Self-assembly, yes please!
The following morning, they both woke up early to a familiar unpleasant smell. "At least it's Mars' horse, so I don't have to clean that up," Kit chuckled to himself as he quickly left the room to find Iris before Mars could ask for his help cleaning the manure.
Kit found Iris in the kitchen, busy preparing meals for the day. "Good morning, Iris. Do you need any assistance today before Mars and I leave for Flower Field town?"
"Good morning, Kit. Oh, I didn't realise you two were leaving the village today. I thought you might stay for a little longer. You are both welcome to stay in the loft for free as long as you like." Iris had a hopeful expression on her face.
"I'm sorry, Iris, but we'll be heading to Flower Fields town after we gather supplies. I was hoping to retrieve the beer barrel this morning, so Pint won't get stuck halfway there." Kit shuffled his foot on the floor, feeling a bit sad about leaving Iris behind.
She was the first person to offer help to Mars and him when they arrived. "Okay, as much as I want you boys to stay here, I understand you can't. Just go and get your supplies, then come back, and I'll prepare some food for your journey," Iris said with a smile.
Kit left the house to find Mars washing himself under a hose outside. "I'll be done soon; I felt dirty after cleaning out the stall," Mars said while shirtless.
As Kit watched him, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy at Mars' fit physique- six-pack abs and muscular arms. Kit glanced down at his own body and realised he didn't have such an impressive figure. He wondered if Mars had adjusted his physical appearance during the login process but dismissed the thought quickly.
Kit handed Mars a towel from a barrel near the hose. "Thanks, I smelled pretty bad after cleaning up after that horse," Mars said as he dried himself off. Kits envy disappeared as he remembered the mess Mars had just dealt with.
A grin spread across his face. "No problem, Mars. What do you think we'll need for the trip?"
"I thought about it last night and made a list. I figured it would be like camping, so I wrote down the things I usually bring with me," Mars replied, holding a paper in his hand.
"I've never been camping before, so I'm glad one of us has experience. Give me half the list, and we can gather everything faster that way." Kit held out his hand, and Mars tore off a section of the list for him. "Okay, you grab these items, and I'll get the others. We can meet back here once we're done," Kit said as he examined his portion of the list.
It looked like he could find everything at the general store. "Sounds good! See you soon," Kit waved goodbye to Mars and set off to find the general store. On his way there, Kit realised he needed to check his money balance. "CAL, open menu," he requested aloud.
Kit
Level: 5
Class: Swordsman
Sub class:
Money: 20 silver 218 bronze crowns
Free points: 10
Health: 200/200
Stamina 15/15
Magica: 50/50
Experience: 0/2000
Attack + 14 (30)
Speed + 9 (5)
Intelligence + 14
Agility + 10 (5)
Defence +7
Weapon: Rusty knife
Clothing: White apron
Kit counted the 20 silver and 218 bronze crowns in his pocket, confident that he had enough to buy everything on his list. Though the currency was new to him, he had studied the guide in his menu extensively.
1000 bronze = 1 silver
1000 silver = 1 gold
1000 gold = 1 platinum
Kit acknowledged that they had been fortunate in accumulating a significant amount of money so far. However, he needed to start allocating funds for his restaurant. Kit thought it would be great if CAL could set up a separate account specifically for their restaurant finances.
"CAL, can you split my money in to two portions? I want to set up some restaurant capital." Kit just asked randomly, he not expecting it to be possible.
Ding!
[Restaurant capital added]
Kit
Level: 5
Class: Swordsman
Sub class:
Money: 10 sliver 109 bronze crowns
Restaurant capital: 10 silver 109 bronze crowns
Free points: 10
Health: 200/200
Stamina 15/15
Magica: 50/50
Experience: 0/2000
Attack + 14 (30)
Speed + 9 (5)
Intelligence + 14
Agility + 10 (5)
Defence +7
Weapon: Rusty knife
Clothing: White apron
Kit was stunned, he couldn't believe this was possible! This would make it easier separating the money he could spend vs his savings for the restaurant. Kit was so engrossed in looking at the screen that he tripped over a bump in the road.
"Oops, note to self: don't walk and look at screens," Kit scolded himself before closing the menu and continuing his way to the general store.
The sign outside read "Boots General Store," its bright red colour standing out among the other buildings. Kit's excitement quickly faded when he noticed it didn't have a star, meaning it wasn't a level 1 store.
Disappointed, Kit entered anyway and was greeted by an old man with a hunched back and sharp eyes. His raspy voice matched his appearance as he asked, "Hello young man, what can old Boots do for you today?"
"Oh, your name is Boots? I'm Kit. I need some supplies for my travels, here's a list." Kit handed over the torn piece of paper, not wanting to waste time searching for items all over the cluttered store.
