<Alex, Real - Endure, Magic Shop>

Alex was excited to get inside the magic shop, and as such, he was the second person to go in.

Grant had, of course, already cleared the store with a preliminary sweep. And Alex's Detect skills had swept the immediate area as well.

He did take a moment to check on the enemies he'd killed. As it turned out the creature with more than a curse of 'true death' had been a 'Senior Death Squire.' That, combined with a Rare rarity and a level of 20 made Alex feel a bit better about how overmatched he'd been.

Imagine if I hadn't had any resistance to curses. Though, if that was the case, each of the Death Squires could have cursed him into 'true death.' Which, now that he considered it, seemed really, really overpowered. So, there had to be some sort of catch, not that he would ask any of his companions to take a hit in order to test that theory.

Regardless, he pushed open the door to the magic shop. Inside, there wasn't that large of a space, and it was packed, with barely any room to walk between the various sections. Even so, his Basic Mana Sense showed that most things were just mundane accessories and supplies of various kinds, unlike the much more open—magic item only—shop they'd gone to before everything went down.

Still, there was a lot to look at, and Alex initially was curious about the magical beast parts display case. After all, there just might be something like the theoretical Life Core that he needed.

In looking at the placards, he almost jumped for joy when he did indeed see one labeled 'Life Core,' but it was before an empty divot in the case. Beside it was an oddly familiar, yellow zig-zag tail noted as having electric properties.

That's… dark.

Beside that was a unicorn kidney…

The last item that he looked at looked like folded, imperfect patches of leather and was labeled simply as 'Carl's Delights.'

Yeah, Alex was done with this case.

Still, he scanned the rest briefly to ensure there wasn't another life core hiding somewhere. There wasn't.

At least he knew that he was looking for something that could be spherical. That was good information at the very least.

He looked back at the empty spot one more time and saw a bit of lingering energy in the divot with his Basic Mana Sense.

Well, I can be on the lookout for that, I suppose.

The others had come in by that point, and it was obvious that the pack-teachers were very uncomfortable. Mr. Weston cleared his throat. "This is a very expensive, restricted store, Alex. I… I don't think we should take anything from here."

Alex sighed. Of course the System wouldn't let them take everything to sort through later. He cleared his throat, and his companions looked at him. "I'm betting this will be time-limited. Get what you need and get out." He then made eye contact with the teachers. "We won't take what we don't need to help keep everyone alive."

That seemed to mollify them.

A moment later, Pilar let out a happy cry. Apparently, there was a weapon part section, and John rushed over at his wife's call, exclaiming in delight as well.

The shop didn't supply weapons, but it did sell things that could be added to weapons or that could serve as weapon augments.

Alex called out. "Let me know if anything stands out for me. I'm going to hunt up the orbs and books."

There was a chorus of responses that, of course, they'd all be keeping an eye out for stuff for each other.

On the way to the skills and spells section, Alex came across a rather sparse adventuring and utility gear section.

What caught his eye, specifically, was a one foot section of rope labeled simply, 'Endless Rope.'

Of the two ends, one simply looked melted—as made sense for a synthetic rope—while the other was capped with a dull metal, in which he could see tiny etchings. He grabbed the metal end and felt something. He knew that he could put magic into it.

Very, very carefully, he used his Basic Mana Manipulation to feed a trickle in, and the rope began to grow out of the metal cap.

He didn't even give it a full point of magic before he cut off the flow.

If he had to guess, it would grow about a foot for each point of magic he put into it. He'd not even put in a tenth of a point, and it had grown more than an inch. Even so, he was still mainly guessing.

It would require rigorous testing to be sure, and there wasn't time for that.

Yes. I'm taking this.

There were three of the endless ropes, so he stuck all three into his Inventory.

He also grabbed three strikers of endless sparks that looked like a welding sparker, but were likewise etched with fine runes, seemingly begging to have magic fed into them, and there were five magic headlamp things. They didn't look very sturdy, but they'd be better than their rope of magical lights, so he grabbed them all too.

There were a lot of empty spots on the shelves. In the scenario, they were likely to assume that others had already taken some stuff, but the truth of the matter was that the System likely didn't want them to simply acquire a massive pile of magical gear and equipment.

We can't get everything handed to us after all.

He was moving on toward the back, when something caught his eye.

What have we here?

It was a wool greatcoat, hanging on a rack nearer the center of the store. It was beside something like a lab coat, and several other over-garments, but it stood out, not only for its quality, but for the mana he could see running through it.

He looked down at his own worn, heavy coat.

He'd gone through a half-dozen coats in attempts to gain a bit more protection against biting and slashing opponents, to some short-term effect.

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He went over and found the tag.

Greatcoat of the Traveler This wool coat is worked with magics to keep the wearer comfortable in all sorts of natural climates and weather conditions.

The lucky wearer will find himself cool when it is hot, warm when it is cold, and dry when it is wet. Additionally, it has minor protective and durability enhancements, which make the material as durable as tough leather.

Price: $20,000

Note: This garment will not self-repair. We do offer comprehensive repair services upon request.

Alex almost choked at the price, then realized that he didn't have to pay it.

He felt momentarily guilty before removing his worn canvas coat, taking the wool one from the rack and donning it.

After a moment's thought he moved his 'I did my best' pin to his new lapel before pulling down on the coat to seat it properly about his shoulders.

It fit perfectly.

Based on the continued happy noises from around the shop, Alex had a realization—one that should have been blazingly obvious already—this was a reward location.

He'd been promised that rewards were plentiful if he worked for them, and this shop contained exactly what they needed. Not everything they needed, but what it did have, fit them to a 'T.'

That in mind, he quickly looked about, hunting up footwear. Then, he really, really needed to find the skill orbs and books.

