Open for business

Somewhere in the universe.

A vast piece of flat rock floating through an endless sea of stars. Like obsidian, the rock is black and shiny, reflecting images of stars, suns, and planets. But this piece of rock is not bare and lifeless.

Along its entire length, hundreds of beings, humans, humanoids, and creatures that only remotely resemble them stand in a row. A five-meter large, golden throne stands at the end of the row. The last few hundred waiting in front of the throne are kneeling and looking at the person sitting on the throne.

The person on the throne was a three-meter-tall, beautiful woman. Her perfectly white skin almost blended into her equally white toga, her long golden hair framing her oval face without a single wrinkle. She sat perfectly still; if her beautiful amber-gold eyes hadn't moved, anyone would have thought she was carved from marble and gold.

From the golden throne, in all directions, stretch thin threads like hair, crossing the universe and disappearing into the distance. At a closer look, one can see that the fibers are constantly moving. They ripple or break off and disappear before another appears in their place. The woman on the throne looked down over her voluptuous bust at the rows kneeling before her. Suddenly her gaze fell to the side. Next to the throne stood a small table on which lay a glass bowl with many pieces of gold paper.

The giantess raised her hand. Kneeling in front of her, they squealed even more at her sudden movement.

*SMASH!*

A giant hand hit the tables with an open palm. The glass shattered, and the gold papers flew in all directions.

A movement appeared from behind the throne, and many small monkey-like creatures jumped out and caught the golden paper with acrobatic movements. The giantess watched the aerial dance until all the papers were collected.

Most monkey-like creatures disappeared behind the throne again, but one remained. The giantess turned her hand palm up, and the creature jumped into her palm, where it left a single piece of golden paper before disappearing behind the throne.

The giantess brought her palm to her face and watched the moment.

Her sensual red lips moved.

"Devvil," she uttered a single word.

With that single word, the space beside her throne tore open, and a tiny black bat flew out.

The bat landed on the unscathed table next to the throne among the remains of the glass pieces and grew to human size in no time. The bat transformed into the form of a female figure with the same black skin but with long, dark purple hair. The woman dropped to one knee and fixed the same purple eyes on the giantess.

"Did you call?" she asked.

"Devvil. Someone rejected my ticket." the giantess announced.

Batwoman's eyes widened in surprise. "That is not possible, my mistress! No one refuses the goodwill Empress of Fortune!"

The Empress of Fortune brought her hand with the golden ticket closer to the Devvil.

"Some do. To find out more. I want to know who resists Fortune."

Devvil took the golden ticket from the giant's palm and nodded.

"Yes, my mistress." With that, the space behind her tore apart again; she changed back into a small bat and flew through it.

The waiting people didn't speak, but they thought the same thing. Who are they, then, kneeling here begging for her favor? Who is so self-confident as to refuse the help of Fortune itself?

Giantess was motionless again for a moment before looking back at the flood of golden threads representing trillions of fates.

On the low floors of the glass tower in the middle of Shelter 22.

Zila Demofang, in her training outfit, looked at her servant.

"You lost her?"

A young man with dark blue hair and black eyes stared at the young lady before him. She was his mistress he served, but she was also his younger sister. However, their relationship was never sibling-like. He was born to a concubine, while she was born to an official wife, so he was naturally her subordinate. He was only a few years older than her, but as the offspring of a concubine, he could not hold any official position in the clan. He could only become a servant.

Sid Demofang accepted his role. Serving as a warrior and protector was still better than being a simple servant. Thanks to this, he could cultivate and thus protect himself from competition in a family with murderous tendencies. However, he could still be replaced if he had fewer failures.

"Yes. I didn't leave for a moment. Yet suddenly, she and the owner disappeared from the store. I searched the store, but they were nowhere. The store has a back exit, but they couldn't have left that way." Sid reported.

Zila frowned in displeasure but said nothing. After all, Sid hadn't had many failures so far, so she didn't need to blame him. Still, his words were disturbing. Nobody just disappears. Sid was a cultivator, so if the woman used a technique, he could sense it. However, this did not happen. The woman was becoming more and more mysterious.

"Good. Keep an eye on the shop. If she shows up again, give me a report."

She dismissed him and returned to her saber training.

