Chapter 3
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Eight hours have passed by the time Jake's consciousness came back inside his body. The TV was showing an advertisement for a new upgrade of the mana potion.
The first scene that came into Jake's view was the catchphrase of the advertisement. His head felt a slight discomfort for some reason as he recalled the event that just transpires.
'Stats'
A familiar window appeared in front of Jake, confirming that the matter was no illusion. Fortunately, Jake was trained to not panic in an unexpected situation. He started to analyze the situation with a cool head.
'First is… gathering information'
With a flick of his finger, Jake pressed the 'off' button on the TV remote. He rushed towards his own room to browse the internet. A laptop was present inside his room.
The laptop's screen flashed brightly, showing a small moving bar. Due to Jake's great perception, he noticed the strange phenomenon going on inside the laptop.
Jake could feel the flow of mana, revolving inside the laptop on the table. No electricity was used to power it.
'This…'
The strange phenomenon was added to the subject for his research. Fortunately, the internet was similar to before. Jake spent the rest of the day in front of his laptop.
He was shocked to see the similarities between Aestes and the 'New Earth'.
"The day of calamity…"
Jake recited those particular words. It was a common term for an incident, used by the netizen of this world. The incident took place long ago, just a year before Jake's birth. It was a great disaster for humanity.
A massive scene of a great monster horde was replayed on the screen of Jake's laptop. The mixture of different kinds of monster rushing towards the human's city was a sight to behold.
A man with an Asian's feature stood at some kind of border between the city and the great wasteland. Beneath him, behind the enclosed walls, an army of people were holding different kinds of weapons. Strangely, there are no modern guns present within the variety of weapons.
The next scene encompassed the great battle between humans and the monster's horde. At last, mankind claimed victory after the great battle. However, it was not without a price. Many great warriors have perished. The ending of the video even gave a long list to remember their courage and sacrifice.
There are other similar videos, recording the battle but with a different location like America or China. In total, there are 48 of such videos, each symbolizing the existence of the countries on Earth.
The appearance of the monster seems to be anticipated as they were ready to go into war. It seems that the very existence of monsters was not foreign to the resident of the Earth.
Jake's research continued.
Awakened, Professions, Dungeons. Those are the common terms he encountered throughout his research.
Awakened was the term that was once used to refer those with superhumans abilities, able to fight the monsters that appeared one day. It happened around 100 years ago when humanity faced their greatest threat to extinction.
It was the dark days for humanity. Modern projectile weapons don't have any effect on the invading monster. A translucent barrier appeared on the monster's skin and stopped the bullet from advancing.
A canon's bullet can't even damage the barrier.
To make it worse, the law of nature was twisted, breaking the knowledge of mankind. 'Light' has been taken from the people as the world plunged into darkness. Fortunately, a great magician at that time, Laura Marshall, invented a method to convert monster cores into energy that was similar in nature and succeeded in, once again, lighting up the world.
Humanity struggled, leaving behind a mountain of corpses. A whole 20 years was spent in order to reform the order and stabilized the situation.
Through the passage of time, the term, 'Awakened', was abandoned because everyone obtained the same power. It was an RPG-like power, enabling them to learn skills through training, view stats, and others.
A small tattoo of different shapes appeared in a random place on the body. The appearance of the tattoo was the proof of an awakened.
"It's the same…"
To Jake, the sequence of events was exceedingly similar to Aestes. The difference was the time period. Aestes' history went back to more than thousands of years. However, those particular events were clearly recorded.
A creaking sound came out from outside Jake's room, followed by a sweet voice. He was able to hear it because he left the door open when he came in.
"I'm home…"
It was Ethel's voice.
The sun has already set a long time ago. However, Jake didn't realize it as he was immersed in his research. By the time he realized it, his body was struck by a feeling of hunger as his stomach grumbled.
"Sis… Did you bring any food?"
"Yeah… I bought some fried chicken on the way home."
Ethel answered as he placed a plastic bag, with a large yellow symbol, which portrayed the letter 'M' at the center, on the dining table. Her face showed a small fatigue as she sat down at the table.
"I'll help you"
"Thanks..."
