Chapter 59 [Bonus ]Shop Upgrade

After everything was settled, Daniel said goodbye to Ragnar and Sloth, after patiently waiting for her to wake up for half an hour. He instructed Maria to return to the Veneziale Estate while he went back to his apartment with Michaela.

Before leaving, Daniel made a stop at the Grand Tower Bank located on the ground floor of the building. As he walked through the door, he was greeted by a grand and opulent lobby that exuded an air of nobility.

As Daniel walks past the glass automatic door, people in the elite hierarchy of society, including mages and normal people with enough influence to know about the Curtained World, turn their attention to the far left of the lobby. A middle-aged man in a formal suit is seen rushing towards Daniel. It is the manager of the Grand Tower Bank Tessia Kingdom branch, Peter Goldbloom.

"Ah! Welcome, Mr. Magitek," the man said with a smile, bowing as he greeted Daniel.

"My name is Peter Goldbloom, the manager of the Grand Tower Bank Tessia Kingdom branch," he said, with a little bit of awe and fear in his voice.

Daniel's feats and cruelty during the trial by combat had already reached many ears within the Curtained World, including those who managed his money, like this branch manager.

At first, the manager thought it was just a rumor or some bored noble or aristocrat in the Curtained World exaggerating things when he heard that Daniel, as an artificer, could create artifact constructs that could decimate a master-rank mage.

After all, it was common knowledge that an Artificer couldn't fight on equal ground with a combat-oriented mage. Even if an Artificer could create an artifact construct, it would be encumbered, slow, or too fragile to be used in real combat.

After watching the recording of the trial by combat, the branch manager's perception of Daniel did a complete 180-degree turn. As a non-mage employee of Hightower and the Curtained World, chosen for his exceptional financial insight, he had always been accurate in judging people by their actions and demeanor.

What he saw in the recording of Daniel's performance during the trial was a man with the eyes of a war veteran who had survived countless life and death ordeals. This impression was likely due to the effect of the Grand Artificer card, but the manager was unaware of this fact.

The manager had come to the conclusion that Daniel was at least a Grandmaster Artificer to create something as deadly as the swarms of metal scarabs. This filled him with a sense of awe and fear.

"Mr. Magitek, how may I assist you today?" The manager addressed Daniel by his infamous alias in the lobby, causing whispers and hushed conversations among the people who knew about him and his reputation.

However, Daniel paid no attention to the whispers and simply stated his purpose to the manager.

"I would like to withdraw some physical Origold coins," said Daniel.

"Oh, certainly! Please follow me this way!" The manager said politely, leading Daniel toward the VIP room.

Once Daniel disappeared into the VIP room with the manager, the guests began to chatter amongst themselves.

"Did you see him? That was Magitek. Is it true that he doesn't have a mage ID? What is he thinking?"

"Hey, you're talking like you want to mess with him. Remember, the last guy who tried ended up as minced meat. And he was two ranks stronger than you." Another guest responded to his friend's question with disdain.

"Are you crazy? Why would you say something like that? Do you want to die? It's a good thing Mr. Magitek didn't hear you."

"I wonder who that silver-haired girl was. She looks gorgeous. Is she Magitek's girlfriend?"

The guests continued to discuss Daniel as if it were the hottest topic of the day. Unbeknownst to them, there was a man in a black trench coat watching both Daniel and Michaela from afar.

He wore a black trench coat with the emblem of a Christian cross over the cross key on his black cassock-like shirt. A blade scar ran across his left eye, and his eyes were sharp like an eagle's. His short black hair had some white strands on his temple, and some stubble on his face made him look like a war veteran from the battlefield.

The man in the black trench coat didn't follow Daniel and Michaela. He simply looked at the VIP room before walking out of the bank and disappearing into the crowd outside.

_______

— Daniel Room —

After withdrawing a hundred thousand physical Origold coins, Daniel returned to the condominium room that had been given to him by Wrath on his first day. He needed to work on the orders he had received from the Dwarf president and the Elf Queen.

