Navi Net-Shop

Lyntael found herself stopping a short way inside the door of the net-side store front, and hesitating a few steps off to the side of the main entrance. For an outlet that had only opened up recently, it seemed surprisingly busy and she felt unaccustomed to being surrounded by quite so many other navigators in close proximity. It took her a few more seconds to collect herself and she went over Rogan's list one more time to gather her thoughts. Eventually she moved forward to merge with the flow of customers coming and going until she reached a counter.

"Hello, ah, good morning. I've got a list here. I need to pick up a version four power up, customiser expansions one through nine, and then processor updates eleven through twenty, if I could please." She grinned as she greeted whoever happened to be at the counter she'd arrived at, accompanied by a small, hesitant wave of familiarity if it was the same TempoMan she'd seen reprimanding his operator the last time she'd been out while Rogan shopped. Along with the request, she drew a slim string of data from the centre of her emblem, then coalesced it into a small crystal to hand over as payment.

==

Buying:

Buster UP 4: 4000z
NC Expansion 1-9: 18000z
PU 11-20: 15500z

Total: 37500z
Funds Remaining: 3885z

"Good morning! Sure, I'll take that list," said TempoMan, who, while friendly, didn't seem to act like he remembered her much. The blue shopkeeper Navi hummed a little tune while he put up a terminal, keying in Lyntael's requested purchase. The terminal beeped in confirmation, and the terminal disappeared. Not a moment had passed before a large box appeared out of nowhere from high above, landing with a thump on the counter. TempoMan hefted it over the counter for Lyntael to receive, before dusting off his hands.

"Pretty big purchase! There you go. Thanks for your business, and have a nice day!" he said cheerfully.

Lyntael GET: PowerUP x1, NaviCust Expansion x9, Process Upgrade x10
Lyntael LOSE: 37500z

Current Zenny: 12600z.

DragonierMan, Magistrate, Suzume, and Aya walked into the Net-Shop together. They spread out to look around a bit, before Drago came to the front counter. "Hey I need a v40 Process Upgrade and a v5 PowerUP."

Want
Process Upgrade v40: 4000z
PowerUP v5: 5000z

Total: 9000z

Total Zenny After: 12600z --> 3600z.

"Sure, I'll get on that right away," said one of the shop attendants, turning around to input some things into a terminal. The console beeped in affirmation, and the Navi pulled out some upgrades out of thin air and placed them on the counter. "That'll be nine thousand zenny. Thank you very much, and come again soon," the attendant Navi said, bowing deeply afterwards.

DragonierMan GET: Process Upgrade x1, PowerUP x1
DragonierMan LOSE: 9000z

DragonierMan paid the man and stored the upgrades in a sack he brought with him. The four browsed a little more and then headed out.

Daybreak appeared on the net, carrying her familiar close under the crook of one arm. "Hm hm hm... Either the vampires are very foolish to let me into an area housing so many of the weapons of their own kind, or I've found a small bastion protected from the vampire's forces... The truth will reveal itself to me soon enough," she murmured to herself, reading over the various displays with all of the curiosity of one who hadn't visited any store in decades and thus found all product offerings exciting. "Mm hm... Yes... I know what I need, Marian! We must first supplement my swiftness so that my motor functions can keep up with my keen senses. Next, we will augment my demon-hunting tools to their maximum potential!"

"Three upgrades is your maximum potential?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and watching her PET from the couch.

"Maximum only for the moment," Daybreak smiled back, tilting her chin up and looking mostly unfazed. "TempoMan! If you are still an ally of humanity, I request your presence. I require first my level one speed upgrade, then three process upgrades! I will pay you in the tender. Money of the hellspawn; however, it is their economy for now, and we all must bend the knee until circumstances improve," she babbled nonsensically, holding up three red, metallic, prosthetic fingers to match the number of process upgrades she expected.

"Well, he did ask me to have her check out the store," Marian mused, wondering if he'd be off-put or enjoy the intrigue of interacting with a crazy, half-naked navi. Then again, perhaps such types weren't as rare on the net as one would expect.

