Travis's Journey Through the Apocalypse

Chapter 20

Shop till you drop

He or, well, shit, I didn’t fucking even know if this fox guy thing had a gender. I was gonna go with the guy cuz of the suit, but really, it didn’t fucking matter. One thing that tripped me out was that the guy spoke English but with a soft English accent. He almost sounded like a butler from a movie but not quite as stuck up, and the guy had a smile on his face. He looked very welcome and nonthreatening. He just seemed like he was probably a good guy. It was an odd feeling.

As I walked up to the counter, I thought about the fact that I was alone in the store again. We had enforced a line policy to ensure the shop didn’t get too crowded, but it looked like when you walked into the shops, you would start a private shopping experience, and so did everyone else. That meant there was no way to crowd the shop because everyone was in their own instance. That was great. It definitely was going to make shopping way faster, that’s for sure.

I asked my sales associate, Fox Man if he wouldn’t mind giving me a minute. The fox man nodded, and then, just to make sure I had the right of it, I asked, “Does everyone who entered the shop have their own private experience?” The Fox Man assured me that, yes, everyone would experience their own shop instance as they entered, eliminating the need for wait times.

I thanked the Fox Man for the helpful information and left the shop. Once outside, I saw that at least 50 people were still waiting in line. Frank was playing bouncer, and Devin was helping him out the best he could. I walked over and told them what I’d just learned about the shop, and we let the people flow in. Devin and Frank were pretty excited about the news, too, because that meant they didn’t need to police the line and could also check out the shops’ wares.

We walked back over to the shop entrance together, and all walked inside. I was alone again in my own instance of the shop with the same Fox Man behind the counter.

“Back again, I see.”

“Yeah, we’re on a recently integrated planet, and you’re the first, I guess, alien I’ve met that isn’t trying to kill me, so please forgive me if I’m a little new to this whole thing.”

“That’s perfectly understandable, sir. I will guide you through our options to the best of my abilities. If you are looking to buy or sell, we offer fair prices for almost everything. What is it I may assist you with today?” The Fox Man said.

“Well, first off, thank you, and I appreciate it. Umm…yeah, that sounds good. I’m looking to sell a bunch of stuff, and then I’m probably gonna want to buy some stuff as well if I make enough coin from my sales.” I said

“Understandable, sir. Would you be looking to trade these items for store credit or galactic credits? I’ll let you know now that trading for store credit would probably be better in your situation. With that said, which items were you looking to put up for sale?”

I showed the shop clerk the weapons I was looking to get rid of and the other items I was trying to sell, like the medicine-like things we kept finding on the Caprainkis and all the random furniture and stuff I’d taken from the dungeon over the course of my runs. No one had wanted to risk taking any of the Caprainkis med packs stuff, so we had a lot of them just sitting around. Hopefully, it wasn’t just trash, and I’d get something for it.

In total, I was offered 1,245 galactic credits for my hall or 3,000 HSV credits, “humanoid support ventures” credits. I decided to go with the 3000 HSV credits. I definitely wasn’t going to be rich after this sale, but the HSV credits just seemed like a way better deal. It’s not like I would find anywhere else to use Galactic Credits right now, so the shop’s credits were acceptable for now. I told the clerk as much, and he smiled and said,

“Excellent choice, sir. Would you like me to assist you in finding something that might suit your needs?”

“Sounds good to me. What were you thinking?” I said.

“Well, what weapon do you use primarily?”

“I’ve been using a halberd as of lately. I used to use a spear, so I guess pole arms,” I told the Fox Man.

“Excellent indeed, you are correct. Pole arms would be the proper category. It also appears that you’re in need of a proper suit of armor. That armor doesn’t look like it was made for you, either. If I may be so bold, sir?”

“What did you have in mind? And apologies, but I just realized I never asked you your name. You got one?” I asked the guy

“Yes, sir, my name is Braxin. What might my new customer’s name be?”

“I’m Travis. Nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, sir. It’s Nice to make your acquaintance, Master Travis. Would you like to proceed to the gear I would suggest?”

“Oh yeah, what you got for me?”

