Kyle made his way to the academy mall, mentally preparing for the wave of spending ahead. It wasn''t every day he allowed himself to splurge this much, but the mission called for it.
Every piece of gear he bought would be an investment, something to keep him prepared and protected. After all, if he was going out of the academy''s safety, he couldn''t rely on luck alone.
His first stop was an alchemy shop. Rows of ss vials lined the shelves, each filled with brightly colored liquids.
Healing potions, mana restoration potions, antidotes, and even a few rare enhancement potions—all necessary supplies.
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Kyle eyed thebels, searching for quality but keeping his budget in mind. He selected a few essential potions, including a high-tier healing one, which alone cost him nearly 500 credits.
By the time he finished, he had spent over 2,000 credits, but he felt reassured knowing he had reliable potions in his inventory.
Next, Kyle visited a cloth store. He bought 5 more pairs of his academy uniform—which cost 1000 credits each. He also made sure to buy some casual civilian clothe that could help him blend in during some situations.
Kyle continued from store to store, buying various supplies as they caught his eye.
Finally, Kyle headed to the mana core shop—the very same store he had visited before. The one where he''d formed an unintentional rapport with both attendants on separate asions.
This time, however, they were both here, the shorter shopkeeper from the day shift, Jared and the older one from the night shift.
The moment Kyle walked in, their faces lit up in recognition. Both men hurried over, each trying to greet him first.
"Ah, my favorite customer!" the Jared eximed, his eyes shining with excitement.
"Looks like you''re back again for more," the other one said, chuckling and giving Kyle a firm handshake.
Kyle grinned, sensing a bit of rivalry between them. "I''d say both of you are my favorite, considering I''ve bought mana cores from each of you—day and night."
The two clerks shared a quick nce, their grins paused as they realized something. "Hold on," Jared said, pointing at Kyle. "You''re the customer he kept bragging about?"
Kyle raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. "So you were bothpeting for the same customer without even realizing it?"
Both men burst intoughter, and the shopkeeper from the night shift, Jackie, pped his knee. "I can''t believe it. All this time, I thought I had cornered the market on your loyalty!"
Kyle joined in on theirughter, feeling an odd camaraderie with the two shopkeepers. There was something amusing about the way they''d both taken pride in serving him without realizing they shared the same loyal customer.
"So," the younger clerk finally said, still grinning, "how many cores are we talking today?"
Kyle hesitated before clicking hism and ncing at his credit bnce. He had a significant sum left, but buying mana cores in bulk was no small expense.
After a moment, he looked up and gave a sly smile.
"Let''s go with… Nine hundred."
There was a brief silence as both clerks stared at him in stunned disbelief. Jared''s jaw dropped slightly, while the Jackie''s eyes widened until he looked like he might faint.
He swayed for a moment before copsing backward, catching himself on the counter just in time.
"Nine… hundred?" he stammered with a whisper-like voice.
Kyle chuckled, unable to hide his amusement. "Yeah, that''s right. Nine hundred."
Jared recovered faster and his face broke into an almost gleeful grin. "You''re certainly full of surprises, Kyle. Most mages onlye in for a dozen cores at most. Nine hundred is amitment."
Kyle shrugged. "I''ve got ns for them."
Kyle knew that with this amount of cores, he''ll be able to breakthrough and get a final boost before his mission. That would be his final preparation.
As the two shopkeepers began to gather his order, they started chatting excitedly about the logistics. Jackie seemed to have recovered enough to assist, though he asionally shot Kyle incredulous nces.
Jared nced over his shoulder and asked: "Just curious, what''s a young mage like you nning to do with all these mana cores? Opening up your own business?"
Kyleughed, waving the question off. "Let''s just say I''ve got… personal projects."
Jackie chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "Welp, as long as you keep buying them from us... We have no problem."
Kyleughed at Jackie''s remark, replying with a yful "Of course," which prompted Jared to chuckle as well.
The atmosphere lightened as theypleted packing up his order of mana cores.
After Kyle inspected everything to ensure he was getting exactly what he had paid for, the shopkeepers brought out a storage ring.
''Inspect!''
[Storage Ring]
[Capacity: 1 cubic meter]
[A magical ring designed for storage, capable of holding various items securely within its spatialpartment. The internal spacepresses to fit objects up to 1 cubic meter in total volume, suitable for storingrge quantities of small to medium items.]
Kyle''s eyes lit up the moment he confirmed what it was; this ring was the perfect decoy item for his inventory he hadn''t realized he had overlooked.
Kyle had heard of storage rings before but hadn''t actively searched for one, assuming he wouldn''t need it.
"Why the extra gift?" Kyle decided to ask, a storage item wasn''t cheap after all.
"We keep a few storage rings for high-priority customers—ones who make purchases like yours. You''ve more than earned it," Jared replied with a grin.
Jackie nodded in agreement. "It''s our way of saying thanks, and with your uing mission, we thought you might need it. Consider it part of our best service."
Kyle couldn''t help but appreciate the gesture, and he epted the ring gratefully. "Thanks. This will definitelye in handy... Goodbye, then."
"Good bye!" they both waved in union. "Good luck with your mission!"
"Thanks... But I wouldn''t be needing it," Kyle muttered as he stepped out
Shortly after Kyle left the store, Void''s voice echoed in his mind, brimming with enthusiasm. "Let''s go feast!"