Chapter 3 Still Slumming It

Selling everything is quick and easy, there's a shop by the dungeon that will buy everything you bring out and sells beginner potions as well.

Finding a place to sleep proves a bit more difficult. Hotel space is very limited, only the expensive ones remain. But at 6 silver a night with meals it is hard on the budget.

"That's half what I made today. Perhaps I can find somewhere cheaper?" Cain ponders out loud and one of the pedestrians points him towards a sign on a nearby wall.

'Private rooms for rent long term. Furnished. 5 silver a month, privy and hearth.'

Cain has the silver, and for a whole month? That's not a bad deal, so he heads towards the street indicated on the poster, finding a run down apartment building that looks like an abandoned motel 6 from his old world. A square building marked by rows of windows beside dilapidated wooden doors. This world doesn't paint much, preferring stone if they can afford a fancy exterior, or simple dark brown stain if they can't. So no trademark faded yellow paint, but it still has that abandoned roadside motel feeling.

This building has heavily flaked brown stain on it, that clearly was poorly applied to begin with. But it's got rooms, and that's the most important part right now.

As he approaches he sees a food market at the end of the street, so that's one convenience. Maybe these places won't be too bad? If he keeps telling himself that, maybe he can force himself to believe it. 

The yellow toothed manager takes him to an open unit. A single room roughly three meters by five. Part of this space is taken up by a small room that includes a flush toilet and a sink with a hand pump. So no running water, manual refill to flush. Further along that side is a long stone bench with an old wooden chair, and a fireplace taking up the middle of the wall.

They weren't joking about hearth. The cooking facility seems to be the fireplace, with a pot hung over the opening and a stand with a wok off to the side. Primitive, by Cain's estimation, but effective enough, he's cooked over a camp fire before, he can do it again until he can afford better.

There were magic fired stoves that look like his grandma's wood stove visible in many of the street vendors, and the restaurant had a modern looking grill that might also be magic. Not all hope for a decent life is lost.

Cain gives the man his silver and the old manager points out back "There's firewood there, I brought in the first batch, you can fetch the rest" he says before leaving Cain with the key to his new apartment.

"It's got a bed with decent blankets, a couch, a table of sorts and a chair. At least it covers the essentials. If nothing else it'll motivate me to do better in life." he sighs.

And motivate him it does. the bed is hard as a rock, so he ends up sleeping on the old couch instead. Maybe he can find a cheap futon in the shops today? It's got to be better than that bed. He always did prefer a soft cushion on the floor to an actual bed, better position for VR gaming all night without risk of falling.

Waking up early to light the fire, a technique he still remembered from his grandma's stove, he headed over to the market while the fire took hold and the pan heated.

A jar of tea, oil, peanut butter, a dozen eggs, rice, some vegetables and a big bag of dried Ramen style noodles. All for under ten copper. Food is cheap here Cain decided. After adding a small fish from a returning fisherman and some freshly baked buns he was set for the day.

Peanut butter sandwiches and deluxe Ramen during the day, with eggs and rice, hopefully with that fish for breakfast. The only things he actually knew how to cook. Come to think of it, he was going to have to either eat out or learn to cook, as his limited skills didn't exactly lead to a buff and energetic physique in his last life and this place seems realistic enough he might destroy this mediocre physique he was granted if he doesn't eat well. 

The fish proves edible even with his limited skills and he packs up a bunch of peanut butter buns into his storage for snacks. A water skin is found in the cupboard by the plates and bowls, well worn but holding on, so it gets filled and comes along too.

"Poor adventurer mode engage" Cain tells himself as he heads out the door.

"If I can do two dungeons today I can get a good meal at that diner to celebrate." He decides, about to get into line when he sees a short sword for sale at the trade in shop.

Examining it shows it does way more damage than his bat did, so after a bit of haggling and the last of his coin, he's ready to face the day with a weapon upgrade.

Both runs prove much easier, plus fast enough he can get a third run in and Cain returns to the vendor exhausted at the end of the day.

"Hard work clearing the dungeon, isn't it? Good work son, total is 17 silver 19 copper." Twenty five copper to a silver, a strange number Cain decided, but who was he to set coin values?

The oil lantern burning in front of the Cafe was like a hot light to him at this point, nearly draining himself the few blocks down the cobblestone streets from the vendor to the diner across from where he first arrived. The extra run had long since depleted both his food storage and his energy. He didn't even have it in him to check out the architecture or scout for really good character outfits like he usually did in VR games. 

"I'll take the Dinner special with coffee please" he calls to the waitress before he could even find a table.

"We've got bandages if you need them" The waitress smiles at him, bringing over his coffee.

"No, I should be fine, I'm down to just scratches at this point." He shakes his head and she scurries off to go get his food.

Cain looks up at the board on the wall to see what he ordered for dinner. 'Dinner Special Meatloaf and Mashed Potato' the sign reads what appears to be the the perpetual special, with smudges and repairs showing that has been the special for a long while now.

Four copper with free refills on the coffee is definitely worth it, Cain decides, seeing the mound of food presented to him on the fake marble laminate table. 

"Time to check my status" Cain grumbles, shoveling food into his mouth.

[Name] Cain

[Level] 7

[Class] Puppet Master

[Race] Human

[Skills]

[Summon Lesser Golem]

[Poison Arrow]

'It's not much, but I'm getting there.' Cain thinks to himself.

A group of warriors and a Mage are talking about the second dungeon, while smoking on the street outside the Cafe, so Cain listens in. They say the drops in the second dungeon go for up to a silver each, giving up to a hundred total silver a run, split between the group.

That sounds almost too good to be true, so Cain makes a plan to get some form of armor to replace these starter robes and hit level 10 as quickly as he can.

After all, if a few warriors and a Mage can do it, so can he. He's got Golems after all. But Cain doesn't know that their tank is a Paladin, who self heals, and not a warrior, as Cain doesn't know enough about the available class armors to tell the difference.