Jake helped Ethel in organizing her stuff and prepare the table for dinner. The menu for dinner was the popular fried chicken from the store nearby.
Jake was strangely talkative during dinner, surprising Ethel. She felt happy to see Jake's behavior since he was introverted most of the time. Both of them went inside their rooms with a smile on their face, each with a different cause.
The laptop he used was folded nicely on top of his desk. He approached the desk, intending to continue his research. However, his mind failed to concentrate somehow.
The task was no longer efficient. Jake lied on his bed, prepared to call it a day. His mind was replaying the entire day's worth of scene.
"Time chamber… Now that I think about it, the voice didn't say anything on how to enter that place again."
[Entering the Time Chamber]
Jake's consciousness began to fade. The next scene he saw was a familiar white world. A mechanical voice rang out inside his mind.
[Welcome to the Time Chamber.]
"Huh? Is falling asleep the answer to enter the chamber?"
[Answering host's question. No, the system will scan the host's intention to enter the chamber before sending the consciousness inside. In other words, the host could simply give a command to enter the chamber.]
"I see…"
Jake nodded his head in satisfaction. The answer was unexpectedly simple. There was no specific condition to enter the chamber. He checked his pocket and took out a one hundred dollar bill and approach the mirror.
The money came from Ethel's pocket after his constant pleading during dinner. Ethel, who was in a good mood, gave in to Jake's plead and gave him the money.
Jake opened the store menu and bought the only recipe he could afford Fluffy Omelets. In truth, he could buy a standard novice sword. However, it would use up all the money he had so he was against the idea. It may come in handy at a later date.
==
Fluffy Omelets
Type: Consumables
Requirements: Cooking [1]
A fluffy and soft omelet, melting inside your mouth.
Price: $50
==
A series of information flooded Jake's brain at the instant he bought the recipe. The information contained the method to produce that certain recipe. However, Jake had a small feeling that he may be unable to replicate the taste of the omelet.
[Congratulations for obtaining your first mission. I advise you to start your training immediately. All the ingredients inside the chamber will be provided by the system. Naturally, the product will not be available in the real world]
Jake nodded his head as he approached the kitchen. A small mirror was placed at the entrance to the kitchen.
[Please choose the recipe you wish to train in the mirror. The mechanism is similar to the previous one.]
Jake chose the only recipe he had, Fluffy Omelet. Just like that, his first training inside the Time Chamber began.
At first, the product was nowhere acceptable for himself. It was far from the word 'fluffy'. The production job turned out to be far more complicated than what Jake imagine.
Jake's undying attitude gradually bore fruit. A perfect omelet was produced after countless trials. He made sure to let his body remember the entire process before leaving the time chamber.
A new morning came with the rise of the sun. Jake woke up at dawn with an exhausted expression. The body seems to be in a fresh condition, however, his mind was exhausted due to his training in the Time Chamber.
Looking at the clock, which read 6 AM, Jake stood up from his bed. His destination was his house's kitchen. He was itching to let his sister try out his cooking.
As for the matter with monsters?
The entire Earth seems to be in peace after the incident 20 years ago, the day of calamity. There are working government to govern each country. The similarities in history were regarded as coincidence by Jake.
Jake's plan in this Earth was to follow the system's will and become the greatest 'Shopmaster' the world has ever seen. The prospect to earn a huge sum of money increased his decision. This is his chance to finally contribute to the family.
"Sis! Come out. I've made some breakfast"
Jake knocked on Ethel's door. Ethel came out after a while with a drowsy look. Obviously, she just woke up from her sleep.
"I heard you alright? What? You made something today?"
"Yeah! It's called Fluffy Omelet. I bet you'll like it."
"Hm… Let's see, then."
Ethel was shocked to see the confidence on Jake's face. As far as she knew, Jake has never touched a frying pan before. His cooking skill was as far as heating up a cup of instant noodle.
Soon, Ethel was left speechless by the perfect shape of the omelet. The surface appeared to be as smooth as silk, she was a bit reluctant to break the beautiful surface. However, her curiosity of the taste won her over.
The spoon broke the tranquil surface of the omelet. Ethel placed the small part of omelet inside her mouth. The omelet melted with the touch of her tongue. A rich flavor filled her mouth. She couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.
