The First Store System

Chapter 952: Signing the Contract!

A cruel expression was on Gerardʼs face as he entered the store. The leader and other members followed behind him.

”Wait!”

The leader suddenly called out to Gerard after seeing him approach Aakesh.

Gerard turned around in confusion and waited for the leader to tell him why he stopped him.

The leader didnʼt say anything but approached Aakesh. ”Hello, store owner,” he greeted Aakesh.

Gerard couldnʼt hear the conversation between the leader and the store owner, but for some reason, a bad feeling emerged in his heart when he saw the smile on the leaderʼs face.

***

Aakesh just nodded when the man said hello and waited for him to explain why he was in the store. Aakesh had already heard the conversation between the group. It wasnʼt enough to express their purpose, but from what Aakesh heard, the group wanted to make trouble for him.

”Store owner! I am Angir, a follower of master Joator,” Angir introduced himself.

Gerard believed Angir had agreed to enter the city after he asked him to, but he was mistaken. Angir came here because he was summoned by Joator here.

No one in the group knew, but Joator was the actual leader of the group, and the group did what was ordered by Joator since Angir was his subordinate.

Angir played along with Gerardʼs ways since he thought of using him to gain a favor from Joator. Joator had told him about the store, and it was also the reason behind his summons to the city.

”I am Aakesh,” Aakesh replied in response.

”I am here to bring you one of the people who wish to harm you, store owner.” The smile on Angirʼs face suddenly widened as he turned around and pointed at Gerard.

Gerard felt a chill run down his spine when he suddenly saw the leader turning around and pointing at him. The other people in the group also looked surprised, as even they werenʼt aware of what Angir wanted to do.

Aakesh took a quick glance at Gerard and moved his eyes away. Gerrard was only an early Divine Being cultivator, and from what his strength was, Aakesh felt that even without the systemʼs help, he would easily kill the man.

A man whom Joator respected couldnʼt have an easygoing personality, so Gerard had anticipated a carefree response from Aakesh.

”Store owner, do you want me to handle the situation?” Angir asked. If he helped the store owner, that would be assisting Joator.

”No!” Aakesh replied expressionlessly.

Aakesh didnʼt care about Gerardʼs revenge or Angirʼs plans. He only cared about the store, so he asked Angir if he was in the store to buy something or not.

Angir frowned when he heard Aakeshʼs direct answer, but since he couldnʼt complain, he politely asked Aakesh to tell him about the storeʼs products.

While Aakesh and Angir were talking, Gerard was feeling uncomfortable all over his body.

The feeling grew as Angir turned around and approached the group. The earlier smile was no longer present on his face.

”Donʼt even dare think of revenge if you want to live!” Angir bluntly told Gerard.

Angir didnʼt even wait for his response before he began to share what he had learned from Aakesh about the storeʼs products.

Since Aakesh didnʼt care about Gerard, how could Angir gain anything, even if he killed Gerard, from the store owner or Joator? So Angir decided to forget about it.

Gerard wanted to ask Angir after his sharp command, but before he could, Angir began introducing the storeʼs products. Gerard soon immersed himself in the introduction and stopped thinking about avenging his brother.

The relationship between them wasnʼt even that deep in the first place, or so Gerard thought in his heart to remove the anger over the brotherʼs death.

”What do you guys think?” Angir then looked at his team members and asked.

***

”Store owner, give us six spots for Panagea,” Angir requested Aakesh, and then he took around two hundred lesser Sacred stones out of his space ring.

Angir thought of removing Gerard from the team, but after Gerard promised that he wouldnʼt let his feelings get in the way, Angir decided to continue with the same group.

Gerardʼs eyes had a complex look when he looked at Aakesh, but since he wanted to live, he moved his eyes away and proceeded toward the portal room while looking at the floor all the way.

Aakesh closed his eyes and began another of his relaxation sessions, waiting for the first customer of the beast summoner device to appear.

Time flew by, and around an hour after the storeʼs opening, all the virtual portal spots were filled for the first group.

Aakesh nodded in appreciation since it was a good start for Panageaʼs quest.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Aakesh was relaxing on his chair when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps coming from the storeʼs door.

Aakesh opened his eyes and found a duo entering the store. The duo was familiar since they were none other than Alfred and Asher.

Their meeting with the King bore them fruit, as the misunderstood warning from Aakesh made the King dispose of any thoughts regarding Thorr City.

At the same time, both Alfred and Asher had to sign a contract with a number of requirements:

(1.) Vurrons wouldnʼt try to do things that are directly or indirectly harmful to the ruling class and the stability of the Kingdom

(2.) The Kingdom would have its army garrisoned in Thorr City. The Kingdom and the City will each pay to maintain the garrison with a ratio of 50:50

(3.) Thorr City will pay twenty-five percent of its total revenue to the Kingdomʼs treasury every year.

Alfred and Asher knew they had to sign the contract, even though it had some harsh terms. If they didnʼt, Vurrons would become an enemy of the Fawkes Kingdom.

The Kingdom wouldnʼt lay its hand on Thorr City, but the other four cities would be at the mercy of Jaimie, so Alfred and Asher signed the contract.

Jaimie added a clause stating that the agreement would last for 10,000 years in order to avoid upsetting the two too much. The contract would only be valid for ten thousand years, and if, after ten thousand years, the duo were in a position to challenge the Kingdom, they could declare independence.

Ten thousand years sounded like nothing when compared with the Fawkes Kingdom rule of a few million years, but both parties knew that the store had the potential to change things at a rapid rate.

It was Vurronʼs great fortune that the store owner chose one of their cities as its location, but Jaimie also wanted to benefit from it.

Both parties happily signed the contract, not talking or thinking about what would happen ten thousand years later.

***

”Hello, store owner!”

”Hello, store owner!”

Alfred and Asher greeted Aakesh respectfully. Aakesh only nodded in response to their greetings.

Today, the duo looked different than their early entries into the store, as now they were excited about the future, while earlier they were fearful and shocked about it.

The duo could see the changes in the store from yesterday, so Alfred asked Aakesh about it.

In response to their question, Aakesh introduced the storeʼs products to them.

Aakesh began with the pills, introducing both Lesser and Higher level pills with their effects and prices. After the pills, it was the turn of the weapons, and soon Aakesh introduced all five store products to Alfred.

Alfredʼs face looked weird after Aakesh concluded.

ʼHow can these products be so expensive?ʼ Alfred complained in his heart as he focused more on the prices than the effects.

”Store owner, give me one third-grade higher Mind Expansion Pill,” Alfred requested with a painful expression on his face.

Aakesh didnʼt care about Alfredʼs expression as he stood up from his chair and went to the pill counter. He then took the pill from the tenth shelf in the second row.

”You need to pay fifty ordinary Sacred stones,” Aakesh announced expressionlessly.

As Alfred pulled out the sacred stones one at a time, the pain on his face grew even worse. When Alfred had taken fifty stones out, he counted them three times to make sure that there was not a single stone more.

Even Aakeshʼs lips twitched, seeing the scene in front of him. Asher, who couldnʼt hear the conversation but saw the things going on between the store owner and the customer, wanted to punch Alfred in the face after seeing his antics.

A bit hoarse, Alfred said, ”Here,” and pushed the stones in Aakeshʼs direction.

ʼAm I taking a debt from you?ʼ Aakesh couldnʼt help but think after seeing Alfredʼs facial expressions.

Alfred had made his sale for the day, so he turned around and moved away, letting Asher approach the store owner.

”Store owner, donʼt mind him! He had been like this since young,” Asher said with an awkward face.

***

A/N: Sorry, only one Chapter!