The Other World's Daiso
Ian stepped into his room and immediately opened Everything About Skills - Basic Edition, forgetting to even take off his coat. The book’s writing style was gentle and simple, like a grandmother telling a fairy tale to a child. Thanks to that, he was instantly pulled into its pages.
Even as he mechanically shoveled cooling cream pasta into his mouth, his focus never wavered once from the moment he started until he closed the final page.
The book’s core explanation of the skill system could be summarized like this:
Innate skills granted at birth improved with excruciating slowness. Much like experience points in a game. Then, once proficiency reached a critical threshold, a ‘trial’ would arrive without warning at some point in one’s life. Essentially a promotion quest.
For example, a cook with a cooking skill might suddenly face the task of preparing an outlandish, never-before-seen dish of impossible difficulty. The person judging it would almost certainly be the world’s most finicky gourmet.
In that desperate moment, the cook would instinctively understand: this was the crossroads that would decide their fate. Their one and only chance to raise the skill’s rank had arrived.
If the cook somehow succeeded in creating the perfect dish, the quest would be cleared and the skill would advance. But if they failed, they would have no choice but to spend years grinding out more proficiency until the next opportunity appeared.
Still, failing a quest was no reason to despair. There was another path to power.
By digging into the very root of the skill and expanding it yourself.
In truth, every skill was essentially a fragment of divine magic bestowed by the chief god. So if one studied magical theory, deeply analyzed the spell formulas, runes, and magic circles embedded within their own skill, everything changed. They could design and add ‘sub-skills’ of the same category directly into their skill window.
The moment someone successfully created even one sub-skill through their own power, they transcended the rank of mere skill user and earned the right to be called a true mage.
Of course… magical theory doesn’t exactly sound like easy studying.
Even Ian, who had been in this world for less than a month, could guess as much. After all, though he had walked through a bustling city filled with crowds, mages were rarer than beans in a drought. Clearly, mastering an innate skill and establishing proper magical theory were realms apart.
Ian scratched his head absently, then rose from his chair and stretched with a loud crack. The deep crimson sunset outside the window painted long shadows across his extended body. The sun had already set without him noticing.
He walked over to the candlestick on the wall, struck a match, and lit the flame. After returning the empty bowl to the kitchen with the flickering candlelight at his back, he paused to examine his reflection in the mirror.
Having spent the entire morning hauling books out of a dusty pit and cleaning, his whole body felt sticky. He desperately wanted to soak in hot water, but Ian hurried to prepare for another outing instead. Sleeping in his outdoor clothes every night had finally reached its limit.
Today, I’m definitely buying pajamas.
His shopping goals were simple: comfortable sleepwear he could wear lightly to bed, and a large, sturdy backpack capable of holding his growing collection of belongings.
Ian went downstairs and asked Grandma Masa for a shop that offered good quality at reasonable prices. Following her recommendation, his destination was the Old Oak General Store, located on the western main road after leaving the alleyway.
When he arrived in front of the store, Ian stopped dead in his tracks, mouth hanging open.
“Whoa… this is really a general store?”
The Old Oak General Store was on an absolutely massive scale. A towering three-story wooden building stood imposingly in the middle of the main avenue, completely different from the quaint little shops in the alley. It felt like someone had transported a modern superstore—or a Daiso—straight into this fantasy world.
Above the entrance hung a magnificent sign shaped like an ancient tree, seemingly capable of holding every item in existence. Bright lights spilled through the large glass windows, illuminating the night street. Ian stepped inside as if drawn by a spell.
Ding—!
The cheerful chime of a bell greeted him, and the sight that unfolded was nothing short of paradise. Rows of tall display shelves packed with every imaginable product made the fatigue from wrestling with dusty books all morning vanish instantly. In this vast shopping sanctuary where browsing alone could easily eat up five or six hours, Ian’s eyes sparkled as he grabbed a shopping basket.
