Dimensional Merchant: Starting With 100 Stat Points-Chapter 132: Relieving Stress

Wade frowned, his gaze snapping to his door.

Just who would want to see him at this time of the night? Not to mention the fact that only Rowan knew he lived here.

He walked to the door and opened it, only to find his landlord, James, standing there, his round face pale and slick with sweat.

The older man wrung his cap in his hands nervously.

"Mr. Barrett, Wade, sorry to bother you so late," James stammered, his voice quivering. "Please, I need your help. It’s an emergency."

Wade frowned. "What happened?"

"It’s— some adventurers, downstairs," James said quickly. "They’re tearing up my shop."

"They’re saying I stole the place from them. Please, you’ve dealt with their type before, haven’t you? You know how to talk to them."

Wade’s expression went cold. He did know their type. Scammers, opportunists who preyed on the very laws meant to keep order in Hiving.

He exhaled, rubbing his temples. "Let me guess," he muttered. "They’re saying they ’caught’ you stealing the shop, so they want it back?"

James nodded vigorously, looking desperate. "Exactly that! You know how it works. If an adventurer stops a ’crime,’ they’re entitled to ten percent of the value of whatever was saved. They’re using it to scam me!"

Wade sighed. The law had been meant to reward good behavior, but it had turned into just another weapon for greedy adventurers to exploit.

"Alright," he said finally, pushing himself off the doorframe. "Lead the way."

James’s relief was immediate. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

The short, rotund landlord hurried down the stairs, Wade following close behind. As they reached the shop on the ground floor, chaos greeted them.

Bolts of cloth lay strewn across the floor. Shelves were overturned, and James’s young assistant stood helplessly near the counter, pleading with a group of five adventurers who were laughing as they kicked over baskets.

When Wade stepped through the door, the laughter quieted. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

One of the men turned, his crooked nose and smug grin instantly familiar.

"Well, look who it is," Ferris drawled. "You!"

Wade blinked once, recognition dawning. His sigh was long and tired.

"Of all the people who could’ve died in the war," he said dryly, "why did it have to be everyone but you five?"

The adventurers erupted in laughter.

"Oh, we didn’t go to that slaughter," Ferris said proudly, spreading his arms. "See, smart adventurers know the right people to bribe. Leave the hero work to idiots who think honor pays the bills."

Wade’s eyebrows rose slightly. "You bribed your way out of the war?"

"Of course," Ferris said, smirking. "You think we’d risk our necks for a city that’ll forget our names by tomorrow?"

Wade shook his head slowly, a dark amusement flickering across his features. "You know," he said, "I was having a pretty miserable day. But you’ve managed to make it worse."

He turned to James and his assistant, who looked terrified. "Go home," Wade said firmly.

James blinked in surprise. "But—"

"Go," Wade repeated. "Come back in the morning. I’ll handle this."

James hesitated for a heartbeat, then nodded. "Alright. Thank you, Wade."

He and his assistant hurried out, practically running out of the shop.

The moment the door shut behind them, Wade reached back, turned the bolt, and locked it from the inside. The click echoed in the tense air.

Then, with a calmness that made the five men falter, Wade flipped the sign on the door to Closed and twisted the latch, sealing it completely.

When he turned back to face them, there was no hesitation in his eyes.

Ferris laughed nervously, raising his hands. "What, you think you’re gonna play hero again? This isn’t the battlefield, Barrett."

Wade rolled his shoulders, stretching his neck until it cracked. "Good," he said. "Because I’m done playing hero."

He reached into his inventory, and with a soft shimmer of light, Toothpick appeared in his hand.

The adventurers’ laughter wavered.

A thin smile appeared on Wade’s face.

"You’ve actually done me a favor," he said, tightening his grip on the weapon. "I’ve been needing a way to relieve some stress."

The room fell silent.

Then, Wade stepped forward.

"Thanks," he said softly. "Let’s begin."

Ferris barked out a laugh, the sound harsh and grating in the quiet shop.

"You think this is the same as last time?" he sneered, spreading his arms. "You’re wasting your time, Barrett. We’ve gotten stronger since then."

The others chuckled uneasily, gripping their weapons tighter.

Wade stared at them, his expression flat.

