The First Customer

Inside Colt's store, there appeared to be what looked to be particles that seemed to gather as they began to condense and take form. The process didn't take long as Colt was soon seen fully materialized and standing inside of his shop.

Colt blinked a few times before looking around to see that he was indeed back in the real world, he gave a small sigh as he stretched his back. He had just finished up his eight hours of 'work' inside of his instance and was forcefully kicked out by the system.

"System, is time in that world still going?"

『It has not. Time within instances does not freeze, but time runs differently compared to the real world. For example, whenever an hour passes by in the instance only ten minutes will pass by in the real world』

"I see, so a crap version of the hyperbolic time chamber pretty much." Colt nodded to himself in understanding as he finished stretching. He did notice how he had spent way longer than eight hours in there, so that meant the eight hours of game time was counted from real-world hours. "That meant I was in there for two whole days."

During the time that he was in the instance, he had actually accomplished a few things. He had sparred with Ector near when he first entered, and he had even managed to begin learning swordsmanship alongside Arthur and Kay.

It seemed that Ector was impressed enough by Colt's performance during their spar that he was willing to teach Colt. On the matter of Ector, Arthur, and Kay. Colt was honestly amazed by how real they acted, in fact, he was pretty certain they technically were real.

"System... this isn't a video game. Are the Arthur, Ector, and Kay I met real people?"

『Confirmed. For the host to understand, you may view them as living beings who live in a dimension below this one. Think of picture books, those characters live in a two-dimensional world, while you live in a three-dimensional existence』

"I understand..." Colt smiled a bit at that, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel if those three he became relatively close with the past two days in that world were just, in a sense, stringed puppets. "What about other customers? They obviously won't share the same events that transpired in my instance."

『Parallel worlds』

"Okay, simple as that, huh?" Colt scoffed a bit in amusement before looking outside. He could see that the sun was already beginning to rise, it was quite late when he entered the instance. Perhaps the night had already passed by. "Hm, what's that?"

Colt couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when he noticed a few differences in the shop, near the front door of the building was what looked to be a board of sorts that was attached firmly to the wall. It had various words written on it as well. Walking over, Colt stared up and curiously read them.

"Oh, a board of rules and basic information..."

.

『Rules and General Information』

● Opening Hours: 8am ➙ 8pm

● Shop Registration Card Fee: 50,000 Mora - [Replacement: 25,000 Mora]

● Customers can only play for eight hours per day, each hour costs 10,000 Mora

● Individuals verbally harassing other customers and/or the owner will be given a warning. Three warnings and the individual will either be forced to leave

● Physical violence against customers and/or the owner will not be tolerated and will be dealt with accordingly and appropriately

.

"I'm a bit concerned with the last rule, I'm not exactly the strongest..."

『There is no need for concern, the automatic safeguards of the shop will activate to punish any rule breakers in the owner's stead』

"Okay..." Colt dragged that word on a bit as he wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that. He wasn't sure what these supposed safeguards were, hopefully they weren't too extreme. If they are, it could cause some issues. "What's with this registration fee?"

『When the host returns to the desk, you will find a card dispenser built into the desk. Once the customer pays the fee, the Host can give them one card, which is proof that they are registered. The card is what holds the individual's Tokens that they earn and can be used to pay for prizes』

"Oh, it's literally just like in arcades." Most arcades in the world had cards they gave their members that said members would use to pay for any games they played. In this case, they were used to keep track of the Tokens. "Speaking of Tokens, did I get any?"

『Indeed, go to the desk and dispense yourself a card』

Colt didn't say anything back but gave a simple nod as he walked back towards his desk, when he went behind and sat down, he looked around before spotting a silver device embedded into the desk. It had an extruding keyboard and a small screen. "Let's see... my name is Colt Andilet."

On the screen it seemed to have a simple registration thing, he needed to simply input his own name as it generated all the other necessary information. That information included a random registration number and a passcode.

'Oh, neat. It recognized me as the owner and skipped the payment...'

After finishing the registration process, Colt watched as the machine produced a black card that was spat out from the rectangular hole in the device. Colt grabbed the card and curiously held it up to read the contents of the card, there wasn't much written, but just whatever was needed.

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『Strokes of Reality - Membership Card』

● Name: Colt Andilet

● Registration Number: #000000001Z

● Passcode: XXX-XXX-XXXX

● Tokens: 2,500

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"Not sure if that's a lot or not..." Colt didn't exactly have any prizes to compare prices with in comparison to the number of tokens he had, so whether or not twenty-five hundred was a good amount or not was still in the air. "That was only one time though, so maybe it's fairly good."

