《Absolute Shopping Addict》
Chapter 1
¡°Okay, let me see: a special sale, 30% off the tag price?¡± Jake asked the computer screen he was staring at, as he hurriedly added the item into his cart.
For him, ¡°special sale¡± is a synonym of ¡°must purchase¡±.
When he found the phrase ¡°special sale¡± in the site¡¯s terms and conditions regarding sale items, it was like a missile locking onto its target.
¡°This month''s bill will be no joke, but you know what they say, you only live once,¡± he muttered as he clicked on the ¡®purchase button¡¯.
The notification that his purchase was successful appears on the corner of his eye, along with a picture of a standing hanger, his newest acquisition.
Will it be useful?
He does not know.
The only thing that matters is that it was on a special sale.
And the delivery was free.
Just like all the other things he had never used or opened, piling up in his house.
Jake enunciated the words as he opened the e-mail confirming the receipt, not believing his good fortune.
¡°Free delivery¡ within twenty-four hours.¡±
He tingled with anticipation, his shopper¡¯s instincts taking over as he began to rock back and forth with excitement.
It had been a long time since he made his first online purchase.
But the feeling of opening a package fresh from the courier¡ even now, the thrill of putting your hands on it, carefully opening the box, packing tape and bubble wrap to see your purchase¡
¡It was a high that was unmatched by nearly anything.
¡°These look interesting¡ ¡®Summer Sale¡¯?¡±
Mere minutes after purchasing the hanger, Jake Smithson was once again on the lookout for the next bargain, the next sale, the next item up for bid.
Welcome to the daily life of a shopping addict.
***
When you¡¯re addicted to shopping, you cease buying things because they¡¯re useful or beautiful.
You buy them because they¡¯re cheap.
Or if you¡¯ll get a bargain by buying them in bulk.
Or if they come with extras.
Or if they come with 24-hour next-day at-your-doorstep delivery.
Every part of this process, from prowling online stores to scheduling sales, all the way to making the perfect online purchase¡ for someone like Jake, this is the essence and meaning of joy.
It¡¯s gotten to the point where nearly everything Jake purchases is either discounted, wholesale, or comes with extras.
With the fervor of a man of faith, Jake even thinks that buying things from a catalog without seeing if they¡¯re on sale is somewhat of a heresy.
Just like today, where we find Jake squinting at the screen after a perfectly ordinary and normal workday.
A few clicks in, his finely-honed shopping instincts activated, and he spun the mouse wheel down, hoping to find a rare item or bargain...
¡and then, one item caught his eyes.
¡°With our revolutionary new embossing technique, it not only absorbs more, but it also glides off your skin! You¡¯ve never had a wiping experience like this before! Buy two, take one! Stocks are low, so purchase now!¡±
Huh.
Toilet paper rolls.
Jake¡¯s mind started whirring with the possibilities.
Buy two packs, get one free ¨C so it¡¯s a 33% discount, 30 rolls in a pack, 3 packs, that¡¯s 90 rolls.
¡°Now why would I want to buy 90 rolls of toilet paper?¡± he grinned.
You never ran out of uses for toilet paper.
He pushed the ¡®purchase¡¯ button.
As soon as he did, though, out popped a most peculiar window from the computer.
[You have been summoned by Nohas.]
[You are awakened as ¡°Shopping Addict¡±.]
As soon as he clicked on ¡®ok¡¯, Jake¡¯s computer¡¯s screen flashed in a brilliant white, and he was summoned to the world of Nohas.
***
¡°Okay, did anyone see the plate number of the car that hit me?¡±
¡°Where the hell am I?¡±
The first thing Jake could see after coming to his senses was people running around in confusion.
Damn, what the hell was that? he thought, while pulling himself up.
¡°Well,¡± he said, looking around to see that he had awakened in some sort of Middle Age town, and decided to punctuate his situation with the word best appropriate for it, ¡°...shit.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Stopping for awhile to make sure he was decent enough, Jake began to slowly walk through the town.
Pretty sure I haven¡¯t been sucked into a portal or run over by a truck or van, because that¡¯s typically how you end up in another world, he thought, remembering the types of novels he read back in middle school.
He had barely gone a hundred meters or so when the announcement stunned everyone close by.
[Welcome to Brino, also known as the 11th tutorial area for Nohas. For all of you who have awakened here, you have been chosen as Awakeners to serve and protect Nohas from the hordes of monsters seeking to destroy it. While this is considered a tutorial area, be warned that outside the tutorial area is not friendly to beginners, and those with the hubris to venture forth without sufficient preparation can and will pay for it with their lives.]
¡°Fuck me,¡± Jake whispered.
[Fortunately, your wounds will be healed during your stay at the novice village. Also, do your best with your own growth, so that you¡¯ll have easier time adapting to the new environment after the tutorial period.]
[While you may think this is the next great adventure to embark on, know that it is not only the fate of this world that depends on your actions, but the fate of the world from which you came from. Because, when the last citadel on Nohas falls, the monster horde will devour this world, and then move onto the next one: Earth.]
People around Jake were beginning to panic.
[One more thing, use the status window to check your stats, equipment, and other valuable information you may need in this brave new world.]
More panic.
[Because this is a one-way ticket, and there¡¯s no turning back from here.]
Even more panic.
