Best Shop In The Multiverse
The blind slammed home at the top of the window sill, revealing the yellow eye of Earth's perfect killing machine, back from extinction to terrorize the world once again. All that separated him from certain doom was a thin sheet of glass and the nature of the shop. Oh, it wanted to get inside, but the beast couldn't figure out how for some reason. It lumbered, shaking the ground, searching for some way in, but still hadn't found one.
Red was trapped in a small room with nothing to eat or drink. His situation couldn't possibly get any worse. Hours after seeing the predator, he had time to look out and admire his situation, which included piles of dino feces filled with human bones. The beast seemed to enjoy stomping around his shop and hunting anything that saw it.
He would like to say he was free to exit, but the monster would eat him when he left the shop's safety. That left him stranded and bored out of his mind. He broke down and prayed to every deity he could think of, and something happened when he fell on the god emperor of humanity.
The flashing screen wasn't helping his sanity either. Or there is a slight chance that the god emperor of Dune might be real.
Welcome to the shop!
Red was the owner. He woke up in the shop and nearly left to his doom. Then the message appeared when he didn't leave.
The shop was small, around 100 square feet, with barely enough room to pace. The monster outside shook the shop with every step, and there was a second door he couldn't open. He turned his attention to a wooden door on the wall he couldn't open.
A sign above it clearly said "customer entrance." The flashing red exit sign above the glass door didn't look ominous.
Whenever he thought the T-rex was gone, he opened a blind to see it waiting to flank him when he exited the shop. Red thought about leaving when it got dark but quickly realized that the dinosaur probably had better night vision than him. This situation worsened because he had no idea how he got into the shop. One moment, he was watching a meteor burn violet in the atmosphere. The next, he was in a small shop.
He listened to his boots echo off the wooden floor as he paced and looked at the second window. Red approached two chests that took up large portions of the shop with signs saying outbox and inbox. Did that mean he could send and receive mail?
Would you like to open the welcome kit?
Red peered out the door and saw the bottom half of someone's shoe. Escape wasn't viable. He had to play along if he wanted to get anywhere.
He gave his reflection in the glass door a look over. The nascent shop owner wasn't much to look at. He was a man in his early 30s with a slight gut, male-patterned baldness, and a beard.
The guy in the window wasn't getting any badass awards anytime soon.
Since he had no other choice, he might accept the call to action.
"Sure, give it to me."
He heard a rumble from the chest of inboxes and quickly opened them. Inside was a cardboard box with "welcome kit" written in red on the lid. Red had precisely one piece of furniture and placed the box on the counter.
There wasn't a chair in sight. He would have to stand at the counter. That was depressing.
Quest
Acquire Merchandise
Trash Rank sword 0/1
Trash Rank shield 0/1
Trash Rank spear 0/1
Reward: 100SP (Shop Points), Shop Upgrade Menu (Trash)
A few questions: What was with the ranking system? What kind of customer would purchase something called trash rank? Was there information on the ranking system, and how was he supposed to receive merchandise? Did he have a balance?
Wallet: 0SP
Thankfully, the system was on its game. Who knows what would have happened if the system had not told him he was broke?
The new and very broke shop owner sucked in a breath and let it out. So, he had no seed money. Maybe the answer to his problems was in the box.
Red opened the box and found a helpful laminated card with his driver's license photo. It was a multiverse merchant's license. That was helpful, and maybe it would give him some credibility. Or maybe whoever did this to him was making fun of him. That seemed about as likely. There was another card. This one had color-coated tiers identifying the different ranks of items. It only gave the first five ranks.
Trash
Common
Uncommon
Rare
Epic
It was okay; he didn't want to be overwhelmed by too much anyway. The information withheld wasn't raising any red flags. Nope, none were raised, and he was going to act like this wasn't freaking him out.
Red heard a grinding sound and turned to see the T-rex turn in his direction with a moose in its mouth. It bit down, and he could hear the monster's teeth scrape against the moose's bones. Then he felt the pop as the T-rex finally cut through them.
A shiver ran down his spine. He tore his eyes away and focused back on the Welcome Kit.
There was a single card inside ten bronze keys, and that was it.
He picked up the card first.
Spell Card: Activate this card to learn one random battle spell.
First-Time Activation: Gain the intelligence attribute and one random perk.
Under the card was a small felt bag. Was it what he thought it was?
Bag of Holding (Rare): Can store up to 100 cubic feet. Item drops automatically appear in the bag of holding when equipped.
Red hugged the shabby bag to his chest. He never wanted to let it go. It was precisely what he needed.
He picked up one of the bronze keys. This was the last puzzle piece, and he only hoped to get anywhere. It was his last hope unless he thought a single spell would save him from a T-rex.
Who knew what else was outside his shop?
Instant Dungeon Key (Uncommon) – slide into the lock of your shop, declare a typing, and be transported to a dungeon to farm resources.
Warning: The dungeon lasts 24 hours. If caught outside, the user will appear outside a shop in the hub world. If the user does not return to the shop immediately, they will receive a penalty quest.
He held up the spell card, and it activated. Pain, raw and sharp, hit him, starting in his head, but it quickly crawled down his spine.
Rolling INT(intelligence) – The attribute determining what tier of spells can be learned and how much MP a user has.
INT 11
MP 11/11
MP recharges 1 per hour
Spell Rolling
Fireball lvl1: A spell that conjures an explosive fireball, casting it in a direction.
Cost: 3MP
Fire Damage 2D10 x lvl
Area 1D4 x
Range: 1D10 x 5ft
Knowledge of how to conjure and fire a fireball came to mind, along with the images he needed to picture before using the spell. Magic, as it turned out, wasn't all dumping loads of mana into a problem until it disappeared.
