That wrapped up the Construction Shop.
Now, there were two more shops left to explore: the Item Shop and the Castle Core Shop.
I decided to start with the Item Shop, curiosity winning out.
It currently offered three neat categories: Furniture, Food, and Equipment.
I mentally tapped the Furniture icon first. A new, cleanly organized menu unfolded smoothly before my mind's eye.
(Owo, what's this?)
I had to give the system some credit; the interface was genuinely slick and user-friendly! Every single item came with a crisp little preview thumbnail, a short cheeky description that felt like it was written by a snarky shopkeeper, and, of course, a clear price tag listed in wood or stone resources.
Unfortunately, the actual selection was quite stripped-down and basic. It felt like walking into a dollar-store clearance aisle after a particularly brutal bankruptcy sale — everything was the absolute bare-bones version with zero frills.
Wooden Bench (10 Wood) – "A sturdy bench. Seats three asses. Unless you're a hippo."
Oak Table (15 Wood) – "A simple table. Good for meals, meetings, or dramatically slamming your fists."
Torch Sconce (2 Stone) – "Because fire is cool. Also, light."
Straw Bed (20 Wood) – "Not great for your back, but hey, at least it's not the cold, hard floor!"
Rug (5 Wood) – "What does a rug do anyway?"
…
And for the so-called "luxury" items, if you could even call them that, the options were equally humble:
Simple Throne (50 Stone) – "For when you want to feel like a real tyrant. Although… the poorest one. Also, no crown included."
Statue (50 Stone) – "A statue. Of whatever, or whoever you want. Want a dragon? A goddess with gigantic boobs? A suspiciously buff version of yourself? The sky's the limit! (Additional stone required for custom options)."
And a few other miscellaneous things that weren't really worth mentioning.
Yeah, the shop was a little bit ass.
Though, there was one pretty cool feature that stood out: the 3D preview of the furniture!
When I selected any item, a perfect hologram-like projection shimmered into existence right in the middle of my empty hall. It was semi-transparent, softly glowing with that signature blue light, and floated exactly where the real piece would appear if I actually bought it. I could rotate it a full 360 degrees with a thought, zoom in on tiny details like wood grain or nail heads, and even toggle a faint placement grid that overlaid the floor and walls to help me visualize exactly how it would fit.
(This is just amazing!) I exclaimed internally, genuine excitement bubbling up.
(Muahahaha! One day I'd deck this place out so hard it'd make fairy-tale kings jealous! Gold-trimmed everything! Catgirl statues in every corner! The works!)
I could already picture it so vividly — my future as the most epic, over-the-top castle ever built, a legendary landmark that travelers would talk about for centuries.
Though right now, I had exactly zero wood, zero stone, and only 10 measly points burning a hole in my nonexistent pocket.
(Haha… yeah…)
(Let's go back when I have more points.)
As much as I really wanted to make a statue of an anime catgirl right now, I reluctantly backed out of the Furniture tab.
***
(Alright, how about the Food tab?)
I focused on the tab and opened it with mild curiosity.
Turns out, this was where you actually spent those mysterious Food points! It functioned like a mini grocery store menu, straightforward and no-nonsense. The selection was, once again, super modest, with just eight basic options stared back at me:
1 kg Apples – 1 Food
2 Loaves of Bread – 1 Food
1 kg Vegetables - 1 Food
1 kg Raw Meat – 3 Food
1 kg Potatoes – 1 Food
12 Eggs – 1 Food
10 Liters of Clean Water - 1 Food
2 Liters of Milk – 1 Food
Yeah, nothing fancy at all. Just the bare minimum stuff needed to keep a regular human alive for another day.
But honestly, it wasn't like I could eat any of it myself. I was just a castle! I couldn't get hungry anymore, nor did I need food to survive or maintain my stone body.
Still… I missed it terribly.
(God, I miss the taste of food so much!)
Just thinking about it sent a phantom ache through me. I could almost see it: a big, juicy hamburger dripping with grease, double patties stacked high, extra cheese melting over the edges. Crispy golden fries sat beside it, still steaming and dusted with salt. An ice-cold Coke fizzed in a glass bottle, condensation clinging to the sides…
And just like that, my existential dread came crashing back in full force. It took a whole long minute of mental effort to shove the vivid food memories aside and push past the painful realization that I would never taste real food again.
***
Eventually, I moved on to the final category: the Equipment Shop.
The moment I opened it, I was once again in shock.
Not because it had particularly good items or anything exciting, but because of the price!
THE PRICE!
[Daily Equipment Shop]
Wooden Club – (20 Wood or 10 Points)
Wooden Hammer – (15 Wood, 5 Stone or 10 Points)
Wooden Shield – (30 Wood or 15 Points)
Bone Sword – (20 Wood, 10 Food or 25 Points)
Bone Dagger – (10 Wood, 5 Food or 12 Points)
I stared at the numbers.
(You've got to be kidding me!)