"This is the right tab. But why… Rubby, what's with this shop? There's nothing in it. Just a blank white screen with this search bar?"
[Hm… because it's an engine, Chef. Like whenever you open the homepage of a search engine on Earth, it's always a blank page with the search bar fixed in the center, right?]
Dravin rolled his eyes up in thought.
What Rubby said had a point. So, this shop is like Google? But wasn't that too abstract?
He sighed and started typing in the search bar beneath the artistic typography of "ShopaLyfe," his lips down-turned in skepticism.
He typed: Mind Reading Skill. Then he pressed Enter.
An hourglass icon began flipping over, next to constantly changing text that read like a monologue waiting message:
Dravin chuckled at the dry humor of the waiting messages. It had the audacity to tease him.
With the hourglass still flipping, he took back what he said about it reminding him of Google.
This was taking way too long. It seemed it wasn't as advanced as search engines on Earth.
After several seconds, the hourglass vanished, replaced by text:
Dravin's eyes lit up at what the ShopaLyfe provided:
===
Temporal Telepathy:
Category: Psychic Skill
Minimum System Progress Requirement: 30%
Price: 225,000 coins
How to use: Every use needs Charisma 60,000, Fame 60,000, and Aura 75,000 points. Valid for 12 hours, usable only 3 times a week.
Effect: You can hear the unspoken thoughts of a person when making direct eye contact.
===
Dravin's brows lifted reading how maddeningly expensive the price was.
However, what amazed him more was how the shop system managed to provide perfect details for the mind-reading power he imagined.
He often saw in movies that a superhero given the ability to read minds often had their life disturbed, struggling to control the overwhelming nature of the power.
Dravin's grin widened at how meticulous this system was. Did that mean I could type in anything and the shop would automatically adjust it to my desires?
He became excited to explore the shop.
From groceries, clothing, and bags, to household needs, electronics, and home construction materials—anything Dravin typed was available.
Not only everyday physical goods, but also items combined with advanced technology were there, such as dining tables with TV screens, AI tripods that could self-adjust their angle, and robot kitchen assistants.
Dravin also tried searching for superpowers he often read about in novels or saw in movies, and surprisingly, the shop could give him that, with a little adjustment.
It seemed that if he searched for an ability, the shop would get annoyed while 'cooking' it and adjust the ability to what Dravin needed.
Mostly, the shop gave sarcastic remarks—saying he didn't really need those kinds of abilities—and would hit him with maddeningly expensive prices or petty usage limits.
Even so, Dravin remained amazed by the shop's capabilities.
He felt its only limit was his imagination and creativity.
It seemed like a divine convenience store that reminded him of Doraemon's pocket, though here he actually had to pay for what he wanted.
Still, the impossible was possible with this shop. Dravin giggled in amusement, eager to use it when the time came.
[Are you having fun, Chef?] Rubby's soft voice interrupted Dravin's exploration.
"This shop… has everything. No wonder there's no product display," Dravin replied cheerfully.
[Yes, Chef. ShopaLyfe is your personal shopper. It can give you whatever you need. Use it wisely.]
Dravin blew out a breath through pursed lips, smirking at Rubby's lecture to use the shop wisely.
Of course. Unlike Doraemon's pocket, where you just grab and use, he needed to budget his coins and stats here.
He began to grasp what Rubby was saying about this system evolving based on Dravin himself.
Even the shop was solely based on what he wanted it to sell.
Dravin yawned as his creative juices started to run dry after typing every kind of prompt on the shop.
He could buy some items with his current stats and coins, but he didn't truly need them. Better to save it for later.
"Rubby, where's the next task? Or should I just execute my plan alone?"
[Move first, Chef. I can't say when the next missions will happen. Just finish your blueprint first, and I'm sure the tasks for system progression will follow.]
"So finishing my blueprint targets won't give me an increase in system progression?"
[No, Chef. System progression only comes with a task code. If you accidentally save a target along the way, you'll just… um not really just, I mean you'll get money and coins as rewards.]
Rubby's answer confirmed his presumption.
System completion would require more than just saving people and catching demons.
He tilted his head, and the glitter of the night sky caught his eye.
On Earth, he'd have to go to a remote desert to see such a clear Milky Way.
Here, he could see it just through the window from his bed.
Then he wondered: on Earth, he always escaped to the countryside or camped on a mountain for a beautiful night view or just to breathe clean air.
Yet here in Vitaronia, there was no pollution, no non-stop 24-hour bustle. Why was this world so depressed despite such a blessed environment?
He could understand if it was Dravin Austin's life—a low-class person who struggled just to put food on the table daily.
But what about the high class? The elite? The middle class? Could it be that most of the possessed humans were from the low class? Was the problem really just a lack of entertainment?
Dravin yawned again, and his eyes grew heavy.
He looked at the decaying, worn wooden window frame, a stark contrast to the full glass window that faced the ocean in his Rockaway Beach condo.
What was so good about entertainment? Money? Fame? Well, he guessed he had lived well then.
"Rubby, you can go. I want to sleep."