It wasn't very clear, but he thought he understood what the shop system was trying to tell him.
Red could use a fireball once every 3 hours, or if his mana were maxed out 3 times, he would have to wait 10 hours. At level one, the fire damage was dealt with randomly based on dice. It could be at its lowest two up to 20. HP wasn't in the thousands, and like most RPGs, it seemed to be in much lower numbers. Or he could be dead wrong.
Did he want to risk it and fire off one outside?
He turned his head, and the T-rex's pupil shrank. There were easier ways to lose an arm.
Red looked over his head and saw a die roll.
Perk Roll
3 Fourth's Tax Return: After casting three spells in succession, cast a fourth of the same spell free.
It wasn't great, but it also wasn't horrible. Red had a way over his limit. Instead of only using three spells, he could use 4. It was a great perk, but he needed a percentage chance to restore mana after killing an enemy. An extra shot wasn't significantly bad when spells ramped up their mana prices.
"How much to upgrade my Intelligence?" Red asked.
1200SP or 12 mana stones (Trash)
It was time to ask the real question. "How much to raise my mana?"
Unclear
He thought about it. "How much SP to increase my mana from 11 to 12?"
120SP
It's a tenth of the price, but would he still get MP if he increased his intelligence? Were there ways to improve his INT without buying it from the system? Were there other attributes he could get? No more than that. What kind of dungeon should he open?
He was dealing with a system that didn't seem keen on helping him. It wasn't user-intuitive; he had to ask it questions, and getting the answers felt like pulling teeth. Did it want him to open a dungeon?
"What type of dungeons can I open with a bronze key?"
Would you like to purchase a Bronze Key Dungeon Guide for 1000SP?
So he could buy nearly anything he asked for. The sky was the limit, but nothing was free.
"No thanks. I think I'm nearly ready to go. There are just a few more questions I need to ask. Show me the shop Status."
Nameless Shop lvl1 100SP to next level
Owner: Red
Tier 1(Trash)
Income: 0
Attendants: 0
Rooms 1 (Trash)
Stories: 1 (Trash)
Fame: 0
Customers: 0
Sales: 0
Investors: 0
Artisans: 0
Well, seeing all those zeroes made him feel a little self-conscious. He would have to buckle down and shoot fireballs if he wanted to escape his current situation. The big question was what kind of place he wanted to go to. The key said to declare a type, which was probably the best choice if he had a fire.
The biggest thing he's killed in a long time was a spider. He wasn't feeling incredibly confident.
He approached the door, and the T-rex outside practically salivated. It braced itself to lung until he stuck the key into the door's lock.
Choose a Type
Fire
Water
Wood
Earth
Metal
Dark
Light
Wood Has Been Chosen
The moment the world changes, he hears screaming. A woman with pointed ears, most likely an elf, slammed into his glass door. He sees seeds attached to her skin growing through her flesh. Parts of her body begin to glow as a large growth pushes against her shoulder. The whole time he's watching her, she's screaming, and he doesn't know what to do. He has a single combat spell, and seeds are falling from the sky, hitting the window of his shop like rain; he's left watching as more seeds hit the woman, and the moment they touch the skin, they sprout.
Red can feel his heart hammering in his chest as something emerges from the foliage. It's a person completely covered in wooden growths and flowers. The shop owner doesn't know what to do. He's frozen, and she's dying as he fails to act.
The raining seeds stopped, but she stood up. The woman's still screaming, but her body isn't obeying her. Red had just had his first taste of the multiverse and all its horrors. If he opened the door, then he would let those seeds inside. But if he didn't kill anything, then he would fail.
Quest
Colonization
Slay natives 0/3
Collect Loot 0/3
Slay Monsters 0/3
Reward: 50SP, The Wood Working Skill, Wood Working Tools
Red held his head in his hands. He could still hear the screaming. The shop owner's body moved mechanically as he grabbed a back and tied it to his side using the stings attached to the bag. He had eight fireballs if he used them carefully.
He felt that his limitations were worse than those of other gamers. There weren't levels or skills, and he had to go out, find his loot, and carve it into something usable.
If this shop system thought he would give it, it was mistaken. Red would go out and kill everything he could.
He carefully inspected the foliage around his shop. There were faces in the trees. Rotten wood and leaves covered the ground, and tall trees choked out the smaller ones.
The pings of seeds against his glass door were constant until they stopped suddenly.
When Red looked into the eyes of one of the faces, he saw it was focusing on him.
Cursed Totem HP 10
Description: An elf taken over entirely by a wood spirit; the elf has become an organ in a larger organism body subject to unending torment colored with spots of relief. When they spot a target, their parasite will launch a volley of parasitic seeds. Once they latch the Cursed Totem, they briefly sense it and sedate their victim. This grove has used up all its seeds thanks to the phenomenon known as a glass window. When they run low on seeds, they will summon Cursed Runners.
Howls echoed from the trees as the elves screamed, and Red heard a rustling in the foliage. He read the descriptions for the others and found they were also out of seeds. Soon, they, too, started screaming. Red wouldn't have much time to act.
He closed his eyes, formed the mental images, and materialized through mana the symbols over his hand. Red knew that so long as he kept the circle in front of his hand, he could continue to use fireball until his mana ran out or, in his case, until he used his 4th spell.
Each of the Cursed Totems had 10 to 15 HP. But he had a problem: The nearest grove was 40 feet away. His fireballs could travel a maximum of 50 feet. He had four chances to hit his target. If he failed, most likely, an army of the Cursed Runners would mob the exit, and he wouldn't be able to fire again in 9 hours.
This was his only hope, or he would have to use his next bronze key in this dungeon. Red could feel his heart hammer in his chest. What if one of the groves had some seeds in reserve, and he just couldn't see it to verify anything?
