Zaid hadn't expected this, but seeing that this girl had found a way to pluck up the courage to enter the store, he didn't hesitate to inform her.
"You must sign a partial confidentiality agreement with the system. There are a few conditions, but they're not many and they're not unreasonable." Zaid pressed a button on his system and showed her the conditions.
The conditions ranged from not betraying the store to not promoting it. Many of the rules were stupid; even Juliet noticed that.
How could it sell without promoting itself?
But thinking about it... this man had a store in the Echo Dimension, the place where all the Soulbeast belong, a desolate world, and he set such strict and stupid rules... Didn't that mean he didn't care whether it sold or not?
'Is he a god?' she thought. It was likely, although she didn't know if there were gods in this world.
Well, she was never one to dwell on nonsense; she quickly came to her senses. The conditions imposed by the store were not binding, so she simply nodded.
"I want to do it," she said.
"Very well." Zaid then sent her another system window. "Choose what you're interested in buying; the store will issue missions based on your interest. You can choose many things, a single thing, or, of course, the game behind me. You can still use the Aexther Coins you earn for whatever you want, even if you don't buy what you initially indicated."
She did as she was told, and suddenly, a system similar to the one she used on her cell phone appeared before her eyes.
To appear while her real body was "asleep," naturally, it was not her cell phone system. It showed her various missions she had to complete, with different rewards and so on, but it was something only she could see.
"I'll be back," she said before turning to leave.
'And there she goes, another one of the many customers who promise to return when they leave for money, but never return.' Zaid sighed.
He had experienced this scene more than 100,000 times in his life, so he was already experienced in saying, "I'll be waiting for you."
He went to sit down, sighing heavily.
She wasn't the first to agree to take on missions, but somehow this time, he had a little hope. Maybe it was because he knew her.
[Why so many sighs, Host?]
'Why shouldn't I sigh, given the misfortunes you put me through?'
[When you complete your first mission, a wonderful future awaits you.]
'Yeah, yeah, whatever. You've said that more than 500 times, and I don't see that future anywhere.'
[Patience...]
'It's a virtue, isn't it? My hair was also something great. And it's gone because of you.'
[It will return when it completes its mission.]
Zaid let out a long sigh of helplessness. Honestly, he didn't get along with this system; its responses were very repetitive and robotic. Could it even understand how a man who lost his hair felt?
It was almost like losing your balls!
'Can you at least tell me what mission you gave that girl?'
[Rule Number 3: Missions are private between the System and the Chosen One.]
'What if your mission for her is to kill the Shop Owner?'
[I would never give a mission that would harm the Host in that way.]
'Tsk. That was sarcasm, idiot.' Zaid complained that this guy didn't understand his sarcasm.
But just then, the little bell rang again.
'Anyone else?' Zaid glanced toward the door, and suddenly a man rushed in, panting heavily, which was strange considering he was in his soul.
"Oh?" Zaid suddenly stood up when he saw a familiar face... he had seen him enter the store about three months ago... and he had also left to get money.
"Welcome..."
"Sir Owner, I finally found you!" Joseph ran to the shelves, where he remembered what he wanted to buy. After checking the price, he ran to the counter with a big smile, still panting but with happiness radiating from his soul.
The sudden shout surprised him, but Zaid smiled at him. "I remember you. Were you able to complete the missions for what you wanted to buy?" he asked, his heart racing.
He didn't expect to receive an affirmative answer. But Joseph nodded repeatedly and suddenly showed him his system window.
"Sir Owner, I'll take the Purple-Striped White Tiger!" he declared emphatically, almost as if he wanted to prevent the owner from disappearing again.
He had come the previous three days, and the owner was nowhere to be found; the store was closed. Now that he had finally found him, he wouldn't miss his chance.
Zaid couldn't believe what he heard. For a brief moment, his mind went blank, and only Joseph's words flashed before his eyes in a stream of letters, along with an astonishing number of Aexther Coins.
There was just enough to buy the Purple-Striped White Tiger.
But was this really happening?
He wanted to pinch himself to see if it was real, but Joseph's shouts were the best proof.
Back then, he liked to shout. And now it was the same.
It was real!
Zaid spoke, almost stuttering at first. "Of course." He smiled and waved his hand toward the shelf where the Tiger rested. A force came out of him (the system) and pulled the white ball with the tiger inside toward his hand.
Joseph swallowed hard. 'He really is a god.'
Now he was more than convinced. He had never heard that Cultivators could do that.
Zaid grabbed the white ball, placed it on the table, and scanned it with the system.
Tilin*
The scan was successful, and a system window popped up in front of both of them: one for Joseph, for purchasing, and one for Zaid, for selling.
"Are you sure you want to buy that one?" Zaid asked, pointing to the shelves. "There's a wolf and a lion that are also very good and sell for the same price; there's even one cheaper, at half that price."
"That's the one I want to buy," Joseph said, but he didn't press the buy button yet. His heart was racing. "I want to ask something."
"Go ahead."
"When I buy it... will I really be able to sign a contract with it?"
Zaid had a predetermined answer for that: "Of course. The Interstellar Dragon Super Store guarantees it, as well as its ability to grow and evolve." And that was his answer, because that's what the system told him to say.
But the truth is, he also wanted to know the answer to that question.
Will he be able to sign a contract? Is it even possible to buy a Soulbeast that way? After a year in this world, he understands the difficulties of acquiring one of these mythical beasts.
Although it is possible to obtain one from an egg, it is not very feasible (he is an example; he once raised one, but due to the system's misfortunes, it died); most Soulbeast come from the Dimension of the Echo of Lethargy.
The aspiring cultivator must seek it out, hoping to attract the attention of one of them, which is very difficult. And if it does attract one, it is very likely to be one of the many that are completely useless.
That is why the doubt was well-founded.
Given his answer, Joseph no longer hesitated and pressed the purchase button.
Tilin*
Three long months of hard work... gone just like that.
[Congratulations, Joseph. You have purchased the Earth-Rank Purple-Striped White Tiger. Remember that you can sign a contract with it at any time.]
But something else arrived. Something much more valuable than that. A Soulbeast.
The spirits of this aspiring young cultivator soared, but so did his nervousness.
On the other hand...
[Starting Mission: Sell a Soulbeast from the Interstellar Dragon Superstore has been completed.]
[Congratulations, Host.]
He was filled with happiness, just like Joseph, but for now, he couldn't reveal anything and had to attend to his customer.
"Thank you for your purchase," he said. "Would you like to sign the contract right away?"
Joseph nodded. "I'll sign it immediately. Thank you very much, Sir Owner!" He shouted as usual and ran out of the store without even properly saying goodbye, and then out of the Dimension of Echo.
Zaid wished him luck in his mind.
-