"Then what's the point of leveling up the system?" After sighing for a moment, Ron continued asking, "Will I unlock new permissions or something?"
The system uncharacteristically paused for a few seconds: "[The system panel will be optimized.]"
???
"So basically, it's useless?" Ron snorted.
System panel optimization? What good is that?
Will it just look nicer?
Or are you going to give me a virtual little loli?
Rolling his eyes, Ron decided to head downstairs and check on how the shop renovations had turned out.
When he reached the first floor, he flipped on the chandelier above his head. A warm yellow light gently spilled down, making it easy on the eyes.
The floor was tiled with beige square tiles, and the three surrounding walls were etched with elegant decorative patterns—simple and stylish.
The walls on either side of the shop entrance had been removed and replaced with two large floor-to-ceiling glass panels, instantly opening up the view from inside the store.
The whole store was divided into three main zones.
On the left and right sides near the entrance, and along the other three walls, was the outer zone. Each section had a row of cubed shelves, with each cube holding an empty flowerpot—clearly meant for small potted plants.
Looking further inward, the middle zone featured several massive transparent glass cylinders reaching up to the ceiling. They were arranged in a circular pattern and looked quite impressive. The smallest had a diameter of about a meter, likely intended for planting small trees.
At the very center of the shop was a cylindrical viewing corridor about five meters wide. Inside were all kinds of wooden horizontal and vertical racks, perfect for supporting vine-type plants.
Ron wandered through the shop, examining everything with satisfaction. Seeing the layout filled him with a strong sense of accomplishment.
It was just… a little too empty.
The spaciousness gave the shop an elegant feel, but it lacked the atmosphere a flower shop should have.
After all, he hadn't cultivated a single plant yet.
"System, how about I buy some plants from outside to decorate a bit?" Ron suggested. "Even if I manage to grow the Underworld Orchid, it'd still be the only flower. Too plain."
System: "[No external plants are allowed in this shop.]"
Ron made a face. "Ugh, you have some kind of purity obsession? You look down on outside plants?"
System: "[If the host insists on placing external plants, you may use Wealth Points to purchase display slots within the shop. Each shelf slot costs 10 Wealth Points, each hollow column costs 100, and each center rack costs 50.]"
"...Forget I said anything." Ron was speechless.
System: "[Please name the shop.]"
"Uh..." Ron was stumped. He was notoriously bad at naming things—and a bit of a wannabe poet.
So, following the principle of keeping things simple and straightforward, he casually said, "Let's just call it Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop. That way, people know what it is at a glance."
System: "[Shop name confirmed. If you wish to change it later, it will cost 100 Wealth Points.]"
"...I'm not talking to you anymore," Ron muttered and walked straight to the storage room at the back.
As soon as his hand touched the doorknob, a system prompt sounded.
System: "[Would you like to enter the Dimensional Plane?]"
Ron first selected "No" and pushed the door open.
Since he hadn't chosen to enter the Dimensional Plane, the door still led to the original storage room. Nothing had changed.
Exiting through the door at the back of the storage room brought him to the backyard behind the shop. Everything seemed perfectly normal.
Then Ron exited the storage room and, this time, chose to enter the Dimensional Plane before going in.
The moment he opened the door, everything went dark.
When his vision returned, he found himself in a vast void.
The space around him was pure white, soft and endless, stretching out in all directions.
Ron's body floated in mid-air, able to move however he wished by just thinking about it.
"So this is the Dimensional Plane, huh?" Ron looked around with curiosity.
System: "[This is the most stable area within the Dimensional Plane. The host is advised not to stray too far, to avoid being swept away by spatial turbulence.]"
After that reminder, Ron gave up on trying to find the boundaries.
He had been planning to check for an invisible wall or something—maybe even find a glitch to exploit.
Chuckling to himself, Ron opened the system panel and spent all of his 100 Wealth Points in the [Shop] to purchase 1 square meter of cultivation space.
In the next instant, a plain patch of soil appeared in front of him.
It was perfectly square and looked just like a plot of land from a farming game. The sight reminded Ron of the old days online—not planting, just stealing crops.
System: "[Cultivation space operates independently from the Dimensional Plane. The two do not interfere with each other. Inside the cultivation space, factors such as soil, moisture, sunlight, air, nutrients, and even the flow of time can be freely adjusted to suit any planting needs the host may have.]"
Ron then retrieved the Nether Orchid seed from his [Backpack], and, using the plant cultivation method he had learned earlier, instantly transformed the space into the optimal environment for the seed to grow. He planted it.
The entire planting process could be done through pure thought—he didn't even need to click a mouse.
Still, compared to those old online farming games, this was way more involved.
It wasn't a one-click, idiot-proof system. Even though he could accelerate time, he still needed to slow things down to properly manage moisture levels, nutrient distribution, and other details.
Plus, it was his first time using the cultivation space to grow a plant. Despite having a full set of instructions for the Nether Orchid, it still took him the whole morning to cultivate a mature one.
When Ron finally saw the orchid's blue fruit ripen and fall to the ground, the tension in his mind melted away, and a smile appeared on his face.
He stored the Nether Orchid fruit in his [Backpack] and looked at the short, purple flower in front of him, no taller than his knee. A deep sense of pride welled up inside him.
[Upgrade Quest] — [Successfully Cultivate an Underworld Orchid]:
"[Congratulations, host, quest completed. Rewards have been deposited into your [Backpack].]"
"[The Underworld Orchid can now be transplanted into the shop. Proceed with transplantation?]"
Ron chose "Yes."
The orchid instantly vanished from in front of him.
He exited the Dimensional Plane and returned to the shop.
The Underworld Orchid had already been placed by the system in a flowerpot on one of the display shelves facing the street. In the otherwise empty shop, it was highly eye-catching.
Then Ron headed up to the second-floor lounge and sat down on the couch, opening the system panel—
System Level: 2
Host: Ron Andre
Race: Human/Foxkin Hybrid
Gender: Male
Age: 18 (with patterns)
Occupation: None
Wealth Points: 0
[Quests]
[Backpack]
[Shop]
Looking at the big fat zero in his Wealth Points again, Ron suddenly felt an emptiness inside.
Then he noticed something different about the system panel—on the right-hand side, there were now some intricate decorative patterns that hadn't been there before.
"So this is the system panel optimization you were talking about?" Ron asked, deadpan. "Sure is... pretty."
System: "[Yes. These patterns are a gift from the system. As the system level increases, more decorative styles will become available. Please work hard to level up—more surprises await.]"