As we stepped through the portal, what both of us saw was something straight out of a fantasy novel. The room itself had worn wooden floors and walls, and a few free standing isles stood breaking up the large open space. Shelves lined the walls; each one seemed to showcase different wares. I caught sight of potions, various melee weapons, some on stands, others hanging from the wall. There were small pieces of armor, jewelry, and guns that I've never seen before.

  Glancing at Katie, she had the same wide-eyed look that I did. Or at least imagined how I looked. Finally, my eyes landed on the long wooden counter, and there were shelves behind it with various other merchandise. Heading towards it, there were doorways leading to other parts of the store. Taking a peek, I saw one room with nothing but different types of armor, another with more melee weapons, and the next room had guns galore. I might have peed myself, just a bit, in excitement.

  “Oh My. You are my first customers from Earth 9908. “ Standing behind the counter was an elf. I almost squealed at the sight. I did hear a small squeak from Katie. An honest to God fucking elf. Long hair showing his age, as most of it was gray, with a few strands of blonde hair. Pointed ears that peaked through his hair and almond-shaped eyes that were of a deep blue coloring. Features that looked a bit weathered but sharp, angled. Honestly, I wasn't big into older men, but he had a very handsome quality to his look. If I had to guess, he was about my height, with a grayish hue to his skin. Framed with a simple white short-sleeved shirt, brown, worn slacks covered by an ink-stained apron.

  “Hello and Welcome to Perrell's Emporium. I will be your personal shop for the duration of your pre-integration, and if you choose to, after integration happens, I can continue to help you in your journey. I am Namon Perrell, owner.”

  “Oh, hello there.” Looking at Katie, I think her expression mirrored my own. Her hand squeezed mine as we both walked up to the counter together. “I suppose we are from there. So far, the details have been kinda vague.” Namon gave a nod of understanding. “So my guide said you'd be able to help us figure things out and get us geared up. “

  There were things that struck me as not so much odd, just not what I was expecting. First wasn't expecting an elf, though I guess I need to get past the fact that we humans aren't the center of the galaxy anymore. Two, from all the stories, I was expecting some sort of long name that I would have to shorten just to pronounce. I could see out of the corner of my eye that Katie was thinking the same thing and coming to terms with her own thoughts and misconceptions.

  “Ah, I was told that Humans of Earth could show some confusion when being introduced to the System. My great-grandfather was a human from a different earth, yet I am going to assume neither of you has never seen another race. He spoke often about how it took him a while to acclimate. He started this shop, which has been passed down to the oldest child since his death.” With his pause, I could see in his eyes something similar I felt within me when I thought of my Grandfather.

  “With a few backers, I was lucky enough to win a bid for a small percentage of humans who are being integrated early. “ Well, to say the least, neither of us seemed to be expecting something like this. I don't know why I was surprised. It would make sense that any world being inducted would be a great business opportunity.

  His words mirrored my own thoughts, it seemed. “ It is a great opportunity to be able to not only get a human world in such an early state too, but an anchor world, “ he shook his head with a smile on his face, showing his excitement. Now he raised more questions that just got added to my fucking list. I think I am going to call the list [What the Fuck.]

  Suddenly, my status sheet came up, moving right to a tab called [What the Fuck], and it had my list, kinda like a notepad app on my phone. I wanted to laugh, like really laugh. Seeing how Katie looking at me oddly, so I shared my new tab with her, and she burst out laughing, giving the shop owner a reason to look at us, confused like we both lost our minds.

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  “Seriously, Sara. That is hilarious. But it is so you. Well, perhaps while we figure out what we need, he can answer some questions. Speaking of. “ I let Katie take the lead for the moment since I could almost feel the wheels turning in her mind. “ How does this work? I'll be honest, I am not sure if we are supposed to share our stats and stuff with you. I imagine that isn't something we should do, as it exposes information we wouldn't want to get out. Yet it puts us in a bind cause we don't know what to get or what would be best with what funds we have? “

  Leave it to her to think of the shit that didn't even cross my mind. I would have just been all like Sure, here is all of my info. Help please. Sure, I normally would have been cautious, but when I got excited about something. Well, sometimes my blond comes out in full force. I moved my blue eyes over to watch him as he kept his smile on his sharp features and a look in his eyes like he was all prepared for such a thing.

