Another World Mall
"Where the heck am I?" Clovis squinted his eyes, looking at the only room that was lit up. The arrangement of the shelves, the food items within the shelves, and the cashier area reminded him of a grocery store.
Another screen appeared before him. Instead of a white screen, the one before him was blue, indicating that it was different from the nano-implant in his brain.
[Welcome to Another World Mall.]
[Generating Status…]
[Name: Clovis Hacfield.]
[Membership: None]
[Money: 17 Otherworldly Coins.]
[Item Limit: 1/Visit]
[Visit: 0(1)/Day]
"Another World Mall?" Clovis furrowed his eyebrows. He looked at the entire area that had been darkened. With just the shadow of those stores, it did resemble a mall.
Still, he didn't know where he was currently or how he arrived at this place, so he grabbed his sword, which didn't seem to be brought together with him. Even the chain attached to his left arm had disappeared.
Since he didn't have a weapon with him, the first thing Clovis did was step to the side, trying to check the other areas.
However, his hand suddenly touched an invisible wall, startling Clovis. Even after applying a bit more strength, he didn't feel it was going to budge.
"It seems that I can only go to this one place." Clovis muttered as he approached the store carefully.
While walking, Clovis saw the screen again and noticed a peculiar thing.
"17 Otherworldly Coins? Isn't it…" Clovis tried to grab the wallet in his pocket, but just like his swords, the wallet disappeared. "It's the same amount of money that is within my wallet."
There were a lot of questions in Clovis's head, but he surely had one big question in his mind. Could he actually return to where he was?
While thinking about it, Clovis walked inside the grocery store. Now that he was stuck in it, he had to explore this area. He still maintained his awareness around him, making sure that he didn't fall into an ambush.
Once inside, he was greeted by a basket that contained three types of vegetables.
The moment his eyes were locked onto them, each vegetable showed its description.
Name: Elven Carrot (Tier 0)
Description: Cultivated by the Wooden Elf Race.
Effect: Brain +0.5%
Price: 5 Otherworldly Coins
Name: Elven Radish (Tier 0)
Description: Cultivated by the Wooden Elf Race.
Effect: Bone +0.5%
Price: 5 Otherworldly Coins
Name: Elven Onion (Tier 0)
Description: Cultivated by the Wooden Elf Race.
Effect: Muscle +0.5%
Price: 5 Otherworldly Coins
Clovis couldn't help but drop his jaw to the ground when he saw their description.
"What? These vegetables actually increase my status? But Wooden Elf Race? Who are they? I don't think I have heard anything about the Wooden Elf Race. In fact, there is no humanoid beast in the subterranean world, so is it not from this world? I mean, this place is called Another World Mall, right?"
Clovis had never heard of a vegetable that could improve his ability. But when he linked them with another world, he somehow managed to accept it.
"If this is true, doesn't this mean I can use all these ingredients to increase my strength? In other words, I will have two ways of increasing my power."
An idea appeared in his mind. He could hunt the monsters to absorb their essence and eat these vegetables during the night.
"This is incredible, but…" Clovis checked the screen panel again in detail. "Otherworldly Coins, Item Limit, and Number of Visits, huh? It seems that the coins are converted from the money I had with me before coming here. It might not use my real money, since if the money ends up here, it might cause inflation, especially if I buy more expensive items." Clovis looked to the side as numerous shelves stood before his eyes.
He realized that the money he spent here would be accumulated. It might look like he was getting ahead of himself by thinking he would spend enough money that could affect inflation, but he was just thinking it through.
Clovis tried to move to the shelf behind this basket and noticed a few food items. Unfortunately for him, he ended up hitting the same invisible wall.
"Guh!" His hand was rubbing his forehead while Clovis took another look at the food items. "How do I get there?"
The only thing he could think of was the membership.
"Should I spend money here and improve my membership? But how do I improve my membership?" Clovis frowned and tried to touch the screen, wondering if he could get any information.
Unexpectedly, the screen appeared to be responding to his voice as the display changed to answer his question.
Membership: None
Upgrade Membership: 100 Otherworld Coins/Month.
Benefit: +1 Item Limit, +1 Shelf
"Interesting." On the one hand, it looked like he needed more money if he wanted to open and might require a ridiculous amount to keep progressing. On the other hand, the first step only cost him 100 coins a month, which was a big sum for the current him but not too big for a household.
