The First Store System

Chapter 1377: Breakthrough and New Beginnings(8)

[Host, the sun is about to rise on Thorr and its nearby cities!]

The system's alert rang inside Aakesh's ears, waking him up from meditation. Aakesh looked to his left and found a screen waiting there for him.

Aakesh nodded in appreciation since the screen's appearance inferred growth in his absorption rate. Aakesh was on the verge of another breakthrough, with him only needing a few meditations to step into the late Divine Lord.

Laney, who came years after he ascended to the Sacred Dimension, had already stepped into the True God level, while he, who had started cultivating earlier, was still decades away from stepping into that stage. At the same time, the talent Aakesh had was like a burning sun compared to Laney's aptitude, which was nothing but a small flame in front of him.

Despite that, Aakesh didn't worry about it. Even though he was only an intermediate Divine Lord, he would have no issue dealing with the likes of Laney.

He then stood up from his meditation mat, and it disappeared immediately after that. Aakesh summoned the door to his room to take a bath.

When Aakesh came down from the stairs, the sun was about to rise. Behind him, the door and stairs disappeared, waiting for him or the other two to summon them back.

Finally, after a wait of a few minutes, the first ray of sunlight broke through the cover of darkness. The darkness was forced to hide in no time, and light replaced it in the other's eyes, announcing the start of a new day.

Aakesh walked to the door and slid it open. As usual, a large crowd of customers greeted his sight. He didn't let them wait any longer and immediately returned to his chair. While the mass entered the store, emptying the street in no time.

The familiar scenes played out in the store as the first 31,148 customers to enter were shrouded in golden light. Those who weren't the lucky ones were disappointed but then calmed down since they would get their entries.

The situation of many in Panagea had changed, and it had deeply impacted their lives in reality. Many of the customers who lived terribly due to different circumstances now had a stable source of income from Panagea and could live leisurely.

***

The customers who owned any of the three store cards immediately walked toward the portal room, barring a few exceptions like Maria and Laney. Those who didn't own any of the three cards formed a line in front of the store owner to pay for their stay in Panagea.

Maria, being the first in line as usual, greeted Aakesh and then walked toward the portal room. Laney was seventh in line, so she also left after greeting Aakesh.

The day was bound to be different for Laney since her breakthrough to the True God level had alerted many in the city and also caused some stir around her Kingdom. Before her, it was one of the weakest due to her father being the only one, but now that she had become a True God, and at that kind of age, her talent not only caused envy but also made them feel a sense of terror toward what she and her father would do next.

But it wasn't what made the day different for her. She was going to summon her second beast, and a True God at that. Her firepower was bound to grow explosively since, after the beast, she would also buy some skills.

She wanted to purchase the beast first but had to enter Panagea since she needed money to do so. Even though the accumulated salary and money from the treasury were hers, she needed to claim them if she wanted them in her name.

Only the things in the control of the adventurers were allowed to be exchanged in reality, so she would first need to enter Panagea.

It had been a few weeks since she had exited Panagea, and as the time flow in Panagea was even faster, more than two months had passed there.

Laney couldn't help but smile proudly when she saw that her name was still at the top of the list despite not entering Panagea for days. She then moved her eyes away and focused on the closest vacant virtual portal.

As she touched the stars, a suction force stronger than anything she could handle appeared and devoured her inside, and the numerous shining stars turned gray, terming it as a filled portal.

The next moment, Laney found herself in the same spot where she was forced out of Panagea days ago. She couldn't help but take a deep breath as she saw the familiar, stunning fortress.

Only a few seconds had passed since her emergence in Panagea, and the sound of a bird flapping rang in her ears. Laney looked above and found Sheira descending.

Laney smiled and waited. The bird went to its position on the statue and looked at Laney. It clearly didn't like disappearance for that long when Laney had just taken the top seat, but for some reason, she found that it was required and didn't complain about it.

"Are you ready to start as the city lord?" Sheira asked. Her voice was so soothing that it calmed all the tension Laney had at that moment.

Greeting the bird, Laney nodded cheerfully and motioned for it to take her to her office.

Sheira nodded and then flew toward the office inside the fortress. The main part of the Fring city was inside the fortress, while the city outside the fortress was for weaker citizens.

The highest level in the city outside the fortress was Level 318, and that too was the level of the head soldier, who was tasked with protecting it from the enemy beasts and tribes.

In the city inside the fortress, it wasn't difficult to sight a Level 250+, while those above Level 300 were also in large numbers. The highest level of any being in the city was Level 550, and that was Sheira. Below Sheira, the highest level was Level 483, and that was the man Laney had seen upon entering the inside city. In short, the elites of the Fring City gathered there.