He didn't want to become one of those things.
There was no time he had to take a chance.
"Fireball," Red said and launched them.
He could see the dice roll in his head as he struggled to keep the fireballs on target. It wasn't so much of a dice roll as human error in focusing on the spell and his untrained mind struggling to focus on the images of what he suspected were demons.
The first one jammed his wrist before it fired, sailing 20 feet before exploding in a small shower of flames. He watched the second one explode 5 feet from the target. His arm nearly buckled when the 3rd one fired off. They exploded dealing 9 damage in a wide arc. Some of the leaves caught fire and started burning. Smoke rose up black as sin, and then the 4th fireball nearly broke his wrist when it fired. They hit and exploded with vastly more force.
Several trees exploded, and his bag filled with 20 verdant logs. From what he could tell, there were only 4 confirmed kills, so each tree gave him 5 logs. On the bright side, the fires were starting to spread.
His bag danced as items fell inside, and the flames started to catch on the rotten wood around the groves. Red withdrew his hand and closed the door. He had nine hours before he could do anything. The elves didn't choke to death on the smoke; unfortunately, he watched them scream as the flames licked at them.
Then, the first of the Cursed Runners appeared. They threw themselves on the flames in an effort to put them out. It was too late, and smoke was filling the forest. Red was safe with the door closed and watched on as his bag of holding continued to fill until nothing more fell inside it.
Cursed runners pounded on his door, screaming and raging, but they couldn't get inside any better than the T-Rex. He thought about using a fireball on them, but he didn't see the point since he had completed the quest. In their attempts to put the fire out, three of the cursed runners died.
Quest Complete Rewards:
Wallet: 50SP
New Skill
Wood Working lvl1
Description: Carve, sand, and polish wood to make the best products possible. The more effort put into your craft, the better the product.
Durability: Roll 1D4 x lvl
Effect: 1D20 + (1 x lvl)
Wood Working Tools (Trash)
Description: A set of essential tools to work wood and create shop-quality merchandise.
The fire continued to rage, and he realized that if he could gain xp from kills, he would have become incredibly powerful. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. He took a Verdant Log (Trash) and felt his bag of holding move. Suddenly, there was another log.
It was good to know if a little late. At least the logs didn't form into a condensed lump. That could have been deadly in such a small room. He looked at the effect and could only guess that there was a list of possible effects or a chance an item would gain one when it was complete, thanks to the dice roll.
When crafting, declare a crafting session and then declare it complete, and the system will remove all waste products. With only one room, no workshop bonuses apply.
He stared at the log in his hand and slowly cut a sliver off, feeling his new skill direct him. He needed to make wooden weapons to sell. Red didn't know who or what would even enter through the customer door to purchase anything. He did, however, unload his bag of holding stacking logs to the ceiling so that the forest fire he caused would refill his bag. It wasn't a huge exploit, but anything he could get over the system was good in his book.
Red's steady hands cut into the wood as he guided the log to become a sword. With a good enough effect, even a wooden blade could be deadly, so all he had to do was make enough swords and hopefully sell the worst ones.next time
Chapter 2: The Wors… First Customer
Piles of wood shavings covered the floor as his arm shook from the effort of cutting. His hands shook, and sweat poured down his face. Outside was an inferno as more of the cursed Totems burned. A great tree far in the distance revealed itself after the other trees finally fell. Long vines lashed out but ultimately failed to do anything against the inferno Red had caused. The wind blew in the direction of the tree and the monster ultimately failed to defend itself.
1SP had bought him a water bottle and a box lunch. Incidentally, both made excellent containers in which to relieve himself. So he tossed their remnants out of his shop onto the ash-covered ground. It wasn't long before they caught fire from the proximity of the inferno in front of him. It couldn't have happened to a nicer species of monster.
Red's arms shook as he struggled to pull off his soaked shirt before throwing it wetly on the ground.
Splat!
Even with a knife built for woodworking and his new knowledge, working Verdant Logs wasn't easy. Each log was roughly 10 feet long and 4 feet in diameter, so they could, in theory, make numerous spears and swords.
Wallet 24
He spent 15SP to increase the size of his shop by 2 feet in every direction. The first foot was only 5SP, but the next one was 10. Then, he purchased the new Lumber Chest. It could only stay in the shop, but it could hold 1000 logs of lumber and could be upgraded to hold more. Red smirked, and it was time to ask his next question.
"How much to link my bag of holding to the chest so my lumber automatically enters the lumber chest while I'm in the shop?"
While he was in the shop, it was essential.
1SP
Wallet 23
Red purchased it because it changed the entire paradigm of his situation. By framing things within the shop, he could make many things possible that weren't before.
While he hadn't unlocked the Trash Menu yet, that didn't mean functions were completely unavailable. He was only limited by price; the shop could do anything he could think of if he could afford it. Now, it was time for his next idea.
"Can I use lumber instead of SP to expand the shop while in the shop?" Red asked.
Lumber must be in the Epic tier or above for expansion.
That sucked.
"How much SP should allow my woodworking skill to level naturally?"
SP is not required; a Work Shop Attachment is needed to upgrade one's woodworking skills.
"How much SP for a Work Shop Attachment?"
Achievement Create 100 products will unlock the Work Shop Attachment.
Level Up Shop 1 time to unlock the Trash Tier achievement Menu.
So skills could be leveled by using them but only in facilities granted by the shop. Red couldn't just buy a Work Shop. He had to play by the rules if he wanted to unlock it. Having extra rooms and more space would be a great thing.
If he could acquire more attributes, like strength and maybe dexterity, that would help him carve faster and produce better products to sell.
He felt his bag of holding wiggle when the giant tree stopped moving. He reached into his bag and pulled out a glowing green orb the size of a marble.
