Chapter 8
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"I'm home…"
Jake opened the door to his house. It was late at night and Ethel has already come back from work. She sat on the sofa inside the living room while watching a news program on TV.
"Welcome home… How's the land?"
Ethel asked with her expressionless voice. However, Jake knew that she was worried about Jake's new business.
"Yup, $20,000. Not a dollar more. The place is near the station, you should come and visit when its ready for business."
"Sure!"
The conversation between the siblings was short but meaningful. Jake returned inside his room to organized his thoughts.
Before returning home, Sylphy appeared in front of him.
*
"Master, congratulations on obtaining a land. With the land present, it would be easier to move onto our next step."
"Thanks, but I still need to secure the building and the interior. I'm afraid that I am still lacking a lot of money."
Fortunately, Lee and Kana have gone home to rest and there was no one else he knew nearby. Jake simply answered in a low voice in order to not look suspicious in the eyes of the bystander. Sylphy gave a light smile and declared with a tranquil expression.
"That's the reason for my appearance. Master, since you have secured the land, the system will take care of the matter for the building. I'm here to request your permission in advancing with the plan."
"What? You would really do that?"
"Yes, it is my duty to support you. However, there will still be a fee for the service."
Jake was a bit disappointed with the mention of a fee but asked the quantity anyway. Who knows? Maybe he could save a few thousand dollars from the exchange.
"Don't worry. It's a great bargain. The system only required a total of $8,000 to start the construction. The interior will be included in the service."
Jake's eyes lit up at the deal that Sylphy proposed. It was not a bad deal and he could save the problem of procuring the furniture from different places. With that as the reason, he agreed.
The choice of the theme of the interior was given to Jake. Without much thoughts, he gave a quick description of the theme he picked.
Jake wanted the shop to be eye-catching, but not too colorful. As such, he chose 'modern' as a theme for his shop. The dominant color would be black, grey, and white. However, it will have its own uniqueness due to the color choice. It also fits with his shop's name, <Silver Wings>.
"The construction will take a week to be completed. In the meantime, I suggest for Master to use the time to increase the variety of Master's product."
"Yes, that is what I plan to do"
There is still approximately $2,000 left after deducting the $8,000 dollars needed for the construction. Jake planned to use the money to buy more recipes and increase his familiarity with it.
*
Right now, Jake's plan was to enter the Time Chamber and browse any recipe that he could afford and train on that specific recipe. However, before that, he informed Lee and Kana that he has settled the building matter and the construction will begin first thing in the morning.
"Sylphy, I would like to enter the Time Chamber"
"I understand. The transmission will occur in 5 seconds. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…"
Jake's consciousness faded as the countdown finished. Fortunately, he was prepared and placed his body in a comfortable position on his bed before he gave the request.
The next moment, Jake's consciousness arrived inside the completely white room. The mirror at the middle took Jake's attention as he approached it.
"Master, you still have some pending rewards on your mission section."
Jake stopped in his track when he heard Sylphy's sweet voice. Unlike the usual, Sylphy's voice was clear and echoed throughout the room. As such, he turned towards the source of the voice and was shocked by what he saw. At this point, the content of the sentence was of secondary importance.
"Sylphy…? You look a bit… different?"
A beautiful teenager stood before Jake. The height of the figure was proportional to her current body state and reached Jake's shoulder.
The charm of her silver hair and wings were enhanced due to the changes. Her beauty made Jake blushed and avoid eye contact with her gentle blue eyes.
"Yes. I believe it is Master's first time in seeing me inside the Time Chamber. I don't know why but I believe that this is the real me."
"I see… Ah right! I still haven't received the rewards from the mission."
Jake desperately tried to salvage the situation by finding another topic. Sylphy's figure was too beautiful that he couldn't help but took a few glances in admiration.
=Short Dagger=
Type: 1-Handed Weapon
Requirements: Forging [1]
A short dagger without any special adjustment. Its small size is suitable to be used as a hidden weapon. Can be deadly depending on the use.
The first reward he received was for his recent mission, <Naming>. It was completed when him, Lee, and Kana, agreed on using the name for the shop. In a way, this recipe was Jake's first proper recipe for a product.
=Sword Mastery=
Able to increase the user's talent and proficiency with the sword. The talent increase grew with time and the level of the skill.
The second reward was Jake's favorite skill. There was nothing else to be analyzed on this skill since he was already overly familiar with the skill. As such, Jake turned his attention towards the recipe.
The investigation wasn't a complex process. It only needed a few taps and reading. Through the window, Jake found out the raw materials to produce the product. For it, he only needed some <Iron Ore>, which he could find inside the store.
The materials were sold in batches of hundreds with a frightening price. One hundred <Iron Ores> were sold for $500 for a batch. The production of a <Short Dagger> would require 5 of them. So, $25 would be used for one short dagger.
