Absolute Shopping Addict

Ordinary people will instantly react with fear.

This is only natural, since in war, lives are at stake, and people will do unfathomable things in order to survive.

There is no difference in Nohas.

Even if you become an awakener, this response is still strong within a person.

The weaker awakeners succ.u.mb to this.

Awakeners who have known power see this as an opportunity to show one"s strength; to find chances to gain more power, to try and climb the ladder and become the strongest awakener in this world.

There are a few exceptions to this rule… and Jake Smithson is one of those people.

"Evergreen"s war is of no import to me. Whoever wins, whoever loses, doesn"t matter to me.

The only thing I have in mind; the only problem I want solved, is…

How the h.e.l.l do I get out of here so I can go back to shopping?"

Because of the blockade, Jake can"t hunt monsters.

If he can"t hunt monsters, he can"t earn points.

If he can"t earn points, he can"t shop.

That fact has been a gigantic distraction on his mind at the moment, even more so than any attacks that the enemy division is about to launch on Evergreen Castle.

There were many hours spent pacing idly in his guest room, palms sweaty, head spinning, thoughts of every kind roaming in his head as to how he could solve this problem.

"Man, if this cloud had a silver lining, I"ll bet it starts showing any time soon…"

Even during situations as dire as this, Jake"s optimism never wavers: there is always a way out, he just has to focus and he will find it.

Despite being caught up in a war of divisions, locked in a small castle, no monsters to hunt, there is always a way out, he just has to find it.

That was the problem: he"d started to come up with some really strange ideas.

"Use a ritual to have their camps struck by lightning… dose everyone"s outfits with extrstrength itching powder… attach a giant slingshot to Evergreen castle… no, that wouldn"t work here… besides, it"s not like the stores carry anything I"m thinking of… c.r.a.p."

He was starting to run out of these audacious ideas when the notification came in.

[Happy to serve you! We"ve noticed you haven"t been shopping as of late. Are you having problems gathering points? We"ve got just the package for you! Check out our newest promo: the "Stack Pack" for more details!]

The notification tone based off an instrument he wasn"t familiar with; something different from the notification of the Awakening Store.

"I find them a bit too solicitous even now, but I"m already used to it… still, though. You guys are a G.o.dsend."

It spoke volumes on how his demeanor was radically changed by the Superstore"s notification: maybe something in the Superstore would be his way out of this place?

"Well, since these guys recommended the "Stack Pack", it would be bad if I didn"t give it a look," Jake thought, being reminded of those salespeople that gave tiny cups of coffee or small packets of food as samples for shoppers to test before he made a purchase. No matter how badly he was doing, if Jake saw someone giving him a sample, he"d make a purchase out of courtesy.

That was why he opened up the Superstore"s "Stack Pack" promotion to see what was inside: and he was kind of underwhelmed.

"Okay, it"s a full-body set of armor.

Not as good as the Dragon Knight Shard Armor, though…

My old Swiftstone is better than this, too…

I guess this isn"t my way out of here.

This sounds like a package I could buy for Liam on his birthday… if I had the points. Guess this isn"t the G.o.dsend I was hoping for."

There were a couple of accessories left in the "Stack Pack", and he decided to give them a cursory glance when his eyes took notice of one particular item.

[Manly Ring of Manliness]

The name is a bit of a redundancy.

"A manly ring… of manliness?

Isn"t that some sort of circular reference?

These Superstore people need to hire better people to make names for their items… but wait, what"s this I see about the effects?"

[To be the man, you have to beat the man.

Such is the wisdom of the past that still rings true in the present.

Monsters are nice to farm, and all, but as we all know, the ultimate hunter is also the ultimate prey.

With this ring, you can now grow in power when battling other awakeners, too – not just monsters. Fighting awakeners with this ring equipped will grant you experience each time you defeat another awakener (note: defeat means killing, maiming, incapacitation).

From this point, it"s all about hunting the most dangerous game.

Time to step up and be the man you were destined to be.]

This ring had no other effect: no raised stats, no raised skills, no hidden effects.

Just a single effect, and it made all the difference.

"Wait… wait a minute.

With this ring, I can take out awakeners… and gain experience?

This is huge. No, this isn"t huge. This is astronomical!

If I defeat awakeners, I gain points instead, right?"

And when he realized it, Jake gave a roar of joy.

"OH YEAH, WE"RE BACK IN THE PARTY, BABY! LET"S ROCK THIS JOINT!"

***

Thanks to the extremely tight corridors within Evergreen Castle, Jake"s roar of triumph was heard throughout the compound.

Gone was the hope, the despair, the circ.u.mstances of Evergreen, and waiting for the cavalry in Jake"s voice.

Nothing but the pure need to grab his sword, march out Evergreen Castle and call all those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds out to face him.

"What the h.e.l.l was that?" Song asked as he could hear Jake roaring, and then going into a rant about "balling out of control".

"I think it"s Jake," Morris replied meekly, and the troops who had just left the meeting with Song heard the roar, Song"s question, and his answer.

All eyes were on him as one of the troops nervously asked him: "that guy from the Grand Duelists?"

Morris nodded at the awakener who arrived at Nohas a year earlier than he did.

