Welcome to Ability Store

"Magic?" Chen Xuan’s face showed suspicion. He wasn’t doubting the existence of the magic world line, but he couldn’t see any characteristics associated with it from this person. "What kind of world is that?"

"Hmm... It’s somewhat similar to the 15th century of the original world," Luo Dan thought for a moment, "However, there are many magical creations, and people are accustomed to enjoying the conveniences brought by magic in daily life. Of course... the so-called magical power is actually a form of Thought Power, which I only learned after coming here."

"His world is a hundred times more interesting than mine!" Xu Enya couldn’t help but interject, "People there can awaken their talents and engage in various professions based on their talents. Those with the strongest talents are heroes, the ultimate weapon against demon kings for humanity! Little Luo was a member of the hero team at that time, quite a standout figure!"

"Actually... it’s not as impressive as you say." He modestly waved his hand, "I could join the hero squad because I had the store manager ability. Even if I didn’t trade any abilities, just conjuring up a comfortable room in the wilderness would get me selected."

Luo Dan sneaked a glance at Chen Xuan as he finished speaking, "Compared to the store manager in front of you... my achievements are negligible."

"Oh, of course, I know you can’t compare to LV7, but compared to me, it’s like heaven and earth." Xu Enya pretended to regret and said, "If I had another chance, I’d definitely pluck her tongue out myself!"

"Do you have the determination to act? You haven’t even killed a chicken before."

"When we go back, I’ll start practicing on you first!"

Chen Xuan couldn’t help but smile, the previous oppressive mood eased somewhat, "I thought magicians were the type that wore pointed hats and long robes."

"It’s not magicians, it’s magic users; they’re not the same." Luo Dan emphasized, "As for the image you described, uh, I indeed dressed like that before. But here, it seems a bit out of place. As far as I know, only a few store managers keep the customs of their original world after coming here."

"By the way, his clothes, earrings, little accessories, I picked them out, aren’t they nice?" Xu Enya boasted.

"Then how did you die?" Chen Xuan suddenly changed the topic.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became a bit tense.

Luo Dan’s smile appeared awkward, "Just couldn’t beat the demon king, and died in a city siege battle."

"That’s not true!" His girlfriend interrupted, "You should just tell Chen Xuan directly; there’s no need to hide it."

"But I don’t have any evidence after all..."

"Isn’t your death enough evidence!" She seemed quite angry, "If you don’t say it, then I will. At the time, they were passing by a city called Maejin, surrounded by monsters from the demon tribe. Luo Dan and others joined the battle with the local guards to resist the enemy. After the city gates were breached, the hero decided to lead civilians to retreat to the inner city and ordered Luo Dan to assist the residents of the northern district and delay the monster invasion. Support was supposed to arrive quickly, but he never saw it until the outer district was completely overrun, and he was torn apart and eaten alive by the monster army!"

Luo Dan sighed lightly without responding.

"You suspect your teammates abandoned you?" Chen Xuan pondered.

"There’s no possibility other than abandonment." Xu Enya replied firmly on his behalf, "That city wasn’t big; their team had over twenty people; how could none of them come? In my view, it’s purely because the hero didn’t want to return the ability!"

"Did you concentrate your abilities on him alone?"

Luo Dan nodded helplessly, "The hero’s talent is exceptional, able to maximize the effect of abilities. A large portion of the abilities I accumulated from the academy was traded to him."

"In this regard, you’re even more foolish than I am; at least I don’t do losing business." His girlfriend snorted.

Put differently, he was contributing to the team using performance points. Chen Xuan realized that although his teammates were unaware of the Ability Store, it wasn’t hard to deduce that if Luo Dan could endow others with abilities, there must be a way to take them back. The simplest way to keep these abilities was to have him killed.

As long as the magic user dies, the ability belongs forever to themselves.

"Maybe... back then, everyone encountered unforeseen circumstances and couldn’t care for the people of the outer city," Luo Dan lifted his head, smiled bitterly, "If teammates truly wanted to harm me, wouldn’t they be suffering a big loss... losing the Ability Store places a limit on the hero, making the wish to become the legendary god-like hero almost impossible."

Chen Xuan raised an eyebrow, "What kind of person is the god-like hero?"

"The savior of mankind, someone who can truly eliminate demon kings and bring eternal peace to the world." He shrugged, "Although it sounds absurd, it’s probably similar to the ascension in other world lines."

"Could it be that the enemy in that world’s ascension... is the demon king?" Chen Xuan muttered under his breath.

"Did you say anything just now?" Xu Enya tilted her head.

"No, it’s nothing." He stood up from the sofa, "Sorry, despite you being guests, I forgot to make tea for you. Just a moment, I’ll go boil some water."

"You’re too polite," the girl immediately jumped up, "I’ll help too!"

In the end, the tea was finally brewed with her and Luo Dan’s assistance. It wasn’t that Chen Xuan was deliberately posturing, but the room’s appliances were really difficult to operate. If left alone to figure it out, it might take two or three hours just to find out where the switch was.

For instance, all the control panels for household appliances are integrated into the walls, capable of moving freely, only appearing when the owner calls.

The technological level here is clearly higher than in 2026, but not remarkably so, reminiscent of being at the tail end of the 21st century.

Perhaps it stays consistent with the outside Ark of Salvation.

As for why not match each store manager with rooms that conform to their usage habits like the Ability Store does, it’s probably because of "computational power" limitations.

Three cups of custom tea wafting with rich floral fragrance were placed on the coffee table.

Even knowing these are merely strings of code, Chen Xuan’s mind still conjured up the urge to drink.

"Looks like your world line is slightly behind Ark City." Xu Enya smiled while sipping tea, "If you encounter anything you’re unsure how to use in the future, just search it on your phone."

"Is Brother Luo’s room like this too?" He asked curiously.

Luo Dan responded, somewhat flattered, "Brother Xuan, just call me Little Luo. Actually, when I first arrived here, I was totally baffled, not to mention watching TV or playing games, I hadn’t even seen a cell phone. It was Zhao Qian who arranged a guide for me, and with her help, I gradually got familiar with everything here."

Chen Xuan listened carefully, then glanced at both of them with interest, "The guide is your girlfriend?"

"Oh, it wasn’t at first!" Xu Enya covered her mouth and said, "Fortunately, there’s no communication barrier here, no matter what language you speak, it’ll be automatically calibrated to Ark Language, otherwise I’d have to teach him from scratch. But him? All he does is say thank you, without any real action, and it was ultimately me who proposed we start dating."

"We’re not that direct where I’m from." Luo Dan scratched his head, "After all, we’ve only known each other for half a year."

Half a year... That statement caused a slight sinking feeling in Chen Xuan’s heart, "How long have you both been here?"

The girl cheerfully replied, "I’ve been here ten years, and he for eight."

Ten years?

Chen Xuan stared at her in surprise—she looked about the same age as him, could she have been only twelve or thirteen when she died?

"Information doesn’t age." Xu Enya seemed to realize his confusion, and chirped, "The store manager’s state is frozen at the moment of departure; for the next ten years or a hundred years, we will remain like this."