"It's surprisingly good."
"Hehe"
They finished their Fluffy Omelet after a while. Ethel and Jake went inside their respective room to get ready for the day.
"Sis, wait a minute. I've got something to tell you."
"Hm? What is it? Make it fast. I need to catch the train."
"Um… I think I'll drop out of college."
Jake felt uneasy as he lowered his head. His decision was made after careful consideration inside the Time Chamber.
The training told him one thing, that he would devote his time to keep his store running. There will be no time left for studying. He also felt a bit reluctant to return to his studies after years in Aestes.
One second, two seconds passed. There was no response from Ethel. The curiosity got the best of him as he lifted his head to see Ethel's terrifyingly cold expression like she was waiting for an explanation of his decision.
Thanks to Jake's Fluffy Omelet, Ethel's mood was lifted as she refrained from erupting in anger. However, it would be the future if Jake failed in convincing her of his decision.
"It's like this… I… want to try and open a shop and I need a capital for it."
Jake tried his best to describe his future plan. The vital part is to convince Ethel that he has the potential to make it big. The Fluffy Omelet from before was part of his plan in order to convince Ethel.
Eventually, Ethel yielded to Jake's stern gaze. However, she threatens him to find a mediocre job without continuing his studies if he ever suffered a loss in his business.
Fortunately, it was still Jake's second semester in college, so the admission fee could still be refunded. It was just that, the university will usually drag on the payment as long as possible.
"So? Are you going to wait until your admission fee was paid?"
"Yeah… I'll just hunt in the meantime. I could also earn some money by selling the monster core I obtain."
"Huh!?"
Ethel showed a shocked expression. More than when Jake announced his intention to drop out of college. She held onto Jake's shoulder and looked at him straight in the eyes, flustering Jake.
"What? Am I not allowed to hunt?"
"That's not it! Didn't you always refuse Lee and Kana's invitation to go hunting? What's with the sudden change of heart?"
"H-huh? No…? I just don't feel like hunting"
"*Sigh* Make them accompany you for your hunt. Your pathetic stats will get you killed in seconds. That's why you should have trained when I told you to. It's good that you have stopped saying those 'the world is so peaceful, so why bother?' crap."
"Right… hehe"
Jake scratched his cheeks in embarrassment.
'The hell?! I said that?'
"Anyway, Sis? Aren't you going to be late?"
"Ah! Right! I'm going. Go, handle your resignment on your own."
"Sure!"
Jake gave out a small smile as he waved his hand towards the departing Ethel. He could hear a small complain from Ethel's direction.
'Really… What's happening to him?'
It made him chuckled. Even Jake understood the drastic change in his behavior. The previous Jake was too naive to possessed the ambition to own a shop. He was indeed, the kind of person that was capable of saying 'the world is so peaceful, so why bother?' in response to Ethel's words.
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Eight hours have passed by the time Jake's consciousness came back inside his body. The TV was showing an advertisement for a new upgrade of the mana potion.
The first scene that came into Jake's view was the catchphrase of the advertisement. His head felt a slight discomfort for some reason as he recalled the event that just transpires.
'Stats'
A familiar window appeared in front of Jake, confirming that the matter was no illusion. Fortunately, Jake was trained to not panic in an unexpected situation. He started to analyze the situation with a cool head.
'First is… gathering information'
With a flick of his finger, Jake pressed the 'off' button on the TV remote. He rushed towards his own room to browse the internet. A laptop was present inside his room.
The laptop's screen flashed brightly, showing a small moving bar. Due to Jake's great perception, he noticed the strange phenomenon going on inside the laptop.
Jake could feel the flow of mana, revolving inside the laptop on the table. No electricity was used to power it.
'This…'
The strange phenomenon was added to the subject for his research. Fortunately, the internet was similar to before. Jake spent the rest of the day in front of his laptop.
He was shocked to see the similarities between Aestes and the 'New Earth'.
"The day of calamity…"
Jake recited those particular words. It was a common term for an incident, used by the netizen of this world. The incident took place long ago, just a year before Jake's birth. It was a great disaster for humanity.
