CHAPTER 27: CHAPTER 27- SHOP FOR ITEMS

The streets of District 3 buzzed with a gentle, nocturnal energy. Neon lights shimmered on damp pavement, casting scattered reflections across the alley gutters and curbs. Kaidren walked silently along the sidewalk, hands tucked in the oversized front pocket of his faded pink hoodie, his head bowed slightly as he wove between passersby.

Despite the hour, the district hadn’t fully quieted down. A handful of civilians still roamed the sidewalks, wrapped in coats or hurrying from late-night shops, while some idle espers loitered near closed kiosks and street food stands. Kaidren moved through them like a shadow, careful to avoid brushing against anyone, his quiet presence going largely unnoticed.

He glanced up at the buzzing storefronts and then back down to the sidewalk.

"Where should I even buy the ingredients?" he murmured under his breath.

There were two viable options.

The first was to visit one of the esper-exclusive malls. These were sophisticated commercial districts—modern marketplaces operated under the direct authority of large esper guilds, clans, or influential families. The goods were dependable, legally traded, and sourced from high-quality monster parts and rare herbs. But the downside was obvious: price. While not inaccessible, even low-grade materials came with a noticeable markup. Still, they were safe, consistent, and available immediately.

Then there was the underground market.

Kaidren frowned.

Hidden behind codewords and shadowy entrances, the underground esper market was infamous for its affordability. There, one could buy large quantities of materials at a fraction of the price. Some were contraband. Others barely tested for purity. But there was volume, and the right kind of buyer could score a real bargain.

Problem was, Kaidren didn’t know the entry code.

He vaguely recalled that these markets required a spoken passphrase at specific alleyway doors, sometimes changing nightly to prevent law enforcement from infiltrating. He dug into his memory, but the specifics escaped him. No name, no phrase, no symbols. Just a hazy recollection from some background lore of the game.

"Damn," he muttered. "No use risking it."

He made his decision.

The esper mall it was.

With a quiet exhale, Kaidren shifted direction and slipped into a narrow alleyway, the same kind he always found comfort in. The air was colder between the walls, filled with the must of old stone and faint traces of grease from nearby exhaust vents. He kept his hands wrapped firmly around the five gold-colored banknotes tucked inside his hoodie pocket. His grip didn’t loosen for a second.

From a distance, two men loitering at the alley entrance caught sight of Kaidren’s lone silhouette passing through the dim corridor. One elbowed the other.

"We should head out," one of them muttered, tone hushed. "That guy gives me weird vibes."

"Probably some drugged-out guy" the other guessed. "Whatever it is, I’m not sticking around to find out."

They quickly disappeared into the crowd, leaving the alley as Kaidren came to a stop beneath a flickering overhead lamp.

He pulled one hand out of his hoodie and reached into the pocket of his brown cotton pants, withdrawing the blue phone. The glow of the screen illuminated his face in the dim alleyway. Without hesitation, he tapped open the Pergle app.

"Nearest esper mall..."

Within seconds, the map loaded. A blinking blue dot marked his location. Not even four blocks away, across an intersection, sat one of the largest esper malls in District 3.

"Well, that’s convenient."

He slipped the phone back into his pocket, turned around, and walked back the way he came.

From afar, a few bystanders who had seen him enter the alleyway earlier noticed him emerging again. One of them whispered to a friend.

"Did that guy just go into the alley to pee or something?"

"Who knows," the friend replied with a shrug. "People are weird."

Their curiosity didn’t last long. The city had its share of eccentric types, and Kaidren, looking somewhat disheveled and disinterested, didn’t strike them as particularly important.

Unbothered and undisturbed, Kaidren continued on his way, weaving through the sparse night crowd. His eyes locked on the target ahead—a grand structure rising above the rooftops, with banners fluttering and pale lights outlining its shape.

Demitrix.C Mall.

The building was a hybrid of architectural styles. A towering rectangular structure supported a wide, dome-shaped glass ceiling that shimmered under the streetlights. The outer walls were a soft, matte pink, stylized with intricate murals of mythical beasts, battles, and alchemical symbols. Glyphs glowed faintly along the painted edges, pulsing in rhythm with some unseen enchantment.

