Chapter 58: Hunter Shop
The newly opened Hunter Shop.
At last, there was somewhere to spend his coins. Thinking of all the coins he’d steadily piled up over time, Walfred accessed the Hunter Shop without hesitation.
Then, a moment later,
a hologram window unfolded in front of him.
==Hunter Shop (Lv.1)==
[Regular Sales]: Available at all times
[Limited Sales]: Time-limited
[Special Sales]: Not yet open
[Dimensional Exchange]: Closed
=============
Four categories appeared before him.
Among them, the first thing to catch his eye was the level attached to the shop.
’The shop has a level too?’
What’s the benefit of raising it?
Do better products get added?
Walfred tilted his head. Then he decided to look through each category one at a time.
Starting with Regular Sales.
==[Regular Sales]==
※Purchase limit: 1 per item (product) per day
(On shop level-up, products are added and limits eased)
▷[Bottled Water 500ml]: 5 coins
▷[Standard-issue Hardtack]: 5 coins
▷[Boxed Meal - Inari Sushi Set]: 10 coins
▷[Boxed Meal - Hearty Pork Rice Bowl]: 15 coins
▷[Men’s Underwear Set]: 50 coins
▷[Thick Fur Gloves]: 30 coins
Most of the products in Regular Sales were daily necessities, including water and food.
There was a restriction that he could only buy one of each listed item per day, though.
As he was browsing through the products,
Grrrowl!
his stomach growled again.
At the sound, which seemed to be crying out for something to eat, Walfred quickly made up his mind.
’First things first, let’s eat.’
He had plenty of coins anyway.
So he focused on looking at the food.
The only things that could fill his stomach were the hardtack at the top and the two kinds of boxed meals. From those, he chose the "Hearty Pork Rice Bowl."
Just then, an additional option appeared.
[Please select an option.]
[Cold: 15 coins]
[Hot: 30 coins]
"...They charge to heat it up too."
It was a stingy system.
Still, right now he wanted to eat something warm, so Walfred chose "Hot."
[Purchase complete.]
▶[Hearty Pork Rice Bowl]
[Option: Hot]
[Price: 30 coins]
And in that moment.
Thunk!
A box dropped out of thin air.
A moment later, when he opened the box, he saw a piping-hot boxed meal. When he lifted the lid, white steam rose up along with a spicy aroma that hit his nose.
Gulp!
His mouth watered before he knew it.
Walfred didn’t hold back any longer and tore open the wooden chopsticks that came with it. Then he scooped up a big bite of meat and rice and put it straight in his mouth.
"...!"
And his eyes went wide.
A truly moving flavor.
It was incomparable to the dried-out jerky and cold canned food he’d been eating all this time.
Walfred didn’t hide his happy smile.
Just then.
"Daddy, what’s that?"
Elsa, watching from beside him, had stars in her eyes.
A look like she was gazing at some marvelous object.
Coming back to his senses, Walfred wiped the sauce from the corner of his mouth and answered.
"It’s a boxed meal. Want to try some?"
"Wow, can I?"
"Of course. Let’s eat together."
Walfred picked up a piece of meat.
And when he brought it to Elsa’s mouth, she snapped it up at once, as if she’d been waiting for it.
And then.
"...!"
Elsa’s eyes went wide.
Just like Walfred’s had a moment ago. But the reaction that came after was completely different.
"Bleh."
She spat the meat right out of her mouth.
Walfred was startled.
"What’s wrong? Doesn’t it taste good?"
Maybe because she was a dragon, human food just didn’t agree with her? Walfred asked with a worried look. Elsa shook her head.
Then she stuck her tongue way out and said,
"Owww, hot! My tongue hurts..."
"Hot? This?"
Walfred was thrown.
It had definitely been hot when he first ate it, but by now it had gone lukewarm from the cold.
But Elsa really did look like it was hot.
He could tell just from the way she was gathering up the snow piled on the ground and rubbing it against her tongue.
"Spicy! Hot. My mouth is burning."
Elsa was on the verge of tears.
That was when it hit Walfred.
’Oh, right, Elsa’s a Frost Dragon.’
A being naturally attuned to cold.
In Hunter terms, she was basically a frost-attribute Hunter. So she’d inevitably be extremely vulnerable to even faint heat.
Just like Walfred didn’t get along with fire-attribute Hunters.
’And on top of that...’
She seemed weak to spicy food too.
Come to think of it, Jenna had been the same. She couldn’t touch spicy ramen until she was in middle school.
To think they’d be alike even down to this.
Walfred chuckled.
’Then what about other food?’
The other boxed meal he’d seen in the shop window earlier.
Walfred opened the shop again. And he immediately bought the one he’d seen before.
