The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 114

There are usually three ways for players to obtain items.

One is to conquer the boss room of a dungeon.

The second is to custom-order it directly from a production-class player.

Finally, the third is to choose and buy an item that suits you at a player item shop, commonly known as a department store, where various items are gathered.

Even Lee Shin had no experience buying items at a department store.

Because it was simpler and more convenient to custom-order from Geum Hyun-moo in [Wonderland], and the performance of the items was also better.

Still, he at least knew what a department store looked like by looking it up on the internet.

"Wow..."

So the moment he entered a Japanese department store, he froze.

Because a scene that transcended common sense in many ways was unfolding.

It was a place that was different from a cosplay supply store or an item sales office... if someone had to make an analogy, it was a place that deserved to be called an outlet for desire.

Like a normal department store, various brand stores were doing business, but the part where the people who seemed to be the owners of the stores would talk to the people passing by and recommend a purchase was like a market.

But if you looked at their eyes, you could immediately tell that they weren't making recommendations to make a profit.

"Ooooh!!! H-hey, you there, miss! Wouldn't you like to try on an item I made?"

"M-me?"

"Y-yes!

Alpha, when someone suddenly spoke to her, momentarily used Lee Shin as a shield and hid behind him.

But the man who seemed to be the owner of the store was not daunted.

"It's a set item, so I can give you a discount, and if you let me take a picture of you wearing it after you've put it all on, I can give you an even bigger discount!"

"Excuse me, uh... why the picture?"

"...For store promotion!"

'It's obvious he's just recommending it because he wants to see it himself.'

Lee Shin grasped the truth of the incident, but it seemed interesting, so he decided to just let it go.

When Alpha was too troubled, Beta stepped in to mediate, but the man's eyes shone even more and he began to recommend clothes to Beta as well.

As the man continued to recommend this and that, Alpha and Beta were troubled, but they didn't know what to do, so they were at a loss.

Because they were guys who had lived their lives with a wall between them and the ordinary, they were flustered because they didn't know how to deal with such a situation in an ordinary way.

'...This is more interesting than I thought.'

And Lee Shin was watching those scenes from a few steps away.

It was fun, like watching a sitcom.

Lee Shin thought he had a good grasp of Alpha and Beta.

Alpha had little expression of emotion and was uninhibited in her actions, and Beta always looked at the situation calmly and composedly and dealt with it in the best way.

But the appearance they were showing now was the complete opposite.

Alpha, as if she were flustered by the recommendations coming from here and there, trembled all over like a newborn deer and stepped back, and Beta, as if she were embarrassed by the shower of compliments she was receiving, was blushing and stammering.

For reference, the masks the two were wearing had long since been dealt with by Lee Shin.

Because he had taken them off in an instant, making up the reason that they were roughly scratched, Alpha and Beta were now revealing their faces.

Grin-

'This is a chance to create a weakness.'

Lee Shin sent an appropriate hand signal to the man who was diligently promoting the clothes, and then joined the conversation.

"Is it possible to try it on once?"

"Ooooh!!! It's possible!!!"

"S-Smile!"

"Hey, you punk!!! Why are you! No, by the way, you can speak Japanese too?"

The two reprimanded Lee Shin in a suppressed voice, but he just laughed it off.

Because Lee Shin now had a master key that could sort out all situations.

"Usually, when a woman comes to a department store to look at clothes like this, it would be 'normal' to try them on a few times, right?"

"Uuuuh..."

At Lee Shin's words, Alpha let out a strange sound as if she were broken.

"Haaa..."

Beta, accepting the cruel reality, covered her face with both hands.

Lee Shin, satisfied with the two's declaration of surrender, looked at the owner of the store and smiled.

"Please recommend some clothes."

"Alright!"

At Lee Shin's words, the owner, who had disappeared from the store in an instant, returned in an instant.

In the returned owner's both hands, there was a set of clothes each.

"These are both my masterpieces!!!"

In front of Alpha, a black gothic lolita-style dress fluttered, and in front of Beta, a blue magical girl-style dress swayed.

"...I'll get my revenge."

"...We'll see about that later."

And so, Alpha and Beta, after leaving the typical words of a loser, accepted their fate, took the clothes, and went into the fitting room.

"Please prepare the camera."

"Alright!"

And in the meantime, Lee Shin was preparing a secret deal with the owner of the store.

'I think it will be a good gift for the team at home.'

Lee Shin was not a kind person who would easily let go of a weakness he had caught.

***

"Why on earth... are there so many of these kinds of clothes here?"

"I feel like I'm going to die..."

Lee Shin, looking at the two who were on guard in all directions like people who had entered a haunted house, kindly explained the reason.

"Well... if I had to say, it would be to meet the needs of the consumers and the fact that this is Japan."

"What kind of reason is that?"

"To put it simply, it's largely due to the influence of cosplay being very popularized. Well, it's not that cosplay is only possible in Japan, but it's the home of it."

While giving such a simple explanation, Lee Shin dragged the two around here and there.