[Good luck ¨C you¡¯ll need it.]
Pandemonium erupted.
¡°Send us back!¡±
¡°What the hell are you saying?¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t ask to be sent here!¡±
In the midst of all the chaos and everyone yelling and running around, Jake was standing there like an idiot, trying to process what just happened.
Tutorial? Monster? What is it talking about?
The voice was explaining the situation as if it was some sort of a video game.
Calm down, Jake Smithson. Panicking isn¡¯t going to solve the situation, he thought, pulling himself together to figure out what was going on.
So, going back to what the voice said, I am summoned to a world where I have to fight monsters. And I am what? An Awakener?
Despite his effort to remain calm, he couldn¡¯t stop his legs from shivering. He was even breaking out in a cold sweat.
WAKE UP! he slapped himself in his own face. This isn¡¯t a dream or anything. You served in the army as well. What are you so freaking scared of? Man up, Jake!
After ceaseless self-scolding, he was finally able to find composure and looked at the situation clearly.
Phew, alright, he took a deep breath. First things first. It said this is a one-way ticket. Which means what I can do at the moment is to adjust myself to this new environment. There¡¯s no way back.
As soon as he gave up on going back home, he rather became more poised.
If he already knows the only answer to the question, there¡¯s no need to strive to find another one.
However, as soon as he set his mind, he instantly encountered a new problem.
¡°90 rolls,¡± he whispered in a panic. ¡°Ninety rolls of high-quality, embossed, toilet paper.¡±
It wasn¡¯t the absurdity of the situation that unraveled Jake; it was that he couldn¡¯t do shopping anymore.
Crap, he thought, as his hands began to shiver again.
It may sound ridiculous that the biggest concern he has now is that he cannot do shopping anymore: he¡¯s summoned to an unknown place, and now he has to fight monsters.
For him, however, it was a problem beyond anything.
Because Jake Smithson is a COMPLETE shopping addict, and there is a reason why we call it addiction.
Just like addiction to gambling, alcohol, drugs, or any subject, his addition towards shopping was a legitimate one.
In any sorts of situation, shopping has been and always will be his number one priority.
What would I do without shopping? Where will I find my joy? My happiness? he murmured, as he, in all seriousness, was considering what he could do to survive in a no-shopping situation.
Good game, and well played. It¡¯s over. Who cares about monsters and Awakeners when there¡¯s no shopping? I¡¯m done. Completely done. Not able to do shopping is hundred times more unacceptable than this absurd situation.
And there he came up with conclusion: No shopping, no life.
It¡¯s just impossible for him to imagine himself living without shopping.
Even during the time when he was broke, he could still find hope and joy in his life when he unboxed the packages he ordered.
No shopping means a complete despair for him.
But the great mankind has always found their way during the hard times.
One faint memory crossed his mind while he was striving to find his way out.
¡°I was shopping for toilet paper. Then something showed up and... yeah, I remember now. The dialog box said I was awakened as some sort of ¡®Shopping Addict¡¯.¡±
He nodded, as a shopping addict himself, he would never miss his favorite word, ¡°shopping¡±.
But what does it mean I was awakened as something? What about the shopping addict? he was lost in thoughts again.
¡°Wait a sec, what did that thing say to do? Was it window? Status Window? All right, let¡¯s try that.¡±
But before he did anything further, a square lit up on the corner of his eyes as soon as he said the phrase ¡°Status Window¡± to himself.
[Name: Jake Smithson
Level: 1
Class: Shopping Addict
Basic Stats
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 10
Skills
Shopping (Awakening Store currently in beta)]
***
As soon as the screen pops up, Jake looked around ¨C most of the people around him also found out the status window and are looking at their own classes with surprise.
Nearly everyone did ¨C it¡¯s part and parcel of what happens when you wake up in a different world that also happens to be working on role playing game logic.
However, Jake¡¯s reaction was completely different from everyone else¡¯s.
No distress, no surprise, no anger ¨C all emotions have been swept away by a single word he happened to fixate on in his own status window.
That word was ¡°shopping¡±, and it happened to be his skill.
The blank expression on his face slowly transitioned into that of someone who struck gold.
¡°Excellent,¡± Jake said out loud before going into a deep and very disturbing laugh.
One thing is clear. His mind is set.
As he laughed and laughed, he finally realized that maybe being stranded in role-playing game land isn¡¯t such a bad deal after all.
Because, after all, he lives to shop.
He brazenly disregarded the onlookers beginning to edge away from him, whispering to their fellows about the creepy man laughing in the town square as soon as he opened his status window.
It was these very eyes and whispers that drove Jake to a nearly reclusive lifestyle, but at this moment, he does not care at all ¨C not one whit ¨C about the stares and gossip.
While he laughed outside, inside, he was pleading.
Please let me shop.
Please.
If you want me to defend this city, I¡¯ll defend this city.
If you want me to fight monsters, I¡¯ll fight monsters.
Monsters, demons, witches, warlocks, whatever.
For the need to shop... I¡¯ll gladly kill anyone you point me at.
He stopped laughing.
He wanted to kick himself.
¡°Okay, if the store is available... how do I access it?¡±
He knelt, put his hands together and prayed like he never prayed before.
¡°If there is God, if there is any justice in this world¡ connect me to the Awakening Store!¡±
[Connect to Awakening Store (currently in beta)?]