According to the guide sign on the wall, the first floor sold stationery and daily necessities, the second floor offered clothing and bedding, and the third floor carried camping gear and adventurer equipment.
Oh man, I’m losing it. My eyes are spinning. I want to buy everything.
First, Ian checked his wallet. His entire fortune came to 6 gold and 6 silver.
Alright. I’ll spend exactly 6 silver. Start with pajamas, then look around slowly.
With feet as light as feathers, Ian headed up to the second floor. The pajama section displayed endless varieties of styles and materials. Prices varied wildly. The cheapest set cost only 1 silver and 5 stones, while the highest-grade pajamas with a subtle luxurious sheen were kept reverently inside a glass case at a staggering 10 gold. A haughty warning sign beside them read, ‘If you’re not going to buy it, don’t touch.’
“Heh, it’s almost too intimidating to even browse.”
Ian gave a dry laugh and picked up a reasonable 3-silver pajama set. It wasn’t high-grade silk, but the soft, breathable sky-blue fabric felt perfect. Satisfied, he placed it in his basket and moved on to the third floor, eager to see this world’s camping supplies and adventurer equipment.
The moment he saw the third floor, his jaw dropped once again.
What the… These camping supplies. Aren’t they better than what we had on modern Earth?
Ian examined the top-tier tents inscribed with dense magical patterns, eyes trembling with excitement. They came standard with thermal and waterproof enchantments, and even permanent space-expansion magic layered on top. Though they looked like ordinary one-person tents from the outside, peering inside revealed a miraculous fivefold increase in interior space.
How much could something like this possibly cost… Hiek, 250 gold?!
Stunned by the tent’s outrageous price, Ian could only smack his lips before moving to the next corner. There he found fishing rods that emitted magical auras to lure fish, magic crystals that could sustain a campfire for three full days with a single ignition, and more. Magic scrolls serving as flint substitutes and thin, waterproofed leather coats also caught shoppers’ eyes.
Ian carefully examined the camping backpacks, but most were made of leather with intricate waterproof magic circles, making them painfully expensive. Even the cheapest one cost a hefty 15 gold, so he turned away without hesitation. What he needed right now wasn’t flashy magical gear but a practical bag that could simply hold plenty of luggage.
After finishing with the camping section, Ian headed to the third floor’s main attraction: the adventurer supplies corner. The area was far more crowded than the others. Veteran adventurers with rugged builds and fierce expressions mingled with curious browsers like Ian, creating a strange tension in the air.
Mixed among them, Ian’s eyes began to sparkle with genuine interest as he examined the displays. Every item was a mysterious magical tool designed to make labyrinth exploration significantly easier.
There were magic necklaces that disrupted monster focus, brooches that maintained stable body temperature in extreme heat or cold, magical wraps that preserved food freshness, and rings that healed minor wounds in real time.
They’re all support tools for exploration.
Just then, a quiet conversation between nearby browsers drifted into his ears.
“Man… none of these prices are cheap. They start at 50 gold minimum.”
“Want to hear something even crazier? Almost everything here is a consumable that only lasts about a week.”
“No way. Consumables at these prices?”
“The labyrinth is filled with vicious dark mana. To keep functioning while resisting that filth, the manufacturing cost goes way beyond imagination.”
As Ian mentally filed away this new information, the whispering pair disappeared back into the crowd.
A labyrinth, huh. I wonder what kind of place it is…?
For a moment, Ian tried to picture the mysterious location in his mind. But he soon shook his head, deciding it was probably somewhere that would never concern him. Of course, just how wrong that assumption was would only become clear many years later.
For now, the current Ian simply murmured, “That was quite an interesting sight,” and headed back down to the first floor with light steps.
In the daily goods section on the first floor, he selected a large cloth backpack for 3 silver and placed it in his basket. The fabric was thick and sturdy—it looked like it could withstand rough treatment without complaint.
Just as he had planned, Ian spent exactly 6 silver and wrapped up his first shopping trip at the Old Oak General Store in a very satisfying and successful manner.