The simple calculation made him realized that the money he had was nowhere from enough to operate a large shop.
By a rough calculation, the $2,000 he had would be used up to produce 80 <Short Dagger>. It was a huge amount but Jake doesn't have the confidence to sell all of that in a short term. A weapon could be used for a long time after all.
"I really need more money…"
With that in mind, Jake decided to not use <Short Dagger> as the shop's main attraction on the grand opening. He planned to use a product that is cheap, popular, and a type of consumables for it.
Jake had a perfect candidate for the job. It was a product of alchemy that he often used at the beginning of his journey in Aestes, <Basic Mana Potion>. Its recipe was present inside the system's store.
=Basic Mana Potion=
Type: Consumables
Requirements: Alchemy [1]
A blue liquid, containing the power of nature. Its consumption will restore part of consumer's mana.
Its price was $200, four times than that of <Fluffy Omelet>. However, Jake didn't hesitate to buy it. It was a must-have product in his shop. He has tired the <Basic Mana Potion> on Earth but the effects were a bit disappointing. It was lower than the one in Aestes by a large margin. As such, he believes that he could make a better quality potion and earn a profit from it.
He read the description carefully. To produce this product, he needed a common vegetation called the <Estra Stalk>. It was not rare and can be found at a forest in a great amount. It was the case in Aestes, but Jake wasn't sure about the matter on Earth.
In the store, <Estra Stalk> was sold in batches similar to <Iron Ores>. Its price was a lot cheaper, $100 for 100 of them. The production of <Basic Mana Potion> would require 3 of the materials. As such, Jake bought 3 batches in one go.
According to Sylphy, the materials would be sent inside the shop's warehouse after the completion of the shop. The warehouse was unique as it could store any materials in a prolonged time without the worry of it decaying. The mysterious system played a hand in order to achieve the feat.
Jake still had $1,000 left after the purchase. As such, he started to search for similar products that fulfilled the requirements. In the end, he chose some alchemy product with similar price as the <Basic Mana Potion> and bought its ingredients.
The purchase took a total of $900, leaving Jake with $100 in his bank account. He was, once again, totally broke.
*
A week has passed in a blink of an eye.
Jake was currently standing in front of a 3-story building, his face was full of awe. The scale of the building was nothing like his expectation.
Thinking back, the money he used to purchase this building was too damn worth it. Although he came every day to check on the progress, he was still surprised to see the finished product.
The building took the form of a simple, but modern shop. As per requested, its main color was black and white, emitting a unique impression.
The storefront was made out of glasses to allow people to see through the interior of the shop. The second floor, however, was a bit different as it contained a longitudinal window in a horizontal manner. The size was enough to let someone's upper body to be seen from outside.
Jake noticed an arrangement of seats from his current position. It made him curious about the interior of the second floor. To his surprise, the stairs leading towards the second floor was located outside the shop, at the edge of the shop to be exact.
The stairs' size was large enough to let three people walk at the same time. The door, however, was only enough to let two. Comparing to the glass door, the black door, leading towards the second floor, looked more sturdy.
Today, Jake didn't come with Lee and Kana because of one reason. Sylphy's power was mysterious so he needed to check on the shop first before inviting Lee and Kana in case that an unexplainable item was produced.
The glass door opened by itself when Jake came within 1 meter of the door.
Black cabinets and wardrobe welcomed him as he entered his shop for the first time. Jake gave out a light smile.
'So… this is my starting point'
The first floor was full of unique furniture to showcase Jake's product. At the far end, a long counter, installed with three cashiers could be seen. Behind the counter was a small path leading a room.
Jake entered the room with curiosity.
The room was small in size. Its area was only 20m2 at most. However, a small stair was located inside it, leading towards the second floor.
Other than the stairs, only one other item was present inside the room. It was a huge cabinet/chest/container. It was probably one of those three items as Jake wasn't able to identify it due to its strange shape.
The item was black in color and rectangular in shape. At a glance, people might mistake it to be a solid cuboid because there were no slits that could signify that it could be opened. However, after a closer inspection, Jake could see a medium size keyhole at the center of the item.
The keyhole was accompanied by a small rectangular black slab. Upon closer look, the slab would occasionally emit a metallic luster.
A small ball of light appeared as Jake was contemplating the usage of the box. It slowly formed into a beautiful winged figure. Sylphy was wearing a smile as he appeared before Jake.
"Master, that is the shop's storage, where completed products were store for easier access. To access the storage, you will need a special card that will be explained later. Now, if you would, please go to the second floor."
Jake did as instructed and went up the stairs, towards the second floor. He had huge expectation for it.
Fortunately, it didn't disappoint him in any way. The second floor was actually a cafe with great furniture. There are a large variety of seats, ranging from sofa, chairs, and others.
A large sized screen was installed at one of the edges. Its size was enough to let even the furthest seat to view it.
