She protected me today. Showed me around the city. The least I can do is return the favour.
Noah’s gaze swept over his golden inventory—the fruits of a wildly successful morning. His assets had swollen to numbers that still made his head spin.
One free drink wouldn’t bankrupt him or hurt his wallet.
"Do you want a loaf?" he asked without turning around.
Noah retrieved both items from their shelves.
He placed both on the counter.
"Here you go. Enjoy."
Lola reached for her coin pouch, but Noah’s gesture stopped her.
"It’s fine. Don’t worry about it."
Her eyebrow arched in surprise. "Free? How generous of you."
Is she... teasing me again?
The succubus lifted the bottle to her lips.
The first sip triggered the same response it had the first time she had tried it. Her eyes fluttered closed, and a soft sound escaped her throat.
There she goes again.
Noah’s cheeks burned as the moan filled his small shop. Even when she wasn’t trying to seduce him, everything she did sounded like an invitation to sin.
"You know...I wanted to ask you a question."
Noah raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in mood.
Her ruby eyes opened before landing on him.
"I don’t sense any mana inside you. And you’re quite weak physically," she said, setting the bottle down carefully.
"How were you able to remove me from the store? Is this shop a legendary magical artefact?"
That’s a good question. Is the shop that the system has given me a magical artefact? Is the system itself a magical artefact? And if it is, is there something more powerful than the system and who could possibly make it?
To be honest, these questions had been on Noah’s mind for a few days, and he never managed to find an answer. Whenever he asked the system, the system ignored him completely.
After a small moment of thinking, he replied.
Although he didn’t have an answer to her question. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to pull some bullshit out of his pants to give as a response.
"I just promised myself to never use my power outside this shop."
That lowkey sounded like something...an edgelord would say.
Lola’s eyebrow remained raised, but she didn’t press further. Her ruby eyes remained on him for a moment before they diverted back to the drink.
She knows I’m lying. But she’s letting it slide. For now.
The succubus took another sip of her tea, this time without any moaning.
"Interesting," she murmured.
After watching Lola finish her meal with excruciating slowness, Noah finally reached his limit.
"I’m closing the shop for the day."
The words cut through her leisurely pace. Lola’s ruby eyes widened with genuine surprise, the bottle pausing halfway to her lips.
"Already? But I was hoping we could spend more time, you know, maybe we could ha—"
The single word dropped between them like a wall. Lola’s protest died in her throat, her expression shifting from playful to cautious in an instant.
"You wouldn’t dare," she whispered, but uncertainty flickered in her voice.
Noah’s smile carried no warmth.
The succubus deflated like a punctured balloon.
Her shoulders sagged as she realised he held all the cards in this particular game. With visible reluctance, she rose from her seat, her movements lacking their usual energy.
"Fine," she muttered, moving toward the door with obvious reluctance.
But as she reached the threshold, she turned back with a pout that transformed her entire face.
Her expression was no longer that of seduction, but that of the...innocent beauty next door 1
Her lower lip jutted out slightly, her ruby eyes wide with disappointment.
Damn it. Why does she have to look so—
The door closed with a soft click, cutting off his dangerous train of thought.
Noah released a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding.
The shop felt larger somehow, less charged with the tension that seemed to follow Lola wherever she went. He stared at the door for several long seconds, half-expecting her to materialize through it like smoke.
But the relief was temporary. As silence settled over his small domain, other thoughts began to surface.
I need to get stronger.
Today’s encounter with the extremists had stripped away any illusions about his capabilities. Immortality within his shop meant nothing if he was helpless the moment he stepped outside.
I don’t want to be looked down upon anymore. I had to be protected by a succubus...how shameful.
His system had mentioned talent-enhancing items, products that could accelerate his growth beyond normal limits. But those remained locked behind shop upgrades he couldn’t yet afford. For now, he had only one option.
He had to exercise, practice and get better the hard way.
Noah moved to his shelf and retrieved the last remaining bottle of iced tea. The peach-colored liquid swirled as he settled onto the floor, his legs crossed in the meditation position Elara had taught him.
He popped the lid open and gulped down the whole drink at once.
The tea flooded his system with its familiar, cold, soothing and remarkable taste. His mana reserves and regeneration expanded. The sensation was intoxicating—power flowing through channels he could sense but not control.
Although I still can’t use mana, who knows? It might help me level up quicker.
He closed his eyes and began the breathing exercises, mimicking Elara’s patient instructions.
Feel the mana and make it feel you. Don’t try to grasp for it; let it flow naturally through your consciousness.
Minutes stretched into an hour.
Sweat beaded on his forehead despite his idle position.
Mental exhaustion crept through his skull like fog, but he persisted. Each breath brought him closer to something, a connection just beyond his reach.
There we go, come on...Almost...
For a heartbeat, he touched it.
He felt like mana was finally waiting for him to harvest it, but before he was able to, it slipped away, leaving only frustration and the ache of overexerting himself in training for the past hour or so.
Noah opened his eyes, disappointment settling in his chest.
Damn it, level 5 is much harder to get to. It’s harder than the earlier levels combined.
His storage ring remained an inert piece of jewellery, his mana as inaccessible as ever.
He stood up, his muscles protesting against the extended meditation.
It’s time to settle the debt.