Chapter 7: Day 31 – Merchant’s Patience

The remaining days leading up to recruitment went by quickly for Trint. He grew familiar with the basics of his skills and went to many of the closest Instances. His stats were allocated after level 6 and he was already 37% to level 7. Pneuma explained that recruiters could see levels but not stats. Although they could see he’d made progress in the Tutorial they wouldn’t be aware of anything that made him unique. That was a relief, to say the least.

He had also picked up the standard [Cleanse] spell. It used Mana from his pool but wasn’t actually a skill. After handwashing his gear after his first Instance to remove the mud and blood, he asked Pneuma for a suggestion. He had also purchased multiple Mana, Stamina, and health potions to keep his pools of Mana, Stamina, and Health up after heavy use or damage. He was dead set against getting too low and Pneuma was quick to note when he was at risk.

One time, Pneuma applied a health regen increase without Trint even being aware in the heat of the moment. Avoiding a Restart was a bare minimum requirement in his mind. It wasn’t going to keep him from pushing to the limit to get to his family as fast as possible. The next step in that process was getting through the recruitment period and leaving through the [Town Center].

Trint walked through town toward the [Town Center]. The first thing he noticed was the gear and level of the people passing by had increased quite a bit since the last time he went out. He saw several level 7’s and one level 10 on his walk from his house to the tower. While he wasn’t making the most progress, he also wasn’t too far below the crowd he was seeing in town.

The sight of the crowd was a reminder of his former life. It looked more like a Renaissance fair had come to the suburbs. The main difference was that some of the passersby carried deadly weapons that recently brought death and were still stained with dried blood.

Pneuma, you sure this is a good idea? Trint thought.

You will be fine. You are still stronger than you look, and I will assist if necessary. Worst case scenario, I see as likely, would be you running away and hiding in your safe house or living out in the wild in an Instance, his companion casually suggested.

That is hardly reassuring. But Pneuma hasn’t given me bad advice yet, Trint thought to himself, keeping his doubts private. At least Pneuma couldn’t hear every thought he had, he hoped.

Reaching the [Town Center] tower on day 31 was like going to a professional sports stadium. The place was packed, and people were massed together waiting to get inside. While waiting in line Trint attempted a bit of small talk and asked a few people how things were going. He found out not everyone was willing to talk, but he did have some luck with a college-aged guy named Luke and his group.

“Yeah, a few of us knew each other from our university. Not sure how we ended up in an Iowa suburb. We were at our school, CU, in Boulder, Colorado. Were you in the Denver area, too?” Luke asked politely.

“No, I was at my home in a small town in Iowa. But not the greater Des Moines area. So, this looks closer to home but not where I lived. I was actually in a wheelchair after a car accident and when I woke up here, I was healed and stronger than at any time in my life. I also had some old injuries that were magically healed,” Trint shared as he stretched and rolled his wrist.

“Wow, I don’t think I knew anyone from Iowa. At least I know where it was. Used to think it was the place thatfor potatoes come from. You know, Idaho. But then I learned you guys were known for corn. You also have some decent college sports teams,” he added with a shrug.

Luke’s statements about Iowa’s real lack of fame or popularity were nothing new to the resident of the Hawkeye state. Midwest life could be looked down on, but Trint knew his community had good, hard-working, quality people. Not knowing where people ended up and how they were spread out in i11 still puzzled him, but it didn’t matter since he was on his own for the time being.

“Yeah, we don’t have a name for our group but the five of us are learning to fight as a team,” Luke continued. “It has taken some time and sharing Exp has been a drag, but we clear Instances quickly from what I understand. How high of Instance have you done? I can’t see your level.”

“Oh, I’ve mostly stuck to lower level and easy Instances so far.” Trint blurred the truth to not outright lie, but also didn’t reveal that level 6 Instances were easy to solo himself. “Since I’m a solo fighter I am taking things as slowly as I can to not risk my life unnecessarily. This is still the Tutorial and all. Your group planning to try getting recruited?” He attempted to redirect the conversation away from himself and back to Luke and his friends.

“Yeah, we are hoping to get some better skills and training. Not to mention, gear and weapons. Having to share drops is worse than sharing Exp. I’m still wearing such basic stuff. I’m sure that will change sooner than later.”

Can't this simpleton begin any statement without the word, ‘yeah'? Pneuma commented.

Trint cleared his throat pointedly and jumped in with another question before Luke could reciprocate the question.

“Since I can’t see your weapon and few here walk around without one, I’m assuming you have a storage device. But what fighting style have you chosen? Got a handle on a weapon yet?” Trint fired off a few questions.

“Yeah, I am going for a damage-dealing or DPS build. You ever play D&D or online RPG stuff?” Luke asked.

