Shadow Author

Walking through the aisles full of wondrous items I hadn't even known were available to students this early on I was overwhelmed.

I specifically noticed one section of the store that shouldn't have opened until the second was released. That meant that something or someone — most likely myself — was having a grand influence on the timeline.

Unfortunately for me, there were just far too many things and even if I spent the entire day there I doubted I would see everything.

What was worse was that I only had a max of around two hours to do my shopping and most of that time would be spent getting things I would need for the dungeon.

That meant I had very little time to spend looking for things that would benefit me regularly.

Therefore I started by trying to complete the goal of getting all that I needed to survive the Black Wild Lands.

Moving through the sections I came upon all kinds of interesting objects and accessories.

The first aisle was lined with shelves filled with electronics and gadgets. I naturally paused to admire the latest smartphones and laptops.

Once I saw that there was nothing better than my smartwatch I gave up on the row before moving on to the next aisle which was filled with household items.

This was one of the places I needed to be as there were quite a few things here that would help me out.

Thus, I moved down the aisle and picked out everything I thought would come in handy.

Coming across utensils first, I picked out a handful of forks, spoons, and knives. Then I arrived in the pots and pans area which I quickly passed as I knew for the specific dungeon I was challenging, cooking my own food wouldn't be possible.

After passing through the aisle and walking past all kinds of stuff I came to the end and was silently disappointed that I didn't find all that I had been looking for.

However, the moment I turned to the next aisle my disappointment vanished and a smile filled my face — there was another aisle dedicated to household goods.

Rushing up I passed everything yet there was still nothing I needed, then when I went to the next aisle what met me in the front was the place I was looking for — the camping section.

Happy to have found it so fast I slowly made my way through it. There I found a suitable tent that would hold a single person and survive through all conditions. Whether there be high winds, a layer of snow, a hot desert, or a flooded swap the tent guaranteed a level of comfort.

Although the purchase was expensive I didn't think twice about it as having even the tiniest bit of shelter could save my life.

While in the same aisle, I found a few other things that would help me out such as kindling and matches.

Once I was done I went back on my adventure of mapping out the store.

As I continued I came across aisles filled with clothing, toys, books, and even furniture. Overall I was amazed by the sheer variety of products available.

While passing these rows I did stop at one which was the clothing section as I wanted to see if they might have something that would reduce the dangers of the environment.

Once I got to the end I figured they didn't have such a thing but then I came across the winter coat area.

Seeing that they had a similar item I passed the coats and thankfully they had what I wanted.

It was none other than the swimming section. Happy to have found the area I passed by the swimming trucks, swimming shirts, one-piece bikinis, and two-piece bikinis before stopping.

In front of me was a diving suit that promised to provide up to two hours of thermal heating and have a basic protection enchantment.

The suit was perfect as I quickly found one in my size before leaving to buy anything else I might need.

As I reached the back of the store, I stumbled upon an aisle filled with food items.

I had already bought everything else of importance so now I just needed a large supply of food to hold me over a day or two.

Unlike most of the other aisles where the items were all placed on shelves, the food section was completely open.

Having everything revealed to me all at once I wondered if I'd ever be able to make up my mind.

Immediately I was hit with the smell of fresh baked bread and pastries wafted through the air.

Yet although that was all I could smell I could see areas designated for meats, fish, candy, fruits, vegetables, desserts, drinks, and more.

Making my way to each station I looked at the hundreds of options made available for beef alone, there were at least a hundred different ways it could be made.

What surprised me the most about the store was that a student could buy the ingredients alone and make them back at their dorm or pay a little extra and have them made right there in front of them.

For someone like me who was decent at making food but nowhere near the level of making a good steak out of buffalo that came from a monster in a dungeon, having that option was a blessing.

I had no idea if there would be any difference in cooking the food since it came from a monster made up of mana compared to that of an ordinary animal from earth but I didn't want to test it after spending a lot of credits.

Therefore at each station, I bought anything that would last and not spoil quickly such as beef jerky, bread, and a fruit or two.

After I was done I was about to leave the area when I thought about needing something to drink.

I didn't want to carry around a bunch of water bottles so I picked out one decent-sized cup that had a lid and a few purifying tablets.

Once I was set I started making my way to the register where I would pay for everything I bought when something sparkled out of the corner of my eye.

Moving toward it I entered one of the aisles I passed without much thought as it didn't have anything that would help me.

But now that I was standing in front of the item I knew I had to have it.

Picking it up off the shelf I then continued on my way and stood in line behind a couple of students as I waited my turn to pay for the stuff.