Ward woke to a mild, nagging emptiness somewhere behind his ribs.
Not hunger, exactly. Not the ravenous desperation he should be feeling after two days without food. Just... a suggestion. A polite reminder from his body that eating was, historically, something it had grown accustomed to.
He lay in the narrow bed and stared at the ceiling. Day three. Three days since his last meal — a disappointing cheese sandwich eaten in his car while pretending to have somewhere to be. By all reasonable measures, he should be weak, dizzy, possibly hallucinating. Instead, he felt merely peckish.
The store was doing something. Sustaining him somehow, through means the system refused to explain. Level 2 information, apparently. Along with everything else that might actually be useful.
Ward showered, dressed, and took his place behind the counter. The morning light filtered through the single window, illuminating dust motes that drifted with no apparent urgency. The shelves had restocked overnight—the sword Aldric had bought was back, along with the rations, rope, and trail mix. Same items. Same prices. Same everything.
He was contemplating the metaphysics of infinite inventory when the notification arrived.
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QUEST OUTCOME REPORT
Customer: Mira
Quest: Herb Gathering
Status: COMPLETE
Grade Achieved: A
Customer exceeded baseline expectations for quest difficulty.
Equipment Assessment:
- Common Rations: Consumed (Day 1)
- Trail Mix (Non-Standard Origin): Consumed (Day 2)
Customer Notes: "What WAS that brown stuff? It was incredible. Sweet but bitter? Nothing like honey. Didn't recognize any of the ingredients. Must find more."
Energy Allocation: +19
(Base 50 × Grade 1.5 × Stakes 0.25 = 18.75, rounded up because the system is feeling generous)
New Energy Total: 119 / 10,000
The customer survived. First-timer's luck, presumably.
[Dismiss]
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Ward stared at the window for a long moment.
Nineteen energy. His first customer had completed her quest, and the store had gained nineteen energy for it. He'd started with a hundred, and now he had a hundred and nineteen. At this rate, he'd reach the first building unlock at five hundred in approximately... twenty more successful customers.
Assuming they all survived. Assuming they all achieved A-grade outcomes. Assuming the stakes remained trivially low.
The maths was not encouraging.
But Mira was alive. That was something. The young woman who'd walked into his shop with seven gold and a healthy scepticism had gone out, gathered her herbs, and come back in one piece. The rations had helped. The trail mix—his trail mix, the chocolate-studded remnant of his Earth life that he'd given away because the system wouldn't let him sell it—had apparently been consumed on day two.
She'd eaten his chocolate. In whatever dimension she'd come from. While picking herbs in whatever forest she'd been heading toward. And she'd liked it. Wanted more.
Ward wondered if her world had cacao. Probably not. The system had rejected his Earth food as "substandard" — but apparently Mira's palate disagreed.
The window dismissed itself, and another appeared immediately in its place.
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REMINDER: REWARD PENDING
You have completed the Shopkeeper Quest: Sell 100 Gold.
(Actual: 121 Gold. The system appreciates overachievers.)
Reward: Selection of ONE new inventory item.
This selection will permanently add a new product to your standard stock rotation. Choose wisely. Or don't. The system will judge either way.
[View Selections]
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Ward tapped the button.
The window expanded, displaying four options arranged in a neat grid. Each showed an item image—rendered in the same slightly formal style as the rest of the system interface—along with a price tag and a brief description.
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INVENTORY EXPANSION OPTIONS
Select ONE item to add to permanent stock:
1. Sturdy Traveler's Cloak
Price: 40 Gold
A weather-resistant outer layer. Protects against rain, wind, and provides hidden pockets for small items.
2. Basic Torch (Everburning)
Price: 15 Gold
A light source that never extinguishes. Useful for caves, dungeons, and reading in bed.
3. Minor Healing Salve
Price: 6 Gold
Topical healing for minor wounds. Less effective than a potion, but considerably more affordable.
4. Simple Waterskin (Self-Filling)
Price: 20 Gold
Never runs dry. The system declines to explain where the water comes from.