"Should I sell more furniture? But I don't have much furniture left to sell. And if I use that money for the membership, I might not have enough to bribe the staff to bring me to the subterranean world. If I can't hunt beasts to make money, it'll be over."
Clovis rubbed his forehead as though he were calculating his current plan. "I think it's better to find a way to earn money first. But if these vegetables, or maybe all the items in here, are so magical, I don't think I can show them to the world. They might do anything to get a hold of these items.
"What if I plant it myself? But will it work with Earth's soil? How about getting a sponsor? But if I rely on them too much, they might take advantage of me to get these items or even betray me.
"I have so many questions about this place, but it might be my biggest opportunity. If I can take advantage of this place…" Clovis imagined himself becoming stronger and stronger to the very peak as he bought more and more items from this place. "Let's do it."
Since he could buy one thing from this place, he decided to grab the Onion.
"Brain Evolution is related to the five senses and mental acuteness. Heart Evolution is about life force, natural regeneration, and vitality in my body. On the other hand, Blood is tied to my general health and stamina. Muscle and Bones are closely related to physical abilities, but Muscle Evolution is for strength while Bones Evolution is related to durability. My current situation requires me to improve my strength, so it's going to be the onion."
Clovis brought this to the cashier area, only to wonder how he should do it.
"Is this a self-checkout?" Clovis asked while looking at the onion, not finding anything to scan. He grabbed the scanner while pointing it at the onion. "Where do I scan it?"
Surprisingly, a beeping sound echoed in his ear as the computer screen showed that he bought an onion for 5 coins.
After that, the screen appeared again.
[Buy the registered items?]
[Yes/No]
Clovis carefully tapped the 'Yes,' and the computer let out another *beep* sound, startling him. The computer screen was reset, and the onion disappeared.
The screen was updated with a display of onions. There were a few empty slots, which might be for other items in the future.
And at the bottom of the screen, he saw a 'Return' button. Once he tapped on it, the scenery before his eyes began to disappear. The darkness filled his vision for a second before the rain poured on him once again.
"Woah?!" Clovis's heart skipped a beat. "Was that another dimension? I have to visit that place every day and take advantage of all the items there to get stronger. But I might be so busy in the Subterranean World that I couldn't go there. No, what if someone saw me disappear?
"This mall is a double-edged sword. I have to be careful using it, and it's clear that I can't group up with people. Well, that's not a problem. I do still want to have a group, but no one wants to party with a useless person who only has a 15% evolution rate. I should question them if they have hidden intentions if they invite me."
Clovis sighed while grabbing the two swords on the ground. He took out his phone and ordered takeout. "Well, we're talking about onions. Since I can't afford cooking oil, I should just eat it raw with a noodle dish."
His demeanor seemed to have calmed down.
While waiting for the takeout, Clovis was changing his clothes while testing a few things about this mysterious power.
"How do I take out the onion? System? Hello? Bonjour?!" Clovis tilted his head in confusion. "How do I enter that mall—!"
When he mentioned the word 'mall,' the screen flashed before his eyes.
[Another World Mall.]
[Inventory: Onion x1]
[Enter]
"Oh? That word is the trigger." Clovis was quite curious about it, so he touched the 'Enter' button, but nothing happened. "It seems that I can't enter the mall. Ah, I almost forgot!"
Clovis hurriedly checked out his wallet and noticed that his money was still there.
"Hmm, the money remains. If I return with this amount of money… I don't think it's going to show 17 coins again. So, the same money might not be able to be used again. What about credit cards? Debit? I can only test it one at a time," Clovis sighed, trying to list a lot of things to explore in the mall.
Of course, he also cut up the onion and put it on the noodle.
As soon as he ate everything, Clovis hurriedly opened the system, which ended up putting a smile on his face.
Name: Clovis Hacfield
Tier: 0
Evolution Rate: 15%
Brain: 0%
Heart: 0%
Blood: 0%
Muscle: 0.5%
Bones: 0%
"The effect is more amazing because it bypasses the evolution rate. In other words, the effect that I read in the description would reflect the actual change instead of being converted by the evolution rate."
Clovis pumped his fist. "In that case, let's get some money and visit the Subterranean World within three days."