Chapter 57: Day 150 – Running Errands

Chapter 57: Day 150 – Running Errands

Ruth and I split up the 5-point crystals we had collected, each taking half which was about 130 each. I had managed to get 4,128 50-point crystals over the last 14 days. It was a bit slow since we spent days exploring and poking at the dungeon. So not a waste, but it could have been better.

Ruth had collected around 840 of the 50-point crystals. Which was quite good in my opinion. More upgrades and she could get some gear.

“Oh, look.” I saw a gray cart parked on a hill. It was just after midnight, and we were headed to the city to make a pre-dawn deposit.

“What? Oh, that cart. Looks like people are copying you now.”

“Pay a visit or pass on by?” I asked.

“What would you even talk about besides scaring the people?” Ruth asked.

“Cart life, cart pulling, cart grips?”

“You are making me pull the cart, remember?”

“Ah, yes, of course. Equality. So, pass by?”

“Yes, pass by,” Ruth said. Decision made, we didn’t stop and kept going for Purgatory. I killed the small wolves one after another as we advanced forward steadily.

We reached the East entrance, and no one was there. We continued on our way to the plaza without interruption. When we reached the plaza, I noted there were twenty guards around the pillars, with five of them patrolling around.

A Captain saw us and quickly had his men stand up. “Captain.”

“Champion Michael, welcome back,” he greeted me politely.

“A lot more guards that usual.”

“We have had people trying to sneak to the pillars at night.”

“Three shifts of twenty?”

“Yes.”

“Reserves?” Curious how many people were guarding the store pillars in the plaza.

“Another sixty, we swap days. But they are on the fast response team if anything happens.” That was a lot of people. I noted a wood stand with a metal bell and a hammer on a table next to it. A basic alarm system.

“Any other problems?”

“Everyone is on edge and there is a rumor going around that you will be challenged, and Ken voted out.”

“Well, I don’t know about Ken, but anyone is welcome to challenge me for my title. The monsters out there get more and more troublesome.”

“Like?”

“Monsters that spawn other monsters and the spawned monsters don’t drop crystals before you get your hopes up.”

“Ah, that is, as you said, troublesome.”

“No tax on 50-point crystals, right?”

“That is correct, but we don’t see many.”

“Well, you and your men can have one each for working so hard.” I dug into one of my packs and set out the crystals on a nearby table, a total of 20.

“Don’t tell anyone, but I made sure I got this shift,” the Captain said, and I chuckled lightly at that. The guards said thank you as they picked them up, and I counted two women among their number as they went back to their posts. Good to see that the guard positions being spread around a bit between various types of people.

I went to the pillars and began turning in my crystals. I ended up with 201,861 points. I got a restoration for 512 points. The price was quite high for how I felt, but who knew if there was a stat penalty or an environmental effect that was being fixed. I had been poisoned for a brief period of time and there might be lasting damage. It wasn’t high enough to be a concern right now, just something I kept track of. I purchased 70 upgrades for 183,800 points and put 10 upgrades into each stat. Nothing special for hitting 100 in Body unfortunately.

Body-100; Mind-40; Spirt-70; Perception-40; Aura-40; Rengeration-110; Endurance-40; Absorption-40 for a total of 480 upgrades so far. The price for the next upgrade was at 2,500 points. I winced at the cost. I purchased an iron helmet for 5,000 points and a cloak that was dyed black for 1,500 points. That left me with 18,274 points.

I took the time to load up the cart with supplies for at least 25 days, which should be more than enough for a 20-day trip. I didn’t purchase Ruth’s food. We had slightly different tastes. I preferred more fruit, while she liked to mix and match. So, we each got our own food and water to avoid arguing.

Ruth finished up as well and we left towards my home. It was undisturbed, which was nice. We entered and I locked up behind us.

“I am going first this time,” Ruth said in a tone that was quite firm.

“Alright.” I just raised my hands, and she went off to the shower. I went up to the second floor and sat on a chair looking out the window as the sun, light source, slowly rose into the sky. If this place was a flat world, the horizon thing would really bother me.

I tried to mentally work out how a flat world would work while I waited for my turn in the shower. While tempting to purchase a second shower, I wanted to have more points in reserve going forward and I wanted all the upgrades I could get. The house here was not that important at the moment.

I looked at my helmet. There were options for different models, and I had gone with a Greek style, or at least what I thought was a Greek style. There was a T shaped hole in the front for the eyes and mouth with notches on the side for ears. No plume, since that was considered a dye apparently and would add 50% to the cost. That was what I had done with my cloak.

“Done,” Ruth called out. I closed the window and went to the shower room. I stripped and washed all my clothing and armor first. After that I began shaving with the razor blade. It was still quite sharp, but it had dulled a bit. That was unfortunate.

Once my face was kind of smooth, I cleaned myself and then put everything back on. I felt a lot better and lighter. No haircut needed, since my hair was still quite short from the last cut. I put on the helmet. It cut my peripheral vision slightly, which was annoying, but I would keep it on for now.

