Shopping For Beginners

"An electronic store...?" Luna murmured, perplexed. Together with Jay, she was standing in front of a big store that was selling products which could also be found in her original world—the newest gaming systems, modern phones, high-quality televisions, convenient gadgets for the home, and other things.

"Let's head in." Jay suggested indifferently.

A whole week had passed since they had entered the depths of the forest with Alice. After returning to the hunting fields' entrance, Alice parted from the group, needing to return to her family's headquarters to give a report about what they saw.

During that week, Luna managed to clear her quest by hunting countless Killer Rabbits and a few Haunting Trees. And with the guidance of Jay, she managed to defeat a Night Deer, albeit barely.

Now, the trio was out shopping to prepare for their next quests. Whereas Erik was stopping at a different store before meeting up with them, Jay brought Luna to an electronics store so that she could buy a phone. Her next quest stated that Luna had to escort a potion maker to the depths of the forest in two days in order to gather ingredients. For that quest, Luna formed a party with Nina and the others again, after they felt more confident in their skills since the last time.

And while they would take on that quest, Erik and Jay would continue their search for that mutation. Since they spotted it for the first time, the duo would visit the forest by night every day. They spent hours looking for traces, but even though they knew their way inside the forest, they could not find the mutation yet.

"It really feels like a normal shop..." Luna gasped, amazed. She and Jay were walking around in the store, looking at the different products. However, when Luna looked at the products, she noticed something as she had during her first time entering the tower's inside.

"Is the official language Korean?" she wondered, tilting her head. Luna could read and understand everything that was written here—even when people talked in her language.

"Korean...? Sorry, but there's no official language here." Jay replied, smiling wryly.

"Huh? But everything is written in Korean, though?"

Jay glanced at the descriptions of the products.

"Ah, I get it. Seems like I forgot to tell you, but those who enter the tower perceive this place in the language they prefer. If you, for example, prefer speaking in Korean, then everything that's written or spoken will be automatically translated into Korean." Jay explained.

"Oh...! That's handy!" Luna commented, flabbergasted.

"Then, what does the text look like to you, or how do I sound from your perspective?" she asked curiously. Luna wondered where Jay initially came from, in case he remembered that.

Jay smiled faintly at her as he looked at a product's text.

"I just see some symbols." he replied bluntly, walking to the next item section. Jay knew about other languages and that some of them used either letters or characters. However, the language displayed to him was not to be found outside of the tower.

"Symbols...? What kind of sym- Hey, wait for me!" Luna yelled, noticing Jay picking up his pace as he headed toward the phones.

Changing the topic, Jay guided her through the phones, showing her the pros and cons of each phone. He initially decided that she should get a phone, among other things, because she could contact other people if anything were to happen to her. Now that Erik and Jay could not accompany her to her next quest, they needed a tool to communicate. Also, possessing a phone would keep her up to date with whatever was going on inside the tower and sections.

"You're escorting a potion maker soon, right? If you do your job well, maybe that person hands you a few potions as a tip." Jay said nonchalantly, while inspecting the phones in front of him.

"You mean healing potions?"

"Those, too, but I was referring to potions that could increase your stats permanently."

"T-those exist?!" Luna gasped, leaning closer to Jay with her eyes beaming. Knowing that she was lacking in a few categories, consuming such potions would be a great way to cancel out her weaknesses.

Aside from leveling up, there were other ways to increase one's stats. A person could obviously train and study hard to naturally raise their stats, but that method would consume a lot of time and sometimes would not bring the results one hoped for. However, there was also the method of purchasing specific potions, increasing certain stats after consuming them. It was an easy but pricey method that most people inside the tower chose.

"Yes, they're high in demand, but if you manage to get on a potion maker's good side, they would be willing to prioritize you."

Since entering the tower, Luna's stats started to change slightly—especially her physical stats. She had a lot of stat points in reserve from leveling up, but she did not allocate them yet as she wanted to use a big amount of them at the same time, or when it was an emergency.

"Ah, found a good one!" Jay exclaimed after pointing at a phone that was meeting Jay's standards.

"Hm...?"

Luna's eyes widened a little, realizing that the phone Jay was suggesting was the same model she had in her real world. She let out a soft chuckle before she instantly agreed to take it.

"You have good taste, Jay."

With her hard-earned money, Luna paid for the phone, and the two left the store.

