The General Store
The General Store.
As time went on, the players kept gathering, but only a limited number could enter the General Store. Worse, only one person inside was allowed to buy anything. If two went in, only one could come out alive. The crowd waiting out front could grow, and grow, and never shrink.
A sea of bodies packed the space before the store. That was where Yujun arrived.
At first, no one recognized him.
"Shin Yujun?"
"I-It's really Shin Yujun."
"Didn't he already leave? Why's he back?"
"Haah..."
The players groaned. Shin Yujun was, in name and in fact, the strongest there was, and this was not even his first appearance. He had shown his face at the General Store twice. They already had no confidence they would ever get to buy a single item, and with him standing there, of course none of them could be glad to see him.
"Fine. If it's come to this, just wipe us all out. I'd rather you drop a Meteor on us like last time."
"Are you insane?"
"No, think about it. If none of us can buy anything from the General Store anyway, we might as well all die together. And hey, you can't rule out the chance that I get lucky, survive, and walk in myself."
"Say something that makes sense."
"Right? Pretty hard, isn't it?"
"Yeah."
"I was just talking. It's all so bleak."
Every step Yujun took, the crowd parted before him like the Red Sea. Even players who had been trying to kill one another a moment ago wore sheepish looks and backed away.
Being famous sure makes this convenient.
A broad, open road unfolded ahead of him. All he had to do was walk. No one tried to ambush him. They knew perfectly well what happened to anyone foolish enough to try.
"Hm?"
Heading for the entrance, Yujun caught a familiar presence. Demon God Worshippers. He drew up his mana and cast Space Domination, and its power was unmistakably greater than before.
Crunch. Crack.
Three Demon God Worshippers who had been quietly watching died in an instant. Yujun smiled, satisfied. When it came to a silent ambush, nothing beat this. The other players, unlike him, went white. They were terrified they might be next. This time, though, he killed no one else.
Fewer Demon God Worshippers than I expected.
Aside from the three he had just killed, there were none. Players of that caliber should still have been alive, and it felt strange that there were so few of them.
Are they gathered somewhere else?
Where else on this deserted island could they even be? He would look once he was finished here. Either way, so long as the Demon God Worshippers didn't use the General Store, that was enough.
Yujun stepped inside. To his surprise, Caston was there.
"Y-You?"
"Oh, good to see you. So this is where you've been."
As far as Yujun knew, Caston was the only living member of the Dragon-Fang. He remembered sparing him because he rated his potential highly and wanted him as a comrade. That had been during the first event.
"Yeah. Good to see you..."
Caston greeted him with an awkward expression.
"You buy everything?"
"Uh...? I've still got points left, so I was looking around a bit more..."
"You bought everything, right?"
"Y-Yes."
"Mind if I use it now?"
"Go ahead..."
For some reason, Caston's back was bent nearly double.
And his face is dark... Did something happen?
He could have sworn the man had been grinning a moment ago. Why the sudden drop in mood? Yujun couldn't figure it out. He scratched his head, and Caston heaved a heavy sigh and left the General Store.
That was when Kantra, the store's manager, spoke up.
"Oh? You're back?"
"Yeah."
"What's going on? You spent all your points earlier."
He had. Cleanly. When he walked out of the General Store, his score had been zero—every last point paid over in exchange for Ner's sponsorship. That was no longer the case.
"Mind showing me the goods?"
"No, your points—"
"I've got them. You'll see as soon as you look."
Kantra had no choice but to bring up a hologram window.
"...Grade?"
"Mythic, to start."
"Got it."
Even the Mythic-grade equipment started above three hundred thousand points, and that was the cheap end. Some pieces approached a million. Nor was every Mythic equipment item even stocked. Set beside the Mythic gear already sitting in Yujun's inventory, these were a notch lower, and there were far fewer of them.
"W-Wait. What are you?"
Kantra stared at him, startled.
"What?"
"That score of yours. What is that? Sixty million? Not six million?"
"Don't interrupt. I'm shopping."
Yujun began buying the Mythic-grade equipment one piece at a time. He already owned every one of them, but having extras never hurt. He had just passed ten pieces when it happened.
Points spent at the General Store have exceeded 40,000,000!
Player Shin Yujun may now use the General Store (VIP).
"VIP?"
Yujun narrowed his eyes. He'd become a VIP? So that was how it worked—you only qualified after spending a massive forty million points.
"......"
That doesn't make any sense. Who gathers forty million?
There was a way to hunt God's Minions. It wasn't exactly the orthodox method, but it was practically the only way to reach the VIP shop.
Not that I'm one to talk, but is there anyone that insane?
Wandering around catching God's Minions just to farm points. Even considering killing a God's Minion in the first place was not a sane way of thinking. If someone actually gathered forty million points, they were either completely out of their mind or a lunatic. No question.
Yujun lost interest in the Mythic tab.
