DAY 19 LUNCH - AN ARMORY?

THIS PLACE LOOKED more like a food cart than an armory. I'm not

sure you could even call this a store… It looks like a pile of junk.

"You can find all kinds of weird stuff and mysterious items over

here," he said. "I can tell—this store was totally made for you, kiddo."

I couldn't equip normal gear, so he took me to the most suspicious

and disreputable shop I'd ever seen. Should I be offended?

While I could use Appraisal, I didn't actually know anything about

weapons. Oh well, it wasn't like I had anything to lose by looking. I

browsed the wares on display, picking up any that caught my eye and

appraising them.

"Mistletoe Sprig: A wooden stick. Staff power-up. ? ? ?"

More question marks. Was the proprietor just gathering weapons that

had question marks in the description?

"Spiked Shoulder Pads: Brutality bonus."

Uh, yeah, this junk is awful. Anyone who wears these is guaranteed

to turn into a villain.

"VII Necklace +30% (Seven Slots)."

Slots? Did that mean this necklace worked like my Bag of Holding?

Ever since my Appraisal hit level 5, I noticed that my "Cloak?", "Leather

Gloves?", "Leather Boots?", "Clothes Set?", and "Wooden Stick?" all had

"Seven Slots" added to their descriptions. Were they all part of the same

set?

I turned to the hooded shopkeeper. His face seemed to be frozen in a

gap-toothed rictus with sunken eyes, giving the impression of a skeleton

wearing a human suit. I wasn't sure I wanted to buy anything, but at least I

could get some free information.

I said, "Hey, what's up with this necklace? What does 'Seven Slots'

even mean?"

"Oh ho ho, sonny, you've got a good eye in that head of yours. That

means you can store the effects of other items. Only items that equip to the

same slot work, and each item effect only has 30% effectiveness when it's

stored in the necklace."

That sounds so useful. I could always use higher poison or sleep

resistance, and if I could get my hands on amulets for every type of

resistance, I'd be unstoppable.

Of course, the effects only being 30% effective wasn't ideal. Even a

100% poison resistance item would only give me 30% resistance after it

was slotted. Still, it was better than nothing, and I hadn't found another

necklace yet, anyway. With this much money, "nice to have" was enough of

a reason to buy something.

More importantly, what was up with all the question marks in the

Mistletoe Sprig description? I would love to power up my Sylvan Staff. I

didn't know how it worked, but I wanted any power-ups I could find.

Since I didn't have any other weapons, I figured that I might as well

grab it.

"Mirror Cloak: Reflects magic attacks via Minor Reflection

Enchantment."

That sounded useful. I hadn't been attacked by magic yet, but I didn't

have a way to resist magic attacks without something like this. And since it

was a cloak, I could store it in my "Cloak?" with six slots to spare. I

doubted that it could totally reflect all magic attacks, but if I leveled it up

and used it alongside my skills, it could be a good way to counter magic.

Even if it's expensive, I'm throwing my money at it! Give it to me!

The spear guy was picking his teeth and yawning. Don't rush me,

you're the one who brought me here in the first place! It was my right—nay,

duty—to browse. If I didn't inspect every last item, how could I be sure I

bought the right things?

There was a lot more good stuff here than I anticipated, and I was

filthy rich. I never expected to go on a shopping spree in a fantasy world.

I saw "Knife-Proof Clothes Set: Cannot be torn." That sounded good,

but my current outfit never tore, burned, or got dirty. I noticed another

clothing set that gave strength and power +7 but otherwise seemed kind of

weak. If I was going for power, the "Fire Staff: Fire Magic +10%" would be

far more effective. As soon as I saw that, I saw other gear that gave 20%

and 30% bonuses, making 10% worthless in comparison.

"Knife-Proof Cap: Cannot be torn." Meh, even if I can't be stabbed in

the head, my head can still get crushed. What's the point of headgear that

isn't a helmet?!

"Mana Cutter: A magical sword with uncanny sharpness. Min.

Lv50." An actual sword!

I wanted it, but I was nowhere near the minimum level. I could still

buy it and swing it around, even if the magic didn't activate, right?

Huh? I noticed something even stranger: "Void Staff: Super effective

for users of Void Magic." I had to learn Void Magic to even use it?! What

the hell was the point? The staff should do the work for me! Might as well

call it a Rip-off Staff! It was like a scam targeting the elderly! I was nearly

convinced myself! Nearly. Should I get it just in case?

Maybe it would come in handy one day. No, what was I thinking? I

was looking for things I needed, things that were actively beneficial. I

couldn't base my purchases on wishful thinking!

That old guy with the spear left for dinner. How rude! He couldn't

even wait for me? Even the shop owner was holding back tears and looking

like he wanted me to leave! Come on, I'm only getting started, don't they

know that patience is a virtue?

I had a Ring of the Destitute, but it made me nervous, so I usually

ignored it. When I pulled it out and used Appraisal, I saw that it also had

the Seven Slots tag. Rings! I thought. I'll collect all the rings! For some

reason, the shop owner was reluctant to show me any jewelry. What was his

problem?! Hurry up and show me! Show me, show me, show me!

"I beg you," the shop owner whimpered. "I'll give you anything:

coupons, discounts, freebies, loyalty cards. Just pick something already. I'm

dead tired and haven't eaten all day. Everything aches…"

The spearman came back and said, "Hey, kiddo, the shop owner

looks like he's about to keel over. Why don'tcha just buy something? I'm

barely able to keep my lids open, m'self. It's gotten so dark you can't hardly

see his merch, anyway."

This was pathetic. Wasn't the customer supposed to always be right?

If he would just help me out a little, I would buy so much stuff from him!

"Don't worry about me. I can see just fine since I've got Night Vision

and Appraisal. Do you want to use a magic lantern?"

"We want to go home!" they shouted at me.

What were they, lost kids? The Class Rep, who was passing by on a

night patrol, was roped into convincing me to leave.

After careful and exhaustive deliberation, I had at last finalized my

candidates. I just started my final round of winnowing my shopping cart,

but they were clamoring to kick me out!

Since they were being so pushy, I settled on buying everything I'd

picked out so far. Surely, that wouldn't be a waste of money.

"Can you ring me up?" I said, dumping everything on the shop

counter.

"You want to buy…everything? We have fair prices, and I know you

helped Gatek, so I want to give you a good deal, but you've picked out

some of my most expensive wares. It'll cost you over 10 million ele."

"Can't you just make it under 8 million ele? That's all I have, and I'll

haggle all night if I have to."

"Please no!" they all yelled.

The Class Rep looked over what I wanted to buy and made me put

back a few items. Without the "Glittering Cloak: Sparkles with style,"

"Vase of Good Fortune: A vase that is said to bring happiness to the home it

is placed in," and "Pheromone Ring: May raise wearer's appeal to the

opposite sex," the total price dropped to 8 million ele. I really wanted that

last one though, okay?

"May raise wearer's appeal to the opposite sex" sounded amazing.

Fine, I'll put it back, I thought.

Pheromone Ring happened to be the most expensive product, costing

2.6 million ele. The shopkeep tossed the ring into a pile of jewelry at the

back of his cart. Goodbye, sweet sex appeal.