“Well, first, I would suggest a nano weave protective slim suit. This suit is self-repairing as long as you have Mana to support it, and it will offer a decent amount of protection while remaining lightweight and highly flexible. It also gives plus one to Dexterity and constitution. I would also recommend the light body plate armor set. The light body plate armor is much more durable than the nano weave protective slim suit and can be worn on top of it. It is only a partial covering, leaving you with plenty of mobile. The set comes with a chest plate, upper arm guards, upper thigh guards, and a codpiece. This armor set also gives you plus one to constitution.

The last thing I suggest is a weapon called a Teremnocal. It looks similar to a weapon from your world known as a Glaive. This weapon is longer than the Glaive from your world, however. The weapon’s shaft is seven feet long, and the weapon’s head weighs more than fifty pounds. With your strength stats, you should be able to use this weapon without any trouble, at least due to its weight.”

The Fox Man stopped talking and coughed awkwardly, and then he continued. “The Teremnocal originates from a planet at constant war with itself. The people of this planet are taller and much stronger than your people, and from birth, they eat, sleep, and breathe battle. The Teremnocal was traditionally a weapon of the Nobel class from one kingdom on this planet and was the primary dueling weapon in the Nobel class. It is a weapon of honor. As such, they were always beautiful but deadly weapons of war.

With everything, your total would be 2,700 HSV credits. We also offer a training manual for the Teremnocal. It does cost 145 HSV credits, so I understand if you would like to proceed with the perch as is. Would you be interested in any or all of these items today, Master Travis?”

Wow, holy shit, that was a lot to take in. I was probably going to buy everything Braxin had suggested, but I decided to have a look for myself.

“Is there any way to look at all the goods you have for sale?” I asked the Fox Man.

“Of course, Master Travis, if you would direct your focus to the bookshelf you passed on your way in.” I turned, and yep, there was the small bookshelf.

“that one,” I asked and pointed.

“Precisely, sir, each book covers a category of items that we stock. If you would like to peruse our stock, I would suggest looking through those.” I walked over to the little shelf and picked up one of the books. The title read A-D. I opened the book and found the table of contents. The table of contents was four pages long and probably written in size eight font, super tiny.

When I found the section for boots, I put my finger on the word and was going to find the page number. As soon as my finger touched the word boots, the pages started flipping on their own to the section on boots. I had to pull my finger away rather quickly, and still, I almost got my finger smacked by the flipping pages.

“Shit!”

“How’s it going over there, Master Travis? Find anything to your liking?” honestly, the amount of information in front of me was staggering. There were a bunch more books, too. It would take forever to go through them all. It was probably an intentional sales tactic, which definitely worked on me. With that thought, I closed the book and returned to the Fox Man.

“Think I’m gonna just go with the items you have suggested, Braxin. Thanks for the assistance.”

“That’s my job, Master Travis. I’m happy to be of service.” I paid Braxin through my new gear and remaining SVH credits into one of my newly emptied bags of holding and headed out, thanking the Fox Man once again as I let the door close behind me. As the days passed, people started getting used to gaining levels. Janet, Beth, and I were all at Level thirteen, and most of the citizens of Tree House Village were around Level five. Janet, Beth, and I had each gained a new ability at Level thirteen as well, but the experience from our dungeon runs definitely dropped with each dive.

The ability Beth received was called Shift. It was a movement-based ability. It allowed her to shift her position without moving or lifting her feet. She could move in any direction about a foot. However, in our dives into the dungeon after she acquired the ability, she was almost untouchable. The ability cost very little, Mana, and she would use it at the last moment, avoiding attacks with ease. It quickly became one of her favorite moves.

The ability Janet acquired was a crowd control move called Mighty Roar. When activated, it used stamina and a small amount of Mana to infuse her voice so that when heard by her enemies, it made them feel an overwhelming sense to attack her at all costs. It was a useful ability in the dungeon, but I could see it going bad if she used it, and we got overwhelmed by monsters too strong to deal with. It must have worked on her intentions as well because it only affected the creatures and people she considered enemies.