[Purchase complete.]
▶[Inari Sushi Set]
[Option: Cold]
[Price: 10 coins]
This time he’d bought the unheated boxed meal.
But cold or not, it was far too cold. As if it had just come out of the freezer. Still, at this temperature there was no way she’d burn her tongue.
Walfred picked up a piece of inari sushi with his chopsticks and held it out toward Elsa.
"This one should be fine. Try it."
"...Really?"
Elsa glared at the inari sushi with suspicious eyes. Maybe because of what had just happened to her, she didn’t open her mouth so readily.
So Walfred took her hand and brought it to the inari sushi. Maybe that was when she realized it was cold? Elsa parted her lips slightly.
Nom. Munch, munch.
A moment later,
Elsa’s expression changed fast.
The wariness in her eyes vanished without a trace, and her pupils sparkled like jewels.
"How is it?"
"Wow! It’s delicious!"
Elsa hopped up and down with delight.
"It’s sweet and sour! Way better than snow!"
"Glad to hear it."
Her sense of taste was surprisingly normal.
She just couldn’t handle spicy or hot things.
Walfred watched fondly as Elsa nibbled the inari sushi with her little hands.
A little while later,
Walfred, who had finished his meal before Elsa, looked through the Hunter Shop’s products again.
This time it was Limited Sales.
==[Limited Sales]==
※This season’s limited products
※Time remaining until sale ends: 3 days, 17 hours
▷[Healing Potion]: 1,000 coins (10/10)
▷[Skill Book - Wind Attribute]: 1,800 coins
▷[Elemental Rune: Heat]: 4,500 coins
▷[Enchant Scroll: Slow]: 800 coins
Unlike Regular Sales, Limited Sales was made up mostly of products Hunters needed.
And as if to show that they couldn’t be bought anytime, anywhere, the sale period was clearly stated alongside the note that they were this season’s limited products.
’There’s a purchase limit here too.’
Only the [Healing Potion] had a relatively generous purchase limit. Browsing the shop, Walfred bought one [Healing Potion].
’I don’t really need it myself.’
Thanks to the [Rune of Healing] added to his [Frost Domain], Walfred was fine without healing potions.
Elsa was a different story.
So after buying one potion just in case, he looked around a bit more to see if there was anything else worth getting.
That was when something caught his eye.
"This is..."
A coat as pure white as snow.
Walfred then looked at Elsa.
Elsa, who had borrowed the appearance of Jenna as a child, was currently wearing nothing but a white sleeveless dress. And she was barefoot, with no shoes either.
’Sure, she’s a Frost Dragon so she won’t feel the cold, but even so, that outfit is way too conspicuous.’
Walking around without a care in that kind of clothing in an environment below minus 76 degrees? It practically advertised to anyone watching that she was anything but ordinary.
Back in the shop, Walfred touched the coat. Detailed information appeared right away.
-----
[Name]: Snow Mist Coat
[Rank]: Magic
[Equip Condition]: None
[When the ambient temperature is at or below 32°F, a stealth function activates, dimming the wearer’s presence. Monsters of D-rank or below, excluding Elites, cannot perceive the wearer.]
[Price]: 3,000 coins
-----
"Oh."
It was better than he’d expected.
An effect that fit Elsa, who had practically no combat ability, perfectly. The price was a bit steep, but he could easily afford this much.
’The problem is the size, though.’
No matter how much he looked through the coat’s information, there was nothing about size. It didn’t even say whether it was for adults or children.
’If it doesn’t fit, I’ll just wear it myself.’
Walfred coolly pressed the purchase button.
And then.
Thunk.
A pretty large box dropped down.
Unlike the one the boxed meal had come in, this box had a notice printed on the outside.
[The product is bound to the first person to open it.]
[All types of clothing items automatically adjust to the wearer’s body shape.]
So there was no need to worry about size.
Walfred handed it to Elsa.
"Elsa, want to take this out and try it on?"
"Huh? What is it?"
"A present. I thought it’d suit you."
At the word "present," Elsa’s eyes sparkled.
After shoving the last remaining piece of inari sushi into her mouth, Elsa opened the box right away.
Out came the pure white coat.
When she slipped her little arms in, the coat’s size quickly changed to fit her body.
’Not bad.’
The coat came down right to her knees.
It even had a fur hood, so wearing it could partly cover her face too. After that, Walfred bought pants, boots, and fur gloves as well and got her into them.
"How is it? Not too warm or anything?"
"Nope! It’s all fluffy. Like a cloud."
Elsa spun around and around in place.
She seemed pretty satisfied, so Walfred smiled fondly too. With this, the worry of looking suspicious to others was gone.