¡°YES!¡±
He spread his arms wide and welcomed his personal heaven, as he could almost hear a choir of angels singing as they ushered in his home away from home ¨C the online marketplace.
[Awakening Shop (Beta)
CATEGORY
- Basic Items.
- To be updated, please check back later.
- To be updated, please check back later.
CURRENT EVENTS:
SPECIAL DEAL ¨C Package Set!
3 Strength Up, 3 Agility Up, 3 Intelligence Up altogether currently on sale!
Original Retail Price is 2700 points, but we¡¯re selling this to you for the low, low price of 1900 points!
Don¡¯t wait, this sale is only valid for 72 hours!]
As he browsed through the shop¡¯s catalog, the onlookers noticed that Jake¡¯s expression had changed to something positively beatific.
The closed eyes and the calm yet happy smile he carried outside matched well with what he was telling himself inside.
Yes, indeed, Jake Smithson thought as he continued to browse the sparse Awakening Store, this is heaven.
Chapter 2
As soon as Jake¡¯s high wore off, and as he was checking and double-checking the Awakening Store to see that it was still there, a few questions began to emerge: questions like ¡®who in the world made this¡¯, ¡®who is running this thing¡¯, ¡®are there any others shopping here¡¯, ¡®how can one qualify to use this¡¯, and many others started popping up in his mind.
However, Jake could not answer any of those questions ¨C there was little to no information he could work on.
Thus, nearly every question he asked himself was immediately discarded.
Also, it wasn¡¯t like he cared about those questions more than the fact that he could shop.
¡°I¡¯ll cross that bridge when I get to it,¡± he told himself as he began to focus on the Awakening Store¡¯s front page, nodding at its familiarity to the internet site where he regularly bought things from.
What intrigued him about the Awakening Store was that it had a site layout that looked a lot like an online shopping mall ¨C the very site he was a card-carrying regular in.
From the banner on top advertising the ongoing event up to the single items below it, the Awakening Store was a dead ringer for his favorite online store.
However, he noticed that only the most basic items were on sale, kind of like if a huge online clothing store only sold plain t-shirts.
But that did not deter Jake¡¯s enthusiasm one whit ¨C after all, Jake knew how important the quality of a plain t-shirt was in a shopping mall ¨C and he knew a lot about that from taking one experienced look.
Part of Jake¡¯s approach to shopping is that you can understand the clothing quality of the shopping mall by looking at the quality of plain t-shirts. It¡¯s like how you judge the quality of a house by looking at the quality of the bathroom.
¡°If you think about it that way, this Awakening Store¡¯s doing pretty good this early on,¡± he whispered to himself as he browsed the shop¡¯s catalog.
[Tome of Strength (Increases Strength by 1): 300 points]
[Tome of Agility (Increases Agility by 1): 300 points]
[Tome of Intelligence (Increases Intelligence by 1): 300 points]
¡°Excellent,¡± Jake muttered, rubbing his hands in anticipation of what future items may go on sale. ¡°So far, so good.¡±
Internet stores that tended to ignore these basics were, in Jake¡¯s mind, deal breakers.
There were plenty of things that drove Jake away from other online stores ¨C not just this.
A litany of things he tended to avoid were not keeping it simple, clunking up the shop¡¯s layout, being obnoxious with ads and scams¡
If you asked him to simplify what he looked for in an online store, he¡¯d give you a two-word answer: customer service.
[If you would like a refund because of a simple change of mind, please do not take the tag off, please contact us within a week, and we will send you return labels, to make the refund process seamless.]
[We would love to hear from you! Our voice support is available 7 days a week and 365 days a year. We can be reached from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm.]
¡°Well now,¡± Jake said, pleasantly surprised after browsing through the return policy and contact information. ¡°This Awakening Store is a chip off the old block. If this is how it¡¯s going to shape up to be, then whoever¡¯s running this place knows the business.¡±
He continued to read.
[Every 3 days, new products are added. The official Awakening Store portal and site are currently in Soft Opening.]
¡°How interesting¡ and convenient! Just like the shop I buy from back home; they add in new stuff every 3 days. Great!¡± Jake said, thinking about how this store was his home away from home.
¡°Just being able to see these things¡ I don¡¯t know. By all rights I should be freaking out right now, but the Awakening Store¡¡±
It only took him a moment to realize the situation he was in.
Jake Smithson sure as heck ain¡¯t no mere window shopper!
He was also sure as heck won¡¯t let that special event going on pass him by!
It was just how he carried himself through life: wholesale.
Even bundles of cookies at grocery stores were a deal that he could just not resist.
And now that he saw that there was a bargain staring him in the face, with a time limit, no less?
Although he wanted to bask in the sense of security provided by the Awakening Store, a deeper sense of urgency within got him to snap out of it. As someone whose love of shopping bordered on pathological, he needed that package bought, and he needed it in his hands an hour ago.
But in order to do so¡ he needed to buy it, and he needed know what to use to buy it.
How do I get points? Jake asked himself as he began to look through the Store¡¯s ¡®Frequently Asked Questions¡¯ section.
Q: How do I get points?
A: If you are classed as a Shopping Addict, you can earn points simply by hunting monsters. The stronger the monster, the more points you can earn.
