"Let's check the corpses; they might have something we can use."

I take a look at the orc. Around his hip, he has a pouch. I take it and find a dead rat inside—must have been his snack pouch. I struggle to turn him over, but when I do, I find something interesting. There is a bullet tucked in his waistband. I pull it out and find it's a 20mm bullet, then stuff it into my duffle bag.

"Monty, you find something?" I ask while making my way over to him.

He shakes his head. "No, these guys don't have much to search. I found a pouch on him, but the only thing in it were some animal teeth."

As Monty turns to me, he asks me to lift my sleeve. The area where I got hit has turned purple. "Are you sure it’s not broken? It looks bad. It's probably best if you don’t move it too much." He takes off his hoodie and ties the sleeves around my neck and under my injured arm, making a simple arm sling.

"Thanks. Now let’s get going before the smell attracts something else."

We move between the halls, searching for another summoned entrance to get more loot and maybe a place to claim. I stop when I think I see something out of the corner of my eye—someone walking past a corridor. I tap Monty on the shoulder and point him in the direction of what I saw. He nods and follows me.

I take a glance around the corner and spot five people shoveling up brass casings and putting them into bags. Two of them seem to be guarding the other three, but they don’t look like they were summoned by the dungeon. One has a staff and robes—maybe a mage—and the other is in a full suit of knight’s armor.

I turn to Monty as he says, "I don't recognize the language. I think they might be locals."

I nod. He’s probably right. "We should just leave. They seem to be only here for the brass."

So we head back up the corridor, turn right, and randomly pick another path while searching for loot.

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Eventually, we find another door. It looks like a small convenience store from the outside. As we approach, the sliding door doesn’t open. The lights are also off. We try to force the door open, but it won’t budge, so I use my crowbar to pry it open just enough for us to force it the rest of the way.

The inside of the store is a mess—empty shelves pushed over, rotting vegetables scattered across the floor, and above all, complete darkness. We search for the light switch, and when we find it, it doesn’t work. The circuit breaker must be out.

We head to the backroom to restore power. Inside, it's pitch black. We wait for a moment, listening. When it stays silent, we hug the wall, feeling around for the circuit breaker. My hand touches a metal plate, and I start feeling for a handle. Finding it, I carefully open the panel, search for the tripped breaker, and flip it on. The lights flicker to life. Finally, the store has power again, and we can begin searching.

I look around the backroom for anything useful—there are some boxes on the shelves, a small kitchenette, and some employee lockers. I glance at my blood-stained shirt. Might as well look for something new.

I break the padlock on the first locker while Monty begins searching the boxes. Inside, there’s only a handbag. I still check inside—lipstick, a dirty tissue, and a pack of cigarettes with a lighter. I don’t smoke, but the lighter might come in handy in another dark room.

"Monty, do you smoke?"

Monty looks up from the box he’s opening. "No, but keep them. We might find someone who wants to trade for them."

I stuff the cigarettes into my duffle bag and break open the second locker. Inside is a shirt and a hoodie with the store logo on it. I take off my makeshift sling and bloody t-shirt, put on the store shirt, then fashion the store hoodie into my new sling.

I walk over to Monty and hand him his hoodie back. "Anything good in the boxes?"

Monty hands me a can of beef stew. "Yeah. This one has canned stew, the previous one had canned corn, and there's one more box stuck under the fallen shelves. I'll lift the shelf, and you pull the box out."

I agree, and as Monty lifts the shelf, I grab the box with my good hand and place it on a table. Monty puts the shelf back down and comes over as I open the box. Inside are bags of chips—not exactly survival food, but we might as well enjoy them.

I sit down, open a bag, and start eating. "You know, I’ve had this weird feeling. When we killed that first goblin, I didn’t feel much of anything. It almost feels like they’re not truly… real. And I feel bad—not about killing it, but about not feeling much after."

Monty sits across from me and takes a chip. "I mean, it feels surreal. Like a bad dream, but you know you're dreaming and can't wake up? If that makes any sense. And if you feel bad about it, just remember—it’s them or us. You saw how they rushed at you, trying to kill you without a second thought. It was self-defense, really." Monty stands up. "Now, let’s go loot the storefront. There might be something left."

I follow him to the storefront, which now has working lights. There doesn’t seem to be much left, but I might as well search before we start packing everything up. As I look around, I notice some magazines—basically untouched—and some empty fridges. I spot a pushed-over shelf and decide to check beneath it, finding a couple of cheap store-brand cola bottles. A few bottles of water would have been nice, but you take what you can get.

I head over to Monty and ask if he found anything. He comes out from behind the cash register and drops several items on the counter—two more lighters, a pen, a box of .32 ACP rounds, and a Walther PPK.

My eyes widen as I see the gun. "Holy shit, dude, that’s great! We have a real weapon."

Monty, however, doesn’t seem very impressed. He lifts the pistol, pointing it down, and the slide just falls off. "The spring is missing. Won’t do much without it."