Shop

Vell patted its head before the creature leaped away, screeching in the air.

With a sharp grunt, he gritted his teeth and threw a devastating kick to its head, sending it flying towards the ground. The impact echoed, rattling nearby debris. As the monster let Maya go, he dove headfirst, catching her in midair, landing on his feet with the precision of a wild animal. His breathing was steady, and thin trails of smoke escaped from his mouth like some feral thing.

Gently placing her down, he gave a smirk. 

"Find somewhere to hide. I'll deal with this turkey."

"Good luck," She said, her voice tight with worry as she darted into the rubble of a half-collapsed building.

 He didn't wait. His focus was on the bird-like creature rising again. It tried to fly off, flapping its massive wings, but it was too slow. He sprinted at the nearby wall, using it as a springboard to leap, delivering a bone-crunching uppercut that slammed the beast flat on its back.

Without hesitation, he vaulted into the air, aiming to finish it with a knee strike. But the bird's wings were quicker than he thought, a powerful gust sent him flying back, smashing into a concrete wall.

"Ugh, damn bird. Guess a monster's still a monster."

 He grumbled, shaking the dust off his jacket as he staggered back to his feet. The bird was already airborne, circling above him like a predator surveying its prey.

It shot past him, so fast he couldn't react. 

He blinked, eyes wide. 

"Uh oh. That's not good."

The beast dove again, its talons flashing in the dying sunlight. He raised his arms in defense, but its claws raked across him, drawing blood. He winced, pain searing through his body, but his gaze stayed locked on the monster, hungry for more.

"Hey, big turkey!" he shouted. 

"Don't you think fighting from up there's a little unfair?"

He spotted a steel pole half-buried in the rubble, grabbed it, and hurled it like a spear.

 "Come down here!"

The bird was caught off guard, barely dodging at the last second. It screeched in frustration, but he wasn't finished. 

"What's wrong? You scared?"

With that, he yanked out another pole, this time throwing it in a curve. The bird dodged again, but just barely. Then more poles came flying in quick succession. The monster was fast, but not fast enough. One caught its wing, then another. Its screeches became desperate as its wings were pinned by the metal. It crashed into the ground with a loud thud, shaking the earth beneath his feet.

Before it could recover, he charged, grabbing more poles. He dashed forward, faster than ever, leaping up and driving the poles into its body, pinning it to the ground.

 "What now, turkey?" he growled, grinning wildly as he climbed onto the creature's chest.

With a feral grin, he wound up a punch and started pounding the bird's face, each blow harder than the last. The creature's cries faded, its body limp under him, but he didn't stop. He didn't even hesitate. The rush, the adrenaline—it drove him forward, his fists a blur. Then, suddenly, in the midst of another punch, the monster locked eyes with him. He froze.

"Did you… just say something?"

The bird stared at him, its eyes dull but its voice clear. 

"You are strong, human… and yet you are still not awakened. Fascinating."

 Its voice was ragged, but it continued. 

"As a reward for your bravery, when I pass… take my wing feathers. Burn them. Something great will happen… you will thrive in that world…"

The creature's voice trailed off as its life slipped away. He stared down at the corpse, his mind spinning.

"Did… it just talk?" he muttered, standing slowly, staring at the monster's still body.

 "Feathers? Burn them? What the hell?"

He stood there, lost in thought until Maya came running back, her face full of concern.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked, eyeing the dead creature. 

"You look… out of it."

"Yeah, uh…" He hesitated. "The bird. It talked to me."

Maya gave him a look, one eyebrow raised in disbelief. 

"You sure you're not losing it? It's a monster, Vell. Monsters don't talk."

"I know what I heard," he muttered, bending down and pulling at the bird's feathers. Maya tried to help, but after struggling to yank out a single feather, she gave up, sitting down with a huff.

"How the hell are you doing that?" she asked, frustrated. "These things are stuck tight."

He didn't answer, too focused on gathering the feathers. As he worked, Maya's mind wandered.

Just days ago, life was normal. Now? Now her cousin was out here fighting monsters like some action movie hero. What had changed? Was this really the end of the world? Judgment Day, or something worse?

Before she could get too deep in thought, Vell was done. He stood up, clutching a bundle of feathers under his arm. 

"Alright, now we just need a lighter."

They searched through the wreckage of a nearby building, finding one buried under some rubble. As the sun dipped below the horizon, they hurried back. The streets were quiet, but the silence felt uneasy. 

Vell flicked the lighter, holding it to the feathers. At first, they burned like normal, but then the flames turned white. Bright, pure white flames.

Maya's eyes widened. "White flames? That's… that's supposed to be the purest form of fire, right?"

Vell stretched his hand towards the fire but felt nothing. "It's not hot," he said, more to himself than to her. They watched as the flames flickered and died down, leaving behind something unexpected: a piece of golden paper. It shimmered in the fading light, with intricate, ancient markings etched into it.

"What is this?" He grumbled, staring at the paper. 

"That damn bird… all this for a piece of paper?"

Maya leaned over, examining it. "Maybe it's magic. You know, like in those novel stories?"

"Maybe." 

He tried everything he could think of—chanting random words, meditating, even praying. Nothing worked. 

"Ugh, it's completely useless!" 

