Chapter 48: Shopping (volume 2)

"So that means we've got some shopping to do." Frost smiled widely ear to ear as he left the DP records section. At the moment he didn't have enough DP for a second floor plus it shouldn't be necessary yet. However, he could buy another section or enlarge his existing ones. Currently Frost found that buying another D-rank monster with his current layout and strength would be difficult. The polar bear alone was a little difficult to control compared to the goblins or slimes.

'I'm not strong enough yet to have lots of D-ranks under my control.' He remembered the problems they had with the polar bear behaving aggressively to his other monsters. Plus, D-rank monsters would be too strong for his intended prey.

"What about…" Frost brought up the monster list, flicking through until he found frost goblins. He looked over towards Maya to see her reaction. The two of them were incredibly satisfied with how the frost goblins performed.

"I could buy a spawner for 3000DP." Spawners cost 100 times the monster's initial cost and summon monsters overtime indefinitely. In the long term they're far more effective than single buying. Monsters summoned in this way would have certain limitations however as well as benefits. 

Different spawners summon at different rates, e.g. one every 12 hours.

[monster rank] [Summon rate]

[G and F]            [12 hours]

[E and D]            [24 hours]

[C]                      [48 hours]

[B]                      [ 5 days]

In regards to a frost goblin spawner it would pay for itself in 50 days, after which it'd churn out free monsters forever. However spawned monsters cannot evolve since their max level is reduced by 20% and are summoned at set levels.

[monster  [normal  [spawner

    rank  ]  max lvl]    level  ]

[G]              [10]      [1 to 8]

[F]                [20]      [8 to 16]

[E]              [30]      [16 to 24]

[D]              [40]      [24 to 32]

[C]              [50]      [32 to 40]

[B]              [60]      [40 to 48]

Spawned monsters would be summoned at a set level between their ranks max level and the previous ranks max level e.g., D-ranks would be summoned between level 24 and 32.

Spawned monsters cannot gain levels and are weaker than their regular summoned compatriots, when at equal levels. This is to counteract their ability to be summoned indefinitely (well as long as the dungeon core isn't killed).

"Hmmm are you sure?" Maya felt uncertain, 3000DP was almost half of their current stock and it wasn't an immediate boost to their current strength. She felt that it would be better to buy around 20 to 30 frost goblins for now.

"Why not?" Frost asked purely in a curious fashion.

"We've only just opened the dungeon and have a set amount of DP. Spending such a large amount of DP on a long-term solution feels a little much considering how green we are." Maya couldn't disagree with the logic of it being cost effective but right now they needed to establish a good deal of strength and not in a couple weeks.

"I see but I disagree."

"How so young master?"

"First off, the earlier we buy a spawner the greater the benefit, the sooner the monsters become free plus although 3000DP sounds like a lot we'd still have nearly 4000DP left so it is an expense we can endure however there's another reason why this time is perfect."

"What's that?" Maya looked puzzled as she tilted her head.

"Father's 1 month protection, this first month we can take risks." If Frost didn't have this insurance, he would be wary of taking such a gamble. Frost goblins were technically G-rank and not much use in theory, but he saw how they worked in groups and responded to orders, reassuring his decision. The slimes and artic horned rabbits didn't feel as worthwhile, so he shelved buying a spawner of them.

"I see that does make sense, but do you think that's what Dark God-sama intended with his protection. Don't you feel that it sets a bad precedent." Maya felt that Frost was not taking the protection of his core that seriously.

Frost looked blankly at her.

"I think it's exactly what he hoped for."

"Eh!"

"When we spoke, he thoroughly encouraged me to experiment and take risks so why shouldn't I take advantage of a 1 month's guarantee of safety. When else would I be able to simply play around." Frost knew that after the first month and when he meets up with his siblings, he would be faced with great danger so best to play around now when it was safe to do so.

Maya looked at Frost in shock, he looked so sure of his answer that she couldn't respond. Images of the Dark God filled her mind.

'Strange young master reminds me of Dark God-sama, but why they also don't seem anything alike.' Maya never experienced Dark behaving ungodlike before but if Dark were here, he'd probably agree. He and Frost had similar personalities after all.

"Now that that's sorted, we still have a little more to do." Frost added the replacement monsters and goblin spawner to his cart.

"Let's expand the third section to medium for 1500DP to match the others and perhaps we could try one more D-rank monster, just not a polar bear." He only had two choices yeti or frost troll.

"And I really need to replace this thing." Frost withdrew his severely chipped and blunted iron glaive, it currently looked worse than some of the bandits weapons. It was really outmatched compared to Alex's short sword. Luckily, it wasn't split in half at least.

'Perhaps the frost dwarves could repair it.' He really didn't want to have 150DP go down the drain.

"Other than that, let's add another two frost wolves and leave the rest for savings."

'With a 2-star glaive that should leave around a 1000DP.' Frost looked at Maya, asking for opinion. Maya shrugged slightly before replying.

"The choice is yours young master." She wasn't entirely convinced but chose to trust in his judgement.

'What's the worst that could happen.' She was confident that even if the goblin spawner proved useless, she could protect him in future.

