[I can assign your first Mini Mission to you]
[I can also give you further information about the Onia planet and other store functionalities]
[You may also rearrange the store however you please. Would you like to try?]
"I think this setup is fine for now. And you can assign a mini-mission later. For now, let's pull up the status sheet."
[Graham Kubera]
[Age: 21]
[Interstellar Merchant Store Lv 1]
Body Stats
[Strength: 4]
[Agility: 3]
[Constitution: 3]
[Perception: 4]
[Magic Power: 0]
Mind Stats
[Intelligence: 8]
[Charisma: 7]
[Perseverance: 7]
[Free Stat Points: 10]
[Skills: N/A]
With barely restrained excitement, Graham happily said out loud, "Please add a point to magic power."
[Understood.]
[Magic Power: 0 -> 1]
As Graham watched, a new stat called Mana Points appeared.
[Mana Pool: 100/100]
The golden globe he was looking at flashed brightly for a moment, and then Graham felt some strange energy twisting through his body and settling throughout before the sensation disappeared.
If he understood correctly, this would be what was used to power his magic abilities.
With an excited smile, he grabbed the golden ticket and ripped it while shouting, "Disguise!"
The golden ticket disappeared in a flash of gold dust, and suddenly, knowledge about how to use the skill entered his mind.
Graham pointed at the silver knife still embedded in the bookshelf and imagined that it blended into the bookshelf.
As if it were camouflaged.
The knife suddenly wavered like a mirage, and then there was nothing.
Curious about what was happening, Graham walked up to where he knew the knife was and tried to touch it.
It felt like smooth wood, although his hand was about 6 inches away from the actual bookshelf, it was almost seamless.
Focusing his thoughts again, the disguised knife flickered back into knife form before turning into a brightly blooming red rose.
A heady rose scent wafted into his nose, and just as he reached out to touch it, he felt a slight headache, and the knife reappeared on the bookshelf.
"What happened?"
[Mana Pool: 0/100]
He was out of mana power.
"Ugh….that's way too short," Graham whined before looking at his remaining stat points.
He wanted to dump them all to increase his Mana Pool, but this was a merchant system, not a combat mage system.
But…he still didn't want to sacrifice th e magic skill he just gained so he asked IMES.
"Will there be a way to gain more stats in the future?"
[Yes.]
[As long as you earn money and continually increase the level of the Interstellar Merchant System, the opportunity to gain stat points, skills, items, and more will always be available to you.]
Hearing the favorable answer, Graham sighed in relief before making a decision.
He would add a few more points to Magic Power, but the most important thing for a salesman to have was-
"Okay. Add 2 more stats to Magic Power and the remaining 7 to Charisma."
[Understood.]
[Magic Power: 1 -> 3]
[Mana Pool: 1/100 -> 201/300]
[Charisma: 7 -> 14]
[Graham Kubera]
[Age: 21]
[Interstellar Merchant Store Lv 1]
Body Stats
[Strength: 4]
[Agility: 3]
[Constitution: 3]
[Perception: 4]
[Magic Power: 3]
Mind Stats
[Intelligence: 8]
[Charisma: 14]
[Perseverance: 7]
[Mana Pool: 201/300]
[Skills: Disguise (A)]
With a satisfied smile at the better-looking status, Graham tried to pull the knife from the bookshelf to examine it but seeing as it didn't budge despite putting his whole weight behind it, he gave up.
Instead, he hung the Door Chime on the handle of the door that led to Onia Planet, gathered all the things that were part of his starter pack, and carefully opened the other door.
Thankfully, it led to a narrow hallway with wooden stairs and was illuminated by lamps on the wall.
As he carefully walked up the stairs, he entered a small studio space that was about the same size as the store below.
To the left was a tiny sectioned-off space with a toilet and a standing shower.
To his right was a lumpy twin-sized bed shoved against the wall and a small drawer at the foot of it.
"Is…this where I'm supposed to live?" Graham asked with complete despair.
His bathroom at his father's house was much larger than this whole building combined, and the thought of sleeping on that lumpy bed genuinely terrified him more than the almost dying earlier.
[Yes.]
[Do your best to complete the mission and earn money so that your living quarters can be expanded accordingly.]
"…can I just sleep elsewhere?"
[Of course you can.]
[Anything is possible as long as you have money.]
As IMES repeated the line, Graham suddenly remembered what he had forgotten in his excitement.
He had been dropped here, in the middle of nowhere.
With no phone.
No wallet.
No internet…
All he had been left with was a key to this building, a sorry excuse for a note, and a check for 1000 credits, which was basically nothing when he thought about how he lived his life.
Since it was nighttime on earth…at least for tonight…he would have to sleep on that lumpy bed.
As his body began shuddering at the thought, Graham glanced at the garments in his hands.
Previously, when he opened the door to the Onia Planet, it had been quite bright….
As if it were daytime
Although he hadn't seen anybody in his rush to escape, he had a way to adjust his clothing as needed.
So…
Let's explore and scout Hollowgate City.
He wasn't avoiding sleeping on that lumpy sack of rocks; he was just doing his due diligence.
With a suddenly renewed energy, Graham quickly changed into an old-fashioned nightgown, long socks, house slippers, and a hat.
Although it was pretty comfortable, as Graham stared at himself in the small mirror, he thought he looked like that bitter uncle from the Christmas movie.
"IMES said to imagine what I want to wear, right? Let's go for something comfy and functional."
Graham closed his eyes, imagining a basic sports tech suit, black rubber boots that came to his knees, and a baseball cap and mask to cover his face.
Glancing at the mirror once more to ensure everything looked as he imagined, Graham mentally gave IMES a thumbs up and ran down to the stand in front of the door leading to Onia Planet.
Checking his Mana Pool once more, he ducked down, activated the disguise skill to make himself blend in, and opened the door just a crack.