"What"s that screaming about?" the awakener asked, dumbfounded.

They were in dire straits and this guy still roared out?

"Maybe he"s scared out of his mind?" another of Song"s troops asked, putting forth a reasonable suggestion that made some sense.

After all, Evergreen had its share of awakeners that flew off the deep end when the war began.

"It"s possible – he just finished the tutorial, after all, and now being made to fight in a war? I"d flip out if I was in his shoes, too."

"We should send someone to him," yet another awakener said, and the troops agreed.

Before they could determine who to send to Jake, the door suddenly opened, with Jake making a grand entrance.

Gone was the awakener unsure of his next step, and the awakener standing before them was filled with fervor, morale and the need to crack skulls, as many of them and as soon as possible.

"Vice-Master? Are you there? It"s Jake. I have something to tell you," he announced, and right then, the troops knew that he hadn"t lost his mind.

"What"s up with him, though?"

"Was that some sort of battle cry?"

"Was he trying to help our morale?"

Song also had the same thoughts, and as soon as he returned to the meeting room, Jake knocked the seat down in his haste to stand up.

"Great! You"re here, Vice-Master!" Jake declared rather loudly.

***

"Let me get this straight: you"re asking me to make you the vanguard?" Song asked in disbelief.

"That"s right. I want to be the first one to meet those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds in battle."

"Why?" Song asked, wondering at the sudden change of heart Jake had, as the vanguard is the most dangerous position in battle: as the first unit to confront the enemy, they are the ones with the highest chance to get injured grievously… or worse.

"What in this world would possess a man not from our division to put himself on the line for Evergreen?"

Song was thinking a mile a minute about Jake"s intentions while studying his face and his body language, but couldn"t find anything other than steely conviction… and then he gave his answer.

"You"re our ally. Evergreen"s business is the Grand Duelists" business. You"re not in the best of conditions, so I"m volunteering to stand in the front lines and raise the troops" morale," Jake declared, his expression to want to help Evergreen more serious and sincere now than he had ever said it.

"He"d probably laugh himself to death if I said I"m doing this for points to buy things with," Jake thought, hoping that the pretty-boy Vice-Master who looked like one of those pop idols would buy his acting.

The reason he wants to join the vanguard is to kill as many enemies as possible, to gain as many points to shop as possible.

It"s a trivial reason, but then again, these guys need all the help they can get, so why not?

"I appreciate you thinking that way, but the position of the vanguard is quite dangerous," Song replied, knowing that Jake could reasonably handle himself in a war environment.

Still, the danger within that position is notable – and many have lost their lives at the first point where battle was joined.

"I understand," Jake said, his resolve unwavering despite the warning given to him. "I am your ally, and as such, I can take such a risk for your division. Do not worry, and let me help return morale to your troops."

"What a n.o.ble warrior. Such courage, risking his life for an ally," Song thought, picturing Jake as a n.o.ble hero, fighting and sacrificing for those lesser than him.
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"All right, I will look forward to it, then. Let us drive these foes from our lands!" Song declared, deeply moved as he extended a hand to Jake, who took it with his own determined hand.

They shook on it, and the despair within Evergreen Castle abated… if only for a while.

***

News about Jake being given the spot of vanguard in the upcoming battle quickly spread throughout Evergreen Castle.

"Thank you. Thank you very much."

"Thank you!"

"Just like what a true Grand Duelist would do. I"m really moved."

Since the news spread, the division members of Evergreen thanked Jake every time they see him.

Even if he didn"t bring victory to Evergreen, they were moved by his courage.

"No, I"m just doing what I have to do," Jake answered every time, as if he had suddenly become a valiant hero or knight in this trying time.

"Who turned the AC down?" Jake thought, and as he turned to the source, he saw Liam giving him a smug grin as he watched the whole process.

"You"re looking like a con man, not like a n.o.ble hero," Liam"s smug face seemed to tell Jake.

But as they continued on, Liam"s face quickly became serious as the other troops were a.s.sembled.

And then they pa.s.sed by a more pleasant set of onlookers, each cheering Jake and the other fighting awakeners onward.

"Good-bye!"

"Please, come back safely," a female awakener said, fluttering her eyelashes towards the novice Grand Duelist.

"Here, take this..." a civilian baker said, handing Jake a loaf of bread that was still warm from the oven.

"Thank you," he replied gallantly. "Thanks, everyone. Don"t worry, I"ll come back after defeating them."

"G.o.dspeed!"

As the well-wishes continued, Song came up to Jake.

"Oh, it"s the Vice-Master!"

"Win this next one for us, Vice-Master!"

The well-wishes and greetings doubled when Song appeared, and he answered every one of them with a light bow and a wave, trying to meet everyone"s gazes with his own.

And when he stepped up in front of Jake, he nodded.

"I see you"re ready," he declared. "It"s time to move out."

At that order, the people around them cheered.

"Get them!"

"Show them who"s boss!"

"Chase them out of Evergreen!"

"This is our home!"

"Let"s go!"

After bowing to the people, Jake turned around and ventured forth to battle, for the first time fighting with the support and prayers of the people within Evergreen Castle…

***