Seeing no point in pondering on the matter any longer, Colt pocketed his card before looking towards the digital clock that rested on his desk. Widening his eyes slightly, Colt quickly jumped up from his desk and walked towards the door.

It was almost eight in the morning, so he might as well open up early seeing as there wasn't anything else he could really do. He flipped the sign at the door to show that the shop was open before he made his way back to the desk to relax.

"System, what does it mean for me since I ended up playing outside business hours?"

『The playing hours for the Host resets at the beginning of opening hours, and seeing as the Host played through the night, the Host will have to wait until the store opens tomorrow before being able to play again』

"Guess I'm just sitting here for the day then..." Even though he did kind of want to go back right now to continue his sword training with Ector, perhaps taking breaks like this was good. After all, he may not feel physically fatigued, but he definitely could feel it mentally.

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Business was incredibly slow, though that might not be the best way to describe it, it was more like there was no business at all. Whenever a customer would enter the shop, they would stare at the price before quickly making a retreat.

Colt didn't really care too much since that obviously meant that the price was not something that person could afford, so what reason would they have to stay? If someone with the necessary income were to pass by and be willing to pay, then that's blessed.

He wasn't entirely sure what the conversion rate was when it came to Mora in comparison to a form of currency he understood, but it was probably quite a lot. For now, all he could really do was sit back in his chair and relax while he waited for his first official customer.

By some miracle, a certain Favonius knight could be seen walking along the street where the shop was located. The person was obviously male and had a lean physique with a tanned complexion, having long navy-blue hair that had a long lock of hair tied and resting over his left shoulder.

The male also had his bangs covering the right side of his face, which also slightly hid the eyepatch that the male could be seen wearing over his right eye. His form of attire consisted of a collared white blouse, which was adorned by a cape with a collar of fur.

This was none other than Kaeya, who served as the Calvary Captain of the Knights of Favonius. Just as his occupation suggests, it is his duty to command the knights that battle on horses and such. Though, considering the current situation with the calvary, he's currently 'off-duty' in a sense.

"Hm? Oh, it seems that place has opened." Kaeya stopped his patrol and turned his attention to the strange shop that rested on the street. He had walked by the place during his yesterday's patrol, but since it was closed, he just let it be. "Strokes of Reality, a peculiar name... I suppose a quick look can't hurt."

Kaeya then proceeded to walk towards the shop, he was curious to find out what this shop had to offer. Compared to most shops here in the city, it had a rather interesting name to say the least. Just as interesting as the name of Diluc's tavern.

Upon arriving at the entrance, Kaeya gently pushed open the door. He couldn't help but admire the feeling of the polished wood that the door was made of, Unlike normal wood which was always rough to touch, with only a few exceptions, the wood that made up this building was completely smooth.

Kaeya smiled a bit when he entered, noticing the cleanliness of the building. 'How pristine.'

"Welcome to Strokes of Reality." A young male's voice entered his ears as Kaeya turned his attention towards the desk located at the back of the room. "Please refer to the board of information beside you before doing any business."

Kaeya stared at the young youth for a second, taking in the male's appearance. The male looked no older than seventeen, along with having pale blonde hair with various streaks of darker yellow hair at the front and also a pair of matching eyes.

The clothing that the young male wore was also very simple but stylish, consisting of a manjority of black colours. The pieces of clothing included, from what Kaeya could see at least, a black shirt underneath an open black hooded jacket that was coloured a dark red on the inside. Kaeya couldn't see what he wore to cover his bottom half though.

"Very well." Hearing the male's voice, Kaeya turned his head to the left and immediately noticed the board that Colt was talking about. 'A registration fee? I suppose this must be some sort of service, perhaps like the Adventurer's Guild?'

As Kaeya read over the information, he was truly intrigued. The price was quite high, at least for a normal citizen and novice adventurers. For adventurers with experience, and especially himself, it wasn't that much. Though, it made him truly curious about what this shop provided.

'Play? Play what exactly?' Kaeya noticed the third dot point and couldn't help but wonder to himself. He glanced towards the blonde male, who simply had his legs kicked up onto the desk, arms crossed with his eyes closed. 'How interesting...'

As Kaeya was busy reading over the rules and general information board, Colt opened his eyes slightly and sent a curious glance toward the male. This guy was much different compared to anyone else he's seen in this city, which was evident by the information he could see.