I acquired the ability Quick Strike. Quick allowed me to use seventy-five Mana and ten stamina to energize my arms into almost a seizure-type state in which I would strike out with my pole arm in rapid succession. It was a nice combo to pull on someone right after using Step Lightly. It was a great surprise attack, and I was quickly getting used to my new ability.

We had also gained quite a few stat points with our new levels, and I felt pretty happy about it. I could see and hear so much better, and I even felt like my instincts were getting sharper as well. All in all, we were on our way to creating a capable fighting force. That is, of course, if we get enough time un-harassed by any significant threats in the near future.

Travis Mullins

Level: 13

Race: Human

Class: Path of the Pole Arm

Experience needed to next Level: 16,850/17,740 XP till next Level.

Titles: Lucky Bastard (+2 to luck)

Explorer 1 (+3 to all stats)

First in the world to

complete a dungeon run (+8 to all stats)

Resistances:

Element of fire 5%

Strength: 41

Dexterity: 36

Intelligence: 27

Wisdom: 28

Constitution: 33

Luck: 22

Class sheet

Path of the pole Arm

Level 1:

Plus two stat points to Strength each level up.

Plus three stat points to Dexterity each level up.

Abilities:

Step Lightly

When activated, it gives you the ability to move up to ten feet so fast that it may appear as if you have teleported to people with a dexterity of less than twenty-five and an intelligence of less than twenty. Anyone with a dexterity over twenty-five and an intelligence over twenty will see you move, but you will move at 300% of your normal movement speed. Step Lightly, coasting 50 mana and 20 stamina to activate.

Pinpoint:

Pinpoint increases your accuracy by 125%. This ability can be activated at the cost of ten Mana and five stamina per second, allowing you to land critical hits more often and deal more damage with each strike.

Quick Strike:

When activated, Quick Strike at the cost of seventy-five Mana and ten Mana energizes your arms into almost a seizure-type state. This causes you to strike out with your pole arm many times in rapid succession.

Beth Holloway’s

Level: 13

Race: Human

Class: Fledgling knight

Experience needed to next Level: 15,995/17,740 XP till next Level.

Titles:

Explorer 1 (+3 to all stats)

First in the world to:

Complete a dungeon run (+8 to all stats)

Strength: 39

Dexterity: 30

Intelligence: 27

Wisdom: 24

Constitution: 38

Luck: 17

Class sheet

Fledgling knight

Level 1:

Plus two stat points to Strength each level up.

Plus three stat points to constitution each level up.

Abilities:

All for One:

When activated, it gives you the stats of every ally in a ten-foot diameter added to your own for thirty seconds. Your movement speed severely decreased during the duration of the abilities activation. -30% to movement speed when activated. At the cost of ten Mana and forty Stamina.

Shield Bash:

When activated, slam your shield towards your opponent, releasing a wall of force that would push an additional five feet with an area of ten feet by 8 feet, which can be activated once per minute at the cost of fifty Mana.

Shift:

When activated, it allows you to shift your position without moving or lifting your feet. Move one foot in any direction at the cost of forty Mana and fifteen Stamina.

Janet Katz Stat. Sheet

Level: 13

Race: Human

Class: Brawler

Experience needed to next Level: 16,140/17,740 XP till next Level.

Titles:

Explorer 1 (+3 to all stats)

First in the world to:

Complete a dungeon run (+8 to all stats)

Strength: 44

Dexterity: 30

Intelligence: 27

Wisdom: 26

Constitution: 33

Luck: 18

Class sheet

Brawler

Level 1:

Plus four stat points to Strength each level up.

Plus one stat points to Constitution each Level up.

Abilities:

I’m so Strong:

When activated, use one point of wisdom and one point of intelligence and trade them to add one point into strength for a duration of five minutes.

Empower Strike:

When activated, empowers your strikes with a burst of force right before impacting the target, making your strikes hit harder and deal more damage for her next three strikes at the cost of forty-five Stamina and ten Mana.

Mighty Roar:

When activated, use forty stamina and twenty Mana to infuse your voice so that when heard by her enemies, they feel an overwhelming sense to attack her at all costs.

