Sorry this chapter took so long, I actually had it almost done like 2 days ago but my laptop crashed midway and when I had recovered the word doc, it only had like 200 words saved.....anyways, thats why It took so long. Getting to the actual chapter, nothing interesting really happens but it was necessary for the future, if i bother to actually write out an interaction between Shar and another character, then that probably means that the character will be reintroduced, kind of how like Mr. Warner is seen again this chapter. Anyways thankfully its pretty short, I dont want to bore you guys too much. Next chapter should be more action packed since the MC will actually do stuff besides walking and buying stuff. On another note, Ive got a second rating, yay. And in response to that rating, I hope my story does pick things up a bit from now on, but I cant promise anything. Its hard to read through a lot of the boring stuff but it does help develop the plot. I know some people have been complaining that Insania or AOH had chapters where the MC doesnt really do anything, but I feel like those chapters are necessary because they help develop characters within the story. Even really good light novels like Ark start of pretty slow. I remember when I first started reading it and for like 5 chapters, all Ark did was kill rats or something, it was boring, but it kind of showed the kind of character Ark was, a character that doesnt give up and perseveres through every obstacle, but thats just my opinion. I hope you enjoy the chapter, or atleast try to. Hopefully, Ill get the next chapter out in a couple days, it should be easier for me to write since I already have most of it planned out, unlike this one. This chapter was kind of a last minute decision that I made. Anyways, once again, enjoy.

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Waking up from his slumber, Damien spoke into the small device placed beside his pillow, asking for some assistance. A minute later, a nurse opened the door and walked inside his room.

(Nurse) “What can I do for you Mr. Close?”

(Damien) “Nancy, you’ve taking care of me since the first day I came here, how many times do I have to tell you? Just call me Damien.”

(Nancy) “I am just being professional Mr. Close.”

(Damien) “Please…..just stop it.”

(Nancy) “Fine, what do you need Damien?”

(Damien) “Mind putting me into the pod?”

(Nancy) “You should have told me earlier, I am going to need someone to help me for that. I’ll be back in one minute.”

Watching Nancy leave, Damien couldn’t help but think how glad he was to have her as his main nurse. Although professional, she often tried to cheer him up and was one of the few individuals that he actually enjoyed talking to. Unlike a lot of the other nurses in the hospital, Nancy genuinely appeared to care about what he had to say, often asking questions or putting in her own input about the particular topic. While thinking about this, Nancy had come back, along with another nurse, and together they gently lifted him and placed him into the pod. Briefly thanking the ladies for their help, Damien proceeded to log into All World Online.

Logging in, Shar found himself standing in the middle of his room, looking around he could see Esla comfortably sleeping on top of a pillow. Not wanting to wake her up, he quietly attempted to leave the room. However, as he was in the process of opening the door, he heard the rustling of sheets and the sound of rapid pitter patters. Looking back, he could see her running towards him, clearly not wanting to be left behind. Allowing her to climb on top of his head, Shar made his way towards his first destination: Ashley’s Apothecary. Walking there, he pulled out a couple pieces of rabbit meat, feeding them to Esla. Thankfully for him, she was a relatively clean eater and would try her best not to make a mess on top of his head. Although he didn’t mind it that much, he preferred to not have small bits of rabbit meat stuck to his hair.

Arriving at his destination, Shar opened the door leading into the small store. Casually walking inside, he saw numerous stands placed throughout the store, and on top of them were an array of bottles, each filled with liquids of various colors. Picking up a small red potion, he examined it:

[Description]

A less healing potion, made primarily out of Abascal leaves and other various ingredients; it possesses minor healing capabilities when consumed.

[Effects]

Restores 50 health

(???) “Hey! What are you doing?!”

Surprised by the sudden outburst, he jumped slightly, almost dropping the glass bottle.

(???) “Ah! Watch out, that thing is fragile!”

Looking back, he could see a young woman running towards him. Snatching the potion out of his hands, the young lady proceeded to gently place the bottle back on top of the stand before turning back to yell at him:

(???) “Didn’t you read the sign?!”

(Shar) “What sign?”

Clearly somewhat upset, she pointed to a sign hung near by the entrance of the store, which read:

(Shar) “Ah, I didn’t see that there.”

(Ashley) “Sigh…Anyways; I am Ashley, the owner of this store. So tell me, what do you need? I am hoping you didn’t come here to just cause trouble; because trust me, I can get pretty violent.”

Looking at her up close, he could see that she was in fact very attractive; although somewhat short, she possessed bright red hair, dark green eyes, a petite face and a body possessing curves in all the right places, making her quite the sight to behold.

(Ashley) “Hey! Are you listening to me? Don’t make me get violent.”

Although….her personality needed some work.

(Shar) “I’ve come to make you a deal.”

(Ashley) “What kind of deal?”

Pulling out all of the Abascal leaves that he had collected on his first day, Shar offered:

(Shar) “I would like trade these for some Lesser Healing Potions.”

Clearly somewhat surprised by the sheer number of leaves, Ashley questioned him:

(Ashley) “How did you manage to get all those leave? I don’t want to involve myself in anything illegal.”

(Shar) “I collected them myself.”

Looking at him from head to toe and clearly not impressed, Ashley simply said:

(Ashley) “You don’t appear to be that strong. It’s kind of hard to believe that you managed to collect all of this without getting yourself killed.”

(Shar) “Well I almost died during the process, but that’s not important right now. All you have to know is that these were acquired legally, do you want them or not.”