"No matter where I am, spending so much money at once always pains my heart..." she grumbled, laughing like a broken record. She had a little bit over three gold coins, but now she was broke again. At first, she wanted to spend her money on new clothes and equipment, but now she had to go back to hunting monsters before she could upgrade herself.

"Already done?"

The moment the duo exited, Erik approached them. At first glance, he appeared normal. His expression was the same, and the clothes he wore were the same. However, there was one remarkable change.

"Is that your weapon?" Luna wondered, staring at the black staff that Erik was holding over his shoulder. The staff was long and pitch-black. Furthermore, on its top end was a fist-sized block.

"Yeah, after weeks it's finally repaired." Erik responded, unconsciously humming in joy.

"Apparently, it's a customized weapon." Jay whispered into Luna's ear. She was wondering why Erik was so happy, but now it made sense.

"Do you want to hold it, Luna?" Erik asked innocently, although it came off more as bragging about his weapon.

Without a word, she slowly reached out to the staff and held it in her own hands.

"Wow..."

She was speechless. Despite being just a staff with a regular shape, she could notice how high its quality was. Compared to her simple spear, the staff was without a doubt at another level.

"Customized weapons are mostly at least A-rank weapons. Make sure to remember that sensation as it's one of the highest-graded weapons." Jay commented, crossing his arms and smiling proudly, even though it was not his weapon.

"So weapons have ranks?" Luna asked, awkwardly wielding the staff around.

"Not just weapons. Every item here has a rank assigned to it. E-rank is the lowest rank, with S-rank being the highest one. Their ranks are based on many things, like how durable or strong they are, or if they have any possible effects." Jay explained.

"For example, this one right here is a C-rank sword. It's nothing special, but it's pretty durable." he added, showing his newly purchased sword.

"My weapon is an A-rank weapon. It was personally designed for me. It may not have any groundbreaking effects, but it's very high-spec everywhere else." Erik proclaimed joyfully.

Hearing them talk about their weapons made Luna look wryly at her barely affordable D-rank spear. However, she also grew curious about those high-ranking weapons.

"I wonder how an S-rank weapon feels like..." she murmured, fantasizing about how she would wipe the floor with Hunter Bears and Night Deer, while wielding an S-rank weapon.

"They're certainly powerful, but they're also rare in comparison to A-rank weapons, which can be bought in stores." Erik said.

"But not as rare as those things." Jay chimed in with a sly grin, whereas Erik heaved a sigh upon hearing that.

"What are those things?"

"He's talking about the 7 Mythical Weapons. They're said to be a lot stronger and unique than any other weapon, making S-rank weapons look bland in comparison." Erik stated, sounding uninterested.

"Even to this day, only two of them were found, whereas the other five are still hidden somewhere in the tower, remaining a mystery to the public." he elaborated.

"So I have a chance to get my hands on one of them?!" Luna shouted in excitement, her eyes sparkling more than ever.

"That's your first reaction...?" Erik murmured, taken aback.

"Just let her dream, Erik. If she ever finds one of those, I will apply as her personal servant. Heck, if I were to get one, I would even challenge the Conqueror Families!" Jay joked, knowing very well that it was impossible to stumble upon a Mythical Weapon.

"Remember those words, Jay...!" Luna pouted, glaring at him.

And when the trio was about to split up for today, another group of people approached them.

"Luna!" it was Nina who called Luna. Behind her were Carl, Randy, and another person. Apparently, she was also shopping with her group, preparing for the upcoming quest.

"Nina!" Luna returned the energetic greeting as she ran toward her and the others.

"Hm?"

While inspecting the men behind Nina, Jay noticed someone familiar. And it did not take long for Luna to notice as well.

"Wait, aren't you... Neil?" she pointed out, glancing at the shy boy hiding behind Carl and Randy.

"H-hello there..." Neil greeted everybody sheepishly.

"Not so shy, Neil!" Randy laughed, slapping his back.

"Oh, you know them already?" Carl wondered.

Neil cleared his throat and approached Luna and the others.

"I-it's good to see you again! I-I'll be participating in the next quest with you...!"

Whenever the trio encountered Neil, something bad tended to happen—be it Chris's assault or the monster stampede. It might not have been related to him, but it felt like a bad omen.

Now, was the group about to encounter yet another incident?