((Paying 5600 zenny for one speed upgrade and three process upgrades

5000 + 100 + 200 + 300 = 5600 paid

5600-5600 = 0 zenny remaining))

With Daybreak's odd exclamation as well as mode of dress, her entry caused quite a few of the attendants' heads to turn her way, proprietor included. TempoMan was not one to be fazed, however, and trailed her subtly, with a polite smile on his face and his hands drawn behind his back. The sudden summons with which Daybreak called on him caused him to jump a little, trying to parse the eccentric Navi's order. Thankfully, a small screen in his periphery popped up, interpreting the self-proclaimed vampire hunter's orders accordingly, after which TempoMan himself bowed in affirmation. "A-Ah, of course! I'll bring you your upgrades shortly, please wait," he said, scurrying off to pick up the ones requested.

He returned shortly with them, and Marian's account would find itself automatically deducted, while he bowed deeply once again. "Thank you for your patronage. Please come again."

Daybreak GET: Speed Upgrade, Process Upgrade x3
Daybreak LOSE: 5600z

"Perfect! Aren't you polite? And so sweet... I'll try to come back often and improve my stock," Daybreak chuckled, unable to stop herself from flirting with the nervous shopkeep. "Hm hm hm... Saving the world is such a bleak task. It's nice to be appreciated."

"Alright, alright. Move it along," Marian sighed, resting her head on her hand. "Dru, remember," she instructed her stepson, holding one finger up to get his attention, "If Daybreak is wasting time or being annoying, be sure to tell her to focus. That's one of the operator's most important tasks... Especially when you're operating Daybreak."

"Yes, Ms. Marian," Alexandru responded. "Daybreak, hurry up! I wanna see you shoot fire."

"I don't 'shoot fire,' young one! I hone the beams of God's holy radiance; although they are just glimmers of His light from within the crevices of my holy items-!"

"Hurry up..." the boy repeated, looking at Marian who nodded with satisfaction.

Grunting, Daybreak stopped hassling TempoMan and left. "Very well! But I pick the net where we'll start our voyage..." she insisted.

((Heading to Yoka Net))

((From NetopiaNet))

HangMan briefly checked himself over for a few moments; he'd refreshed his exterior program so he would at least look presentable after his embarrassingly tough battle, then walked into the store. His eyes, obscured by his opaque and heavily mirrored glasses, looked around as he casually walked through the store, noting the displays and the oddly disappearing couriers as they left the store. His toothy grin remained plastered on his face as he took a draw of his freshly-repaired cigar, then slowly exhaled, leaving wispy white trails of smoke behind him.

Once he approached the counter, he carefully placed a zenny chit down on the table with two fingers, like a dealer at a blackjack table. "Hello sah, I'd like to make a couple purchases. One Speed Upgrade, and foah Process Upgrades, if ya please."

Speed Upgrade v1: 5000z
Process Upgrade v1-4: 1000z
Total: 6000z

Funds remaining: 830z

As HangMan approached with his cigar blowing smoke everywhere, TempoMan seemed a little conflicted as to whether to comment on it or otherwise, as some of the other customers seemed to be visibly distancing themselves from him. Thankfully, the customer didn't seem to be much trouble, as the order HangMan gave was fairly straightforward. "Alright, just a moment, sir," he said, turning to tap on a small console to his side, before a few data shims appeared atop the counter in place of the zenny chit HangMan had placed on it earlier. "There you go, sir. Thank you for coming, have a nice day," said TempoMan, making a small bow.

HangMan GET: Speed Upgrade, Process Upgrade x4
HangMan LOSE: 6000z

"Thank ya kindly, sah. Pleasure doin' business with you." HangMan replied, returning TempoMan's politeness in kind. Since this was the only shop in town, getting on bad terms with the proprietor wasn't the best idea. He picked up the data shims with his gloved hand, then seemed to slide them into a pocket in his vest, though they simply disappeared as they were downloaded to the PET.

HangMan then turned on his heel and casually walked off, occasionally glancing at some of the advertisements and displays, still smoking along contently. To the other customers' delight, he didn't loiter, and made his way out the door before logging out with an inky, black "beam" of data.

