Mathew smiled to himself as he looked over the profession choices. He could tell the first three would be standard for most people, or variants of them. Being common ranked, all three fit a broad niche.

Scout would be useful for those who are fast and stealthy, like Damien. Soldier would end up being a popular pick among those in the military, one he could see Captain Henderson picking, unless she had a better choice, like he did. Sage was almost a tempting pick for Mathew.

It provided the stats he desired, and an obviously offensive spell. He could fight at a distance, should the need arise. Yet the last two took his focus instantly.

Contract Scribe was a direct upgrade to the Scribe, if one could ignore the restriction it had. Being forced to play the legal game of his new life would be annoying. He firstly had no idea what the laws even were, if any would apply to him. The saving grace was that it only applied to actions related to his profession. So long as he just avoided using them when he felt needed, he was safe.

The creamy bonus on top was he not only acquired a skill, but a spell. Either fortunately or not, it was no ass lightning. He had no clue what a Wisp was, but must be a creature of some sort. Which means he had a pet that could fight for him, if he was to be correct.

If it wasn’t a pet, he would be greatly disappointed. He remembered tales of wisps being used to lure people to their deaths in fairy tales. Little balls of color that danced to grab someone's attention.

Not really a fighting type creature, but it would give him something to offer up as bargaining chips to get more privileges on the base. They wanted to see magic, he could show them magic.

That’s not even including all of the ‘experts’ that would spend days studying it. Asking him to cast the spell over and over again all day, to see how magic works. The idea of being a guinea pig didn’t sound enticing, but the payout in the end did.

Mathew saw no reason not to pick Contract Scribe, and did so instantly. He received notifications involving acquiring both the skill and spell. His mind strained and Mathew almost doubled over from the odd feeling. Luckily it ended as quickly as it started. After a moment of trying to figure out why it happened, he could feel the knowledge of how to cast a spell.

A real, actual spell. It gave Mat a euphoric feeling of power. He almost casted it then and there, but restrained himself from doing so.

“So, did you pick a profession?” Colonel Franks asked.

Mathew held up a hand and turned back to the Hearth Crystal. He knew there had to be more to the object, and this was his only chance to look at it.

Placing his hand on it again, he could see a few options. One included a shop, the other was to attempt to claim it as his own. His eyes widened at the later option and while the greed of claiming something for himself was powerful, he knew he would be shot dead if he tried to.

Instead he was about to select the ‘Shop’ option. Just to be able to see what he could buy. Before he could, an arm grabbed him and pulled him away,“I asked you a question Mathew, and I demand an answer!”

Mathew glared at the Colonel. “First off, you don’t get to demand anything from me. If I wanted to, I could back out of our deal this instant and laugh as you try to question me.”

“We would tourture you if required. You hold valuable information. We are under martial law citizen, and I will use it’s full force if it means protection my people.”

“Save it for the recruitment posters. You have more questions to answer, mainly how you are keeping a shop function secret from everyone. You realize what this can be used for? Monetary flow! You dangle this infront of people, and you can spur them to be motivated to keep this place safe, along with finding a new purpose. Money is one of the three core things every man and woman desires. Followed by Power and Sex.”

Franks balled up a fist and was about to punch Mathew when the General shouted. “Franks! Enough. Mathew here brings up a good point, and I doubt he will back out on our deal, he is a smart man, the rewards are too great. As he said, money and power are seeked by all, even himself.”

Mathew grinned as Franks stormed off. “Thank you General, now I should warn you, I did have the option to attempt to take this crystal as my own. I imagine that’s why you chose to keep it secret?”

The General nodded. “Couldn’t risk it. We experimented with the function and I and a few others received a notification that it is being attempted to be taken out of my control. Luckily the person could choose to stop the attempt, otherwise we would be forced to kill them.”

“I see, well, the shop function and a couple others I saw would be a great boon to the base in my opinion. If I knew it was a thing, I would be trying to gain more money, to buy items to increase my chances of survival. Don’t you think having something that works, versus our guns that apparently don’t be better?”

The General nodded, “We have purchased a few items from the store already. Weapons were one of the first. After testing, they work greatly, although slightly expensive.”

Mathew shook his head. “Listen, how about you let me check out that shop. I have some Currency, and I believe you owe me some as well in a few weeks.” An idea struck him and he put on his charm. “Plus, there could be more options available to myself, since I now have a profession. Wouldn’t that be useful information? Imagine making this public, with the fact a profession adds in even more shopping choices. People would go nuts to work and earn money.”

The General’s eyes had a glint of excitement in them, yet the man was a general for a reason. “I can see the wisdom in such an idea. However I should warn you, you will be taken to a shop, not simply standing there. I hope you do come back.”

“Some people don’t come back from a shop?” Mathew asked.

“You can buy a random teleportation apparently. The shopkeepers could be angry at you and kick you hypothetically as well. Although, we don’t know that for sure.”

Mathew nodded. “Mind if I go now?”

