Jaune nodded, his choice clear.
The Lower City Slums offered the highest customer traffic and the biggest potential for quick coins.
If he wanted to run a successful Multiverse Convenience Store, he had to take risks.
And why did he choose a slum? That was because he didn't need any capital to start a business there.
Just his courage was enough.
He also needed not overly powerful customers and had enough ability to buy things.
That place was golden spot for him.
He focused his senses, propelling his new God Body toward the glowing point that represented the industrial sector of Vale.
He flew low, avoiding the main air traffic lanes until he reached the densely packed, smog-choked docks and warehouses of the Lower City.
The air here was thick with the smells of cheap oil, stale fish, and human desperation.
He descended into a narrow, filthy alleyway where the streetlights barely pierced the gloom, finding the perfect location: a forgotten, two-story brick warehouse that had clearly been abandoned for years. Its windows were smashed, and its corrugated metal door was rusted shut.
"Ciel, this is the spot,"
Jaune declared, landing silently on the cracked asphalt.
"The old brick warehouse on the corner of Pier 12. It's a ruin, but it's constantly overlooked. This will be the first branch of the Multiverse Convenience Store."
[Location confirmed, Host. Activating Dimensional Anchor Transfer in T-minus five seconds. Brace for effect.]
Jaune pressed his back against the warehouse wall.
A deep, seismic groan shook the ground.
The old, dusty building he had just left in the forest vanished, and in its place, the same small, familiar wooden convenience store materialized in a flash of shimmering silver light.
The bricks of the warehouse seemed to fold around the smaller structure, and the rusted door of the warehouse vanished, replaced by the convenience store's solid wooden entrance.
The transformation was seamless, perfectly integrating the store into the ruins of the warehouse.
[Branch 1: The Vale Slums Outlet successfully established. The store is now open for Multiverse trade. Host, you must remember that in this location, even though your new God Body is strong but it is not invisible to humans, Huntsmen, or local authorities. The Flight Necklace is highly useful for quick escapes, but you lack any defensive capability.]
Jaune looked down at his clothes—the same old, spectral Beacon uniform that now clung to his perfect new body.
He was literally a walking, breathing anachronism.
"Right. No money, no armor, and I look like a target,"
Jaune muttered. He scanned the store shelves again.
The copper coin items were back, alongside the silver ones, waiting for a customer with actual currency.
"Ciel, I need to make a sale and get some gear, fast. What's my immediate priority?"
[Priority is security and disguise. You need a starting weapon and civilian attire. Fortunately, this location has attracted immediate local attention.]
A heavy banging echoed from the front of the warehouse. A rough voice shouted from the alley:
"Hey! What in the damn hell was that light? Who put a shack in my alley?! Come out here, squirt!"
It seemed Jaune's presence hadn't gone unnoticed by the local denizens of the slums.
The Local Problem
The voice belonged to a massive man who swaggered into the store, flanked by two smaller thugs.
The leader was clad in dirty leather armor and carried a chipped axe. His eyes were small and aggressive, and his gaze instantly settled on Jaune.
"Well, well. Look what we have here. A fresh face. This is your little shop, kid? You got a permit for this corner?"
The man grinned, showing a missing tooth.
"Nah, you don't. Everything on this pier belongs to the 'Crimson Dogs.' And if this is a shop... we're taking all the profits."
The thug's eyes widened when he looked past Jaune at the dazzling array of exotic weapons and glowing artifacts on the shelves. He realized this wasn't an ordinary corner store.
"Hold on,"
The thug stammered, his greed outweighing his aggression.
"Are those... Dust blades? Kid, how much for that giant glowing sword on the rack?"
He pointed toward a legendary item.
[Host, this man is a local Low-Rank Thug (Copper). He poses a physical threat, but his desire for the items is stronger. Initiate a transaction, but be firm. Remember your owner status.]
Jaune took a deep breath. This was it. First sale, first confrontation. He had to be bold.
"That glowing sword is a Relic-Rank Soul-Slicer,"
Jaune said, his voice surprisingly steady.
"It requires silver coins, which I doubt you possess. But for you, Mr. Crimson Dog, I have something more fitting."
He pointed to a display shelf holding two inexpensive, but highly useful, items priced in multiverse copper coins (mcc).