1st Floor ???

'Is that the 1st Floor?' Eric thought as he arrived in a decrepit and relatively small enclosed space. The ground floor was made of wooden planks, with some of them riddled with holes. If he wasn't careful of where he stepped, Eric might just trip and fall. 'No way that's the first floor's trial, right?'

On the surrounding walls were hung torches, poorly lighting the cheap-looking dark room. At the other side of the enclosed space stood a straw dummy at a tattered counter. Behind it were half-empty shelves filled with either various items unknown to Eric or dust.

"Welcome to the Tutorial Shop, Master! *Welcoming Smile*" the dummy said with no apparent facial expression.

It was made of straw so no surprise there.

"Could it be… Tutorial Operator? Is that you?" Eric said.

"In the flesh! Hum, or straw." The dummy replied, "Well, this is just a vessel. My consciousness doesn't have a physical form. But I do like to treat this dummy as my own body. Although, I can't move nor make any facial expression nor eat nor… I actually can't do anything in it. *Sad face*"

At those words, Eric wondered if the Tutorial Operator with a toneless voice had emotions too. That would be weird, though. Possible? Maybe.

He eyed the room in search of traps, found none, and then carefully walked towards the counter, avoiding every hole in the ground hindering his way.

The planks creaked with each of his steps. Oh, he hated that noise. How relieving it was when it finally stopped as he faced the straw dummy on the other side of the counter.

"Care to explain where and why I am here?" Eric asked, "I don't see other humans, so I suppose it's not exactly normal."

Since its master asked, the Tutorial Operator would reply!

Indeed, Eric's current whereabout wasn't exactly a common occurrence. The Tutorial Shop was a hidden area. Normally, there was only one way to access it. That was to find the concealed portal that changed location every day, moving in between the 1st and 3rd floors.

The only reason Eric had been teleported here was his master-servant relationship with the Tutorial Operator who judged it adequate to have its master enter this special area.

"I see, thanks Tuto." Eric said, "Although, I don't know what's in here yet, I've got a feeling you've done well."

"Tuto? Is that what you humans call a nickname? *Hum Face*"

"Yeah, Tutorial Operator is too much of a mouthful. Tuto is shorter, thus easier to say." Eric replied, then his gaze traveled to the shelves, quickly perusing its content. "Anyway, since we're here, how about you show me what you got?"

"Certainly! I promise you that you will be satisfied! *Sweet Smile*"

Suddenly, a blue window appeared in front of him, displaying various items with their images. Next to those were short descriptions, bonuses they granted and, of course, their costs in DP (Dungeon Points).

Tuto quickly explained that Dungeon Points were earned through clearing a floor, selling items, or exchanging mana crystals. One Dungeon Point was commonly acknowledged as one F- rank mana crystal.

Currently, Eric had 10 DPs from clearing the Tutorial Phases.

His eyes set on a certain icon, the Novice Explorer Starter Pack. It contained a few useful items to… well start as an explorer.

——

[5x (F-) Mana Potions]

Description: A small glass bottle containing F- rank liquid mana essence. Helps recover the user's mana. Blackberry flavor was added for a more pleasant taste. Drink to use.

Effect:

* Recover 3 MP per second for the next 10 seconds.

[5x (F-) Healing Potions]

Description: A small glass bottle containing F- rank liquid healing essence. Helps recover the user's mana. Strawberry flavor was added for a more pleasant taste. Drink to use.

Effect:

* Recover 3 HP per second for the next 10 seconds.

[(F) Novice Explorer's Compass]

Description: A neat fashionable tool you can strap to your belt or wear as a pendant. A must have for every novice explorer!! It might not work in certain areas. Be careful, It will become obsolete starting from the 10th floor. But it'll still be fashionable!!!

Effect:

* Points towards the next floor's access point.

[(F) Novice Explorer's Dagger]

Description: A short dagger that can be strapped to a belt. Use it to stab your enemies or simply to slice pieces of roasted meat! Miam!

Effects:

* +2 to Agility

* Cut things

___

It was a great pack for novices indeed. The only problem was its price, 60DP. And apparently even that was a good deal!

Almost every item worth buying was out of his reach. Well, he could still buy a few things like a linen shirt for 3DP, a straw hat for 2DP or even straw boots for 5 DP.

He sighed, disappointed. What was the point of having been brought here if he couldn't buy anything?

"Hum, Tuto, thanks for everything but I can't purchase anything worth the DP. Unless…" Eric said, leaving a pause, then winked suspiciously, "You give me 100% discount."

"I'm sorry master," Tuto replied, "I am strictly forbidden from selling the shop's item for…hum, in exchange for nothing. Even for you."

"Yeah… figured as much. Don't worry it was just a jok—"

"But I can grant you a 99% discount. *Happy smile*"

…

…

…

"Tuto, did I ever tell you how much I love you?"

"*Blush* No master. *Blush*"

"Well, I fucking love you! Now sell me that sweet loot!"

_____

Status Recap:

[Eric Knight]

Class: Lv1 Tamer

Title: (F) Operator Tamer / (F) Beast Tamer / (F) Explorer

——STATS——

HP: 100/100

Mana: 100/100

Strength: 17

Agility: 18

Charisma: 20 (+5)

Magic: 10

Physical Resist: 15

Magical Resist: 10

Exp: 1000/1000 (Yes, he has leveled up. We'll be seeing the changes in the next chap)

Attribute Points: 0

——SKILLS——

Skill Points: 1

Passive: (F-) Whip Mastery / (F+) Tamer's Eye

Active: (F) Taming / (F-) First Aid

Pets (3/3): Tutorial Operator/ 2x Blood Wolf Lv1