The man’s features were unassuming, a bit dull, his body was average and he gave off the air of an underachiever. He had brown, messy hair and grey, unrefined eyes that stared straight at the wall without focusing on the chessboard in front of him.
His chubby arms were perched on a mahogany table, and a majestic golden chair with a luxurious and beautiful design encrusted with rare jewels rested under him, but he wore nothing but tattered jeans with worn-out seams, making him look like a beggar king.
An ill-looking shade covered his eyes, and his back hunched forward as if his entire world was resting on his shoulders. His countenance was gloomy, and the only things that indicated that the man was alive were his slightly quivering finger and the faint but rhythmic rise and fall of his shoulders.
John stepped into the room with the swagger of a gang leader who came here for a final showdown. His mind was in chaos, his heart raced, his mind tried to discern and assess the situation, but John tried to maintain his calm, cool, and confident demeanour.
"You the clerk?" John asked.
His raspy and lazy tone caught the clerk’s attention and he glanced at him for a second, but John maintained his dominant, bosslike appearance despite the extreme chaos in his mind, the man nodded and focused his tired and bored gaze on the wall again.
"What would you like?" he mumbled.
John sat down opposite him and started with, "Show me what you’ve got."
"Item, skill, person? You have to specify."
"Tell me what you are capable of giving me, then," John replied with a faint smirk on the corner of his lips, trying not to seem disrespectful, but the clerk didn’t seem to care for John’s tone.
"Just take whatever you like. I can’t wait for you to get lost." The clerk gestured at the items arranged on the wall with his head, and John stared at them, speechless. The man seemed to have little patience, but John could relate to that.
After getting his thoughts together, John focused his attention on the wall, and the items stored in it became the centre of attention. Strange-looking artifacts and seemingly common objects were lined up.
"No descriptions for these items?" John thought, the crease between his eyebrows deepening.
"No need. Just tap them to read their descriptions. Everything in this store will work the same way."
John smiled and tapped on a golden sword hung in a glass case and hidden by an inscription saying ’Glacier’s Fang: +42 Strength’, his jaw clenched as he noticed its attributes and a satisfied expression emerged on his face, he could definitely use something with 42 strength, he tapped on its name again and a small price tag appeared next to it: 10000 Shop Points.
John sighed as he looked at his points, a measly 5500 points.
"These things cost a fortune."
The man shifted on the throne and his gaze flitted to the glass, and the white number changed to 20000.
John’s jaw clenched and his palms tightened around his dagger’s handle as he gazed at the smug man.
"Fucker," he muttered and released his clenched fist.
If there was one silver lining is that not many people would be able to purchase anything from the shop. He doubted there were many out there with more points than him. He spent the rest of the day browsing items like golden armour, potion jars, soul contracts, weapon cases, scrolls, books, magic necklaces, skill books, enchanted swords, armour sets, and potions were presented. John saw weapons and other items glowing in red, blue, or black. Their price tags were overwhelming.
Skill books were tempting, but the price tags were something he would rather forget. After what seemed like an opportunity, John narrowed it down to three items:
A golden orb with a snake’s eye in the middle, a set of two orbs that had the words ’Vanishing Point’ on them and the last object had a fiery tail that rose and descended incessantly, making it look like a phoenix rising from ashes.
The golden orb increased one’s luck, supposedly, but it was vague. Was the effect active at all times? And just how much ’luckier’ would someone get? It sounded great on paper, but John was not convinced.
The two orbs made the most practical item. The user should leave one orb somewhere and take the other orb with him, which would allow him to teleport directly back to the location of the first orb. Unfortunately, you could not go back and forth, but it was still an incredible item.
The last object’s function was simple enough. It was a daily replenishing orb that would produce a huge amount of fire, without having to worry about Energy. It sounded powerful, but it could not beat instant teleportation, which is why John picked the second item, the two orbs.
It was useful to get back to base quickly and could allow him to travel farther without worrying about the way back. Plus, in a pinch, it could mean a second life.
John turned towards the clerk and said, "I want this one."
"Trying to buy both of the Vanishing Orbs?" The clerk asked lazily and rubbed his tired eyes.
"Yes."
"Just bring it to the counter and tap on purchase."
John did as told, the man behind the counter disappeared and appeared next to the items. With a flick of his finger, a System window appeared in front of John.
He entered 5200 points into it and the orbs vanished from the wall and John felt them go straight into his inventory.
John tapped on purchase and the clerk disappeared from next to the items and reappeared on his throne.
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"Isn’t this item too much of a bargain?" John muttered absentmindedly and the clerk replied.
"The prices are based on an ancient civilization’s culture and the Vanishing Orbs were useless there."
John quirked an eyebrow at the clerk, he wanted to ask more questions, but he had a feeling the man would not answer. John exited the counter room and made his way back to the base, but there were a few things he wanted to pick up. His lips curled into a smirk as he eyes the sign above an unlooted store, it read ’The Pleasure Point’.