Tree Heart (Uncommon) – The heart of an old monster tree that has terrorized a land for decades, spreading its mutation to its offspring and making war on civilized species. Attach to a wood nature creation to imbue it with a random, uncommon enchantment. A higher level of woodworking skills will boost the effects of this item. Place it in a log before processing.
That was great information to have. If he had a karmic system, he would get all the positive karma from his actions. If his achievement system wasn't based on a shop, then he would probably at least get an elf friend or some charisma-based titles or perks. Instead, he had an uncommon item that could give an item a random uncommon enchantment.
Hours later, he completed the blade of his first sword and rubbed it with a sheet of sandpaper until it was smooth. He left the handle a block until he was finished with the blade. The kit contained several different grains of sandpaper, and he used one for the edge and another for smoothing it out.
He worked hard to ensure the handle was structurally sound. He cut a few ridges in the handle to help the grip and ensured the connection between the blade and handle was good. He had only used around an eighth of his current log and could easily make seven more swords with the same piece.
Red looked up to see Cursed Runners pounding on his door but could not enter. They groaned and drooled as flames licked at their legs while the vines running through their bodies shied away from them.
A part of him wanted to put them down. There was no gain-like experience or anything like that. He tried to help them. But the sword he was making was hardly suitable for killing. It was more of a toy than anything, and its edge would wear down quickly.
On the next one, he planned on rounding the guard more to give the handle more weight to counterbalance the sword.
Red picked up his sword, and it felt strong. He slashed it once, and it felt sturdy. It wasn't finished; two parts of the process remained until he could consider it a finished product. He spent 1SP on a pack of microfiber rags and pulled free a sac of Common Cursed Totem oil, which was red in color.
Totem Oil (Common): An oily mixture of tree sap and elf blood mixed to create a nutrient-rich oil perfect for sealing wood to protect it from rain and bugs.
He had 10 Uncommon and 199 standard logs that his tools couldn't cut. The trash logs were the only ones he could work with.
Excitement flowed through him as the sword's grey wood turned a rich Mahagonny color from treating it with oil. By his 3rd round of rubbing the wood with oils, it finally stopped absorbing the oil, and he left it to dry.
It was about to happen. Red could feel it in his bones. A random enchantment was about to attach itself to his first weapon made by his own hands.
Wallet 22
This was going to make him so much money. He would buy a room to sleep in and a kitchen to cook.
He saw the dice roll.
Verdant Wood Sword (Trash)
Durability: E+
Damage: D-
Enchantment
Verdant Regrowth: If left out in sunlight for an hour, it regains a small portion of its durability.
Value: 30SP
Achievement Unlocked
Crafting Trash: Unlocks the dexterity attribute
Rolling Attribute 1D20
Red watched as a 20-sided die rolled, deciding how well he would be able to work with his hands in the future.
Rolling DEX(Dexterity): Dexterity determines delicate motor control and improves any craftsmanship that requires delicate work, from work working to forging. Higher dexterity is a benefit to any craftsman. I give +1 to any enchantment rolls for finished products at every point in Dexterity. A Natural 20 will require the user to roll 1D20 for a higher-tier enchantment.
It was good that he could make gains with achievements, but they seemed only accessible within the shop. Or maybe there was something he wasn't getting. If he stepped outside, could he gain achievements for the carnage he unleashed? Or were there other rules in play he didn't yet understand?
DEX 4
That was, unfortunately, to be expected. He couldn't expect every dice roll to be great. On the bright side, he could feel it already and knew it was an improvement to his current abilities, not a detriment. Attributes, it seemed, were added atop his base, not resetting it based on an arbitrary number.
As for the letters on his items, that was his fault; the change was within the scope of options. He could alter his attributes to reflect the same. Trash was the tier, but there was a lot within it. His wooden sword within the Trash tier had E+ Durability and D- Damage potential. Unfortunately, he had no baseline for what a standard wooden sword in the trash tier would have for its durability and damage.
So, all he could do was focus and hope his next creations were better than the last.
…
He fled when his mother fell ill, and he saw the bites on her neck. When his sister vanished in the middle of the night, his father lost the focus in his eyes. When the priest told him that his family was cursed with an illness, he had a manic grin on his face. When the old mage was burned at the stake for charges against the master, he left with money stolen from the church's coffers.
Darien Hawke had stolen the biggest, meanest stallion from Mr. Ashborne's ranch, and the man with glazed eyes hadn't seemed to notice as Darien took the nicest saddle he could find at early dawn. He wanted to get as much distance as he could from the village before nightfall. He knew that only an enchanted weapon made of wood could put down the vampires while they slept. With the mage dead, he only hoped to travel north along the Ao River to Basin City. If he rode hard, he could get within the torchlight of the city guards before nightfall.
If the city doesn't have the weapon he seeks, he will be forced to go to the taboo forest of Eldrin Hollow. It's said that a heartwood steak can kill any vampire, but anyone who takes a heartwood stake must return to that place.
…
Red was looking rough. The dungeon had ended, and he had returned to his world. Rexy, his nickname for the t-rex that stalked outside his shop, seemed overjoyed with his return. The monster was busily chowing down on a pile of elk it had hunted and left in front of the exit door. Seven large deer were quickly crunched down and devoured while he cut, sanded, and oiled a spear.
Once it was complete, he looked on to see
The outbox was a way to gain revenue without customers. Unfortunately, anything placed within was sold for half the object's value.
Wallet 37SP
He made seven more swords out of one log with slightly higher stats than his first work. Dexterity helped with crafting. He planned to increase it immediately and then raise his attribute. In his opinion, that was the best way to go about things. Before jumping into anything else, he needed to grind more money. He could make roughly four swords in a day, by his estimate. After the dexterity gain, they averaged 40SP apiece but could only be sold for 20, meaning in a day, if he worked hard, he could make 80SP.
