[Ding!]
[5,000,000 gold coins have been credited.]
A sigh almost escaped him as this gold coins made him remember some of his past. In his previous life, he had learned far too late that real-world currency could only be converted into in-game gold before the apocalypse began.
At the time, he had barely possessed any savings, so he had recharged only a small amount.
When the world changed, paper money and bank balances became little more than meaningless numbers.
Worthless. Looking back, he wished he could slap his former self. If only he had known. Now, however, his account held a staggering five million gold coins.
Even until the day he died in his previous life, he had never possessed such an unimaginable fortune.
Although gold could be earned after the apocalypse, it was consumed even faster. Every piece of equipment, every skill upgrade, every high-tier resource demanded vast amounts of it.
For once... He was rich. Ridiculously rich.
Suppressing the urge to laugh out loud, Aiden focused himself. Every second counted.
His gaze swept rapidly across the immense cabinet like a precision scanner.
Drawer after drawer passed before his eyes.
The shelves contained countless treasures, many bearing names so ancient and mysterious that even someone with the knowledge of two lifetimes had never heard of them.
[Beginner Skill Forget Scroll]
[Random Class Inheritance Fragment]
[Blank Pet Contract Scroll]
[Rare Material: Dragon Blood Resin]
Every single item on the shelves was enough to drive the players of his previous life into a frenzy.
But Aiden’s objective had never changed. His gaze swept across drawer after drawer until it finally stopped on an inconspicuous compartment halfway up the cabinet.
[Damaged Ring of Greed]
’Found it!’ Suppressing the excitement threatening to surface, Aiden looked at the light-shadow shopkeeper.
"I want the Damaged Ring of Greed."
The shopkeeper showed no emotion. It simply raised one hand and pointed toward the drawer.
With a soft click, the compartment slid open on its own. Resting inside was an ancient dark-gold ring.
Time had not been kind to it. The metal was worn and riddled with tiny cracks, while the ring’s setting was empty, as though the gemstone it once held had long since been lost.
Slowly, the ring floated into the air before Aiden. At the same time, its information appeared within his consciousness.
[Damaged Ring of Greed]
[Accessory]
[Quality: Rare (Fine)]
[Equipment Requirement: None]
[Attributes: None]
[Special Effects:]
[Greed (Passive): Increases item drop rate by 15% after killing monsters.]
[Damaged (Negative): This equipment cannot be repaired, reinforced, enchanted, or upgraded.]
[??? (Conditions not met.)]
’This is it!’ he smiled...
Its drawback was obvious. The ring could never be improved. But that hardly mattered.
In the early, and even middle, stages of Eclipse Online, a permanent fifteen percent increase to item drop rate was nothing short of miraculous.
It meant more equipment. More materials. More resources. More opportunities. The advantage would compound endlessly, creating a snowball effect that would leave everyone else struggling to catch up.
This seemingly ordinary blue-quality ring had been one of the greatest hidden treasures before the apocalypse.
It was also one of the cornerstones of Aiden’s plan to rapidly accumulate strength and leave people like Damien Bale hopelessly behind.
The shopkeeper spoke in its cold, synthetic voice.
"Confirm purchase of Damaged Ring of Greed."
"Price: 1,000 gold coins, or an equivalent amount of vitality."
"Paying with vitality is not recommended."
’A thousand gold coins?’ Aiden almost laughed.
Compared to the ring’s true value, the price was practically free.
He had just converted five million Universal Credits into gold.
One thousand coins were nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
"I’ll pay with gold." The deduction was completed instantly. His personal terminal flashed briefly before one thousand gold coins disappeared from his account.
The ancient ring gently descended into his palm. It was surprisingly cold, its surface carrying a faint, mysterious pulse.
Without hesitation, Aiden slipped it onto the middle finger of his left hand.
The ring immediately resized itself, fitting perfectly.
Though its appearance remained old and weathered, he could clearly sense an unusual energy flowing within it.
’Success!’
The treasure was his. Taking a slow breath to calm himself, Aiden continued scanning the cabinet.
Although each customer could purchase only a single item, memorizing the treasures stored here would prove invaluable in the future.
[Inferior Experience Rune: instantly grants 1,000 experience points upon use.]
A useful item. But for someone who possessed the Sovereign of Souls Class, rapid leveling was never his greatest concern. Compared to a permanent increase in drop rate, its value fell short.
[Random Skill Book Treasure Chest].
Aiden shook his head. ’Too dependent on luck.’
He had never believed in leaving his fate to chance.
Luck was fickle, an unreliable ally that smiled one moment and abandoned you the next. Only a fool would stake his future on something so uncertain.
Control, preparation, and certainty. Those were the things he trusted. Those were the foundations upon which true power was built.
[Scout Ward].
’Interesting... But not essential.’ He smiled
Like that, time slipped away with alarming speed.
"Your allotted time has expired."
The light-shadow shopkeeper’s emotionless voice echoed through the chamber.
"The Hidden Shop is now closing."
"We look forward to serving you again."
The moment its words ended, the walls of flowing binary code began to flicker violently. The entire space trembled.
Cracks of shimmering light spread through the chamber as though reality itself was breaking apart.
Aiden knew there was nothing more to gain. Without a trace of hesitation, he turned and stepped through the azure portal.
Behind him, the Hidden Shop collapsed into countless streams of data before dissolving into nothingness, as though it had never existed at all.
Using the last that remained of his student loan, he bought enough fuel, storing as much as he can and not long after, Aiden found himself standing in Sycamore Lane once more.
The morning sun hung high overhead, its light almost blinding after the dimness of the Hidden Shop.
Before him, the weathered green newsstand stood exactly as it had before. Faded newspapers and miscellaneous goods filled the display window, while the white-haired old man remained slumped in his recliner, half asleep. The old radio beside him continued to play its crackling opera, as though nothing unusual had ever happened.
Everything looked perfectly ordinary.
As if the impossible experience of the last few minutes had been nothing more than a dream.
But the cool weight of the ring on his finger, and the notification showing 1,000 Universal Points deducted from his account, proved otherwise.
It had all been real. Aiden raised his left hand, studying the seemingly unremarkable Damaged Ring of Greed.
A cold smile slowly spread across his face. An item far ahead of its time. One capable of defining an entire era.
The greatest reward of the Hidden Shop was now his. All that remained was to wait.
And wait for Eclipse Online to descend. Wait for the old world to collapse.
Then... His journey of souls would begin.
And so would his revenge.
Without another glance at the newsstand, Aiden turned and walked toward the Rezvani parked at the mouth of the alley.
His footsteps were steady and resolute.
There were less than two hours remaining before Eclipse Online merged with reality.
The calm before the storm was almost over. The apocalypse was coming.