I might change my mind later if I didn’t like it. The cloak came with two metal clips, which connected to the pauldrons of my black leather armor. The armor was a little bit gray from all the wear and tear, but I liked it, and it was holding up well. I put on the black cloak, which came down to my knees.

I pulled the cloak over my shoulders and my front was now covered as well. Maximum edge lord title, here I come. I stepped out of the shower and went to the second floor. Ruth had the same idea I had and was sitting and looking out the window while she brushed her short hair.

“Does that help?” I asked.

“It relaxes me. Very dark and brooding, it suits you. Are you going to overheat?”

“How long does the bread keep?” I asked.

“Just over ten days, we prepare it in batches and then rewarm it when someone requests.” Some quirk of how this place operated, limiting the spoilage of derived foods and preserving store food. It made my head hurt to try and think about all the implications on a micro scale.

“What about after that time?”

“It becomes stale. While still edible, it is not as pleasant. This is sold at a discount for ten crystals to people who want it.”

“Anything else, like jam?” I asked.

“Butter is used at The Gray Duck. Jam hasn’t found a way onto the menu yet, but it has been considered. If there was more business, we could offer more options.”

“Of course. Any other businesses open up recently?”

“Unfortunately, not.”

“Thank you.” I stood up and put my helmet on. I picked up my pack and left the bakery.

I made my way to the Re-Sale building just a short distance to the South, facing the plaza. I noted two men standing guard outside the front entrance. They didn’t stop me from entering and I noted another three guards standing around.

“Welcome, welcome. It is an honor to have the Champion in my shop.” I turned to face a balding fat man who looked like a sleazy used cars salesman. It was hard to say what made him look sleazy, but I decided it was the little bit of greasy hair he still had, the worn clothing he was wearing, and the squinted eyes. Also, the quick way he spoke just made me think of a salesman.

Still, I could respect the hustle. I had been a salesman at one time, back on Earth. I hated dealing with customers. “I was looking for someone to sharpen iron, specifically an iron razor. Is that possible?” I asked.

“Ah, there isn’t the market yet for used iron goods. Everything is copper. Small portions can be reworked.”

“Anything interesting or special?” I asked.

“I do have a select few Earth goods that people have sold me. But only for the most discerning of customers.”

“What items?”

“Watches, lighters, coins, keys, ID cards, and bottle openers.”

“I have watches and a lighter. What else?”

“There is jewelry if you are interested. Unfortunately, I am unable to resize or alter any of it.”

“Let me see the selection. Your name?”

“I am Bob, owner of this proud establishment. Quickly, get the jewelry tray.” One of the guards hustled into another room. I looked around at the tables of worn weapons and pieces of armor. The guard quickly returned with a copper tray with several pieces of jewelry laid out on it.

I put my pack and helmet on an open table and looked over the selection to see if there was anything that interested me. “May I?” I pointed at a plain gold ring.

“Of course, go right ahead.” I tried the ring on, it was too small and didn’t fit. I set it back on the tray. There was a pair of simple earrings with sapphires. More like a stud than an earring. They wouldn’t get in the way at least or be ripped off in a fight.

I picked one up and brought it to my face. “How much for the earrings?” I asked.

“Three hundred 5-point crystals.” Pricey and I didn’t have that on me. I liquidated too much.

“I will reserve them for the next time I return. I don’t have enough liquid funds at the moment. A 250 point deposit should be acceptable?”

“Of course, of course. I will make sure to keep them separate. That would be 250 crystals when you return.”

“1,250. You should deal in points, due to the higher tiered crystals being worth 50 points.” Keep things at their base value. Don’t muddy things up with crystal amounts for transactions.

“Of course, is there anything you want me to keep an eye out for?”

“Books, English books. Also, I am interested in an auto-load crossbow if someone builds one. Specifically, one that can be held in one hand and cranked to fire a stream of bolts. Someone who can make a cart float without getting everything inside soaked.”

“There have been no books so far. As for the second two, I will ask around, but it will be unlikely unless there is a deposit.”

“When I return, people can make bids to me if they have a good idea, and I will sponsor them. This place really needs a banking service.”

“That would be the casino, but they don’t offer lines of credit. Too many people defaulting,” Bob said.

“I meant the ease of banking transactions and being able to check how rich someone is.”

“I doubt anyone will be confused with you.” I paused and looked at Bob. He just implied that when asking for money to ask around and people wouldn’t hesitate to loan out crystals to me. I wasn’t going to try that, too much chance of drama, still it was an option.

“Hopefully that is the case.” I picked up my helmet and put it on and picked up my empty pack.

“I look forward to seeing you again Champion Michael.” I waved a hand over my shoulder as I left the building. Ben the accountant was waiting for me.

“Champion Michael, Boss Tyrese wishes to speak with you.”

“Lead on. So, what are the reserves at?” I asked.

“Around 10,000 crystals at the moment.”

“Not bad, not bad. You should use points though.” I followed Ben to the Red Dawn’s HQ. I went up to the second floor where Carlos used to sit, and Tyrese was there sitting at a table.

I took the seat across from him. “Welcome Champion Michael.”

“Boss Tyrese.” If he was using titles, I could be polite in return.