The Shop Grandma (2)

As Kalle walked around the apartment complex once more, he made sure to raise his alertness and scanned his surroundings.

He made sure that no amalgamation of mana appeared near the apartment complex once more and spawned another portal while he was gone.

He also really made sure to check whether the shops and convenience stores around his area were open since he would really need food if he and his sister were to be put in a prolonged lockdown.

Kalle went back to the crossroad where the goblin dungeon appeared before and found that the portal had really gone away after he claimed it.

He didn't know how other dungeons worked, but he hadn't seen any news about people clearing the dungeon and making the portal disappear on the internet.

'I need to conquer more dungeons to learn more about them…'

Kalle then proceeded to check on the convenience stores that he knew all around the block.

But no matter which one he went to, each of them was closed tight. the door having chains securing them and all.

'I guess it made sense to do that… I wouldn't want my business to be wrecked by monsters or people that took advantage of the chaos caused by those monsters…'

Kalle also checked the small shops that he knew around the area and almost all of them also closed their doors tight.

All of them except for one store.

It was that one store that Kalle frequented to buy his household needs since he rarely bought them at a convenience store because the price was marked up quite significantly in those convenience stores.

While in the little shop manned by the old lady, Kalle found soaps, shampoos, clothes hangers, and other basic needs to be cheaper by a significant margin.

Kalle was happy that he found the old lady still opened up her shop, manning her products despite the dangerous situation around the area.

'Although buying ingredients from her is quite expensive compared to the convenience stores, I would at least know where I can find them.'

Kalle was about to walk up to the old lady's store and stock up on some bread and eggs before the price rose too much due to the lockdown when he saw a group of thugs come in first.

He was still quite a distance away from the shop, but he could see clearly the three men weren't up to something good.

One of them kicked the shop door open and walked in, kicking it hard enough that the door banged loudly that Kalle heard it from tens of meters away.

Involving yourself with street thugs was dangerous. The general rule of thumb if you saw someone like them was to avoid them as far as you could and not ever have any business with them.

However, Kalle knew the old lady well and he frequented her store for almost two whole years now.

She was even nice enough to give him freebies whenever he bought things from her.

She would give him extra soaps, bread, and even sometimes a couple of eggs if she realized that he lacked the money to buy any. 

Kalle couldn't just ignore the old lady getting robbed by some thugs who took advantage of the dangerous situation to get what they wanted.

Besides, Kalle now was confident he could deal with them.

Feeling the mana coursing through his body, Kalle walked close to the small shop, ready to use basic body enhancement on his hands to throw the thugs out.

When he got close enough, he could hear the men's voices.

"You know it's a hard time, old lady. Give us your money. You won't need them. You've lived long enough."

"We are still young, we need a lot of money if we want to live in this cruel world."

"Why don't you help out youngsters for once? Don't be a stingy old woman."

Kalle could also hear the old lady's reply,

"No! Why would I give money to someone like you fools who dared to rob an old woman in broad daylight!"

"Well, you will give it whether you want it or not. Why don't you just make this faster?"

Kalle then could hear the usual wooden desk the old lady used being slammed hard before the old lady spoke again.

"Go away or I will scream and call the police!"

The three men then looked at each other and Kalle could hear their boisterous laugh.

"Go ahead and scream! Who will hear you? The wind?" The man in front of the group pointed towards the empty street.

Nobody dared to go out of their houses after they had seen the monsters appearing out of nowhere.

They didn't want to be the monsters' next victims and lose their lives.

The only ones who got out at a time like this were either people who were up to no good or people who were confident that they could keep themselves safe.

"And if you want to call the police, just call them. Let's see who will arrive first. Them or my fist."

Upon hearing the man's words, Kalle decided to go in.

However, he suddenly stopped in his tracks when he suddenly felt a surge of mana from inside the store.

Kalle continued to walk slowly, making sure the three thugs didn't catch him as he peeped inside the store.

What he saw surprised him.

One of the thug's hands right now wasn't an ordinary human's hands.

Fur covered his forearms and sharp claws replaced his nails.

When looked closely, the man's arms resembled a bear's.

The man slammed his transformed hand onto the old lady's desk and the wooden furniture broke apart easily as if it was made out of crackers.

The old lady who tried to safeguard her money fell down from the shock as fear began to envelop her body.

"Please! Just go away! I can't give you any money! I need to take care of my granddaughters!"

But the thugs didn't even care one bit about her plead and instead spoke,

"Oh? You have granddaughters? How old are they? Where are they right now? Can we meet and play with them!"

Realizing she had spoken the wrong words, the old lady just closed her mouth tight, not letting a single word come out of her mouth as she hugged her purse tight.

Kalle was ready to help the old lady, but now that he knew one of the thugs was capable of using mana, he couldn't risk himself fighting against such an opponent.

He didn't have any plans to lose his life yet. Besides, if the street thugs ever recognized him, then it didn't rule out the possibility they would tail him and find where he lived.

It would be easy to deal with them if they were just ordinary thugs as Kalle could beat them black and blue with ease.

But if it were thugs that were capable of using mana, then Kalle shouldn't risk being found out by them.

However, even with all his cautiousness, Kalle still wanted to help the old lady.

He didn't want to abandon the old lady who was nice to him and let her possibly be killed by those thugs.

Kalle then looked all around him, making sure that no one or any surveillance was there to see him.

After making sure that was the case, Kalle opened up his inventory and pulled out his cursed mask.

He also commanded the ring to once again change into a staff.

He was almost ready now, but there was one more thing that he could do now.

'Grux and two more should be enough right?' Kalle thought to himself as he recalled the prowess of a certain monster.

'I summon you, Grux'

Then out of thin air, Grux, Kalle's contracted goblin warrior, appeared out of nowhere beside him.

Upon seeing Kalle, Grux kneeled and lowered his head.

Seeing his contracted goblin, Kalle nodded his head in acknowledgment.

But he wasn't done yet.

'Staff, use 40 dungeon points to summon two goblin warriors.'

--------Author's Note-------

Since this novel is participating in a WPC, 10 Power Stones in a week = 1 bonus chapter!