  “Oh, of course, it is lucky that you got me as your shop and not one of the larger conglomerates. They love to take advantage of newly inducted races.” With that, he pulled out a small tablet. “ This is a contract that has a few parts to it. One, it states I will not share any personal information or discuss purchases with anyone who has not signed this particular contract. Also, it states I will offer advice in your best interest, at reasonable prices, and not enter into any further agreements with you with the intent of cheating you.”

  I watched as he pushed his thumb down onto it, a bit of blue energy swirled around before seeing at the bottom was his name and a little blue swirling dot. “ That is my mana signature. Those can not be faked as the System is the only one able to produce them. This is what is called a System contract. Breaking one of these can have serious repercussions if broken. Here, take a read and if it meets your OK, just press your thumb down at the bottom.”

  I looked at mine as he pulled out another for Katie. Wow, to say the least, I hadn't expected this. If the books we read were true, it meant he would have massive penalties if he broke them, and I did voice my thoughts, getting a confirmation of it.

  “Yes, if I break the contract, I lose ten levels, A huge loss of reputation, and a permanent mark that is easily researched, which could literally destroy my business. Unlike the conglomerates, I don't have an army of lawyers and scholars ready with loopholes, and they can also take hits to their business. Most of them span hundreds of Universes. “

  After a few minutes of reading, we both had our thumbprints on the contract, and a new tab appeared on my status screen [Contracts].

  “Damn, this is nothing like the books. In the books, usually the System is not helpful at all, or well, this is so different.” Katie's words were very true. There seemed to be better organization to things, easier to navigate, even if the System was still going through a UI update.

  “ Oh, this System is completely different from its parent System. Honestly, I am glad I was able to transfer to the Universes with this new System, and watching it grow and fix things has been extremely exciting. There are so many dangerous things out there. I am not talking about just within System system-controlled space either. One big problem was the powerful hiding facts and knowledge to keep the masses down and beneath them, having to rely on those in power more so than necessary. When the time came, and there was a call to arms, the loss of life and lack of teamwork were the downfall of several universes. The new System is a trial to see how things can be different if it pays more attention to such details. “

  Well, damn, several questions disappeared from my list with just that little blurt. Things made a bit more sense, then more questions arose, which, Katie being on top of her game it seemed to beat me to the punch.

  “Sir, I don't suppose you could fill us in on what is so special about Earth or anchor worlds?”

  “Unfortunately, girls, I am limited in what I can share. System rules and all of that,” he paused. “ Oh, I do have a question for though. We have been so busy getting set up, you understand how that can go. I forgot to look into your history. The Roman Empire is still around, yes?

  Katie shook her head no, causing him to mumble under his breath, “That is a shame, that is a lot of business lost.“

  Looking at Katie, seeing if she heard that as well. A subtle nod was all I needed for confirmation. Also, a hint to speak on it later. Personally, I think he said it just loud enough on purpose. That alone raised my opinion of our shopkeeper.

  His voice backed up to a more jovial volume, “ Well then, ladies, if you could share your main status screens with me, we can get this started.”

  Watching his eyes move over our info as we shared our screens, he scratched his chin after reading mine. I swear I saw his eyes light up a little bit before he moved on to Katie's info.

  Looking at Katie,” Well, you young lady are pretty straightforward forward, so I'll hand you off to my granddaughter, she is our melee expert. Until Sara here can make you weapons of some quality, I would recommend you stick with traditional weapons, but keep it basic, so you aren't spending too much on things. Hopefully, you won't need them for too long. “

  As if by magic, a pretty slip of an elf stepped out from a doorway behind the counter.