Chapter 82: Shopping Online

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Shopping Online

Derrick looked down at his battered reflection in the bathroom mirror.

He was covered in deep purple bruises.

Although he did not have wounds because of the potion he had taken before, by the end of the fight Lucia had roughed him up quite a bit.

His upper clothes were completely gone, leaving only a pair of shredded, lower clothes covered in dirt.

"I can’t possibly walk out of the bathroom looking like this," Derrick muttered, grimacing at his own reflection.

He stripped off the ruined trousers and tossed them straight down the laundry chute.

He tapped on the wall beside the Shute and selected the discard option on there to permanently shred the useless rags from his inventory and send them to the recycling bin.

Even his underwear was half-shredded from the sides, hanging by miserable threads.

Within seconds, Derrick was standing completely buck naked on the cold tiled floor.

Should I wake Cassie up and ask her to grab me a fresh set of clothes from my room?

He immediately shook his head at the thought.

"No, explaining this mess to her at two in the morning sounds like a nightmare. Besides, she has classes in the morning; better not to wake her up."

Then, as if a lightbulb clicked in his head, a better idea struck him.

He opened the main system interface with a flick of his mind.

He navigated straight to the shop tab.

A list of categories scrolled down before his eyes.

He tapped on the apparel section, searching for anything wearable.

"Let’s see what kind of great items the system has in store for me this time," Derrick muttered to the empty bathroom.

Filtering the feed to clothes he pressed search.

[Item: Common Cotton T-shirt - 50 SC]

[Item: Standard Denim Pants - 120 SC]

[Item: The Ever Changing Clothes—100,000 SC]

"What area are these ever changing clothes? Derrick raised an eyebrow at the absurdly high price tag.

He checked the description of the expensive set out of sheer curiosity.

[Description:

The Ever Changing Clothes are made from special illusionary Captain Level Beast’s hide. They are capable of changing appearance based on the image in your mind.

It is also Capable of taking on and absorbing physical shockwaves along with the attacks from enemies at the Enhanced Being level.

Derrick let out a breathy chuckle.

"Well, considering what I just went through, I suppose regular cotton isn’t going to cut it anymore."

He checked his credit balance, realizing he could easily afford it after clearing the dungeon.

[Balance: 2,343,500]

"Alright, system. Let’s see if this expensive trash is actually worth it. Yeah, that sounded cringe. Never talking like those ungrateful Mcs again."

He focused his gaze directly on the glowing purchase button.

Tap.

A notification chime rang softly in his mind.

[Purchase Successful! 100,000 SC deducted from your balance.]

[Item has been transferred directly to your inventory.]

A soft, cool mist materialized in front of him, coalescing into a sleek, dark fabric that settled lightly into his hands.

Derrick pulled the garments on, marveling at how the material felt like a second skin yet radiated an undeniable aura of invisible strength.

"Not bad," he whispered, adjusting the collar as he looked back at his reflection. "At least I won’t get shredded to pieces the next time some ancient monster decides to throw a blood blade at me."

Derrick materialized the newly purchased [The Ever-Changing Clothes] from his system inventory.

The material felt shockingly light in his hands.

It was smooth, semi-translucent fabric that shimmered faintly under the harsh bathroom lights.

It looked nothing different from a normal tracksuit.

The clothes came in two pieces.

After inspecting the delicate texture and ensuring the item functions were intact, he placed the folded outfit neatly on the side counter.

Since he was already standing buck-naked on the cold tiled floor, his gaze drifted toward the deep porcelain bathtub.

"I can’t even remember the last time I soaked in a proper bath," Derrick muttered, running his hand through his matted hair.

A translucent blue notification box abruptly flickered into existence right in front of his face.

[System: If linear time were to be measured within that isolated dimensional pocket, exactly seven Earth days have elapsed since your last bathing cycle.]

[System: However, because physical time is suspended within that realm, your biological frame remains in an absolute peak state.

Excluding your current superficial injuries.

This temporal anomaly is also why you have not experienced natural sleepiness, cellular dehydration, or metabolic hunger.

Derrick paused, turning the hot water tap on as steam began to billow from the tub.

"Wait a second," Derrick frowned, looking at the floating interface. "What about the food I ate in there? The meat and supplies?"

[System: Metabolic waste is non-existent within timeless pockets.

The Host was merely satisfying psychological cravings rather than fulfilling biological necessity.

Derrick tilted his head back and turned on the shower, letting the water slide down on his face, looking as if he was crying. "Unbelievable. So I was basically just chewing for emotional comfort."

After a quiet moping, he stepped into the tub with red gel, which had changed color because of the high temperature, letting out a long, shuddering groan as the scalding water enveloped his bruised body.

He sank deep into the water, resting his head against the edge, and closed his eyes as the heat slowly eased the deep muscle tension left behind by Lucia’s relentless beatdown.

He took his time, thoroughly scrubbing away the dried sweat, dungeon grime, and caked blood until his skin was clean.

Once he stepped out, Derrick picked up [The Ever-Changing Clothes].

The moment his fingers gripped the fabric, he willed a simple image into his mind: a crisp black t-shirt, loose white trousers, and a pair of black socks he could walk around in.

Shhh-wip.

The fabric reacted instantaneously, flowing over his skin like liquid mercury before solidifying into the exact outfit he had envisioned, fitting his muscular frame with tailored perfection.

"Not bad," he murmured, adjusting his collar in the mirror. "At least I won’t have to keep shredding my clothes every time a fight breaks out."

Derrick unlocked the bathroom door and stepped out, creeping quietly down the stairs so he wouldn’t disturb anyone’s sleep.

He had had more than enough fighting to last him a lifetime.

While his physical body had not suffered much because of the recovery potions, his mind was utterly drained.

The sheer mental exhaustion of continuous life-or-death combat weighing heavily on his soul.

He reached his bedroom.

He glanced on the right side, and Cassie was still sleeping soundly just as he had left her.

After glancing at her once, he collapsed onto his bed without even bothering to pull back the blankets and instantly drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Fourteen hours passed in complete, unbroken silence.

Derrick didn’t stir once as the morning sun rose and fell; his mind was completely on rest mode.

Rebecca had come to check up on him twice, but seeing that he was only sleeping, she left him to sleep.

She assumed Derrick had been working too hard and got tired because he did not get enough sleep.

BRRRRRR! BRRRRRR!

The sudden, violent vibration of his phone on the bedside table shattered the stillness of the room.

Derrick groaned, his eyelids feeling heavy as lead as he blindly reached out, tapping the glowing screen to answer the call.

A sharp, authoritative voice instantly blasted through the speaker, utterly destroying the quiet atmosphere of the bedroom.

"Derrick! You have exactly ten minutes to pull yourself together and come to the gym."

Instructor Keira’s stern voice barked over the line.

"If you are one second late, I will personally double your training routine for the entire month!"