"Alright, now be quiet. I've found a place to operate."
I spoke to my system, which had been bombarding me with notifications to set up a location.
[Plot found!]
[Are you sure you want to set this place as your store?]
"Just fucking do it..." After being hounded for hours, it had the nerve to ask me if I was sure.
I should be angry, but I couldn't even muster the energy. My head was pounding, and I was too tired to care.
[Gambling Shop Owner Activated!]
[Main Mission Acquired!]
[Sell a total of 10 loot boxes.]
[0/10]
[Reward: A better loot box and 1/3 of level fragments]
"..."
"Aren't these prices a bit outrageous?"
As a new store owner, the system gave me only a loot box. There was no variety to it, and the price was a hundred thousand for each.
No matter how I saw it, any sane person wouldn't buy it unless they had money to waste.
Even if my store was set up in a prime location of a supermarket near Star Academy, the place where all talents across the country gathered, I doubt anyone would be smart enough to buy the things I sell.
Anyway, just a few hours ago, I transmigrated into this world. You can think of it like the setting of a novel. Monsters appearing out of nowhere, mysterious gates opening across the globe, and heroes rising to protect humanity.
This body once had a dream of becoming an awakener. But after learning he had no qualifications, he fell into despair. Somehow, he died, and that's when I took over, bringing me to this very moment.
While I was a little disappointed at having no chance of becoming an awakener, with this system of mine, at least life won't be boring.
[Lloyd Swift]
[Unawakened]
[Store Authority: Level 1]
- Ten percent income from sales
- Invulnerable inside the store
Checking if there was anything to my system, I found my status board.
The status board was fairly simple.
My first mission would give me fragments for my store authority. And since there was a status board indicating that I was unawakened, there is probably a way for me to unlock it.
Also, ten thousand dollars a box? If I sold one, I would solve my poverty problems.
Still, it was nice to have invulnerability inside my store because I could see some people getting upset. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end if that's the case.
~
"..."
"How is it? Have you sold anything yet?" A tone filled with mockery could be heard from next door.
The one who spoke was a guy called Geoford. It's a strange name, just like his face. Geoford had a square-shaped head and a body that resembled someone who was on roids.
He ran the weapon shop next to mine, and apparently, taunting me was his new favorite pastime after he saw what I was selling.
"Can it, blockhead!" I replied out of sheer annoyance.
It had been a few hours since I had opened up, and every person who came by either left immediately after hearing what I sold or yelled at me for doing unethical business.
At this rate, my shop will close down before I get my first customer. Should I just close it for today and start advertising my shop?
"So this is the rumored store. How shabby."
Just moments before closing, some guy walked in and immediately started criticizing the place.
To think my place already had rumors, and just from his tone alone, it wasn't a great one.
I couldn't blame him, though. The store was bare-bones. With almost no decorations and no budget for anything extra, this was the best I could manage.
"Those loot boxes. I want five of them." He said with confidence.
Unlike the other visitors I'd seen so far, this guy was different. The way he carried himself left an impression that was hard to shake. His confidence wasn't just surface-level. It was the kind that felt bred into him, as if arrogance had been a part of him since birth.
"Once you buy it, there are no refunds. So would you like to pay in cash or credit?" Before I gave it to him, his loot box, I wanted payment first.
Taking his credit card, he paid it without hesitation.
"Just to remind you, these boxes are luck-based. You can only blame it on yourself if your luck is bad." Hearing my words, he sneered at them, already understanding what he had gotten himself into.
"Yeah, and if all five of these boxes turn out to be worth less than what you're charging, you can kiss your business goodbye."
What he said was true, since this store was about 20 by 15 ft., and with the front entrance widely open, anyone could see what was open from the crate.
And there was already a crowd outside the store. Even that jackass, Geoford, was curious what these boxes had to offer.
I handed over the loot boxes, each one about sixteen inches in size, roughly the same as a laptop. They were made of bronze, just like the loot boxes you'd see in video games.
Opening the first box, what came out was a metal-bladed whip.
[Metal-Bladed Whip]
[Ungraded]
[Remark - Just a well-crafted whip, nothing too impressive]
[Price - 14,032]
Just like awakeners, items could be ranked. The lowest grade was Unranked, with an F grade being the entry point for supernatural items.
For these loot boxes, the highest grade one can obtain is an E grade. Just one level higher than F.
"At least the presentation's decent," the arrogant customer said with a smirk, unfazed by his first loss.
The crate had mysteriously vanished after being opened. While it added a bit of flair, it hadn't done much to prove the box's actual worth.
Opening the next two crates. The results were rather disappointing. One of them was a broken blade, which cost a few thousand dollars, and the other was a bone from a weak monster known as a goblin.
"I knew these loot boxes were a scam!" Stirring up trouble was Geoford.
Does this asshole have nothing better to do? I didn't know what I'd done to him that made him this hostile.
"Shut up! There are still two more boxes. If you want attention, get it from your mother. I bet you need to hear her tell you, 'You're perfect the way you are,' every night!"
Geoford's face turned red hearing that. It was comical, as he clenched his fist while everyone was watching.
Even without mentioning his appearance directly, he took it personally, and anyone around here could see that.
Shutting up, the fourth crate had opened. And this time it was the first graded item yet.
Did Geoford jinx it? If his misery is my fortune, then I welcome it.
[Very Minor Core Improvement Pill]
[Grade - F]
[Remark - The lowest of the low instant improvement drugs. Yet, it's effective. On the bright side of a low improvement, the purity of it is the highest.]
[Price - 500,000]
"What is this?" Unlike me, my customer couldn't inspect what items they got.
My customer could sense the value but not its functions. That's how he knows why the previous items were duds.
"What you got is a minor core improvement pill. It may not have a significant effect, but it's still an improvement. What makes it valuable is that it has no side effects."
"Just this alone paid for all your crates." Seeing that he had something valuable, I enthusiastically told him and the crowd that it was special.
The core is what you call mana in this world. For awakeners, you need to upgrade your core to use magic. And seeing how this could be obtained, I found my way to becoming an awakened one.
"I see..." Unsure what I said was true, the man put it away.
He couldn't completely trust my words, and I wouldn't be surprised if he used an expert to analyze the pill before using it.
Unfortunately, his fifth loot box wasn't something special, and just like that, the showcase was done.
"If this pill is really what you claim it is, I'll come back and put in a good word for you." He claimed as he left.
Just like that, my first customer left. I didn't know his name, but just from his outfit, he should be a student of this city's academy.
While everyone had seen the action, for the rest of the day, I had no customers. Not everyone could waste money like the man before.
Besides, there's not enough information about these loot boxes. I wouldn't be surprised if those interested would scout it further before trying it for themselves.
For the first day, I earned 50,000, something that most people would dream of. Even if today is the day when I felt the most antagonized, no doubt it was still a great day.
With how today went, I can't wait to see what's ahead in this new life of mine.