"Is that so?" he said, his tone almost bored.

Ferris grinned wider. "That’s right. We even have someone new with us now."

He jerked his chin towards a man standing near the back of the group. A tall, wiry adventurer with pale eyes and a piece of cloth tied over his forehead.

"That’s Tripp," Ferris said proudly. "His Origin Skill’s called Auto Defense. You hit him, you hit a wall. Doesn’t even have to lift a finger. Pretty handy, right?"

Wade sighed. "Fascinating."

Tripp smirked, tapping his chest. "You can try if you don’t believe it. Won’t even scratch me."

"Right," Wade muttered. "How about all of you stop talking and attack already?"

For a moment, the five men exchanged glances, clearly uncertain if he was serious. Then Ferris snarled, "You asked for it!" and lunged forward.

The others followed, shouting as they charged.

Wade didn’t move until the very last second. Then, he exhaled.

He sidestepped Ferris’s first swing, letting the blade whistle past his face.

Another attacker came from the side, and Wade ducked low, sweeping the man’s legs out from under him with one clean motion.

The next swung for his neck. Wade caught the blow on his arm, twisted his torso, and drove his knee into the man’s ribs.

He was surrounded now, but he was calm. Perfectly calm.

"Your turn," he muttered, and swung Toothpick.

Ferris’s grin disappeared. "Wait, hey—"

The axe came down in one fluid, merciless arc.

It struck Ferris square in the forehead, splitting through his skull with a wet crack.

Blood sprayed across the counter and onto the scattered rolls of fabric.

Ferris’s body went rigid, then collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

The others froze, their laughter dying in their throats. The only sound left was the soft drip of blood hitting the floor.

Wade stood over the corpse, breathing slowly. For the first time in what felt like forever, the knot in his chest loosened.

He reached down and yanked the axe free with a wet squelch, Ferris’s body twitching once but didn’t move again.

Without a word, he reached down, touched the corpse, and it vanished, absorbed neatly into his inventory.

The remaining adventurers stared at him in horror.

"Wha— what the hell did you just do?" one stammered, backing up towards the wall.

Wade wiped a streak of blood from his cheek with the back of his hand, his eyes cold.

"I stored him," he said flatly. "I don’t like cleaning up messes."

The group looked between each other, panic starting to set in.

Wade took a slow step forward, resting Toothpick on his shoulder.

"Now," he said quietly, his voice almost calm again, "where were we?"

The adventurers didn’t answer. Their bravado had evaporated, replaced by raw fear.

"You came here thinking you’d take something that wasn’t yours," Wade continued. "You thought this would be easy. You thought I’d play nice."

He tilted his head, the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Well," he said softly, "you were wrong."

His grip tightened on Toothpick.

"There’s no escape for you."

The remaining four adventurers screamed in panic and charged. Their earlier arrogance had vanished, and in its place was just desperation.

The first man swung wildly, his blade slicing empty air as Wade sidestepped and brought Toothpick around in a tight arc.

The axe bit deep, shearing through the man’s arm just below the shoulder.

Blood sprayed across the shelves, and the adventurer’s scream turned into a gurgle as he stumbled back, clutching the stump.

The next attacker lunged, roaring. Wade pivoted, driving the hammer end of Toothpick straight into his skull.

The sound was sickening, a crack followed by a hollow thud. The man’s eyes rolled back, body collapsing.

Before the corpse could fall completely, Wade reached out, touched it, and with a faint shimmer, the body vanished, pulled neatly into his inventory.

The remaining two stumbled back, horror flashing across their faces. One of them recovered just enough to shout, summoning an arrow of mana that blazed blue in the dim light. He fired.

Wade raised his hand, summoning Aegis of Reflection. The shimmering barrier formed just in time, the arrow slamming into it with a loud crack.

The impact shattered the aegis, shards of light scattering, but the projectile had lost its force.

Wade twisted aside, the weakened arrow whistling past his shoulder.

Before the archer could summon another, Wade moved.

He surged forward, feet barely touching the ground, ducking low as the second archer hastily drew another bowstring of mana.

The shot never came.

Toothpick’s blade flashed upwards, slicing clean through the archer’s neck.

The man’s body froze, the light fading from his eyes before his head toppled.