The First Store System

Chapter 1393: Rewards!

The more Laney read about the details of the crown, the more shocked she became. The item had abilities in double digits, focusing on all aspects of the ruling territory as well as the ruler.

The one that made Laney feel more excited and shocked was an ability related to enlightenment.

[...

(VIII) Cosmic Ascension: It allows the wearer the power to transcend their mortal limitations and achieve a state of cosmic enlightenment. When activated, the wearer enters a meditative trance, during which their consciousness expands to encompass the entire territory, with no hiding place for any law or concept. Even after returning from the state of cosmic ascension, the wearer retains a fraction of the knowledge and wisdom they gained.

…]

The only disadvantage Laney faced from the crown was that it only worked inside the territory of the Fring Kingdom. Even then, being able to peer through every law and concept was a reward greater than anything, let alone the other abilities of the item.

"Thank you, Big Brother." Laney bowed and thanked Aakesh. Even in her dreams, she hadn't imagined that Aakesh would give her something like that.

"No need to thank me. You have earned it with your efforts." Aakesh smiled and responded, tapping Laney's shoulder.

Laney only smiled in response to Aakesh's words since she hadn't done anything that made her worthy of the crown. At the same time, she felt joy in her heart since Aakesh's words clearly inferred that he believed in her.

Aakesh and Laney conversed for some more time, and Laney then left the store, her destination being the travel junction.

Since Laney had the Ultimate Store Card, it didn't matter whether she lived in Thorr City or Kross City. The store was only one teleportation away from her.

***

"She still doesn't understand what the best ability of the crown is," Lily commented after Laney left.

It was true that [Cosmic Ascension] was a top ability, but there was an even better one on the list of abilities.

"It will take time. Laney isn't as knowledgeable as you are," Aakesh responded with a smile.

Khaval simply stayed silent, not sharing his opinion on the matter.

"Hmph, just because Aakesh chose my suggestion, you haven't been speaking," Lily scoffed, seeing Khaval not speaking.

Khaval still didn't say anything and only squinted his nose. The suggestion for the reward was the crown since both Aakesh and Lily chose that.

Aakesh only smiled, seeing the two bickering. He then called out to the system.

The next moment, continuous mechanical alerts rang in his ears. Lily and Khaval also stopped bickering since they also heard the notification.

[Ding!]

[Host, congratulations on completing the second Store Upgrading quest!]

[Host, your rewards for the second quest have been successfully rewarded!]

An excited expression appeared on Aakesh's face after he heard the familiar alert about the reward. It was another step in his journey toward solving the mystery of his identity and past. It had taken him tens of thousands of years just to take the first step, but only around a thousand years for the second one.

As the reward stated, there was a new piece of memory in his head. If Aakesh's memory was like a combination of oceans, the respective memory seemed to be a continent surrounded by large and powerful oceans. It didn't matter how rough or how tall the ocean's waves were; they would never be able to wet any part of the continent.

Aakesh couldn't help but grow nervous. Lily found the scene familiar while it was first for Khaval, seeing Aakesh have that kind of expression.

Lily and Khaval knew the significance of the moment, so they stayed silent and didn't disturb Aakesh. They simply waited for Aakesh to tell them.

At that moment, Aakesh had his entire focus on the memory, so he ignored everything happening around him. After looking at that extraordinary piece of memory in his sea of memories for a long time, he finally decided to touch it.

The next moment, he took a deep breath, filled with a combination of nervousness and excitement, and he then mentally touched upon the piece of memory.

Immediately after, Aakesh felt a heavy pressure descending on him, and he crashed to the ground, taking Lily and Khaval by surprise.

The two rushed to Aakesh and were horrified to find that Aakesh had no signature of life. It was as if they were holding a dead person in their hand.

"Hey, system, what is going on?" Laney angrily yelled.

If not for the store blocking all kinds of sound, every life in Thorr City would have heard her.

[Don't worry. The host is perfectly fine. He is just in a different time and space, so his body contains no source of life.]

The system gave a simple explanation and didn't respond to any further questions from Lily or Khaval.

Lily and Khaval breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the response. Even though Lily didn't trust the system much, she still knew it would never try anything to harm Aakesh, so she stopped thinking the worst.

At the same time, she was also worried about Khaval. Even though he was angry with her, he was still her younger brother, so she turned around and tightly embraced him so that he would stop worrying.

The two simply hugged each other and waited for Aakesh to return.

***

The moment Aakesh mentally touched upon the memory, a heavy pressure had not only descended on him but also on the many lifeforms spread across the Multiverse.

One after another, pairs of eyes opened and were filled with confusion as they tried to find the source of the pressure, only to become disappointed when they failed to find anything.

One of the many beings was Vritrasura, and he immediately peered through the wall separating the Sacred and the Primordial Dimension and then stopped at the store.

A deep frown spread across his face, and he muttered something that not even the person sitting next to him could hear. There was a tone of helplessness in his voice, and soon after, he moved his eyes away from the store, returning to the Primordial Dimension.

Vritrasura then didn't say anything to the group of people in the place but disappeared from there, with others having no idea of what had happened.