The stairs led to the back of a similar room, with other stairs leading upstairs. Jake saw another black box, similar to the one he saw on the first floor. He exited the room and arrived behind another long counter.
This time, however, only held one cashier. Instead, a large and clean kitchen was located in the place of the other two cashiers. The space behind the counter, too, was larger than the first floor.
To Jake's confusion, there is a large billboard located on a wall near the counter. It was the size of a blackboard. Above the billboard, one word was written in an aesthetic manner.
<Mission>
However, the billboard was still empty.
At that time, Sylphy finally spoke.
"Welcome to the second floor. As Master may notice, the first floor is for Master to showcase your product and work proceed with your responsibility as the <Shopmaster>. However, the second floor is where Master will complete the responsibility as the <Guildmaster>."
Jake listened attentively at the explanation. He has deduced that much about the first floor.
"The second floor is the <Guild's Lounge> and will be open for 24 hours a day. I recommend Master to hurry and find a new employee to help as a secretary. As for the shop, the system limits the opening hour to 12 hours a day at least. Ideally, from 9 AM in the morning to 9 PM in the evening."
The mention of the employee made Jake feel a bit speechless. It was indeed an urgent matter for him to run the shop. At first, he thought that he could run the shop by himself and the helper Kana mentioned. However, to be on standby for 24 hours would be difficult for both of them.
"The kitchen is an additional spot for Master to hone your cooking skills and entertain the guest at the same time. Master could also hire a cook to take the place. However, he/she must be able to replicate Master's cooking before being able to work as the cook here. The system won't forgive bad quality products."
Jake could accept such reason since he also doesn't want the quality in his shop to drop because of a cook. He is determined to either find someone good or not at all if he couldn't.
"Sylphy, what's with the billboard over there?"
"The billboard act as the guild's <Mission Board>. It is where the member can accept missions issued by the guild in exchange for points/money. I will take this chance to explain the mechanism for the guild."
Sylphy flicked her fair fingers. The action was similar to a magician as a pure silver card appeared in her hands.
"This is called the <Silver Pass>, a proof of being a member in the guild. This one is the card for the guild master."
Sylphy stretches out her arms, containing the <Silver Pass> towards Jake. He took the card with caution.
The card was totally blank other than a small logo of silver wings at the bottom left corner and a thin white band on the other corner.
"The band's color on the <Silver Pass> differs between each rank in the guild. The rank follows the conventional ranking system of using letters in the alphabet. In the guild, rank E is the lowest and rank S is the highest. Other than that, the owner of the card can direct their mana into it to view their ongoing missions and their <Silver Credits> balance."
"<Silver Credits>?"
"Its the point reward for the mission that I mentioned earlier. The credits can be used by the members to obtain a discount coupon for the shop or purchase a product without any fee."
Something clicked within Jake as he heard of the existence of the <Silver Credits>. The gears inside his head turned at a rapid pace.
"Sylphy, can I use the <Silver Credits> for another purpose?"
"Yes, you can."
Sylphy showed a confused expression. The whole mechanism was in fact, not thought of by the system, it was her intervention that made it easier for Jake. The system only gave a general layout of the mechanism and the details were left to her.
"Then, I want to add the option to exchange for a skill using my <Grant Skill>. Is that possible?"
"Oh? That is not a bad idea. As expected of my Master."
Sylphy had a wide smile on her face, expressing her feelings. It was rare to see her smile since she usually had a flat face except for her first encounter with Jake.
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"I'm home…"
Jake opened the door to his house. It was late at night and Ethel has already come back from work. She sat on the sofa inside the living room while watching a news program on TV.
"Welcome home… How's the land?"
Ethel asked with her expressionless voice. However, Jake knew that she was worried about Jake's new business.
"Yup, $20,000. Not a dollar more. The place is near the station, you should come and visit when its ready for business."
"Sure!"
The conversation between the siblings was short but meaningful. Jake returned inside his room to organized his thoughts.
Before returning home, Sylphy appeared in front of him.
*
"Master, congratulations on obtaining a land. With the land present, it would be easier to move onto our next step."
"Thanks, but I still need to secure the building and the interior. I'm afraid that I am still lacking a lot of money."
Fortunately, Lee and Kana have gone home to rest and there was no one else he knew nearby. Jake simply answered in a low voice in order to not look suspicious in the eyes of the bystander. Sylphy gave a light smile and declared with a tranquil expression.
"That's the reason for my appearance. Master, since you have secured the land, the system will take care of the matter for the building. I'm here to request your permission in advancing with the plan."
"What? You would really do that?"
"Yes, it is my duty to support you. However, there will still be a fee for the service."
Jake was a bit disappointed with the mention of a fee but asked the quantity anyway. Who knows? Maybe he could save a few thousand dollars from the exchange.
"Don't worry. It's a great bargain. The system only required a total of $8,000 to start the construction. The interior will be included in the service."