A massive scene of a great monster horde was replayed on the screen of Jake's laptop. The mixture of different kinds of monster rushing towards the human's city was a sight to behold.
A man with an Asian's feature stood at some kind of border between the city and the great wasteland. Beneath him, behind the enclosed walls, an army of people were holding different kinds of weapons. Strangely, there are no modern guns present within the variety of weapons.
The next scene encompassed the great battle between humans and the monster's horde. At last, mankind claimed victory after the great battle. However, it was not without a price. Many great warriors have perished. The ending of the video even gave a long list to remember their courage and sacrifice.
There are other similar videos, recording the battle but with a different location like America or China. In total, there are 48 of such videos, each symbolizing the existence of the countries on Earth.
The appearance of the monster seems to be anticipated as they were ready to go into war. It seems that the very existence of monsters was not foreign to the resident of the Earth.
Jake's research continued.
Awakened, Professions, Dungeons. Those are the common terms he encountered throughout his research.
Awakened was the term that was once used to refer those with superhumans abilities, able to fight the monsters that appeared one day. It happened around 100 years ago when humanity faced their greatest threat to extinction.
It was the dark days for humanity. Modern projectile weapons don't have any effect on the invading monster. A translucent barrier appeared on the monster's skin and stopped the bullet from advancing.
A canon's bullet can't even damage the barrier.
To make it worse, the law of nature was twisted, breaking the knowledge of mankind. 'Light' has been taken from the people as the world plunged into darkness. Fortunately, a great magician at that time, Laura Marshall, invented a method to convert monster cores into energy that was similar in nature and succeeded in, once again, lighting up the world.
Humanity struggled, leaving behind a mountain of corpses. A whole 20 years was spent in order to reform the order and stabilized the situation.
Through the passage of time, the term, 'Awakened', was abandoned because everyone obtained the same power. It was an RPG-like power, enabling them to learn skills through training, view stats, and others.
A small tattoo of different shapes appeared in a random place on the body. The appearance of the tattoo was the proof of an awakened.
"It's the same…"
To Jake, the sequence of events was exceedingly similar to Aestes. The difference was the time period. Aestes' history went back to more than thousands of years. However, those particular events were clearly recorded.
A creaking sound came out from outside Jake's room, followed by a sweet voice. He was able to hear it because he left the door open when he came in.
"I'm home…"
It was Ethel's voice.
The sun has already set a long time ago. However, Jake didn't realize it as he was immersed in his research. By the time he realized it, his body was struck by a feeling of hunger as his stomach grumbled.
"Sis… Did you bring any food?"
"Yeah… I bought some fried chicken on the way home."
Ethel answered as he placed a plastic bag, with a large yellow symbol, which portrayed the letter 'M' at the center, on the dining table. Her face showed a small fatigue as she sat down at the table.
"I'll help you"
"Thanks..."
Jake helped Ethel in organizing her stuff and prepare the table for dinner. The menu for dinner was the popular fried chicken from the store nearby.
Jake was strangely talkative during dinner, surprising Ethel. She felt happy to see Jake's behavior since he was introverted most of the time. Both of them went inside their rooms with a smile on their face, each with a different cause.
The laptop he used was folded nicely on top of his desk. He approached the desk, intending to continue his research. However, his mind failed to concentrate somehow.
The task was no longer efficient. Jake lied on his bed, prepared to call it a day. His mind was replaying the entire day's worth of scene.
"Time chamber… Now that I think about it, the voice didn't say anything on how to enter that place again."
[Entering the Time Chamber]
Jake's consciousness began to fade. The next scene he saw was a familiar white world. A mechanical voice rang out inside his mind.
[Welcome to the Time Chamber.]
"Huh? Is falling asleep the answer to enter the chamber?"
[Answering host's question. No, the system will scan the host's intention to enter the chamber before sending the consciousness inside. In other words, the host could simply give a command to enter the chamber.]
"I see…"
Jake nodded his head in satisfaction. The answer was unexpectedly simple. There was no specific condition to enter the chamber. He checked his pocket and took out a one hundred dollar bill and approach the mirror.