So, I earn points by hunting down monsters, huh? Well, Jake thought, this changes everything.
Never thought I¡¯d actually be here and present and actually hunting monsters.
Jake stopped playing video games after he had graduated college, which means that he isn¡¯t that familiar with this kind of setting with monsters.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
And such unfamiliarity naturally made him a little terrified.
But¡ I take a look at the corner of my eye to where I have the Awakening Store as a shortcut¡ and the cold lump in the pit of my stomach is gradually fades away into a smoldering flame¡ the same kind of need I feel whenever shopping online.
The Awakening Store beckons to me, and I make my decision.
¡°Show me the money! Where¡¯s the nearest monster I can hunt?¡± Jake yelled.
It was at that point where the universe decided to pull down its pants and take a dump on Jake ¨C plus everyone and everything in the town of Brino.
[Citizens of Brino. Be alert. A scouting party of goblins has been spotted in the outskirts of this town and is expected to arrive here within ten to fifteen minutes. Do not let any of these goblins escape. Should a certain amount of scouts escape, the main goblin army will attack the town. At your level, you are not ready for handling the goblin army. Head out the main gate of Brino and intercept this goblin scouting party.]
As soon as the announcement finished, everyone in the village milled about in confusion and panic.
¡°Goblins¡?¡±
¡°We¡¯re fighting?¡±
¡°Are we really supposed to fight monsters?¡±
¡°I''ve never fought! I wasn¡¯t drafted! I don¡¯t even lift!¡±
And in the midst of the commotion, Jake Smithson was the calm in the storm, thoughts of gaining currency from slaying monsters and that sweet, sweet deal to be purchased as a personal reward was filling his mind.
Time to earn my keep, I guess. It¡¯s not like this world is any different from the world I came from ¨C if you don¡¯t work, you don¡¯t eat.
But his fear has long since been replaced by the need to make money.
Nothing could stop he¡¯s pure desire for shopping.
Also, if you don¡¯t eat, you don¡¯t shop, Jake belatedly thought, silently thanking his obsession with shopping that helped him think straight in the middle of all this madness¡ and yes, it was the Awakening Store.
Though I¡¯ll be damned if I don¡¯t pull my weight and start turning these goblins into greenbacks, he continued. I don¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t care.
The things in my mind right now? Killing goblins, making money, shopping. Simple as that.
Jake Smithson¡¯s mind was made up.
He took careful, measured strides from the town square to the main gate, all the while stretching his limbs.
His imposing manner reflected how determined he was.
A simple discovery that he can still do shopping in this new environment completely changed who he is; the man shivering in terror was nowhere to be found.
By looking at Jake, people may think that being addicted to shopping isn¡¯t that bad of a thing, since it is what drives you to stay strong in such panicking situation.
¡°Where does he think he¡¯s going?¡±
¡°You going out there? After the monsters we heard were coming?¡±
There were a lot of other Awakeners who were brought here at the same time this bizarre man was. While some took their time to assess the situation, others were too busy thinking about their reputation, and saw the young man as a cringe-worthy embarrassment.
If there were still a few minutes before the goblins came and experienced players knew to prepare, this man was different. He wanted to slay those monsters ¨C and slay those monsters as soon as humanly possible.
Most of them already checked their status window, but had now gone over the initial shock of ending up in a different world and already had a sense of what this place was all about.
And at the same time, though, they also knew that from this moment on, they would be living a much different life from the world they left behind.
Not long after they were transported to a world taken straight from the standard role-playing game design page, the Awakeners of Brino began to realize that they had to get their act together and fight monsters like characters in the role-playing games they used to enjoy as kids or teenagers.
I guess I need to move and get ahead of others.
As soon as they had a clearer grasp of what was going on, they tried to make their moves.
But unlike their thoughts, their legs felt heavier than ever.
I¡¯m afraid.
Heck, the average person doesn¡¯t even get into a fight upon reaching adulthood.
In other words, they don¡¯t feel comfortable with the act of fighting itself. They aren¡¯t just used to it.
But in a few minutes, they even have to fight against monster, something that they have never encountered.
¡°What is that guy stretching for?¡±
¡°Is he really going outside?¡±
¡°Are we even ready for this?¡±
¡°Look at him! He looks like a total shut-in!¡±
Time was being wasted while people were being gripped with indecision.
It was at this moment that someone stood tall in the town square and raised his voice, gaining the attention of the group of Awakeners.
¡°We¡¯re going to go out there. We¡¯re going to find those goblins and kill them all.¡±
A female Awakener gasped.
¡°Haven¡¯t you people understood? Don¡¯t you remember? This town is one of the last lines of defense. And we will hold it. We will work together, we will get stronger together, and we¡¯re going to make those goblins pay for even thinking about taking one step in this damned town!¡±
¡°Are you with me?!¡±
A few cheers.
¡°ARE YOU WITH ME?!¡±
More cheers.
¡°Then let¡¯s move out and kick some goblin ass!¡±
After even more cheers, out from the gates of Brino walked the first group of Awakeners, headed by someone whose only goal is to make enough money to buy whatever¡¯s on sale.
The inspirational speech helped the group in a way he didn¡¯t expect ¨C though the goblins were still a few minutes off, the rest of the Awakeners heading out with him were already doing their own preparations.
