Tomorrow will be the day I will be leaving this magnificent palace-like mansion. I already spent an entire week being trained by my brother about the legacy of the Alizo Clan and about how the 'world' outside the Alizo Territory would work. One word was prominent thought—dangerous.
I witnessed my brother, Rowen, get stuck in a dilemma between wanting to educate me well about how harsh the world was to Level E 'royal' females and hating himself for not being there which would often lead to talking to himself about going with me—in which I immediately vetoed.
Finally packed and 'educated'—after Leo came to the rescue by calming Rowen down—I was able to leave for the Square once more.
The familiar bustling crowd welcomed me as soon as I entered the heart of the territory. Cars with insignias from different clans lingered around the varied stores. Each merchant and people of the territory were beaming as they held the cards brimming with new soul stones. Children almost bumped had I not been quick dodging them.
The giggles and friendly exchange among these people gave a warm ambiance to the entire area.
I took my time as I lingered around each store. In each store, no matter what kind it was, the active system did not fail to notify me. With sixteen points at hand, the stores all had one-point sign-in notifications.
[SIGN-IN NOTICE!]
[TEN METERS FROM THE STANDING POINT: AVAILABLE C-CLASS SIGN-IN VENUE]
…another one came again, and again, and again to the point that I am dazzled. I had to stop and select carefully for the trip that I would embark on soon. After all, I already figured it out yesterday.
[SIGN-IN NOTICE!]
[EIGHT METERS FROM THE STANDING POINT: AVAILABLE C-CLASS SIGN-IN VENUE]
More sign-in notices bombarded me as I entered the busiest and most crowded part of the Square. As I headed straight to the Soul Bank to sign in and get more soul stones as my secret savings, a certain sign-in notice made me stop abruptly.
[SIGN-IN NOTICE!]
[SEVEN METERS FROM THE STANDING POINT: AVAILABLE C-CLASS SIGN-IN VENUE]
My eyes were now fixated on a certain busy storefront.
[1 POINT TO SIGN IN TO THE ALIZO CLAN MEAT STORE]
[SIGN-IN] [IGNORE]
I watched as the crown queue became longer by the minute, each of them eager to have a taste of meat. In a territory like the Alizo Clan which was known for being carnivorous, meat stores dominated the industry. From pork to beef and seafood, carnivorous beastmen flocked for them.
With the body of a carnivorous beastman, my physique immediately reacted—my stomach growled and my mouth watered from the mere thought of having enough meat in my journey.
So I spent 1 point to sign in to the meat store.
[SUCCESSFUL SIGN-IN: YOU GOT 7 KILOGRAMS OF ASSORTED MEAT!]
[7 KG ASSORTED MEAT: 1 KG OF PORK, 1 SLAUGHTERED ADULT MALE HARE, 1 KG OF CRUCIAN CARP, 1 KG OF BEEF]
[CHECK BACKPACK FOR INVENTORY]
Seven kilograms was a hefty amount of meat!
Instead of leaving, I stayed. Standing on the opposite side of the road, I observed the busy vendors of the meat store. They only had three sets of operations. First, they asked for the customer's order. Second, they took the order from the huge freezer. And lastly, they would give the order as they got the soul stones from the customers.
Since the amount of meat I got was pretty big, I was sure that if the system directly took the meat from the store inventory then the vendors would notice it immediately.
With this train of thought, I waited for a couple of minutes. My brows knotted when the vendors did not even act strange as if everything was normal.
A hypothesis was immediately drawn.
Hypothesis: The system would duplicate the inventory of the sign-in venues.
A look of understanding washed me before I turned the spearhead of my attention to the storefront next to the meat store.
If the meat store was the epitome of 'booming business', then the yellow-painted storefront to its left was the exact opposite. Not a single beastman lurked within the premises of the store. Despite this, after reading the store's name, I immediately perked up.
This was another sign-in venue. I marched straight to the store and stopped right before I could enter.
[1 POINT TO SIGN IN TO THE ALIZO CLAN FRUITS & VEGETABLES STORE]
[SIGN-IN] [IGNORE]
My body was a carnivorous one perhaps, but in the interstellar, what I longed to eat was fresh and juicy fruits and vegetables! Too bad that the supply could not meet the demand of the people in the Inter-Galactic Unit.
From fifteen points left to fourteen points in the blink of an eye.
[SUCCESSFUL SIGN-IN: YOU GOT 5 KILOGRAMS OF ASSORTED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES!]
[5 KG OF ASSORTED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: 1 BOX OF APPLES, 1 TRAY OF GRAPES, 1 BOX OF STRAWBERRIES, 5 BOXES OF CABBAGES, 1 BOX OF LUFFA, 2 BIG BUNDLES OF LEEKS]
[CHECK BACKPACK FOR INVENTORY]
If my mouth and stomach reacted to the meat earlier, now, my eyes were sparkling just by reading the words displayed on the pink-colored dialogue box. I could not wait to go back and have a taste of it! Ever since I came here, meat dishes were only served in the mansion and in the infirmary.
I reigned myself. The day was not over yet.
I walked away briskly. My footsteps were light as my eyes darted from one place to another. Passing through buildings that sold clothes and appliances, I headed straight to the alley where Bruke's Diner was located.
I originally wanted to go to the Soul Back first, but the latter was on the other side of the Square so I chose the nearest one first.
Although I had meat already, I still wanted to stock up more cooked food. According to my brother and Leo, the location where the Tribute was located would change every five years. But in their time, the location was in the middle of nowhere!
No signal for phones. No stores to eat hot meals. No shelter to sleep in.
Totally horrified by the possibility of being stuck where civilization did not exist, I hurried to sign in for more places.