In frustration, he tore the paper in half and threw it away. But as they turned to leave, the torn paper began to glow, and the lighter's flame flared up, blinding them.

Vell squinted, peeking through one eye. As the light faded, a figure emerged. At first, it was just a silhouette, but soon it became clear: a rabbit. A massive, human-like rabbit, wearing a suit and a hat.

He immediately pushed Maya behind him, his fists clenched.

 "What kind of monster is this?" Maya whispered.

"I don't know,but we should be careful."

The rabbit looked around, seemingly confused, then locked its gaze on them. 

"How odd," it said, its voice smooth and articulate. 

"A mortal, outside the tower, using a shop ticket. That's a first."

"Shop ticket?" Vell said, still tense. "You mean that piece of junk paper?"

"Junk?" The rabbit raised an eyebrow. "I suppose that's understandable, given your situation. You haven't even entered the tower yet."

The rabbit reached into a bag slung over its shoulder, pulling out a large piece of parchment. It was covered in colorful images. 

"Allow me to explain. This," it gestured at the paper, "is a shop ticket. The ticket you used is this one, the golden ticket. It's a low-level ticket that grants you access to the basic store. Simple, right? After that, there are blue, white, red, and black tickets, each granting access to higher-tier shops. The black ticket, for example, gives you access to the premium store."

"Tickets can be found in a number of ways, which I will not disclose," Jaq continued, a mischievous glint in its eye. "I don't know how you got your hands on this one, but I have to admit, it's a violation of the rules. I might get in trouble… but what the heck, I'm intrigued."

Maya glanced at Vell, her eyes questioning. But neither of them spoke.

"Each shop has an administrator, and I am the manager of this particular shop," Jaq said, straightening his suit and giving an exaggerated bow. "Manager Jaq, at your service."

The rabbit's formal gesture made his fists itch. This whole situation was getting stranger by the second. 

"I think I get it," He said, his voice low. "So, you're saying you're from one of those towers…"

The rabbit nodded. "Indeed. I am-"

Without warning, he lunged forward, aiming a punch at the rabbit's head. But just as his fist was about to connect, an invisible force stopped him in mid-air.

"Violence against admins is prohibited," Jaq said calmly, adjusting his tie. "Even outside the tower, I am still an admin."

He backed off, frustrated. "Tch. Why…..why did you do this to our world? What did humans do to deserve this?"

Jaq sighed, glancing at Vell's clenched fists.

 "Every species always thinks they did nothing wrong," Jaq began. "Tell me, how was the state of your planet before the towers fell?"

Vell didn't respond, but the question hung in the air.

"To be direct, your planet was dying, humans hunted and killed animals, destroyed forests, poisoned the oceans, and released chemicals into the air. All of this contributed to the collapse of your planet's outer shell." You know this, don't you, the part about humans killing the planet?"

He clenched his fists but said nothing.

"Didn't you ever find it strange?" Jaq asked, adjusting his tie again. "No matter how many spaceships your people sent, they always exploded when they reached a certain distance, as if they hit something. That was the outer shell. It was created by the gods to protect your planet."

Vell's anger faded slightly as confusion took over. What was Jaq talking about? Outer shells? Gods? The rabbit continued without waiting for a response.

"This shell sustained itself using a certain chemical found in the air you breathe. But as humans continued to corrupt the Earth, that chemical slowly disappeared, and the shell weakened. After millions of years, Earth became vulnerable to attacks from outside forces."

Maya and Vell exchanged glances, both of them speechless.

Jaq's voice softened. 

"To make matters worse, your deity died long ago," Jaq said, its voice now quieter, more solemn. "Without its protection, the planet was left exposed."

 So the gods… well, they thought it might be interesting to see what happened if they… never mind. I've said too much.There are things I am not allowed to share with non-players. Let's get back to business."

Vell gritted his teeth, his frustration growing. "You're just going to stop? After all that?"

"I'm afraid so. All will become clear soon….very soon."

A screen appeared in front of Vell, filled with images of weapons, armor, and strange items. 

"Now then, this is the shop. It's pretty simple. You scroll through and buy using credits."

"Credits?" he asked, glancing at the screen. "What's that?"

"Credits are the currency used within the tower," Jaq explained. "Since you haven't awakened yet, you don't have access to your credit bank. However…" The rabbit smiled, looking a little mischievous. 

"We'll use something else for now. Consider it your lucky day."

Vell scrolled through the shop screen, his eyes widening at the prices. "Didn't you say this is the low-tier shop? The cheapest item here costs 50,000 credits!"

Jaq shrugged. "There's nothing I can do about that."

He scratched his head in annoyance, still scrolling through the absurdly expensive items.

 'It's not surprising he thinks the prices are too high,' Jaq thought, smirking. 'But that's in name only. Even my low-tier goods are highly ranked within the tower.'

"All you need are 10 monster cores, and I'll allow you to take anything you want. The rabbit gestured casually.

"Monster cores? You mean those crystals?" he asked.

"Exactly. Bring me ten cores, and you can take anything you want."

He stared at the screen for a long moment, then glanced back at Maya, who had dozed off against a nearby wall. 

"Fine," he said quietly. 

"Looks like I've got a busy day tomorrow."

Time left until earth destruction: 9 days