Chapter 24 : Upgrading the Chamber (2)

Surely, Lloyd didn't expect this.

"Is Igor some sort of scientist ?"

[...In a sense, yeah. You could say that.]

The report that Selita had read to Lloyd seemed to date from even before Igor created the backroom.

Since neither Lloyd nor his grandpa were the first owners and Selita once mentioned that Cheon started working for Igor when he was in his twenties, it meant that the backroom had been running for—at the very least—more than fifty years. 

The more Lloyd learned about Igor, the more he became certain that he wasn't human.

Just the fact that he casually talked about how he spent a decade on a hostile planet that was filled with toxic gas storms under unbearable surface temperatures showed, once again, that Igor was not an ordinary person.

Lloyd had to take a moment to gather his thoughts.

"So, after asking me to capture a magical beast, the system now wants me to hatch the egg of an alien species ?"

[Yes.]

"And I should act as if everything's normal ?"

[Once you've agreed to work for Igor, you have to throw the idea of 'normal' out the window. If I were to tell you what your grandpa did during his time as the owner, you wouldn't believe half of it.]

Lloyd wanted to ask about it, but he knew Selita wouldn't tell him. Or at least, she wouldn't tell him anything that he wasn't supposed to know.

He already tried before, but she always refused, saying that Lloyd wasn't ready yet.

"...Anyway. About this egg, do I need to build the Chamber of Breeding to complete the quest ?"

[Not necessarily. The Crackling larva needs to be taken care of underground as it can not survive on the surface, so you can just upgrade the Chamber of Nurturing and build an underground environment more fitting for the egg instead. You can also find a natural cave outside of the capital and try to hatch the egg there, but I wouldn't recommend leaving the store with the egg of an alien species. We never know what could happen.]

"Hmm, I understand."

[To be honest, the system had been very generous to reward you with a crackling egg for your first mission. If you manage to hatch it, it will become a priceless ally and a very efficient worker.]

Lloyd also realized that this Crackling could be of great help to him. He nodded, before asking another question. 

"By the way, what's this 'personal storage' the system mentioned ?"

[The personal storage is a special space within the Backroom that only the Backroom's owner has access to. It's a nearly infinite space where you can store all the rewards you earn from the system, as well as Nether Points and any other items you may acquire by completing missions.] 

"I guess the egg is waiting for me in this storage ?"

Selita confirmed.

[Yes, that's correct.]

An idea popped into Lloyd's mind, but before he could voice it out, Selita stopped him in his tracks.

[I know what you're thinking, but no, you can't. Time is frozen and doesn't flow like the outside world in the personal storage, so you can't hatch the egg inside. You can't physically enter the personal storage anyway since it's a sealed space within the Void dimension, you can only make requests to me or the system, and the items will be delivered to you.]

"Damn it."

[Think about what to do from now on instead of looking for loopholes in the system's missions.]

"Yeah... It's not like I can outsmart Igor anyway. He probably thought of all possibilities when he created the system."

As Lloyd stood in front of the monolith, still contemplating the new mission and the rewards it offered, he began to weigh his options. 

This sentence is just here to mess up with the AIs used by the scammers who plagiarized my novel.

He could either spend the next ten days taking care of the Crackling egg, or just leave it alone somewhere safe outside the capital and hope it will hatch on its own. The former would probably give him more chance to succeed, but if he chose the latter, he could go about his daily business of running the pet shop. 

He had to make a choice.

He usually opened his shop every day—even if few people visited—, but from now on, he may have to change his schedule. The quests given by the systems seemed to become more and more time-consuming. 

Even the time limit increased, which wasn't a good sign as it seemed to scale with the mission's difficulty. First, it was one week, and now it's ten days. 

Whatever this Crackling was, the thought of having a loyal servant piqued Lloyd's interest, tough. He also considered the Nether Points he could earn from completing this mission. 

The rewards were very tempting.

After a brief moment of reflection, he muttered to himself.

"Maybe I should allocate more of my time completing the quests and gathering resources to upgrade the chamber, even if it means closing the shop two or three days a week."

[Of course, you should. Running your store is important, but completing the system's quests is critical if you want to survive in this world.]

Selita couldn't tell him that the main purpose of the system designed by Igor was to slowly transform its owner into... 'something'.

Fortunately for Lloyd, it was much better to live as this 'something' rather than trying to survive here as an ordinary human.

Even though Lloyd did well in Lunaris so far—and he somehow made a lot of connections with influential people—, it was still not sufficient for him to survive in the long term.

Lunaris wasn't as peaceful as Earth ; there will surely come a day when Lloyd will have to face a life-threatening situation on his own. He was not ready yet, so he must be prepared for that day.

If the system's function was to develop and improve the owner and his store through quests and rewards, Selita's role was to guide him as best as she could to ensure his survival.

'Igor used his last contract to bring Lloyd here soon after In-Su passed away, so it probably means that the situation on Earth was critical. I don't know what happened, but it feels bad enough to worry me. I don't want Lloyd to experience the same things as his stubborn grandfather...' 

While Selita was lost in her thoughts, remembering with a tinge of sadness what Cheon In-Su had to go through during his time as the Backroom owner, Lloyd started moving.