"Alright I'll go with this then. Let's put the spawner in the third section, now that it'll be bigger it needs monsters to fill the empty spaces. Let's have the frost wolves live there as well, they can defend the spawner room." One important note was at the bottom of the spawner's details page 'CAN BE DESTROYED' just like the dungeon core, people if they so wished could break the spawner. This was another reason as to why Maya was unsure about purchasing one.

"As for the D-rank monster, there's either a frost troll or a yeti… frost trolls can speak right?" A yeti seemed as though it would be similar to a polar bear, just a strong beast without intelligence.

"Yes, albeit only a little, their intelligence is roughly equal or slightly higher than that of a goblin. Since it's a frost troll however they should be able to speak some of the common language, others would only be able to grunt." Frost trolls albeit shorter and weaker than their regular troll counterparts, were more dexterous and agile and could speak. It's not at the level where Frost could have a conversation with them as he does with Maya but should prove refreshing.

"As long they can understand commands and can give simple orders it'll be perfect." He could leave a frost troll in charge when he and Maya left. As long as the goblins and other monsters had someone to give them orders their battle prowess would jump significantly.

A frost troll costed the same as the polar bears 500DP so there shouldn't be too much difference in strength.

"He can camp out in the winter forest along with the frost dwarves." Frost continued to configure his purchases. All that was left was to summon a better weapon. His gaze once again drifted towards his iron glaive. Manoeuvring to the weapons section Frost completely ignored the single star section clicking on the two-star section. The rest were still unfortunately locked.

'Perhaps if I reach the adept rank the next star level will unlock.' Frost felt annoyed, if only the battle with Alex went on a little longer, he was sure he would have achieved the next level of glaive mastery.

There wasn't much choice available for the blade part, but the shaft could be customised with different materials. A simple steel glaive with the same style and design as the iron one cost 350DP but there was another option that drew his attention.

"Pykrete blade with iron wood shaft." Pykrete was a mix of ice, and wood pulp that had great strength and durability. It was slow to thaw even in warm weather but considering Frost's location that didn't matter.

Pykrete could even rival steel and higher quality metals depending on the wood pulp and ice used. This current option was slightly weaker than steel but was faster and lighter. The shaft however was of higher quality than the steel's and together they cost the same 350DP. Frost felt that a pykrete weapon suited him better considering his connection with ice but was unsure of its practical use, so he turned to his trusty advisor.

"Pykrete is a good substitute to steel especially given our environment, the iron wood shaft is a good match. It's heavier and denser than regular common wood shafts so it can take a beating and can flex much more." Maya looked over the damaged iron glaive, the wooden shaft was no longer smooth and had several cracks.

"It'll hold up much better in prolonged combat and the heavier shaft would help add weight to your swing since the blade is lighter. It's a good weapon for your current level." Maya gave a nod of approval, even feeling that 350DP was cheap for such a product. Similar weapons could be bought in Furano, but the craftsmanship wouldn't be as good and would cost close to 30 silver coins or more, a fairly large chunk of their current savings.

Frost smiled, happy to receive her go ahead he confirmed his purchases causing the dungeon core to glow and rotate as usual. Again, he could feel a surge of divine energy flowing through his veins before connecting him to the core. It was over in a few seconds; the monsters and room changes were complete, and a magic crest appeared next him.

The pykrete glaive slowly revealed itself from the crest. The blade was white, almost translucent and felt cold to the touch. The shaft was dark purple and had blue lines twisting from top to bottom. The butt of the shaft was covered in pykrete as well, blunt without an edge purely for crushing and thrusting. Frost grabbed hold of the glaive and swung it around in order to gain a good feel for it.

"Woah it really is light." It felt at least 20% lighter than the iron glaive and the weight was better distributed along the shaft instead of being top heavy. He could slice, stab, and defend much quicker than before.

'A good weapon.' He rubbed the back of the blade and could feel the coldness of the ice, to him it felt comfortable. Maya then told him of a legendary weapon made purely of primordial ice which is said to be able to freeze its target with a single slash from over twenty metres away. This was nowhere near that quality, but it inspired hope within Frost, he who was the embodiment of ice should wield such a weapon. Talking of weapons, he remembered Maya briefly showing hers.

"Maya what's your weapon like?" He suddenly regretted asking that question. Maya smiled coyly towards him before flicking her sleeve.

Dong! Dong!

Two massive blue hammers suddenly appeared and crashed onto the floor with a dong! Revealing their incredible weight. Maya smiled widely as she held her hammers, she felt pride.

"These hammers are a family heirloom that have been passed down for generations, given only to the most talented of offspring." She rubbed them with pride.

"They're made with 100,000-year-old origin ice and ancient orichalcum mined from deep within core regions of the Glacial mountains. Embedded within each of the hammers is a magic crystal harvested from ancient ice dragons giving a massive boost to any ice magic or chakra used by their wielder. Each one weighs a whole ton and look god damn fabulous if I do say so myself. And if we're talking about their level then they're in the same neighbourhood as that legendary primordial ice weapon I told you about." Maya's eyes were filled with passion as she spoke. She imagined how her ancestors battled and killed ancient ice dragons to make her weapons; her blood was boiling at the thought.

Frost's lips awkwardly twitched as Maya continued to regale him of stories about her ancestors' battles. Whenever his eyes would drift towards the twin hammers, he would subconsciously look at his own weapon and feel inferior and envious.

'I shouldn't have asked.' He was a long way off from being able to wield such a weapon.