The money came from Ethel's pocket after his constant pleading during dinner. Ethel, who was in a good mood, gave in to Jake's plead and gave him the money.
Jake opened the store menu and bought the only recipe he could afford Fluffy Omelets. In truth, he could buy a standard novice sword. However, it would use up all the money he had so he was against the idea. It may come in handy at a later date.
==
Fluffy Omelets
Type: Consumables
Requirements: Cooking [1]
A fluffy and soft omelet, melting inside your mouth.
Price: $50
==
A series of information flooded Jake's brain at the instant he bought the recipe. The information contained the method to produce that certain recipe. However, Jake had a small feeling that he may be unable to replicate the taste of the omelet.
[Congratulations for obtaining your first mission. I advise you to start your training immediately. All the ingredients inside the chamber will be provided by the system. Naturally, the product will not be available in the real world]
Jake nodded his head as he approached the kitchen. A small mirror was placed at the entrance to the kitchen.
[Please choose the recipe you wish to train in the mirror. The mechanism is similar to the previous one.]
Jake chose the only recipe he had, Fluffy Omelet. Just like that, his first training inside the Time Chamber began.
At first, the product was nowhere acceptable for himself. It was far from the word 'fluffy'. The production job turned out to be far more complicated than what Jake imagine.
Jake's undying attitude gradually bore fruit. A perfect omelet was produced after countless trials. He made sure to let his body remember the entire process before leaving the time chamber.
A new morning came with the rise of the sun. Jake woke up at dawn with an exhausted expression. The body seems to be in a fresh condition, however, his mind was exhausted due to his training in the Time Chamber.
Looking at the clock, which read 6 AM, Jake stood up from his bed. His destination was his house's kitchen. He was itching to let his sister try out his cooking.
As for the matter with monsters?
The entire Earth seems to be in peace after the incident 20 years ago, the day of calamity. There are working government to govern each country. The similarities in history were regarded as coincidence by Jake.
Jake's plan in this Earth was to follow the system's will and become the greatest 'Shopmaster' the world has ever seen. The prospect to earn a huge sum of money increased his decision. This is his chance to finally contribute to the family.
"Sis! Come out. I've made some breakfast"
Jake knocked on Ethel's door. Ethel came out after a while with a drowsy look. Obviously, she just woke up from her sleep.
"I heard you alright? What? You made something today?"
"Yeah! It's called Fluffy Omelet. I bet you'll like it."
"Hm… Let's see, then."
Ethel was shocked to see the confidence on Jake's face. As far as she knew, Jake has never touched a frying pan before. His cooking skill was as far as heating up a cup of instant noodle.
Soon, Ethel was left speechless by the perfect shape of the omelet. The surface appeared to be as smooth as silk, she was a bit reluctant to break the beautiful surface. However, her curiosity of the taste won her over.
The spoon broke the tranquil surface of the omelet. Ethel placed the small part of omelet inside her mouth. The omelet melted with the touch of her tongue. A rich flavor filled her mouth. She couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.
"It's surprisingly good."
"Hehe"
They finished their Fluffy Omelet after a while. Ethel and Jake went inside their respective room to get ready for the day.
"Sis, wait a minute. I've got something to tell you."
"Hm? What is it? Make it fast. I need to catch the train."
"Um… I think I'll drop out of college."
Jake felt uneasy as he lowered his head. His decision was made after careful consideration inside the Time Chamber.
The training told him one thing, that he would devote his time to keep his store running. There will be no time left for studying. He also felt a bit reluctant to return to his studies after years in Aestes.
One second, two seconds passed. There was no response from Ethel. The curiosity got the best of him as he lifted his head to see Ethel's terrifyingly cold expression like she was waiting for an explanation of his decision.
Thanks to Jake's Fluffy Omelet, Ethel's mood was lifted as she refrained from erupting in anger. However, it would be the future if Jake failed in convincing her of his decision.
"It's like this… I… want to try and open a shop and I need a capital for it."
Jake tried his best to describe his future plan. The vital part is to convince Ethel that he has the potential to make it big. The Fluffy Omelet from before was part of his plan in order to convince Ethel.