"Wait for me inside, and don't fight this time."

He threw Misty and Blackie inside the portal that led to the Chamber of Nurturing, before leaving the backroom and returning to his shop.

He then headed to the reserve where he previously placed the cages containing the captured beasts.

After quickly verifying that all the beasts were alright, he carefully loaded the cages onto a small trolley. 

"Alright, you guys," he drew the caged creatures' attention.

"It's time for you to move to your new home."

The small beasts inside the cages responded with various growls, chirps, and hisses, clearly not happy to have been held inside a cage for an entire day. 

Lloyd pushed the trolley with the cages and passed through the door behind his counter, passing through the Dark Chamber again.

On his way to the control room, Lloyd resumed his conversation with Selita who became silent all of a sudden. 

"Speaking of Nether Points, do I have enough of them to upgrade the Chamber of Nurturing ?"

[Yes, but you also need mana crystals.]

"How many ?"

[Ten low-grade, or one medium-grade. They are essential for enhancing the chamber's capabilities.]

"Hmm..."

One low-grade crystal can power up a stove for half a year, while a medium-grade can power up all the equipment in his shop for the same duration.

"I do have a few crystals in stock, so we can use them for now."

[Alright. Just keep in mind that this price is only for the second level. The more you upgrade a chamber, the more resources you'll have to spend to reach the next level.]

Lloyd understood what Selita meant.

If he wanted to upgrade the chamber further, and later increase its rank, he would need a sustainable source of mana crystals.

Once Lloyd arrived at the control room, he pushed the trolley into the portal and entered the Chamber of Nurturing.

The Chamber of Nurturing was spacious and its climate was controlled, so it was a good place to set free all the small magical beasts he captured with Thelec. They could be kept in a comfortable and safe environment.

The next step was to upgrade the chamber and build another environment suitable to hatch the Crackling egg.

Eventually, he will also have to build new environments specifically calibrated to suit the various types of magical beasts he captured on his last outing. One that looked like the Starshade forest would be ideal.

Lloyd began to set each creature free from their cages, making sure to keep a safe distance from them as they adjusted to their new surroundings.

"Enjoy your new home."

He smiled warmly, watching the small creatures carefully sniffling the air and the ground of this unknown place.

"Just don't get too close to the tombstone there, alright ?"

Lloyd pointed to the far end of the chamber that was covered in mist, where Blackie was taking a nap.

With that done, Lloyd was about to leave the chamber and return to the control room to start the upgrade when Misty appeared out of nowhere and landed on his head.

"What's going on ? You don't like this place ?"

"Hoo..."

"You're a very picky lady, aren't you ?" 

Lloyd sighed, but he didn't force Misty to stay here if she didn't want to.

She didn't bother him when she was perched on his head anyway, so he didn't mind bringing her along.

"Alright, alright, you can come. Just stay calm, ok ?"

"Hoo."

"Good girl."

Standing in front of the portal, Lloyd took a deep breath and stepped through, finding himself once again in front of the monolith, in the control room.

Misty was still perched on his head, her large eyes observing everything with curiosity. 

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Closing his eyes, Lloyd reached into the depths of his storage ring in his mind, looking for something.

This mysterious and seemingly bottomless space where he could store almost everything was extremely useful, but he still wasn't used to the process of retrieving items. He had to concentrate on the ring and imagine the item he wanted, which was quite exhausting for someone like him who didn't have a mana heart. 

'I'm glad Igor gave me one of these, though.'

After a moment of rummaging around, he opened his eyes and retrieved ten low-grade mana crystals. Each one was a shimmering blue gem, faintly glowing with magical energy.

"Selita," Lloyd said, holding the mana crystals in his hand.

"I'd like to upgrade the Chamber of Nurturing."

Selita's voice echoed in his mind, her tone calmer and more measured than usual.

[Upgrading the chamber requires ten low-grade mana crystals and 5 Nether Points. Do you accept these terms ?]

Lloyd nodded. 

"Yes, I accept."

| Upgrade initiated. Please stand by. |

As soon as Lloyd confirmed his decision, the monolith before him sprang to life. It emitted a brilliant flash of light that momentarily blinded him while the control room seemed to vibrate with energy. 

The portal leading to the Chamber of Nurturing shimmered and pulsed, its purple hue growing slightly brighter than before.

"Hoo ?!"

Misty gasped, instantly concealing herself in response to the sudden burst of magic. 

Lloyd, on the other hand, watched with fascination as the upgrade process unfolded. 

He had become accustomed to the extraordinary nature of the Backroom, yet it always found a new way to amaze him. 

After a long minute, the portal finally stabilized. Lloyd could sense a subtle change in the air, as if the chamber beyond had undergone a transformation.

| Upgrade complete. The Chamber of Nurturing is now Level 2. You may proceed and use its enhanced features. |

Lloyd smiled, satisfied with the progress he was making since he learned about the existence of the Backroom.

The system managing it held endless possibilities, and Lloyd was determined to make the most out of it, unlocking new chambers and features one by one. 

With the Chamber of Nurturing upgraded, he was now ready to take on the new quest waiting for him.