"How do I look at the VIP shop?"
"...Uh. Well."
"You don't know?"
"Nope."
"Why? Why on earth don't you know?"
"I don't know because I don't know. Someone would have had to tell me."
"......"
Yujun clicked his tongue. The VIP shop had opened, and he had no idea how to use it. Even Kantra, who managed the General Store, didn't know. Her face didn't look like a lie, and she had no reason to tell one.
"So what now?"
Kantra looked troubled. She had nothing to offer him. No one had ever passed the information along.
"We'll have to look, won't we?"
"Me?"
"...What's with that look? You want me to find it?"
Kantra glared at him. Yujun smiled and shook his head.
"Come on. I'm not that much of a scumbag."
"...You just admitted you are one, didn't you?"
"Did it come out that way?"
He closed his eyes and spread his mana. He doubted this would actually find anything, but it was far better than standing still.
Should I call Tapagol or Paranet?
No. Even if they came, they wouldn't find it right away, and it would only tangle his route.
I'll look myself.
He didn't expect time to be that tight. The reason was simple enough. Very few players had used the General Store, and not much time had passed since they warped to the deserted island for the third event. From what he had seen so far, the events rarely ended quickly. A vast amount of mana began draining from his body. He had cast a search spell.
I'll need to pull out a potion.
To comb this entire island, he would need a mana potion again. That was when it happened.
Beep—!
A message arrived through the messenger. Yujun, who had only just begun the search, frowned and opened it. The irritation lasted only a moment. The instant he read what was there, his face smoothed out at remarkable speed—the look of a man who had found his peace of mind. He had reason.
Unbelievable. Showing up again with exactly the information he needed, right when he needed it. Did Manuela have something going on? Look at this timing. It was almost enough to make him wonder if she were possessed.
Yujun memorized the route just as Manuela gave it to him, slipped out of the General Store at once, and headed for the VIP shop.
"Huh? He's leaving again."
"Why's he going so fast?"
"Then what did he even come here for?"
"Well, works out for us. At least we won't die getting caught in some pointless attack."
"I can breathe again. Thank god."
Since becoming a player, he had never once forgotten something he memorized. Because of that, he reached his destination without difficulty. Manuela was standing behind a large boulder.
"What are you doing over there?"
"Nothing."
Her face was sullen.
What's with her?
Yujun got straight to the point.
"This the place you meant?"
"Yeah."
"Where is it?"
"That burrow over there. Try to go in and a message should pop up. It says only VIPs can enter."
The burrow Manuela indicated was extremely narrow. Narrow enough that he wondered how anyone had gotten into it at all.
"How did you even think to go in there?"
"...I wasn't trying to go in."
"Hm? Then what?"
"Well..."
Manuela hesitated. It wasn't like her.
"Tell me. What happened?"
"...Ugh. Fine. I was running, I tripped, and I just happened to fall into this burrow."
"......"
Hmm. Fair enough that she'd be embarrassed. That much, at least.
"You are a witch, right?"
"......"
"A pure-blooded witch, no less. You've lived for thousands of years—"
"Do not actually say that."
"Yes."
Manuela glared at him, eyes blazing. Yujun found himself nodding before he realized it.
"Anyway. I just go in here, right?"
"Yeah. But they said only a VIP can."
"It's fine. I can get in."
"How?"
"You'll see."
Yujun stuck his feet into the burrow first. A hologram window appeared before his eyes.
There it was. He had met the conditions, so it seemed he could enter at once. No reason to hesitate.
"Be right back."
"You can actually go in?"
"Yeah."
"...You used another item, didn't you?"
"I just spent a lot of points at the General Store and became a VIP. I wasn't even aiming for it. You've got to call that luck."
"That's luck...?"
"Isn't it? Anyway, I'm going. You don't have to wait."
With that, Yujun entered the burrow. His body broke into particles and vanished in an instant.
General Store (VIP).
The atmosphere was certainly different from the General Store where Kantra had been. That place had at least pretended to be furnished. This was nothing but a cave—not a man-made one, but a cavern that looked as if nature had formed it. The floor was damp, and puddles dotted it here and there.
"For a VIP shop, the hospitality leaves a lot to be desired."
The space wasn't particularly large, and he couldn't see any goods prepared for a VIP. Were you meant to buy items the same way as at the General Store? Looking around, nothing in particular stood out. Yujun was about to take a step when it happened.
Welcome to the General Store (VIP)!
The General Store (VIP) does not carry many goods, but it sells only the rarest items—things that are exceedingly difficult to obtain no matter where you go.
After 15 minutes, you will be returned to your original location.
Yujun read the hologram through at a glance.
"A time limit? That's harsh."
Even as he muttered the complaint, a hologram window rose in front of him.
W-Wait.
The moment he saw the VIP shop's item list, Yujun's eyes flew wide.
They're selling this?