Mathew received a notification, showing he received two thousand currency. “One thousand as part of our deal, and another thousand of the six you are owed. We are not going to put the crystal out for the public just yet. Maybe wait till more are Level 5 and acquire their profession.”

Seeing no other reason to stay, Mathew put his hand back on the crystal, and selected the ‘Shop’ option. The area around him faded away and soon he was standing in a similar gray void.

This time however, a faceless person was standing in front of him. It looked like a mannequin you see at a store, but with four arms and it still had a mouth. “Greetings Survivor. This is the Universal Store owned under the Mishnox Clan. My name is Di, how can I help you?”

Mathew was a bit unnerved at the creature. “Hello Di, I am Mathew. Where exactly am I? I don’t suppose I am still standing next to the Hearth Crystal and this is some elaborate illusion?”

“Not at all, you are here in our shop, all though due to the limitations on your planet, this is but a small selection of items we can provide.”

“And what is it you provide?” Mathew asked.

“Weapons, Armor, Skills, Spells, Potions, Vehicles, Manuals, Slaves, Pets, you name it we have a variant of it. I notice you have the Contract Scribe profession, a surprise to see on such a newly integrated planet.”

Mathew didn’t like how Di knew of his profession. “How did you know that?”

“The Mishnox Clan strives to provide the highest level of dedicated service individualized for each unique client. We spurge on the ability to know what our client is so we can aid them perfectly. We promise that your private information shall remain as such. It is required by the laws of The Council of Order.”

Mathew nodded, trusting the creature for now. “Well Di, you have me at a disadvantage. I have no idea what constitutes rich or poor, nor what an item could be valued as. I don’t suppose you have anything worth showing off to start out with?”

“Of course sir, might I suggest starting off with a weapon or armor? Your world is still in a chaotic state of conflict, and I would hate to see a client such as yourself not return.”

“Sounds like a good starting point. What do you have to offer?” Mathew asked. As he did, rows of shelves appeared around him. One showing an array of weapons the other, armor.

Mathew saw guns, knives, axes, and a slew of variants of each. He could see different ammo types for each weapon, including energy and physical ammunition.

“If you don’t mind my suggestions, if you don’t have a skill related to a weapon, I suggest not getting it, or purchasing the related skill with it. Too often new clients who show up here will buy a large energy blaster only to see the same being sold by a different person, claiming to simply find it.”

Mathew only had the [Knives] skill, and wanted nothing to do with melee combat. He had zero plans to be fighting anymore, but something to defend himself is all that he needed. “What do you have for spell casters?”

“Ah, taking the path of magic, a wise choice for a scribe. We have a small, but well received selection of weapons for your chosen path.” The shelves swiftly slid to the side and a new selection of options appeared in front of Mathew.

It felt weird to go from science fiction to fantasy based weapons. Wands, Staves, Orbs, and other such items were on display. Mathew saw gauntlets with crystals in them, and a few rings and medallions as well. “As a Contract Scribe, I doubt you will see much in the way of combat. However a good magic wand or staff can be a life saving choice. Even without a skill to support it.” Di said.

Mathew picked up a wand that looked to be made of a blue metal. “How do they work?” He asked.

“Similar to energy blasters, but they feed off your mana to attack. They are slightly less mana efficient than a spell, but can be used by anyone with mana. The other drawback are creatures who are resistant to magical attacks would be hard to put down with these.”

“What about staves or orbs? How do they differ?”

“Of the three basic magical weapons, each has a unique property. Wands have a higher attack rate, but lack the distance that orbs or staves have. You can also wield one in each hand if you would like, and are cheaper than the other two. Staves double as a melee weapon, if needed, to beat off close enemies. They are similar to rifles with distance, but the rate of fire is slow. Orbs are great for those who are long ranged magical fighters. They don’t require hands, but you can’t use more than one. It’s also easier to find an orb with a different elemental damage than the other two weapons.”

Mathew was intrigued by the differences. “How much are they on average?”

“Wands start off at a base price of 250 Currency, Staves at 315, and Orbs at 325. Keep in mind those are the starting prices.”

Mathew had over three thousand Currency, and those prices were small. He received 100 after killing the two undead minions. “The General is fucking up by keeping this a secret. Imagine how much love and popularity he would acquire from this!”

“What about skills? You mentioned those.”

“Respectively to receive a Novice 1 tier skill: 3,000 Currency, 4,250 Currency, and lastly 5,000 Currency.”

Mathew inwardly groaned. “Okay, skills are off the table, way too expensive.”

“What about spells?”

“Starting spell prices begin at 10,000.”

“A little outside my budget there Di.”

“I apologize sir, but those prices are firm. I will inform you that we do buy items from your world. If you have things to trade of course.”

Mathew raised an eyebrow. “Like?”

Di seemed to pause for a moment, as if thinking. However the lack of facial expressions made it hard to tell. “Primarily monster parts, other items similar to what you see here, and Earth culture items. Such as entertainment records, works of literature, or even knowledge of your people are currently viewed as highly valued items.”