Eventually, Ethel yielded to Jake's stern gaze. However, she threatens him to find a mediocre job without continuing his studies if he ever suffered a loss in his business.
Fortunately, it was still Jake's second semester in college, so the admission fee could still be refunded. It was just that, the university will usually drag on the payment as long as possible.
"So? Are you going to wait until your admission fee was paid?"
"Yeah… I'll just hunt in the meantime. I could also earn some money by selling the monster core I obtain."
"Huh!?"
Ethel showed a shocked expression. More than when Jake announced his intention to drop out of college. She held onto Jake's shoulder and looked at him straight in the eyes, flustering Jake.
"What? Am I not allowed to hunt?"
"That's not it! Didn't you always refuse Lee and Kana's invitation to go hunting? What's with the sudden change of heart?"
"H-huh? No…? I just don't feel like hunting"
"*Sigh* Make them accompany you for your hunt. Your pathetic stats will get you killed in seconds. That's why you should have trained when I told you to. It's good that you have stopped saying those 'the world is so peaceful, so why bother?' crap."
"Right… hehe"
Jake scratched his cheeks in embarrassment.
'The hell?! I said that?'
"Anyway, Sis? Aren't you going to be late?"
"Ah! Right! I'm going. Go, handle your resignment on your own."
"Sure!"
Jake gave out a small smile as he waved his hand towards the departing Ethel. He could hear a small complain from Ethel's direction.
'Really… What's happening to him?'
It made him chuckled. Even Jake understood the drastic change in his behavior. The previous Jake was too naive to possessed the ambition to own a shop. He was indeed, the kind of person that was capable of saying 'the world is so peaceful, so why bother?' in response to Ethel's words.
Eight hours have passed by the time Jake's consciousness came back inside his body. The TV was showing an advertisement for a new upgrade of the mana potion.The first scene that came into Jake's view was the catchphrase of the advertisement. His head felt a slight discomfort for some reason as he recalled the event that just transpires.'Stats'A familiar window appeared in front of Jake, confirming that the matter was no illusion. Fortunately, Jake was trained to not panic in an unexpected situation. He started to analyze the situation with a cool head.'First is gathering information'With a flick of his finger, Jake pressed the 'off' button on the TV remote. He rushed towards his own room to browse the internet. A laptop was present inside his room.The laptop's screen flashed brightly, showing a small moving bar. Due to Jake's great perception, he noticed the strange phenomenon going on inside the laptop.Jake could feel the flow of mana, revolving inside the laptop on the table. No electricity was used to power it.'This'The strange phenomenon was added to the subject for his research. Fortunately, the internet was similar to before. Jake spent the rest of the day in front of his laptop.He was shocked to see the similarities between Aestes and the 'New Earth'."The day of calamity"Jake recited those particular words. It was a common term for an incident, used by the netizen of this world. The incident took place long ago, just a year before Jake's birth. It was a great disaster for humanity.A massive scene of a great monster horde was replayed on the screen of Jake's laptop. The mixture of different kinds of monster rushing towards the human's city was a sight to behold.A man with an Asian's feature stood at some kind of border between the city and the great wasteland. Beneath him, behind the enclosed walls, an army of people were holding different kinds of weapons. Strangely, there are no modern guns present within the variety of weapons.The next scene encompassed the great battle between humans and the monster's horde. At last, mankind claimed victory after the great battle. However, it was not without a price. Many great warriors have perished. The ending of the video even gave a long list to remember their courage and sacrifice.There are other similar videos, recording the battle but with a different location like America or China. In total, there are 48 of such videos, each symbolizing the existence of the countries on Earth.The appearance of the monster seems to be anticipated as they were ready to go into war. It seems that the very existence of monsters was not foreign to the resident of the Earth.Jake's research continued.Awakened, Professions, Dungeons. Those are the common terms he encountered throughout his research.Awakened was the term that was once used to refer those with superhumans abilities, able to fight the monsters that appeared one day. It happened around 100 years ago when humanity faced their greatest threat to extinction.It was the dark days for humanity. Modern projectile weapons don't have any effect on the invading monster. A translucent barrier appeared on the monster's skin and stopped the bullet from advancing.A canon's bullet can't even damage the barrier.To make it worse, the law of nature was twisted, breaking the knowledge of mankind. 