Jake's eyes lit up at the deal that Sylphy proposed. It was not a bad deal and he could save the problem of procuring the furniture from different places. With that as the reason, he agreed.
The choice of the theme of the interior was given to Jake. Without much thoughts, he gave a quick description of the theme he picked.
Jake wanted the shop to be eye-catching, but not too colorful. As such, he chose 'modern' as a theme for his shop. The dominant color would be black, grey, and white. However, it will have its own uniqueness due to the color choice. It also fits with his shop's name, <Silver Wings>.
"The construction will take a week to be completed. In the meantime, I suggest for Master to use the time to increase the variety of Master's product."
"Yes, that is what I plan to do"
There is still approximately $2,000 left after deducting the $8,000 dollars needed for the construction. Jake planned to use the money to buy more recipes and increase his familiarity with it.
*
Right now, Jake's plan was to enter the Time Chamber and browse any recipe that he could afford and train on that specific recipe. However, before that, he informed Lee and Kana that he has settled the building matter and the construction will begin first thing in the morning.
"Sylphy, I would like to enter the Time Chamber"
"I understand. The transmission will occur in 5 seconds. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…"
Jake's consciousness faded as the countdown finished. Fortunately, he was prepared and placed his body in a comfortable position on his bed before he gave the request.
The next moment, Jake's consciousness arrived inside the completely white room. The mirror at the middle took Jake's attention as he approached it.
"Master, you still have some pending rewards on your mission section."
Jake stopped in his track when he heard Sylphy's sweet voice. Unlike the usual, Sylphy's voice was clear and echoed throughout the room. As such, he turned towards the source of the voice and was shocked by what he saw. At this point, the content of the sentence was of secondary importance.
"Sylphy…? You look a bit… different?"
A beautiful teenager stood before Jake. The height of the figure was proportional to her current body state and reached Jake's shoulder.
The charm of her silver hair and wings were enhanced due to the changes. Her beauty made Jake blushed and avoid eye contact with her gentle blue eyes.
"Yes. I believe it is Master's first time in seeing me inside the Time Chamber. I don't know why but I believe that this is the real me."
"I see… Ah right! I still haven't received the rewards from the mission."
Jake desperately tried to salvage the situation by finding another topic. Sylphy's figure was too beautiful that he couldn't help but took a few glances in admiration.
=Short Dagger=
Type: 1-Handed Weapon
Requirements: Forging [1]
A short dagger without any special adjustment. Its small size is suitable to be used as a hidden weapon. Can be deadly depending on the use.
The first reward he received was for his recent mission, <Naming>. It was completed when him, Lee, and Kana, agreed on using the name for the shop. In a way, this recipe was Jake's first proper recipe for a product.
=Sword Mastery=
Able to increase the user's talent and proficiency with the sword. The talent increase grew with time and the level of the skill.
The second reward was Jake's favorite skill. There was nothing else to be analyzed on this skill since he was already overly familiar with the skill. As such, Jake turned his attention towards the recipe.
The investigation wasn't a complex process. It only needed a few taps and reading. Through the window, Jake found out the raw materials to produce the product. For it, he only needed some <Iron Ore>, which he could find inside the store.
The materials were sold in batches of hundreds with a frightening price. One hundred <Iron Ores> were sold for $500 for a batch. The production of a <Short Dagger> would require 5 of them. So, $25 would be used for one short dagger.
The simple calculation made him realized that the money he had was nowhere from enough to operate a large shop.
By a rough calculation, the $2,000 he had would be used up to produce 80 <Short Dagger>. It was a huge amount but Jake doesn't have the confidence to sell all of that in a short term. A weapon could be used for a long time after all.
"I really need more money…"
With that in mind, Jake decided to not use <Short Dagger> as the shop's main attraction on the grand opening. He planned to use a product that is cheap, popular, and a type of consumables for it.
Jake had a perfect candidate for the job. It was a product of alchemy that he often used at the beginning of his journey in Aestes, <Basic Mana Potion>. Its recipe was present inside the system's store.
=Basic Mana Potion=
Type: Consumables
Requirements: Alchemy [1]
A blue liquid, containing the power of nature. Its consumption will restore part of consumer's mana.
Its price was $200, four times than that of <Fluffy Omelet>. However, Jake didn't hesitate to buy it. It was a must-have product in his shop. He has tired the <Basic Mana Potion> on Earth but the effects were a bit disappointing. It was lower than the one in Aestes by a large margin. As such, he believes that he could make a better quality potion and earn a profit from it.
He read the description carefully. To produce this product, he needed a common vegetation called the <Estra Stalk>. It was not rare and can be found at a forest in a great amount. It was the case in Aestes, but Jake wasn't sure about the matter on Earth.
In the store, <Estra Stalk> was sold in batches similar to <Iron Ores>. Its price was a lot cheaper, $100 for 100 of them. The production of <Basic Mana Potion> would require 3 of the materials. As such, Jake bought 3 batches in one go.