"Shop how much to upgrade my dexterity attribute from 4 to 5?"
50SP
That wasn't too bad. Oh, it was expensive, for sure, but it seemed expenses didn't really pick up until after 10. Maybe ten or more was like going from trash to common, or he was utterly wrong. It could be that after 10, everything was multiplied by 100 for the next point.
"Is there a way to train attribute points?" Red asked.
By unlocking an attribute, gym attributes can be trained using various types of equipment. You need to complete an achievement to unlock the gym attribute for purchase.
"What's the achievement?"
User must level up the shop to unlock the Achievement Menu (Trash)
There was no free lunch. Even after he unlocked the attribute gym, he would have to purchase it and any upgrades. It would be expensive, and he wasn't getting anywhere without customers. For that, he needed a ton more SP.
Knowing what achievements were possible for his current tier would be great. For now, he needed to get his dexterity attribute to level 10 and improve his crafting abilities as much as possible. He added four wooden swords to the outbox and received 80SP in return.
Wallet 117SP
That was the most SP he'd ever had, and he was about to blow it.
DEX 6
Wallet 7SP
It hurt, but he needed to improve his equipment before he could get his first customer.
He focused on grinding and buying DEX upgrades with the materials on hand whenever he had enough SP. Every point seemed to increase the value of his items by 5SP until he reached DEX10, and then his crafted weapons seemed to undergo a qualitative change.
From 9 to 10, his gains increased from 45 to 60. His craft speed also increased; instead of making four swords and spears in a day, he could make 8 with his increased speed. This was incredible. On day 5 of owning the shop, he felt ready to finish the quest and get his first customer.
Red worked on the sheath for his best sword yet, a curved blade. He scored a NAT 20 on the enchantment roll.
His DEX gave him a bonus to a roll of 17, which allowed the sword to take on two everyday enchantments. It was the most potent wooden sword he's ever crafted.
Verdant Wormwood Sword (Trash)
Durability: C-
Damage C
Enchantments
Splintering Sweep: Sweeping attacks hit an additional nearby target for half of the damage
Wormwood Resonance: The sword hums with Verdant power, occasionally healing the wielder for 10% of the damage dealt to the undead.
Value 300SP
While it was still trash, it was much better than what he initially made. He almost couldn't believe what kind of weapon he built. Red was also very impressed with the hidden mechanic of dexterity, which the shop was utterly straightforward with. It only needed a sheath and a spear, and he would be ready to sell.
Verdant Sheath (Trash)
Durability D+
Enchantment
Grip Stabilizer: Improves grip strength when drawing a sword.
Value: 120SP
Spears were the easiest weapon to make. They were long poles with sharp tips. Each was 9 feet long; he could make around ten a day if he focused solely on them. While the Verdant sheath wasn't his best work, he had plenty of spears to go through to find his display piece.
On one of the spears, he rolled a NAT 20 and then an 11 with his DEX, which gave him two choices. He could claim the 11 and 10 enchantments or the 20 and 1 enchantments.
He had a choice between minor frostbite and weighted strikes or polished tip and runic strikes. Option one would give the spear minor frost damage and add extra blunt damage to swings, while option two gave the spear shockwave, a sharper tip, and significantly increased damage potential. Since a spear was used to stab more than anything, he chose the second option.
Verdant Rune Wooden Spear (Trash)
Durability C
Damage C+
Enchantments
Runic Strike: At the tip, faint magical runes are inscribed.
Polished Tip: The spear's tip is magically enhanced for extra sharpness.
Value: 400SP
Quest completed
Acquire Merchandise
Rewarded 100SP, Shop Menu (Trash)
He didn't waste any time opening the menu. There was a lot he didn't know that became clear.
Wallet 376SP
Worlds Opened 0
Open Shop 50SP
Rooms 1
Add Room: 100SP
Floor 1
Add Floor: 500SP
Attributes 2
Purchase STR: 150SP
Purchase WIS: 150SP
Purchase CON: 150SP
Purchase CHA: 150SP
Purchase LUK: 150SP
Markets 0
Unlock Market: 50SP
Shop Owner Abilities
Appraise: 50SP
Gacha Token (Trash): 100SP
Summon token (Trash): 1000SP
Skill Token (Trash): 1000SP
Weapon Token (Trash): 1000SP
Armor Token (Trash): 1000SP
Vehicle Token (Trash): 1000SP
If he was going to survive, he needed customers and markets to invest in, so his first order of business was to purchase CHA, and then he opened his shop.
Rolling CHA (Charisma): Charisma is the attribute that governs interactions with people and, in the case of the shop, how likely a customer is to pay exorbitant prices for whatever items the user cobbles together. While luck can bring in customers with deep pockets and low expectations, charisma will have someone entering a shop looking for a steel sword and then spending all their money on a hunk of wood. Remember, all transactions are final; the shop can turn any currency into SP.
CHA 8
Red didn't feel changed. It was more like he had become more than he was. That wasn't important; he purchased the appraisal skill and checked his wallet.
Wallet: 126SP
He felt like he was finally getting somewhere. Red purchased some signs, listed the enchantments of his weapons on plaques, and placed them in front of each one.
The customer door opened for the first time, and a scrawny boy hefting a sack of coins entered Red's shop. He stared at the very wooden weapons, and a tear fell from his face. Then his face hardened, and a gleam appeared in his eyes.
"You're the only shop that sells wooden weapons. Are they enchanted or toys?"
"You're right. I'm the only shop that sells wooden weapons. Do you read, boy? If so, then you can clearly see that these are enchanted weapons."