¡°We¡¯re going to fight these guys together. We stick together, everyone of us gets to go home.¡±
¡°This is OUR home, now.¡±
Their morale raised, some of the Awakeners took it upon themselves to lead, picking out groups of Awakeners to work with and share information.
¡°Seems like I am a warrior class and have a skill called ¡®Hardening¡¯, what do you have?¡± one of the group leaders asked.
¡°I am a wizard, and I¡¯ve got Fireball,¡± another man answered.
Elsewhere, many similar conversations were taking place.
¡°How about you?¡± another leader asked, this one in a robe and wizard hat.
¡°I have an ability called ¡®Moonlight Slash¡¯, ¡° a lanky young man ¨C looking like he just got out of his teens ¨C replied. ¡°Haven¡¯t tested it yet, though.¡±
¡°Give it a run now,¡± the leader answered. ¡°Better now than later when your sword is in battle.¡±
The sword-wielding teen just nodded.
As all this was going on leading up to the approach of the goblin scouting party, Jake was oddly enough in the forefront, quite a distance away from the ongoing conversation.
By then, he was already close to the main gate of the village, and all that was in his mind was the package he¡¯d get¡ and, to his shame, the fact that he did not want to talk about his ability to others.
Fireball. Moonlight Slash. Useful abilities, all of them. But I don¡¯t feel like telling them what my skills are. Let them speculate.
It¡¯s not jealousy.
Though I think my skill is the best among everyone here, it¡¯s kind of embarrassing to talk about it right now.
Maybe later, once we drive off the goblins.
To Jake, self-satisfaction and embarrassment are two different things. He already knew how to keep himself from panicking back then, and that was by focusing on the task at hand and what he was planning.
Okay, Jake, okay, Jake told himself. Worry about everything else first. Just take out the goblins, make the money, and buy the package. It¡¯s savings like you wouldn¡¯t believe. You¡¯d have to be an idiot not to go for this.
When your entire purpose of being is to find the best bargains and buy them, you tend to ignore things like necessity and focus strictly on how much you¡¯ll save and how much value you¡¯ll get.
It was a typical shopping addict¡¯s pattern.
By the time he had finished psyching himself up, the gates to Brino were flung open, and he was the first one outside, facing off against his first enemies in this new adventure.
And looming before him was an unrealistic scene that none of the gathered Awakeners had ever experienced in visceral reality.
The fey mood was broken the moment the first goblin in front roared.
¡°Ka-ah!¡±
The goblin scouting party was approaching the village, carrying with them their spears and screeching their language.
To most of the Awakeners, the sound chilled them to their bones ¨C but to the already battle-lusted Jake, the goblins¡¯ screeching was nothing more than an annoyance that reminded him of his boss when he was still working in the office.
¡°Goblins that sound like my former boss?¡± Jake asked before smacking his fist against his open palm and cracking his knuckles.
As he heard the continuous screeching and posturing, Jake felt the last of his fear melt away, being replaced with a sense of duty as the battle was about to be joined.
The thought of his boss brought Jake back to the fundamental truth that you need to work if you want to eat.
Well, necessities aside, Jake never hid the fact that he went to work just to earn money for shopping; nobody asked.
And while time seemed to slow down as the first wave of goblin scouts stepped up, tensing their arms with their spears, what little hesitation Jake had vanished.
This isn¡¯t adventure.
It¡¯s work.
Time to take care of business and earn my keep.
Chapter 3
Several minutes before Jake Smithson kicked off the festivities by marching towards the goblins, the hundred or so people summoned in the 11th Tutorial Area ¨C also known as Brino ¨C were in a bit of a pickle.
The good news is that the goblins weren¡¯t particularly large.
The bad news was that they were outnumbered by the goblin scouting party, 5 to 1.
As the Awakeners were getting ready for this defense, questions were being asked by those who either needed more information or more affirmation to join the fight.
¡°This is just a scouting party. Five hundred or more to a scouting party?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know about you, but 500 seems to be way above our pay grade.¡±
¡°But they are very small ¨C about the size of elementary school students. ¡°
¡°You think we could defeat them all... ? ¡°
The questions being asked as the minutes passed by before the attack revealed something about these new Awakeners: For some reason or another, the urge to fight and to kill was almost second nature to them.
It was perhaps a way of preventing Awakeners from picking up all they could carry and running away.
And it was why they didn¡¯t panic that much even if there was a battle against goblins about to take place right at their doorstep within the next few minutes.
That was when someone shouted out something.
¡°Everyone!¡± One of the group leaders said, his voice easily carrying towards the Awakeners. ¡°Say ¡®Inventory¡¯, and you will be able to see the things you have on you, like a video game! Yes, this world is like a game! ¡°
¡°Inventory?¡±
¡°So that¡¯s why you¡¯re holding a sword!¡±
¡°Yes, there is a basic weapon there. It contains a basic weapon for each class,¡± the leader said, explaining to the throng why he was already outfitted.
Inventory: a space for storing items.
When one or two people noticed its existence, one by one, Awakeners began to bring out their equipment.
One of the Awakeners spoke up. ¡°I¡¯m armed with a long sword.¡±
¡°So, I¡¯ve got myself a spear, huh?¡±
¡°Wait, why do I have a cane ¨C oh, nice, there¡¯s a sword in here!¡±
More and more Awakeners readied themselves, bringing out weapons, putting them on and looking like they stepped out of a video game or a cosplay convention.
