Absolute Shopping Addict 49 Chapter 49

Imagine a country populated by 50 million people.

Now, for argument's sake, imagine the number of companies that provide products and s.p.a.ce to sell these products to those 50 million people.

From here, expand the population from 50 million to the entire population within a single dimension.

Is that large enough for you?

The Awakening Store is one of those types of top-tier shopping companies.

Across dimensions, you could count the rivals of the Awakening Store on two hands.

And to Kelderian's eternal dismay, one of these rivals has just announced the launch of one of its branches in the dimension where Nohas is located.

It's the Superstore, one of the biggest rivals of the Awakening Store, with similar type, quant.i.ty and distribution infrastructure of goods.

'I can't believe they'd go out of their way to find this place… how'd they even decide to set up shop here?'

Compared to other markets, the dimension where Nohas is located is deemed one of the smaller markets, and that was why Kelderian never expected the Super Adventurer Store to open a branch all the way out here.

'Looks like it's time to start competing.'

Kelderian knew what to do if a new branch opened in their area; the kind of compet.i.tion they would get into would be brutal – and that was an understatement.

'These Superstore guys aren't the type to come here without a plan,' he thought, using his experience working in the Awakening Store and the sales a.n.a.lyses on the Super Adventurer Store to formulate a plan.

Their usual plan is to operate at a loss from the beginning to acquire a loyal customer base: events, discounts, and status updates until their customer base is secure.

It would be a short-term loss of profit, but it would be made back quite easily once their customer base was secured – that was when the real business would begin.

'This is going to be b.l.o.o.d.y.'

And in order to counter the Superstore, the Awakening Store has no choice but to give out various events and discounts to its customers.

From then on, it's a high-stakes game of chicken, but Kelderian has no intention of backing down.

'If we can secure Jake Smithson, the loss right now is worth the cost. I know this guy. No, I mean this gentleman. No, I mean our beloved customer,' Kelderian thought, finally deciding that Jake Smithson would be the most important person within this battle between stores.

This was also why he would start referring to him as Mr. Smithson – he was their most valuable customer, and Kelderian would do what he could to keep it that way.

"At this moment, we give as many events and discounts as we can, without going against corporate policy, am I understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"If you people aren't too busy putting out fires in the other worlds of this dimension, I need ideas to keep Mr. Smithson loyal to our store! Project proposals, I want them on my desk, and I want the best and the brightest ideas you can come up with!"

"What should it be about?"

"Ensuring the loyalty of Mr. Jake Smithson, this dimension's biggest shopper, coolest guy, and our number one customer!"

"Yes, sir!" Kelderian's employees shouted, and his mouth was set grimly – his project had finally come underway.

***

"What is going on?" Li asked, caught off-guard. "I've never seen a guy like this before."

Except for those who just finished their tutorials, everyone knows who Master Li is: an awakener whose career in Nohas has spanned decades.

When people talk about who the strongest awakeners are, he is always included in the conversation, and his influence is far-reaching.

But even he has never seen a character quite like Jake Smithson.

"Who's he talking to?"

After defeating the golden leopard, the old man saw Jake put two fingers to his ear and talk to someone.

'It looks like he's speaking on a telephone, but that's impossible – our divisions are fighting too much to establish a telephone network in this world. We do have telepathy, but it's a Skill more veteran awakeners use. This telephone call skill – haven't seen anyone use it yet.'

"Well, you see…" Liam said before trailing off, lost in thought as to how to answer the question properly.

Out of everyone in Brino, only Liam knows what Jake's unique skill is: other awakeners saw Jake opening packages, but they never put two and two together to figure out that he is buying items at the Awakening Store.

Jake never talked about a shopping mall to anyone aside from Liam, either.

'Well, it's his own skill, so should I tell Master Li about it? It's out of my hands – if we need to, Jake should be the one doing the talking, not me. '

Li is not just a kind old man to them anymore; to them, Li is their Master, so they do not want to intentionally deceive him or omit facts about them.

They haven't known what it truly means to be a part of his division yet, but obligation, though…

'Yeah, I don't want to say some half-truth or omission to Master Li, that would be…'

Liam's thoughts were interrupted as he saw Jake end the call and move back towards them.

"Who were you talking to?" the old man asked, and Liam gave Jake a careful look.

'Will he tell the truth?' Liam wondered, and depending on his answer, Liam would choose his words carefully. Sure, they were recruited to the 'Grand Duelists', but Liam's loyalty was with Jake first. If Jake decided to tell the truth, a partial truth, or outright lie, he would follow suit.

"Called up the shopping mall's customer center, lodged a complaint. Nothing really special," Jake replied honestly, taking Liam off-guard.

'He just answered it straight away?'

Not noticing Liam's reaction, Jake continued. "Well, they said it was some sort of glitch, but I smelled a rat. They almost ripped me off, too."

As Jake spoke, his facial expression was gradually becoming quite a sight, shifting from smug to disgusted to amused to all other sorts of emotions as he was telling his story.

The old man still looked at him, not comprehending.

"What are those things you speak of?"

"Well, gramps, I guess I haven't told you, haven't I?" Jake asked.

"You haven't," the old man said. "Liam told me his character cla.s.s while I was helping him earlier – what is yours?"

The answer that came from Jake was ridiculous, even for an experienced awakener and division leader like Master Li.

"I'm a Shopping Addict."

***

"Shopping Addict": the name of Jake's character cla.s.s.

There are many names for character cla.s.ses in Nohas. Fancy ones, mundane ones, and the really ridiculous ones, like what Jake has.

It just sounds too lame, but Jake loves it – no, he regards it with more than love, because if he ended up in Nohas with a cla.s.s other than "Shopping Addict", he would have been curled up in a corner and waiting for the end to come to him.

