Soon enough, the cold season was upon them. Luckily, preparations had gone well this year. Without as much chaos to slow things down, everything had remained on schedule and they were even able to prepare more supplies than they had for any other cold season. There would be no need to worry about whether the supplies for the community banquet nights, game nights, or other events would be enough to last them through the entire season. They wouldn't even have to ration as heavily this year.
Of course, with the harvest season come and gone, that also meant that the one-year limit for Iris's most recent quest had also come to pass. It had been a rather close call, having to wait until the very last minute to find out if they were successful or not. However, thankfully, Iris had retained her knowledge and she even had the system prompt to confirm her success.
System 363: Congratulations host! More than 10% of the population in your city now have the basic skills required to read, write, and do basic math. Not only do you get to retain your own knowledge of these subjects, but you have now unlocked the final system shop upgrade!
Please await system update...
Well, this prompt had actually been received on the first day of the cold season. It was now nearly a month later and she had received the next message confirming the system was finished updating and the shop contents were now available to view once more. Luckily, this update had come during the cold season, so it wasn't a big deal to wait an entire month to be able to use the system again. It also sounded like it would no longer be necessary to wait for system updates, at least, not for ones related to the shop upgrading.
Tier One Shop:
Item Name:
Cost:
Other:
Potato Seeds
10 Points
--
Carrot Seeds
10 Points
--
Onion Seeds
10 Points
--
Spinach Seeds
20 Points
--
Sweet Peas Seeds
20 Points
--
Apple Tree Saplings
50 Points
--
Orange Tree Saplings
50 Points
--
Tier Two Shop:
Item Name:
Cost:
Other:
Tomato Seeds
20 Points
--
Bell Pepper Seeds
20 Points
--
Celery Seeds
20 Points
--
Green Bean Seeds
30 Points
--
Grape Seeds
50 Points
--
Pear Tree Saplings
50 Points
--
"Tea" Tree Saplings
100 Points
--
Vinegar 128oz
100 Points
--
Canola Oil 48oz
100 Points
--
Yeast 4oz
100 Points
--
Tier Three Shop:
Item Name:
Cost:
Other:
Sunflower Seeds
30 Points
--
(Sweet) Corn Seeds
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
30 Points
--
(Butterhead) Lettuce Seeds
30 Points
--
(Red) Cabbage Seeds
30 Points
--
Raspberry Bush Saplings
50 Points
--
Blackberry Bush Saplings
50 Points
--
Blueberry Bush Saplings
50 Points
--
Lemon Tree Saplings
75 Points
--
Lime Tree Saplings
75 Points
--
Grapefruit Tree Saplings
75 Points
--
Baking Powder 16oz (1lb)
150 Points
--
Baking Soda 64 oz (4lb)
150 Points
--
Gelatin Powder 3oz
150 Points
--
Tier Four Shop:
Item Name:
Cost:
Other:
Beauty Serum III
10,000 Points
1x Time Purchase Only
Resources Map Upgrade
10,000 Points
1x Time Purchase Only
“Ancient Military Strategy” Book
5,000 Points
1x Time Purchase Only
Broccoli Seeds
50 Points
--
Cauliflower Seeds
50 Points
--
Cucumber Seeds
50 Points
--
Wheat Seeds
75 Points
--
Sugarcane Seeds
75 Points
--
Rice Seeds
75 Points
--
(Black) Bean Seeds
75 Points
--
Soybean Seeds
75 Points
--
Oat Seeds
75 Points
--
Cotton Seeds
100 Points
--
Pecan Tree Saplings
150 Points
--
Walnut Tree Saplings
150 Points
--
Hazelnut Tree Saplings
150 Points
--
Coffee Tree Saplings
200 Points
--
Cocoa Tree Saplings
200 Points
--
Vanilla Extract 8oz
200 Points
--
Brown Sugar 32oz (2lbs)
200 Points
--
Molasses 8oz
200 Points
--
Reward Shop:
Item Name:
Cost:
Other:
"Ancient Medicine" Book
5,000 Points
1x Time Purchase Only
Contraceptive Tea
500 points
--
Numbing Tea
500 points
--
The tier four shop update had added a lot of new items to the shop. Some of which Iris was contemplating the usefulness of. Did she really need another beauty serum? She was already done with accepting new mates and she really didn't need any additional trouble being caused by such a thing.
The resources map upgrade was more than welcome, however. Even if it was a bit expensive, it was immediately worth the purchase when Iris noted that her map of the beastworld now showed common locations for finding certain plants, resources like clay, and even the general location for certain types of animals.
Although something like coal or metals might have been the expected outcome of such an upgrade, they were not in fact on the map. Even the precious elemental crystals she would have had plenty of use for were not included. However, Iris knew that such a thing would be too much to ask for. The system had, thus far, avoided giving her anything too advanced for the current era of technology. That made it fairly clear that she was neither expected nor did the system want her to advance the beastworld from the Stone Age to the Metal Eras. It would seem it also didn't want to give her an unfair advantage by giving her knowledge of where all of the crystals on the beast continent were either. Oh well, what she had was already more than enough for her lifetime.
Still, the reason Iris felt the upgrade was worth the cost was because it gave her the knowledge she actually needed to care for her people. Knowing where medicinal herbs grew, which even Basil had yet to discover, would allow them to make more advanced medicines when used in combination with the book on medicine she had received previously. Having more awareness of where there was still clay and where they could stop digging would ensure they did less damage to the environment. Meanwhile, knowing where different wild beast's territories were meant her people could avoid the more dangerous ones while collecting the ones needed for their festivals and ranch work.
Iris was conflicted on whether to purchase the military strategy book. They no longer had any enemies they needed to defeat as the wild beastmen had all been killed or chased off well enough that they no longer posed a threat. As for any nearby tribes or cities, they were all either absorbed into their own city or had signed a contract to ensure diplomatic relations continued. Still, there was no guarantee that things would always remain as peaceful as they were now.
Iris sighed, reluctantly making the purchase anyway. As she skimmed through the book, she was relieved to find that most of it just detailed ways to maintain good diplomacy with others, negotiate peace treaties, and defensive measures for protecting their city. There was nothing about weapons of war or the more nasty war tactics that had been used over the years in her world. The worst thing the notebook had descriptions of was different training drills that could later be deployed in actual combat. The information would likely be useful if she used it to further fortify her city and to allow Ember to further hone their combat training. She wouldn't even have to worry about what sort of negative consequences the information might bring about if it fell into the wrong hands since what she had feared was nowhere to be found.
Of course, all of the new seeds, saplings, and luxury goods sounded amazing. It was really just a shame that they'd see very little use until the next rainy season arrived. Rice would require a new, separate farmland area to be set up in order to grow it, but it was likely that they'd need to expand the farmland anyway. With nearly 1,000 males and more than 50 females, not to mention the large population of children, in their city, they would need more plants to ensure everyone could be fed without it being a burden on the local ecosystem.
Iris made sure to share everything with her mates that night at dinner. Caspian and Basil were both excited about the new agricultural developments while Ember and Ash seemed prepared to fight over who had the right to make use of the new military information first. Iris ended up convincing Ash to let Ember read the book first, knowing very well he'd likely skip over anything non-combat related. So, he would be finished with the book soon enough as it was. Meanwhile, Iris was more than happy to discuss the new potential recipes and farming developments they could make.