( Leo's POV, after the goblins have left. )
He looked at Herman in pure horror after he lied with a straight face right to the group of goblins.
'Has this washed up man lost all of his marbles? Or just some of them? They're going to report about this to their leader!'
"Herman! What the hell was that about? You might've landed us in some serious shit!" He yelled at the homeless vagrant.
Herman however just looked at him with a sneer, "Seriously? I just saved our hides thank you very much!"
"Saved. Saved?!"
What do you think they're going to go do when they realise we were bullshitting them?
What happens the next time they show up with not a scouting party, but a raid party?" Lex groaned, his hand dragging over his face.
Herman was just stood with his arms crossed, shaking his head, "Overthinking. You're the boss of this place right? You'll figure something out." He said waving his hand as if it was a menial matter.
Lex glared at Herman, his tone turning grave, "Overthinking? According to those goblins we are smack bam in the centre of monster territory. The goblins are most likely the weakest force this forest has to offer. The other races, they could be a whole different story.
This isn't a laughing matter Herman."
Herman's face loosened, sighing, "You're right in that I don't know what the hell those races are. But are we preparing to fight against them? Are we going to band together and go slay the beasts? No!"
He stepped toward Lex, his finger now pointing onto his chest with force. "We're setting up a shop."
"That's it."
"Nothing more, nothing less."
"We don't need to give a shit about whether they're going to try stab us, because to me?" He gestured to the dome, "They seemed pretty wary of whatever this 'mana barrier' is."
"I think, that if they're coming back, they're genuinely going to buy produce. Not hunt us down, they seemed eager when I mentioned not discriminating against them, and that they too could come. If anything, I've secured our first customers!"
Lex was taken aback.
Truthfully, he'd been panicking this entire time, and forgot that they were a store, not surviving in a fantasy world full of danger. Well, it was full of danger, but the store seemed to protect them, and it would've given them something to defend themselves if it truly intended for them to fight.
Lex plonked down onto the grass, holding his chin in thought.
'Right. Breathe Lex. We're going back to the real world once this thing boots up anyway right? And maybe we can get some info if we go back to the terminal, what does this thing really want from us anyway?'
He took a big breath, and exhaled. For once actually looking around himself.
Green glades, lush grass, birds chirping over head. If he wasn't aware of the danger that lay inside of these woods, it would be a rather peaceful place.
But Lex sighed. "I should've went home after the last seminar."
Herman laughed instead, "You should get a grip. Instead of whining and complaining."
Lex looked up at Herman, Lex asked, "And how are you okay with all this? Seems to barely affect you."
Herman just smiled, "I've been living in uncertainty since I first went homeless at 20 years old. 10 years later I guess you could say I've gotten accustomed to being in the shitter."
This time Lex laughed, "You're only thirty?" He scanned Hermans face, looking at the wrinkles and clear signs of a rough life. "Time has NOT treated you well."
Herman looked down at Lex seriously. "Nothing has."
Lex's words got stuck in his mouth, realising he shouldn't have said that.
"Right... Sorry." Lex apologised before giving a fake cough, "Ahem, anyway. I just had a thought."
Herman raised an eyebrow, "Do tell."
"So in the room, with the strange door. There's this terminal..."
Lex began to explain the situation with terminal, how there's no CCTV, and the most operational features are closed until it regains mana in about a day's time.
"But also... I didn't really get to check it out when we got here. I feel like there should be something there that let's us know how to get started, or something like that. Just a hunch" he explained.
Herman nodded, "Okay then. Let's go check it out, a hunch is better than doing nothing." he said, already turning to walk back to the warehouse.
Lex was still sat on the grass when he walked away, "Why are you always going ahead of me, you can't even open the damn door..." He groaned as he stood up and followed suit.
***
( At the security door. )
Both Herman and Lex stood at the entrance to the control room, the security door contrasting to the rest of the decrepit store with it's pristine condition.
Lex looked around the warehouse and moaned, "Fuck me, this if going to take ages if were expected to clean this place up."
Herman shrugged, "So? Who else is going to do it, it's your store."
Of course, Lex knew this, luckily his Grandpa raised a complainer, not a quitter.
"And what about you? You're here and it seems to be you're getting pretty invested in this whole thing." Lex asked.
The homeless guy he met an hour or two ago hadn't shown any signs of wanting to leave since he had met him, he understood that Herman didn't really have anywhere to go, and that he used to just crash inside the store.
However Herman just shrugged, "You gonna open the door or not?"
"Okay then... nevermind." He mumbled to himself.
Placing his hand on the handle, Lex opens the door, the terminal greeted them.
[ Welcome back, Owner Lex and Squatter Herman. ]
Herman laughed, "Squatter Herman! This store definitely knew I was here before hahaha!"
Lex also shared a chuckle for the terminal calling Herman a squatter.
'Wait but why did it not tell me there was someone else if it knew?' He internally complained.
