[Merchant of Death] 0001

[Synopsis - One can say that Greed is a cardinal sin, but what if Greed could be used to save or improve the lives of others? Blessed or Cursed with the power of converting caps into both items and technology, one Jacob Higgs is destined to either change the wasteland forever, or get stomped by the countless enemies that would see his fall before he can rise from the streets of New Vegas.]

[Chapter Beginning]

Las Vegas, home to one of the most wealthy men of America, one Robert House, owner and creator of RobCo Industries, a nation leading company that produced robots, computers, and technology that was widely spread across the states and used from the lowest to the highest, used by both Civilian and the Military, and this man, who built his company through sweat, blood, and tears, called Las Vegas Home, and it was a home he swore to protect.

In the years before the Great War, Robert House poured billions into the development of the city of sin, personally funding the construction of more than four dozen defense stations that were designed to shoot down missiles and nukes before they could strike the city. Unfortunately, before all of the defense stations could be built and all of the preparations Robert House could make would be completed, all across the world, nukes were launched. At the same time, he laid camotose in his life-extension pod within the Lucky 38 Casiono, his own personal building on the Las Vegas Strip. He defended by the most advanced defenses known to man, leaving it protected till the day he reawoke and took New Vegas back under his reign, first starting with the strip. 

Decades then a hundred years passed before the blink of an eye, and the shining jewel of the Mojave Wasteland was partially restored to its former glory, though most of the city still lay in ruins or abandoned. 

The year is now 2275, much has changed with the advent of the NCR taking control of Hoover Dam and the strip reopening, and now, a young man, no older than sixteen, stands in a small cellar in the outskirts of New Vegas, which he calls home. This small cellar was filled with countless bits and bobs and pieces of junk, with a makeshift workbench, small cot, and makeshift kitchen.

This young man's name was Jacob Higgs, and while he was born in New Vegas, his mind was not entirely from there. Young Jacob, within his mind, contained a second set of far older memories, memories of a different man with a name that had long since faded from memory, who lived no longer than twenty-five years in a world entirely different from the one he called home.

For sixteen years, Jacob has worked since a young age to earn a thousand caps, not to buy his way onto the strip, no, instead he toiled to gather enough money to finally purchase his ticket in life.

[Spend 1,000 Caps to unlock Primordial Shop?]

[Y/N]

Without any hesitation, he pressed yes, having taken the time to study and learn how to read and write, a skill many considered useless in the wasteland.

[Congratulations on becoming a new User for the Primordial Shop, a shop that is spread throughout the multiverse and with a member count in the trillions! As you are a new user, you have been given a basic starter package to help you on your journey!]

[Note that the local reality currency of the User represents all items for sale and that any user-sales allow for price management by the user, with the Shop issuing a 10% fee for all sales!]

[You have received: New-User Token for a Basic Combat Skill Pack and Random-Item Token x3]

Before his eyes, multiple messages appeared, before expanding to form various screens.

A shop inventory, what looked like a search bar, a friends list, messaging, and at the center of it all, a screen filled with items, requests, bounties, and so much more that it boggled the mind of Jacob.

Shaking his head, he looked to his Shop Inventory, featuring five rows of five slots, with the first two slots on the first row being occupied by a single coin-like token and three rainbow-colored tokens.

Pressing his finger on the single token, a description appeared.

[New-User Token: A Token for New Users that allows them to purchase Basic Combat Skills Packs for Free. Single-Use]

Then he pressed the second slot.

[Random-Item Token x3: Three Tokens gifted to new users, allowing them to receive a random item(s) from the shop. Single-Use. Warning: if the item received is not wanted, the user can decline receiving the item at the cost of the token. No refunds.]

Taking a moment to think, he pressed the "Use" button on the Random-Item Token once.

Before his eyes, a roulette wheel appeared, a wheel that began to spin with countless different and continuously changing items rapidly appearing before slowing down and stopping on a single slide.

[Tinker Specialization: MacGuver]

[Tinker: MacGuyver - A specialization that deals with creating technology out of low-quality materials and technology to create Tinkertech that can work for a time or requires great maintenance to keep in working order, most Tinkertech may only be used once or a few times before malfunctioning or total destruction of the Tinkertech]

Reading through the description, his eyes slowly widened till his mouth hung open.

 This supposed item was something that would make him into a superhero, a weak one that could only make shoddy Tinkertech, but a superhero all the same time.

John had come across a few comics in his life so far, though not in the best of quality or only boasting a single page or two, but John knew the basic concept of heroes from what he read and what he could glean from his second set of memories.

Without any hesitation, he accepted the item. He found himself suddenly struck by a tremendous headache and a terrible migraine that made him scream as he fell out of his bunk and to the floor, where he began to roll on the ground before running out of oxygen to continue screaming.

His voice grew hoarse, and the pain slowly faded away, and he was left groaning and huffing on the ground.

When he opened his eyes, he found that he could see the possibilities of what he could make with the scrap he had lying around in his room, but before he could enter some kind of tinker fugue, he snapped out of it and managed to climb up to his feet then laid down in his bed where he decided to get some rest, after all, the Shop wasn't going anwhere.

Twelve hours later, when he woke up, he ignored the hunger in his stomach and opened the shop again, this time to use yet another one of the Random Tokens in hopes of getting another good item, only to get...

[Poor Quality Dinosaur Kibble]

"..."

The silence was deafening; even before food was food, it was still food, even if it wasn't designed specifically for humans in mind.

Taking a moment, as the third slot seemed to get filled up, he selected the Random Token and used the last one.

Once again, a wheel appeared and it began to spin for a few moments before slowing down till it stopped.

[Blood Cauldron (Bloodbourne) - Your blood undergoes a fundamental change, taking on the aspects of the Old Ones, you heal far faster than what should be normal, and a vial of your blood can heal others, at a cost] (#1)

While he didn't understand most of the token's description, he grasped that accepting it would make him significantly more difficult to kill —a valuable trait in the wasteland, where anyone would seize it without hesitation. With no hesitation, he pressed yes, accepting the item.

This time, when he accepted the item, the effect was far more pronounced. Clutching his chest, his very blood began to boil underneath his skin, causing unimaginable pain, so much pain that he couldn't even scream; instead, his mind, as if trying to protect him, sent him back into unconsciousness.

...

(#1) - I shit you not, I cannot believe I pulled that roll, of twenty-five options, Bloodbourne was probably the most OP.]