And while Jake was at the gates, he couldn¡¯t help but overhear the activity, and decided to give that a try, too.
Inventory!
Curious about what kind of weapon a Shopping Addict would have, Jake checked his inventory with some anticipation and worry, and then¡
His face fell.
¡°Wait.¡±
¡°WHAT.¡±
Thankfully, no one noticed Jake¡¯s poleaxed expression as he saw a completely empty inventory screen.
Nothing.
Nil, zip, nada.
He could not believe the absurdity of the situation he was in.
All the Awakeners here are already equipped with something, and my inventory is a freaking blank? Jake thought. Is it my class or something? Unbelievable.
Maybe Shopping Addicts have no weapon classes added in for them in this game yet? Jake asked himself. Heck, even skills to use weapons don¡¯t exist for me right now.
¡°Fuck¡¯s sake, at least give me a laptop or something to buy with!¡± he yelled at the air, being very put out by the fact that nearly everyone else had some decent starting gear while all he had were the clothes on his back and...
Jake sighed.
I¡¯ve got no choice. If they ask me to kill, then I have to kill.
He had gained somewhat of a reputation for never saying die, getting projects with little to no support and seeing them through to completion.
It was something that ¨C before he discovered the wonders of Internet shopping ¨C called ¡®hard work and guts¡¯.
Sure, Jake was still a hard worker, and he was still gutsy enough to take any and every challenge that came to him, but this time, he had an underlying motive for most of it: he could endure any form of hardship and adversity if there was a light at the end of the tunnel that led to his favorite Internet shopping site.
This was one similar moment. Kind of like the time he dove into the job market, feet first, no internships, no headhunters, just him, his skill set, and a whole lot of enthusiasm.
He¡¯d taken his fair share of failure and rejection in stride, and when he got his first job, he held onto it for dear life, doing whatever he could through sheer will and action.
The first job didn¡¯t last, but the lessons he learned did.
He focused on what he was good at ¨C being a man of action ¨C and got the job he wanted not too long after.
¡°With hard work, guts, and an eye for a good sale, nothing is impossible!¡±
That was then.
This is now.
What made this so different than back then?
¡°Let''s do this. Nobody ever said getting paid was easy.¡±
And away he went.
¡°Now, the goblins are approaching close. Let''s go.¡±
With the main gate already open and the Awakeners out in formation, the goblin scouting party edged closer to begin the battle¡
¡except someone who is looking out of the corner of his eye for anything he could use as a weapon against these critters.
¡°Rock, rock, give me a rock!¡± he yelled in desperation.
¡°Alright people, let¡¯s go!¡±
A random shout broke the spell while Jake was looking for his weapon from the ground, and the Awakeners drew their weapons and made a collective rush towards the mass of goblins, a collective war cry brought forth to quell their own fears.
¡°Everyone, let''s win this!¡±
¡°Fight¡¯s on!¡±
***
As the battle was ongoing, some of the Awakeners were having an easy go of it: particularly those who went in with weapons already equipped.
¡°Hah,¡± laughed one of the group leaders. ¡°They only look scary.¡±
One of the swordsmen had just finished taking out a group of scouts.
¡°After this I should look over my group and see who is having trouble.¡±
He turned to hear a yell of consternation.
¡°Ah!¡±
¡°Go away! Monster!¡±
¡°A goblin broke through the line and is after our magic users!¡± the swordsman yelled. ¡°Cover me here!¡±
For those who weren¡¯t experienced with games of this sort and/or those who were made Awakeners, it wasn¡¯t as easy a fight as their group leaders expected ¨C sometimes the skills or stats they got weren¡¯t that great, and it only served to make their first battle with this many goblins harder.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Due to this, even Awakeners who had some experience with games had to draw upon that experience so they could make good use of the sub-optimal skills or stats they had.
Another Awakener took his place as the swordsman dashed towards his group, and as he did, he could hear another group leader shout.
¡°Third goblin down ¨C I leveled up!¡± a young man said as he swung a flaming sword towards a goblin that was about to break through another line of defense.
Those who knew what that meant immediately redoubled their efforts, gaining the same effect in a bit ¨C most of these were the experienced gamers and group leaders, who then explained to their newer comrades about how it worked.
¡°Level up?¡± a newbie asked.
¡°What is a level up?¡± another newbie asked.
¡°Yes,¡± the young man with the cane sword replied. ¡°Killing goblins gives you experience. Enough experience and you gain a level.¡±
With the group leaders spreading this information to the newer Awakeners, it was only inevitable that as soon as the goblins started to falter, the Awakeners began to rally as they grew stronger.
¡°What happens when you level up?¡± another newbie asked as they gravitated towards their leaders almost by instinct.
¡°You gain get stat points. Three of them, in particular,¡± the group leader with the cane sword explained, ¡°I think you can use this to raise your stats.¡±
While he used his skill to slice and dice the goblins continuing to push towards Brino, he continued assisting the others about how to level up and gain power, and as more and more of them heard the details, a change of atmosphere among the Awakeners began to take place.
¡°You can raise your stats? Strength or agility or something? So, if you level up enough can be like a super hero now or something? That''s how Awakeners get stronger!¡±
The new players immediately notice the effect.
