Improved Vision!

Chai stood staring at a slightly rusted cylindrical metal bin beside the antique shop. The black-gray stains left by the passage of time gave the metal bin a mysterious aura.

He bent down and gently stroked his beard, his eyes fixed on the old bin with a gaze full of admiration for antiques. To his eyes, this wasn't just any ordinary cylindrical metal bin. It was a product of painstaking craftsmanship, shaped into a beautiful cylinder. It had endured through time and history, bearing the marks of a bygone era. It was beautiful. Magnificent.

"Alright, 96. This will be the first antique I bring into the shop."

[Profession Quest]

[Quest Description: You are the owner of an antique shop, but currently, your shop is completely empty. How can you be a shop owner like this? Please find antiques or historical items to fill your store.]

[Quest Objective: Fill your antique shop with 10 antiques or historical items.]

[Quest Duration: 3 days]

[You have picked up an old trash bin. It may look like an ordinary trash bin to most people, but to a seasoned antique specialist like you, it is an object that has withstood the test of time and history, making the story behind this trash bin worth uncovering.]

[Antique Inventory 1/10: {Ordinary trash bin from a metal processing plant}]

Trash bin?

Chai looked at the metal bin with a puzzled expression.

Who would dare melt down iron to make a trash bin? Iron is a valuable material—used to forge weapons and armor. Shaping it into a perfect cylinder is even harder than crafting a sword. Yet here stood a cylindrical bin made of iron, and it was just... a trash bin. Who would dare forge a trash bin out of iron and then leave it here?

Chai shook his head slightly. Even if it was just a trash bin, it was still made of iron. That alone meant it couldn't be just an ordinary trash bin!

He picked up the bin and walked back into the antique shop. He glanced around before placing the trash bin on a shelf near the center table.

[I can't block your vision of the radiant silver numbers forever. You should begin practicing anchor setting as soon as possible.]

[If you don't train to set anchors, it will become an obstacle in your upcoming quests. I can only suppress the vision of those radiant silver numbers for one more day.]

Chai read Message No. 96 while lightly stroking his beard. His expression grew slightly more serious after reading. Truthfully, he disliked seeing only those strange silver lines while barely being able to perceive anything else. He pondered for a moment before asking No. 96:

"Could you explain the method of setting an anchor in more detail?" Chai cleared his throat. "Something easy to understand would be great."

[…] [Simple Anchor Setting Procedure]

[You must decide how you'll toggle the vision of the radiant silver numbers—perhaps by blinking twice or blinking while clenching your teeth. Anchors triggered by a single blink or a single clench of your teeth are not recommended, since these actions happen frequently throughout the day.]

[Once you've chosen how to toggle the silver number perception, I'll help you familiarize yourself with the sensation of activating and deactivating that perception. I will do the toggling for you according to your chosen anchor. Once you're used to it, you can try it on your own.]

Chai stroked his beard and gave a slight nod. He began to understand the concept of an anchor. It was probably similar to how he used to transform into a werewolf. Before each transformation, he always had to activate his wolf eyes first. Without them, he couldn't transform.

"Wolf transformation…" he murmured, glancing down at his palm. His eyes changed to vertical golden pupils. He clenched his fist tightly. The veins under his skin pulsed, expanding and contracting as if they were trying to leap out of his withered skin.

He couldn't transform…

Since entering the boundless white space, he had sensed that he might not be able to transform into a werewolf. But that had only been a feeling. Now that it had become reality, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. Most of his combat strength lay in his werewolf form. Not being able to transform was like a lion being declawed—still strong, but without its most vital weapon.

He sighed softly and let go of the thought. There were more important matters right now than transforming into a werewolf—such as completing the anchor setting for toggling the vision of the radiant silver numbers.

Anchor…

Blinking… clenching teeth?

Chai's golden eyes gleamed, and he raised an eyebrow slightly. Whether it was blinking once, twice, or even thrice, none of those would make a good anchor. Blinking and clenching teeth were actions people could accidentally do at any time.

He smirked. He now had the perfect anchor—one he could toggle at will without concern. His golden wolf eyes. He had complete control over them, and had toggled them hundreds or thousands of times. That made them the best choice for his anchor.

"No. 96, do you see my golden eyes? I'm choosing these golden eyes as my anchor."

[I see them.]

[When your golden eyes vanish, imagine the silver lines disappearing with them. I will now stop blocking your perception of the radiant silver numbers.]

Chai's eyes were now filled with countless shimmering silver lines floating everywhere. Some were thick, others thin. Some were faint, others bold. Some looked like silver fabrics that faded from bottom to top. The threads of silver light wove out from countless objects, making it nearly impossible to see anything else.

He took a deep breath and blinked once. The strange silver lines vanished. His eyes returned to their normal black hue.

[...….]

[Congratulations. Anchor setting complete.]

"Huh?"

"That's it? I thought it'd be harder than this."

[Perhaps you have a natural talent.]

Chai lightly stroked his beard, smiled faintly, and puffed out his chest a little at No. 96's praise.