Thankfully, he spotted what he wanted almost immediately.

Low-rise shoes that seemed to be of a set with the coat, and the only pair was even in his size.

Minimalist Shoes of the Traveler These minimalist shoes will seem to all but fade away on the feet of the wearer, while maintaining comfort in all natural weather conditions and providing protection and secure footing on all sorts of terrain, almost regardless of the suitability of the footing.

Price: $7,500

Note: This garment will not self-repair. We do offer comprehensive repair services upon request.

He took them into his Inventory rather than trying to put them on right away. He simply didn't want to take the time.

With that done, he passed racks of 'sensible' adventuring clothes—all non-magical according to his Basic Mana Sense—only grabbing a few on his way by, and found the skill and spells section at the back of the space.

It was picked clean, of course… Even so, two books stood out: Basic Blood Transfusion and Remove All Trace.

He grabbed both, even if he wasn't sure if he still wanted to learn Basic Blood Transfusion. His Basic Life Transfusion seemed to do what he needed, but it was still worth investigating.

If nothing else, it might be a more replenishable resource if I can get the blood restoration spell too.

Truthfully, the stuff that had been taken and the stuff that had been left for them to find within the store was highly suspect, reinforcing his thought that this was as System arranged loot-drop, but he wasn't about to complain.

This was supposed to be an Apology Tutorial, and it seemed like, in this regard, that meant getting good stuff for their efforts.

In the end, they all came back together near the entrance.

"Should we try to learn the spells and gear up?" He looked around at everyone and found them all a bit hesitant.

John had gotten parts that he could incorporate into his and Lenka's weapons that would allow John's skills and spells to have a better anchor in them, allowing the enhancements to last more than twice as long when enhancing the crossbow and guns. "I'd need at least ten minutes, and my guns would be out of commission once I started. That's a dangerous thing to do when not in a secure location."

Natasha had found a tassel for her spear that would magically make it harder for opponents to predict—and therefore block or dodge—her attacks with the spear. She shrugged. "Mine's already in place."

Pilar had found a ring that made any fire she created hotter to everyone she considered an enemy. It also apparently did something with oxidation temperatures, or rates? Alex only heard her in passing. She held up her right hand. "No time required."

Grant got a new earring for his left ear, which seemingly would give him a better understanding of weakpoints, both on creatures and objects. "Same here. Already wearing mine."

Has he always had an earring? It seemed like he had, as Alex had watched him pull out the simple silver ring and replace it with a small stud. Huh… I guess I'm not as observant of other people as I thought.

Alex got the greatcoat, shoes, and potential spellbooks, though he suspected that the 'Leave No Trace' book was for Grant. By the synopsis, it would apparently remove some or all of the fragments of things he destroyed, if he activated the ability during an attack.

That would make for a cleaner battlefield, that was for sure.

Still, he likely couldn't learn a skill in even ten minutes.

Alex would take about twice that long with the use of his Speed Reading skill.

As Alex looked over the things that they hadn't picked up, he found that it was all essentially mundane. Set dressing…

He sighed. It was like looking at a massive pile of gold in a videogame and being told 'it's empty' when you try to pick any up.

He could take a moment to switch out his shoes, but he decided to do one last sweep.

As such, he walked through one last time. He saw two things that he knew immediately were for their two companions who weren't with them.

One was a knife sheath that said it had magic to 'keep the sheathed knives within until the owner pulled them free.' That was obviously for James, and Alex grabbed it for him, tucking it away in his Inventory.

The second was a monocle that would 'reveal deception,' and if nothing else, Kaylee wearing a monocle would be hilarious. The effect seemed quite useful to her as a leader as well.

He took that and stored it too. After a moment's pause, he also grabbed a couple of bags of mundane chalk dust and a pack of magical chalk that would only be visible to the user and those they considered allies in addition to being resistant to coming off unless the user wanted it erased.

That done, they gathered by the door, ready to leave. The teachers gave him flat looks, and he got the impression that if he tried to take anything else, they'd fight him on it. Alright, alright, loot limits and all that… We need their Inventories more than I need a couple more trinkets.

Alex cleared his throat. "Back to the base, or do we want to circle around to the next shop first?"

Natasha frowned, but she didn't respond.

John looked to his wife who simply shrugged.

Finally, Grant grunted. "I say we go back and touch base. I feel like we're going to want to reset ourselves and take a bit of time to make sure we're ready to venture out again. We also should unload what the pack-teachers have."

All of that made sense. Alex also knew that the man wanted to see Kaylee again, which was fine too. He pulled out and handed the man the monocle. "For Kaylee when we get back. I think it was meant for her."

Grant grinned, taking the item before hesitating and reddened. "That obvious?"

John laughed. "Yes, son, you two are."

Grant shook his head. "Son? You're what? Late thirties?"

"Thereabouts."

"I'm in my mid-twenties, pops. We're practically the same age."

Alex chuckled. That was pretty typical. Twenty-somethings tended to both see thirty somethings as 'not really older' experience wise while also thinking of them as monumentally older when it came to 'fun' things.

At least that's how it had been pre-System.

John just shook his head and checked his guns. "Either way. You're as obvious as a white dress at a funeral."

When everyone looked at John oddly, Alex realized that the man's turn of phrase hadn't been System generated for Alex's benefit. John had actually picked that analogy.

As they all chuckled at the odd saying, Alex pulsed his Detect Life followed by Detect Unlife. Nothing within a hundred feet.

With that assurance, he pushed open the door. His Danger Sense immediately began screaming.

An instant later, their levity was interrupted by a colossal whoomp as a massive creature landed in the street barely two dozen yards away.

Alex reflexively Analyzed it even as his companions came out of the shop behind him.

Undead Spawn-Queen Level ?

Oh… boss fight.

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