The Farmers Market teemed with activity. Multiple stalls showcased various fruits and vegetables on display with large swathes of people shouting and bargaining about prices, haggling over the smallest of things. Each stall had its own tent with a logo embroidered into it, typically depicting a crossed scythe and pitchfork with a straw hat at the center. It was loud, chaotic, and frankly intimidating. Most of the vendors wore straw hats of various shapes, sizes, and colors, the brims doing little to cover their faces from the blaring sun, which would explain the much-needed tentage. Clad in work overalls of various shades of brown, they appeared accustomed to the rigors of agricultural labor. Axel couldn't help but notice the scarcity of individuals donning the familiar red fur armor he was accustomed to seeing.

"Oi, you!" an older man with a straw hat and full goatee called out to him.

"Me?" Axel pointed to himself, before checking behind him.

"Yea, you. If you're not with the Farming Association you’ve got to submit your produce for inspection then let it be sold by an association farmer, then you'll get a cut."

"Um, okay. Where do I go?" asked Axel.

The man gestured toward a spacious stall located towards the rear of the market. Its counter, like those of the other stalls, was sheltered by a white tent, shielding it from the blazing sunlight. A small queue of people stood patiently, waiting for the vendor seated behind the table to finish inspecting the produce spread out before her. Despite the shade provided by the tent, she sported a straw hat atop her head, and her attire consisted of a white tunic paired with brown overalls.

As Axel joined the queue, he couldn't shake off the feeling of being a bit out of place. Everyone around him was clad in the same fur armor, while he stood out in his simple gray tunic. Nevertheless, he waited patiently in line, his thoughts drifting away. The aroma of roasted corn enveloped his mind's nose, the sight of it envisioned within his mind's eye. The dark char marks graced the yellow kernels of corn, bringing out a rich fragrance. His mouth started salivating thinking about the taste.

Amidst the rows of corn, a mouth unexpectedly emerged. Its lips were a vivid shade of green, resembling a cornstalk, and its teeth were kernels of corn. "Next!" it bellowed, leaving Axel bewildered.

A shove from behind jolted Axel, prompting him to open his eyes. Instead of staring at the back of some stranger’s head his eyes were met with the piercing gaze of the lady vendor. Her stare bore right through him.

"I said next," the woman spoke in a terse manner.

"Come on, dude. You're holding up the line," said a man behind him who nudged Axel forward.

"Um, sorry," Axel mumbled a quick apology and stepped forward.

He began placing the assortment of crops he had harvested onto the table. The women examined each one before tossing it into a sack, [Potatoes], [Tomatoes], and [Corn] each found their way into their own separate sacks.

The inspection was quick, her hands and eyes moving like a well-oiled machine. After the last bit of [Corn] had been dumped into a sack, she tied up each one and placed a tag on it. She wrote on another tag and handed it to Axel, "Your crops good. Come back tonight to get your cut."

"Um, okay," said Axel.

Axel hoped he could have gotten some money quickly instead of having to wait till the end of the day. But, at least he would not have to deal with the hassle of haggling with the avid buyers. However, he wondered why they did not just enter the fields and harvest the crops by themselves. After all, if he could do it, surely others could too.

Even without the payout, he had enough money on hand to pay off the blacksmith girl, whom he really should have gotten her name from. The armor set should be done by now, and he was eager to collect it. It should make surviving in the barrier easier if the defense stats were anything to go off of.

***

Axel saw the blue-haired girl hard at work shaping some fur, presumably [Featherlight Pelt] into the red fur armor he was accustomed to seeing.

"I'm back, is the armor ready?" Axel called out.

She looked up from her work, rubbing the sweat off her brow. "All done, let me just" — she pulled out a set of pink leather armor from her [Inventory] — "there you go."

Helmet, shoulder guards, armguards, chest pieces, gauntlets, belts, greaves, and boots. Axel held up each piece and felt the weight of it, it was certainly heavier than conventional clothing, but it was armor so that was to be expected. The leather was smooth to the touch, and much cooler than the table it was placed on, which had been baking in the heat.

"Hey, thanks," said Axel.

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"No problem, so what do you think? Pretty handy craftsmanship, right?" asked the girl.

"I guess? I don't really know much about crafting, but it looks good... except."

"The color?" she asked.

"The color," Axel echoed.

"The armor’s made using Pig O' Battle hide, you killed Pink Pigs O' Battle, of course, you're going to get pink hide and then pink armor. Besides, it's cute. Makes you stand out."