Some think that it¡¯s pretty ridiculous for this to happen, and to them, even more.
One person, however, is too busy smashing goblin faces and breaking goblin necks to care.
Bam. Bam. Bam.
¡°I don¡¯t know what you want from me...¡± the man gritted out as he continued to fight, focusing on the task at hand, holding a goblin under one arm in a headlock and punching another with a rock.
¡°It¡¯s like the more money we come across¡¡±
Twenty hits later, the first goblin went down.
Jake roared his satisfaction to the heavens, making the goblins around him wary as he looked to the shop at the corner of his eye.
¡°All right! Three hundred points? Let¡¯s keep it going, Jake! 1,600 more and then I can finally grab that sweet event package! ¡°
He turned to the goblins who now had the beginnings of fear in their eyes.
¡°Time to punch my meal ticket,¡± he said, after finally getting a decent rock and tossing it up and down in his hand to test for its heft.
¡°Get ready.¡±
If he cared about it a bit, Jake could have heard one of the goblins whimpering.
But he didn¡¯t, and he set upon them, rock in hand.
***
As the battle reached a fever pitch, some of the Awakeners were beginning to feel a little strange. Someone in the corner of their eye is currently a goblin¡¯s head in with a rock.
¡°What in the name¡¡±
¡°Why¡¯s he fighting like that?¡±
¡°Did he check his inventory or level up or something?¡± a group leader asked.
¡°I was sure he heard everything when we were talking it over ¨C he has to know about it.¡±
¡°Wait, wasn¡¯t he the first guy to go to the main gate to fight the goblins? ¡°
As the fight against the goblins turned from a battle to a rout, the Awakeners finally found a bit of space to breathe, and while doing so, looked at Jake, who was now introducing goblin faces to his trusty rock.
Despite most Awakeners using skills against goblins ¨C albeit in a very amateurish fashion ¨C Jake was the opposite. He had no equipment, and was currently a one-man goblin wrecking crew, using any and every means he¡¯d find in his aim to take out as many goblins as he can.
¡°A rock. He¡¯s using a rock.¡±
¡°They don¡¯t let you use rocks in games like this.¡±
¡°This isn¡¯t a game, though.¡±
¡°He has a weapon, right?¡±
The spectacle before them was an extraordinary level of absurd.
Others were wielding weapons of all kinds: swords, spears, maces, et cetera; the man they were looking at was grabbing rocks and cracking goblin skulls with them if he wasn¡¯t grabbing them and punching them out.
That wasn¡¯t the strangest thing other Awakeners noticed about him.
¡°He¡¯s hitting the goblins with rocks. But even with no weapon ¡ he is actually doing pretty well.¡±
No skills, no equipment, but he was going after the goblins like they owed him his lunch money.
¡°Check out his eyes. I think he¡¯s gone way too much into goblin hunting.¡±
¡°I know, right?¡± the thirty-year-old wizard added. ¡°He¡¯s gone a bit mad. You have to be if you want to smash a goblin¡¯s head with a rock¡¡±
Not wanting a part of his madness, his fellow Awakeners edged away from him ¨C and some of the goblins also gave him a wide birth.
Though they thought the madness was why Jake could kill goblins with a rock, the reason for his demeanor was something they fell completely off the mark on.
It wasn¡¯t because Jake hated the goblins (though they sounded like his old boss, but that wasn¡¯t relevant to him). Or, for that matter, it wasn¡¯t because he liked to hunt or kill goblins.
Those reasons were close¡ but no cigar.
¡°Okay, four goblins left until the package is MINE!¡±
He roared in fury as he rounded up on another goblin, rock in hand.
The goblin rounded up and fled... only to drop dead as the rock thrown by Jake sailed straight and true, right into the back of the neck.
An Awakener close by heard the crack and winced.
The goblins weren¡¯t an end into themselves, as the Awakeners thought.
It was only a means to an end for Jake.
As the fight turned from a battle into a rout and from a rout into a massacre, morale was high among the Awakeners defending Brino.
¡°Let''s get moving!¡± the leader with the sword said. ¡°There are still a lot of goblins alive. If you do not kill it in a hurry, we may face a larger army!¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
¡°It¡¯s an opportunity for us to level up here!¡± another group leader added.
It was at this point that the mood of the Awakeners shifted ¨C from fear of losing the battle into excitement in taking part in a winning one.
¡°I need to level up, my strength is only 11 now,¡± an Awakener in leather armor said to her companion. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine how much stronger I¡¯ll get if I can get my strength up by 3.¡±
¡°Do what you like,¡± her companion, someone with a jester costume and carrying a dagger, replied. ¡°In a place like this, there is no police or law ¨C power is the only thing that matters. Have to level up to survive.¡±
And, as is wont with human nature, when people get stimulated, they get territorial.
The moment they realized that power was the rule of this world, and that only the strong survive, the Awakeners began to change. It was imperceptible at first, but it would only be evident after many more battles.
True to form, even some of the male Awakeners did what they did to gain some attention from a few beautiful female Awakeners who were also summoned in Brino.
But the ramifications of that will be dealt with in the future ¨C suffice it to say that the seeds of future conflict have found fertile soil, and they were planted the moment the gates of Brino opened up.
