A Shop in the Forest

Days passed by.

Reiss couldn't remember how long he had been in Death Valley. Every day was spent in fear, with death constantly looming over him.

Whether it was morning, noon or night, the threat of danger was always present. Even the faintest sound of a monster would make him shiver and hide in panic.

Reiss wandered aimlessly through Death Valley, unable to determine which direction he was headed.

He couldn't even use the stars as a guide, as the sky always seemed to be covered in mist. His body looked worn-out and emaciated, with a large bite wound on his shoulder from a massive snake attack on the first day of his arrival.

Luckily, the snake was not poisonous, and after freeing himself from that monster, Reiss ran as fast as he could.

All these days, he had to eat wild mushrooms and plants he found along the way. He had to risk his life to eat these as he had no idea if they were poisonous or not. As a result, he had been poisoned a few times, but luck was on his side as he managed to survive.

Reiss was not a weak person. As the deputy captain of a city's troops unit, he possessed the strength equivalent to a Middle Rank 5. However, exhaustion, despair, and anxiety in Death Valley had left him feeling overwhelmed and weakened.

Time passed, and nightfall arrived. Reiss felt his eyes grow heavy. He couldn't sleep soundly.

In fact, he found it hard to sleep even for an hour. His mind was always alert, watching for any danger around him, making his sleep feel like an illusion.

Reiss felt that he could no longer survive like this. His logic and emotions had grown tired. Perhaps if he had truly died from the poison yesterday, he would have been freed from his current suffering.

Darkness once again enveloped the forest. In his sight, all he could see were rigid branches covered in darkness.

The sounds of wild creatures echoed in his ears once again. Reiss trembled as he walked slowly, aimlessly walking in the darkness, searching for a place to take shelter and rest.

Whether it was a hole in a tree, a large rock, or tall bushes, any place he deemed safe was where he would stop exploring.

Fortunately, he didn't have to search for long. At the edge of his vision, Reiss saw a glimmer of light piercing through the darkness.

Seeing the light immediately brought warmth to his heart. Unconsciously, his footsteps began to walk towards the light on their own. He was like a moth drawn to a flame in the darkness.

Reiss continued to approach without realizing that his body had passed through a thin barrier that was invisible. A few moments later, his feet stopped as he saw a large cabin in front of him. His eyes and mouth opened wide, unable to imagine finding a cabin in Death Valley.

Reiss rubbed his eyes and slapped his cheeks a few times, afraid that he was hallucinating and trapped in a monster's trap.

However, even after he tried to snap out of his hallucination several times, the large cabin still stood firmly in front of him.

"Kirana Store..."

Reiss muttered as he read the wooden sign hanging from the porch roof. His brain suddenly seemed to freeze. He daydreamed like a fool and only snapped out of it a few seconds later.

"Huh?! What kind of crazy person sets up a shop here?!" Reiss exclaimed as he arrived in front of the Shop.

***

Meanwhile, inside the workshop, Cien was busy making a special arrow for the bow he had successfully crafted.

In addition to the bow and arrow, Cien had also created two more pairs of Fire Gloves, bringing the total to three pairs. He had also made some wooden furniture for his porch, including two wooden chairs and a table.

And now, he has crafted several types of arrows. First, he made ordinary wooden arrows with sharpened tips.

Second, he created arrows with arrowheads made from the claws and fangs of Inferno Bear.

And the third type of arrow had arrowheads made from the shoulder of Inferno Bear that were as hard as rock.

For the last type of arrow, Cien had spent a week learning the basics of forging and had successfully crafted the arrowheads after several failed attempts.

Although he only succeeded in making fifteen of these arrows, their sharpness was enough to pierce the skin of a Rank 6 monster.

Now, Cien wanted to make even stronger arrows with magical powers. He planned to make the next magical item using a mana core as the arrowhead.

Cien had already created a blueprint for this magical arrow using the available recipe and materials. However, he only had one-tenth of the remaining monster core powder, so he wasn't sure if he could make many of these new arrows.

Still, for Cien, this was just a prototype. If it worked, he would hunt for more Inferno Bears in Death Valley so that he could make more magical arrows.

Cien had chosen to use a bow and arrows as his weapon of choice because he knew he was weak.

He couldn't fight on the front lines like a knight, nor could he cast powerful spells like a famous wizard. Physically, he was stronger than an average person, but he was still weak compared to the lowest-ranked soldiers.

That's why Cien had chosen the arrow as his main weapon. He didn't know how to shoot, but he could practice. Time was the thing he had the most of right now, and the longer he practiced, the more confident he became in his ability to use the bow and arrow.

Cien took out a Mana Core from his Storage Room. He prepared to cut the Mana Core into ten pieces. He placed the Mana Core on the Crafting Table. But before he could start cutting, his phone suddenly gave him a notification.

Ding!

"Hmm?"

Cien reached for his phone, which was on the sewing table. When he saw the notification on the screen, his eyes began to twitch.

[A human has entered the realm of the Protection Layer!]

"..."

Cien was speechless as he read the notification. He was so incredulous that he tried rubbing his forehead, hoping that the notification was just an illusion.

However, not long after, the sound of the front doorbell echoed through the shop. Someone had entered the cabin.

'...a customer? It's impossible! What kind of crazy person would shop at this cursed place?'

Cien put his phone in his pocket before putting on the Fire Glove that was on the table.

He wasn't afraid of strangers who came in. In addition to having a protective layer formation that could neutralize his enemies at any time, he now also had the Fire Glove. This is just a preparation for the worst.

With a light step, Cien walked to meet his first guest since becoming the store owner.

***

Reiss opened the door of the antique-looking store. As the door opened, the sound of the bell attached above the door startled him. Reiss was surprised, frozen in place.

But in that instant, his eyes suddenly saw the brightly lit store space, as if it wasn't in the Death Valley.

Reiss calmed himself and took a deep breath. Then he saw the empty store.

In the display case, he only saw two pairs of black gloves, and on one of the shelves standing just behind the display case, he saw three types of potions. Each potion had three pieces, making a total of nine potions on the shelf.

"Is this really a shop?" Reiss immediately shook his head, refusing to believe it. He still thought that the place was a trap.

With a pounding heart, Reiss slowly stepped inside by tiptoeing.

"H-hello... is anyone here...?" he asked in a low tone like a whisper.

"I'm here. Why are you acting like a thief? Sneaking and whispering like that? Are you crazy?"

"....huh?"