According to the instructions from the girl at the coffee stand, I navigated to Quentin's store.

"Welcome!" a voice boomed from within the Tannery as I entered.

"Thanks!" I responded, but no one was there.

Perplexed, I scanned the surroundings. Animal heads and skins adorned the walls, giving it the ambiance of a serious hunter's den. The front area of the shop seemed small, but my gaze fell upon a room in the back, separated by glass cases arranged in a U-shaped configuration. Inside these cases, an assortment of weapons and hunting gear awaited: knives, rifles, traps, and more. The space morphed from a simple tannery into something akin to a well-stocked armory.

"Hello?" I called out.

In the heart of the U-shaped arrangement, a selection of tables displayed various sizes and shades of sliced leather and fur. Situated near the entrance, a tabletop showcased a variety of rivets, sewing needles, and thread. This establishment was a one-stop-shop for leather artisans, providing not only the tools to hunt animals but also the necessary equipment to transform the harvested materials into unique creations.

There was a large table laden with tools for cutting in the back of the shop. Leaning over the counter, I called out once more, trying to get someone's attention.

"Coming!" called out a voice from inside.

Noises of metal clashing followed by a thud echoed from the rear quarters. After, a lean gentleman in coveralls emerged, scrubbing his hands on a grubby cloth marked with a deep brown fluid.

"What do you want?"

"I was sent over by the girl at the coffee stall. She said you buy pelts." His gruff appearance and the foul stench of old meat and burnt hair nearly made me gag.

"Luna send you over?"

"Yeah."

"Hm..." he took off his cap and scratched the last two hairs on his scalp. "I didn't think she was working today."

"I didn't get the girl's name. She was on her phone and it slipped my mind."

"I guess it don't matter either way. What do you want?"

"The girl said you buy animals for their pelts. I have two rabbits. Was wondering what you'd offer me for them."

"Three dims if I have to skin them, eight if you skin them yourself."

Not aware of the currency value, I asked about the cost of the knives and he pointed out their tags. I looked them over but none of the values meant anything to me.

With a raised eyebrow, he asked, "You're not from here, are you?"

"Not really."

"Those knives are marked in dims."

If I was able to sell the pelts, then I could exchange them for something more useful! Although gathering the hundreds of rabbits required for such a trade wouldn't be a walk in the park. At least it was still in the realm of possibilities.

"But. If you bring me too many rabbits, the value goes down. Rabbit hide isn't in very high demand at the moment."

"Can you teach me how to skin them?"

"I'll teach you, but I won't give you any dim for these two."

"What! You mean a course is worth 16 dims?"

"It's worth 50 dims, but since you're a new kid, I'm cutting you a break."

"You're a cheat Quentin! The frontier office'll teach'em how to skin those pelts for free."

"No one's talking to you, hermit!"

Beatrice walked in with a satchel over her shoulder. It surprised me that she didn't fall over considering the size of the satchel compared to her!

"Brought you some new wolf hides. Tristan helped me hunt some earlier today."

"Oh ho ho ho! Who's taking advantage of who now, hm? Are you going to share the profits from those pelts with him?"

"I am," Beatrice replied as she dropped the satchel and set the contents on the counter.

I eyed her, and she leaned in. "I finished these up faster than I thought I would. Looks like the walk was good for you either way." she finished with a wink that made my eyes roll.

Quentin grumbled as he picked up the wolf pelt and pulled out a pair of glasses from his pocket to inspect them. "Oh! These are nice pelts."

"I agree," she gave me a sly look. "I didn't expect this scrawny kid to hunt those dire wolves."

"Dire wolves?" Quentin sounded surprised as he spread the pelts on the counter looking over them with a hunger. "I'll give you seventy dims per pelt."

My eyes bulged, "Seventy dims! For just one pelt?"

"Dire wolf pelts are pretty good, they're mostly for special orders, which are rare these days, but seventy dims isn't too bad for some back stock." Quentin tried to play it cool.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"They rarely come down from the mountains and hunt in this region, they're worth at least a hundred and twenty each," Beatrice added as she put the paw back in her satchel.

"Why do you think they're coming down from the mountain?" I prompted. With the potential value of the pelts I could try and find myself a real quest and earn more dims.

"I'm not sure. Some folks over at the Frontier office were talking about getting a group to go investigate it. You're welcome to go check it out after Quentin gives us our dims."

"Thanks. I appreciate you cutting me in on the profit!"

"It's nothing. You did me a favor and I'm just paying you back."

"Four hundred Dims for the four pelts. Should I transfer it to your personal chip, or do you have a portable unit?" Quentin sniffed one of the pelts and let out a satisfied sigh.

"I'll take a hundred on my personal chip. You can give the rest to the kid."

"What's a chip?" I observed as Quentin extracted a compact gadget resembling a cordless controller from his pocket. He keyed in a digit, and it emitted a chirping noise as he swept it over Beatrice's wrist.

"Haha! You poor kid. Did someone just decide to drop you off here on the latest fly by from another system?"

It was my first time hearing about other systems after logging in. The game was taking its sweet time with giving me details about the world I was in, but knowing there were more systems was refreshing.

"I guess you could say that." I replied.

"Wait," Beatrice looked at me with a furrowed brow, "I don't recall anyone asking my permission to land near the cabin. Can't have some random off-worlders dropping off strays on my property!"

