"Status."
What appeared made his jaw drop, and his foot slip.
He actually tripped backward onto the floor.
[Status]
[Name: Elion Nova]
[Age: 18]
[Race: Human/ Incubus]
[Class: Water Mage - Apprentice → Novice rank (NEW*)]
[Talent: Bronze Grade]
[Level: 20 → 23 (0/230 XP)]
[Physical: 69 → 88]
[Mental: 99 → 129]
[Mana: 87→ 113]
Skills: [Water Bullet — Lv2] [Water Blade — Lv1] [Tidal Wave — Lv2] [Sinful Touch — Divine][Mind Control — Divine] [Harem Seal — Divine] [Irresistible Charm — Divine] [Discerning Eye: Divine - Lvl 2 (NEW*)]
[Storage: Ink of Yearning]
[System Points: 40]
[System Store: *NEW!]
"Thirty percent!?"
His heart slammed in his chest.
He stared at the translucent screen in disbelief for a solid five minutes, his mind blank.
Then finally, with a shaky laugh, he muttered:
"…How am I going to explain these changes?"
A beat passed.
"Agh, you know what, who cares." He had more interesting things to worry about, "System store, huh..."
The system window focused on the system store panel, it maximised, and everything else vanished.
Before him, a circular interface bloomed. Icons and runes glowed in shifting hues: steel-grey for weapons and armour, deep bronze for miscellaneous tools and objects, bright emerald for elixirs and potions, shimmering silver for accessories, and at the center, a radiant icon for Skills & Spells, a stylized glyph of a book and runes, pulsing softly with light.
Elion's breath caught. His fingers trembled, he lifted a hand, hesitated for a moment, then brushed the glyph.
The interface collapsed into a new panel.
Lines of spell names and magical techniques filled the space.
He scrolled with wide eyes.
First came basic spells
First came the basic spells:‣ [Lesser Water Orb] – 10 SP‣ [Aqua Shield] – 12 SP‣ [Mist Veil] – 15 SP
Nothing too crazy. Beginner-tier stuff.
But then the list shifted, the border of the panel pulsed a deeper blue, as though the system itself were bracing for what came next.
Intermediate Spells:
‣ [Abyssal Jet] – 30 SP A concentrated high-pressure stream of water capable of piercing armour.
Elion blinked. That's… borderline lethal.
‣ [Water Binding Chains] – 35 SP Summon tendrils of binding water that harden like steel.
‣ [Aqua Step] – 25 SP Temporarily increase speed and agility by forming recoil-assisting water platforms.
His heart thudded harder with each line.
And then...
The panel shimmered again.
A silvery border materialized, marking an entirely different category:
Divine & Forbidden Spells (LOCKED)Requirements: Rank: Archmage or higher/ 10 000SP balance.
Two entries glowed faintly, as though the system didn't want him looking at them too long.
‣ [Ocean Whisper] – ??? SP: A spell allowing communication with ancient aquatic spirits.(Locked: Requires "Mental 150.")
‣ [Tide Dominion] – ??? SP A large-scale mana technique capable of manipulating battlefield tides and controlling water within a 200-meter radius.
Elion had to physically close his mouth with his hand.
"...Okay. That's— that's ridiculous. Why is that even listed at my level?"
The store flickered.
A new window unfolded beneath it:
Recommended Items (Based on User Growth)
At the top sat a glowing accessory icon, silver-white.
A ring.
[Moonwater Focus Ring] – 20 SP+10 Mana Increases water spell potency by 5%. Passively refines mana circulation.
Elion's throat tightened.
"That's… actually amazing."
Below it:
[Minor Talent Booster – Bronze] – 30 SP Permanently increases talent potential by a very small margin. One-time purchase.
He froze.
A permanent talent improvement.
There were only 40 System Points in total.
Enough for the ring.
Or the booster.
Or a mid-tier spell.
But not two.
His mind spun.
What do I even pick?
The system interface slowly pulsed, patient, waiting for his choice.
Elion rubbed his temples, muttering:
"Why does this feel like one of those decisions I'm going to regret for the rest of my life…?"
The glowing items floated before him, soft and enticing.
The room was silent except for his quickened breathing.
At last, he exhaled.
"Alright… let's see what's worth the gamble."
He tapped the panel.
The system chimed.
[Item Details] expanded—
Elion scrolled through the rest, items, materials, odd trinkets with vague descriptions, and a handful of beginner-tier consumables.
The longer he browsed, the deeper the frown on his face grew.
Potions he could find in any academy shop.Basic tools he could buy in the city.
A few strange artifacts, but all are either too expensive or too niche.
He leaned back, staring at the glowing interface with a flat expression.
"…Isn't this a little too… underwhelming?"
The translucent panels froze.
The runes dimmed.
For a moment, silence.
Then—
[System Notice] More options will be made available when the Host possesses a greater quantity of System Points.
Elion blinked."Wait… you're telling me I'm being point-gated?"
[…Affirmative.]
He buried his face in his hands.
"So I'm broke, and that's why my magical future looks like a discount store aisle?"
[Correct.]
A soft chime.
Host is encouraged to grow stronger, complete quests, and gather more SP. The System Store adapts to spending potential.
"Right… so the store gets better when I get richer." He exhaled sharply. "So it's capitalism. Great." Elion sighed
"Where is all the good stuff? The talent-raising treasures. The overpowered divine relics. The insane cheat items protagonists usually get."
Silence.
He tapped the store menu again, more aggressively than necessary.
"Don't play with me. I saw those divine spells. So where are the divine items? The special physiques? The ancient inheritance orbs? The—"
The interface pulsed.
A new window slid open like a single, unimpressed eyelid.
[System Notice] Host currently possesses: 40 SP.
Higher-tier items require ≥ 500 SP Minimum balance.
Talent-raising objects of low grade require ≥ 1000 SP.
Divine-tier items require ≥ 10,000 SP.
Talent-raising objects of higher Grades require substantially more.
Elion stared.
Blink.
Blink.
"…Ten thousand points?"His voice cracked."What am I supposed to do, fuck a dragon? Commit tax fraud on a cosmic scale?"