Chương 8: Chapter Eight: Market Place

EIGHT The market screen filled his vision as he looked for the selling options that Darren had mentioned and found the tab, Selling, and quickly clicked on it. Inside there were only two options as buyers. Market or Auction. Roan bent down and grabbed at his folded up clothes, happy to see his twin axes laying next to them. He ignored those and found the crushed, wilted, flower in his pocket. As his fingers wrapped around the stem he felt an option to enter the flower into the market portal to be sold.

It was as if something had dragged its long nails across his brain, a sharp shiver ran down his body as he accepted the option and saw the flower appear on the screen. SELL: GRAVE PETAL (INFERIOR CONDITION) Y/N?? MARKET PRICE: 5 CREDIT AUCTION: 10% OF FINAL PRICE Roan winced at the poor price but hit confirm and the crushed flower disappeared from his hand before he could blink. His available balance went up by five instantly. The necklace was in his hand a moment later and he hoped it would fetch a better price.

SELL: AMULET OF PROTECTION (INFERIOR) Y/N MARKET PRICE: 10 CREDITS AUCTION: 10% OF FINAL PRICE"At least the auction rate stays the same. Unless that's what they charge for all inferior products?" He mumbled to himself as he thought. He didn't sell the amulet, but instead left the sell page and started browsing through tabs. With his clothes ruined and his stomach growling he needed supplies more than anything.

RATION KIT: INFERIOR 50 CREDITS ONE THOUSAND CALORIES BALANCED FOOD (HUMAN) QUARTER GALLON OF WATER BASIC CLOTHES: INFERIOR 50 CREDITS ONE SIZE FITS ALL CLOTH ROBES WITH POCKETS Roan didn't let the price slow him down as he accepted both charges. Air displaced with a pop and a pile of gray cloth landed next to him along with a cardboard box. Exploring the cloth he saw it was a baggy robe that he could pull over his head and tighten with a belt. It was thin, offered little protection, but did have pockets.

The meal was just as disappointing. Roan tore the box open and saw a single bar of what looked like tree bark staring at him next to a flimsy container of water. It took the entire quarter gallon of water to get the bar down his throat, the thick cloying taste of it threatening to make him wretch. His hopes of reusing the box faded when he picked it up, the cardboard of it already sagging as if it was drenched in water.

Roan looked at his ruined clothes and sighed as he grabbed an axe and started to cut, tearing out seams to stretch out the fabric as far as he could. Fashioning a pair of slings was the best he could do with his limited tailoring skills, tying knots to make almost bandoliers across his chest. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. His actions drew attention and a man started to work his way across the field toward him.

Roan watched him as he continued to explore the market, the man's pace slow enough he had minutes before the stranger reached his hill. A new tab caught his attention and he opened it with a thought. Attributes was broken into four categories, physical, mental, soul, and mana. Unlike the other tabs this one had an overview button which he clicked immediately.

ROAN STRENGTH: 7 ENDURANCE: 8 SPEED: 7 DEXTERITY: 9 PERCEPTION: 8 INTELLIGENCE: 9 KNOWLEDGE: 4 MANA CORE: N/A SOUL TEMPERING: N/A BLOODLINE: N/A Beneath each of the attributes he saw in the overview was a description of them. Strength and speed were easy enough. Endurance was both stamina and how physically resilient he was. Dexterity was flexibility and reaction times. Perception was his senses and how attuned they were. Intelligence was how he could analyze information to make decisions.

Knowledge was how wide his knowledge base. Next to each of the stats was a plus button he could hit. Roan looked at the strength button and thought of adding to it and a new prompt appeared. INCREASE STRENGTH BY 1 POINT 500 CREDITS The price was enough to make him wince, but then he wondered what the increase of a single point would be and how much of a gain it would be. Would his bench press increase by thirteen and a half percent? Or did the stat points mean something different?

At his current bankroll he had no intention of using his limited money to buy a point. The man approaching him was getting closer, but Roan had a few more minutes if he was quick. MANA CORE A GATHERING AND STORAGE OF MANA FORMS A PHYSICAL CORE INSIDE OF THE BODY. ASPECTS AND QUALITY IMPACT FURTHER GROWTH OF SKILL AND MAGIC USE. SOUL TEMPERING IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE GROWTH OF THE BODY, THE SOUL MUST BE REINFORCED.

INCREASES TO MENTAL GROWTH AND DEFENSE OF MANA BASED ATTACKS BLOODLINE INHERIT MANA ABILITY PASSED THROUGH PROGENY All three of them had options next to them that would undoubtedly allow Roan to buy them. If a single point to his strength was five hundred then he didn't want to see how much a mana core would cost. The stranger got to him and Roan dismissed the market and met the man's eyes as he stopped a few feet away. Unlike Taoya, Darren, or Moira, he didn't wear any coordinated outfit or even a logo on it.

A leather jacket with a few tears in it, workboots that would have been more at home at a construction site. His shirt was bloodstained and the blue denim was similarly coated, but he walked easily as if the blood wasn't his. Or he'd had a lot better healing than Roan had.

"Hey. Name's Nash." The man stopped and stared at Roan as if he expected something back. Roan met his stare with his own, not saying a word. Nash hadn't dragged his bleeding body into the safe room and healed him. Roan didn't need to be polite back.

"Alright. You're billy-badass, I get it. A couple of us, those who aren't part of the in-group," Nash paused to jab a thumb over his shoulder at the sect and college trained students.

"We're looking to go back down through the level. We need the funds for gear and want to boost the clear rate higher before the next level unlocks. You want in?" Nash finished his little speech and hooked his thumbs through the loops of his pants. Roan looked him over carefully. Like nearly everyone he'd seen so far, Nash was younger. Late teens to early twenties, but there was a hardness around his eyes that set Roan's senses off. He had the same dead look that Roan's master had.

The master that had cleared a tower and spent forty years fighting and exploring the changing earth including climbing two other towers.

"Thanks for the offer, but I can handle myself," Roan said. Nash sneered for a second before getting his face under control, nodding along with Roan's words and leaving without speaking. Roan watched Nash as the man drifted from person to person, looking for those who weren't in the nicer gear." Something's off about that one," Roan thought to himself. He dismissed the market place and grabbed his two axes. There was no point in looking for more items he couldn't afford to buy.

He needed to clear some skeletons before he could truly buy anything. Roan looked toward Taoya and Darren who were still moving around the wounded, doing the same thing Nash was, but without the flat, dead eyes. The big man would be helpful and Darren was likely skilled as well, but that would require splitting the rewards." And owing them more. Pay off your debt before incurring more." That thought wasn't in his voice, but it was there nonetheless.

Roan walked down the hill and started looking for the exit to the saferoom.