Lua's Shop and the Secrets of the Game
The players returned from their expedition. Grandpa and Alfred felt they had reached a good enough level and didn't want to fall behind on the farm work. However, Bert, having run out of talismans, wanted to replenish his stock. Though they had initially said they wouldn't need help setting up the farm, running out of talismans made them change their minds.
"Mm? Miss Lua, what are you doing?" Loli asked curiously, noticing Lua sitting in front of a small improvised stall on the ground, covered with a fur blanket. On top of it, several talismans, inventory pouches, and leather vests were neatly displayed.
"A shop," Lua replied with the utmost seriousness.
The players were immediately intrigued and stepped closer to examine the goods.
—---
Items for Sale
Minor Explosion Talisman (Mine) x100: 1 fragment each
Minor Freeze Talisman (Mine) x100: 1 fragment each
Minor Flare Talisman x100: 2 fragments each
Minor Blizzard Talisman x100: 2 fragments each
2x2 Inventory Pouch: 2 fragments
4x4 Inventory Pouch: 4 fragments
Wolf Hide Vest: 5 fragments
Rabbit Hide Vest: 5 fragments
Defensive Wolf Hide Vest: 10 fragments or 1 Mana Stone
Defensive Rabbit Hide Vest: 10 fragments or 1 Mana Stone
—----
"Wow, there are so many interesting things!" Loli exclaimed, scanning the list. "Did you make these yourself, Miss Lua?" she asked with a spark of admiration.
"Yes," Lua replied calmly. "You can just call me Lua," she added, softening her tone.
"S-sure!" said Loli, a little flustered, feeling the distance between them grow smaller.
Meanwhile, Bert was carefully studying the leather vests.
—-----
Vest Info
[Wolf Hide Vest]
Defense +5
Endurance +1
[A vest crafted by a rather skilled tailor.]
[Rabbit Hide Vest]
Defense +5
Speed +1
[Did you really use poor little rabbits to make this? Poor things!]
[Defensive Wolf Hide Vest]
Defense +10
Endurance +1
Engraved Rune: Defense (+5)
[A vest made by a good tailor and upgraded by a master runesmith.]
[Defensive Rabbit Hide Vest]
Defense +10
Speed +1
Engraved Rune: Defense (+5)
[Poor bunny.]
—
"As always, the comments under the items are ridiculous, but these are actually great pieces," Bert said, eyeing the stat boosts. They weren't many, sure, but they were a bonus on top of the stats they gained naturally from leveling up. When they leveled, they received 5 stat points, automatically distributed based on their race. Loli, for example, received 50 points—ten times more—though she had reached that level with Lua's help. The rest of them had just reached level 4 after so much grinding.
These vests—even the ones without runes—gave them an entire level's worth of defense.
Their current Defense stat was 1, and it would likely only increase through gear, just like their Damage stat. That explained why it took so long to kill rabbits—they had always dealt 1 damage. Sure, they could hurt the creatures, but they only ever took 1 to 3 HP from rabbits with 1000 HP. It was clear that the 3 was a critical hit. With spears, they landed more criticals that dealt 3 damage. But if they used sticks, it was just 1 damage per hit. Loli, on the other hand, dealt more with her magical abilities. Not everyone had an offensive skill yet, though.
"Um… I mean, Lua, do you have anything that boosts damage, not just defense?" Bert asked.
"Damage?" Lua repeated, as Sia answered quickly in her mind.
"Players base themselves on damage and defense to understand how much they can affect beasts and how fast they drop their health bars," Sia explained. "Like that sword you were given—it increases damage, even if only a little. It's better than fists or sticks."
"What are you using to hunt?" Lua asked, glancing at them.
Loli pulled out an improvised spear, made from a branch with a rabbit horn tied to the tip with leather strips.
"As always, the comments under the items are ridiculous, but these are genuinely great objects," said Bert, studying the bonuses carefully. They weren't much, to be honest, but they gave a nice boost to their stats, which increased automatically when leveling up. They, for example, had just reached level 4 after so much hunting. These vests, even the ones without engraved runes, gave them an entire level's worth of defense.
Also, their current Defense was 1, and it would most likely only increase through gear—same with Damage. That's why it took them so long to kill rabbits: their base damage was always 1. Their attacks did deal damage, yes, but usually only 1 point of HP to rabbits with 1000 HP. When they landed a critical hit, which happened more often with spears, they could deal up to 5 points of damage. Additionally, spears inflicted bleeding on the rabbits, which helped lower their HP faster over time.
Meanwhile, if they used sticks or hit with their fists, they only dealt 1 point of damage per hit—much less effective. On the other hand, Loli dealt more damage thanks to her magical skills, but not everyone had access to an offensive ability yet.
"Miss... um, I mean, Lua, do you have any item that increases damage points, not just defense?" asked Bert.
"Damage?" Lua repeated, as Sia answered quickly in her mind.
"Players go by their damage and defense stats to understand how much they're affecting the beasts and how fast their health bars go down," Sia explained. "Like the sword you were given—it increases damage, even if just a bit. With it, they'd do more than just hitting with fists or sticks."
"What are you using to hunt?" Lua asked, looking at them.
Loli pulled out an improvised spear made from a branch and a rabbit horn tied with leather at the tip.
