Chapter 3

Fortunately, my hand was fine.

If it had been one of those phone explosion accidents you often see on the news, my hand would’ve been shredded.

I was trying to calm my racing heart when…

Yo-Hena aggressively approached me again and dangled from my collar.

She’s short.

“No, no, Arc, what are you doing? The Plate of Purification? Where is it? Where did it go?”

It was a line from the game.

And despite her delicate appearance, Yo-Hena was quite the troublemaker.

“I don’t know either.”

“But you’re the one who triggered it…!”

I didn’t even touch anything. I just stood there watching.

It’s a bit unfair, but…

I couldn’t say there was no connection to what I did.

I tried to recall part of the message I just saw.

– Unauthorized access.

– Account deletion.

The meaning was clear.

……The protagonist had gone off to reroll.

And then.

– Nearby device detected. Pairing.

“Eek?!”

“Give it here, just for a sec.”

With a sudden flash of intuition, I took back my smartphone that Yo-Hena had snatched earlier.

Luckily, no strange messages popped up on my phone……

[Installation of ‘Last Felix (DEBUG)’ app completed.]

Nope. There was a change.

Next to the originally installed ‘Shop Owner Add-on,’ a very familiar game icon had appeared with a slightly suspicious suffix attached.

But.

[NOW LOADING……. (0%)]

[DEBUG: Data collection required.]

When I tried to run it, nothing worked except for a meaningless loading screen.

“What is it? Do you see something? Is it a revelation? Is it a revelation?”

Yo-Hena was bouncing around, and for some reason, she felt like the girl next door.

“Eek…?”

Without thinking, I patted her head.

Then, mustering the utmost acting skills I could squeeze out…

“Ugh, my head hurts from the light earlier…”

I pretended to be in pain.

Whether my acting worked or she was showing her saintly side…

Yo-Hena quickly regained her composure. Though she still seemed a bit excited, her face slightly red.

“……Right. Arc, you must be really confused too.”

And then.

Suddenly, she clapped her hands.

What? Why’s she doing that?

“That’s right! The Book of Revelations. The Book of Revelations. ……Arc. Until I tell you otherwise, don’t let anyone know about the disappearance of the Seer, okay? Especially the heroes. Got it? Promise?”

She fired off her words like a machine gun, then forcibly grabbed my hand and pressed my thumb to seal the promise.

And just like that, Yo-Hena disappeared like a storm.

……Was she always like this? It’s refreshing.

Anyway, to cool my dizzy head and finally deal with the important matter I’d been putting off…

I clenched my stomach and…

“Status Window!”

……

But nothing happened! I was crushed……

“Status!”

“Info!”

“I have awakened to a life of play!”

None of the standard commands worked either.

Looks like the only thing I can rely on is my smartphone.

I sighed and…

Click─

Just in case another encounter like Yo-Hena happened, I locked the shop door early.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Whoosh──

I summoned every item available in the Seer’s Shop and laid them out on the floor.

Then I neatly stacked them in the empty storage cabinet.

“Hmm.”

Come to think of it…

The EXP potion.

Officially called the Potion of Growth.

What would happen if I drank the potion that characters chug to level up?

If I’m treated as a character too, could I solo the Tower with just my fists?

A man’s romance surged within me.

This is fate.

Without hesitation, I popped open a potion and chugged it in one go.

“Yuck.”

It tastes awful…

But it seemed to have some effect, as my stomach churned like a sign of growth.

Gulp gulp. Gulp gulp……

I drank about four bottles.

Then, a meaningful change began to happen in my body.

“Ugh…!”

I’m screwed.

Where’s the bathroom, where’s the bathroom?!

***

After a stormy session…

With a pale face, I came to a conclusion.

It had no effect on me……

No beneficial effects, just severe side effects that tortured me for over an hour.

Operation One-Punch Man is hereby terminated.

So, that means I’ll have to rely on the characters’ strength to conquer the Tower, just like in the original game.

Yo-Hena has seen something, so I can probably coax her into cooperating.

But with just Yo-Hena, a pure healer with no attack skills, I can’t break through the Tower.

For now, the only clue I have is…

“The quest.”

Debug or whatever, ignoring that for now…

The duties I have as the shop owner.

Though they’re heavily tied to Tower conquest conditions…

Still, it’s an ability granted to me, so I need to use it to figure things out properly.