"They don't look like heartwood. Did you carve them from Mahogony, which won't do much against vampires?"
Red blinked at that. It was like saying a steel sword wouldn't do jack against a dragon. Well, guess what? It worked fine for knights when they needed to cut down peasants in their fields. Maybe his sword wouldn't do much against a vampire, but against normal undead, it would be a great weapon. Ten percent of damage dealt as personal healing and a slight AOE effect. It was a great weapon. The shop owner tried to calm down. He was dealing with a kid who didn't know any better.
"In the right hands, these weapons will turn the tide of battle. They aren't steel, but that isn't what you're after. You need wood, and these are the best wooden weapons around. This sheath will make any grip on your weapon unbreakable." Red said.
"How much for the spear? It couldn't be worth more than 50 silver."
That was 500SP, far more than the weapon was worth, but it seemed his customer had more silver than sense.
"A custom-made weapon like it is sealed with a mix of elven blood and sap. No sir, it is worth more than 200 silver, but I could part with it for 190."
The boy's eyes seemed to glow momentarily, and he took up the weapon. He spun it almost like a master. "It's well balanced but still only made of wood, perhaps if it was made from a monster. I couldn't possibly purchase it for more than 100 silver coins.
That translated to a 1000SP, a massive windfall. He could gain more attributes and upgrade them, increasing his work speed and increasing his gains even further. But should he push for more?
He would have to do something that disturbed him more than anything. Red would have to get to know the boy and find out why he wanted a wooden weapon.
CH3: Vampire Politics
The kid spun the spear around but made no other motions. His stance didn't change; it was more like the kid knew how to spin the weapon and nothing else.
"So why do you need wooden weapons?" The kid gave Red an eye roll and returned to messing with the spear. "Wood isn't exactly the best material for fighting people or monsters. That spear is quality, don't get me wrong, but it won't hold up as well as a steel spear."
"No one believes me, so why would you? Do you know something, old man?"
Red felt a vein in his head throb at that, but he tried to be friendly. This was a sale that he needed, and the customer was always right until there were no other options. He wanted to hurry up the sale and get the kid out so he could buy the rest of the attributes.
That would unlock the purchase of a Skill Gym and let him train his attributes. He could increase his intelligence, which would improve his mana and the skills he could learn. Or that's what he got from the descriptions. Wisdom would problem affect how quickly he improved his skills. He desperately needed the strength attribute to improve upon his production rate. Then there was good old dexterity, which improved the items he made or luck that would most likely improve his rolls. There were also perks he could purchase.
"Wooden weapons are only good when you fight something magically weak against wood. There are some demons with a weakness to particular types of trees." Red said.
The diarrhea that just spewed from his lips was from a TV show he half-remembered.
"Demons, well, believe it or not, there are vampires in Briar Hollow. No one believes me, not the guards, the smiths, or any shopkeeper." The boy said.
"What's your name kid?"
"I'm Darien Hawke, and I'm going to use this spear to save my sister and my town."
Red was willing to believe that Darien, his best customer with the deepest pockets, believed there were vampires in his town. He couldn't refute it as the only person from Darien's world that Red had had contact with, so why not help the kid out?
"Shop what can I purchase to allow Darien to return to the shop?"
An endless selection appeared at vastly different prices.
"Shop, what can I purchase for 100SP that will allow Darient to return to the shop once?"
Return Key (Trash): This key can be placed in any door on a world the shop has an established position within. Turn the key in the keyhole of a closed door, then turn the handle to open a one-way portal to the shop. Upon exiting the shop, the user will return to where they had been.
Price: 100SP
"Well, Darien, I'm Red, the shopkeeper, and if you say there are vampires in Briar Hollow, I'm willing to believe you. I doubt you would pay so much silver for an enchanted wooden spear if that weren't the case. How about I give you a key to my shop free of charge? If you ever have the money for a new weapon, put my key into any door's keyhole and turn it. Then open the door and you'll be back here in my shop. I'm willing to go as low as 150 silver coins and you'll have a permanent 20% discount from now on. You can even bring me materials you might find and I'll do custom work for you." Red said.
Red purchased a shop summoning key for 100SP. It would work once, but he saw this as an investment. By putting the thought of bringing new materials in the kid's mind, he'll bring them to Red instead of letting some other woodworkers get their hands on them.
"Fine, if the key will really let me come back here for new weapons, can I sell you things I find? For example, if I found a vampire lord's coffin, could I sell it to you?
Red hesitated for a moment before nodding. He asked the shop if he could convert 10 SP into silver. Red planned to start keeping 1000SP on hand for buybacks. If he could buy back the spear for a tenth of its worth, he could sell it through the outbox and get paid on the backend.
Darien took a heavy leather bag from inside his cloak and counted the coins. Once they were on his counter, he converted them into SP immediately.
1st Sale
Rolling Perk
Roll: 16
Price Magnet: Increase Sales of Mid-tier inventory by 15%
As someone with low-tier inventory, that was a useless perk. But he had another 1500SP.
Wallet: 1526
"Thank you for your business. I hope to see you again."
The poor kid was probably going to get eaten by a vampire. That wasn't his problem. No, he had attributes to get and skills to grind.
He spent 550SP on the attributes he didn't lack.
Rolling CON(Constitution): The size of the user's health pool before it is depleted and the user suffers bodily damage. Certain skills use CON to determine how they affect the body.
CON 17
Rolling STR(Strength): The physical force the user employs in tasks from running to chopping wood. This attribute is essential for crafting all macro work. Hammering steel requires high strength.
STR 4
Rolling WIS(Wisdom): Wisdom helps the user gain the most benefits for the least effort. Wisdom is the attribute of efficiency and progress.
