First customer

Leonid walked through the door and found himself back in his shop. He stopped and took a deep breath. Just a few hours ago, he was sitting here like a pile of misery and thought his life was over. Losing a livelihood wasn't a good thing for anyone, and he had little chance of finding a job at his age.

And now? Just look at him! He was young and full of strength again!

"Ha!" he barked happily, punching his chest. He could barely feel it!

While guffawing, he went into the back room to get dressed. He couldn't scandalize the little lass, could he?

Leonid was dressed in his old clothes from his youth. It was still tight on him because he wasn't strong even then, but at least the fabric wasn't tearing on him anymore.

He adjusted the cuffs on his wrists and thought about the whole situation. He committed himself to a lifetime of service. At first, he didn't pay much attention to it. In the end, he didn't have much life left. But it didn't occur to him that he would have a much longer life as a cultivator.

He came out of the back room and set to work. He looked at the Dragon Door, as he named it himself, and found that the door was transparent to him, but he could still see it. Presumably, it was due to the contract?

He grabbed the counter with both hands and lifted it above his head. He grinned and positioned the counter so that it was in front of the Dragon Door.

At first, he thought the little lass was some mysterious being. But it only took a few interactions with her to make it clear to him that she was just someone with a Fateful Encounter. And she didn't quite know what she was doing. He couldn't be surprised that she didn't know how the world worked in the inner circle. The outer circle was hard. But not as murderous as the inner circle.

Leonid frowned, and that also meant a lot of trouble. The girl obviously still had some illusions; of course, he would try to protect her as much as he could and the store as well, but he definitely wouldn't mind if the lass broke her teeth a bit.

After making some adjustments in the shop, Leonid went outside to the front of the shop and looked up at the signboard.

He jumped up and grabbed it.

*Crack!*

He broke the sign, and it fell to the ground again. He stared at it for a moment. Before he crushed it into a pile of splinters, he put his hands on his hips and declared cheerfully.

"I have to buy a new sign. The old one broke."

Dai sighed but then patted her cheeks for courage.

'Today is the day! We just opened, and now we must get our first customer!' Suddenly, a window appeared, and the voice of the System, which had been silent for a long time.

System: New task.

Get your first customer and make a successful sale.

Reward: Cultivation Technique Book

Failure: No penalty

Note: You are the boss and weaker than your employee. Aren't you ashamed?

Dai twitched an eye looking at the note. As if Leonid, who was even more of a jerk than before, was not enough. Now the System poked her too?

But wait?! Cultivation technique? Can I become a cultivator too?

She thought about the change Leonid, but she couldn't quite imagine what the change would look like for her. Furthermore, didn't he say that the cultivator moves in the direction determined by his ability? She has only an appraisal. So what direction will hers be?

She looked through the open door outside and saw nearby the door leading to Shelter 22. Then she scanned the vast green plain. What if... one day, there will be doors everywhere? Where will they all lead? She shivered. Cultivating was definitely the correct answer. She could sneak and find out how much poop was in the ground, but she couldn't protect herself.

She stepped out behind the counter and touched the Pure White Cloud Lasagna.

She used appraisal on them, and information popped into her head.

Name: Pure White Cloud Lasagna

Description: ???

Other: ???

Dai didn't learn anything new, but a tiny tingle ran from her palms up her arms, shoulders, and spine.

She smiled. The feeling meant her appraisal accepted it. She immediately tried it on everything in the store. Most of the items and a few pieces of furniture also worked.

"Huhuhu..." she was melting.

*****

While Dai was having a good time, Leonid arranged a new sign. He wasn't worried about anyone walking into the store just yet. It was empty, and no one had seen the Dragon Door.

While waiting in a nearby store for a carver to make him a new sign, he looked at his reflection in the window's glass and twirled his mustache with satisfaction.

Before that, he had blathered on about the men who came to him to buy perfume and that they were narcissists. If the men saw him now, they would point the finger at him for being a narcissist himself!