Stepping inside, Herman closed the door behind them as Lex approached the Terminal. The black background and green typewriter text blipping lazily at him on the screen.
[ Notifications: 2 ]
"Notifications?" Lex mumbled aloud, as the terminal took his vocal command to open the notifications tab, before his eyes, a game-like menu appeared in front of him, some options greyed, with only notifications available.
"Right so you've got a keyboard but accept vocal commands, what's next you're also touch screen?" He said as he jokingly tapped the notifications tab on the screen, ending with the tab opening in front of him.
[ Notifications: ]
2 new messages.
Open first message?
[ YES / NO ]
Lex looks deadpan at the terminal.
"Of course it's touch screen." He sighed, pressing YES on the screen.
[ Congratulations! ]
- You've accessed the notifications tab for the first time! Welcome to the world of Durim, your new part time home, and full-time job! As the owner of the store, you are now obligated to take care of the needs of the workplace.
- One of which, was to acquire your first potential customers. Well done to Squatter Herman for already taking care of this task! You are one step closer to opening the store and having customers to sell to.
- Please see message 2 for your first 'real' task and 'reward'.
[ End Message, Continue to Message 2? ]
Herman burst out laughing, "Haha!" He put an arm around Lex who quickly tried to shrug him off, "See that Lex? I'm just a squatter but I managed to complete a task before you! The owner!"
Lex eventually got Herman off of him, giving him a short glare, "Yeah yeah."
He pressed the Continue button, opening the message titled:
[ Your First Day ]
- So you've arrived in a foreign land, in a strange store, surrounded by strange people, what do you do?
- You get ready to SELL. But before you can even do that, look at the place! It's a wreck, what would the customers think seeing me in this condition? But not to worry because we have not one but two able bodied men to take care of this.
- Your first task is to get this store operational and hazard free. Wouldn't want a visit from the health and safety committee now would we?
Here's a list of all the things that need done before we continue to the next stage:
- Clear all hazardous debris (glass, broken shelving, unstable structures)
- Establish a safe walking path from entrance → counter → storage.
- Clean and prepare at least one functional service area (counter)
- Restore one section of shelving for product display.
- Dispose of all waste materials (designated disposal area required)
- Identify and secure a resting area for staff.
[ End Message ]
Both men stared at the screen in silence before simultaneously sighing.
"That's a lot of shit." Herman said.
"Not even that but how the hell are we going to do that? With our hands?" Lex asked.
It wasn't just a problem of there being a lot to be done, but that they didn't really have the means to do it either.
As if reading their thoughts, they heard the terminal speak again.
[ Emergency Disrepair Protocol Initiated as a Reward for Squatter Herman Completing a Task in Advance ]
*Thud*
Outside the control room, the sound of items dropping down on the floor could be heard, prompting them to turn the doors' way.
"I have a hunch our tool problem has just been solved." Lex sighed, walking out of the room.
Herman stretched, "Good good, should make things easier, I was afraid I was going to have to bring the broom to do all the work."
Walking into the warehouse they found the cause of the noise, as on the floor was boxes upon boxes, neatly topped with a box cutter being left idly on the top, all branded with the Otherworld Retail Department or O.R.D for short.
"Let's unpack this crap." Lex said as he moved to open the first package.
He picked up the box cutter and sliced down in a line to open the duct tape securing the package. This one had heavy duty bin bags, gloves, a first aid kit, and a couple pairs of steel toed boots that were funnily enough the right size for both Lex and Herman.
The next contained brooms, dustpans, shovels, and a crowbar.
After a couple more boxes opened they found, buckets, sprays, cloths and rags, hammers and nails, rope, tape, and saws.
Anything they needed to make this place operational again was in these delivery boxes.
Herman nodded "Nice... haven't been able to use tools this new since I worked with my old man many years ago."
Lex gave him side glance as he was crouched down inspecting the goods.
"You used to work with tools?" Lex asked.
"Yeah! All the time, I was a tradesman. Not qualified but I helped out with my Dad's business under the radar. My main regret is never getting the qualification, no company wants an uncertified tradesman." He sighed, his words clearly coming from experience.
"So what happened with the company?" Lex wondered.
"Well, the old man passed away when I was 19... I took over for a little bit but the authorities shut it down since I didn't have the right certifications to continue..." Herman said solemnly.
'Man, what is it with me always asking stupid questions.' Lex internally sighed.
"That's... sorry to hear it Herman. Must've been rough. But hey, looks like those skills are going to come in handy now eh? Especially since I have no idea how to use these properly." Lex chuckled pitifully.
Herman gave a deadpan stare toward Lex, "You don't know how to use these?"
Lex scratched his cheek, "Uh... no. Never used them in my life." He admitted.
Herman sighed, "Seriously. What is up with your generation."
"You're only thirty, you can't be saying that yet." Lex moaned.
'Sounds like the old geezer at this point.' He thought, the Herman spoke sometimes reminded him of his grandpas tendencies.