The way shopping worked in this world concerned Amon. They simply had to walk up to a designated area and, like with everything else he’d used so far, exactly what they wanted would appear in front of them. Everything was, of course, filtered to use the same currency regardless of what was materialized but other than that? 1 to 1 recreations of whatever someone pleased. Hell, there were even presets readily available for unsure customers.

How reliable really was this stuff? How did any of this work? Things couldn’t just be made from nothing. Would his items disappear once he left this world if it was all some kind of really advanced hologram or illusion?

Well, it was all within the confines of the Tower, so he reasoned it would probably be okay. He was curious about something though, so he began to visualize a specific store. As he did so, he saw a notification appear and pause him for a moment.

‘This program can not bring real people into existence.’

Was all it read. Apparently, the System could tell what he intended to do and chose to give him a little warning. Was it for his sake, or was it because the System had some rules that it had to follow?

He went ahead with it anyway. His desire was simple. He imagined a store that didn’t really exist, but if it did it would be perfect. Each aisle had a machine similar in function to whatever it was that could always bring out the perfect meal, but it would bring out the most suitable equipment for the individual instead.

That wasn’t what made the store so amazing though. That factor was solely attributed to the brown skinned woman with soft brown eyes standing behind the register. His heart melted at the sight of her, pulling him away from any thought of shopping while Seru enjoyed looking at the items presented to her.

Seeing his wife, even if he knew it wasn’t really her, filled him with too many emotions for him to even begin to properly analyze them. Whether or not this was an ethical thing to do was beyond him, but he felt as though it was what he really wanted.

He wasn’t going to cry or anything, he was just going to take the opportunity to talk to his bestfriend and tell her about what had been going on with him. He needed to talk to somebody after all. Much to his dismay, though, he found that the warning from the System was more strict than he had previously assumed. It was just her physical appearance, it didn’t even begin to simulate life.

He sighed softly and resigned himself to simply picking out his gear. He found that it not only measured his aptitude but his preferences as well. Due to his new physique and his skills, it showed him that he had an affinity for a bunch of weapons, but since he preferred to use a longsword that was what it presented to him first.

The sword wasn’t anything special. It was a simple blade that looked mostly standardized, with average attacking power and mana conductivity. He didn’t need anything extravagant for the time being, just something reliable. So, he took the sword and some other things.

By the end of their shopping spree, Seru was properly equipped with a longsword that was sheathed across her back since it would’ve hit the ground at her hip. She also had a shortsword behind her back, placed horizontally, and some simple leather defensive gear.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Amon himself had also opted for leather protective gear, as well as a sword he kept in his inventory. He bought one extra of everything both of them got, which led him to spending all the coins he currently had. Now dirt poor, he sighed softly.

It was nice seeing his wife, at least.

They returned to the streets and, despite his hood, he found that he was recognized.

“Amon!” beamed Rea. “I see you just got your first set of equipment! You could’ve asked me for help, y’know. I come from a really big family and I could’ve funded your first shopping spree. It’s okay though, equipment is expendable! What’s really important is the adventures you choose for your dungeon. I would’ve met with you earlier, but I had to clear my first adventure to set the theme for my first floor. But, look!” she took what he figured was her first breath while she produced a black ticket from her inventory. “This will take you on a darkness themed adventure of a random difficulty! The first floor is the most important because it sets the foundation for everything to come, so you want to try to get the best element possible to synergize with your strengths. Darkness is a unique element, so the foundation of your dungeon will be powerful even if it’s a low difficulty adventure. This is my gift to you!”

He wasn’t sure what she went through to get this, but he could tell that it wasn’t exactly simple just from how proud she was to display it to him. He accepted her gift, but he felt the need to explain to her that he had already picked and finished his first adventure. He’d even set the theme for it as well, so there was no going back. It was without a doubt going to be water, but that wasn’t the end of the world. He’d be able to transition over to ice well and that even fit his currently summoned Mythic.

“By the way, have you already chosen your seed for your dungeon? Most people randomize it as soon as they make it here, but if you haven’t I can get you a seed that matches darkness. Randomizing it isn’t the end of the world, though. There’s no such thing as a bad seed!”

Was she always this talkative?

“I have both already.”

“Both what? A seed and an adventure? Unless the adventure’s better than darkness, just pick mine instead.”

“A theme.”

Her face sank for a split second, but she regained her composure expertly.

“Okay, let’s go to your dungeon and check it out. You’re pretty capable so I’m sure you won’t produce something too bad. Even if it’s bad, I’m sure we can put our heads together to figure it out.”

He thought about what she was saying for a moment. Even if it was for selfish reasons, she seemed to have his own best interest in the forefront of her mind. It apparently benefited her to make him stronger, so he had no reason to believe that she had ill intentions. She knew way more about this stuff than he did since she was a native of the tower, but that wasn’t completely good. Yeah, she could guide him, but she could also encourage him to do something that would essentially make him a slave to her down the line because she connected his dungeon to hers or something.

Speculating wasn’t going to get him anywhere, and he doubted she’d tell him the truth about it if he asked, so he decided to take the gamble. “How do I bring you?”

“Since we’re friends, we can always request to enter each other’s dungeons. But, as long as someone wants to go to your dungeon and you want to let them in, they’ll transport with you if they’re in your vicinity.”

That explained why Scylla was able to travel with him.

He didn’t waste any time once he understood how it worked. He chose to re-enter his dungeon, with the intention to bring Rea along. Once they made it to his dungeon, he was shocked to hear Rea curse beside him.

“What the fuck?!”