The next morning, Aion rose early and went straight to his shop. He opened the door, swept the floor, and carefully arranged the jars of food he had bought from the mall. Outside, he hung the new signboard—"Hazel Pet Care Shop"—with Hazel's cute picture painted on it.
He smiled faintly. The name was plain, deliberately so. He didn't want the people of this world to ever link this humble shop to the mysterious Origin Pet Shop, should they stumble upon it in the future. Simplicity was safety.
By ten o'clock, the order he had been waiting for arrived. The delivery man brought nine cages, each containing a spirit beast cub. After Aion signed the papers, the man left, and Aion carried the cages inside.
Currently, he couldn't use the Origin Alchemy Mall here without spending precious origin points. And by federation law, selling crafted food required certification. So for now, he simply stocked what he could.
The weekdays were always quiet—most people were at their jobs, students in their schools. Aion sat patiently, waiting for his first customer.
The cubs were placed in the Mirage Pavilion, it comes with wondrous chamber with compressed space that let beasts roam more freely and will cost nothing to Aion if he doesn't use the usual function of Mirage pavilion.Such devices were worth more than two hundred thousand star coins in the open market—yet his shop has one in built for free.
Then, Aion prepared a special meal for them: the Lunarcrest Bloom, a rank 3 spirit herb he had evolved for the 5 healing type spirit best cub he has .He recorded the process with a camera, planning to submit the footage as proof for his application to the Breeder Association for an Intermediate Breeder Certificate.
But the moment the cubs ate the herb, they curled up and fell into a deep slumber. Aion blinked. So that's the reaction? He hadn't known. All he could do was wait.
After an hour, the first beast awoke—a cub with rank 3 potential. The other four, all rank 2, stirred awake an hour later. When Aion checked them with his Origin Insight, his heart leapt. Every single one of them had learned a new skill: Dewdrop Mending, a rank C healing skill, even if only at beginner comprehension. His experiment had worked. Their market value had risen considerably—since beasts with more skills were always priced higher.
The little cubs nudged him affectionately, sensing the gift he had given them. They had eaten a miraculous herb, fallen asleep, and awoken stronger. To them, it was a surreal, dreamlike experience.
Just then, the shop doorbell jingled. Two girls in school uniforms stepped inside with a middle-aged man. They were around fifteen years old—still normal humans, not yet beast tamers. In Orryntha, the federation only conducted the talent awakening ceremony at the age of sixteen, unless one was born with an innate talent awakened early, like Kyle. There were costly potions that could force early awakening, but such luxuries were for the rich—and even then, success was not guaranteed.
The girls looked curiously at the signboard with Hazel's picture. Hearing their voices, Aion emerged from the Mirage Pavilion with a smile, happy to welcome his first customers.
When they asked about Hazel, he explained that she was his own spirit pet, gifted in healing magic. He then introduced them to the shop's services and showed them the nine spirit beast cubs he currently had.
The father, Mathew, was clearly an experienced beast tamer, far stronger than Aion. His gaze was sharp, but he noted the healthy state of the beasts, as well as the Primary Breeder badge pinned to Aion's chest. The girls, meanwhile, had already fallen for the two Bunny Leaf beasts—small, fluffy creatures with leafy ears, the cutest among Aion's stock.
Normally, such beasts had low potential, only rank 2, but they were favored as household healers. They usually had two simple skills:
Sap Bandage (Rank E) – secretes a sticky sap that covers wounds.
Cure Touch (Rank E) – heals small cuts and stops minor bleeding.
On the spirit web, their market price was around 25,000 star coins each. Aion had bought them in bulk at a breeder's discount for 20,000 star coins.
Mathew inquired about the price. Aion calmly replied: 30,000 star coins each.
Mathew frowned, annoyance flickering across his face, until Aion explained with quiet confidence that these bunnies were different. Both had learned Dewdrop Mending (Rank C, Beginner)—a skill normally only seen in rank 3 healing beasts.
The girls gasped in delight, tugging at their father's sleeve, begging him to buy them. Curious, Mathew used his Insight Device, an expensive tool that displayed beast data recorded in the federation archives.
The panel appeared:
Spirit Beast: Bunny Leaf
Level: 8
Potential: Rank 2, Mid Soldier
Skills :
Sap Bandage (Rank E, Beginner)
Dewdrop Mending (Rank C, Beginner)
(The Cure Touch skill had been overwritten by the stronger Dewdrop Mending.)
Seeing the truth, Mathew was surprised, then agreed. He purchased both beasts for 60,000 star coins and added a week's worth of spirit food for 2,000 star coins.
When Aion asked if he wished to try the shop's other services, Mathew considered, then summoned his own beast. In a shimmer of light, a wolf with ashen-gray fur and ember-streaked legs appeared—its molten eyes glowing like fire itself.
Aion checked its panel with Origin Insight:
Species: Fareflang Terra Wolf
Level: 46 (Rank 4, General)
Potential: Mid Rank 5 Commander
Aptitude : 67
Skills:
1.Ember Bite (Rank C, Perfect) – bite that inflicts scorching, lingering pain.
2. Scorch Step (Rank C, Advanced) – burst of fiery speed, leaving searing paw marks.
3. Earthen Howl (Rank C, Advanced) – ground-shaking shockwave that destabilizes foes.
4. Molten Claws (Rank C, Advanced) – claws infused with fire and earth energy, leaving burning wounds.
5. Terra-Flame Armor (Rank B, Proficient) – stone plates coated in fire protect and empower its body.
Aion offered the rates:
Spirit Nurturing Chamber for a rank 4 beast: 10,000 star coins/day (doubles growth, heals minor injuries). This includes cost of Food: a rank 3 energy cube per day, worth 5,000 star coins—but if Mathew provided his own, this cost would be removed.
Mirage Pavilion training: fight against a mirror image for 2 hours, 2,000 star coins per use.
Mathew agreed to keep his wolf in the nurturing chamber for three days, providing his own food and use Mirage pavilion for two hours daily for 3 days .The total came to 21,000 star coins, added to the 60,000 for the bunnies—83,000 star coins altogether.
At this point, Aion mentioned something unusual: the shop also accepted barter in spirit materials, not just coins. Mathew's eyebrows rose in surprise—it was a rare practice. He offered a rank 4 fire beast core. Its energy was leaking, about half remaining.
With Origin Insight, Aion gauged that it would yield about 500 origin points. Using the shop's morph function, the nurturing chamber consumed 50 points per day, and the Mirage Pavilion 20 per use. For three days, he would spend 210 points, netting a profit of about 290 points.
Still, he was honest. "This core's market price is around 60,000 star coins, so you'll need to pay the remaining 23,000 in star coins or materials of equal value."
Mathew smiled faintly, knowing he had gotten a slight bargain. The core might fetch less on the open market, but the deal favored them both. He paid the difference in star coins.
The wolf was placed in the chamber, joining Hazel, who had occupied one since morning. Mathew and his daughters departed, the girls practically glowing with joy at their new pets. They would not sign contracts with the bunnies—their potential was too low—but the beasts would still be cherished playmates and healers.
As Aion stepped outside to see them off, he spotted a great eagle-like beast soaring towards the forest. Mathew noticed his gaze. "That would be someone of the Clark family, from the capital city Santhion. They've purchased the lands near the forest and begun clearing it."
Later, searching the Spirit Web, Aion confirmed his suspicion—the Clark family were likely the ones who had bought the secret realm information from him. In the future, the city might not remain peaceful once the realm was discovered.
But that was a matter for another day.
Today, his first customers had come. His shop had earned well. And with only a few hours left before evening, Aion sat quietly, waiting for the next fateful customer.