Chương 8: Ch. 7 - Light Shopping

The few villagers that were here were a mix of human and elven. My eyes centered on each and the same woman from earlier spoke in my ear as if through the bot. [NPC][Human][Resident of Cardamas Island]: The most recent additions to the Cradle, humans are tenacious and driven. You should know. You're one of them. Before I could ponder a question to ask, my eyes veered towards the beautiful woman wearing simple, handmade clothes. Her ears were pointed at the top, protruding through her chilly snow white hair.

Her skin practically glimmered and her red eyes were haunting and mesmerizing. [NPC][Elvian][Resident of Cardamas Island]: The once proud and majestic elves of the Elvian empire live long lives. Human folklore has tales of elvian beauty and they don't do it justice. Their expansive empire however has fallen into disarray due to their low birth rates and war like tendencies. They arrived at the Cradle in hopes of utilizing it's unlimited resources. Few Elvian worlds exist now...

"Alright what is that about? Phil, did you hear that? See that?" It was the bot who answered me as Phil was walking straight to the general shop. Seemingly the only one on the island.

"He does not see or hear what you hear, Stefano. These descriptors are fed directly into your synapses, slowing your perception of time so that the description can finish. It is a benefit to having me as a companion. There are twenty-six thousand participants who have a companion."

"But isn't that a really small amount to have this benefit?"

"It is." That sounded so ominous and if Phil hadn't just left my sight, I would've probed further. Something else for later. Phil was inside and a human man with long flowy hair was behind the counter. Jack, one of my classmates from the academy, had a weird fascination with surfers from Earth. If Jack was here, he'd probably ask him all the inordinate questions about the surfboard behind him. Or the shell necklace that hung low on his neck.

"Another bro," said the man." Welcome to my goods and stuff. What can I do for you?"

"I need an exfil and an ORZ porter," said Phil. He sized me up and his look softened to something I couldn't read.

"And a border map for the kid."

"No worries." The surfer dude pushed a tablet over that Phil palmed. On it was the interface that was available on our mechs. The same kind of interface the bot gave me while out and about, but compressed into a tablet as opposed to a touchable projection. It reminded me why the academy was so adamant about getting a companion if there ever was a choice. Phil handed the tablet back after the link to his inventory was made.

"So with everything, it'll be twenty-five thousand credits." I about spit at hearing the insane amount of money needed.

"What?! How much is everything?"

"First time? Nice," said the surfer.

"The exfil porter runs about five thou-wow. After that, the ORZ porter is another five. And lastly the map for you is fifteen." He shrugged his shoulders. This had to be highway robbery, but was else were we going to do? Find another shop?

"It's fine," said Phil.

"Also have some stuff to sell. What's the tax?"

"We are a small settlement, so it would have to be thirty-five percent."

"Never mind." Phil took a step back.

"What tax?" I asked.

"It's a tax for people who don't have a companion. My inventory bot doesn't activate unless I made a kill for it to loot. Only other time is when we're in combat and I need to pull an item. We're in a safe zone, no loot. Everything you buy goes directly to it. But everything you sell has to be brought here. The tax is how much is deducted to have people physically go to the inventory bot on my mech and bring it back here."

"That seems counterintuitive. Can't items transfer over? Couldn't you just have handed it to me?"

"You'd think. But no. If I handed you an item before we got in here, it would still be coded to me. So unless I died, you can't put it in your inventory, and that's for all items. You can still use it, but storage is impossible. Plus NPC storage is a little different to ours. You don't have to worry about that though." Phil crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. His jumpsuit that was neatly zipped up on departure was halfway down and hanging loosely, stained with throw up. Enjoying the story?

Show your support by reading it on the official site. It was when I put a hand on the counter and closed the distance with the surfer looking dude that the familiar sensation and voice rang in my brain. [NPC][Human][Resident of Cardamas Island]: Adam Knight wanted to feel the waves on his face and the smell of that ocean breeze. But he also wanted to own a shop. A place that helped the weary... for a price. Now he has both.

"Adam," I said.

"How long have you been here?"

"Woah dude. How did you know my name? Um... I don't remember. A long time I guess. One too many crashes makes the memory foggy. So you want some stuff? A map maybe? Or maybe not a map. So the exfil porter?"

"I don't have a lot of credits, though. Can I sell some stuff?"

"Sure, let's see what you got." He passed the tablet my way and with a few taps, it lit up to my menus. The number at the top right of the screen deflated my ego. [Credits: 550] I didn't even know how I got that much. I only needed about ten times the number I had available though. And it's not like my inventory was stocked. I handed back the tablet, fully expecting to have to live here now. Maybe the credits would be enough to buy a hut or a tent.

