As soon as Jay’s excitement settled, 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 was 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, Jay couldn’t answer any of these questions – there was little to no information he could work off of.

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 – the very site he was a card-carrying regular in.

From the banner on top advertising the ongoing event down 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 didn’t deter Jay’s enthusiasm – after all, Jay knew how important the quality of a plain t-shirt was in a shopping mall – and he knew a lot about that from taking one experienced look.

Part of Jay’s approach to shopping was that you could 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,” Jay 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 Jay’s mind, deal breakers.

There were plenty of things that drove Jay away from other online stores – 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,” Jay 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!” Jay 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.

Jay Kim sure as heck ain’t no mere window shopper!

He was also sure as heck wouldn’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 to know what to use to buy it.

How do I get points? Jay 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, Jay thought, this changes everything.

Never thought I’d actually be here and present and actually hunting monsters.

Jay had stopped playing video games after he had graduated college, which meant that he wasn’t that familiar with this kind of setting with monsters.

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?” Jay yelled.

It was at that point where the universe decided to pull down its pants and take a dump on Jay – 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.]