CHAPTER 883: SHOP WITHIN THE NIGHTMARE

"F*cking... sh*t." Elias cursed with a deep sigh.

In his hands, he held a sword and shield as he had expected. The issue was, he remembered why he had died so much to begin with.

While monsters were annoying, there was another reason for this annoyance.

The space they occupied.

The monsters themselves had simple attack moves like Alice had mentioned.

Sure he struggled to track them, but with the preparations they’ve made, it should be a simple matter.

Only...

If his area wasn’t a poison swamp that is.

The poison swamp stretched out far beyond the veil of the fog, what little he could see already gave him an idea of what the rest could look like.

A graveyard of trees, twisting silhouette with moss and strands of fungus draping down from above.

Every breath he took clogged his lungs with a metallic taste and smell, the humidity that made everything sweaty and sticky.

Around the camp, a pool of swamp water stretched out. Whatever was decomposing in the bottom caused bubbles to rise to the surface before exploding with a putrid smell.

Plop... plop... plop, plop.

That’s all he heard from the swamp.

Every step he took would be followed by a disgusting squelch as the ground beneath his feet would give out slightly as swamp water filled his boots.

Sometimes the beast would be lying in ambush below the surface, sometimes they would drop down from above.

Sometimes... the trees themselves would be his enemy.

And... the longer he stayed in this swamp water, the more nauseous he would feel, needing to find some land to rest and recover.

If he didn’t, at a certain point, he would just lose feeling in his body and collapse, dying in the swamp.

The worst far is that if a beast were to ever knock him face first into the swamp, it’ll significantly speed up this process, causing him to die much faster than expected.

Stabbing his sword into the disgusting swamp water, Elias revealed a face of grief and helplessness.

What could he do but walk onwards? To follow the butterfly trail and hope that the next camp is soon. The sooner the better, and the faster he gets out of this swamp the more progress he’ll make.

Taking a deep breath by the camp, Elias pulled his helmet down and advanced into the swamp.

Most of the monsters here were plant like in nature. Their attacks are numerous but weak individually.

’A few meters from the camp, there is a vine like monster waiting in ambush. First strike is a wild lash from the sides, front and above. Can be blocked and avoided by pushing to the right. Opportunity for two slashes to reduce the vines.’ Elias planned out in his mind.

Right on queue, several green vines burst out from the swamp.

*BANG!!!

Parrying the one on the right, Elias lunged forward, slashing down before cleaving up.

A stab into the main body of the beast before backing off.

The second attack came from the bottom. Hopping to the side to avoid it, he slashed the vine before bashing his shield into the beast’s body.

With his opponent now off balance, he stabbed the main body repeatedly until it was nothing but ash and a single embryo rose from the swamp.

Picking up the crystal covered by swamp water and moss, Elias pulled a face of disgust before storing it away. Just like this, he’ll push forward one step at a time.

He can still remember the path he took last time, how far he got, how many ambushes await him.

The traps that cause him to sink into the swamp and drown.

The path paved with blood, his blood, was laid out in front of him.

He can only hope that no more deaths would occur before he found the next camp.

###

When one thinks about a shop and a shopkeeper, what do they expect?

Perhaps a building located in the shopping district, the gentle ring of a bell as you enter the store. Shelves lined with goods and an old but kind keeper behind the counter.

Or maybe you expect a wandering merchant with a small but useful assortment of items held within a cart.

Some might even expect something more ritualistic, to give an offering to something greater than you on an altar and receive an item in return.

Whatever it was, Alice certainly didn’t expect what she was seeing in front of her.

"The f*ck you looking at." The shopkeeper scowled while smoking a pipe.

Alice was... speechless. She couldn’t even apologise as she wasn’t sure what she was looking at.

In front of her, there was a small... shelf created from fog. Several items could be seen on the shelves and sat in front of this was...

A cat?

It wasn’t a normal cat either. It postured like a human and was rather... fat. It crossed the legs and blew a cloud of smoke towards Alice’s face.

"Ain’t never seen a talking cat before?" It asked, picking the gaps of its teeth using its claws before spitting out some left over crumbs.

"Can’t say I have..." Alice furrowed her brows.

She wasn’t sure but considering the items on the shelf, this should be the shop that Marina mentioned.

As for how she came across the shop, during her walk through the city, she noticed a new branch of butterflies after finding her second camp.

Unlike the one she usually saw, this one was blue in colour.

And what awaited her was this cat tucked in the corner of the city.

"Well you’ve seen me now so stop gawking. You gonna buy anything? Or you just starin’?" He asked, tapping the fog shelf using his pipe.

"I mean... Do you accept these as payment?" Alice brought out an Embryo, choosing not to question the world for now.

That was one of the key rules after all.

She simply has to accept that a talking fat cat owns a store in the Nightmare realm.

"Hmm... A little crap in quality but if you bring me enough of those, I’ll accept." The cat held the Embryo against the mote of light he had on the side and nodded.

"Since you only have the cheap crap, this is what’s available for you."

Tapping his pipe against the shelf, some of the items disappeared, leaving just a single row of wares for Alice to purchase.

There were five items up for purchase that didn’t have a stated quantity.

First, a similar bundle of leaves like the one that Alice had picked up earlier. Second was a small vial filled with white pills.

The third was a few throwing knives and the fourth seemed to be small bombs. As for the last item, it was simply arrows.

None of them had any limits to what she could purchase unlike the next selection.

Weapons, armour and even accessories.

"Do you happen to have any spells for sale?" Alice asked curiously.

"Nope. Do I look like a book f*cker to you? I’m a talking cat not one of those people that came from the academy." The cat rolled his eyes as Alice held back the urge to curse.

"But~ If you happen to come across any tomes from the academy or anyone who holds one, bring it to me. I’ll teach you a thing or two." He laughed while Alice raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you didn’t come from the academy, how would you know how to cast?"

"Are you stupid? What part of a talking cat doesn’t scream magic to you? I swear you people get more stupid by the day. ’How would you know how to cast’, f*cking idiot." The cat mocked Alice’s tone.

*PUCHI!!!

Alice’s smile twitched.

’Hold it in Alice, he’s just a vendor. Nothing more nothing less.’ She calmed herself.

"How would I know a tome is special? I doubt you want me to waste your time." Alice kept herself composed.

"The book covers usually glow with a slight blue if you use the same method you did to find me. You followed the butterflies right? They’re sensitive to most magical things. Anyways either buy something or leave. Can’t have you blocking my view." The cat tapped the shelf, urging Alice to buy something for now.

She wanted to ask a few more questions but the cat closed his eyes and pretended not to hear her.

Letting out a slight sigh, she turned her attention to the shop.

She didn’t have much of a complaint with her armour for now. What she needed was weapons, spells and a method to heal outside of camps.

Thankfully, under each item, there was a line to describe the uses.

The grass increased her stamina regeneration upon consumption along with a small effect of increased regeneration for a short period.

The pills helped regenerate energy while the knives and bombs were self-explanatory.

Alice decided to buy a few of the grass bundles along with three bottles of the pills for now.

Weapon wise, Alice decided to keep with her rapier for now since the weapons on sale were far too bulky and heavy for her to use effectively. And... as for the ones she can use, she’d rather not use a dagger.

Not with her stats as they are right now.

Lastly, she glanced towards the accessories section.

There were only two rings on display and both were a one time purchase.

Their prices were rather... ridiculous since each one costs around 200 Embryos. If she wanted both, she’ll have to gather 400 Embryos, ignoring the fact that some beasts might not even drop it.

But as she looked at the name of the rings, her pupils trembled.

[Ayrian Ring.]