It didn't take Briar and me long to get back into the town, and we immediately headed straight for the potion shop. "Ladies first," Briar remarked with a smirk as she walked past me, entering the store.

"You don't look much like a lady from where I'm standing," I murmured with twitching eyes while looking at Briar's back, observing her aura, which was the farthest thing from what a proper lady would have.

"What's that?" Briar said as she turned to look at me with a tilted head. "Nothing," I replied with a deadpan expression, shrugging my shoulders as I gestured for her to go inside.

Briar gave me a meaningful look that probably meant, I thought so, as she turned around and entered the potion shop. "Welcome to my shop," said an elderly woman with white hair tied in a ponytail wearing glasses.

"I'm Meave, the owner of this shop, and if there's anything I can do to help you, then don't hesitate to ask," Meave remarked with a warm smile on her face while ushering us inside the shop.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am. I'm Kaden, and this here is my partner Briar," I greeted with a smile of my own, introducing Briar and myself. "We're here to take care of the dungeon problem in Honey Wood," I explained while Briar merely waved her hand at Meave in greeting with a smile.

"Oh, that's wonderful news," Meave said with a radiant smile. "It's about time someone did something about the dungeon," she added with a nod of her head.

"You wouldn't believe how many youngsters were injured by the monsters crawling out of that place," she remarked with a sad sigh. "But look at me blabbering like an old woman. How can I help you, dearies?" she asked after a second's pause, smiling in embarrassment.

"It's alright," I said with a smile, shaking my head. "We were hoping to see what kind of potions you might have and ask you some questions about the dungeon," I added while pointing towards the many potions on the shop's shelves.

"But, of course. I'll be more than happy to help any way I can," Meave replied in an assuring tone. "However, I don't know if I can help you with information about the dungeon, as I've never been inside it before," she added with a confused look on her face.

"I understand, but many of the people you treat here should have been injured in the dungeon, no?" I asked and smiled as a look of realization suddenly dawned on Meave's face.

"Of course, how did I not realize that?" Meave said with an embarrassed expression, lightly slapping her forehead. "Would you like to take a look at my potions or ask me about the dungeon first?" she asked after a second she used to gather her bearing.

"Let's take a look at your options first," I said with a nod while pointing at the shop's shelves again with my index finger. "Very well," Meave replied with a smile as she made her way to the shelves.

"I have potions for many purposes, such as ones that would make the body's natural healing much quicker by the speed of the body's metabolism." Maeve began explaining as she picked up a red potion, returning it to the shelf once done to introduce other brews one after the other.

...

"And that's all for now," Meave said, taking a deep breath after spending the last thirty minutes introducing her potions to us.

Meave had many types of elixirs, healing potions, elemental resistance potions, antidotes, and even potions that gave temporary buffs to strength and agility.

"I have several more types of advanced potions, but they are few, and I currently don't have the means to brew them," Meave explained while pointing towards a closed door. "So I won't be selling them to anyone unless they prove themselves capable of solving the dungeon's problem," she concluded in a firm tone that left no room for discussion.

"Understood," I said with a nod after sharing a glance with Briar, who had a weird expression on her face. "Now, can you tell us about the most common injuries people come to you with after exploring the dungeon?" I asked with a neutral expression.

"Of course," Meave replied with a nod, smiling as she did. "Most people come to me with puncture wounds..,"

...

"So what do you think these potions she's holding back are about?" Briar asked as soon as we walked out of Meave's shop. "This is probably another aspect of RPG gameplay," I replied with a thoughtful expression.

"We would probably need to complete a hidden quest of some sort or reach a specific level in the dungeon to unlock them," I reasoned as we both walked towards the general goods store.

"That makes sense, I suppose," Briar remarked with a nod. "Do you think the general store and the blacksmithy would be the same?" she asked as she followed behind me.

"That's very likely," I replied with a shrug. "But I guess we're about to find out," I said while gesturing towards the general goods store as soon as it was within sight.

"I suppose we will," Briar said with a shrug as she sped past me, entering the shop. "Ladies first, I guess," I said with a sigh, shrugging my shoulders as I followed behind her.

"Welcome to Honey wood's general goods store!" Said a clean-shaved middle-aged man with short black hair wearing simple clothing. "My name is Dido, and I sell many items ranging from day-to-day use ones all the way to magical artifacts," he exclaimed with a smirk, spreading his arms apart.

"Hello, I'm Kaden, and this is Briar, my partner," I remarked with a neutral expression, introducing us to the merchant. "We're the adventurers sent here to take care of the dungeon problem," I added as Did ushered us inside the store with a smile on his face.

"I was wondering when you two would show up," Dido remarked with a knowing look on his face. "I already have everything you would need while exploring the dungeon at the ready, waiting for you to collect," he added as he turned around, walking away while gesturing for us to follow him.

Briar and I shared a glance, both shrugging our shoulders as we followed behind the merchants who led us towards the counter, retrieving two backpacks from underneath it.

"Inside these two backpacks, you will find ropes, lambs, torches, a compass, preserved food, water containers, and other assorted necessities," Dido explained as he opened one of the backpacks in front of us, showcasing its contents.

"How considerate," I remarked with a raised eyebrow as I took one of the backpacks, checking their contents. "And how much will these cost us?" I asked as I put the backpack down.

"These are on the house," Dido replied, causing me to frown at his generosity, immediately developing a feeling of suspicion towards the merchant.

It could be my cynical side or possibly my overthinking nature at work. But I've never been one to trust the goodwill of others as most, if not all people, always use such methods to hide ulterior motives.

"And is there a particular reason for such generosity?" I asked with a smile as I began reading the merchant's aura. "You can call it an investment," Dido replied with a shrug.

"The dungeon problem is bad for business as the monsters leaking out of it are blocking trade routes I use to procure my goods," he added while pointing towards his stock.

"And everyone stopped exploring the dungeon, which is even worse for my business as I sell a lot of items related to it," he concluded while awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

The merchant was essentially telling the truth based on his aura fluctuations as he spoke, but I knew for a fact that he wasn't telling the whole truth.

"That makes sense," I replied with a shrug, suppressing the urge to scowl. "We'll take you up on your offer, then," I said as I picked up one of the backpacks while gesturing for Briar to do the same.

"What other supplies do you provide?" I asked as I began scanning the shop, searching for anything that seemed interesting. "The question should be what supplies don't I have!" Did replied as he made his towards one of the shelves.

"But I'm afraid you're going to have to pay for anything other than these backpacks since I do run a business here," he remarked as he began introducing different items that could help us in the dungeon.

...

"And that's everything I could think of as capable of assisting you in the dungeon," Dido remarked as he returned a grappling hook back to its shelf.

"I see," I replied with a nod. "We'll come back tomorrow to purchase whatever other supplies we might need once we have a better idea of what we're going to face," I added with a neutral expression.

"But of course, take your time," Dido replied, waving us goodbye as Briar and I turned to leave.