After another extremely long and tiring day of work, just like the last three days, I closed the front door of my store, trying to suppress the urge to yawn.
I'd actually completed the template a few hours ago, but I've been in business long enough to know that changing my business hours during the day would have a negative impact on my store.
Standing at the front door of my store, I briefly glanced at the business hours sign hanging there, then, without hesitation, I pulled out some chalk from my pocket to change the text on the sign.
"We regret to inform you that Eren Store will be unavailable for a few days..."
Finally, I'm done with the damn template, and now I can rest freely. Well, considering the entire multiverse, it's really unlikely that the next character to emerge from the template will be a business-related character.
Any normal person would probably be quite curious right now about what kind of reward I've earned after working excessive hours for days.
Well, not me.
Damn Rekt is so greedy that he wouldn't even let me take a bath without sacrificing a few hours of sleep.
*Stomach growls*
Right, I forgot.
Unlike the previous days, today I ignored Ichiraku ramen without hesitation and went straight to Yahiku Q restaurant.
There are only two restaurants open at this time of night in the entire village. One of them is Ichiraku ramen, Konoha's most value-for-money restaurant, and the other is Yahiku Q barbecue restaurant, which only caters to ninjas' extremely high protein needs while still providing them with a sense of enjoyment.
The first day, I was incredibly hungry, so I considered eating meat, but the moment I entered the restaurant, my resemblance to the stereotype disappeared. Then, thanks to a hint I received in the system, I learned what the problem was. Rekt is actually both money-hungry and stingy...
How can someone be both money-hungry and stingy?
I mean, this is ridiculous!
Because you're a money lover, you'll have plenty of it, but because you're a stingy person, you won't be able to spend it. So, if you don't like spending money, why resort to inhumane methods to make it?
Learning that Trader Rekt is a stingy person almost reached my breaking point.
I'd have breakfast before sunrise and get ready for work, and I'd keep working until nightfall, when even the ninjas would have gone home. And all by myself...
And at the end of the day, I'd get a plate of ramen in return.
That damned stingy template wouldn't even let me have a fancy ramen.
You can imagine what happened when I came home at the end of the day, undernourished, overworked, and sleep-deprived, only to wake up very early the next day and go back to work.
I didn't even have to pretend to be mean anymore.
I was so frustrated by all this torture that I even considered fighting the template for two months and finally finishing it with over 50% similarity.
But then it occurred to me that ninja school will start in just two years. It's important to remember that Naruto and Sasuke are five this year. So, along with ninja school, the original story only has two years left until it begins.
If I want to be more than just cannon fodder, I only have seven or eight years to get stronger quickly.
If the system keeps churning out templates of characters like this, nothing will truly change in my life.
And I need to change. Even if it's not entirely me who's changing, something has to change.
I can't spend my life sitting idle, waiting for something to happen.
What if I make a mistake beyond my control and I'm still there when Pain attacks the village?
Am I going to die? Will I be able to return without any problems? Will it really be me who returns, or a clone of me who thinks it's me?
"Fuck!"
I finally let myself out because my thoughts were starting to spiral out of control, and that reminded me of where I was.
I wanted to lift my head and look around, but my head was resting on a pillow. The familiar ceiling frame was before my eyes.
When did I eat? When did I leave Yainiku Q? When did I come home and go to bed?
I stretched my legs, kneaded my face roughly with both hands, and got out of bed and went to the bathroom.
I wasn't sure of the answers to any of the questions I'd just asked, but as I looked at myself in the mirror, I realized I'd learned the answer to the most important question I'd been afraid to ask.
"No, of course I don't want to gamble my life away and settle for a boring life. Damn it!"
After saying these words with such fervor, almost as if I were cursing my face in the mirror, I realized my breathing had become uneven.
It was probably the adrenaline I was releasing.
After all, just a few seconds ago, I'd made a decision that would change my entire life.
I noticed a strange smile creeping onto my face, and I decided to divert my attention to something else to calm the adrenaline rush.
And I already have something pretty good to focus my attention on.
[Congratulations, you've completed the one-star template "Trader Rekt" with the highest similarity level.]
[Click this box to start distributing your rewards.]
It actually worked.
I took a deep breath, calmed myself, and bent my neck to the side, then clicked the box the system prompted me to click.
[Congratulations, you've leveled up for the first time. You've unlocked your profile page and skill page.]
[You've earned three specialization cards as a reward for completing the template.]
….......
I've been too busy to write a chapter for the past few days. Sorry...
-------------------
And I have bad news...
I hear Thanos is rapidly approaching our world. If he gets his hands on all the power stones we have, he will destroy us.
So I have a plan: Give me all the Power Stones you have, and I'll keep them safe before the Great War.