The two tried to choose as ordinary clothes as possible, but there was no way Lee Shin would let them.

"Just in case, I'm telling you, you can't choose non-mainstream clothes. Our purpose is to blend in perfectly."

"...I know that too."

"...Me too."

The two answered in a voice like a crawling ant, and at that, Lee Shin gave a thumbs up and moved the two to the most popular store in the department store.

Of course, with a little bit of mischief.

"Hng-ik."

"Uguguk."

"Hiiik."

"Uvuvu."

And so, the two went around the department store and tried on numerous clothes, and every time they tried on clothes, they let out strange sounds.

Basically, since both of them were beautiful, the store owner actively helped them, and thanks to that, Lee Shin was able to laugh so much that tears welled up in his eyes for the first time in a long time.

After a long time of shopping around the stores, the three were able to get their own items, the alchemy materials that Joker had requested, and the weapon that was Lee Shin's purpose.

"Then let's each change and meet in front of the dungeon we saw at first."

Nod- Nod-

The two, with faces soaked in fatigue even before entering the dungeon, didn't even have the energy to answer and just nodded their heads.

Leaving the two behind, Lee Shin also disappeared to change his own clothes.

Since there were many spaces to change clothes nearby, he was able to change comfortably.

"Hmm, I've never worn clothes like this before, so it's somehow novel and awkward. Well, I'm still wearing a mask."

Lee Shin looked at himself in the mirror here and there.

The Lee Shin in the mirror was wearing white pants and a beige top, with strings wrapped around it here and there, and a short beige garment wrapped over it.

It was an item that the clerk had recommended to him.

'What did he say the motif was? Did he say it was the advance of a giant?'

Anyway, after confirming that he had properly worn the item, Lee Shin returned to where the first dungeon was.

Then, for a moment, several gazes gathered on Lee Shin, but they quickly dispersed again.

Because there were many people like Lee Shin around here, he was not attracting much attention.

'Well, those two seem to be different.'

"I'm here."

Lee Shin lightly greeted the two who were sitting on a bench with their heads bowed.

Then, Alpha and Beta, who had also changed their clothes like Lee Shin, looked at him with eyes mixed with various emotions.

"What took you so long?"

"Ah, the way to put on the clothes was more complicated than I thought."

Although he said that, it wasn't really for that reason.

On the contrary, he was able to put on the clothes quickly by just doing this and that.

The reason Lee Shin came so late was simply because he thought that if he came late, the two would be embarrassed by the attention of the people.

"I'll get my revenge. I'll definitely get my revenge."

Alpha kept muttering the same words and was hugging a white rabbit doll she had received as a free gift.

Alpha was wearing a cloth band on her head and a dress with lace here and there, and the store owner said it was an item made in homage to a character named Sobato.

"I'm sure he came late to tease us. As soon as I get back, I'll beat you to a pulp. To give me and Alpha such a humiliation, I'll keep this memory in my heart for the next ten thousand years..."

Beta was muttering something like a rapid-fire gun with her face covered with both hands.

The clothes Beta was wearing were at least ordinary.

She was wearing black activewear and a short skirt, and over it, she was wearing an outerwear in the shape of a butterfly's wings.

The owner said that this was also an homage, and the character he had referred to was Shinobu.

"Pfft, it suits you well."

Lee Shin giggled as he looked at the two.

At that, the two's faces turned red up to their ears, and they each grabbed Lee Shin's wrist from both sides and went into the dungeon like a shot.

"W-what!"

"Did something just pass by?"

The people who were taking pictures were flustered and murmured, and then resumed the photo shoot.

"Puhahahaha!!!"

"Sh-shut up! Shut up!"

"Eeeeeek!!!"

Lee Shin, who had entered the dungeon, laughed loudly and dodged Alpha and Beta's attacks here and there.

Both of them were swinging their weapons with faces as red as carrots, and Lee Shin was easily dodging their attacks and continuously pressing the camera's shutter.

At that, the two became even more excited and rushed at Lee Shin.

Fortunately, as they entered the dungeon, the gazes of the people had decreased a lot, so the two were also able to move comfortably.

"Ah, wait a minute. Now, calm down and listen to me."

"Shut up! Have you already forgotten what you did to us at the department store?!"

"Beta is right. And you took pictures of us with Smile's phone."

"Aah! That's right, if you don't delete that picture right now, I'll see the end of it with you today..."

"Hmm? No, I didn't tell you to stop because I don't want to fight."

Lee Shin said, and pointed at the back of the dungeon.

Because they had entered the deep part of the dungeon without even realizing it while chasing the dodging Lee Shin, the boss room was sparkling.

"I originally came here to see your skills. If you're full of fighting spirit, it's convenient for me. But since people can see here, let's do the rest in there."

"...That's certainly a good idea."

"Agreed."

And so, the three of them, strengthening their fighting spirit, entered the boss room.

Kkyu-?

It was just a pity for the innocent dungeon boss.

(End of Chapter)