Espers moved in and out of the large entrance platform—some alone, others in pairs or trios. Every one of them looked... elevated. Distinguished. Cloaks embroidered with energy-conducting threads, jackets layered with barrier sigils, boots infused with lightstep enchantments. It was as if a fantasy world had merged with a fashion runway.

One woman, with silver-blue hair braided behind her back, passed Kaidren wearing a tailored trench coat lined with azure runes. Her boots didn’t even touch the ground as she moved. Another man nearby had half his chest covered in spirit glass armor, runes dancing across it like fireflies.

"How much do those outfits even cost..." he muttered flatly.

But the thought passed just as quickly.

He would be rich soon anyway.

His plan was clear. Acquire the potion ingredients. Brew something that would pass as a quality enhancer. Use it to justify a high-stakes loan. And place a bet that would turn everything around. Risky? Yes. But Kaidren was not the type to hesitate over fear. He had been given strength. He had knowledge of the world, even if incomplete. Most of all, he had nothing to lose.

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As Kaidren stepped forward, the gleam of polished floors and ambient golden lights spilled into view. He was halted just past the entrance by two esper guardians, their uniforms trimmed in black and emerald, the Tier 3 emblems on their chests gleaming under the artificial lighting. One of them, a tall woman with a stern face and a scanning device the size of her forearm, waved him down wordlessly.

"Routine check," she said flatly, eyes scanning him from behind a pair of crystalline lenses.

Kaidren said nothing. He simply raised his arms as the woman circled him with slow, practiced precision, the device humming faintly as it swept over his figure. The scan paused briefly over the pocket of his pink hoodie, where the five 500 AUR bills rested. She raised a brow but didn’t question him. The device beeped green.

"Clear," she said.

With a nod of thanks that was more habitual than sincere, Kaidren passed through.

The moment he entered, a wave of cool air hit his skin—the artificial chill of high-powered air conditioning. The mall was vast, more like a cathedral of commerce than a simple marketplace. Glass-paneled ceilings arched far above, catching the pale glow of mana-infused light strips. Multicolored banners floated mid-air, suspended by levitation glyphs, advertising potions, artifacts, scroll upgrades, and even genetically enhanced pet familiars.

It was a vivid world of luxury, built for espers.

Shops lined the main floor like polished gemstones embedded into a golden chain. Some displayed weapons—enchanted sabers, grimoires that levitated mid-air, even firearms with nexarion veins pulsing along the barrels. Others sold clothes that looked like something out of a steampunk fantasy—long cloaks embedded with defensive glyphs, coats that shimmered when you blinked, even hats that could supposedly suppress low-tier mental attacks.

Kaidren, expression flat as always, wasn’t dazzled by the extravagance. He kept his focus straight ahead, hands tucked into his hoodie, the soft thud of his boots nearly silent beneath the ambient chatter and soft music echoing from store to store.

He didn’t come to gawk.

He came for ingredients.

The mall had more than a few shops with the right merchandise. But the one that finally caught his eye was perched on the second level, its name lit in soft herbal green letters: HerMon Shop.

Herbal Monster.

Subtle.

Kaidren squinted at the signage. The shop’s name was half-hidden behind a hovering advertisement for a sale on fire-resistant gloves. But with his sharp esper-enhanced eyesight, he caught it easily.

Without hesitation, he navigated his way toward the escalator, his body tilting and weaving between groups of conversing espers. One bumped into him—a man in a layered cobalt robe carrying an ornate staff—but Kaidren merely stepped sideways with minimal effort, avoiding eye contact.

As he ascended, he cast a glance back at the mall’s interior. The swirling mass of color, light, and enchanted glamour didn’t stir anything inside him. If anything, it only reminded him of how far he stood from that world.

At the top of the escalator, HerMon Shop sat quietly tucked in a corner. Its aesthetic was... quaint. A green and ivory color scheme dominated the storefront, the wooden frames of its glass doors painted a soft jade, giving it the look of a countryside apothecary. Vines—clearly artificial but enchanted to sway as if touched by wind—curled around the frame. The sign above glowed warmly.

