Information about the 'Camp' and Arriving at the mall.
[Ace POV],
After considering my idea, we left the area, but as we were about to leave, I suddenly had an idea. I hurried over to the corpse of the dead eagle and touched it before putting it in my storage ring.
I have an assumption, and if it is accurate, I may be able to escape from poverty.
At least, barely.
I returned to the group after doing what I needed to do, but I saw that everyone in the other party appeared to be more dignified.
Maybe I'm just seeing things, so I ignored it as we started looking for a location to acquire supplies.
While killing monsters along the road, I spoke with the middle-aged man and obtained some information.
But, I'm not sure whether I'm overthinking it, but ever since my group and I started killing monsters, the man has been more...respectful.
All of the monsters I killed on the journey were stored in my storage ring.
Despite having a 'low' Epic Grade, it was still Epic.
Based on the overall amount of space in the storage ring, it should be able to hold slightly more than five heavy trucks.
It's fairly big.
At the very least, it's preferable to carrying a sack.
It's still big enough to contain a lot of monster corpses.
According to the middle age man, the camp they're looking for supplies for is small-sized.
Holds about 30 to 40 people according to the man.
He also stated that they were a little bit more than that, but he doesn't really know because knowing the total number of people in the camp is unimportant.
Or should I call it a shelter now that he mentioned it appears to be one?
With that many people, it's surprising that they're still alive and well.
It speaks of the leader's ability in some ways.
Increases my curiosity about how a small camp functions in this new world.
It has only been made for a maximum of two days, after all.
Nevertheless, humans are very adaptable.
Fortunately, thanks to Anna's assistance, we discovered a mall not far from the previous place where I met the group of survivors.
After Anna confirmed that there were no monsters in the area other than a few zombies, we made our way to the mall door with the other group, making as little noise as possible.
"We're really fortunate to have met you and the miss who guided us here; otherwise, God knows how many detours we would have taken," the middle-aged man said quietly as we approached the mall's main entrance.
The miss he was referring to here was Anna, who heard what he said but made no response, yet the man was still smiling.
Aside from Anna, he addresses me as sir.
Even Chris, despite being more than twice his age.
When we spoke with the man, he not only told us some general information about the camp, but he also expressed some positive things about it, such as how safe it was and how many strong people there were.
He seemed to be attempting to entice us to go there.
I once asked him, "With your strength, why would you risk venturing out to look for supplies instead of staying in the camp?"
With his strength, he should have a say, right?
He laughed and claimed that I was teasing him that his strength wasn't strong in the camp.
That was true since, based on his performance when he killed a monster alongside us on the way here, I could tell his level was at most level 10, while the two early twenties males under him were level 8.
He also stated that his group was not the only one that went in search of supplies.
You work for the camp, he claims, and the camp protects you and provides you with a place to reside.
The greater your contribution, the better your position in the camp.
A reasonable exchange.
Quite good for a newly constructed shelter.
It's just a guess, but I believe if he can get a group of our caliber to the camp, he will have some sort of merit.
Though I am not the strongest according to the Primordial Chronicle, I am one of the strongest based on its evaluation.
Both in terms of global and personal strength.
Even though some time has passed since then, I don't think I've gone down the list.
As I was thinking about these things, we arrived at the mall's main entrance.
Because I was in the lead, I was the one who opened it.
Along with others, I pushed the door open and entered.
Fortunately, the door did not run on electricity, or I would have had to make a lot of noise and burst open a self-made entrance on the wall to enter the mall.
Fortunately, it was also midday, so even though the lights were out, the sun provided illumination in the mall.
The mall layout we were in was rather simple.
Should be a local mall.
The cashier area was located at the entrance, while the shopping area was located upstairs, and the management center, warehouse, and parking lot were located downstairs.
Even though we didn't see anyone when we entered the store, we were still cautious.
I investigated the mall's condition slowly, using the now-dead escalator as stairs to the shopping section.
The mall, like the other buildings outside, showed traces of green life.
There were also bloodstains, something I now consider to be rather normal.
Aside from that, the mall appears to have recently traded stocks, indicating that we did not arrive at a looted mall.
When we arrived in the shopping area and nothing happened, my group and the other party separated, each of us going to look for our supplies.
In this case, my group had the upper hand because I possessed what the opposing party lacked.
A storage ring.
I turned to face Anna and the now drooling Mia, who was obviously aware of our location, and I gestured for her to take the lead while Chris and I followed the two.
Chris never objected to my decision, and I knew why.
Chris is still in our group because he realizes that even if his sister is a burden, she is in the safest of hands. After all, we have the capital to handle this burden.
Perhaps this is why he doesn't talk much and focuses solely on his work.
Despite his age, he had no choice but to adjust to this new world.
....
Okay guys!
The plot is about to pick up in the next chapter or so.
I know some of you were wondering when Alchemy would appear, so don't worry, very soon.
Thanks for reading.