But Leonid didn't just do it for self-gratification. He was watching the street because he noticed his shop was being watched a while ago. And by nothing more than a cultivator.

Using his new senses was strange to him, and he had to practice more, but he could definitely tell that he was weaker than him. What worried him, though, was how did they appear so soon?

"That moron. Did she screw something up already?" he said to himself in a low voice.

"Did you say something, sir?" asked the carver, who had just returned from the back with a new sign. Thanks to his ability, he could do such jobs on standby.

Leonid turned to him. "Nothing. Thanks, Hermes," he said, placing the crystals on the counter.

The carver was surprised. "Do we know each other, sir?"

Leonid grinned. "Yes." He only replied before picking up the signs and heading back.

Herm looked behind him in confusion.

Leonid returned to his shop, ignoring the pair of eyes watching him. He hung a new sign decorated with dragons and a fan with the words Dragons&Fan Grocery Store.

He saw movement out of the corner of his eye as a cloaked man approached him. He recognized that the cultivator was following him, but Leonid did nothing. 'We'll see how things go.'

When the man got so close that he could no longer pretend not to see him, he turned his head towards him.

"Excuse me, sir. Are you opening a new store here?" asked the cloaked man, who raised his head so Leonid could see a young face and black eyes.

"Hmm? New? Yes. Sort of." Leonid answered, trying to guess what this Lad was up to.

"Don't you know what happened to the previous owner?"

Leonid raised an eyebrow. "Perfumer? Who knows? He must have retired."

The young man was silent for a moment.

"I saw him leaving yesterday with a woman. Dark hair, eyes, average height, very bland. Do you know anything about her? Is she a granddaughter, perhaps?"

Leonid felt irritated by his words. Well… he couldn't deny that it was true, and the little Lass wasn't much of a beauty. But that didn't mean he liked someone talking about her like that in front of him. He snorted in annoyance. "Aren't you a little old to be looking for information on girls like this? Get advice from an old heartbreaker like me! Women like confident men! Not the ones who sneak around and pull information from strangers! Are you a snoop!"

The young man was stunned by his blunt words.

"N-no... so... I... I'm not a snoop!"

Leonid glared at him. Inwardly he was amused. Today's youth are so easily teased!

"So why are you wandering around asking for women, lad?"

The young man could not answer back.

"Ah! Leonid! It's you, isn't it?" said a voice behind them. They both turned around, only for Leonid to see Hermes pointing at him with a shaking finger.

"I finally figured it out! Man, where did you get younger?!"

Leonid was stunned. Now?! Now the hell do you remember? Idiot! "Hermes, go back. We'll talk later." He said instead of the swear words he wanted to release and looked at the young man again. Hermes sensed from his voice that something was up. He hesitated, and his feeling of victory faded. And he, too, carefully returned to his shop.

Lad stared at him. "So you're the original owner? Aren't you supposed to be retired?" he was returning his words.

Leonid shrugged and tucked his pinkie into his ear as if his annoyance didn't bother him.

"I found that retirement was not for me."

Sid was upset when he found out that this man was the old man from the previous day. And he felt even more annoyed that the man was making fun of him all the time! He stifled his anger; the man in front of him was stronger than him, which confused him even more! He was definitely just an ordinary old man yesterday. And now? He was at least in the middle of the Middle Realm!

Was the cultivator hidden all along? And the woman? He might be unable to attack the man before him, but he could certainly use his authority.

"What is your clan? And where is the woman?" he asked coldly.

Leonid stopped showing condescension and glared at the young man.

"Why is it your concern? It's none of your business, lad," he growled.

Sid threw his hood off his head and squared his shoulders proudly.

"I am Sid Demofang. Of the ninth Clan of the Moon Serb."

Leonid groaned inwardly. That moron! How did she get the clan's attention so quickly?! Leonid thought quickly about what to do. He could hardly go against the clan now! But he couldn't even back down when things had gone so far.

