I received more messages, but they were mostly useless. It seemed that some of them liked the meme that the Gatekeeper of Heaven had created, as half of them insulted me by calling me a creep, and the other half cheered me on by comforting me.

It was none of their business, but the rest of them were giving me advice.

‘At least the advice is somewhat helpful.’

Under normal circumstances, Chanelia Hermes would tell me the information herself, but it was impossible to send and receive messages directly from her at the moment.

The tutorial administrator was managing this place himself, so he could have a secret conversation with me, but he wasn’t… trustworthy. It didn't seem like he had that much authority, and he seemed to be more clumsy at his task than Benigoa.

He rambled on but his words contained not even a single important information.

The things he said were, “I’ll look more into it” or “I’ll ask and let you know.”

The negative effects of the government here were affecting him as well.

"You contacted Woo Hyo-Yeol, right?"

[

Ah…

yes. One moment…]

"..."

[I didn’t get a clear answer that he would help, but he said he does want to meet you, God of Sacrifice and Revival. H-He enjoys working alone. I’ll send you information about the continent for now and how you can access the shop as well!]

"I already know that."

[

Ah

… I see.]

Actually, most of the higher-ups were telling me to open the shop window.

[The Cluster of Stars Reflected in the Lake advises you to open the shop.]

[The Gatekeeper of Heaven is telling you to hurry and use your coins.]

[The Cluster of Stars Reflected in the Lake explains how to access the shop. Place your hand on your left wrist and say, “Shop,” and the shop will open.]

[The Soft Hands That Touch Leather says they have things they want to recommend to you.]

[The Lowest Abyss of the Abyss is advising you to be cautious when spending your coins.]

[The God of Sunset said securing your safety is the top priority.]

[The Mistress of the Holy Night is still worried about you. She says it'd be better if she were your GENIUS.]

‘Looks like other gods have joined in.’

Gods with nicknames unknown to me were talking to me, but it was fine, as spending money was always fun, regardless of one's location.

I was unsure about the exact value of these coins, but starting out with over 500,000 coins was probably a rare case, right? There was no way Chanelia Hermes or Kim Hyun-Sung would send such a small amount…

‘I wonder if I’ll be able to purchase a Legendary item with 100,000 coins.’

[The Cluster of Stars Reflected in the Lake is telling you to open the shop.]

‘Just thinking about people watching me spend money is getting me excited.’

[He Who Sits on the Golden Throne says there’s a lot you’ll need to buy. He says to open the shop quickly.]

'But I won’t open it…'

[The Gatekeeper of Heaven is insulting you by calling you a Coin Creep.]

'Now, I'm really not going to open it.'

I wrapped my blanket around me again and fixed my camp as if I couldn't hear them.

[The Lowest Abyss of the Abyss is wondering what you will buy.]

[The Mistress of the Holy Night is complimenting you by calling you smart.]

[The God of Sunset is shouting that your safety is the most important.]

‘I have an idea as to what the system is like.’

This was like an online stream. Well, it was a lot more complicated than a simple online system, but the basic structure was pretty similar. I had no idea why Rohen had chosen this kind of system, but…

‘It’s not that bad.’

The fact that one could choose their own hero and receive sponsorship from that hero was great. Growing stronger and working together on the continent was the biggest advantage here. I was sure there were many gods up there, so these heroes would surely be more loyal to Rohen upon finding their favorite god.

The gods weren’t just administrators, so they could intervene and increase their work efficiency. This was a system that allowed minorities, individuals, and small groups to invest and grow.

It was different from our system, which focused only on management and minimizing intervention with a completely centralized system. There were many advantages, but there were many disadvantages with that system as well.

I couldn’t say which one was better, but…

‘It seems like they’re experiencing more disadvantages than advantages here.’

Anyway, since I could receive coins through this method, I knew what I needed to do.

[The Gatekeeper of Heaven is saying there’s a problem with your current behavior.]

‘That’s true. I’m just trying to get some attention.’

[The Lowest Abyss of the Abyss is expressing their concern.]

‘You don’t need to worry, Abyss.’

For this type of content, the flow of the situation was half of the content.

I had no idea how the higher-ups were watching me, but I was sure there would be rumors about me soon. They’d probably say something like, “There’s a creep who received a donation of 500,000 coins, and he's going to open the shop now.”

As expected, I saw more and more nicknames that I had never seen before.

Most of them were…

[The Twenty-Eighth Watcher is interested in you.]

[...is interested in you.]

[...is watching you.]

They were watching me or were showing interest in me. Also…

[...wants to know what you’ll purchase at the shop.]

[Clusters of Stars Reflected in the Lake is telling you to hurry up and open the shop.]

[He Who Sits on the Golden Throne says he’s been waiting a long time.]

[He Who Sits on the Golden Throne is screaming that he’s losing patience.]

[The Gatekeeper of the Heavens is insulting you by calling you a Coin Creep.]

[The Twenty-Eighth Water is asking what you’re doing right now.]

[The God of Sunset is telling you that you need to open the shop quickly.]

Most of them were telling me to hurry and open the shop. I had no idea why Kim Hyun-Sung was part of that group, but I imagined him being fully immersed in his hand mirror.

‘I wonder if the room is full…’

Moreover…

[The Cluster of Stars Reflected in the Lake has donated 500 coins.]

[The Cluster of Stars Reflected in the Lake is telling you to hurry up and open the shop.]

[He Who Sits on the Golden Throne has donated 1,000 coins. He clicks his tongue and says that you seem to be greedy for coins.]