Kaidren exhaled softly.

Let’s hope they don’t know what they’re selling.

He approached.

The glass door opened with a soft chime. A bell overhead rang with a cheerful tinkle.

"Welcome, welcome!" came a chipper voice.

Behind a polished wooden counter stood a man who looked far too optimistic for a shop that was completely devoid of customers. He wore a green uniform that matched the shop’s aesthetic, complete with a stitched badge that bore the shop’s crest—a small herb leaf inside a monster’s fang.

His aqua-colored eyes sparkled beneath thick glasses, and his wavy blue hair was tied loosely behind his head.

"Please, take your time!" he beamed. "We just restocked our Veinblood Basil and Terroweed strips! Great finds today!"

Kaidren simply nodded in acknowledgment and reached for a shopping basket beside the counter. The man’s smile didn’t waver.

"If you need help finding anything, feel free to call for me. I’m Grilo, by the way!"

Kaidren gave a barely perceptible second nod, then made his way down one of the aisles.

The shop had the quiet, musty scent of old paper and herbs. Wooden shelves stood tall on either side, crammed with neatly labeled glass jars, dried leaves, bottled fluids, and monster remains preserved in suspension. The light was dim, enchanted lamps casting a soft green glow that made the shelves look like they held relics rather than ingredients.

Empty.

The thought flicked through Kaidren’s mind as he scanned the aisles. No customers. No distant murmurs. Only the enthusiastic clerk and an ambient instrumental hum floating through the speakers.

Probably hasn’t seen a customer in hours. Explains his attitude.

Kaidren didn’t dwell on it. His focus sharpened.

He moved between shelves, eyes grazing labels, instincts guiding his hands. Some ingredients were familiar—standard low-tier herbs like Nexleaf, Ember Root, and Aquamarine Mint. Others were more obscure, even questionable.

A dried monster lung sat beside a jar of powdered twilight bark. One shelf even held a sealed package labeled "Fenwolf Testicle – Discounted!"

Kaidren stared at it for a moment.

Absolutely not.

He moved on.

Minutes passed. The basket began to fill. A mix of vibrant herbs—red, green, blue, even one that shimmered translucent like crystal moss. Monster parts, small and manageable, including a preserved eyeball from a creature marked "Gremlin Tier 1 – Non-toxic," and several vials of liquids ranging from deep crimson to pale silver.

He wasn’t relying on memory. There were no saved recipes or formulas. He didn’t have the luxury.

He relied on instinct. On fragments of knowledge. On intuition honed through quiet hours of analysis and deduction.

If he was going to make potions, he’d need variance.

Some would fail. Some might explode.

But one might work.

Basket full, he returned to the counter.

Grilo’s face lit up like a mana lamp. "Oh, wow! That’s quite the selection! You’re either an alchemy student or..."

He trailed off, eyes narrowing playfully.

"...a scroll specialist?"

Kaidren blinked. For a moment, he didn’t answer.

Then he simply nodded. He didn’t bother correcting the misunderstanding. There was no need to explain that he wasn’t a scroll maker. Frankly, he’d forgotten that certain espers with lower Nexarion ranks often resorted to using monster parts and herbal components as substitutes in scroll forging. The misconception was understandable. Besides, it made things easier.

Grilo beamed. "I knew it! Only scroll artisans buy Terroweeds and Nightshade Blight in the same haul. It’s a weird combo unless you know what you’re doing."

The scanner chirped as he began running each item across the glyph reader. "You folks are fascinating. I tried studying scrollcraft once. Ended up setting my dad’s living room on fire. He wasn’t impressed."

Kaidren stood silently, offering no judgment, only stillness.

Grilo chuckled at his own memory and kept scanning. "Don’t worry, this’ll only take a moment. Let’s get you stocked up."

Kaidren watched the items pass across the scanner one by one. Each beep brought him closer to the next step.

The potion-making would begin soon.

And failure wasn’t an option.