Sid bowed slightly and left the training room. Outside the door, he rubbed his sharp jaw, marked by the shadow of the stubble. The first had no idea why the young lady was interested in the ordinary woman, but now it was clear to him that something was wrong with her. He must find her and keep a close eye on her.

If Dai had any idea what her random decision had caused, she would probably be tearing her hair out in despair.

But at the moment, she was returning home in a good mood. Dai managed to pass through the gate to the outer circle in time and felt even more satisfied because now she could go to the outer circle whenever she wanted—using the new shop door. She definitely won't give them any more crystals!

She yawned. But before she would do anything, she needed to sleep. Walking through the southern part of Shelter during the day was pretty safe, so she didn't have to be so alert, and her step was much lighter.

She soon arrived at the hut, leaning against the outer wall. The only thing that separated it from the wilderness was a wall several meters thick.

She creaked open the door and scanned the single room. She had a single bed at the very back, and on the left side was a small kitchen... well, she called it a kitchen. It was just a wood stove that she could cook on.

To the right was a rough table; next to it was a chest, and hanging from the ceiling were herbs that she was drying. There were shelves with various things on the walls. It wasn't much, but it was hers. The scent of herbs was in the air, and even though this place was rough, she relaxed. She was home.

After a while, she again went outside to collect water in a bucket from the well, which she placed inside on the stove, which she lit to heat the water. She wished she could lie down, but she needed to wash up. If she would pose as a magic shop owner, she had to look better.

She scrubbed herself from head to toe with warm water before retiring to bed. A few hours of sleep will help.

Another night fell. A figure lurked in the shadows outside old Leonid's empty shop. He looked through the window at the empty shelves and counters, regret shining in his eyes. A tiny fist clenched in anger before the figure disappeared into the alleys.

The following day, Dai woke up rested. She ate the portion she originally bought from Aunt Sha. The meat was already hard, and she could smell a faint aftertaste. But she ate it anyway. Although she had a shop now and would soon be earning crystals, she had to make do with what she had for now.

She adjusted and put on her best outfit... which looked almost the same as the last one, only cleaner. For the sake of inconspicuousness, she avoided dressing in bright colors and tried to wear more practical clothes—sturdy shoes, pants, vest, all dark brown or black.

She took a breath and opened the window before pressing the door icon.

A mist momentarily filled her eyes before she found herself in the Dimensional space outside her shop. She immediately went inside, remembering Leonid, whom she had left there. Her gaze immediately fell on the place where he had been lying before, but... he was gone.

Dai looked around and peered into the warehouse, but he was nowhere to be found. She went out again and looked around. Could he go back outside? She was beginning to feel uneasy. Is something wrong?

"Boooooossss!" she heard an oncoming voice and the sound of air whistling.

She turned at the sound.... and was hit by a wall!

It didn't hurt, but she felt like she'd bumped into a pile of rubber that she would have bounced off if the firm grip on her shoulders hadn't held her in place.

She shook her head to recover from the shock and looked up. Her chin dropped.

"Leonid?" she asked doubtfully.

Leonid looked down at Dai with a bright white smile.

"Hahaha! Flesh and bones! Much more flesh!"

Leonid folded his strong hands on his muscular chest. Gone was the old, white-haired man. In his place stood a fresh-faced man in his thirties. His initially white hair turned mossy green, and so did his mustache and eyebrows. His eyes glowed with vitality and became brighter. He had grown a few inches so that before he was about the same height as Dai, he was now taller than her.

Leonid grabbed Dai in a hug and lifted her off the ground.

"I did the best deal of my life with you, Lass! You have no idea how it feels! It's great!"

"Gah! Put me down! You're almost naked! Where the hell did you leave your clothes? Now that you're young again, you're going to be an exhibitionist?!" Dai scolded him. Leonid laughed and released her before stepping back and patting his bare chest.

"I outgrew my clothes. There was nothing I could do about it. And who's showing off in front of you, Lass? I'm only interested in pretty women!"

Dai was speechless at the blatant insult. She was not ugly!!!

Dai tossed her head in offense and returned to the shop. Leonid followed her with a wide, mischievous smile. She stood behind the counter and watched Leonid with a darkened expression. He didn't care, hooked his thumbs into the remains of his pants, and rocked on his heels.