However, since he now had a substantial amount of physical Origold coin, he decided to check how much he would need to pay for a booster pack.

"Michaela, please guard the room for me. You can use the fridge and watch TV while you're at it. I need to finish the two artifacts in three days," Daniel instructed.

"Yes, My lord," Michaela replied, turning on the TV and fetching her favorite cola from the fridge.

Daniel then entered his workshop and closed the door, summoning the door to the Keeper card shop and entering with giddy excitement.

Upon entering, the appearance of the shop changed once again. It was no longer just a small square with a few tens of square meters, but now the space had expanded, revealing many a strange wheel-like contraption within the shop.

"Oh! Mr.Daniel, How may I help you today? I don't know what you did in the real world but we got 2 new things here." Said The Keeper before he walked out from behind the counter.

"What is this?" Daniel asks, eyeing the wheel-like contraption with its numerous symbols, ranging from the "?" and "X" symbols to those of X1 and X3 Booster packs, and even a symbol for 1 box of card sets.

"This?" The Keeper walks over to the contraption. "It's the Wheel of Fortune. For every 10 packs you buy from me, you get one chance to spin the wheel. And if you buy a whole box, you get 4 chances instead of 3. Interested?" The Keeper urges.

"Hmm, looks cool. And what about this?" Daniel points to a blackboard with many square tables and words written on it.

The board displays various options, such as "Getting Married," "Controlling Sector Alpha City," "Destroying the Hightower," and "Killing a Demon from Hell," all with blue lights. One option stands out with a green light, which reads "Survive the Trial by Combat."

"This is the achievement board," The Keeper replied. "By completing these achievements, you will unlock a new function of our shop."

Daniel nodded in understanding before turning to The Keeper. "Now, I have many questions about these shop phenomena, but I'll limit myself to three that have been nagging at me since the beginning."

"Of course, Mr. Daniel," The Keeper replied. "Please understand that I cannot answer any questions that might affect you or my existence."

"I understand. So my first question is this: You said that I created these cards, not you. Does that mean I have the ability to create new cards, such as an artifact construct that can shoot a beam from its eyes and bring it to life?" Daniel asked, turning to face The Keeper, who maintained his kind smile.

"I'm afraid not," replied The Keeper with a smile. "At least, not right now. Perhaps in the distant future, if you become a lot stronger than you are currently, then it might be possible. But for now, you'll have to make do with the cards you got from the booster packs in this shop."

Daniel nodded in understanding, realizing that he still had a long way to go before he could achieve such a feat.

Moving on to his second question, he asked, "Where are all the gold and magic materials I used to buy the booster packs?"

The Keeper smiled at the question and began to explain.

"That's a good question! I use all of it to establish a connection to the real world, so that the world doesn't refuse to actualize your cards. Each time you gain recognition from the real world, this connection will become stronger and stronger. That's why the shop has new sets and new things for you to unlock, like the wheel of fortune and achievement board."

As The Keeper gestured toward the new items, Daniel couldn't help but feel excited about what other surprises the shop might have in store for him.

"Ok, last question," Daniel said with a serious expression. "Can anyone other than me come into this shop?"

The question was of utmost importance to Daniel, who couldn't risk anyone finding out about the shop. It was the source of his strength and could also be his biggest weakness if a powerful mage discovered and managed to seal his powers.

The Keeper sensed the gravity of the situation and his smile faded. He answered truthfully, emphasizing the importance of the shop's secrecy.

"No, no one can enter this shop. The only being who can see the door to this shop is you, Mr. Daniel. Even if a powerful being somehow senses the existence of this shop and tries to barge in, I guarantee you that no matter how strong they are, they will not set foot within this shop. And their life will become the nourishment for the shop. This is my pride and I swear by it." The Keeper's voice was deadly serious, and he made it clear that the secrecy of the shop was his top priority.