That was why he could talk about his cla.s.s with confidence – also because people never asked what cla.s.s he was. Liam was the first.

"It's a cla.s.s that has the ability to do 'shopping': I use a mall called the Awakening Store to buy things," Jake explained, letting Master Li know what his character cla.s.s is so he could perhaps get help from the old man.

For now, his unique skill is only useful when it comes to gathering up points – if he can't fight monsters, his skill is wasted.

This was also why Jake wasn't very inclined to join any division, because he would be made an underling and subjected to an authority that would probably take time away from his monster hunting and shopping.

It's hard to do work on the side while working at a company, after all – even if they were called divisions.

It wasn't really that different from this world, with the Ten Stars a.n.a.logous to the Fortune 500 of the world Jake came from.

All things considered, he lucked out with the Grand Duelists – but if you are part of a large company, you would be under your boss' thumb, and your time would not be your own.

'In this situation, though, I'd have enough free time to do my own projects if I have the chairman's favor.'

This was also why Jake went for the old man's favor right off the bat, because if he did, he'd have carte blanche to do what he needed, with n.o.body giving him s.h.i.t for it.

And that was the most important reason for revealing his skills and cla.s.s to the old man.

'I mean, I could only conceal it up to a certain point – if it has to be revealed, I'd rather reveal it to someone who can understand and put me in a position where I can provide the most value to the company… err… division.

The thing is, I still don't know how the old man will react.

To be honest, I'm quite nervous.'

But after a few moments of thought, the old man nodded and asked him some questions.

"Shopping? Like in a store?"

"That's right."

"What do they sell?"

"Everything. All the items I have right now are from the store."

"Impressive. I thought you had found and completed a few hidden missions for your items; does this mean you purchased them all?"

Jake nodded before answering. "As a wise man named Montana once said, first you get the money, then you get the power. Nohas is a capitalist world. Money is everything, power is everything."

"Where do you get the money?"

"I get points instead of experience when I take down monsters."

"Points? I've lived here for 70 years and I've never heard about anything you are talking about until today," the old man said. "But that means you don't get any experience."

"Yes, I've never acquired any experience."

"If that's the case… what level are you at now?" the old man carefully asked Jake about his level.

In order to a.s.sess an awakener's ability, one must consider various factors such as skill, item, and combat sense – however, the most important factor is the awakener's level, no matter what anyone says.

If the basic stats aren't there, the best skills and items will not be properly used, which is why level is a very important factor for awakeners, and why Master Li was careful to ask about Jake's level.

'I thought his level would be at least 45. If he didn't get the experience, what level is he?' Li thought, looking back to Jake's overwhelming feats of strength, estimating his level based on his display of power, and a.s.suming that he had a level that was way above that of other novice awakeners.

Jake's answer, though, threw the old man for another loop.

"Level one," he replied.

***

After some time had pa.s.sed, Jake was given two very pleasant tasks to do.

'Let's start things off right with the compensation package. The guy I spoke on the phone with seemed to change his mind halfway through the call.'

It was a reward for having to go through that wager, and Jake savored the process of opening the package.

The sounds of tape being torn off cardboard resonated in the empty road.

Jake marveled at the contents of the package, with gooseb.u.mps all over his skin as he was filled with a thrill he hadn't felt in some time.

The lid of the box was opened, and an item lay within.

'A six-pack of Red Cow! That I expected – but what's this? Two more bottles?'

The workmanship of the packaging made it look very ritzy, making Jake feel better – it was part of the shopping high he had when going on one of those buying sprees.

Things that look expensive help him maintain that high.

Underneath the six-pack was a handwritten note, which he read after putting the items down.

[Dear Customer,

Now that the tutorial is over, you're about to start your life within a division! That was why we prepared this item for you. Alcohol – when drank moderately – is the best social lubricant there is: what's a few drinks shared with old and new friends? To help you adjust to your new life within your new division, we'll give you a 'Drink of Truth'. Just three gla.s.ses of it and you'll have the most candid conversation in your life! I wish the very best for your future.]

"Drink of Truth, huh?" Jake asked.

Part of the compensation package Kelderian offered was a drink, including a hope that he could be successful in his division career by breaking down walls with people he's never seen before while drinking.

This was not an ordinary drink, though.

These effects were amazing: three gla.s.ses of these spirits will make anyone tell their deepest secret.

'I'll hold onto this: this might be useful. And since I've had experience with two-faced opportunists looking to cut your throat when your back is turned… there you go, into the inventory. The guy I talked to was nice. Been a while since someone in the Awakening Store didn't just see me as some random-item-buying weirdo or something.'

Jake ended up appreciating how the Awakening Store was treating him; there was that wager fiasco not too long ago, but they were finally turning a corner, and it all started with their customer service.

'Well, the appetizer's gone; time for the main dish.

Why the heck do I have b.u.t.terflies in my stomach?'

The first job is done, the last one is left; Jake took a deep breath to prepare himself.

No matter how deep a breath he takes, however, he finds it hard to calm his throbbing heart down.

There is only one reason for that.

'Can I really get to see the Gold Label at last?'

Because he now has access to the Gold Label, Jake's second task was to window-shop in the Gold Label.

The high expectations have kept the Gold Label from being revealed to him yet, but he has now gained access.

'I'll access on the count of three,' Jake thought before beginning a count in his mind.

'One.'

He feels like his heart is about to burst from his chest.
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'Two.'

Adrenaline filled his body, making even his fingertips tremble.

'Three.'

'Gold Label, here I come!'

Jake Smithson pressed the b.u.t.ton, and when he saw the Gold Label access activate, his entire vision was filled with light, joy etched on his face.