[The Gatekeeper of the Heavens is insulting you by calling you a Coin Creep.]

[The God of Sunset is getting angry at some of the rude people.]

They seemed to be thinking that I wouldn’t open the shop if I didn't get more coins, as I saw them donating coins to me. It varied from a hundred coins to one thousand coins, but everyone donated a small amount.

I wasn't done delaying things yet, but the donors were already running wild like horses without reins.

[The Gatekeeper of the Heavens is outraged by your behavior.]

[The Twenty-Eighth Watcher said that they want to show you what the wrath of the god looks like.]

I received furious and hateful messages.

“Should I open it?” I mumbled, and they went silent.

I had collected roughly six hundred thousand coins from them.

[Opening the shop. (Owned Coins: 612,300)]

[Level 1 Items]

[Level 2 Items]

[Level 3 Items]

[Level 4 Items]

[Level 5 Items]

The shop window was pretty simple, and it was designed with simplicity in mind.

It seemed that the Average, Rare, Epic, and Legendary rarities were categorized from 1 to 5 here. The shop window had yet to be updated, but it was likely that Semi-Mythic or Level 6 and Mythic or Level 7 items were hidden.

I decided to open the Level 5 items and click on anything.

[Level 5 Items]

[Dawn's Dagger of Assassination]

[270,000 coins]

The item that caught my attention was a curved dagger. I managed to take a proper look at the item, and I also saw the details of the item. The details made me think that this was worth selling in the shop.

There was no need for me to read the description, as I wouldn't be using it anyway.

What I wanted to know was the market price.

‘It’s pretty expensive.’

Level 5—known as Legendary items to me—were around two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand coins. I pondered whether it was too expensive, but then I realized that it was priced reasonably.

There was a raging inflation on our continent, so many Legendary items were available on the market, but it wasn’t like that years ago.

Those with Legendary items were guaranteed to leave a mark on the continent, regardless of whether it was a good mark or a bad mark. Of course, those items allowed them to become even stronger as well.

An example of this was Xiaolin—a former Tiger General of the Republic. Her stats were pretty low stats, but thanks to her item, she became one of the top adventurers. I was sure that not even five Legendary items were available on Rohen.

[The Lowest Abyss of the Abyss is recommending an item to you. They said to search for the Holy Grail of the Abyss.]

‘They’re both sponsors and sellers…’

They wanted the players to do their bidding.

[The Mistress of the Holy Night is advising you to be careful. She said that there may be an item that will allow you to change your GENIUS.]

‘Really?’

However, I had no need for that item right now.

What I needed the most was a tool that I could use to protect myself.

“I need an Ego Sword,” I said.

An Ego Sword was a sword capable of moving on its own.

Juliena popped into my head, but I needed a sword that I could control, unlike the former.

[He Who Sits on the Golden Throne said that there are a few useful Ego Swords in the Level 5 shop.]

[The Mistress of the Holy Night is praising you for being wise.]

'I don’t know about wise. Since I can’t swing it myself, it’s good to have one that can swing itself for me.'

If I couldn't afford that, then a pet wouldn't be so bad. I was kind of sad that my job wasn’t Tamer, but they could be selling combat pets here.

As expected, a pet caught my eye.

[Level 5 Summoned Beasts]

[Jormungandr]

[400,000 coins]

‘This is too expensive.’

[A mythical beast known as the Snake of the World. During Ragnarok, Thor killed it, and it lost most of its powers. It has dozens of Level 5 poisons and Level 4 abilities.]

‘I have to spend everything I have.'

'Don’t they have anthromorphs?'

I needed loyal anthromorphs, and they had to be something similar to those anthromorphs in

isekais.

I couldn’t find them in the Level 5 shop. I looked at the Level 1 and 2 shops and saw items that were being sold for a relatively decent price.

[Level 2 Guardian]

[Vedum]

[60,000 coins]

[A bear anthromorph. It boasts a strong determination and powerful combat prowess. Its Recovery Rate increases upon consumption of honey.]

‘It seems pretty cute from the description.’

I was shocked by the items that they were selling in the shop, but I was sure they came sealed from outside and weren't actually part of Rohen. However, the prices were what truly stupefied me.

The ones categorized under "Summoned Beasts" were more expensive than normal items, so they weren’t cost-efficient. I had to arm them as well, so I'd probably get caught in a trap where I would need to spend all of my coins just to make use of them.

[Level 5 Guardians.]

[Hazaku, the Elite Orc Knight]

[600,000 coins]

[A Legendary green-skinned orc and the 1st Division Captain of the Blood Dagger Clan. It is said that he became a swordsman while he was mortal. He’s not loyal to others. You can lose your head after summoning him, so be careful.]

‘Why is this one so expensive?’

I obviously skipped it, as it wasn’t loyal to anyone.

[Level 5 Summoned Beasts/Guardian Draw Chest]

[250,000 coins]

[An item that allows you to summon a random Level 5 summoned beast.]

My jaw dropped when I noticed that they were offering lottery draws. I browsed the shop while having useless thoughts about how there were so many things to do here compared to the continent I was from.

I decided to purchase an Ego Sword and some useful summoned beasts. The watchers seemed excited as well, as they recommended various items to me.

Just then, my gaze landed on one side of the screen…

“What the?”

“...”

‘They had those too?’

It wasn’t part of my plan, but my finger unconsciously moved toward it.

Hikari's Thoughts

Author wooden spoon: It’s an illustration of Woo Hyo-Yeol!