The First Store System

Aakesh felt himself sinking into a puddle as the pair of red eyes locked on him.

"We will meet again." The woman suddenly interjected, breaking the pressure on Aakesh.

Aakesh didn't say anything but only looked at the woman with a grave face.

The pair of eyes behind the woman appeared to have gained some order as it looked at Aakesh one more time before fading into obscurity.

"Who are you?" Aakesh asked, his voice colder than ice.

"I will tell you when we meet again." The woman smiled. The next moment, she began to fade at a rapid rate.

The fading process suddenly came to an end as a key seemed to emerge out of the space ring, blocking the process.

The smile on the woman's face remained as usual, and she threw the key toward Aakesh. After that, she faded into obscurity in no time.

Aakesh reflexively caught the key. The next moment, his face turned ugly as he felt the previous terrifying breath lock on him as soon as he touched it.

***

Several thousand miles away from where Aakesh currently was, a destructive battle was happening between two gigantic creatures.

On one side of the battle was a creature a few hundred meters in size. It looked like a wolf. If Aakesh were here, he would have recognized the beast as the Obsidian Wolf, one of the ruling classes of the wolf group. The seven pairs of obsidian eyes were the unique identifiers of the creature.

The creature on the other side was nearly as tall as the Obsidian Wolf. The creature looked weird, as its skin seemed liquid from the outside. Anyone who looked at the creature would feel that liquid was floating in the air.

Its skin was dark red, and it had enormous hands and a gigantic pair of dark wings. If Aakesh were here, he would have recognized it as well. It was Jalatar, a creature belonging to the Demon group. Similar to the Obsidian Wolf, Jalatar was also one of the ruling classes of the Demon groups.

"We don't need to fight anymore," The Obsidian Wolf suddenly backed away and told the Jalatar.

Before the Jalatar could understand what was happening, it suddenly turned to its right and sensed the presence of the key.

Ignoring the wolf backing away, Jalatar charged in the direction of the key.

***

Not even a second had passed after getting locked down by the familiar, terrifying breath, and Aakesh found its owner appearing in front of him.

The Jalatar had a weird expression after it appeared. It never expected someone weak like Aakesh to be holding the key.

The creature was certain that even if it breathed, it would be enough to kill the stranger in front of it.

Aakesh understood that the key in his hands was the source of this troublesome situation. At the same time, he needed to think of ways to solve the issue.

"A woman (omission) handed me the key and suddenly disappeared," Aakesh decided to initiate the conversation before the Jalatar took action. He didn't forget to reveal the appearance of the woman, so the Jalatar would at least trust his words.

The title, Myrioglot, worked in Panagea as well since the language here was the same as what was spoken outside, so he also activated the title.

Since the title "Myrioglot" didn't refer to offensive or defensive skills, it had no limits. After Jalatar heard Aakesh speaking in its native tongue, a slight hint of friendship toward Aakesh appeared in its heart. There was another reason for it. The language of the ruling class of Demons was extra confidential as it revealed hints of history, so only those fully trusted by Jalatars would know the native tongue of Jalatars. Even other ruling demon groups didn't know the language.

The Jalatar had thought of killing Aakesh and taking the key away, but after the native language affected its heart, the idea of killing the stranger disappeared from its mind.

"You did good by telling me the truth," The Jalatar responded. Its tone was friendly.

But before Aakesh could heave a sigh of relief, its tone turned stern as it ordered, "Now hand over the key."

Aakesh didn't waste any time and handed the key over to the Jalatar. He was curious about what the key represented, but since there was no way for him to get the key, he gave up on the idea.

It would be a lie if Aakesh said that he didn't want the key, even if he somehow tasted his first death in Panagea. But Aakesh was confident that he wouldn't even die if he wanted to in the presence of the Jalatar.

Aakesh was unable to pinpoint the actual level of the Jalatar, but he was confident it was above Level 400. As for whether the creature was a Divine level lifeform, Aakesh didn't believe it.

The Jalatar couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief as the key returned to him. It then looked at Aakesh, pondering over something.

"Aren't you curious about what this key represents?" A knowing smile appeared on Jalatar's face, and it asked Aakesh.

"No!"<novelnext> </novelnext>

"Not even a little bit," The creature was taken aback by the immediate answer from Aakesh.

Aakesh was no fool to not think about what was going on in the Jalatar's head. Aakesh could sense a thread trying to bind him to the key.

<novelbim>

Novel will be updated first () 0. ()

</novelbim>

Aakesh would have happily let the thread bind him to the key if he didn't have to reach Lily in the next three months, but now that wasn't possible.

"NO!"

"Not even a tiny bit?"

"NO!"

"Not even an infinitesimal bit?"

"NO!"

The next moment, a comedic scene started playing out in the area as the Jalatar wanted Aakesh to say he was interested in the key, but Aakesh was resolute with his answer.

"I promise I won't kill you or capture you, even if you have an interest in it," The creature asked for the last time. It expected Aakesh to respond positively this time since beings of his level couldn't make promises on a whim; they needed to see it through to the end.

"NO!"

Time flew by, and after a round of conversation with the Jalatar, it finally let Aakesh leave.

Aakesh breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed the creature's presence had disappeared.

'Why was he so interested in binding me with the key?' As he continued on his journey, Aakesh reflected on his heart.

Aakesh soon stopped thinking about it since he had already given up on it, and Aakesh wasn't one to ponder over the past. At the same time, a target emerged in Aakesh's heart.

The woman had dared to kill Aakesh, so there was no way he was going to let her survive.

He would begin his hunt for the lady once his strength had reached a sufficient level.

***

"Damn it! If not for this damn key's rules, I would have forcefully grabbed that man and made him do the thing," The Jalatar mumbled in frustration.

The key wasn't an ordinary item, as it was a key to one of the ruins left by one of the ten Emperors.

The key gave a single attempt to whoever had it. The Jalatar had already used it. Before it went into the ruin, it was just a normal demon, not a Jalatar.

The creature won a blood vial left by a high-ranking Jalatar, and here it was. The vial's effect was still active because the potion's level was 500.

Aakesh was right in his conjectures, as the Jalatar was currently Level 428, way below Level 500.

After coming out of the ruin, it had taken him several thousand years to find the key again. It had a rule that whoever was fated with it could only enter the ruin.

Aakesh had a fate with the key because he obtained it without even knowing about it. It was the reason; the Jalatar wanted Aakesh to learn about the key so he wouldn't be able to stop himself from entering the ruin.

As for the friendliness toward Aakesh for knowing the native tongue, it meant nothing in comparison to the gain from the ruin. But since there was still some friendship and it couldn't force Aakesh to enter, it let Aakesh leave.

***

What the Jalatar didn't know that if Aakesh had found it to be a ruin related to the ten Emperors, he would have never entered it.

Time flew by, and hours passed in the blink of an eye.

The obstruction caused by the woman and the Jalatar stopped Aakesh from increasing his level, as he didn't come across many Level 300 beasts after that.

The time to leave arrived for Aakesh, and he returned to the store's hall for meditation.

***

A/N: Sorry, only one chapter for today. The situation might continue up to the tenth as it is a family wedding. I may even go absent, so I am asking for leave.

The number of chapters I miss in these days; I would make up for them in the mass release!

This chapter upload by author at .