Soon, we arrived at an old, rundown shack that looked worse than our camp. It was literally in the middle of nowhere.

"This place gives me the creeps," Sarah muttered, her voice carrying an edge of unease. Her eyes scanned the building as if expecting something sinister to emerge. "I wonder what's inside."

"I hear voices, laughter... and something smells like food and booze," Kero added, his nose wrinkling as he tried to make sense of the scents that mingled with the stale air around us.

"Well, no use in standing around," I said, trying to keep my tone casual, but there was an undercurrent of uncertainty that I couldn't hide. "Let's go inside."

As we made our way inside, people were smoking and drinking, and their clothes were tattered and torn. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at us as we walked in.

"I think we need to leave, guys." Whispered Celestia.

"I think this is like a bar or a store," Sarah whispered. "I've never been in a place like this before." The interior was decorated with skulls hanging from the walls like trophies, adding to the eerie atmosphere. There was a woman behind a counter, looking at us with suspicion.

"I'm wondering if I made the right decision to come inside." I said.

"And as usual, we blindly follow you inside." Whispered Kero.

"Well, I don't have a leash on you, don't I??'' I said.

As we approached, the lady spoke up. "You guys aren't from around here, I haven't seen you before," she said. Kero winced in pain before replying, "We're just passing through."

"Well, sit down over there." She instructed.

The area seemed to be a popular spot for hunters and monster slayers, and it also functioned as a trading post where people exchanged monster parts for other items like food or drinks.

"It's like we're back to the bartering system," remarked Kero. With no official currency available, bartering would have to suffice for the time being. They took a seat and ordered drinks.

Sarah turned to the group and asked, "What are we going to use to pay for our drinks?" Celestia suggested, "We can use some of the parts from the MosVamp." Kero agreed, "And it would be a good idea to gather some supplies as well."

The waitress arrived with their food - curried goat and fried chicken. She handed them a board with the exchange rates.

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As they looked at the prices, John shook his head in disbelief. "So a near-death experience for one meal, ridiculous," he muttered.

"I'm not seeing any MosVamp options for payments, people. On the other hand, I'm not even sure they call it that." Said Sarah

" 3 frog skin for a two-piece chicken meal!" Exclaimed Kero with pain in his voice. He still hasn't fully recovered from last night.

We didn't have the items listed on the board, but we did have food, potions, and the remains of a few Mosquito birds. Seeing that they collected monster parts, we realized that the long mouth part of the mosquito, known as a proboscis, was valuable and could be exchanged for something they needed.

The waiter approached our table to collect payment, but we didn't have the necessary items for the exchange.

"But we do have some other stuff here." Said Celsestia timidly as she started ti unpack her bags, exposing whatever we had to offer.

As Celestia tried to explain the situation, the waiter knocked on a piece of metal, and the room fell silent. All eyes were now on us again.

"You come into our place and take our stuff for free!?" a loud, deep voice boomed from a room beyond the counter. Footsteps approached. Sarah panicked and tried to explain that we were just adventurers passing through and hadn't brought any items for exchange.

"We have these needle-like things here that we can trade," Sarah offered, holding out the mosquito proboscis. Someone from another table laughed and retorted, "Does this place look like a tailor store to you?! Bringing needles in this place!!"

A man who we thought must have been the one in charge approached. He was about 6 feet tall with massive muscles, and had a leaf-wrapped blunt in his mouth.

"Big guy, I would hear them out if I were you."

A person in the corner warned them not to get violent with us as they would surely lose.

"I'll handle this, guys," I said, standing up to face the massive man. However, the man was all brawn and no brains, swinging his hand at me. I caught it, causing a massive crash as the wooden floor beneath me cracked. The man had a confused look in his face.

Despite the man's strength, I was able to handle him to some extent. Meanwhile, the rest of the group continued eating, with John even taking the last piece of chicken my chicken. The nerve of that guy.

"I'll fight the battle of food here, Rome, you keep up the good work over there." Said John.

I explained that I didn't want to fight, and the man seemed surprised to see a smaller person catch his massive hands with just one hand. The man swung his other hand at me, I deftly dodged, causing the man to hit two ice walls that were quickly created by John who used them to protect himself and his food, but the man still managed to shatter the first one with his fist

"Hey!" Someone shouted from outside, interrupting our conversation. "What's all this commotion in my shop?" I assumed it was the owner, and the burly man looked visibly frightened as he began apologizing profusely. Meanwhile, the waitress tried to explain to the owner how we had ordered food but were not satisfied with it.

Sarah stepped in and recounted how she had offered to pay for the unsatisfactory meal, but the restaurant staff had refused. In an effort to prove her point, she threw five dead mosquitoes on the table, which elicited looks of surprise from everyone. "Wait, is-is-is that the mosVamps?" someone exclaimed. "Hell yeah, it is!" replied another person. Everyone seemed surprised.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, the owner introduced himself as Mr. Swayden and apologized for the rude behavior of his staff. He explained that he was not only the proprietor of the store, but also a trader in the nearby village, which was about a 45 minutes walk away. Mr. Swayden graciously invited u to visit his village, accompanied by the burly man, the previously silent man in the corner, and himself.