Boots studied the list before energetically wandering around and gathering items from various places in the shop. "I like lists, makes things easier for this old man. Won't take long to finish," he said with a toothy grin.
The old man finally settled behind the counter with piles of items scattered around him, Boots remarked, "Your friend wrote the list for you, huh? Looks like you're new to camping."
"How did you know?" The man's astute observation was amazing.
A chuckle showed the old man's missing front teeth. "You look overwhelmed at all the items."
Kit eyed the pile of items, it was true he had no clue what most of that stuff was. He hoped he got the right stuff, he didn't want to let Mars down. "Is that everything?"
"Should be, don't worry I'll take you through each item, so you know what you are purchasing." Boots then put the list on the counter in front of both of them. "Well then, let's start with the tent. This one fits four people and has an awning to keep you dry and bug-free. And the best part? It sets up and collapses on its own!" Boots proudly showed off the tent, knowing its magic would appeal to Kit.
"Wow, that's amazing. How much is it?" Kit asked excitedly.
"500 bronze crowns. And next on your list is the camping kitchen," Boots continued without pausing to see if Kit was taken aback by the price. But judging from his enthusiastic expression, he knew Kit wouldn't mind splurging. As Boots motioned towards a large wooden trunk on the floor, Kit eagerly followed him over.
"This wasn't on your list, but I thought you might appreciate it. It's a basic camping kitchen that folds out and has two cupboards on either side of the oven. It also comes with some extra accessories."
"The oven is made from heat-resistant stone, so there's no risk of starting a fire. And on top of the oven, there's a stove for additional cooking options. The top of the cupboards even double as chopping boards."
"The basic accessories include pots, pans, utensils, cutlery, and tableware. It's like having a portable kitchen. And the best part? It assembles and cleans itself with magic. Only 1 silver crown for all of this. Would you like to add it to your purchase?" Boots seemed confident that he would say yes.
Kit couldn't resist his persuasive sales tactics; he couldn't pass up a magical kitchen item! But now Mars may think less of me for being unable to say no to such things.
"I'll take it too, Boots. But I'm afraid I'm nearly out of money now." Kit put on a sad expression, hoping it would dissuade him from showing me any more tempting items.
"Don't worry, lad. The rest is quite affordable. The two sleeping bags, fishing gear, light stone, rope, and two camping chairs come to a total of 200 bronze crowns. So in total, your purchases today will be 1 silver and 700 bronze crowns."
Even though Kit splurged on the camping kitchen, he was relieved that all he needed now was an alcohol barrel. Kit wondered if Boots sold those too?
"Do you happen to have any alcohol barrels for sale?" Boots' face lit up at this request.
"Of course! I have a basic one for only 100 bronze crowns. Want me to add it to your purchase?"
Kit reluctantly handed over the money, feeling a pang of regret for spending so much.
While Boots retrieved the alcohol barrel, Kit began to pack his new purchases into his trusty pouch. But then Boots caught him off guard by giving a strange look.
Is there something on my face? Did he realise how much money I just spent? Kit's mind raced with worry.
"Kit, that's a mighty fine pouch you have there. Is it a family heirloom?" Boots pointed at his pouch.
"No, it's just something I bought in passing." Kit lied, not wanting to reveal its true value. He was a little fluster that Boots recognised that it had some value, he was not going to be robbed right?
"Ahh, I like you little Kit. You bought so much from me. I can tell you're new to travelling. That pouch you have is quite valuable, as I'm sure you already know. Don't worry most people wouldn't recognise who made the bag. The only reason I know is I have one from the same maker." Boots proceeded to unpick a patch on his own pouch.
Boots pointed to a familiar cluster of Mould and exclaimed, "See here, this is the symbol of the bag maker." He then tapped the cluster three times and said "reveal," causing a gold symbol to appear.
The mark looked similar to the one on the map, but with a different animal inside - a brown winged bird surrounded by a glowing gold ring.
"My great grandfather was lucky enough to meet Credula when he passed through his farm in Spartan Fire Hamlet on one of his adventures. My great grandfather helped Credula with a task and received a pouch as payment. This was how I could recognise yours."
Boots then taped the symbol three times and said "conceal," The gold mark returned to a cluster of mold. "There aren't many people who would recognise the arrangement of brown dots, but it will be safer for you to cover them like I do."
Kit felt it was fate to have entered this store or else he would not have learnt this valuable news. "Thank you for your advice, Boots. Could you please sell me something to cover the brown blobs?"
Boots happily pulled out a metal tin filled with needles and threads and offered some cloth pieces that matched Kit's bag material. The price was 5 bronze crowns, and Boots even offered to sew it on for free if Kit didn't know how.
Kit handed over the money, assuring Boots that he was capable of sewing it himself. Relieved that he could now hide the symbol, Kit left quickly in case Boots changed his mind about robbing him. As he walked away, he made a mental note to fix the symbol when they stopped to camp for the night.