(Ashley) “Fine, it appears that you have exactly 30 leaves, I am willing to give you 6 Lesser Healing Potions in exchange for all of the leaves.”

(Shar) “Hmm, that seems fair enough. I accept.”

(Ashley) “Okay, wait here for a moment; I am going to grab the potions.”

Returning with a small bag in hand, Ashley handed the bag over to Shar. Opening the bag, he saw 6 Lesser Healing Potions. Putting the potions into his inventory, he prepared to leave, calling out for Esla, who had left her usual spot in order to explore the small store.

(Shar) “Esla come on, were leaving.”

Upon hearing her name, Esla popped out from underneath one of the stands, making her way over to Shar. However, as soon as she came into her vision, Ashley’s face became pale white. Frightened by Esla’s sudden appearance, Ashley grabbed onto Shar, clearly intending to use him as a makeshift shield. Clearly not understanding the situation, Esla started running towards the pair even faster, somewhat jealous that another being was clinging on to Shar. This only caused Ashley to hug him even tighter, and although he didn’t really mind having a beautiful girl hug him, Ashley possessed a tremendous amount of strength, something not normally found in people of her stature. Not wanting to be crushed to death, he called out to Esla:

(Shar) “Elsa, stop!”

Immediately stopping in her tracks, Esla, still not being able to comprehend the situation, looked at him with her sad little eyes, clearly feeling somewhat betrayed by the fact that he had allowed Ashley to cling onto him and not her. Sighing, he gently patted Ashley’s head, trying to get her to calm down. Shortly after regaining her composure, Ashley pushed herself away him, blushing slightly due to embarrassment.

(Ashley) “Sorry about that, I am quite scared of spiders.”

(Shar) “No problem, I should have told you about Esla beforehand. Esla, come here.”

Almost jumping onto him, Esla climbed up his body, positioning herself in her usual spot. After making herself comfortable, Esla glared at Ashley, making the situation quite tense. Although still somewhat nervous of the large spider, Ashley managed to maintain her composure and said:

(Ashley) “If you manage to collect more leaves, feel free to come back.”

(Shar) “I’ll be sure to do that.”

Waving farewell, he exited Ashley’s Apothecary, making his way towards Mr. Warner’s store: Market Choice. Thankfully for him, the village was quite small, making it easy for him to get from one store to another. Having arrived at Market Choice, he walked in, greeting Mr. Warner.

(Shar) “Hello Mr. Warner.”

(Mr. Warner) “Ah Shar, what brings you here?

(Shar) “Just here to buy a couple items.”

Gesturing towards Esla, Mr. Warner pointed out:

(Mr. Warner) “And I see that you’re not here alone today.”

(Shar) “Ah, I forgot to introduce you two. Mr. Warner, this is Esla, a Brown Forest Spider, and Esla, this is Mr. Warner, a stingy old man.”

(Esla) “Screeeech”

(Mr. Warner) “Hahaha, I see you two are already quite close. Well continuing on, you said you were looking for a couple things?”

(Shar) “Yeah, I am just looking for some herbs, spices and various cooking utensils.”

Pointing to 2 areas in his store, Mr. Warner directed him to where the items could be found.

(Mr. Warner) “Ah, the herbs and spices can be found over there, and all our cooking utensils should be over there.”

Gathering all of the items that he needed, Shar made his way back to Mr. Warner who calculated the total price of all the goods. Handing over the money, Shar asked:

(Shar) “Mr. Warner, are the items stored in your warehouse still up for sale?”

(Mr. Warner) “Of course they are. Why do you ask? Are you still interested in that sword that you were looking at last time? It’s unfortunate, but I don’t think you can currently afford it without the discount.”

(Shar) “Actually, I had another item in mind.”

(Mr. Warner) “Oh really? Then let’s go and see if we can make a deal.”

Arriving at the warehouse, Shar made his way to one of the shelves. Looking around, he found what he was looking for, a short iron sword. Although it looked quite ordinary, looking at it closely, the sword appeared to be well made, his examination only proving his speculations.

Tier: Common

Lvl Requirement: 4

1 Handed Sword

[Stats]

Attack: 20-23

Durability: 17/20

“Although made out of simple iron, this Short Iron Sword possesses incredible durability thanks to the time and effort put into crafting this sword.”

Showing the sword to Mr. Warner:

(Shar) “This is the sword that I was looking for.”

Although Shar was still interested in Yeti’s Fury, he knew that with his current amount of wealth, it was not something he could afford. So instead, he decided to purchase something that was within his price range, and although the Short Iron Sword wasn’t as great as Yeti’s Fury, it had a lower level requirement, meaning that he could wield it immediately. Handing over the sword over, Mr. Warner looked at it inquiringly, trying to determine a fair price. Handing the item back to Shar, Mr. Warner said:

(Mr. Warner) “It’s a decent sword but since there’s no one else the village that would buy it, I’ll sell it to you for a good price, 20 silvers.”

(Shar) “How generous of you, I’ll take it.”

Handing over the 20 silvers, Shar felt quite relieved. In fact, his money had been running quite low ever since he purchased Esla. She was quite gluttonous and had to be fed several times a day; in addition, he didn’t feel safe leaving her behind when he logged out, so he had decided to pay for lodging at a small inn, which had cost him a decent sum of money. Currently, he only possessed a measly 15 silvers and 15 bronze coins. However, if everything went according to his plan, he would soon make a decent amount of cash. Thanking Mr. Warner for his generosity, Shar bid him farewell. Wielding his Short Iron Sword in one hand, and the Shoddy Dagger in the other, he made his way towards the village entrance, ready to execute his plan.