Chapter 144 - 144. Big Spender

Art and Sammy were both stopped in front of the door pointing at the price of a single sleeping bag. "This thing cost fifteen points. This is crazy. How will we afford this if we don't have a cabin? It's cheaper for a cabin!" They were both up in arms about the price.

"Well, I think if you can't get a cabin and will sleep outside you are supposed to build your own shelter and prepare a fire or something else for warmth." Jackson's theory sounded the most plausible. In relation to the high price of the chocolate covered pretzels to the low cost of fruit, it made even more sense.

"What about this survival guide book then? It cost a crazy amount too." Louis had a point here. The small field guide for survival was an entire fifty points. But Asher had already figured this part out.

"The guide book is nice, but it is better to take the hands on classes for cheap. You can get tricks and tips from people who actually have done it instead of hoping that the book is correct or doesn't leave something out."

"Oh, there are wild herbs and tea ingredients here too. They are a little price heavy but they are the same ones I saw around camp growing naturally." Jackson spotted the dried herbs in an outdoor shelving unit. He was tempted to start buying them up when he remembered he should just pick them himself.

"Wait why are these one point each?" Asher couldn't understand why there were little wooden puzzles for one point each. "Aren't these just for entertainment?"

"No, those are challenges. The wooden puzzles are brainteasers designed to train your mind. Inside there is a random amount of awarded points. You can get a hundred or you could get one point. Just return the puzzle when you give up or finish it." The staff member stopped for a second before moving on to another camper who wanted their stuff back.

"Laura! I have something that might be good for your training." Laura dashed to Asher's side extremely curious about what he had found. "These are wooden puzzle boxes. They only cost one point and come with a random amount of points in them if you complete them. I bet you can help increase your brain's processing speed."

"Oh, I can crush these puzzles." Laura took this as a challenge to her mental capacity in general. She grabbed five and headed right to the counter inside.

"Finally found the cooking utensils. Asher, how many points are you willing to spend? We can get the iron skillet, mixing bowl, and the ingredients in one set." Asher heard Art shout from inside and entered the camp store to find that each camper had a cubby locked with their belongings inside.

He couldn't see Art right away but marveled at the set up of the store. It was made to showcase the campers' items in a way that made them want to pay points to get them back. They would need to pay the points at the counter and get the code to unlock the cubby. It was a brutal system but at the end of the day, it wasn't very necessary for everyone to have a bunch of extra clothing.

Asher wandered the inside of the store finding that there were shovels, foldable chairs, and even first aid kits. Surprisingly the prices of first aid kits were very cheap, this was most likely to encourage the campers to use the knowledge on first aid they learned in real life.

After finding there was an aisle dedicated to food completely he found Arty who had grabbed everything he needed, "I figure we can make fire ourselves with some tinder and sticks. Then I don't need utensils since I have my hands. All that's left is getting them."

"No problem I have the points for whatever it is. Plus I need to get one of the night time training tickets. I still wonder what that will be tomorrow night." Asher was very curious but knew the day was almost over and he could quickly kill the time until tomorrow night.

"Are you really sure you have enough points for all this? I know I don't have many but I will chip in." Jane felt bad that Asger was taking all this on. But Asher just shook his head. He had more than enough points, even if his friends didn't know this.

The three dragged everything to the counter and saw the myriad of tempting junk food. They had huge price tags on them which would drain anyone of their entire point savings. It was truly amazing if anyone wasted the points on it. The only person that could get any of it was Laura, and she needed it for the high calorie count.

"I would like all of this and a night time training ticket please." Asher was very polite and before his eyes, the staff member working the counter added it all up.

"That will be a grand total of one hundred and three points please."

"No problem, my name is Asher Ronan. I should have some points so just take away the cost." He spoke so casually that some of the campers around believed they had misheard the staff member.

"Oh, I see. The full balance is paid and you have fifty seven points left. Is there anything else you need?" The staff member had been stunned for a moment that a camper had so many points, but on her computer, she saw that this camper had found the golden egg multiple ties and started camp early.

"If you have any fire starter that would be great. Also, can I get Jane and Art's bags, please? They had their training gear in them and will need it for the remainder of camp." The staff member looked up the codes to the bags and grabbed a stick that said one time use fire starter.

"Thank you very much. We will come again." Asher walked out holding what he could while jane and Art followed behind. To they had no words for the point fortune that had just been spent, it was unbelievable.