WIS 3
Rolling LUK(Luck): Luck allows for an extra die to come into effect in critical moments to create greater enchantments, increase damage, or expand areas of damage. Higher luck increases the impact of events, such as selling items to heroes in ways that benefit the shop.
LUK 16
Red
Shop lvl1
HP 17/17
MP 11/11
Attributes
CON 17
STR 4
DEX 10
INT 11
WIS 3
CHA 8
LUK 16
Wallet: 976
…
Wallet 525
The Attribute Gym appeared to have another door, a hallway, and a room at the end with a gym painted in red in big blocky letters. The light on the sign flashed slowly like it was old and hadn't been renovated in years.
Even with the gym, Red still purchased the attribute points to increase his STR from 4 to 10. The reason was simple: it would increase his work speed. Every wooden weapon he made was a waste because he didn't gain any skill experience for it.
Red opened the door to the gym and was somewhat surprised. The air felt different in the gym. Maybe it was the old dusty fans spinning, but he felt different. He nearly tripped on a dip on the tiled floor where there were signs of fluid gathering to settle for an unknown period of time. On a random desk, a series of puzzles like a Rubix cube, a Jenga tower, and various other puzzles. On another desk, there was a choose your own adventure, and for some reason, there was a stage with a microphone that he was sure was for charisma. A bench press and squat station were present, as well as a bowl of fruit with a scalpel next to them and a small instruction pamphlet.
There was also a bathtub full of ice water that he was sure was for constitution training.
The shopkeeper wasn't sure what he expected from a Trash Rank training gym. The book on a desk that was a choose-your-own-adventure was interesting; maybe it was for Wisdom training. He found a calendar with different training plans listed. There were several training plans, all with an end goal of all his attributes reaching 50, which seemed to be the limit of the trash rank. After that, he would have to purchase a common attribute gym.
Before he threw himself into training, Red wanted to test whether he could cross the limit of trash with his new attributes. He felt much stronger, almost like he was in his early 20s again. It was an interesting feeling.
To be sure, he wasn't going to challenge the T-rex outside, and that wasn't happening. No, he needed a plan. The shop didn't seem to be overtly controlling it, so maybe it was possible to control it or bribe it somehow. It was a wild animal, for sure, but predators only ate when they were hungry or gathering food to raise young.
"Shop, is there a skill to tame a T-rex?"
Would you like to purchase a standard skill catalog for 20,000SP?
So yes, and it was common that the shop gave him a better answer than he expected. Was that because he made a sale with a real customer? No, that didn't feel like it was correct. Maybe it was because he had all his attributes. Did attributes also affect the shop's interactive system?
Red would like a yes or no, but the shop didn't seem very forthcoming with information. It wanted him to use SP to purchase things. What value did SP have to the shop? Was there an outstanding debt, or maybe it was some kind of fuel? He needed to open more dungeons and acquire the skills to work all the materials within. That meant he needed a room for storage.
"How much for a common skill token?"
If he knew the skill existed, then why pay for the catalog?
Skill Token (Common) 5000SP
"System, is there an inherent advantage to using ten tokens of the same kind at once."
Would you like to purchase a token pamphlet for 50SP?
Red didn't like the change in the shop's way it answered him. There was no yes or no. Would you like to purchase this or that? It wasn't very pleasant, but he somewhat expected it. Time was money, and he wasn't getting anything if he wasn't paying. He drank the last of his water. Water, electricity, and plumbing were other things he needed to get installed in his shop.
Wallet 475
When tokens are used in batches of 10, the LUK attribute is automatically put into play, ensuring that the best possible choices are selected to benefit the shop. That didn't
Heating and cooling might also be a problem. He didn't know how much the Constitution would help or if he would need skills to cover those problems. The shopkeeper was at the tip of the iceberg, the edge of all the things he could turn his shop into. He had a long, prosperous life ahead of him if he was careful. If not, he would die a brutal death, and someone else would take his shop.
He needed to turn the T-Rex from a death sentence to a guard dog.
Red sat down on the floor because he still hadn't bought furniture. He went to work and concentrated on the easiest thing to make. Why make swords and sheaths when he gained nothing from them? Spears were the quickest and easiest to make.
Ten strength was a big difference. Wood cut away with no effort and he slowly worked on the spears. With more strength and probably wisdom, he could make better use of the wood and make 10 spears from a single log of Verdant Wood.
It took him only 2 hours to make ten spears, even oiling them with totem oil. Every two hours, he took a 15-minute break and then went right back to work. After 12 hours of work, he went to train his attributes and struggled to peel an orange with a scalpel. The instruction pamphlet gave him a quick stick-figure picture.
Red pictured the bin he made. It was more of a bucket, with numerous spears and enchantments. They were all merely trash rank. Some were better than others, but they all had limitations due to their skill level.
At most, he could give a spear a durability of 4, which had hidden mechanics. Each enchantment multiplied the durability by 2, meaning some of his spears had 16 durabilities, which read as durability C, the highest possible durability for a trash-rank verdant spear without levels in Woodworking.
Red felt like someone was dancing on his grave and understood that meant a customer was about to enter his shop. He needed someone to work the front desk if he would get any training. For that, he probably needed a summoning token. So, 1000SP, and since he was hiring an employee through that route, they would need to be paid.
…
Darien Hawke had made it back to his village. He expected to see Mr. Sawyer pulling his hogs to the slaughter and Ricky Creed herding his sheep over the rolling grassy hills to fatten them for winter. Instead, he found wolves digging into the guts of a sheep and Little Ann's, the sheep dog's legs. Something had eaten the rest of her.
He tightened his grip on the spear. It wasn't Heartwood, but it was said that any enchanted weapon would do the deed. While his spear wasn't the most powerful, it had piercing power.
