John browsed through the items in the elder's shop while the elder stood silently before him. The shop offered a variety of goods; among them were items to level up his shelter. The cost increased significantly with higher shelter levels, but since John's shelter was still of a relatively low-level, these were more or less in reach.

  He was unsure how exactly to level up the shelter. Beyond the potion preparation that had triggered his initial level-up, he had not managed to repeat the feat, for example not with the fish grilling, sleeping, etc. John acknowledged he was just beginning his journey in this parallel world and had much to learn, so there were probably other ways.

  There were also items to level up pets, but since Bobo was leveling up quickly inside the shelter, John didn't see an immediate need for these. Speeding Bobo’s growth could be useful, but he wasn’t in a rush.

  One item caught his eye that would allow him to exit the trial, but it was prohibitively expensive, completely out of reach of his 204 coins. He also did not feel an immediate need to exit in order to strategize.

  Another intriguing item promised to grant a "mana regeneration" skill to the shelter. John thought this might be quite useful, especially if it allowed him to utilize his "Summon the Trial" skill from the shelter with mana regeneration support. It was nearly affordable but he hesitated. If there were other missions, he could save up with the intention of getting that item. He could train himself and maybe Bobo within the trial which resembled the mirage world he had entered through the weretigresses’ totem.

  In the end, John chose to not only save his gold and purchased a book priced modestly at 50 gold coins. The book promised to explain the rules governing this parallel world. He suspected most dragons wouldn’t want to spend time reading, as time was generally short here, but John felt exempt from that pressure and sensed he still knew very little about this strange world. Reading the book could offer the guidance he needed.

  John asked the elder if there were more missions available, but the elder told him to come back tomorrow. This struck John as rather inefficient, especially for someone who would normally have a strict time limit of 30 days to complete tasks in this parallel world.

  Feeling a bit puzzled but accepting the elder’s response, John excused himself and began leisurely walking back toward his shelter.

  As he walked, he glanced at his purse containing the gold coins. Upon closer inspection, he realized there were far fewer physical coins than the 154 he expected to have remaining.

  Curious, John attempted to take a coin out, but it phased out of his hand and returned to the purse before fully exiting the orifice at the top of the container.

  He quickly understood this was no ordinary purse—it was a magical item that contained a system-tracked amount of gold rather than physical metal coins.

  This revelation made John realize the subtle ways this parallel world's systems controlled resources and added a layer of complexity to his adventure. The system here seemed to interfere much more with life than in his own reality. Could there also be other worlds where the system was less present than in his own world, maybe even worlds without systems? What an absurd notion, he thought.

  Back in the shelter, John found Bobo diligently drinking potion from the magical pot. His pet was carefully maintaining a cycle of leveling up and down at low levels.

  John understood the strategy well and had taught it to Bobo—stat growth was faster at these lower levels because the amount of experience points required to advance was smaller. This allowed for a greater margin of error, as it was easier for Bobo to stay close to the level edges on the XP bar without risking a large setback in the form of waiting time if he went too far beyond the level edge.

  Watching Bobo's focused effort brought John hope that this careful balancing act could eventually lead to significant strength gains for his loyal companion. He already looked less frail than the day before.

  John settled himself cross-legged in front of the campfire inside his dome-shaped shelter. The dominant illumination came from the blueish light radiating through the water walls and ceiling surrounding him, casting a tranquil glow over the space.

  Mixed with this ethereal blue light was the warm, reddish flicker of the campfire, bathing John's face in a soft, shifting light that created a captivating contrast.

  With the comforting ambiance surrounding him, John opened the book he had purchased earlier and began to read, eager to unlock the secrets and rules of this mysterious parallel world.

  John saw there were different chapters and decided to jump to the one about shelters.

  John was a bit surprised by what he just had read. He thought monsters could not enter a shelter. Was it maybe similar to the dome around the village that with enough insistence, the dome could be breached? He decided to continue reading the chapter.

  John was learning things but did this mean that he could have built a shelter without a dome? He did not have the option. Maybe also because of his unusual choice of building one underwater. He could breathe underwater but Bobo could not, so it was good that the shelter was built for both of them. Could some sea monsters enter his shelter though? In the real world, the ocean beyond the cave hosted many dangerous creatures but he had never encountered real danger in this underwater maze and especially not in the crystal cave he built his shelter in. Also, large aquatic creatures would not be able to come here as they would be too voluminous for the narrow passages leading to his location. Still, he felt like he had been a bit complacent leaving Bobo alone in here and he might need to reinforce security. But on the other hand, the description of his shelter stated that no monsters could enter… He continued reading.