((Logged Out))

((From Neo Shogunate HQ))
After nearly an hour of high-altitude cruising, MachMan had made it all the way from the NS HQ, through SharoNet, and then appeared in the skies above the Internet City. He still hadn't quite figured out the problem in his mind, but the peace and quiet of his trip did an admirable job at calming the Navi down.

As he flew deeper into Internet City Airspace, he saw a few advertisements for the recently opened network branches of the Navi and Chip shops. A brief glance at their zenny count made it obvious they had plenty to spend, so Mach gently banked to steer himself towards the commercial area. Mazer was only occasionally checking up on the Navi, but happened to notice his change in heading. ["Find something interesting?"] he asked. Mach started to descend as he replied, "Some new shops opened up, I'll get some upgrades since it's on the way." Mazer raised his eyebrows and briefly thought about it, then replied ["Fair enough, I'll be here if you need anything."]

Mach angled himself to approach the Navi Shop, careful to avoid the myriad of log-out beams from Navis leaving the shop. While most looked pretty standard, there were a few that appeared to have been customized, including one inky black animation that looked more like a streak of ink or smoke than a beam. He cut his engines just as his skid-like feet touched down, causing the Navi to briefly slide to a stop. His arms unfolded from the undersides of his engine nacelles and assumed a normal walking stride as he made his way inside.

It didn't take long to find the main counter, which was still plenty of time for the Navi to finalize his "shopping list." He approached TempoMan and produced a zenny chip before placing it on the counter. "Hello, I'd like 3 PowerUPs and NC Expansions, 2 Process Upgrades, and a Shield NCP please."


NC Expansion 15-17: (6250 + 6500 + 6750) 19,500z
PowerUP 6-8: (6000 + 7000 + 8000) 21,000z
Process Upgrade 48, 49: (4800 + 4900) 9,700z ((Mach's level: 43 -> 49 with above upgrades))
Shield NCP: 3000z

Total: 53200z
Funds Remaining: 6705z

"Welcome! Just a moment, sir, we'll analyze your current upgrades," said TempoMan cheerfully, as his hand reached for a small keypad next to him, while the other tapped onto the zenny chip laid onto the counter. There was a subtle change over the attendant Navi's expression, before it turned back to his former "customer service" face. In front of MachMan, a host of data orbs materialized, before decrypting themselves to form the upgrade packages that he had requested.

"All right, that should be all of it, sir. Thank you for coming," said TempoMan, deeply bowing to MachMan as he did so.

MachMan GET: NC Expansion x3, PowerUP x3, Process Upgrade x2, Shield NCP
MachMan LOSE: 53200z

Mach's eye watched the Navi through his opaque aircraft canopy-style helmet, mostly out of interest rather than suspicion. This was admittedly his first time ever shopping "in person," and he very briefly wondered if this was anything like the dozens of trips Mazer's made over the years. He picked up the data packets, which quickly fragmented and disappeared as they were downloaded to the PET. "Thanks, have a good one," he said plainly before he turned around and started to make his way out of the store.

((To Chip Shop))

Within the Navi Net-Shop, everything seemed to be running fine, with all of the hustle and bustle of a well-running business. In the middle of the busy activity, an order came into the courier delivery request queue, detailing a small list of items to be handed to the fastest courier they could send to the jungles of the Yumland network's Rogue layer.

Purchase (Terra.EXE):
-- PowerUP (Attack) #1-4 x4 (1000+2000+3000+4000 = 10000z)
-- NC Expansion Upgrade #6 x1 (Currently 1 HPMem, 5 NCExp: 1000+250*6 = 2500z)
Terra's Level: 19 -> 24
-- Process Upgrade #20-24 x5 (2000+2100+2200+2300+2400 = 11000z)

Current Zenny Total: 25025z
Total Price: 23500z
Remaining Zenny: 1525z

TempoMan was steady typing away when Terra approached and made her request.  "Hmm five Process Upgrades, a NC Expansion, and four PowerUps you say?"  The navi bent down and scrumaged through some stuff behind the desk.  "Ah here we go.  This is what you're looking for."  Once TempoMan stood back up, he held a single data cube that contained the Navi's request.  "That'll be  23500 Zenny please."  Once she paid up, he would hand her the data, wish her a pleasant day, and go back to typing.