[Select 1] [Select 2] [Select 3] [Select 4]
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Ward studied the options.
The torch was tempting — light that never went out had obvious dungeon utility. The waterskin was clever, self-filling water being the kind of quiet miracle that prevented dehydration deaths without anyone noticing. The salve offered a budget healing option, though he already had potions for that.
But the cloak.
Ward thought about what his customers actually needed. Mira had been gathering herbs — she'd have benefited from weather protection. Chen Liu was heading into a cave system where temperatures could drop sharply. Aldric was tracking orcs through wilderness where nights got cold and concealment mattered.
A cloak did everything. Warmth when temperatures dropped. Rain protection when storms hit. A makeshift bag when you needed to carry something awkward. A blanket when you had to sleep rough. Camouflage when you needed to hide — wrap yourself in dark wool and press against a tree trunk, you became part of the landscape.
The torch was situational. The waterskin was convenient. The salve was cheap but limited.
The cloak was versatile. Forty gold for an item that addressed a dozen different problems across every possible quest type.
Ward tapped [Select 1].
───────────────────────────────────
SELECTION CONFIRMED
Sturdy Traveler's Cloak added to inventory.
The system notes this addresses a gap in the current product offering. Environmental protection: previously unavailable. Now available.
A practical choice. The system approves of practical.
[Dismiss]
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Ward dismissed the window with a satisfied nod.
Forty gold for weather protection, concealment, and general utility. The kind of item that didn't solve one specific problem but made a dozen different problems more manageable. Every customer who walked in planning to travel more than a day would have reason to consider it.
The shelves shimmered briefly — a subtle rearrangement he might have missed if he hadn't been looking directly at them. When the shimmer faded, a new display had appeared: a rack of folded cloaks in dark, practical colours, wool-lined for warmth with hoods deep enough to shadow a face. The fabric looked ordinary but substantial, the kind of garment that would last years of hard travel. The price tag read 40 GOLD in the customer's currency, whatever that might be.
Seven items now. His inventory was expanding, incrementally and painfully, one lesson at a time.
Ward checked the Store Menu.
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STORE STATUS
Energy: 119 / 10,000
Access Level: 1 (Probationary)
Buildings: Store (active)
Next Threshold: 500 Energy
Shopkeeper Quest: AVAILABLE
[View Quest]
Customer Quests in Progress: 2
- Chen Liu: In Progress
- Aldric Thornwood: In Progress
The system recommends patience. Also sales.
[Dismiss]
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Two customers still out there. Two quests still unresolved.
Ward opened the Customer Information panel.
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CUSTOMER STATUS: CHEN LIU
Quest: Mushroom Retrieval (Whispering Depths)
Status: In Progress
Location: Approaching objective
Quest Conditions: Complex
Factors present. Details restricted.
Equipment: Basic Health Potion, Standard Rope, Common Rations
Last Update: 6 hours ago
The system declines to elaborate on the nature of these factors.
───────────────────────────────────
Ward's jaw tightened. Factors present. Details restricted. The system knew something about that cave — something it wasn't sharing. Something Chen Liu's master hadn't mentioned either, or hadn't known, or hadn't cared to warn his disciple about.
Ward had tried. Careful questions about the cave, about what else might be there. The kid had seemed thoughtful when he left. Whether that translated into caution when it mattered was anyone's guess.
Had the rope helped? The potion?
The system wouldn't tell him. Couldn't, or wouldn't — at this point, Ward wasn't sure there was a difference.
He checked the other entry.
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CUSTOMER STATUS: ALDRIC THORNWOOD
Quest: Orc Hunt (Solo)
Status: In Progress
Location: Tracking
Time Since Departure: 14 hours
Equipment: Simple Iron Sword, Common Rations, Standard Rope, Adventurer's Trail Mix
The system notes that confidence is not a substitute for competence.
Update when available.