"The details around my arrival are still a bit hazy." I admitted, wanting to add that it wasn't the ideal spawn point.

"Well, you two can figure that out," Quentin interjected as he reached around and grabbed something from a hidden drawer. "This is a temporary chip. You can keep and use it around town while you're visiting us."

In his hand was a small coin that featured an emblem that depicted two powerful rivers carved into the metal, flowing toward each other as if drawn by some unseen force of nature, converging to form a singular, mighty channel. Pulling out a payment machine it chimed as he passed it over the coin before he flipped it into my hand.

"There are terminals like these at most shops," Beatrice gestured towards a small square pad on the counter top. She waved her hand near it and it beeped. "Since your chip isn't implanted, you can't sync it with your neural link, so you'll need to rely on the display to show you how much is on it," Beatrice explained.

Relief washed over me again when she mentioned the neural link. "Is there a neural link customization terminal around here?"

"Yeah, you can ask them about it at the Frontier shop. I also had one at home if you needed it," Beatrice said as she hoisted the bag over her shoulder. It was nearly down to a tenth of its original size but still looked heavy.

"I asked you about it yesterday, a User Terminal." I complained.

"Oh! I didn't know you called it that. I could have let you use mine back home."

"I'm not too sure about that," Quentin cut in. "The neural links from other planets and systems might not be compatible with ours."

"That's a good point. Double check that with the Frontier shop. They keep a neural link inspector in the office so they can help."

"Sounds like that'll be my next stop."

"I can show you where it's at if you want," Beatrice offered.

"Sure, can I grab something first?"

"Here?" She replied with an incredulous tone. "You're sure you want to get cheated by Quentin?"

I chuckled as Quentin cursed up a storm and just went back to looking over the items in the display cases.

"What are you thinking of getting?" Beatrice asked, she was genuinely curious.

I turned to Quentin and asked, "Can you show me what weapons I can buy with three hundred dims?"

----------------------------------------

Amelia Fujikawa groaned as her alarm blared, the bright morning sun filtering through her blinds and illuminating her room with an unwelcome glare. She rolled over, her eyes half-open, and hit the snooze button on her phone. She'd been up late the night before, lost in the world of her favorite RPG, and the thought of starting her day as a front desk clerk in the frontier office made her want to curl up and go back to sleep.

She was still in her pajamas, a pair of light purple ones with giraffes and elephants on them, when she stumbled into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She looked at herself in the mirror, her hazel eyes still heavy with sleep, and sighed. "What would Aerith do?" she asked herself, quoting one of her favorite characters from Last Fantasy VII. "She'd probably get up and face the day with a smile, right?"

Amelia splashed some water on her face and tried to muster up a smile, but it was no use. She was too tired and too annoyed with her parents for dragging their family all the way out to the Frontier. She'd grown up near Telstra, the bustling metropolis where her father had been a city councilman, and she hated the backwater town they now called home.

As she made her way to the office, Amelia couldn't help but feel like she was living in some kind of nightmare. She had to ride a stationary bike for hours each day just to recharge her devices, and she couldn't even plug directly into the grid like she could back home. Waking up extra early was a sacrifice she was willing to make in exchange for playing her favorite games and catching up on the latest vids on TubeUs, but that didn't make it any less frustrating.

When she arrived at the office, she was greeted by her boss, Mr. Johnson, a middle-aged man with a receding hairline and a perpetual scowl on his face. He was already in the middle of a heated argument with a customer, and Amelia couldn't help but roll her eyes as she walked past them.

"I don't care what you think you're entitled to!" Mr. Johnson was yelling. "This is the Frontier, and we have to make do with what we've got! Now either pay your bill or get out!"

The customer, a man with a thick beard and a flannel shirt, looked ready to explode. "You can't talk to me like that!" he yelled back. "I've been a customer here for years, and I demand to be treated with respect!"

Amelia sighed and took her place behind the front desk, doing her best to ignore the argument.

Just as she was about to start her shift, she felt a sharp pain in her toe and looked down to see that she'd stubbed it on the corner of the desk. She let out a groan and hopped around on one foot, trying to shake off the pain.

"Are you okay?" Mr. Johnson asked, finally noticing her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Amelia lied, forcing a smile. "Just stubbed my toe, that's all."

She sat down and opened up her computer, ready to start her shift. But as she reached for her gaming console, which she'd set on the desk next to her, she accidentally knocked it over. The console hit the floor with a sickening crack.

Amelia's heart sank as she stared at the deep crack along the screen. She'd saved up for months, working extra shifts and scrimping on her favorite snacks, all to afford this one luxury in the otherwise drab existence of her life on the Frontier. And now, it was ruined. She felt a wave of anger and frustration wash over her, and she slammed her fist down on the desk.

"Damn it!" she yelled, startling her boss and the customer.

She felt a hot tear roll down her cheek, and she quickly wiped it away before anyone could see. She couldn't let them know how much this meant to her. She had to be strong, like Aerith.

"Amelia, are you alright?" Mr. Johnson asked, concern etched on his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she lied, forcing a smile. "My toe just really hurts, that's all."

Mr. Johnson nodded understandingly and went back to his argument with the customer. Thankfully, in much calmer tones after her outburst.

Amelia turned back to her computer, determined not to let the cracked screen ruin her day any further. Knowing she had installed an emulator on her phone was all she clung to as she settled in for what she hoped would be a slow and uneventful day.