Dungeon Item Shop - Chapter 3

Her pace slows as her chest aches and burns from this next short dash, hurting as she reaches the stone construction of the giant gate. Placing a hand on it, she leans forward, more than winded already. Apparently still not recovered from having to sprint just a moment ago. Was she always this shaky on her legs? Her eyes rise up and she takes a deep breath, stepping through the shade of the large gate and entering into the vibrant plaza that is just beyond.

It is full of life and sound. Adventurers and laypeople clad in all sorts of colorful clothing walk around everywhere, filling the city with vivid life, color and commotion. Men, women clad in robes and armor. Carrying swords and staves and bags laden with impossible loads are everywhere, for as far as her eyes can see; some heading down towards a second large gate, that stands out in the far distance of the city; this one looking more ominous. Others return from that direction, to dart into strange shops and buildings that fill the lower market square. Vendors and hawkers cry out in all directions, sounding almost as naturally ambient, as the early-year birdsong that came from the planted trees along streets here. The sounds of their voices simply belonged.

A fantasy world. This was clearly a fantasy world. She looks around, scanning the people for any final confirmation of her theory, as if the massive swords and pointed hats some of them wore wasn’t proof enough. Then, she sees what she is looking for, a woman walks by with two long, pointed ears. The girl clenches her fists together, quietly squealing to herself, as her arms fidget and shake. This was really happening!

The elf shoots a strange look at the particularly sweaty girl staring at her, their eyes meeting for an awkward moment, before she turns away to keep walking; perhaps a little faster than before.

“Ah! She probably thinks I’m a creep,” mumbles the girl under her panting breaths. Oh well. That doesn’t matter. This was it! A new life! She steps forward, ready to embrace it; feeling the rays of the bright sun greet her, as she crosses over the precipice into the town and as the soft sole of her boot gently taps out against the stone brick-work road below. The possibilities seem endless, she thinks as she looks at a group of people passing by, all laughing together. They look like they were all close friends.

What kind of fantasy world was this one? A game world? Or something more modern, something ‘dungeony’? Looking around at the fluid, free and unbound movements of the people here however, she decides to go with the latter hope. A dungeon fantasy world could be dark-spirited, sure, but it could also be a literal paradise for someone like her. If she became an adventurer, she could do anything. She could have a real life with real ambitions, real goals, real friends. Her face glows as she looks around at the many colorful, strange things around her. She has no money for any of these things however. All she has is the robe on her back and her hair that sways before her eyes, still somewhat damp, as the gold lockes bob to her steps.

Gold? Her hair wasn’t gold.

She pulls a strand down before her face. Her hair is different now too. She supposes that makes sense since she had gotten a new body. She would have to inspect it closely later on, but maybe not out here in public. Being thrown into a new body could have been considered shocking, but in all honesty, she never really liked her old one. It was… fine. But it never really ‘did it’ for her. Whatever that means. She smiles. This was going to be a good life. So what did she want to be? She could be anything, do anything.

As she walks, she looks at the many people here. Great, giant hulking swordsmen lumber in all directions. Darker clad wizards and witches and even some who fit the priestess archetypes, judging by their pure-white raiments and soft bodies. She likes magic, maybe that was something for her? Did she want to fight things? Or heal? A woman passes her by with a large shield, nodding quietly as they exchange glances. Or maybe she could get a shield like her and defend people, that would be a great way to make friends, right? Her eyes shine brighter still at the prospect.

She’d look around a little more, but she was sure of one thing. Of one idea that burned hot in her core. Adventure. She wanted adventure, her heart had burned for it for the duration of an entire life and now it burns hotter still. So how? How did this work? Were there systems? Did she have any sort of… menu? Or were the physics here more ‘free-form’? Did she have to choose a class, or did she just have to grab whatever implement seemed right and start practicing with that? She smiles, humming as she walks, for the first time not caring that she is surrounded by people on all sides. She would have never gone outside during the day, let alone humming, let alone wearing this and even less-likely so among this many people in her old life.

But… she stretches her arms out to the sides, feeling a pop in her lower back as she stands in the road, basking in the bright, warm sun, whose rays gently stroke her face as she takes in that deep, long breath. - But this is a new life. A new her. She would do it right this time. She would. She swears it to herself and to whatever deity would perchance be listening to her inner workings. Nothing would stop her from living that dream. No fears. No anxieties. No doubts. No dark forces conjured to the world by her own mind. Nothing. She was going to work hard and the first step to do that was…

“Excuse me,” she asks a small green-clad, figure passing her by. A white, painted mask on its face carrying a smiling expression looks up towards her as it stands just reaching her belly.

“Yeah?” asks a nasally, sharp-toned voice from behind the mask.

“Is there a dungeon here?” asks the girl.

The figure cocks its head, looking up to her face, after scanning her plain robe and pale body. “Uh… yeah?” They point down the street, towards the giant, ominous gate in the distance on the other end of the city. “You literally can’t miss it, but -“

“Thanks!” shouts the girl, not needing to hear anything else, as she already begins to run down the way towards it; the excitement in her eyes shining brighter than the sun itself. The burn in her chest ignored, overpowered by this new, bright feeling that she felt.

“Ah! Wait!” shouts the small figure after her, but the voice is lost between the many other voices of the busy crowd. The small masked figure watches the class-less, equipment-less girl run straight towards the dungeon alone and ponders running after her for a moment. “Eh… it’ll be fine,” says the figure quietly beneath their breath and turns to return to their errands.