Sebastian and Eema found themselves teleported out of the World Store outpost and into something like a massive warehouse.

Rows and rows of shelves with cards and vials and other items he couldn’t identify. Some of the rows stretched into the distance while others ended with more display racks.

It was like a maze of dead ends and blind alleys.

[https://i.imgur.com/aD58CPN.jpg]

“Well this looks easy to get lost in.” He was pretty sure he knew what happened, but asked just to be safe. “System, where are we?”

This is the World Store Bazaar.

“Are we really here?” He wasn’t sure. It felt like it, but maybe that was just an illusion. Even VR headsets could be convincing, let alone whatever this was.

Yes. You are in a zone of nonstandard space.

“So, what? We can buy stuff here?”

While here, you may browse wares from other World Store outposts and communicate with other aspirants.

He looked around. “I… don’t see anyone else.”

There are currently five other aspirants in the Bazaar. Would you like directions to them?

“Eh, not right now.” Thinking back to the anomaly shrines, he asked, “Is there a time limit or anything here? I’m guessing we don’t have to worry about it collapsing in on us, do we?”

Bazaar is stable and fully integrated. The current Bazaar free period is 2 minutes per team member, after which time you will be charged 10 orbs per team member per minute.

You have 3m 41s remaining.

Another countdown appeared in the corner of his vision, above the one for the phase.

He glanced at Eema. “I guess we’re not taking a look around.”

She nodded. “You shouldn’t waste the orbs. The remnants were not difficult for me to eliminate, but I didn’t encounter many, and most didn’t give much.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian sighed. “Well, it’s good to know it’s here. And at least it combined our free periods. Can you see the five people with your Dragon eyes?”

“Dragon-sight. No, I see no one. I cannot see through the items here. There is something about them that is different. It’s similar to the Store. There’s something more than physical there. A shield that prevents me from looking beyond.”

“Let’s go back then. I need to get an exchange token before I can buy what I need from here anyway.” He looked around and shook his head. “Hopefully it’s close by. This place is huge.”

“Maybe there’s an exchange token here,” Eema suggested.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Oh, yeah. System, can I buy both an initiator and an exchange token from here?”

Exchange Tokens must be purchased from home outpost.

“Can we get to other World Store outposts through here?”

Bazaar travel requires Transfer Token.

“Lot of tokens,” he muttered. “So how do we get back? Do we need a token for that too?”

You may return to your home outpost at any time by returning to this spot.

“How are we supposed to know…” Eema began, then trailed off when she noticed the symbol they were standing on.

It was a star, just like the one the network interface had transformed into. There was text beside it that Sebastian couldn’t quite—

He blinked and suddenly could read the text: World Store Outpost, Amsterdam-Shienrenheim.

“Shienrenheim?”

“That’s where I was when this happened,” Eema said. “In the wilds of that empire. The Immortal’s Home.”

“Is that literal? As in one or more actual immortals?”

Her countenance grew dark. “Dom Wu Sento. He stole the lands long ago from the Valic Empire, made them his own.”

“Huh. And he’s really immortal? Like, he’s still alive?”

Her expression grew darker still. “Very.”

“Okay…” he said, not liking how murderous she looked. “Right. Uh, let’s get out of here and find an exchange token.” He walked off the symbol, then back on.

Nothing happened.

“What—”

He disappeared.

There was a brief… something, then he reappeared an instant later, back in the World Store. The transition was a little disorienting, but still much gentler compared to the aberrations and shrines.

Eema appeared beside him a moment later, sword summoned. “Trying to get rid of me?”

Sebastian began to panic. He must have really pissed her off. “What? No. I just thought you—”

She held up a hand, the sword disappearing. “I know. It was humor.”

“Wow, you really need to work on your delivery.” He took a breath to calm his frenzied heart. “Speaking of delivery, or lack of, System, guide me to—or, no, show me where I can buy an exchange token.”

The System directed him to a rack loaded with items, the one he wanted surrounded by a pulsing light.

He went to pick it up but came into contact with the forcefield again.

Purchase Exchange Token for 15 orbs?

He gave his assent and was allowed to take the item.

Back at the network interface device, he hesitated before activating it. “Are we going to have enough time to find a deck initiator within four minutes?”

There is a Deck Initiator within six-hundred feet of this outpost’s Bazaar connection node. You currently have 2m 39s of your free period remaining.

“Crap, it doesn’t reset each time?”

Free period is currently 4 minutes per visit, up to once per hour.

“That’s better than never resetting,” Eema observed.

“We’ll need to be quick.”

“Let me get it. I can move much faster than you.”

Sebastian nodded. He instructed the System to highlight the initiator for her as soon as they got to the Bazaar, then activated the interface.

Would you like to browse the Bazaar?

He again gave his assent, and a moment later they were back in the giant Bazaar, an item on a shelf in the distance pulsing with a familiar light.

“Be right back,” Eema said, then moved so fast she seemed to teleport, stopping in front of the shelf and reaching out for the item.

Team member Qin Li Eema is attempting to purchase [Deck Initiator] for 110 orbs and 1 Exchange Token.

Allow?

“Yeah.”

Thank you for your purchase.

Delivery time: Approximately two minutes

Eema was back beside him a second later.

“You’re really fast.”

“I know. It wouldn’t let me take it.”

Sebastian shook his head. “Why’d we have to come here in the first place? I thought there wasn’t any delivery.”

Items purchased in the Bazaar must be picked up from a World Store outpost.

“What a weird System.”

“Ready to go back?”

Sebastian nodded and stepped off the symbol, then back on, and was returned to the World Store.

“That ended up costing a lot more than buying it locally,” Sebastian noted once they were both back. “A hundred and ten orbs instead of ninety, plus the extra fifteen for the exchange token.”

“We didn’t have much choice. You are very weak. You must get stronger.”

Sebastian sighed. “Let’s look around while we wait for it to be delivered.”

Eema nodded, and they headed off to explore.