Chapter 73: (1)Hunter Shop
Alexandre then counted up the money he had left. He still had $50,000 in cash from his years of savings in civilian life, as well as $100,000 that he'd coerced from his attackers in the third exam. The total of $150K was both a lot and perhaps not enough—by this time, Alexandre was well aware of how overpriced Hunter equipment could be!
Alexandre knew that he possessed some of the best potential in the academy to progress swiftly both in power and in money, due to the ranking bonus system. However, other students who'd been here for much longer would have some advantages over him, so Alexandre needed to bridge that gap as quickly as possible.
"Investing what I have now is the best solution," he said to himself. "That'll give me as much starting power as possible." He decided to keep $10,000 in cash and another $10,000 in his bank account to cover the costs of the first few months and in case of emergencies... but everything else was fair game! Alexandre then set out for Hunter's Paradise, taking the long walk that lasted over an hour from the academy to the town.
***
When he finally arrived, he grinned at the now-familiar sight of the little trading town. It was as magnificent as ever, with its serene modern buildings facing the sea.
On his first visit, Alexandre had spotted a huge shopping center. He sought this out again and discovered it was a huge store at least 500 square meters in size. His heart sank as he read the corporate logo above the sliding front doors:
Terra Corporation Hunter Shop.
"So their influence extends even out here," he muttered. Of course, he'd known that they had a hand in everything related to Virus Z, but he hadn't expected that he'd need to be handing them money at every step of his journey. "Oh well," he said at last, and went inside.
The mellow smell of plastic packaging and the gentle sound of instrumental music met Alexandre's ears as he stepped inside. He was immediately greeted with displays advertising all sorts of Hunter gear: armor, weapons, potions, and even jewelry. The next thing he noticed was the huge number of people. Many of them wore Hunter Academy uniforms, but with unfamiliar badges. Alexandre guessed that these were the second-and-third-year students.
Feeling curious, Alexandre looked at one of the closest potions and scanned it.
╔════════Aurora Nexus: Inspection Mode═══════╕