Terra Get:  NC Expanison v6, PowerUP v1-4, Process Upgrade 19-24.
Terra Lose:  23500z

Current Zenny: 35600z.

DragonierMan, Magistrate, Suzume, and Aya walked into the Net-Shop together. They spread out to look around a bit, before Drago came to the front counter. "Hey there, I need Process Upgrades v41 through v48."

Want
Process Upgrade v41: 4100z
Process Upgrade v42: 4200z
Process Upgrade v43: 4300z
Process Upgrade v44: 4400z
Process Upgrade v45: 4500z
Process Upgrade v46: 4600z
Process Upgrade v47: 4700z
Process Upgrade v48: 4800z

Total: 35600z

Total Zenny After: 35600z --> 0z.

"Got it. Just a second!" said TempoMan, his hands waving across the counter to start a brief scan on DragonierMan. The scan ended with a quick beep, and TempoMan turned towards a small screen while nodding. The upgrades appeared as a data sphere on the counter, and the shopkeeper's Navi gestured towards it with his hand and bowed. "Confirmed. Thanks for coming!" he said.

DragonierMan GET: Process Upgrade #41-48 x8
DragonierMan LOSE: 35600z

DragonierMan paid the man and stored the upgrades in a sack he brought with him. The four browsed a little more and then headed out.

((From Wrangler's Booth.))
Mach and Shrike materialized a good distance away from the Navi Shop, but only a dozen or so feet from the ground. Since landing was a bit precarious now, he decided to touch down in the relatively open link transfer area. However, he soon realized it might not be as "safe" as he expected. His "view" rapidly became filled with a latticework of icons so overlapped they were near impossible to decipher; each program that lay ahead within his detection range popped up on his "scope." The movement of dozens of programs made their names blur into illegible messes of text as they passed "through" one another.

Mach froze as his ruined eye blinked multiple times in a vain, muscle memory-induced attempt focus itself and try to make sense of the blurred mess ahead. Though blind, he was getting sensor overload from his replacement "eyes." Mach groaned aloud, dazzled and getting increasingly frustrated. While he could just turn the thing off, wandering around completely blind wasn't a good option, and Shrike wasn't designed to be a seeing-eye SP. He needed another option.

A thought flashed in his mind: his vision essentially became a radar scope. Normally, it's displayed from a top-down perspective, not from the user's first-person point of view. His engines didn't get the chance to fully spool back down before he kicked his throttles back up to get airborne once again. As soon as he got enough lift, he threw the SP and himself into a rapid climb. It seemed to work; the amorphous mess of signal returns started to fragment and spread out. As he climbed, he could finally get a sense of depth and the names above each "hit" became distinct enough to be legible. He leveled off and hanged in the air for a while so his mind could get a brief rest from the sensory overload. It was certainly a relief...

About a minute later, he picked up speed to head towards the Navi Shop. As he did, he spoke up to Mazer. "Found an issue." Mazer, who was quietly watching with a look of concentration on his face, responded. "From that rapid climb... wait, you didn't have depth perception; that's the issue, right?" Mach was spared the need to explain, which was a small relief. "Exactly. I need to be able to adjust my detection range, or filter out extraneous data," the Navi exclaimed as the NaviShop became ever closer. "Okay, I'll see what I can do. Another option would be to add another sensor to give you binocular vision, or something else to at least replicate depth perception," Mazer suggested just prior to Mach's descent towards the shop below.

Thankfully the walls of the shop would act as a buffer between him and the other returns from outside, but it was still a bit difficult to navigate due to the excess clutter. After finding his footing, he made his way to the first program that had the name "TempoMan" that appeared to be behind a counter and not near another program. He moved slowly and deliberately, not wanting to accidentally run into a display and/or other programs on the way.

Upon reaching the counter and who he assumed was one of the TempoMen that ran the shop, he produced a zenny datapacket. "I'd like two NC expansions with a Megafolder +2 program, and one Process Upgrade please," Mach requested in a conversational and polite, yet cold tone.

((Upgrades owned: PU 49, NC 17, HP 7 (combined 24)))

NC 18, 19: 14250z
Megafolder +2: 7000z
PU 50: 5000z
Total: 26250z