Cough "Right..."
I violently cleared my throat, forcing my expression into one of concern while my brain aggressively calculated the sheer economic value of my party mber’s dentals.
"I an..." I started, leaning closer to the projection to inspect the damage. "Are you okay? Does it still hurt?"
Nom-Nom sniffled loudly, jabbing a finger at the fresh, gaping hole in her otherwise pristine row of teeth.
"Yes! But it hurts my pride!" she whined with her violet eyes welling up with massive tears. "She didn’t even heal ! She just picked up my tooth, muttered sothing about ’a decent return on investnt,’ and threw it straight into the Inventory and sold it!"
[Fifty grand for a single tooth...] I thought, staring completely blankly at her mouth. [Assuming she has the standard thirty-two teeth... that’s over one point five million credits just sitting in her mouth...]
I gave my head a swift shake, aggressively banishing the highly unethical thought before I accidentally voiced it out loud.
"Okay, okay, deep breaths," I soothed, raising both hands in a placating gesture to calm her down. "It’s just a tooth. Would it grow back?"
Nom-Nom paused, keeping her finger hovering near her mouth as she blinked slowly at the screen.
"I... think so?" she muttered before she started probing the empty gum line with the tip of her tongue.
"System, will Nom’s... extracted tooth grow back naturally?" I asked out loud.
-Ding!
{Affirmative. Based on the subject’s current regenerative baseline, the extracted tooth will naturally reconstruct in approximately three weeks.}
"Three weeks!?" Nom-Nom gasped, her hands flying to her cheeks in absolute horror.
"Look at the bright side..." I offered a highly supportive smile. "You learned a valuable lesson about testing Peko’s boundaries, and our party funds just got a massive fifty-grand boost. That is a clear win-win."
Nom-Nom dropped her hands, her eyes instantly narrowing into dangerous, reptilian slits. "You’re just happy about the fifty thousand credits, aren’t you?"
"What? No! Of course not!" I gasped out, waving a hand at the projection. "I would never willingly subject you to bodily harm for financial gain. I am deeply offended by the accusation."
Nom-Nom kept her eyes narrowed into a suspicious squint for a few long seconds before she let out a loud, frustrated huff.
"Fine," she crossed her arms, her lower lip jutting out into a massive pout.
"Quit whining," Peko’s voice suddenly carried through the audio feed. "Co here... I will heal you."
I watched through the video feed as Nom-Nom turned around and reluctantly trudged over to the Phoenix. Peko simply reached out and placed her bare palm directly over Nom-Nom’s mouth.
-Foosh-!
A sudden torrent of golden flas tinged with rainbow hues violently erupted from Peko’s hand, completely engulfing Nom-Nom’s entire head.
My eyes went wide, my jaw dropping slightly as I stared at the screen.
[She can also heal with her flas?] I thought, watching the vibrant, terrifying flas swirl without actually burning a single strand of Nom-Nom’s hair.
The fire vanished a second later, leaving Nom-Nom blinking in surprise before she eagerly shoved a finger back into her mouth.
"It’s back!" she mumbled around her own finger, her violet eyes lighting up.
"That quickly?" I asked, a highly unethical grin slowly spreading across my face as I leaned closer to the projection. "Maybe we actually can farm this..."
Peko slowly crossed her arms, looking Nom-Nom up and down like a piece of pri livestock. "I was thinking the exact sa thing..."
Nom-Nom froze, her finger still hooked in her mouth as she looked back and forth between the two of us in sheer terror.
"I an, think about it," I chuckled, ntally running the math. "If we pull all thirty-two teeth and Peko instantly regrows them... that is roughly one point six million credits per run. We could make one point seven million in less than a day."
"We could easily clear ten million a week," Peko agreed, her absolute deadpan tone making the horrific math sound completely genuine.
"Waah! You’re both... You’re both!" Nom-Nom stamred, frantically waving her arms as she struggled to find the right insult.
Failing to find the word, she threw her hands down and glared straight at the cara.
"You don’t say anything to Peko!" she yelled. "She knocked out, sold my tooth... she makes study for four hours every day! And then she makes read a whole book before going to sleep! And she treats like an idiot! That’s not fair! I get no free ti!"
I blinked, cutting the teasing instantly as I registered the actual schedule she was running.
[Four hours, plus a full book, on top of grinding dungeons all day?] I calculated, feeling a sudden wave of genuine sympathy. [Yeah, that’s a fast track to burnout.]
"You know what... that actually isn’t fair," I nodded before turning to Peko. "Nom-Nom works incredibly hard every single day at the Dungeon, and she brings us both credits and coins. So, new rule."
I saw Peko slightly raise an eyebrow through the feed, but I pushed forward.
"Nom-Nom only needs to study for one hour every day," I declared, "After that, her ti is completely her own. She can do whatever she wants."
Nom-Nom let out a loud gasp of pure, unadulterated joy. She imdiately spun around to look at Peko with an incredibly smug grin before sticking her tongue out at the Phoenix.
"Yay!" she jumped, her entire face lighting up with absolute excitent. "Okay! Good night, Master! There is a candy shop I’ve been wanting to try!"
Before I could even formulate a reply, Nom-Nom abruptly cut the call, leaving chuckling at the empty space in the middle of my treehouse.
ntally opening the Party Module, I focused my thoughts to deliberately draft a direct ssage over to Peko’s interface.
Was that enough for your revenge?
Plenty, she instantly replied.
A second ssage followed right behind it. Was it really wise to cut her study ti?
Yes, I thought back, watching my words seamlessly populate the chat log. She would’ve truly begun hating books and studying with you.
Wise... ca the quick response.
Seeing her agree, my mind drifted back to the incredible display of rainbow-tinged fire I had just witnessed.
Can you also heal Nom’s wing? I asked.
There was a slightly longer pause before a dense block of text materialized in my vision.
Theoretically yes. Practically no. A Dragon’s wings are more than just body parts. They are the conduits through which they control their Dragon Fire. This is why Nom-Nom has very little control over her flas. Loss of even a single wing has drastic effects on the synergy between the others.
Before I could fully process the anatomical lore, another ssage pinged in.
To dragons, they are even more precious than horns, fangs, claws, or scales. I can heal her wing, but it would take years of constant effort to do it. Dragons are, after all, highly resistant to foreign magic. It took all the mana I had to regrow that tooth of hers.
I let out a soft sigh, staring out at the moonlit canopy.
Sha... I sent back. But then again, if this were that easy, you would’ve done it long ago. Night again~
Good night.
With the conversation officially over, I ntally shifted tabs over to the party’s shared ledger, pulling up the recent transaction log to see exactly what had transpired.
{
Greater Dragon X Wendigo Chira Tooth (Unique) x 1
Sold for: 50,000 Credits.
}
"It should’ve sold for a lot more..." I muttered, genuinely disappointed by the payout for a literal, unique piece of draconic anatomy.
-Ding!
{Host’s perception of Credits value has been skewed due to the fact that earning credits had never been difficult for you, especially given your Infinite MP Regen and Nom-Nom’s contributions.
No Destined Hero had ever earned credits as fast as you.
50,000 credits are actually a lot.}
"Damn..." I whispered, staring at the floating blue text as a sudden question surfaced in my mind. "That makes wanna ask... how powerful or potentially powerful am I compared to your ex, the strongest hero, aka Arlen Hale?"
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