According to Sylphy, the materials would be sent inside the shop's warehouse after the completion of the shop. The warehouse was unique as it could store any materials in a prolonged time without the worry of it decaying. The mysterious system played a hand in order to achieve the feat.
Jake still had $1,000 left after the purchase. As such, he started to search for similar products that fulfilled the requirements. In the end, he chose some alchemy product with similar price as the <Basic Mana Potion> and bought its ingredients.
The purchase took a total of $900, leaving Jake with $100 in his bank account. He was, once again, totally broke.
*
A week has passed in a blink of an eye.
Jake was currently standing in front of a 3-story building, his face was full of awe. The scale of the building was nothing like his expectation.
Thinking back, the money he used to purchase this building was too damn worth it. Although he came every day to check on the progress, he was still surprised to see the finished product.
The building took the form of a simple, but modern shop. As per requested, its main color was black and white, emitting a unique impression.
The storefront was made out of glasses to allow people to see through the interior of the shop. The second floor, however, was a bit different as it contained a longitudinal window in a horizontal manner. The size was enough to let someone's upper body to be seen from outside.
Jake noticed an arrangement of seats from his current position. It made him curious about the interior of the second floor. To his surprise, the stairs leading towards the second floor was located outside the shop, at the edge of the shop to be exact.
The stairs' size was large enough to let three people walk at the same time. The door, however, was only enough to let two. Comparing to the glass door, the black door, leading towards the second floor, looked more sturdy.
Today, Jake didn't come with Lee and Kana because of one reason. Sylphy's power was mysterious so he needed to check on the shop first before inviting Lee and Kana in case that an unexplainable item was produced.
The glass door opened by itself when Jake came within 1 meter of the door.
Black cabinets and wardrobe welcomed him as he entered his shop for the first time. Jake gave out a light smile.
'So… this is my starting point'
The first floor was full of unique furniture to showcase Jake's product. At the far end, a long counter, installed with three cashiers could be seen. Behind the counter was a small path leading a room.
Jake entered the room with curiosity.
The room was small in size. Its area was only 20m2 at most. However, a small stair was located inside it, leading towards the second floor.
Other than the stairs, only one other item was present inside the room. It was a huge cabinet/chest/container. It was probably one of those three items as Jake wasn't able to identify it due to its strange shape.
The item was black in color and rectangular in shape. At a glance, people might mistake it to be a solid cuboid because there were no slits that could signify that it could be opened. However, after a closer inspection, Jake could see a medium size keyhole at the center of the item.
The keyhole was accompanied by a small rectangular black slab. Upon closer look, the slab would occasionally emit a metallic luster.
A small ball of light appeared as Jake was contemplating the usage of the box. It slowly formed into a beautiful winged figure. Sylphy was wearing a smile as he appeared before Jake.
"Master, that is the shop's storage, where completed products were store for easier access. To access the storage, you will need a special card that will be explained later. Now, if you would, please go to the second floor."
Jake did as instructed and went up the stairs, towards the second floor. He had huge expectation for it.
Fortunately, it didn't disappoint him in any way. The second floor was actually a cafe with great furniture. There are a large variety of seats, ranging from sofa, chairs, and others.
A large sized screen was installed at one of the edges. Its size was enough to let even the furthest seat to view it.
The stairs led to the back of a similar room, with other stairs leading upstairs. Jake saw another black box, similar to the one he saw on the first floor. He exited the room and arrived behind another long counter.
This time, however, only held one cashier. Instead, a large and clean kitchen was located in the place of the other two cashiers. The space behind the counter, too, was larger than the first floor.
To Jake's confusion, there is a large billboard located on a wall near the counter. It was the size of a blackboard. Above the billboard, one word was written in an aesthetic manner.
<Mission>
However, the billboard was still empty.
At that time, Sylphy finally spoke.
"Welcome to the second floor. As Master may notice, the first floor is for Master to showcase your product and work proceed with your responsibility as the <Shopmaster>. However, the second floor is where Master will complete the responsibility as the <Guildmaster>."
Jake listened attentively at the explanation. He has deduced that much about the first floor.
"The second floor is the <Guild's Lounge> and will be open for 24 hours a day. I recommend Master to hurry and find a new employee to help as a secretary. As for the shop, the system limits the opening hour to 12 hours a day at least. Ideally, from 9 AM in the morning to 9 PM in the evening."
The mention of the employee made Jake feel a bit speechless. It was indeed an urgent matter for him to run the shop. At first, he thought that he could run the shop by himself and the helper Kana mentioned. However, to be on standby for 24 hours would be difficult for both of them.
"The kitchen is an additional spot for Master to hone your cooking skills and entertain the guest at the same time. Master could also hire a cook to take the place. However, he/she must be able to replicate Master's cooking before being able to work as the cook here. The system won't forgive bad quality products."