Frank, Devin, Brianna, Tess, and Rich were all Level Nine, and Level Ten would happen any day now for them. It was going to get interesting with more people getting classes. With all this leveling going on in Tree House Village, that month deadline only took us three weeks, and we planned a party to celebrate the outstanding achievement and all the hard work it took to get to this point. Beth had been mingling with the people from hell. That’s what the people who had been held as prisoners started referring to that time.

She had been treated with caution at first, having short conversations with people here and there, but after only a little while, they had really opened up to her. Most of the people from hell were friendly with her by now, if not downright talkative.

Beth came back one day from a walk about the village. She had sat down next to Janet and me and let out a huge sigh.

“Dam, you good?” Janet asked Beth.

“Yeah, everything’s going really well. I really couldn’t have asked for more for those people. What they survived really does sound like hell. At first, the stories were ripping me apart, and it was hard to talk with them without crying. Now, I see it for what it really is. They are freeing themselves from what happened by sharing their stories with me, and I genuinely value their stories now.

However, this one older woman talks my ear off every time I see her. It’s driving me crazy. It’s always about shit that makes no sense like I hope my brother keeps the cat, or You would like my son. He’s so strong one time he…. And on and on like that for, like, I think it was forty-five minutes yesterday. I can’t do it.” Beth sighed in frustration as she finished speaking. Janet and I looked at each other and then back at Beth and just started laughing.

“Glad I’m not in charge,” Janet said.

“Yeah, dodged a bullet, you feel me,” I told Janet. We high-fived and just kept laughing.

“You guys suck,” Beth said.

The day finally came when we were going to put up the housing. We had piled all our trash into a giant heap where the large housing unit would be placed. People were getting excited. You could feel it in the air. The citizens of Tree House Village were cooking whatever they could manage to make over open flames. We didn’t have any ovens or stoves, and I was surprised by what people could accomplish with such limited resources.

We had to organize some scavenging parties to get everything people wanted for the night, and we still left some people wanting. The main element of most people’s requests was lots and lots of alcohol. I mean, that was basically all we got on one run. It was gonna be a fun night if nothing went wrong.

Everybody seemed to be in a good mood, and the air was thick with the smell of food cooking and the sound of people enjoying themselves. We had built a small stage in front of the area where we would be placing the new building, and it was scheduled so that the ceremony would start at 3 pm.

Afterward, we would assign rooms, and then the party would begin. It was about 2:45 pm, and there was a crowd gathering. The plan was that Janet, Beth, and I would walk out, Janet and I holding a ribbon. Beth would say a few words, then Janet and I would hold the ribbon up, and Beth would cut it. This would signify the grand opening of the new housing units.

“You ready, Beth?” I asked her.

“Fuck no, but I’m doing it. Come too far to back out now, right?” Beth said back at me.

“I guess you’re right,” I answered her. Janet just looked at Beth and told her,

“You’re gonna be fine. Can’t be more intimidating than the boss guy, right?” Janet asked her.

“Think I’d rather fight the boss again right now,” Beth told us. Janet laughed, and I just smiled at Beth.

“You got this. Let’s get out there and give these people a place to call home again.” Beth smiled, exhaled, and the three of us walked out onto the stage. The crowd cheered when they saw Beth walk out. After allowing the applause to go on for a few moments, Beth raised her hands to quiet the crowd, and in moments, all eyes were on Beth.

I saw her gulp, and then Beth started her speech. “Good people of Tree House Village, I know that many of you have been hurt, many of you have lost someone dear to you, but today is a small step in the direction of defiance. We will live. We won’t just survive. We will thrive in this new world. It may have tried to kill us or make us tremble in fear, but no longer.

In founding this village today, we have taken the first step in taming this earth once again. We shall prevail in this, and we shall flourish. Pray for those we’ve lost and remember them, but fight for them. We will never let those who fell be forgotten. So, I tell you now, fight, survive, grow in power, and we shall never be victims again!”

Everyone cheered, and then Beth stepped forward to cut the ribbon. As she did, a loud bomb rang out, and then Beth was knocked to the ground.