The muscle memory honed from my convenience store part-time job…

Will surely help in this bizarre situation.

I opened the locked shop door and basked in the bright sunlight pouring in.

Then, I started preparing to welcome customers.

***

“Do you have dragon scales? No? Hmm……”

[The customer is dissatisfied.]

“I got the slime fluid from the forest!”

“Huh, let me see, so, slime fluid…”

“Arc, you idiot! It’s 10 gold!”

“Is that so? Here you go.”

“Kuhuhu, what a real fool!”

[Got ripped off.]

[Popularity increased by 1, but reputation dropped by 1.]

[The customer was satisfied.]

“Give me one lizard skin.”

“Just in stock. 50 gold.”

[The customer was satisfied.]

“Sigh…”

Self-employment. Not easy at all.

Can’t compare to a convenience store part-time job.

Miss the POS system…

Customers come with all sorts of junk to sell.

And they make a fuss about buying junk I’ve never heard of or seen.

Relying on a thick book under the counter listing material types, purchase prices, and selling prices.

After hours of torment, managed to complete all daily quests.

If there’s any point where job satisfaction increases,

It’s being able to freely see the real-life versions of 3-star, 4-star playable characters—heroes.

Thanks to the setting that only women can be heroes, my eyes were blessed.

Truly a beautiful girl zoo game. Performance is solid.

“Hey, give me ten elf arrows.”

“Out of stock. And we’re closing now.”

After sending off the last customer.

Slam the door.

Click the lock.

[Shop Overview]

[Total Level: 1]

[Reputation: 12 / 100 (Very Bad)]

[Cumulative Popularity: 7 (★)]

[Number of Workers: 0]

[Unused Shop EXP: 200]

A very minimal growth.

This is why the core quest.

When will I achieve a reputation of 30 or more?

Time might solve it, but the problem is time won’t wait for me.

As a shop owner, solving problems seems like it needs a more long-term approach.

“Sigh…”

Letting out a sigh.

Placed the smartphone on the counter.

At that moment.

Suddenly, a white light flickered, and a gold coin rolling on the counter was sucked into the smartphone.

“…What?”

Surprised, I looked at the smartphone screen.

[NOW LOADING……. (5%)]

[DEBUG: Data collection required.]

[LOG: Inventory function unlocked.]

The loading gauge of the debug app I hadn’t closed earlier was rising.

And a new button had been added below.

Inventory.

Pressed the button.

[Inventory]

– Slime Fluid x3

– Lowest Grade Potion of Growth x5

– Growth Medal x1

– 3-Star Common Hero Contract x9

– 5-Star ‘Revelation Saintess’ Yo-Hena Exclusive Hero Contract x1

The items left behind by the protagonist clearing the tutorial and pulling gacha were in the inventory.

…Just like when using the Revelator Shop.

Tap.

Flutter──

A sheet of paper radiating a rainbow-like brilliance fluttered into my grasp.

[LOG: Character Info function unlocked.]

[LOG: Encyclopedia function unlocked.]

[DEBUG: Permissions not complete. Some functions have usage restrictions.]

“Hmm.”

I roughly get it.

In other words.

The abilities originally held by the Revelator exploded like a soul orb fragment and scattered everywhere.

And collecting them seems to be the debug.

A thrill ran through my brilliant brain.

A breakthrough was in sight.

Points gathered through shop operations could be exchanged for various benefits at the ‘Point Shop.’

[Point Shop]

– Reset daily sales quantity of Revelator Shop (100 points)

– Reset weekly sales quantity of Revelator Shop (500 points)

…

– Permanently increase customer transaction satisfaction (2,000 points)

…

– Expand shop premises (5,000 points)

Upgrading abilities is important, but resetting sales quantities.

Using that function to duplicate growth resources.

Using that to grow heroes vigorously.

And conquering the tower to solve the ultimate problem.

Seize a peaceful life where no one rushes you.

A perfect process.

Moreover.

Both the shop and the first clear rewards from conquering the tower could gather divine stones.

Meaning I can roll gacha diligently too!

“Ehehe.”

The goal is firmly set.

A diligent and honest shop owner by day.

A Revelator (proxy) conquering the tower by night.

When a person sets their mind, they must act immediately.

Clatter──

After sweeping all the growth resources piled in the storage into the smartphone’s inventory.

Left the shop.