[Apologies!]
[The Cleaning Protocol wasn't complete yet, so I was distracted!]
The voice in his head sounded contrite, so Graham took a deep breath to calm down while still holding the stool.
"IMES, please explain what just happened. And am I still in danger?" Graham couldn't help but glance at the door, then at the knife embedded in the bookshelf behind him.
[Worry not.]
[Once the door to the shop is closed and locked, nobody on the outside can open it.]
"…Are you sure?"
[Positive.]
"Okay, phew. Please explain where that was." Graham put the chair down and wiped his stinging cheek.
His hand was completely covered in red, sticky blood that he quickly wiped on his pants.
To be honest, his heart was pounding at the fact that he almost died, but he was doing his best to stay calm and composed.
[That door connects this shop to Planet Onia.]
[Unfortunately, since the shop's rank is low, the shop is currently located in the slums of Hollowgate City.]
[It seemed that you opened the door to the store while locals were in the midst of a gang battle.]
"I see. That explains the stench and whatever shady liquid I stepped on."
[Yes.]
[Apologies for not stopping you in time.]
"No, no, it's my fault for not waiting for the completion message. And it's good to find out now that opening the door to another world can be exceedingly dangerous."
Graham sighed once more before taking a deep breath.
"Let's continue the tutorial so that I can assign those stat points and understand everything that I need to do."
[Understood. Continuing Protocol - Tutorial.]
Suddenly, a large screen appeared in front of Graham's vision.
[Delivering the Remaining Items in the Starter Pack and providing a description.]
[1 Merchant's Uniform] - Gown, Socks, Slippers, and Hat that can transform into any clothing you can think of. It has no defensive capabilities but cleans and repairs itself, given enough time.
[Door Chime] - Always rings when something enters the shop.
[Cash Register] - Accepts and dispenses any form of currency. (Received)
[Double Shelves] - Holds things. (Received)
[Barstool] - Comfortable to sit on. (Received)
[Counter Top] - holds any amount of weight without breaking. (Received)
[Interstellar Hearing Patch] - Understand any language (Received)
[Interstellar Speaking Patch!] - Speak any language (Received)
As the screen faded away, a glowing package appeared on the countertop.
When Graham opened it, he saw a long, white, old-fashioned night gown, long white socks, house slippers, and a floppy white hat.
Next to it was a cute little bell chime attached to red strings. When he shook it, no sound came out, but the bells bobbed along cutely.
As Graham was placing it down, IMES continued speaking.
[Final Tutorial Protocol Gift - Golden Gift Selection Ticket.]
A golden ticket floated down from the air into his hands.
"What's this?"
[Access to one of three skills necessary for any beginner merchant.]
[You may choose from these three options and tear the ticket while speaking the name of the skill you want.]
[Discerning Eye (A) - Grants enhanced observation and allows you to see through deceptions and forgeries and identify details in objects and living things.]
[Cost: minimum 10 MP + 10 MP per second ]
[Disguise (A) - Creates an illusion that deceives all five senses.]
[Cost: 50 MP per 10 seconds]
[Back to Store (A) - As long as you are within 500m of the store, you can immediately teleport back to the store]
[Cast time: 30 secs while not moving.]
[Cost: 500MP]
[Cool down: 24 hours]
"…These seem pretty amazing. Will I be able to get these skills again?"
[Of course.]
[As the level of the Interstellar Merchant System rises, one reward is skill selection appropriate to your stats.]
Graham looked at all three skills with a fully conflicted mind.
As IMES mentioned, these were all very useful!
A skill to teleport him back, a skill to hide himself, and a skill to identify things, which was clearly necessary for a merchant.
Realistically, Graham knew that he should choose Discerning Eye or Back to Store, but he knew he would probably pick the Disguise skill.
He wanted to use magic!
Wanting to be a good merchant, he tried to find out all the information he could before making a decision.
"Please give me more details about the mission and the Onia Planet."
[The Onia Planet is a developing planet inhabited by many humans, beast-folk, and other magical races. Like Many developing planets, there is great wealth disparity between races and classes, and conflicts are frequently settled in blood rather than courtrooms.]
[Interstellar Merchant System Grand Mission - Onia Planet:
Raise the rank of the Interstellar Merchant Store on Onia Planet to the highest level and earn the Earth equivalent amount of 10 million credits.
Current Store Rank: 0
Max Store Rank: 5
Current Converted Earnings: 0/10,000,000 credits
]
"How is rank decided?"
[The Interstellar Merchant System will constantly assign you mini-missions. As the mini missions are completed, they contribute to your rank, which is determined by these four criteria.]
[Quantity of sales: 0/5]
[Quality of sales: 0/5]
[Public opinion: 0/5]
[Reputation: 0/5]
"Okay. What happens when I make a sale?"
[When a sale is made, it will be counted toward the sales quantity and quality. Earnings will be a 50/50 split.]
"Yeesh…that's steep." Graham couldn't help but wince.
As the son of a wealthy individual who had been learning about tax avoidance since he was young, such a steep tax seemed like overkill.
But when he thought about the fact that IMES was literally opening doors to whole different worlds, he let it go.
For now.
[Apologies for the amount. It can be negotiated at higher levels.]
[For now, here are the rewards for accomplishing the Onia Planet GRAND Mission.]
[Rewards]
[Lv 1 -> Lv 2]
[Lv1 Skill Selection Ticket]
[Living Quarters and Store Growth: 200 sq fr -> 500 sq ft.]
[5 free body stat points]
[1 free mind stat point]
[Door Opening To A New World]
[Internal Merchant Store Opening.]
[Commissions Board Opening.]
Graham read through the rewards before nodding to himself.
Honestly, it all seemed a bit vague to him, and he would rather experience things firsthand than read about them.
"Is there anything else I should know?"