Chapter 867: A New Customer(1)
Favan heaved a sigh of relief after hearing Aakesh's words. He then thanked Aakesh and turned around in the direction of the portal room.
Only a few minutes had passed after Favan's entry into Panagea when Aakesh opened his eyes. He saw Ricky hurrying into the store.
"Store owner, I want to enter Panagea," Ricky requested, and he began to take out the required sum from his space ring.
Ricky had come this early as he didn't want to wait for hours like yesterday, but a few seconds later, he had to face disappointment as the three virtual portals had already become filled with customers.
After leaving the store yesterday, Ricky went to the time chamber to train. He had spent a large chunk of his savings on training.
His fighting techniques had slightly improved, as he couldn't just turn into a battle god in the span of a day.
"Store owners, what if I reserve my seat by paying double and then return at the exit time of the first group?" Ricky suddenly said and looked toward Aakesh with hopeful eyes.
Aakesh drenched his hopes with a bucket of cool water as he flatly refused. Aakesh stated that he would need to wait here if he wanted to reserve his seat.
Ricky had no choice but to go to the corner from yesterday since he didn't believe that Aakesh would change his answer.
After Ricky went to the corner, Aakesh closed his eyes and began another of his relaxation sessions.
The session didn't continue for long, and only around a minute after Ricky went to the corner, Aakesh heard the sound of footsteps at the store's gate.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAakesh opened his eyes and looked at the door, only to become slightly surprised and excited. An unfamiliar man stood at the gate of the store, questioningly looking at the door.
Finally, an unfamiliar customer was going to step into the store after Favan. It was a Thorron as well. In this city, finding a non-demon was as challenging as finding a needle among haystacks.
The Thorron seemed to be reserved as he stood at the gate for a few seconds. Myriads of expressions passed through the man's face in that short time.
***
Rodrick was a peak Divine Transformation level cultivator, on the verge of a breakthrough to the Divine Being level.
Rodrick's family operated a restaurant chain across Thorr City. Rodrick was one of the sons in the fight for the top position in the family.
Rodrick's restaurant's branch on Seventeenth Street was not far from the non-demon's store. He was also one of those who heard about the killings of a bunch of Thorrons by a non-demon in daylight while the soldiers could do nothing but stand.
Rodrick also wanted the non-demon to pay for the killings of Thorron with his death, like the majority of Thorrons on Seventeenth Street.
Since Rodrick was in a fight for the family head's position, he also wanted to use the non-demon for his benefit. Someone who could tell the soldiers what to do would never face the law.
Rodrick decided to capitalize on the non-demon's terrifying background to further his goals.
Rodrick wasn't like the majority of Vurrons in the five cities. Due to his family's wealth, he traveled the Kingdom. He had seen the power, wealth, and knowledge gaps between the races. The Vurrons were a mediocre race that only stood out due to two people, the city lords of Thorr City and Corr City. If anything happened to these two, the Vurrons would collapse and become just like other races.
Rodrick didn't limit his plans to a single city, but he dreamed of having a branch of his restaurant in every city across the Kingdom, then the world, and then the Sacred dimension. To further his dreams, he needed help.
The city lord stood aloof, so Rodrick would never be able to have a face-to-face conversation with him. Rodrick knew no one other, but all of that changed after he learned about the non-demon's actions and the reaction of the defense corps.
Rodrick was a man of his word, so he decided to meet the non-demon as early as possible. But now that Rodrick was here, he couldn't raise his foot to step into the store.
'What do I even have that would make the non-demon interested in working with me?' Rodrick thought and thought, but he didn't get any answer. Even he refused to work with someone like him when Rodrick put himself in the shoes of the non-demon.
Business always took place between equals, and Rodrick couldn't find any factor that could help him stand on the same pedestal as the non-demon.
Since Rodrick couldn't get an answer to his question, the thought of turning around and leaving emerged in his heart, but even that he couldn't do.
'I have been waiting for an opportunity for years now, and when I see a window, I want to leave it,' Rodrick thought in his heart, and a helpless smile crept across his face.
'I at least need to talk with the non-demon. I can't just turn around and leave,' Rodrick thought, becoming determined to talk to the non-demon.
This thought gave the last push to Rodrick as he raised his foot and stepped into the store.
Ricky, who had been waiting at one corner, raised his face and looked in the direction of the sound. After finding that it wasn't someone he knew, he returned back to his meditation.
Rodrick also caught sight of Ricky. He recognized Ricky since Rodrick had come across Ricky many times during his patrol.
Rodrick couldn't help but feel disdain toward Ricky, as not only the soldiers could do nothing against the non-demon, but now a general was sitting inside the store. At the same time, a curiosity also rose in his heart about what was the thing that could make a general wait.
Rodrick moved his eyes away from Ricky and began to look around, and then his sight finally came across the non-demon's indifferent eyes.
Rodrick's heart skipped a beat as he saw those eyes. He then took a deep breath and approached Aakesh.
"Hello, store owner! I am Rodrick," Rodrick greeted and introduced himself. The respect in his tone was the same as how a cultivator treats other cultivators.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmAakesh answered expressionlessly, "I am Aakesh."
"I run a restaurant here; if you have time, you should come," Rodrick invited Aakesh with a smile.
Aakesh only nodded in response as if his words were expensive. Rodrick stood there awkwardly for a few seconds after that since he didn't expect silence in response to his invitation.
'A yes or no wouldn't have taken many words,' Rodrick thought in his heart, but he didn't say it out loud and maintained the smile on his face.
"Store owner, what product does this store sell?" Rodrick wasn't going to bring his plans in the first meeting since he needed to at least have some kind of friendship with Aakesh before that. And what better way to make friends with a store owner other than by buying their products? Rodrick thought the same. Since he had nothing of value to bring to Aakesh, he would try to make friends with him.
Aakesh was waiting for this question, so he began to introduce the world of Panagea to another customer.
Rodrick was only being curious when he asked about the product, but at the end of the introduction, his mouth was wide open enough to push a man's head through it.
Rodrick had never expected him to come across such a product in Thorr City. During his travels in Gotaon City, Rodrick came across an item that had the same capability as Panagea.
It was an illusion array that when someone entered, they would find themselves in a new world. There they could train and grow stronger without the fear of death. But even there, a death resulted in the weakening of mental power. It took time for the mental power to restore itself to its peak again.
But from what Aakesh said, Panagea had no such weakness. It was just like their world, but in Panagea, he could revive no matter how many times he died without any effects on his body. The only thing that he needed to pay was money, and everything would be fine.
Rodrick wanted to use Aakesh's terrifying background to increase the footprints of his restaurant, but after hearing about Panagea, he gave up on it.
Someone who could bring a product like Panagea to the masses would be someone with whom the current Rodrick could never trade or become friends. But Panagea could help him grow stronger, and then he could do the things he wanted on his own.
Rodrick seemed to see himself in a future where he had become one of the strongest and wealthiest men in the Sacred dimension. Every word of his could change countless destinies.
A few minutes later, Ricky got company as Rodrick meditated not far from him, waiting for his turn to arrive.
***
A/N: Sorry, only one chapter!
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