Completely dumbfounded by the occurrence of the phenomenon, for a while, I was left stunned.
“….! Uhh… What is this? Unique… Skill?”
So skills did exist. Besides, if this one is Unique, it’s gotta be a pretty powerful one, right? As was usually the case with games and stuff, a Unique Skill would only manifest in one person, so it seemed promising…
“But why did it awaken? Aren’t they supposed to be acquired in most cases?”
I felt that something was a little off about the word ‘awaken’. Those words meant that the power was originally inside me and that there was a certain reason that it had been awakened.
In that case, was it because I said the word ‘skill’?
“….Well, whatever. For now… <Shop>.”
When I uttered that word, a different screen opened up.
“…It kind of looks like the homepage of an online shopping site.”
The left side of the homepage showed various categories, and at the top left was a big ‘SHOP’ logo. There was a search bar to the right of it where I could enter key search words.
There was also an Order History, Cart Display, and a Shop Points feature that I didn’t really understand. But apparently, I already had 3,000 Shop Points. Below, there was a bar that said ‘Cash’, which was currently at 0.
Finally, at the center of the screen, there was a column that showed a catalog of Recommended Items. I didn’t have any idea who was recommending these things, but it was easy to pick up on.
But even though they were ‘recommended’, none of these items were familiar to me.
For example, there was [Power Potion C], and [Speed Potion C], which were labeled as ‘on sale’ for some reason.
Tapping a finger on [Power Potion C] brought me to a screen corresponding to the product, where I could view a description of the product and make a purchase.
Upon drinking a [Power Potion C], one would temporarily be granted the effect of ‘elevated strength’. Under normal circumstances, an item that could double your physical strength would seem like an obvious scam that shouldn’t be trusted by any means. However, this was the effect of a skill. Without actually trying it out, I couldn’t say for certain that it was truly ineffective.
As such, it was possible to purchase items that didn’t originally exist on Earth. Of course, it appeared that I was also still able to buy things that existed on Earth.
“In other words, money… hm? Do I need money to buy it?”
On the [Power Potion C] page, I clicked ‘Add to Cart’ and proceeded to the Checkout Page. On this page, it was possible to review the items in my Cart. Then, I clicked on ‘Proceed to Checkout’.
Next, a payment method screen appeared, where I could choose whether to pay with Shop Points or cash. Since I had already been given 3,000 free Shop Points, I decided to purchase with Shop Points for now.
As a final confirmation, a description of the product and its price were listed on the screen, and next to it was a ‘Purchase’ button.
“Ooh, it’s nice that a [Power Potion] only costs 150 points. Oh right, it was on sale, wasn’t it?”
Originally, its price was 300 points, almost double its current sale price.
I nervously hovered over the ‘Purchase’ button, then pressed it.
And then―
[You have purchased [Power Potion C]. It has been sent to your Box.]
“<Box>? Ah right, there was something like that at the bottom of the page, wasn’t there?”
I scrolled to the very bottom of the page and clicked on the <Box> button.
Immediately after, yet another page opened, and the so-called <Box> opened. Sure enough, the [Power Potion C] that I had just purchased was inside.
At that point, I made yet another discovery. When I clicked on [Power Potion C], the words ‘Extract’, ‘Discard’, and ‘Sell’ appeared over it. Apparently, the items in the <Box> could be sold in the <Shop>. Upon doing so, they would be converted into currency.
Once I had clicked on ‘Extract’, the [Power Potion C] appeared out of nowhere on the bed in front of me, as if it were a 3D projection. When I held the potion in my hand and examined it, I noticed that it felt weighty and cool to the touch.
The <Box> also seemed to have a ‘Storage’ function. Just by touching something, I could apparently store it inside of the <Box>.
For a while, I tried depositing and withdrawing things from the <Box>. Aside from the [Power Potion C], I also tried storing my phone, wallet, and other items.
Just like <Shop>, <Box> was also very user-friendly. When cash was stored inside of the <Box>, it showed up on the homepage under the remaining balance, so I immediately stored it, leaving only ¥10,000 in my pocket.
“….Hold on. What would happen if I put my bank book inside of the <Box>?”
When I tried it, the words ‘Sell’ and ‘Deposit Money’ showed up. Much to my surprise, when I tried ‘Deposit Money’, the amount in my bank book was added to the remaining balance.
(TL: The word used here is 預金通帳, which is basically a ‘bank book’. It’s used in the Japanese banking system as a book in which a bank customer keeps a record of the money added and subtracted from their bank account. Nowadays, the transaction details are printed automatically into the bank book when it’s used at an ATM.)
“Ooooh, this is really convenient!”
My parents had left that sum of money to me, and I intended to use it with care. By the way, it was also possible to use ‘Deposit Money’ on the bank book to move the money from the Remaining Balance back into the bank book.
“I see. I think I’m slowly starting to get the hang of this skill.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a cool skill that the protagonist of a story would have. If I had a skill with unrivaled power like <Instant Death Magic> or <Invisibility>, then I might have been able to stand out in this world.
But I wasn’t disappointed. This <Shop> skill certainly didn’t have any direct attack or defense power, but depending on how it was used, it could become the most powerful skill.
The biggest thing was that I wouldn’t have to wander around in search of food, daily necessities, and other items I might need. As long as I had money, I could buy food from wherever I was.
“Now I just need to try… this.”
I picked up the [Power Potion C] that I purchased and drank it.
“Glug, glug, glug… Puhah. The taste is surprisingly good. It’s like a sports drink.”
I went to the kitchen and picked up a frying pan. Normally, I wouldn’t be able to bend it no matter how much I tried.
“Let’s see… What will happen? Here we go! Ugyahhh!”
Surprisingly, I could easily crumple the frying pan into a ball. In just the span of a few seconds, the frying pan was rendered completely unusable.
“Phew… Is this for real?”
There was a part of me that was still skeptical, but there seemed to be no doubt about it. When I tried some push-ups to test it out, my body felt so light that it didn’t even feel like my body anymore, and I could do them at an impressive pace.
After 10 minutes passed, I felt weight on my body that felt like the gravity upon me had suddenly increased. Even if I tried to uncrumple the pan, I would definitely be unable to do so with my current strength.
“It’s seriously an effect that’s straight out of a game.”
Besides, that was only [Power Potion C] just now. There were also higher-ranked ones like B, A, and S, and if I drank them, I could only imagine what ridiculous level of strength they would give me.
There were tons of products like these that only existed in RPGs. It would have been the best if it sold skills and magic, but, as expected, it wouldn’t be that convenient.
Even still, if I made full use of this skill, it would be possible for me to survive in this world that was being swept by monsters.
“Haha… this is good.”
I bet no one would have ever thought that I, just some bullied kid, would end up with such an ability.