“Actually, yes. I am almost 40 but I played games like those. I also read some LitRPG books, so this has been especially exciting when I realized I’m living one of those fantasies. Unfortunately, the stakes are higher than when I was sitting on my butt reading books or playing games. The pain has taken some getting used to, but I am having some fun so far. So, what weapon do you prefer?” Trint asked again.

“Oh, I started with a big hammer but after a broad sword dropped, I asked to get that and switched. I still have the hammer for blunt damage, but the sword is my weapon of choice currently,” Luke said.

“Hmm, you make a good point about blunt damage being better for certain enemies. I am also using a sword and when that wouldn’t cut it, I just punched and kicked or tried to bypass the enemies. Not really elegant, but it got the job done,” Trint admitted.

“Yeah, you better pick up something for blunt damage soon. This is still like the kiddie pool and when we hit i10 things will start to pick up. You should find a group. Hate to say it, but you could fall behind and with the time limits in place you need to at least progress to i9 to get some breathing room for hitting the levels to ascend higher,” Luke suggested.

“Good strategy. I’ll think about it. I hope you get recruited by a good organization from higher up. How about you give me your system contact? That way we can message if it ever makes sense to meet up or share information,” Trint suggested. He paused a moment before adding, “Also, Luke... be careful of the contracts you and your team might be asked to sign. Read them carefully. I’ve heard some organizations will exploit their recruits. Don’t end up being an indentured servant to some group.”

“Oh, good thinking. Never heard about recruitment contracts; I’ll have to warn our party. Here’s my contact. Feel free to look me up later,” Luke said. After exchanging contact info with a simple System command, they separated. Luke and his party went toward the recruiters’ areas. Trint wanted to grab some more food and maybe a spare blunt damage weapon and a backup sword.

He first headed to the vending machines but saw that the shops were open and staffed with people. He made his way to a store with a sign that had a sword tilted to the right, overlapping a longbow to approximate an X-shape.

Looks like they have metal and wooden weapons at least, Trint guessed.

Stepping inside a shop reminiscent of a blend between medieval era and east Asian. The building material was fine wood and the shop opened into a wide space with many racks and displayed weapons. At the back counter was an old man who looked like a noble with fine robes with embroidered accents. He appeared Asian to Trint. Leaning on the counter and hunched over a book. Seeing Trint he stood up cracking his back and removed his glasses.

“Welcome, young man, to Winton’s Weapons! What would you be interested in? I have plenty of starter weapons for the aspiring adventurer. Currently, all are discounted to half price. To help the recruits, you know.” Winton’s sales pitch was dripping with false sincerity. It was obvious that the prices were not discounted, but likely inflated to take advantage of the newly-integrated System’s citizens. At least that was Trint’s guess when hearing the sleazy sales pitch from the old man in front of him. Also, the first price tag he saw was more than five times what Pneuma said the average person started with.

“Thanks, I appreciate the help and discount.” Trint decided to not challenge the merchant’s likely attempt at padding his prices. “I am looking for a sword and maybe a hammer or ax. What do you have under a couple of thousand Q11? I’m still getting started.” he fibbed.

“Well, well, for that amount I can’t offer anything special.” Winton’s excitement for a sale had turned to impatience with a poor customer. “But you are welcome to check that barrel in the corner to your right. That section of the wall and the barrels have the weapons that are in need of some repair or are too cheap to be part of my normal inventory.” “Just curious, how much for the sword in the glass case behind you and the hammer on the wall on the right?” Trint asked, ignoring the salesman’s lack of patience.

“Oh, those are special indeed and set aside for the truly gifted and, honestly, the wealthy. I’m not sure if you spent all your funds and didn’t get any good armor or whether you started without any funds at all,” the shopkeeper sneered. “But everyone enters the System with varying amounts of wealth. Not sure why, but some are deemed worthy of a jumpstart to their System integration. You seem to have not benefited from that. Maybe if you’re lucky you can get some funds from a recruiter.” Winton’s false sympathy was not appreciated. Trint stood his ground and asked again.

“Would you please just tell me what they cost?” Trint asked again, standing his ground. His frustration came through in his tone this time. No one enjoyed being pitied or looked down upon.

“Young man…” Winton appeared to restrain his anger and narrowed his eyes at Trint. “The sword is an i9 item. It has been engraved with runes for sharpness and durability increases. It is nearly priceless for an i11 or i10 fighter. But I am willing to sell it for $500 Q9. That is $50,000 Q11. Still want it?”

“No,” Trint exhaled. “How much for the hammer it doesn’t look as ornate?”

“I can see you have great taste, but the hammer is nearly as expensive, $350 Q9. Still, a lot for all starting out besides the rare talented recruits and those favored by the System. If there is nothing else, please allow my assistant to help you if you want to buy from the barrels.”

“Claire, help that boy if he needs something.” The shopkeeper called to a younger girl sweeping in the corner of the shop Trint hadn’t noticed before.