The church was his first visit. Priest Marcus was supposed to be a champion of the people. His worship of Lady Solari was supposed to protect them from Lunethra's children so long as he honored the twin goddesses with Solari rituals and Lunethra's offerings. Priest Marcus was supposed to do a great balancing act, but clearly, he failed his duties. Why else would his sister have been taken?
He entered the church and found the statue of Solari. Her wings remained, but her face and halo were destroyed. Without the statue, their lady couldn't protect them from the vampire's spells and abilities.
If they were to reestablish that protection, they needed to build a new statue. Perhaps he should have been more careful with his silver. Darien found a trapdoor behind the defaced statue and knew he would discover Priest Marcus if he descended. Maybe his sister would also be there.
Vampires lost 80% of their powers during the day, which didn't make them weak. But maybe an enchanted spear would be enough.
He grabbed a lamp and descended. The white face of helper Dan looked at him in confusion. Darien hesitated momentarily before committing. He plunged his spear into Dan's chest, and it was easy. The spear cut through cloth, flesh, and bone through the vampire's back. He felt the spear in his hand vibrate and saw more white faces surrounding him. Dan exploded as a shockwave blasted the vampires away from him.
Dan was in pieces, and Darien struggled not to retch at the sight of his friend, who gave him extra bread after their fast. There was no time. The hunter turned, copying the movements he saw guards in practice do as best as he could, and stabbed a vampire on the ground.
There was no shockwave, only the vampire screaming in agony as it died. Magical wood was a hard counter to Lunethra's magic. One vampire rose from the ground, almost floating as it overcame the shockwave. It pulled an ax free from its ratty brown robes and chopped down.
He saw the metal blade of the axe chip and roll as the spear stabbed into the vampire's lung. The creature hissed and bled but wouldn't die from such a wound. If it fed enough, it would surely survive. Unfortunately, it has also overextended. A problem he learned about from watching the guards train. Darien stabbed and slew another vampire.
Darien took out his money chest, an object enchanted by the mage so that the church could hold many tithes. He slowly collected silver, jewelry, and the occasional gold coin from the dead vampires before storing the small chest into his cloak. He realized that this would be his life.
As he climbed back up the stairs, it felt like hours had passed, but it wasn't even midday yet. Darien could hit one more home before riding hard out of the village. Solari still blessed an old cave that he could hide in.
A voice whispered to him. "You aren't going to leave without a blessing, are you?"
Darien slowly turned and saw the holy waters flowing off the statue into the basin below. On rare occasions, people renowned in the community could drink from the waters and receive a blessing. Blood mixed with the holy waters tainted them.
"Tell me what you want in detail, please. These waters are tainted. How can I use them?"
Scraps of clothing and shoes were all that remained of the priest. "The priest made a mistake. We are twins. Our blood is the same, but our powers oppose each other. He wanted to regain his priestly powers along with my sister's. I have no love for bullies or those who sully my temple and pollute my waters. No vampire can handle the sun's power, so he turned to ash. You are not a vampire drink, and you will gain my blessing and the strength to fight vampires at night."
"What about life after death won't this damn my soul away from your holy palace?"
"Without this power, you will not defeat Lord Dainak. It is up to you. Do you want to win or lose gracefully?"
He drank and dipped his weapon in.
"You are such a bad boy," Darien screamed as fire tore through his veins.
…
A girl with long blonde hair and a button nose entered through the door. She had eyes like sapphires, skin as white as snow, and lips as red as freshly spilled blood. The fan stopped spinning, and the air stilled. A chill filled the room, and he felt this woman wasn't here to buy.
"So vampires can enter without an invitation. Does that mean the rumors were all about the polite ones, and you're rude?" Red asked.
The woman pinched the bridge of her nose. She sucked in a breath and let it out. "Hello, my name is Mary Noctvalen. Can I see your license to sell?"
He withdrew the one the shop gave him and showed it off. "Is there a problem?"
She bit her lip and handed him his license back. "Everything seems to be in order." Her head snapped to the bucket full of enchanted spears. Those enchanted wooden weapons, are you trying to make my family nervous? Have we done something to you or your family? If another clan attacks our citizens, we want to hear about it."
Red nodded. "I'm a simple shop owner and wood craftsman." At her no-nonsense expression, he sobered up. "Some kid came in and wanted an enchanted spear because some vampires moved into his town, Briar Hollow. Since I managed one sale, I assumed I needed to make more," Red shook his head. "Why are you worried? Just wear some steel plate, and you have nothing to worry about?"
Mary opened her mouth and closed it. "I see these spears aren't heartwood. That is a relief. So you have what amounts to wooden toys with enchantments." She seemed to deflate.
"We'll send some Solari Warrior Monks to investigate. Vampires who give in to their beastly nature won't be tolerated so close to our city." She narrowed her eyes and glared at him. "Don't make any weapons from heartwood from Eldren Hollow. I will return and inspect your wears when you least expect it." The woman turned around and left, followed by two guards he hadn't noticed.
Red decided to try something. He made a wooden arrow, which counted toward the 100 wooden weapons needed to unlock the shop. He sold the spear and purchased the Workshop, adding another room to the hallway leading to the gym.
He quickly finished, and the shop opened to him. It was a rundown, rusty wood shop, but it was his, and there were table saws, electric sanders, and everything he could need.
Red made a spear and immediately gained two levels. He went to work on a repeating crossbow. It would surely help Darien with his vampire problem the next time he entered the shop. Bolts were even easier to make than arrows; they each had at least one enchantment, and the crossbow enchantments. He was going to make something monstrous. He only needed some cordage.
Before he did anything, he checked his bag of holding and found something extraordinary. A whole spool of Totem Spider Silk was in his bag of holding. It was a common item, so it should have improved his crossbow.