He put on a dispassionate expression, folding his arms across his chest.

"So what? I don't need a clan. I work for Dragons&Fan. My employer doesn't want someone who is biased." He pointed at the shop.

"We don't care about clan feuds; we're just here for business. That young lady you talked about is my boss. And some clans can't match my employment benefits."

Sid was again amazed. What the hell was he talking about?

Unfortunately, this is where Leonid stumbled because Sid was someone who had a green brain. The business gibberish left him most confused.

Sid scowled and stepped back, throwing the flaps of his cloak behind him to reveal the saber at his side. He put his hand on the handle.

"If you don't want to talk, I'll make you. Anytime I can call the rest of the clan warriors, we'll see if you can still lead the smart talk." he threatened.

Leonid was feeling helpless. Why does he want to fight? What was he supposed to say? After all, he had already answered him.

Leonid sighed and rubbed his fists.

"You wanted it yourself, lad. Don't blame me if you get hurt."

A blue glow appeared around Sid as he released spiritual energy from his body.

Leonid did the same, but his energy was the color of white gold. He hadn't fought yet as a cultivator, but he subconsciously knew what to do. The air around them thickened with tension, and the stones beneath their feet began to make a cracking sound.

The two men watched each other. As Sid drew his saber, Leonid shot his body forward. The stones beneath his feet cracked and crumbled.

Leonid slammed a clenched fist into Sid's center of the body, but he blocked the blow with the blade of his saber.

Sid parried the blow, but the force sent him back a few meters, and the bone in his hand ached. Another blow like that would shatter his bones. The difference in strength was too great. He quickly reached under his cloak to summon reinforcements.

"Oh, no. You won't." Leonid's cold voice rang out.

"Gah!" Sid shouted and dodged Leonid's blow using his leg technique.

Sid began to focus spiritual energy on his sword.

"Behead the sinner!" He used his clan's sword-fighting technique. The spirit energy flame on his sword grew stronger, and its color changed to blood red. Sid swung his sword to the right, the blade leaving behind illusory trails in space.

Leonid felt that this was a powerful attack. But he knew the attack wouldn't seriously hurt him. What was the problem was that the lad would have enough time to call in reinforcements. And he couldn't allow that.

He slammed his palms together so hard that there was a small sonic boom.

"Justice of the Heavenly Principles!"

A giant, transparent white gold fist appeared above Sid.

Sid didn't have time to break the technique or dodge, so he could only raise his free hand above his head before the fist hit him. And it pinned him to the ground.

A cloud of stone dust flew into the air and swept through the streets. Leonid blinked in astonishment. His Life Providence was damn scary!

"Ughhh…" A wheezing sound came from the ground. Leonid came closer and saw a figure pressed into the ground when the dust settled.

The young man was not in the best condition. Apparently, both arms were broken, and who knows how many were broken in his body.

The fact that he lived only showed that he was pretty strong and had a strong root.

Sid slowly moved his head and coughed up a mouthful of blood. He blamed himself for being too hasty. What kind of attack was that? It was too fast!

His pain-clouded gaze landed on a pair of shoes before his face.

"I told you not to blame me when you get hurt." Leonid's voice sounded in his ears.

*****

While she finished reaching for everything in her store, Dai occupied herself by looking at her System Window. She was still learning with him but was much more confident now.

He doesn't know how much time has passed, but suddenly the door to Shelter 22 opens.

She immediately dropped everything and stood straight, putting on a professional merchant's smile.

However, her smile froze when suddenly a body flew through the door and landed on the grass.

"Here's your first customer, lass! Take care of him. I've got some mess to clean up!" Leonid's voice came from the door before slamming it shut.

Dai still had a frozen smile on her face. She went to look at the person writhing on the ground, moaning in pain.

She suddenly felt like she had made a big mistake.