A secluded alley, far from the bustle of the main streets.
We walked for quite a while, twisting and turning deeper into the maze of stone and shadow until, finally, our destination came into view.
"Big bro! It's here!"
Evan's face lit up the moment he spotted it. After I'd given him a handful of gold coins, his attitude had flipped instantly—suddenly all smiles and respectful bows. Now, with a proud grin plastered across his face, he pointed toward the building.
"This is it?" I asked, eyeing the shop skeptically.
"Yes, sir!"
Wedged tightly between two taller buildings, the shop looked like it was trying its best to stay hidden. No flashy signboard, no fancy decorations—just an old wooden door, worn and uninviting.
No wonder I hadn't been able to find it.
The webtoon had simply mentioned it as "a hard-to-find place," but this… this was deliberate. Almost as if the owner wanted it to stay invisible to anyone who wasn't already in the know.
And yet, somehow, Ed had stumbled across it in the story.
I couldn't help but shake my head in admiration. The protagonist's luck really was absurd.
"Well, I'll be going now! Hehe."
Evan backed away a few steps, already looking eager to bolt.
"Alright. Stay out of trouble," I said.
"Yes, sir!"
He gave me a sloppy salute before dashing off, disappearing down the alley like a rabbit escaping a hawk.
I watched him vanish, then turned back toward the shop.
Creeeeak—
The heavy wooden door groaned as I pushed it open, the hinges shrieking from years of neglect. A wave of dust tickled my throat.
"Cough! Who's there?" a voice barked from within.
An old man's voice—rough and impatient.
I stepped inside. The interior was dim, lit only by the weak glow of a single lantern. Dust clung to every surface, shelves stacked high with items that looked as though they hadn't been touched in years.
"Ah… is this a general store?" I asked carefully.
"You've come to the wrong place. Not open for business."
The shopkeeper's tone was curt, his eyes narrowing beneath shaggy brows.
I took a step further in, refusing to be turned away so easily.
"…Are you an Academy student?" he asked suddenly, his gaze sharpening as it fell on me.
"Yes," I answered honestly. "I just enrolled this year."
The old man's expression shifted—only slightly, but enough for me to notice.
For the first time since I'd entered, I felt like I was standing in the right place.
Seeing the Academy uniform I was wearing, the shop owner's expression softened just a little.
After a pause, as if lost in thought, he finally muttered, "…Go ahead and look around. Don't know if you'll find anything you like."
Exactly as I expected.
The uniform was the reason I had come here dressed this way. I knew from the webtoon that this man had a connection to the Academy.
When the protagonist first stumbled upon this very general store, the shop owner greeted him with the same gruff attitude. But the moment he spotted the uniform, his demeanor shifted.
It was later mentioned in passing that his granddaughter once attended the Academy. The details never appeared in the story, but his attitude was enough to hint that something unpleasant had happened back then.
Still, the important part was that he let me look around.
I stepped further inside and began browsing the shelves closest to the entrance.
There were the expected items—simple notebooks, ink bottles, and pens.
And then there were things that seemed almost out of place in a general store—trinkets, odd tools, and items you'd never expect to see here.
I took my time, scanning each shelf carefully.
Most of it was exactly what it looked like: random odds and ends with nothing particularly special about them.
But then—
Tucked between a stack of worn books and a basket of dull trinkets, I spotted what I had come for.
A thin, long strip of paper, faintly shimmering as if holding a breath of life within it.
Mana paper.
My lips curled into a satisfied smile.
This was exactly the item I'd been looking for.
At first glance, it looked no different from a charm. But inside it was infused with a trace amount of magical power. Its uses were countless.
Of course, it had clear limitations—something mages often considered beneath them. But for someone like me, who couldn't use magic directly, this was priceless.
With mana paper, you could create simple scrolls that stored spells for emergencies. You could use it in clever, unexpected ways during specific events.
The protagonist, blessed with absurd talent and power, would probably never even bother with something so trivial.
But for someone like me, just an "extra" in this world, items like this could mean survival.
I carefully picked it up, feeling the faint hum of magic beneath my fingertips.
Let's buy it.
Mana paper wasn't something ordinary civilians could get their hands on. Unless they were willing to pay outrageous prices at a magic tower, it was practically out of reach.
So how in the world did a regular general store end up stocking something like this?
I didn't know, and honestly, I didn't care.
I grabbed a thick stack of mana paper and tossed it into my basket without hesitation.
After that, I moved through the store with purpose, picking out items I knew would come in handy for future events.
A water bottle with a mana coating.
A cloak that regulates body temperature.
And a few other useful odds and ends.
None of them were overpowered, but that was exactly what made them valuable. They were practical—things that a normal Academy student could never dream of affording.
By the time I carried my overflowing basket to the counter, the shop owner was staring at me like I'd just declared I was buying the whole store.
"Are you… really buying all of this?"
"Yes. I need every single one."
His eyes darted from my face to the basket and back again. "You're planning to clean me out, aren't you?"
I glanced behind me at the shelves. They were practically bare, like a swarm of locusts had passed through.
I couldn't help but smile in satisfaction. "Looks that way."
Very satisfying.
I could already imagine putting these items to use at the Academy.
The shopkeeper sighed, scratching his head before finally tallying up the total. "That'll be 123 gold. But… I'll give it to you for 120."
A discount of three whole gold.
How generous. His wrinkled face almost looked kind for a moment. Almost.
But then he narrowed his eyes at me. "You look like a student. Can you really afford to pay for all this?"
The suspicion in his voice was clear, and I almost laughed.
Underestimating me, huh?
How dare you look down on the son of a Count.
Without a word, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a handful of gleaming gold coins, letting them catch the light as I placed them on the counter.
That shut him up.
Still, another thought crossed my mind as I packed away my purchases.
Right—the Dream Orb.
It wasn't exactly convenient to keep carrying it around in my pocket. Losing something like that would be a disaster.
"By the way," I asked casually, "do you happen to have any accessories? Something like a bracelet that could hold this?"
I pulled out the orb just enough for him to see.
The old man's eyes widened instantly. His jaw dropped.
"This is… a Dream Orb?"
I froze.
…What?
How does he know about this?
The old man's eyes widened the instant he saw the orb in my hand.
"W-Where on earth did you get this…!"
I stiffened under his piercing gaze. There was no way I could tell him the truth—that I'd brought it from Arcana. So I forced a casual smile and blurted out the first excuse that came to mind.
"It's… well, kind of a family heirloom. Something that's been passed down."
The words sounded flimsy even to me, but it was better than nothing.
The shopkeeper's wrinkled hands suddenly shot out, clutching mine with surprising strength. His grip trembled, but his voice was urgent, desperate even.
"Please… please grant me one request!"
I blinked, caught off guard. His expression was a mixture of awe and fear, as though the orb in my palm wasn't just a trinket but something sacred.
So this was it.
I hadn't expected it to happen so soon, but the moment had finally arrived.
The time to use the Dream Orb… had come earlier than I thought.