Paradise [III]
~Speaking of which, I never opened those loot boxes.~ In that moment, another screen appeared, covering the store catalogue.
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『Storage』
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[Lvl.1 Loot box] X6
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Gray selected the loot box, and another screen opened.
『Redeem Lvl.1 Loot box?』
~Yes.~
Another golden gem appeared, and floated right beside the first, spinning for a moment, before bursting into golden dust. Gray jerked back in suprise, sending water splashing around him.
『1 coin redeemed!』
~So it's just coins huh?~ he thought, somewhat disappointed. But that did make him question where he had gotten the initial 102 coins from. He suspected it was likely the amount all champions started with, or perhaps it was another reward from the 'guarding' quest.
~I'll ask her. I doubt this is a 'restricted' question,~ he thought, before selecting the other loot boxes. He thought about all five of them at once -accepting all five confirmation notifications- and in response five gems appeared and spun all at once.
『1 coin redeemed!』
『1 coin redeemed!』
『1 coin redeemed!』
『1 coin redeemed!』
『'Horn of Bewilderment' redeemed!』
『'Horn of Bewilderment' has been added to storage!』
An instant later, another screen appeared in front of him. There was an image of a horn, with a short description beneath it.
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『Horn of Bewilderment』
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Rarity: Uncommon
Description: Can be consumed to cause 『Fear』 effect on all creatures below Lvl.2 in a 10-meter radius.]
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~Joshua might be right, this is just like a game,~ he thought to himself, uncomfortable with the fact.
However, he was glad that coins weren't the only items that the loot boxes could be redeemed for. They were great and all, but it would take him quite a few boxes before he'd be able to afford anything worthwhile.
Once he was done with that, he navigated back to the store and looked over the other tabs.
The cosmetics tab was filled with all sorts of accessories that granted a stat called "Appeal". He didn't have that one, so he wondered if perhaps it was some sort of special stat. He would've confirmed by buying one of the items, however the cheapest one in the store was 2000 coins. And regardless of whatever effect it had on his looks, there was no way he'd be wasting that many coins any time soon.
Besides, all the accessories were strange. For example, there was something called the 'Ululating King's Skull Wrap'. It was actually just a crown, but the name made him feel like it was a poor translation from some foreign language.
Next, he navigated to the consumables tab and closed it after only a minute of going through. They were just as expensive as the cosmetic items and worse, almost everything he saw was either an aphrodisiac or alien designer drug of some sort.
~Is the safe point just some kind of intergalactic brothel?~ he wondered.
He was now more eager to go out and see what everyone else was doing. He wouldn't be surprised if he found an alien orgy happening in the hallways.
The last tab was the additional services tab. However, when tried selecting it, a blank screen appeared. It was either empty by default, or he just didn't have access to it yet.
He left the store and began studying the other parts of his system. When he had first looked at it on the bus, the Storage and Quests Report tabs had not existed yet, so he got the idea that the system would update as he encountered more events in the world.
For now, the only unexplored part was the Quests Report.
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『Quests Report』
[Guarding Duty]
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[Death Rate: 74%]
[Special objectives discovered: 0]
[Time taken: 1 hour]
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[Overall Score: F]
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[Rewards: 2 coins]
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Gray's blood ran cold as he looked over the report. The luxury around him had nearly made him forget about all the deaths. And while he'd begun to accept that he didn't have the power to save everyone, nor the responsibility to do that anyway, he also understood that a small part of him would carry those deaths.
Dikinya and some of his classmates had been assholes on occasion, but many of them had shown him kindness too. When he was new at the school, they made efforts to make him feel like he had always been part of the class. Even if that meant that he got detention on his first day, or got involved in class drama he had no idea about.
The point was, they were human, just like him, and they didn't deserve what happened to them. At the very least, if only for a short while, they deserved someone to mourn them.
He wasn't one to cry at funerals, especially not for people who hadn't been all that close to him, but he took a bit of time to remember moments he had interacted with those who had fallen.
###
After allowing the warmth of the lake's water to seep into his body, and getting his emotions and thoughts in order, he climbed out.
~So first things first. Try to find out more information about the trials and everything else going on. And when I get back to Earth, try to contact my parents,~ he thought to himself, now staring at the golden gem still hovering in front of him.
Once he had dried, he made a mental command to open the gem.
『'Novice Wayfarer's set' redeemed!』
A set of clothes appeared in place of the gem, and slowly drifted to the ground, a faint golden glow surrounding them.
The set contained a black tunic, a cropped leather jacket, brown pants, and brown boots. The description claimed it was slightly more resistant to wear and tear, though that was the only thing it offered; which was probably why it had been so cheap.
Still, it was better than nothing, and he quite liked the new appearance. The brown matched with his hair and the black with his eyes. He looked like a typical, bland fantasy protagonist — just how he preferred them.