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『Character』

● Name: Kaeya Alberich - Calvary Captain

● Vision: Cryo

● Battle Power: 340

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'Cryo? This guy has one of those... Vision things?' Colt couldn't help but notice the few differences in this guy's information in comparison to others. Not only was this guy way stronger than anyone he's seen, as evident by the battle power, but he also had a Vision. 'My stats did say I didn't have Vision, but what the hell is it? I guess I'll need to do some research... Wait, system. Can you explain it?'

He was just about to consider going to a library or something to see if there's information regarding these Visions, but stopped himself once he remembered that perhaps he could get information from the system.

『A Vision is a gift granted to individuals who are recognised by Celestia and the gods, the home of Deities, which grants them the capability to manipulate one of the seven elements of the world. Wielders of Visions are called Allogenes. It is also best to keep in mind that the main fangs of Vision holders are not their physical capabilities, but their elemental powers』

'Huh... and what element is Cryo?'

『Ice』

'I see...' With that information in mind, Colt turned his attention once again towards Kaeya who had just finished reading the board and was now walking over towards him. "I assume you thoroughly read through the board?"

"Indeed, though I have to ask. Just what does this shop of yours provide?"

"What do I provide?" Colt blinked before smiling slightly as he leaned back in his chair. "If I were to put it simply, I suppose you could say that my shop gives people the chance to experience a different reality. A chance at a temporary new life."

"A new life...?" Kaeya narrowed his eyes a bit as he stared at Colt. Colt could feel the amount of judgement in this guy's gaze, Kaeya was obviously trying to gather as much information as possible. "That's quite the service, but how do you accomplish that I wonder."

Colt simply smiled.

"Very well, then I'd like to register myself for your services." Kaeya chuckled before taking out the necessary amount of money and handing it over to Colt. The blonde nodded before quickly counting the money, Kaeya then watched as the male seemed to be doing something behind the desk.

"Please give me a moment." Colt voiced simply as he proceeded to fill out the information. "Name please."

"Kaeya."

"Family name?"

"Just simply Kaeya will do."

"Very well." Colt shrugged, he wasn't sure why the guy didn't want to give his family name, but it wasn't his business. When the machine asked for the payment, Colt dropped the money into the opened slot as the machine processed the cash. "Here you go, please try not to lose it."

Taking hold of the card, Kaeya looked over it curiously.

.

『Strokes of Reality - Membership Card』

● Name: Kaeya

● Registration Number: #000000002Z

● Passcode: XXX-XXX-XXXX

● Tokens: 0

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"What are these Tokens?"

"A special form of currency that can be used in my shop, they're earned as you continue to use my services. You don't need to worry about those for now though," With a small stretch, Colt hopped up from his desk and walked out. "Please follow me, I'll show you what we offer."

Nodding his head, Kaeya followed Colt over towards what looked to be a painting of sorts attached to the wall. Kaeya hadn't noticed it before since he was more focused on Colt and the board. Kaeya stopped beside Colt as he looked up at the large painting.

"My shop is new, so this is the only one we have so far."

"This is...!" Kaeya was never one to really appreciate artistic pieces like paintings and sculptures, but the one in front of him really amazed him. Even someone who wasn't experienced in the field could appreciate how amazingly crafted this piece of work was. He also saw the information below it. "King of Camelot... a painting?"

"It's not a simple painting, but to better understand what I mean, you should experience it for yourself instead of having it explained by me." Colt chuckled as he turned to look up at the knight. Since they were both standing, Kaeya could be seen to be a head or so taller than himself. "How long would you like to play?"

"Hmm..." Kaeya wasn't entirely sure what Colt meant by playing, and since all he could see was this painting. Although it was an incredible sight, it looked nothing out of the ordinary. "I'll take an hour for now, how much was it? Ten-thousand Mora?"

"That's right. Also, smart of you, testing the waters." Colt smiled as he took the money from Kaeya before stepping back a bit, confusing the blue-haired knight. "Now, all you need to do is jump into the painting. You'll experience something... very interesting."

"...Excuse me?"

"Don't worry about ruining it, just trust me." Colt could fully understand Kaeya's confusion, he too was confused when the system told him to jump into the painting. "When you arrive, keep in mind that once your time runs out, you'll be forced back here. Also, you can simply say 'Leave Instance' to be brought back whenever you wish."

"I cannot say that I understand what you mean, but very well." Kaeya was obviously suspicious about all this, but his curiosity was really kicking in. Stepping back and looking at the painting, he began running forwards before jumping. "...!"