Jake could accept such reason since he also doesn't want the quality in his shop to drop because of a cook. He is determined to either find someone good or not at all if he couldn't.
"Sylphy, what's with the billboard over there?"
"The billboard act as the guild's <Mission Board>. It is where the member can accept missions issued by the guild in exchange for points/money. I will take this chance to explain the mechanism for the guild."
Sylphy flicked her fair fingers. The action was similar to a magician as a pure silver card appeared in her hands.
"This is called the <Silver Pass>, a proof of being a member in the guild. This one is the card for the guild master."
Sylphy stretches out her arms, containing the <Silver Pass> towards Jake. He took the card with caution.
The card was totally blank other than a small logo of silver wings at the bottom left corner and a thin white band on the other corner.
"The band's color on the <Silver Pass> differs between each rank in the guild. The rank follows the conventional ranking system of using letters in the alphabet. In the guild, rank E is the lowest and rank S is the highest. Other than that, the owner of the card can direct their mana into it to view their ongoing missions and their <Silver Credits> balance."
"<Silver Credits>?"
"Its the point reward for the mission that I mentioned earlier. The credits can be used by the members to obtain a discount coupon for the shop or purchase a product without any fee."
Something clicked within Jake as he heard of the existence of the <Silver Credits>. The gears inside his head turned at a rapid pace.
"Sylphy, can I use the <Silver Credits> for another purpose?"
"Yes, you can."
Sylphy showed a confused expression. The whole mechanism was in fact, not thought of by the system, it was her intervention that made it easier for Jake. The system only gave a general layout of the mechanism and the details were left to her.
"Then, I want to add the option to exchange for a skill using my <Grant Skill>. Is that possible?"
"Oh? That is not a bad idea. As expected of my Master."
Sylphy had a wide smile on her face, expressing her feelings. It was rare to see her smile since she usually had a flat face except for her first encounter with Jake.
"I'm home"Jake opened the door to his house. It was late at night and Ethel has already come back from work. She sat on the sofa inside the living room while watching a news program on TV."Welcome home How's the land?"Ethel asked with her expressionless voice. However, Jake knew that she was worried about Jake's new business."Yup, $20,000. Not a dollar more. The place is near the station, you should come and visit when its ready for business.""Sure!"The conversation between the siblings was short but meaningful. Jake returned inside his room to organized his thoughts.Before returning home, Sylphy appeared in front of him.*"Master, congratulations on obtaining a land. With the land present, it would be easier to move onto our next step.""Thanks, but I still need to secure the building and the interior. I'm afraid that I am still lacking a lot of money."Fortunately, Lee and Kana have gone home to rest and there was no one else he knew nearby. Jake simply answered in a low voice in order to not look suspicious in the eyes of the bystander. Sylphy gave a light smile and declared with a tranquil expression."That's the reason for my appearance. Master, since you have secured the land, the system will take care of the matter for the building. I'm here to request your permission in advancing with the plan.""What? You would really do that?""Yes, it is my duty to support you. However, there will still be a fee for the service."Jake was a bit disappointed with the mention of a fee but asked the quantity anyway. Who knows? Maybe he could save a few thousand dollars from the exchange."Don't worry. It's a great bargain. The system only required a total of $8,000 to start the construction. The interior will be included in the service."Jake's eyes lit up at the deal that Sylphy proposed. It was not a bad deal and he could save the problem of procuring the furniture from different places. With that as the reason, he agreed.The choice of the theme of the interior was given to Jake. Without much thoughts, he gave a quick description of the theme he picked.Jake wanted the shop to be eye-catching, but not too colorful. As such, he chose 'modern' as a theme for his shop. The dominant color would be black, grey, and white. However, it will have its own uniqueness due to the color choice. It also fits with his shop's name, Silver Wings."The construction will take a week to be completed. In the meantime, I suggest for Master to use the time to increase the variety of Master's product.""Yes, that is what I plan to do"There is still approximately $2,000 left after deducting the $8,000 dollars needed for the construction. Jake planned to use the money to buy more recipes and increase his familiarity with it.*Right now, Jake's plan was to enter the Time Chamber and browse any recipe that he could afford and train on that specific recipe. However, before that, he informed Lee and Kana that he has settled the building matter and the construction will begin first thing in the morning."Sylphy, I would like to enter the Time Chamber""I understand. The transmission will occur in 5 seconds. 