BXBX NOVEL Chapter 62: Shopping Spree
They bought two for each one of them, totalling up to 8, which cost them 80 Baroms.
"We need some utensils. They need to be small but also not too small." Clara said as she pointed at a store that sold kitchen essentials.
They then spent another 40 Baroms on utensils before stopping as they didn\'t know what else they\'d need.
"Hmm... I guess I\'ll scour the market and buy things that might be useful." Keith said, and Brandon nodded, "Good idea. I\'ll take these back to the church while you guys do your thing. I suggest splitting up."
Keith agreed, "Right. I\'ll divide the money equally."
As he said that, he counted he remaining money he had before looking up at the two girls, "I only have a hundred Baroms left."
"Make it forty, thirty and thirty. Clara and I\'ll take thirty."
Nodding, Keith did as he was asked to and gave them the money before heading out to search for things that could potentially help out with camping.
Like always, his thoughts wandered until he remembered something important.
\'I need something that can purify water, but based on the stuff I learnt from the novel, there\'s nothing ready made for me to directly buy so I guess I\'ll have to settle for DIY now.\' he thought as he went straight to the butchers.
After asking around for prices, he decided to buy one large goatskin leather for 25 Baroms and then proceeded to find something that\'ll help him start a fire.
\'Matches should be easily available... but let\'s see if there\'s something advanced.\' he thought as he walked along the busy streets.
He had the ability to make fire whenever he wanted to, but he didn\'t have any intention of exposing this ability in front of others.
After visiting various shops, he stopped at one place, which was the store that sold glass jars, vials, statues, etc.
"Do you guys make magnifying glasses?" he asked and the owner of the stall nodded, "Yes sir, we do make them. Would you like a custom one or standard size?"
"I need a custom made one. Is it possible for you to let me join you while you make it? I wish to make some calculations before settling on the dimensions of the lens."
The guy nodded before pointing at a small house behind his stall, "Feel free to go inside. My master is inside, making some glass statues. You can talk to him about your requirements."
Keith nodded and walked into the house, only to find himself in a large room. It was more like a mini factory compared to a house. Inside, he saw a middle aged man working with molten glass and decided to not disturb him.
Instead he looked around and spotted a book, which he decided to use for his calculations. He took out a pencil from his pocket and began to note things down.
\'I need a bi convex lens, one that bulges out on both sides as this is the best one to focus sunlight at one point. Next thing I have to keep in mind is the diameter. The bigger the diameter, the more sunlight I can use to generate heat but it can\'t be too huge. I should be able to carry it easily in my pocket.\' he thought as he began to scribble onto the notebook.
He had learnt about lenses in his high school, but he never expected it to help him out in real life and it never did. Until now, but this was a different world altogether.
After noting down the important details like focal length, diameter and lens type, he turned to look at the guy who was working on a glass statue, only to see him staring at him.
"Oh hi, I\'m here to give my custom order and the guy outside told me to talk to you about it." he explained as he handed the notebook to the guy before continuing, "I wrote down the details in here. Basically, I just need a lens and if you give it a handle like a magnifying glass, then that\'d be great too."
"Easy stuff." the man said as he took a look at Keith\'s notes before nodding, "Looks like you know your stuff, huh? By the way, each lens will cost you 3 Baroms."
"I\'ll take two then."
Hearing his words, the guy nodded, "Okay, feel free to take a seat right there." he said as he pointed towards a wooden chair.
Keith thanked him and took a seat before watching the artist do his job. He first grabbed a thick glass slab and cut a medium sized rectangle out of it before making two circles.
Once that was done, he tossed them into the furnace to let them heat up so that they could be malleable enough for him to work with. It took some time, but once the time was ripe, he took out the semi molten glass and began shaping it with just a few metal spatulas.
To Keith who was used to seeing people use machines to get things done easily and efficiently, this was like watching a master at work.
Both the lenses had gone through the shaping process, but now there was nothing much to do but wait, which Keith happily did as he needed some alone time to think about a few things without having two idiots fighting all the time near him.
[A/N: Feeling burnt out... but gotta grind 4 more chapters for last priv tier. *sob*]