'What should I buy for her?' Noa mused. Having more than one choice did little to ease his misery, leaving him in a difficult situation with no obvious option.
It's been a good three years since he last saw Mia. It left him with no understanding of how her mind worked or what kind of gift she would like. 'She… she loved manga and webnovels. Would she still enjoy them?'
Standing in front of an expensive bag store, all Noa could recall was Mia's lost expression as she immersed herself in books.
He quickly made up his mind and located the nearest bookstore. The mall had a large selection of manga and webnovels he could buy and send to her.
Instead of wasting time dwelling on pointless thoughts, he searched for the specific genres he thought Mia might enjoy and asked the staff to deliver them to the same location where he had sent the TV.
"Your total is $880. How would you like to pay?" the young man with a goatee asked, waiting for Noa to complete the transaction.
'Should I just see how my negotiation skills work?' Noa thought, considering testing his increased luck.
"Hmm, considering how many I'm planning to buy, it would really help if we could lower the amount. What do you think?" he asked, his voice measured and deep.
No magical particles danced around the man, nor did music play in Noa's ears to announce whether his luck had worked or not.
The only thing he could rely on was the man's answer. Thankfully, asking for a discount worked.
"Sure. You are a new customer, right? Seeing that you are buying this many in one go, I think I can lower the price. How does $700 sound?"
"Pleasure to do business with you," Noa said, smiled, and offered a handshake.
He wasn't sure if his luck played any role, but the outcome was all that mattered.
» [Milestone Achieved]
» [As a new tycoon, you should know how to negotiate and set prices for yourself. Remember, you are the one who controls the market—not the other way around.]
» [+10 Tycoon Points (TP—You can exchange them for additional benefits when you visit your first establishment)]
'Wow. Finally? Now I know what this point system was for.' Noa exclaimed upon discovering a new feature.
It didn't come as a surprise, but he knew that gaining more features would make his job not only easier but also more interesting.
After paying with his card, Noa left the mall. Before going back into his new world, memories he had buried resurfaced. It started with laughter, continued with arguments, and halted with silence.
Part of him wished for a quick meet-up with Mia and his father, but another part whispered a warning about the flaws he had yet to overcome.
Still, Noa kept his choice.
Shaking his head, he addressed the system,
"Let's go back. We have a last mission to complete."
The moment he announced his will to leave, an idling system panel appeared out of thin air and sucked him inside.
Noa saw and felt nothing in this vast nothingness until he emerged onto a familiar street.
The road was bustling, and loud noises jolted his senses back to life.
"I am back," he said. "What should I do?"
The question was directed to the system. Now that he had completed previous missions, all Noa was left with was a quest to open his first establishment.
But the only way he knew was to increase profit, which allowed him to do it the old-fashioned way—by purchasing a physical location and turning it into his first store.
However, Noa had a system.
The very presence of this magical thing told him that he had other options as well.
Sure enough, his prediction turned out to be true.
[Your first store is ready. Return to your vendor and see it with your own eyes. But don't assume that you can just open it and finish the mission—there is still a lot you need to do.]
The system's voice remained unchanged.
It didn't demand anything from Noa—its robotic voice was designed solely to aid him.
Not wasting time, he strolled through the street. The scent of incense mingled with the wet wind, giving him a sense of new familiarity. Noa dropped his speed for a moment.
Before arriving at his vendor, he glanced around the other stalls filled with ancient jade pendants.
The air also sang with faint spiritual energy he couldn't feel.
Basking in this distinct atmosphere for only a second was enough for him. So he quickened his pace again.
Merely to encounter something he wasn't used to in this new world. His destination lay at the far end of the street, but instead of the small, shabby wooden stall, Noa found himself staring at a one-story building.
[It's yours,] the system said indifferently. [Now you know I am not taking your profit for nothing.]
Even though Noa could hear the words, he was too occupied to digest them. There were obsidian-like glass windows, hiding everything inside.
Strong traces of the spiritual energy were seeping out of it.
It hinted that either dangers or treasures were hidden beyond the dark frames. Even Noa, despite his blocked meridians, could feel the tension and tell that the shop was alive, watching him as if it were an abyss daring him to look away.
But strangely, Noa felt a connection to this building.
It was an alien, foreign, and weird shop, yet he felt no fear toward it.
Opening the wooden door with a cold metallic handle, Noa saw nothing but emptiness inside. There were no items to sell, no shelves to stock, and no counter to welcome customers.
[From this moment on, you are the owner of this building. But before the grand opening, you need to spend TycoonPoints and bring some life to this emptiness.]
And before Noa could even ask how the hell he should do that, rows of notifications appeared in front of him.
{Nameless Store}
{Market Value: 0}
{Employees: 0}
{Items Currently on Sale: Shampoo; Fidget Spinner}
{Rooms You Currently Own: 3}
{Click to customize and reconstruct them according to your vision.}