'Light' has been taken from the people as the world plunged into darkness. Fortunately, a great magician at that time, Laura Marshall, invented a method to convert monster cores into energy that was similar in nature and succeeded in, once again, lighting up the world.Humanity struggled, leaving behind a mountain of corpses. A whole 20 years was spent in order to reform the order and stabilized the situation.Through the passage of time, the term, 'Awakened', was abandoned because everyone obtained the same power. It was an RPG-like power, enabling them to learn skills through training, view stats, and others.A small tattoo of different shapes appeared in a random place on the body. The appearance of the tattoo was the proof of an awakened."It's the same"To Jake, the sequence of events was exceedingly similar to Aestes. The difference was the time period. Aestes' history went back to more than thousands of years. However, those particular events were clearly recorded.A creaking sound came out from outside Jake's room, followed by a sweet voice. He was able to hear it because he left the door open when he came in."I'm home"It was Ethel's voice.The sun has already set a long time ago. However, Jake didn't realize it as he was immersed in his research. By the time he realized it, his body was struck by a feeling of hunger as his stomach grumbled."Sis Did you bring any food?""Yeah I bought some fried chicken on the way home."Ethel answered as he placed a plastic bag, with a large yellow symbol, which portrayed the letter 'M' at the center, on the dining table. Her face showed a small fatigue as she sat down at the table."I'll help you""Thanks..."Jake helped Ethel in organizing her stuff and prepare the table for dinner. The menu for dinner was the popular fried chicken from the store nearby.Jake was strangely talkative during dinner, surprising Ethel. She felt happy to see Jake's behavior since he was introverted most of the time. Both of them went inside their rooms with a smile on their face, each with a different cause.The laptop he used was folded nicely on top of his desk. He approached the desk, intending to continue his research. However, his mind failed to concentrate somehow.The task was no longer efficient. Jake lied on his bed, prepared to call it a day. His mind was replaying the entire day's worth of scene."Time chamber Now that I think about it, the voice didn't say anything on how to enter that place again."Entering the Time ChamberJake's consciousness began to fade. The next scene he saw was a familiar white world. A mechanical voice rang out inside his mind.Welcome to the Time Chamber."Huh? Is falling asleep the answer to enter the chamber?"Answering host's question. No, the system will scan the host's intention to enter the chamber before sending the consciousness inside. In other words, the host could simply give a command to enter the chamber."I see"Jake nodded his head in satisfaction. The answer was unexpectedly simple. There was no specific condition to enter the chamber. He checked his pocket and took out a one hundred dollar bill and approach the mirror.The money came from Ethel's pocket after his constant pleading during dinner. Ethel, who was in a good mood, gave in to Jake's plead and gave him the money.Jake opened the store menu and bought the only recipe he could afford Fluffy Omelets. In truth, he could buy a standard novice sword. However, it would use up all the money he had so he was against the idea. It may come in handy at a later date.==Fluffy OmeletsType: ConsumablesRequirements: Cooking 1A fluffy and soft omelet, melting inside your mouth.Price: $50==A series of information flooded Jake's brain at the instant he bought the recipe. The information contained the method to produce that certain recipe. However, Jake had a small feeling that he may be unable to replicate the taste of the omelet.Congratulations for obtaining your first mission. I advise you to start your training immediately. All the ingredients inside the chamber will be provided by the system. Naturally, the product will not be available in the real worldJake nodded his head as he approached the kitchen. A small mirror was placed at the entrance to the kitchen.Please choose the recipe you wish to train in the mirror. The mechanism is similar to the previous one.Jake chose the only recipe he had, Fluffy Omelet. Just like that, his first training inside the Time Chamber began.At first, the product was nowhere acceptable for himself. It was far from the word 'fluffy'. The production job turned out to be far more complicated than what Jake imagine.Jake's undying attitude gradually bore fruit. A perfect omelet was produced after countless trials. He made sure to let his body remember