"Wow!" He said.

"I can buy up all your spears! I'm willing to give you a thousand per stick." My eyes lit up like I just heard the winning lotto numbers that were in my hand.

"Seriously?!" I asked.

"Of course, little bro. We are a fishing village and high quality spears don't come easy here. We make do with what we got, but spears of this quality, you'd be hard pressed to find. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a lot of credits, we don't get quite as many tourists as I'd like. But I'm also the Magistrate of this little home, and we need these spears."

"It's an adequate trade considering the circumstances, Stefano. I recommend you accept before he changes his mind," said the bot. Phil noticed the bot talking, but somehow Adam did not. That was weird.

"He's right," said Phil.

"Let me see one." The bot reshaped itself to fit my hand, letting me reach inside the inventory. It was cold. Really cold. My fingers struggled to move in viscous vat that drenched my hands. I held a gag and pressed on the spear in the HUD that projected in front of me. The metal fell into my hand, forcing my palm to clasp it. It was hot to the touch. My arm recoiled in a jerk and the spear clattered onto the ground. I thought my hand was burning, but when I looked at it, it was dry and cool.

I tentatively picked up the spear, pointed end up to see it's height. It was taller than me by a solid three feet. The tip scratched the ceiling but it was light and easy to maneuver. Phil took it in his hand and waved it around, measuring the weight and balance. Did he have an augmentation? I didn't ask but the odds were good.

"It's worth double what he's offering. But it's a fair deal," said Phil, handing it back.

"How do you know?"

"It just comes to me. It's a skill I picked up accidentally. When I'm in my mech I can gauge the real time value at a glance to the exact credit. Out here, it's more of a feeling or a thought, for me anyway. For you, it would be better." He glared at the bot again.

"Obviously."

"How did you pick up a skill accidentally?" He crossed his arms and looked away, clearly done with the line of questioning.

"So little bro. Do we have a deal?" asked Adam.

"Yeah. Of course! All thirty?" I reached both hands in and pulled out two at a time. They clattered onto the floor with each scoop. Before I knew it a pile had formed on the ground. The bot floated back onto my ear in a snap almost at the same time the last spear crashed onto the ground.

"Perfect!" said Adam.

"One exfil porter."

"Get an ORZ porter too," said Phil.

"We got one more stop. It's better if we go before you head back."

"And one ORZ porter," I said. Adam swiped twice on the tablet and put it away.

"Alright, it's in your inventory. Pleasure doing business. Stop by any time you need a vacation. My people would be more than happy to welcome you back. We have a luxurious spa-" My HUD flashed quickly from the balance of 30, 550 credits down to 20, 550 credits.

"We're good," interrupted Phil. He exited the shop first and began the trek back to our mechs that had been recharging their energy reserves. I stepped onto the zip line and ascended back into the seat, fastening my seat harness. The screen came to life and the red bubble around the village proper was flashing red. I had my mech take a step back and the red protective bubble disappeared.

"I have taken the liberty of adding the border map of the third floor," said the bot.

"You may zoom out on your map to see the local territory." The screen popped up with a mental command. I zoomed it out as far as I could but I still had to scroll several swipes to reach any edge. And even then, I wasn't sure there was an edge. This territory had four islands in a cluster. Cardamas, Indiga, Pylion and the biggest island, Falia.

"What's in Falia?" I asked.

"It's where the ORZ porter is going to take us. The human you refer to as Phil has already activated his."

"Let's go, Stefano," said Phil. His mech was shinig blue and a moment later, he vanished.

"Alright," I said. I selected the ORZ porter and read its description before activating it. [ORZ PORTER]: Teleports you to the closest Operator Respite Zone that can house or repair your Frame. A place of recovery where operators can take a breather, exchange information, sleep, eat and use the restroom. The safest area for all operators, it cannot be attacked by hostile NPCs and all conflict is strictly monitored by the Cradle AI.

[NOTE: USABLE ONLY IN SAFE ZONES] [NOTE: SINGLE USE ITEM] There was a singular moment, before I pressed the button, that I took the view of the crescendo of the sun. It was so beautiful that I wanted a picture of it to bring home. I had never seen one before, a sun. Only read about it. Or seen it in vids and pictures. But never actually felt it. It was warm and welcoming. The sensation on my skin was so serene. This alone made sense to me as to why Adam would want to stay in a remote village.

A thought pushed it's way up that I dismissed. How were there human NPCs like Adam? The world turned blue a moment later. Before me was a large hangar with four other mechs already in the repair bay with Phil's mech being taken apart.