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Fourteen hours. The noble's son had been gone fourteen hours, hunting orcs with more ego than experience. He had a decent sword now—better than the decorative blade he'd walked in with—and enough supplies to survive a few days in the field. Ward had given him tactical advice. Scout first. Pick off the edges. Have an escape route.
Whether Aldric would listen was another matter entirely.
Ward dismissed the panels and sat back in his chair.
The shop was quiet. The dust motes continued their slow orbit. Outside the window, the light shifted gradually from morning gold to midday white, marking time in a dimension Ward still couldn't quite believe was real.
He was hungry. Properly hungry now, not just the vague suggestion from earlier. His stomach growled, an audible complaint about the ongoing food situation.
Ward walked to the back room and filled a glass from the tap. Cold water, at least. The store provided that much. He drank slowly, trying to convince his body that hydration was almost as good as eating.
It wasn't. His body wasn't fooled.
But he wasn't collapsing. Wasn't weakening. Whatever the store was doing to keep him functional, it seemed to be working—imperfectly, uncomfortably, but working. He felt hungry rather than dying.
Small mercies.
Ward returned to the counter and waited.
He remembered the Store Status panel had shown a new quest available. Might as well see what the system wanted from him now.
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SHOPKEEPER QUEST AVAILABLE
Quest: First Repeat Customer
Objective: Have a previous customer return for additional purchases.
Reward: +50 Energy Bonus (on completion)
Note: Customer loyalty indicates sustained value perception. The system values sustainability.
[Accept] [Decline]
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Ward tapped Accept without hesitation. Fifty energy for something that would happen naturally — assuming any of his customers survived long enough to need more supplies.
The window dissolved, replaced by a brief confirmation.
───────────────────────────────────
QUEST ACCEPTED
First Repeat Customer
Status: In Progress
The system looks forward to your success. Or at minimum, your attempt.
[Dismiss]
───────────────────────────────────
The morning passed without customers. The afternoon followed suit. Ward found himself studying the inventory, memorising prices and placements, trying to understand what logic governed the selection. Potions, weapons, rope, rations, backpack, trail mix, cloak. A basic kit for a basic adventurer. Nothing specialised, nothing remarkable.
Nothing that could guarantee survival against whatever "factors" the system was hiding.
At some point, he noticed a new window had appeared—not urgent, not flashing, just quietly present in the corner of his vision.
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DAILY SUMMARY
Day 3 Complete
Customers Served: 0
Revenue: 0 Gold
Energy Change: +19 (Mira outcome)
Current Energy: 119 / 10,000
Quest Outcomes Today: 1
- Mira: Grade A (Herb Gathering)
Pending Outcomes: 2
- Chen Liu: In Progress
- Aldric Thornwood: In Progress
The store is now closed. Please remain on the premises.
(As if you had a choice.)
[Dismiss]
───────────────────────────────────
Day three. No customers today. One outcome resolved, two pending. Nineteen energy gained.
Progress, technically. Slow, incremental, possibly insufficient progress—but progress nonetheless.
Ward dismissed the window and walked to the back room. The bed was waiting. The hunger was manageable. The uncertainty about Chen Liu and Aldric would have to wait until the system decided to share more information.
He lay down in the narrow bed and stared at the ceiling.
Mira had survived. That was real. That had happened. His first customer had walked out of the store, completed her quest, and come back alive. The system had acknowledged it. The energy had been deposited.
Somewhere out there, a young woman with windswept hair was probably home by now, herbs gathered, quest complete, still wondering about the strange shopkeeper who'd given her chocolate from another world.
Ward hoped she'd come back. The system said she might.
He closed his eyes and waited for sleep.
Tomorrow would bring more customers. More sales. More outcomes pending. The store would demand its due, and Ward would provide—or try to, within the constraints that bound him.
A hundred and nineteen energy. Three hundred and eighty-one to go until the next threshold. Whatever that unlocked, the system wasn't saying.
One customer at a time.
One outcome at a time.
The hunger gnawed quietly, but Ward was learning to ignore it.