated With A Thrifty System

10 – Truth of the merit point revealed

"No comment," Aiden responds casually.

She smirks knowingly saying, "then why do I feel differently tonight? It feels good having dinner with somebody other than myself these days. And besides, don't worry; whatever happened yesterday won't affect anything moving forward. We'll continue doing business as usual."

With a smile, Aiden nods agreeing with everything said thus far. His mind wanders off momentarily thinking over various possibilities regarding his future.

Zin gestures to his plate, indicating for him to take the first taste.

Seeing the floating digits of the prize it was worth paying attention to its value: $7000.

'Why the fuck did I eat this so comfortably in the past?' He asks himself while struggling to pick up the knife and have a slice of the meat.

Unable to go through with it, he gets to his feet and walks to a random man sitting nearby.

He takes a glance at the man's features briefly noticing he has dark hair cut short along with piercing grayish-brown eyes.

Standing beside him, Aiden smiles warmly before placing the plate on the stranger's table. Asking, "would you care to take mine instead please sir? I see your order is not to your liking."

Looking surprised, the guy looks confused wondering whether he heard correctly right before accepting the offer. With a nod, he picks up the fork and digs into the dish.

Aiden returns to sit next to Zin once he is sure the man is satisfied with his meal.

[Merit+1000]

"What was that about?" Zin wonders aloud.

Shaking his head lightly, Aiden explains, "just being nice to people sometimes helps others forget our differences. Besides, I hoped he would appreciate the meal more."

Zin's lips curve into a smile seeing how genuine Aiden could be despite his appearance. "I misjudged you."

[Did you do it because you care?]

'Could we skip answering your direct question if possible,' Aiden thinks sarcastically. 'You know damn well I didn't!'

Pulling out her card reader, Zin places two cards and passes them over to her assistant standing behind her chair.

She gets to her feet, "I'd foot the bill today, you owe me, now."

As Zin turns away heading towards the door, Aiden calls out to stop her.

She turns back around smiling brightly and asking if she needs anything further.

"Stay as you are, it's for the best," Aiden replies.

Although she could not fully understand what made him say those words, she smiles warmly and nods her head.

Giving himself a few minutes before getting to his feet, he shoves his hands into his pockets walking out of the restaurant feeling lighter somehow knowing something important would happen.

Getting into his car, he drives down the street looking ahead trying hard to focus on the tasks he needs to accomplish.

[You figured out why there was an imbalance at your home]

Aiden speaks through grit teeth, "if I establish or have established a connection with anyone, if their merits are negative, they prompt an imbalance that opens a portal in Azeroth leading straight here! I wasn't in danger, but rather Kristen was."

A frown could easily be seen on his face due to frustration. The idea of meeting up with anyone who he is acquainted with but has a demerit could cause a rift in both worlds and endanger them all.

[As you had seen, only you and the individual with the demerit can see these beasts. If there is a crowd, they will only see the effect of the beast's action—the damage done.]

"Yet they can die if they are caught in it. What happens then?" Aiden counters.

There were too many variables involved, and it had been contained only because it was within his home, and being alone meant no one else could get hurt besides the target.

[The attack will be masked under another spell causing a distorted memory of what had transpired among everyone present.]

This answer did nothing to ease his mind since it is possible for some people to have a natural resistance against spells cast during battle. It also means someone might remember everything, depending on how quickly they could recover their memory.

He continues driving along thinking deeply, 'it's not foolproof.'

Pulling over, he takes a glance at a thrift store sign hanging above its entrance.

'I can't believe I'm doing this …'

Stepping inside, he walks past racks filled with clothing items arranged neatly onto shelves lining either side of the narrow aisle between rows of clothes. There weren't very many customers browsing the merchandise available for purchase.

Looking closely enough, he spots several books stacked together near the front counter. Walking closer, he picks up three different titles: How To Win Friends And Influence People, Think Like An Entrepreneur, and Get Rich Quick With Your Businesses.

Scoffing at the latter title, he tosses it aside, deciding to spend an hour thinking of a way to spend $100 in the store without actually paying for anything.

Ding!

[You have 9 hours to make payment according to the task set for today.]

"Buy used clothing... " His thoughts trail off momentarily staring blankly at the hovering digital clock counting seconds ticking slowly toward mid-day.

Like the last time, Lyris will only approve of genuine and valid purchases.

Thinking of the best clothing he can find with a $100 budget, he takes a glance at the people, hoping to base his purchase decisions around what others wear most often.

His eyes rove across various styles including various styles, designs, and colors.

Picking a pair of jeans, two shirts (one black, the other white), and a sweater vest, he makes a calculation of their worth from price tag to current market value based on size and condition. All totaled came close to the perfect sum of the allotted funds.

At first, he had been curious as to why he needed an hour instead of a few minutes, however, now seeing the number of shoppers walking about made sense. It would take a measure of skill to convince them he is willing to give it to them.

"Here I go again." He mutters quietly to himself.

–––––––––––

[Task complete. Reward points awarded (1 merit point = $0.10).]

Aiden stands in front of the cashier, his eyes staring at the translucent screen.

'Just $30?' he thinks to himself looking down at the three pieces of paper clutched tightly in hand.

After handing the cashier the receipt, he hands back the change plus five dollars extra.

"Sir?" The cashier asks, confused.

"I don't need the change, it's best if you can use it." Says Aiden, smiling politely.

The lady smiles brightly upon receiving the unexpected bonus. She looks like a mother trying hard to raise children despite having limited resources.

[Merit+150]

With that said, he turns away heading towards the exit door. As he passes through the glass doors leading outside, he looks behind him noticing everything is suspended in place.

Turning quickly, he sees everyone has stopped moving except one man staring at him curiously.

Aiden takes a step back, questioning his system, 'What's going on? Who's that?'