Dai sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Will you explain to me what happened to you?"

Leonid stopped swaying. "I have changed through cultivation. I am now a cultivator in the Middle High Realm."

Dai, who really didn't know anything about cultivation, remained unresponsive.

Now that he was calm and not smiling like a donkey, he looked more like the white-haired old man from before.

Leonid sighed at her lack of reaction.

"Cultivators have three Realms. Low, Middle, and High Realms. Each Realm has three stages—low, Middle, and High. Every cultivator starts in the Low Realm. Then they progress. Low Middle Realm, Low High Realm before they go to the Middle Realm. And repeat."

Dai blinked. "Oh."

Leonid got a little angry. "You don't get it at all, do you?! Are you dumb or what?!"

Dai got angry too. "I understand what you're saying! But I don't understand the difference between the Realms! Explain properly or not at all, you old geezer!"

Leonid's mustache bristled. "You don't seem trustworthy as a shop owner if you don't even know a fart!"

Dai choked on her own words. She couldn't deny that he was right. She inhaled and exhaled all the anger away.

"Okay. So can you explain it to me?" she asked.

Leonid was still frowning but smoothed his mustache. "The difference between the Realms is like night and day: Heaven and earth. If two cultivators face each other, one is a Low Realm, and the other is a Low High Realm; there is still a small chance that the weaker one will win. Much depends on the techniques that the cultivators control. But if you put someone in the Low High Realm and Middle Low Realm against you, the weaker one really doesn't stand a chance. He will be trampled to the ground." He walked over to the counter and leaned against it as he explained. But Dai pulled away from him a little. She was still uncomfortable that he was wearing almost nothing, but she concentrated on what he told her.

"Cultivating in a single Realm isn't that hard. But breaking through to another is what's difficult. It would be best to have a mindset, raw materials, and great fitness to have a better chance. The energy difference between Realms is so big that cultivators enter seclusion when trying to get through the bottleneck. If their attempt fails, they will lose some of their cultivation and may even get injured. They are filled with spiritual energy that strengthens body and mind if they break through. Their strength is great, their bodies are rejuvenated, and they prolong their lives."

He raised his hand, which he clenched into a fist.

"Now for the difference in strength. Imagine it like this. A Low Realm can easily break a stone. While a Middle Realm can easily crush a piece of iron into the mud. And a High Realm could crush a diamond into powder. But physical strength is not the most terrifying thing about cultivators. It's a spiritual power that they can project out of their bodies. Depending on their innate abilities, they can form into attacks."

"Their innate abilities?" Dai was interested.

Leonid nodded. "Every cultivator has awakened some ability before. Let's say he could control a small flame at his fingertips. If he becomes a cultivator, that ability determines the direction of his cultivation. So for such a cultivator, it's best to stick to fire. He can throw fireballs, drop flaming meteorites, creating inferno tornadoes. It's perfect for him. Of course, he can try to go the other way, but his nature is fire. He'll never be that strong in anything else."

He straightened up and looked around the store, assessing the few available things.

"Cultivation is everything to a Cultivator. The worst thing you can do to someone is to cripple their cultivation." Dai also looked around and thought.

This was the first time she had heard the details of cultivation. However, Leonid knew how to explain well, making it easy to understand. Still, she was constantly amazed. Cultivation is truly a profound matter. But thanks to Leonid, she understood things now and could do her job better.

She didn't have many things to cultivate here. Although the effects of everything were great, she only had one pill when it came to the cultivation itself.

"So... if someone has innate fire, maybe something with a fire essence will help them?" she asked.

Leonid shrugged. "Theoretically, it's possible. But I don't know. I was just a businessman, and this is stuff I overheard from wives and a few narcissists."

Dai finally nodded. "Thanks, Leonid. That really helped me." the earlier rage was forgotten.

Leonid smiled. "In that case. How about we get started?"

Dai smiled too. "Are you safe now with your new power?"

"Pretty much. I'll be fine as long as the entire clan or the clan heads themselves don't come after me. And if something does go wrong, I can run here."

Dai nodded again. "Great. So shall we open?" she rubbed her hands, and the excitement returned.

Leonid agreed and made his way to the far door.

"And Leonid? Put something on!"