"Why doesn't that count as damage?" Lua asked, genuinely curious.
"Actually, it does more than fists or a rock," Sia replied, "but it's not technically classified as a weapon, so it doesn't have a specific damage stat assigned to it. If it did, it would likely be 1 point—same as fists or rocks. However, these spears increase piercing damage and critical chance. So, we can say it deals more damage, but at the same time, it doesn't. Once they get their Strength to 10, they'll gain one base damage point," she explained.
"Give it to me," said Lua, extending her hand. Loli handed over the improvised spear.
Lua took out her beast blood vial and a fine brush, and began delicately tracing a couple of runes on the tip of the spear, right on the horn. All the players watched with fascination as she worked. In a few seconds, she finished, and the tip began to glow with a soft red light.
"Here," said Lua. "A free sample."
Loli examined the weapon with curiosity:
—
[Horn Spear]
Damage +2
Enchantment: Burn (Damage +2)
A trash spear made from scraps, improved by a beautiful enchanter. Now it really can be called a spear!
–-
Bert read the description and couldn't help wanting to punch whoever wrote those jokes. He wasn't sure if it was sarcasm or just automatic flavor text from the game.
"Wow! So if I attack now, it'll also burn?" Loli asked excitedly.
"Yes," Lua replied calmly.
"Miss Lua... I mean, Lua, how much do I have to pay to upgrade my dumb spear?" asked Sig, excited, while Bert got slightly annoyed at hearing his spear being called "dumb"—after all, it had served them well for hunting.
"Hmm… ten fragments or one mana stone," Lua said, recalling the same price Sia had set for the enchanted vests.
"How about five? After all, we made the spear," Sig tried to negotiate, showing her merchant instincts.
"Alright," Lua replied simply. In truth, if Sig had asked for just one fragment, she would've agreed. The price had been given by Sia, and Lua didn't mind giving away fragments to players.
"Great! Please do it!" said Sig, handing over the spear and pulling out the fragments she had in her pouch. The mana stones they'd found had been split among them. Alfred and Ganfall refused their share, saying it was better used to help others level up. They'd accept theirs once they could be more useful.
Next, it was Bert's turn. Though a bit grumpy over the comment about his weapon, he agreed it was a necessary upgrade. Finally, they had a visible damage bar, and everyone had already bought a vest to increase defense. Their stats were finally starting to take shape.
—
[STATUS PANEL]
Name: Loli
Level: 10
Race Level: 1
Race: Astral Fairy (Rare Class, Magic Type, Mid-Low Tier)
Title: Goddess of Fortune ⭐
[STATS]
Health: 200
Mana: 387.5 (200 base + 7.5 × 25 INT)
Damage: 3 (1 base + 2 from horn spear) + Burn (burning damage over 3 seconds)
Defense: 11 (1 base + 10 from leather vest)
Strength: 2
Endurance: 3
Intelligence: 25
Speed: 14 (13 base + 1 from leather vest)
Dexterity: 17
Luck: 10 (max)
EXP: 500/1000
[EQUIPMENT]
• Magical Dress
• Horn Spear (Damage +2, Enchantment: Burn +2 damage over 3 seconds)
• Defensive Leather Vest (+10 Defense, +1 Speed)
[ABILITIES]
• Fairy Luck – Multiplies luck for 10 seconds.
• Stellar Nova (Star Spell, Fire, Level 1) – 50/100 EXP
• Falling Star (Star Spell, Impact, Level 1)
[PROFESSIONS]
• Cook Level 1 (Novice) – 10/500 EXP
—
"Finally, Damage and Defense went up," said Loli, smiling at her status panel. The others nodded as they looked at their own stats.
Meanwhile, Sig bought a 4x4 inventory pouch, just like Loli and Bert. They also gave one to Ganfall and Alfred, even though they weren't going to hunt yet and would only work on the farm. So, they didn't need that much space. It was better to invest in useful items like talismans.
"Even though I have the Talisman Maker profession, it takes too much time. I want to hunt and gather resources, then make a bunch of talismans," Bert said, looking over the variety he had collected.
"As you level up, crafting talismans takes less time, and the fail rate goes down. Plus, you get free recipes that expand the variety—though they're not very powerful. I recommend gathering all the blood, papyrus, or leather you can, then burning through it all to level the profession quickly," Lua advised, clearly experienced with the system.
"Looks like I'll have to do that, at least until there are more players I can sell my talismans to," Bert said calmly. "As long as it doesn't affect your store," he added quickly, glancing at Lua with slight concern.
"If someone else makes and sells them, I won't have to," Lua replied with a rare, charming smile.
Loli looked like she was "exploding" with steam coming out of her head, earning a few suspicious glances and teasing grins from the others. It was far too obvious.
"Looks like we're getting new players," Lua said, cutting through the teasing.
"New players? I thought it was invite-only?" asked Bert, shifting gears fast.
"It is, but sometimes invitations are generated automatically," explained Lua, repeating what Sia had told her.
"Then we'd better hurry up and improve before they arrive. And I need to bring in my employees," said Sig seriously, activating her business mode.
Just then, two lights shone at the village entrance—the unmistakable effect of player login. This time, two players at once. The only two invitations Sia had left… had just been used.