5 4 3 2 1"Jake's consciousness faded as the countdown finished. Fortunately, he was prepared and placed his body in a comfortable position on his bed before he gave the request.The next moment, Jake's consciousness arrived inside the completely white room. The mirror at the middle took Jake's attention as he approached it."Master, you still have some pending rewards on your mission section."Jake stopped in his track when he heard Sylphy's sweet voice. Unlike the usual, Sylphy's voice was clear and echoed throughout the room. As such, he turned towards the source of the voice and was shocked by what he saw. At this point, the content of the sentence was of secondary importance."Sylphy? You look a bit different?"A beautiful teenager stood before Jake. The height of the figure was proportional to her current body state and reached Jake's shoulder.The charm of her silver hair and wings were enhanced due to the changes. Her beauty made Jake blushed and avoid eye contact with her gentle blue eyes."Yes. I believe it is Master's first time in seeing me inside the Time Chamber. I don't know why but I believe that this is the real me.""I see Ah right! I still haven't received the rewards from the mission."Jake desperately tried to salvage the situation by finding another topic. Sylphy's figure was too beautiful that he couldn't help but took a few glances in admiration.=Short Dagger=Type: 1-Handed WeaponRequirements: Forging 1A short dagger without any special adjustment. Its small size is suitable to be used as a hidden weapon. Can be deadly depending on the use.The first reward he received was for his recent mission, Naming. It was completed when him, Lee, and Kana, agreed on using the name for the shop. In a way, this recipe was Jake's first proper recipe for a product.=Sword Mastery=Able to increase the user's talent and proficiency with the sword. The talent increase grew with time and the level of the skill.The second reward was Jake's favorite skill. There was nothing else to be analyzed on this skill since he was already overly familiar with the skill. As such, Jake turned his attention towards the recipe.The investigation wasn't a complex process. It only needed a few taps and reading. Through the window, Jake found out the raw materials to produce the product. For it, he only needed some Iron Ore, which he could find inside the store.The materials were sold in batches of hundreds with a frightening price. One hundred Iron Ores were sold for $500 for a batch. The production of a Short Dagger would require 5 of them. So, $25 would be used for one short dagger.The simple calculation made him realized that the money he had was nowhere from enough to operate a large shop.By a rough calculation, the $2,000 he had would be used up to produce 80 Short Dagger. It was a huge amount but Jake doesn't have the confidence to sell all of that in a short term. A weapon could be used for a long time after all."I really need more money"With that in mind, Jake decided to not use Short Dagger as the shop's main attraction on the grand opening. He planned to use a product that is cheap, popular, and a type of consumables for it.Jake had a perfect candidate for the job. It was a product of alchemy that he often used at the beginning of his journey in Aestes, Basic Mana Potion. Its recipe was present inside the system's store.=Basic Mana Potion=Type: ConsumablesRequirements: Alchemy 1A blue liquid, containing the power of nature. Its consumption will restore part of consumer's mana.Its price was $200, four times than that of Fluffy Omelet. However, Jake didn't hesitate to buy it. It was a must-have product in his shop. He has tired the Basic Mana Potion on Earth but the effects were a bit disappointing. It was lower than the one in Aestes by a large margin. As such, he believes that he could make a better quality potion and earn a profit from it.He read the description carefully. To produce this product, he needed a common vegetation called the Estra Stalk. It was not rare and can be found at a forest in a great amount. It was the case in Aestes, but Jake wasn't sure about the matter on Earth.In the store, Estra Stalk was sold in batches similar to Iron Ores. Its price was a lot cheaper, $100 for 100 of them. The production of Basic Mana Potion would require 3 of the materials. As such, Jake bought 3 batches in one go.According to Sylphy, the materials would be sent inside the shop's warehouse after the completion of the shop. The warehouse was unique as it could store any materials in a prolonged time without the worry of it decaying. The mysterious system played a hand in order to achieve the feat.Jake still had $1,000 left after the purchase. As such, he started to search for similar products that fulfilled the requirements. In the end, he chose some alchemy product with similar price as the Basic Mana Potion and bought its ingredients.The purchase took a total of $900, leaving Jake with $100 in his bank account. He was, once again, totally broke.*A week has passed in a blink of an eye.Jake was currently standing in front of a 3-story building, his face was full of awe. The scale of the building was nothing like his expectation.Thinking back, the money he used to purchase this building was too damn worth it. Although he came every day to check on the progress, he was still surprised to see the finished product.The building took the form of a simple, but modern shop. As per requested, its main color was black and white, emitting a unique impression.The storefront was made out of glasses to allow people to see through the interior of the shop. The second floor, however, was a bit different as it contained a longitudinal window in a horizontal manner. The size was enough to let someone's upper body to be seen from outside.Jake noticed an arrangement of seats from his current position. It made him curious about the interior of the second floor. To his surprise, the stairs leading towards the second floor was located outside the shop, at the edge of the shop to be exact.The stairs' size was large enough to let three people walk at the same time. The door, however, was only enough to let two. Comparing to the glass door, the black door, leading towards the second floor, looked more sturdy.Today, Jake didn't come with Lee and Kana because of one reason. Sylphy's power was mysterious so he needed to check on the shop first before inviting Lee and Kana in case that an unexplainable item was produced.The glass door opened by itself when Jake came within 1 meter of the door.Black cabinets and wardrobe welcomed him as he entered his shop for the first time. Jake