Chapter 24 – Saturday's Origin Store
[Origin Store is now open!]
Cassius couldn't suppress the wide grin splitting his face. He pressed his palms together and rubbed them against each other like a man about to do something thoroughly devious.
The golden panel in front of him flickered wildly, golden liquid seeming to drip from its edges.
Notifications began popping up, each one making him more excited than the last.
[Wonderful Achievement!]
[The Origin Store has been opened for the first time in eons!]
[As the one who achieved such a feat, Cassius Desdemona will be rewarded accordingly.]
"Oh, my dear baby!" Cassius would have kissed the panel if it were something tangible. It wasn't. So he settled for blowing it a flying kiss like an old man lusting from a distance.
Ananke, watching from her Gate, stared at her Blessed with barely concealed embarrassment, her face quietly grimacing.
[You have gained: One Free Purchase Ticket, One Discount Ticket (70% off), One Freeze Ticket.]
The more he read, the harder it became to stay quiet.
He had ordered Océane not to let anyone inside, but if any of his family members truly wanted to enter, nothing would stop them.
So silence was safer.
That did nothing to stop his body from shaking though. And for good reason.
These rewards were things that players of [Chosen Ones] back on Earth had spent millions trying to obtain.
Cassius couldn't even blame them.
The Free Purchase Ticket was self-explanatory, it let him buy anything in the Origin Store without spending OP.
A genuine blessing, given that Cassius doubted his 10 OP was enough to purchase anything life-changing on its own.
The Discount Ticket needed no explanation either. As someone who loved gambling, he was thoroughly delighted to have it.
But the last one made him pause.
"A Freeze Ticket…" he breathed, lips opening and closing soundlessly as he fought to contain himself. "With this, I can freeze an item in the Origin Store so I can buy it the next time."
Game-changing. Literally.
He still hadn't fully come back to himself, still drowning in euphoria, when the notifications continued and snapped him back into focus.
[All rewards delivered. The Origin Store may now officially open.]
[PROCESSING…]
He narrowed his eyes, praying silently.
'Anything. I don't care what. Just something that makes me stronger.'
Because he knew — he knew well — that he was still far behind the Main Characters in terms of power. Those were beings who had started training the moment they could walk.
Hell, Emrys could handle a sword before he learned to walk. The Chosen Heiress could manipulate anyone into surrendering their most precious thing by the age of three.
And that bloody Prince obsessed with her, wearing the power of death like a hood draping sinuously over him…he was no better.
Neither was his sister, the Princess. That girl gave Cassius the creeps. And that was saying something, given his taste in women. She was the type of dangerous he genuinely didn't fancy.
And there were so many of them: Klaus. Keisha. Natalia. Love. Julaibib. Meadow.
All of them talented. Cassius knew he was too. But his starting point was thoroughly fucked up.
'And we are all going to meet at the Academy. In a few months. In a few months I will meet every single one of these people I used to watch through a screen.'
He was both nervous and excited at once.
He knew that was where his Fated Quests would matter most. Where everything would begin in earnest.
After all—!
DING!
His thoughts cut off abruptly. The process was done and three items appeared before him.
His heart skipped.
[Here are today's Saturday items.]
[1 – Perfect Body Potion: A liquid created by a goddess too far ahead of her time, using the very origin nectar of the World. Anyone who can bear the pain of ingesting it will obtain their own perfect body. (200,000 OP)]
[2 – Weapon Ticket: A ticket that grants you the perfect weapon for you. A weapon that grows alongside you with the right materials. (150,000 OP)]
[3 – Stat Points: Grants 10 free stat points to distribute freely among your attributes. (10 OP)]
[OP: 10]
[What catches your fancy, and more importantly, what can your pocket actually afford?]
Cassius stared at the three items, speechless yet not.
He already knew this Store carried the most outrageous things anyone could hope for. No wonder Emrys had been able to beat half his year without breaking a sweat.
But now it was him with this opportunity. And with his Free Purchase Ticket, he could buy anything he wanted regardless of his meager OP.
"What do you suggest?" Cassius asked Ananke. "Personally, I'm thinking the Perfect Body Potion. It would help me greatly with strength and body enhancement. I don't know if there are other benefits though. I never saw it in the game."
[That is the best choice.] Ananke nodded. [Though the Weapon Ticket is also…]
"Tempting, right?"
[Yes. A weapon that grows with you is interesting. But only up until the Third Rank. Once you reach that point, any external weapon becomes secondary, for you will have your own.]
"My Soulblade."
[Aye.]
The Soulblade, something only obtained upon reaching the Third Rank, the Exalted Self.
But Cassius was still at Mortal Self. The path forward was Imbued Self, then Exalted Self.
Thinking about it, he ran through how progression worked in Sunu Gaal. It was straightforward enough.
Anyone could advance after having two or more attributes surpass 100 points — the specific number and which attributes varied by person.
The only way to gain stat points was by killing monsters and absorbing the essence they naturally released upon death. The process was automatic.
'Which makes killing the primary path to growth.' Cassius thought, eyes still hungry on the items. 'Yet that was not all.'
Even after clearing that condition, one still needed an Aspect Crystallisation Stone to sublimate the Aspect and officially step into the Second Rank — Imbued Self.
Those were not easy to obtain, to add.
But once done, and officially at the second rank, a second skill would be obtained. For Cassius, another draw from his ancestors.
'That makes Stat Points incredibly valuable right now. And I can buy 10 of them for exactly my 10 OP.'
It seemed straightforward enough.
Decision made, Cassius smiled and spoke.
"I use my Free Purchase Ticket to obtain the Perfect Body Potion." He said. "And spend my 10 OP on the Stat Points."
A brief silence followed. Then a loud chime bloomed overhead.
DING!
[Purchases accepted!]
The space before him cracked open like a wall giving way, revealing a swirling mass of golden ash glowing like stars, making him squint instinctively.
From within those golden ashes, two boxes appeared — searingly bright — and settled gently into his hands with a soft tak.
[Delivery complete!]
The golden realm sealed itself shut at the notification's end, but Cassius didn't hear it.
His eyes were fixed on the two boxes in his lap, his mouth stretched into a wild smile.
"Oh, my Queen of Fate, shall we see?"
[…Queen?]
—End of Chapter 24—