¡°Goblins on the left, take them out!¡±
¡°Get them!¡±
The cry of a goblin as one of the archer¡¯s arrows hit straight and true was just one of the sounds made as the rout continued.
And elsewhere, another part of the battle was heating up ¨C literally.
¡°Blazing Wrath,¡± someone called, and in a flash of orange, another group of goblins were cut down.
As the battle grew fiercer, the young man who first leveled up among all the Awakeners was one of the fiercest fighters in the fray.
Liam was one of the few who gained an impressive skill and first learned how his skill worked.
His Blazing Wrath took on the form of a cloak of fire that he could wrap around a weapon. For an Awakener just starting out, it was extremely potent and useful.
For someone like Liam, whose enjoyment of the adventure is gaining levels and strength to rise above everyone else, this was just the first step.
Meanwhile, with the goblin scouting party nearly annihilated, another Awakener put down the rock he was holding, shook the goblin gore off his hand, and let out a roar of triumph that had the Awakeners around him puzzled.
¡°Winner, winner¡ chicken dinner!¡± Jake yelled.
***
First times can be difficult for some people.
Getting into a life-or-death battle isn¡¯t an exception.
When it¡¯s kill or be killed, someone¡¯s first time to hear screams, see blood? It takes a certain type of person to endure that. Most don¡¯t ¨C they just panic and shut down.
But the group leaders did a good job in coordinating the defense of Brino ¨C nobody died.
And in the aftermath of their very first mortal conflict, with the adrenaline flowing in the new Awakeners finally dissipating, that was when the stress began to kick in.
¡°How can I live in such a place?¡±
¡°I want to go home...¡±
At the end of the battle, the field was littered with Awakeners who were angry, lonely, and those who just fell apart and burst into tears. Those were brought back to Brino and consoled by their comrades.
Jake, however, felt very different about this whole ¡®mortal conflict¡¯ concept.
More to the point, he found out that he didn¡¯t feel any one certain way about the battle he was just in.
His first and only thought was shopping.
Left unsaid was his question, but why am I happy? Am I¡ sick or something?
Because Jake felt something different than the other Awakeners. Even the leader with a sword looked a bit disoriented when he saw him walking around, reassuring his comrades.
Anyway, Jake thought, I got a good number of goblins, but why didn¡¯t I gain a level?
It was only then that he realized just how different he was from the other Awakeners.
Pretty sure it¡¯s because you get points with monsters instead of experience.
To him, monsters were to buy things with, not experience points to gain levels with.
Whoa, he thought. This was a huge difference.
But instead of being discouraged or hopeless, the satisfaction of a job well done still lingered within him, unlike many Awakeners in Brino.
As he walked back to the town square, Jake noticed himself walking along with an expectant smile on his face, compared to the exhaustion some of the Awakeners. After taking a while to ask himself why this was so, he figured it out easily: leveling up wasn¡¯t that important to him. Why?
He looked to the corner of his eye and winked at no one.
[Awakening Store: Beta]
As soon as he winked, the screen containing the online shop of this world unfolded before him, and his smile stretched even wider.
There and then, he decided that as long as this store existed, he did not envy or want for anything else in this world.
Jake also observed other Awakeners and deduced that it seemed that no one else could use the mall, because at the start of this adventure, he noticed that all the Awakeners except him were holding weapons for their class.
Jake didn¡¯t have a hard time figuring out from there that he was the only awakened person to shop here.
He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
¡°Time to cash in.¡±
During the first battle with the goblins, Jake gained 2100 points.
That meant ¨C he defeated seven goblins.
Roughly a hundred Awakeners against an estimated five hundred goblins meant that every Awakener had to kill five goblins. Easy enough to calculate ¨C Jake went over the Awakener¡¯s average by all of two goblins, all while holding a rock.
He had to smile at how his nearly-crippling addiction to shopping pushed him to make that possible.
And now ¨C here Jake begins to hear angelic choirs chanting again ¨C it''s time to buy package items using his freshly-earned points.
He placed the event package in the shopping cart. As soon as he tried to make a payment with the points he gained, a notice popped up.
[Please sign up for membership. Payments from guest members are also possible, but members accumulate loyalty points per purchase.]
And they also have loyalty points. Forget everything, I¡¯m going for it. Signing up now!
He did, and opened up another notice.
The data entered was easy enough.
¡°Okay, put in the name ''Jake Smithson¡¯, put in ¡®Shopping Addict¡¯ as my Class,¡± he told himself, noticing the difference of the Awakening Store from a typical online shopping center.
More specifically, only his name and class were needed to sign up.
Well of course, you were taken from your world and dropped into Role Playing Game land, of course you wouldn¡¯t need an address! Jake thought.
The ¡°Sign Up¡± button seemed to glow as his finger hovered over it.
He didn¡¯t even need to think; he just pressed it.
IMPORTANT NEWS
Dear readers,
Thank you for following my novel through over a hundred chapters.
Recently, I was able to sign a contract with a novel reading platform for my story.
For now, I need to close my novel from this site, but I would like to offer you free books in the future when I can distribute them.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
If you would like to receive free PDF versions of the novel (I may even be able to send future episodes later) in the future, please leave me your email to mine: [email protected]
I plan on coming back to this platform with another story.
I will keep posting on Patreon for the fans that have been supporting me.
Thank you guys again for reading so far, and I hope to see you again!