gave out a light smile.'So this is my starting point'The first floor was full of unique furniture to showcase Jake's product. At the far end, a long counter, installed with three cashiers could be seen. Behind the counter was a small path leading a room.Jake entered the room with curiosity.The room was small in size. Its area was only 20m2 at most. However, a small stair was located inside it, leading towards the second floor.Other than the stairs, only one other item was present inside the room. It was a huge cabinet/chest/container. It was probably one of those three items as Jake wasn't able to identify it due to its strange shape.The item was black in color and rectangular in shape. At a glance, people might mistake it to be a solid cuboid because there were no slits that could signify that it could be opened. However, after a closer inspection, Jake could see a medium size keyhole at the center of the item.The keyhole was accompanied by a small rectangular black slab. Upon closer look, the slab would occasionally emit a metallic luster.A small ball of light appeared as Jake was contemplating the usage of the box. It slowly formed into a beautiful winged figure. Sylphy was wearing a smile as he appeared before Jake."Master, that is the shop's storage, where completed products were store for easier access. To access the storage, you will need a special card that will be explained later. Now, if you would, please go to the second floor."Jake did as instructed and went up the stairs, towards the second floor. He had huge expectation for it.Fortunately, it didn't disappoint him in any way. The second floor was actually a cafe with great furniture. There are a large variety of seats, ranging from sofa, chairs, and others.A large sized screen was installed at one of the edges. Its size was enough to let even the furthest seat to view it.The stairs led to the back of a similar room, with other stairs leading upstairs. Jake saw another black box, similar to the one he saw on the first floor. He exited the room and arrived behind another long counter.This time, however, only held one cashier. Instead, a large and clean kitchen was located in the place of the other two cashiers. The space behind the counter, too, was larger than the first floor.To Jake's confusion, there is a large billboard located on a wall near the counter. It was the size of a blackboard. Above the billboard, one word was written in an aesthetic manner.MissionHowever, the billboard was still empty.At that time, Sylphy finally spoke."Welcome to the second floor. As Master may notice, the first floor is for Master to showcase your product and work proceed with your responsibility as the Shopmaster. However, the second floor is where Master will complete the responsibility as the Guildmaster."Jake listened attentively at the explanation. He has deduced that much about the first floor."The second floor is the Guild's Lounge and will be open for 24 hours a day. I recommend Master to hurry and find a new employee to help as a secretary. As for the shop, the system limits the opening hour to 12 hours a day at least. Ideally, from 9 AM in the morning to 9 PM in the evening."The mention of the employee made Jake feel a bit speechless. It was indeed an urgent matter for him to run the shop. At first, he thought that he could run the shop by himself and the helper Kana mentioned. However, to be on standby for 24 hours would be difficult for both of them."The kitchen is an additional spot for Master to hone your cooking skills and entertain the guest at the same time. Master could also hire a cook to take the place. However, he/she must be able to replicate Master's cooking before being able to work as the cook here. The system won't forgive bad quality products."Jake could accept such reason since he also doesn't want the quality in his shop to drop because of a cook. He is determined to either find someone good or not at all if he couldn't."Sylphy, what's with the billboard over there?""The billboard act as the guild's Mission Board. It is where the member can accept missions issued by the guild in exchange for points/money. I will take this chance to explain the mechanism for the guild."Sylphy flicked her fair fingers. The action was similar to a magician as a pure silver card appeared in her hands."This is called the Silver Pass, a proof of being a member in the guild. This one is the card for the guild master."Sylphy stretches out her arms, containing the Silver Pass towards Jake. He took the card with caution.The card was totally blank other than a small logo of silver wings at the bottom left corner and a thin white band on the other corner."The band's color on the Silver Pass differs between each rank in the guild. The rank follows the conventional ranking system of using letters in the alphabet. In the guild, rank E is the lowest and rank S is the highest. Other than that, the owner of the card can direct their mana into it to view their ongoing missions and their Silver Credits balance.""Silver Credits?""Its the point reward for the mission that I mentioned earlier. The credits can be used by the members to obtain a discount coupon for the shop or purchase a product without any fee."Something clicked within Jake as he heard of the existence of the Silver Credits. The gears inside his head turned at a rapid pace."Sylphy, can I use the Silver Credits for another purpose?""Yes, you can."Sylphy showed a confused expression. The whole mechanism was in fact, not thought of by the system, it was her intervention that made it easier for Jake. The system only gave a general layout of the mechanism and the details were left to her."Then, I want to add the option to exchange for a skill using my Grant Skill. Is that possible?""Oh? That is not a bad idea. As expected of my Master."Sylphy had a wide smile on her face, expressing her feelings. It was rare to see her smile since she usually had a flat face except for her first encounter with Jake.
