The First Store System

Chapter 363: Gain(2)

After the portal sucked Ethan in and disappeared, the already overcrowded street turned even more crowded.

Aakesh, who was expressionlessly watching the event, left the street.

He then found the nearest inn, booked a room, grabbed the key, entered the room, and closed the door.

After closing the door, he sat on the bed and activated his class.

The next moment, a blank screen appeared in front of him.

The screen suddenly lightened up, and soon a scenery appeared.

***

Ethan, who had excitedly worn the bracelet after thanking his parents, didn't understand for a few minutes what had happened to him.

It would've taken even more time if not for the tortoise in front of him.

"It's been three thousand years since a challenger arrived," The tortoise commented. His voice contained a hint of antiquity, showing just how old he was.

"Where am I?" Ethan asked in shock.

"Boy, do you want to become strong?" The old tortoise ignored the boy's question and instead asked.

Ethan didn't know what to say, so he blankly stared at the tortoise.

"Boy, do you want to protect your parents, siblings, and family?" The tortoise asked another question.

"Yes!" Ethan answered right away. Like every child, he also wanted to protect his parents.

A smile appeared on the old tortoise's wrinkled face, hearing Ethan.

"Good…good…good," The tortoise repeatedly uttered the same word. Ethan's eyes suddenly fell on the new bracelet on his hand, only to notice that the red rock had disappeared.

"Boy, no need to look at it. You and I are in the space inside that rock," The tortoise commented, seeing Ethan looking at the bracelet.

"Boy, let me teach you your first lesson. Nothing in this world comes at a free cost. If you wish to gain something, you need to be ready to sacrifice too," The tortoise didn't give Ethan any time to ask any question and told him.

Ethan only confusedly looked at the tortoise. He didn't understand what the tortoise wanted to say.

Since his birth, he had gotten whatever he wanted, so the concept of equal exchange was something incomprehensible to him.

The tortoise could see the confusion on Ethan's face, but he didn't explain it as Ethan would learn everything on his own. He was just a child for now.

"Boy, get ready for your test," The tortoise told Ethan and then muttered some incomprehensible strange words.

The next moment, Ethan disappeared from where he was and appeared in front of a stair.

"If you want power, climb all the stairs," An aged voice that directly came from antiquity echoed in the area.

The innocence on Ethan's face was nowhere to be seen at this moment. Instead, he looked like an experienced being.

The stair that Ethan needed to climb only had nine steps. With each climb, the pressure on Ethan will grow. Similarly, he would need to fight a creature, depending on his luck.

Ethan understood what the voice had told him, so he took a step forward and climbed the first step.

The next moment, a Level 1 human with the same appearance as Ethan appeared in front of him.

The imposter then charged at Ethan.

Time flew by.

It had been more than an hour since Ethan had disappeared due to the sudden appearance of the portal.

Ethan's mother was still standing there, waiting for her son to return.

The father, on the other hand, was interrogating the stall owner in the nearest guard room.

Aakesh was still watching the scene playing inside the screen.

On the screen, Ethan was fighting his imposter, and if he succeeded this time, he would completely climb the stairs.

Due to Ethan's heaven-defying luck, he had only faced a Level 1 opponent, barring on the third stair when his opponent was a Level 2 imposter.

If not for Ethan knowing the elementary form of basic combat, he would've even lost these battles.

"Kacha!"

Ethan's punch successfully connected with the head of his Level 1 imposter.

The next moment, a cracking sound rang, and the opponent crashed down the ground.

Ethan had already gotten used to this, so he took another step forward, and with it, his climb was complete.

Suddenly, Ethan disappeared from where he was and appeared in the familiar place, while the tortoise looked at him.

The tortoise had a mix of expressions in its eyes. It was in disbelief that how could someone's luck be so good.

When Ethan had climbed on the first step of the stairs, the pressure that should have affected him never appeared, as the array was somehow broken, so Ethan now needed to fight opponents to proceed. This time his luck proved to be even better as no opponent above or equal to his level appeared.

"Congratulations, boy! You've passed the test my body has set," The tortoise masked its expressions and congratulated Ethan.

***

It has been around one hour since, out of nowhere, a portal appeared in the middle of the street and sucked Ethan in.

His mother was still standing at the same location while her eyes were moist due to the worry.

Suddenly, the same phenomena of space cracking appeared, and soon it turned into a portal.

Ethan then stepped out of it, with a ring in one of his fingers, and an egg the size of a tennis ball in his hands.

The red rock in his bracelet had already disintegrated since it had completed its purpose, while the bracelet stayed the same.

Ethan's mother, seeing her son coming out of the portal, rushed at him, with tears streaming down her cheeks.

***

In the room, Aakesh was basking in the glory of a breakthrough.

The event he had watched granted him an increase of a whopping six levels, taking him to Level 49.

It wasn't the end, as Aakesh also got thirty percent of what Ethan had gotten from the ruin.

Ethan got a hundred thousand medium soul stones from the ruin. He also got an egg of a Mythical creature. It wasn't the end as he also got a drop of blood of the tortoise, who was a Level 350 creature. He also got several items and skills.

Aakesh got thirty thousand medium soul stones since he had no interest in other things Ethan gained from the ruin.

Since there was still quite a time left for the sun to rise in Visteerna, Aakesh left the inn to search for another participant.