the entire process before leaving the time chamber.A new morning came with the rise of the sun. Jake woke up at dawn with an exhausted expression. The body seems to be in a fresh condition, however, his mind was exhausted due to his training in the Time Chamber.Looking at the clock, which read 6 AM, Jake stood up from his bed. His destination was his house's kitchen. He was itching to let his sister try out his cooking.As for the matter with monsters?The entire Earth seems to be in peace after the incident 20 years ago, the day of calamity. There are working government to govern each country. The similarities in history were regarded as coincidence by Jake.Jake's plan in this Earth was to follow the system's will and become the greatest 'Shopmaster' the world has ever seen. The prospect to earn a huge sum of money increased his decision. This is his chance to finally contribute to the family."Sis! Come out. I've made some breakfast"Jake knocked on Ethel's door. Ethel came out after a while with a drowsy look. Obviously, she just woke up from her sleep."I heard you alright? What? You made something today?""Yeah! It's called Fluffy Omelet. I bet you'll like it.""Hm Let's see, then."Ethel was shocked to see the confidence on Jake's face. As far as she knew, Jake has never touched a frying pan before. His cooking skill was as far as heating up a cup of instant noodle.Soon, Ethel was left speechless by the perfect shape of the omelet. The surface appeared to be as smooth as silk, she was a bit reluctant to break the beautiful surface. However, her curiosity of the taste won her over.The spoon broke the tranquil surface of the omelet. Ethel placed the small part of omelet inside her mouth. The omelet melted with the touch of her tongue. A rich flavor filled her mouth. She couldn't help but smile in satisfaction."It's surprisingly good.""Hehe"They finished their Fluffy Omelet after a while. Ethel and Jake went inside their respective room to get ready for the day."Sis, wait a minute. I've got something to tell you.""Hm? What is it? Make it fast. I need to catch the train.""Um I think I'll drop out of college."Jake felt uneasy as he lowered his head. His decision was made after careful consideration inside the Time Chamber.The training told him one thing, that he would devote his time to keep his store running. There will be no time left for studying. He also felt a bit reluctant to return to his studies after years in Aestes.One second, two seconds passed. There was no response from Ethel. The curiosity got the best of him as he lifted his head to see Ethel's terrifyingly cold expression like she was waiting for an explanation of his decision.Thanks to Jake's Fluffy Omelet, Ethel's mood was lifted as she refrained from erupting in anger. However, it would be the future if Jake failed in convincing her of his decision."It's like this I want to try and open a shop and I need a capital for it."Jake tried his best to describe his future plan. The vital part is to convince Ethel that he has the potential to make it big. The Fluffy Omelet from before was part of his plan in order to convince Ethel.Eventually, Ethel yielded to Jake's stern gaze. However, she threatens him to find a mediocre job without continuing his studies if he ever suffered a loss in his business.Fortunately, it was still Jake's second semester in college, so the admission fee could still be refunded. It was just that, the university will usually drag on the payment as long as possible."So? Are you going to wait until your admission fee was paid?""Yeah I'll just hunt in the meantime. I could also earn some money by selling the monster core I obtain.""Huh!?"Ethel showed a shocked expression. More than when Jake announced his intention to drop out of college. She held onto Jake's shoulder and looked at him straight in the eyes, flustering Jake."What? Am I not allowed to hunt?""That's not it! Didn't you always refuse Lee and Kana's invitation to go hunting? What's with the sudden change of heart?""H-huh? No? I just don't feel like hunting""*Sigh* Make them accompany you for your hunt. Your pathetic stats will get you killed in seconds. That's why you should have trained when I told you to. It's good that you have stopped saying those 'the world is so peaceful, so why bother?' crap.""Right hehe"Jake scratched his cheeks in embarrassment.'The hell?! I said that?'"Anyway, Sis? Aren't you going to be late?""Ah! Right! I'm going. Go, handle your resignment on your own.""Sure!"Jake gave out a small smile as he waved his hand towards the departing Ethel. He could hear a small complain from Ethel's direction.'Really What's happening to him?'It made him chuckled. Even Jake understood the drastic change in his behavior. The previous Jake was too naive to possessed the ambition to own a shop. He was indeed, the kind of person that was capable of saying 'the world is so peaceful, so why bother?' in response to Ethel's words.
