Reborn: Earth Online

As soon as the dragon scale was placed in the system's trade window, a pulse of energy rippled through the settlement core.

[Ding! High-Grade Material Detected!]

[Processing…]

[System Exchange Rate Calculating…]

Kaden crossed his arms, watching as the system ran its assessment. He had suspected this would trigger something interesting. In his last life, he had heard about how a high-tier weapon had triggered an update of the system shop.

If the system worked as he thought, it would categorize the dragon scale as a high-tier resource, and that meant big rewards and opening up more options in the system shop, maybe even getting a physical shop.

After a few seconds, another notification popped up.

[Ding! Trade Offer Established]

Item: Dragon Scale (Lesser)

Rarity: A-Rank Material

Market Value: 500,000 Coins

Accept Exchange? [Yes] / [No]

Kaden's lips twitched. Only 500, 000 coins for a dragon scale? "Fuck me sideways." He immediately rejected the exchange. The damn system was trying to con him just because he was from a trash-tier planet? Maybe he would have bought it the last time around, but now he knew better.

[Ding! Trade Offer Established]

Item: Dragon Scale (Lesser)

Rarity: A-Rank Material

Market Value: 1,000,000

Accept Exchange? [Yes] / [No]

"Nope." Kaden again rejected.

[Ding! Trade Offer Established]

Item: Dragon Scale (Lesser)

Rarity: A-Rank Material

Market Value: 500 B-grade coins

Accept Exchange? [Yes] / [No]

No, no, and no.

After a few minutes of some more rejection, a new system screen flashed before him. Finally, an acceptable one.

[Ding! The system shop is currently under upgrade. Please wait for the new evaluation of your item]

Kaden smirked. There it is. He had been waiting for this reaction. That was exactly what he wanted.

As the system processed, another wave of energy surged from the settlement core, sending faint ripples through the air. The surrounding land shuddered, and Kaden saw the faint shimmer of runic symbols briefly appear over the core's surface before vanishing.

[Ding! System Shop Upgrade in Progress…]

[Estimated Time Until Completion: 3 Hours]

[New Features Will Be Unlocked Upon Completion]

Kaden chuckled. Of course. A full-fledged upgrade wasn't instant.

"Alright, I can wait." He muttered, flexing his fingers.

If he had forced the system into an upgrade, that meant better items, better trades, and possibly even direct interactions with the system's higher-tier merchants. The physical shop feature was the one he was most interested in—because that meant he could start trading in more than just basic resources.

His gaze flicked toward the sky, estimating the time.

Three hours.

Enough time to handle a few things like his stomach. He was dying from hunger. With Rafael dead and his supporters either scattered or too afraid to act, things were calmer. From the looks of many people had even decided to leave the place.

Kaden couldn't care less about these things. They were free beings. They could leave and enter whenever they want. He was not a dictator here and he had no time to take these things personally. He only hoped that the chef was still in the settlement because her cooking was way too good.

He walked over to the eastern part of the settlement where some crude hut-shaped buildings had been erected. Niera was standing there along with a bunch of people, all of them involved in some sort of heated discussion.

As soon as Kaden arrived there, everyone immediately became mute. They stared at him, half in shock and half in horror.

Kaden arched a brow, crossing his arms as he scanned the gathered crowd. The sudden silence was almost amusing, almost. These were the same people who had been loudly debating something just moments ago, yet now, they stood stiff, as if he were about to execute them on the spot.

He let the silence linger, just to see who would break first.

Unsurprisingly, it was Niera. She cleared her throat, stepping forward. "We were just… discussing the situation, Mr. Kaden."

Kaden gave her a deadpan look. "Yeah, no shit. What kind of 'situation' needs this much noise?"

A man from the group hesitated, then spoke up. "Some people are leaving," he said cautiously, glancing at Niera for reassurance before continuing. "They're afraid. After what happened to Rafael, after… well, everything." His voice trailed off.

Kaden rolled his shoulders, completely unfazed. "And?"

The man blinked as if he had expected a different reaction. "…And some of us think that's a bad sign."

Kaden exhaled through his nose. "Let me make this clear—I don't give a shit about people leaving." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder toward the barrier. "Door's right there. No one's forcing anyone to stay."

He let his words sink in before continuing, "If they're too weak to handle the reality of this world, then they were dead weight anyway."

That ruffled a few feathers. Some of the people in the group shifted uncomfortably, but no one dared to speak against him.

Niera, on the other hand, had an odd look in her eyes. It wasn't disapproval, more like quiet amusement.

Kaden tilted his head. "What's so funny?"

She smiled. "You're just so… straightforward."

He smirked. "What, were you expecting some long-winded speech about loyalty and unity?"

"Kind of."

Kaden snorted. "Please. This isn't a democracy. It's survival. If people want to stay, they'll work. If they don't, they can leave. Simple."

The group seemed to relax slightly at that. Whether it was relief or simply acceptance, he didn't really care.

Now, onto his real reason for coming here.

Kaden scanned the crowd again. "Where's the chef?"

A moment of awkward silence. Then, finally, Niera pointed toward one of the huts. "She's still here. She got one of the first huts. I already told her about your monster hunger. She has been training non-stop to please you."

"Okay." Kaden immediately started walking in that direction. Priorities.

The moment he stepped inside, the rich, mouthwatering aroma of spiced meat and roasted vegetables hit him like a blessing from the gods. His stomach growled so loudly that one of the kitchen workers turned to look at him.