Chapter 194: Idle Room — Host: Noah Carter Age: 28 Shop Level: 2 Daily Revenue: $355,000 (or equivalent) Current Assets: $1,287,640 Shop Points: 7810 Attributes: Strength: 60, Vitality: 30, Intelligence: 20, Agility: 60 Skills: Swordsmanship(Level 10), Mana Control (Level 8), Wind Manipulation (Level 8), Aura (Level 8), Body Tempering (Level 5), Surviving on Ramen (Level 3), Cooking (Level 3), Finance (Level 3), Gaming (Level 3), Programming (Level 2), — Nearly eight thousand shop points. Closing in on the ten thousand needed for Shop Level 3. The steady progression towards the next shop level filled Noah with anticipation for expanded shop and power opportunities. Checking the time, he noticed there were about ten minutes remaining before Lola’s shift officially ended. Her dedication to maintaining the schedule despite achieving such a monumental advancement demonstrated the professionalism he valued. Noah turned toward Lola with consideration for her need to adapt to her new power. "By the way, you can familiarise yourself with your new power," he said with an understanding tone. "You’ve just advanced to grandmaster rank—I’m sure you still need time to stabilise at that level. I’ll take things from here." As someone who advanced often, he understood that the bigger the jump, the more time and effort you needed to put in to get used to the change. Lola looked at him with genuine gratitude for his thoughtful recognition of her needs. "Thank you, I will work extra hard when I come back~" she said with a wink. Despite her teasing, her expression showed appreciation that went beyond words. After expressing her thanks, Lola didn’t head upstairs to her room as usual. Instead, she departed the shop entirely, clearly intending to test her grandmaster capabilities somewhere with adequate space and privacy. Alone in the store, Noah’s eyes landed on Leo, who remained in deep sleep beside the counter. The young golden mane lion had undergone remarkable physical development during his magical enhancement recovery. His body has tripled in size. Those premium enhancement items really accelerated his growth. The juvenile lion now displayed the proportions of an adolescent predator rather than a small cub, his frame containing strength and agility that would soon match his adept potential. He’s going to be formidable when he reaches full development. Noah settled beside his sleeping companion and focused on his personal advancement. His swordsmanship had reached apprentice rank, but his other skills needed similar development to achieve balance. He wanted to level up his Mana control skill to level 10, then the aura skill. After doing that, he would be a near-complete apprentice-rank warrior. Drawing upon his enhanced concentration, Noah began the systematic exercises that would push his mana manipulation toward mastery. The familiar sensation of magical energy responding to his will felt more refined with each practice session. Twenty minutes of focused training should yield some progress. The meditation proceeded smoothly. After about twenty minutes of productive training, familiar voices outside the shop announced the arrival of his regular institutional customers. Representatives from both Valeria’s guild and the royal family entered with courtesy, their greetings carrying appropriate respect for his noble status combined with genuine appreciation for his products. "Good afternoon, Viscount Carter," called the royal representative. "Here for our regular order." "Same for the Silver Wolf Guild," added Valeria’s messenger with obvious satisfaction at the established routine. The transaction proceeded efficiently. 48 iced teas and 96 bread loaves were distributed between the two organisations according to their established agreements. Daily institutional sales are complete. Now the auto-makers can reset for a new production cycle. The sale generated 1,440 shop points and $72,000 in revenue, adding meaningful progress toward his various advancement goals while providing steady income that supported his overall business operations. Nearly 9,000 shop points total. Shop Level 3 upgrade approaching rapidly. Noah didn’t worry about the relatively modest income compared to his premium sales events. His departure from the human kingdom was approaching in a few days, and he found himself curious about what destination the system would select next. Where will the shop relocate? The uncertainty created anticipation rather than anxiety. Each new location brought fresh opportunities for business expansion, cultural exchange, and personal development that had transformed his life from where it was. Noah glanced at the stock, then at the time. The powerful practitioners of the kingdom would arrive in about four hours to buy his premium items. With abundant free time and his financial assets crossing the one-million-dollar threshold, Noah decided to finally investigate the idle room that had been tempting him for weeks. He walked to the mysterious door on the second floor, its plain appearance belying the advanced magical technology contained within. The system prompt for purchase appeared as he approached. Taking a deep breath, he activated the purchase. [Idle Room purchased for $1,000,000] The substantial cost barely registered given his current wealth and the effect of the room, and immediately, the room’s door opened. The interior was... empty, except for one thing that stood out. It immediately caught Noah’s attention; it was a large screen mounted on the wall, its surface displaying information that made him step closer with growing excitement. All of my skills are listed there. Every single one. The screen showed a comprehensive interface displaying his complete skill set: ->Swordsmanship (Level 10) ->Mana Control (Level 8) ... After examining the room and experimenting with the screen interface, Noah gradually understood the idle room’s function and limits. It had a daily time restriction of four hours. He could only train a skill for four hours inside the room; he could split the four hours into four different skills with an hour each, too. The second limitation was one that was related to the level of skills. The idle room only works on skills below Level 20, but the limit would rise alongside his shop level. When his shop reaches level 3, the limit will increase too. The third limit, which was the one that hurt Noah the most, was...money.