*Beep*
Groaning, the man turned a bit in the uncomfortable bed, swinging his arm limply off of it to turn off the alarm.
"Thought I changed that tone." He muttered, hand hitting nothing.
*Beep*
"Shut up." He sat up, rubbing his eyes to force the sleep out of them. "Can't even remember a simple setting, stupid... phone..."
He trailed off, eyes now open to see what was most definitely not his room. Peeling wallpaper, a somewhat askew nightstand next to his mattress in a bedframe. The pillow at least looked fine, but everything else looked almost uncared for, like it's been abandoned for years. The floorboard looked like wood, thankfully the only area of this room that did look like it's at least been swept. In fact, there was a disturbing lack of dust on everything around, like there's been upkeep on only cleaning.
*Beep*
He snaps his attention to the screen in front of him, translucent with a slight blue tint to it. A small message was waiting for him.
*Exit bedroom to begin*
The message disappeared the instant he finished reading it, the beeping leaving with it. Sitting in silence, still dazed and not really sure if this was even a dream, one thought was running through his mind.
'The hell's going on?'
He didn't say it was a good thought, nor even a particularly deep one. But really, what else was there to think? He woke up in a strange place with a message that shouldn't possibly be capable of existing. Holograms don't work like that, so it can't be that!
Shaking his head, he sighed and got out of bed, feet hitting the cold wood as he made his way to the door.
"Not a dream." He muttered to himself, glaring weakly at the wooden door, peeling similarly to the wallpaper in the room. He doesn't always realize when he's dreaming - but this felt real.
Stepping through the creaking door, he quickly looks around what could only be a shop of some sort.
Slightly dusty shelves that hold different kinds of food, some cans of beans here, different types of cereal over there, plenty of different food options. Next to some of the shelves looked to be some bottles of water, both on a shelf and in what looked to be a cooler of some sort, glass on the front with a handle letting him see inside.
In front of him was a counter with a register on it, nothing but a baseball bat on his side and he can't see if there's anything up front. A small plastic container was next to the register with sticks of beef jerky poking out, and a tip jar on the opposite side of it.
There was a glass door on the opposite side of the room, a sign saying 'Welcome' facing him, the string holding it on the door was twisted slightly.
'The other side of it probably says Closed' He thinks, taking a step to leave whatever this place is immediately, only for a small screen to pop up in front of him.
*Flip the sign to open the Store*
"Yeah, no." He ignored the message, heading to the door and pulling the handle.
Doesn't budge.
He pushes it, pulls it, tries to leverage his feet on the wall for more force-
Nothing. He's stuck in here. Not that he could see through the cloudy glass to know where he was anyway.
"Ok, ok. This is fine." He runs a hand through his hair, taking a deep breathe. "Just locked in a store for some reason, that's completely normal. Happens every day, right?" He glances at the stockpile of food around him. "At least I won't starve to death."
Silver linings.
He walks around the little pawn shop, since it's definitely too big to be an actual store, to find that there's nothing besides this room and the bedroom. Thankfully, there was a bathroom hiding around some meaningless corner in the shop area.
It seemed to be the only place spotless and taken care of, with some stalls and urinals making it seem like a public bathroom, but without the bad smells or stains.
He found himself sitting at the counter, a stool hiding behind it to rest a bit as he stared at the message.
"Ok, uh... can you hear me?" He asked the little screen.
It doesn't change.
"Ok, fair enough." He mutters. "Umm... what am I doing here?"
Nothing.
"Ok, what do I need to do to leave?" He tries again.
Nothing, again.
"Ugh!" He slams his head on the wooden counter, ignoring the new pain in his head now. "Can't you tell me anything?" He asks, glaring at the little blue screen.
The words glow faintly, as if to reiterate what it wants him to do.
...
"Fine." He sighs, getting up and lazily walking over to the door. "You're a dick ya know." He casually tells the unchanging screen, flipping the sign around and confirming his thoughts, 'Closed' being on the other side.
"There, ya happy-"
The screen flickers, changing a bit as it fills his screen.
*Current Objective: Make a Sale or Trade One Item*
Huh?
"The hell does that mean?" He demands the screen to no avail. "I'm not a salesman! I don't work here!"
Thankfully, the screen deemed fit to answer at least one of his questions.
*You are the New Owner of this Multiversal Pawn Shop*
...
"That's it?" He asked, dumbfounded. "Clearly you're a System of some type, can't you give me more help than that? What am I expected to see? Can I get stronger? Who am I selling to? What all am I able to sell?"
Nothing, again.
"I don't like you." He grumbles, walking over to the counter and sitting down, looking around the shop with a bored expression.
'Guess this is my life now.'