"Thanks? I don't know, I just thought that it would be a bit more..." Axel’s voice trailed off.

"Brown?" she asked.

"Yea," Axel replied.

"Relax. Pink is a man's color, plus better defense than an Air Fox Armor Set." She gave a thumbs up.

"I guess? Anyway, I brought the [Wood Infused Stone] and the coin." Axel laid out the items on an empty workbench.

"Great!" She grabbed the [Gold Coins], dumping them in her [Inventory]. "Now let's see here."

She started wading through the items giving a quick glance and feel.

Axel stood by idly, watching as she looked over his haul.

"So that's 31 [Wood Infused Stone], you can take back the extra." — She tossed the additional piece at Axel — "And here's one sword for you." She grabbed a sword from her [Inventory] and tossed it to him, Axel fumbled the catch, making it look like an amateur’s attempt at juggling a sword.

"Wait, what? I thought you needed a day to make it?" he asked.

"I do. I had some spare materials and decided to make one first. Second one will be ready for pickup tomorrow." She gave a thumbs up.

"Oh, thanks. Actually, I have another request," Axel said.

"Shoot."

"I was thinking about getting a shield."

"So one [Wood Infused Stone Shield]? Anything else?"

"Actually, is there a way to combine the shield with a sword?"

"What?" Her face scrunched up.

"I mean, I want to duel wield two swords, but sometimes having a shield is useful so I was thinking what if I put a shield on my back" — Axel turned around to show off the backpack he carried — "Then when a sword isn't good enough to defend I could quickly switch to a shield."

"Sounds unconventional, but conventions are meant to be broken. Do you want to use the shield, like, as a sheathe?"

"Can you do that?" Axel asked.

"Who do you think I am?" She puffed out her chest.

"I don't know. I still don't know your name."

"I'm Marina and a custom order like this will cost extra."

"How much extra?" Axel asked.

"Um..." she paused for a moment. "Hundred extra and I'll need another 15 [Wood Infused Stone] unless you want to pay more."

"Nope, nope, nope. I can get the materials myself."

"Great, so remember money and materials tomorrow and your stuff will be ready for collection too."

"Ok, thanks." Axel nodded and stashed his newly made armor inside his [Inventory].

"Aren't you going to equip your armor now?" Marina asked.

"I mean..." Axel looked around the crowded area, droves of people walking by the stall. "Maybe somewhere a bit more private."

"Suit yourself."

"I intend to, I don't really need help wearing clothes."

"What?"

"Um, nothing," Axel replied as he excused himself out of the shop.

***

After finding a more discreet location, Axel swapped out his current clothes for the armor set he just bought. The armor set was like a thing of magic. At first, the armor set looked too small, but when he tried to shove his foot into the boot, it adjusted itself to fit snugly around his feet. The same went for the rest of the armor set, each one expanding and contracting at all the right places so that they’d fit perfectly.

Axel decided to test out his maneuverability, doing all sorts of movements: downward dog, toe touches, jumping jacks. The armor was flexible, giving little to no resistance as he contorted his body. It was around three times heavier than his clothes, but if the [Defense] stats were anything to go by it was worth the extra weight. A total [Defense] of eight did not seem that impressive, but it was way better than the 0 his clothes provided.

The armor itself was a light pink, with a very glossy finish to it, a big contrast from the muted brown of the usual leather armor he had seen before entering the barrier. Axel felt odd, to say the least, each armor piece sported the same light pink shade, including the belt and helmet. It made him stand out like a sore thumb.

Axel let out a sigh and shook his head, resigned to his appearance. The additional [Defense] was more important than his looks, being alive was a better look on him than being dead, was how he convinced himself.

Next on the agenda was his new sword. It was gray in color, with bits of brown wood in the shape of diamonds embedded randomly. Although the sword felt rough to the touch, its edges were noticeably sharper compared to his old [Wooden Training Sword], and it felt considerably weightier. Hopefully, his new upgrades would make life much easier. How much better an [Attack] of 5 and a [Defense] of 8 would make things was a mystery to Axel, but a mystery he was eager to find out for once.

Now in his right hand was the [Wood Infused Stone Sword] and in his left the [Wooden Training Sword]. The [Trusty Iron Sword] was left to collect dust in his [Inventory], much to his disappointment, but survivability was of utmost importance.

All that was left to do was dive back into that damned cave and get out as soon as possible. Hopefully, this would be the last time he would ever have to enter a cave for the rest of his life. The only boon to his suffering was that he would get to try out his new gear on some cave-dwelling trees.