Chapter 208: Level 8 Body Tempering [Daily income Available!] [You have received $355,000] Waking up to a message telling him he had been given a third of a million dollars without doing anything certainly felt good, making him feel refreshed for the day ahead. This will never get old. Noah ate breakfast, spent quality time with his father discussing their respective plans for the day, and then entered the magical world when his schedule aligned with optimal timing. "Good morning, boss, you look as handsome as ever~" Lola’s melodious voice greeted him the moment he appeared in the shop, her playful tone and smile carrying warmth that had become part of their daily routine. Noah shook his head wryly at her consistent flirtation. "Good morning, Lola. You look as beautiful as ever, too," he returned the teasing with equal measure. She blushed charmingly before waving her hand dismissively. "Stop it, you’re making me... blush..." Noah immediately steers the conversation toward safer professional territory. "So, how was everything during your shift?" Lola chuckled at his predictable reaction before returning to serious work mode. She smiled before cheerfully relaying what had happened during her shift. "Everything went perfectly. Sold our daily allocation for bread and iced tea, ninety-six loaves went to public customers, forty-eight iced teas as well. The same quantities were sold to the institutional representatives who came by just a few minutes ago." Consistent sales. The regular customers have established reliable purchasing habits. Noah nodded with satisfaction as he accessed his updated status information. — Host: Noah Carter Age: 28 Shop Level: 2 Daily Revenue: $355,000 (or equivalent) Current Assets: $1,303,640 Shop Points: 12,560 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮 Attributes: Strength: 60, Vitality: 30, Intelligence: 60, Agility: 60 Skills: Swordsmanship(Level 10), Mana Control (Level 10), Aura (Level 10), Wind Manipulation (Level 9), Body Tempering (Level 6), Surviving on Ramen (Level 3), Cooking (Level 3), Finance (Level 3), Gaming (Level 3), Programming (Level 2), — Nearly a million in assets again. Shop points are climbing steadily toward the next milestone. Then he checked his auto-maker progress to assess production efficiency and upgrade timelines. [Auto-IceTea Maker] Level: 4 Production Rate: 4 / Hr Max Stock: 96 Progress: 260/400 — [Auto-Baker] Level: 5 Production Rate: 16 / Hr Max Stock: 192 Progress: 48/1000 — Baker reached level 5. Excellent progress on the core products that drive most of our shop points up. As for the premium items that came with his level 2 shop, protein bars, beef jerky, rice cakes, and energy drinks. Their auto-makers remained at level 1 with no progress during the night shift. He would sell the accumulated stock later to the kingdom’s powerful practitioners who could afford such expensive enhancement items. Premium sales events generate massive revenue, which I need to buy my next premium items. Noah knew that he was unable to use the idle room now, the cooldown had yet to end. So, he chose to practice body tempering while waiting for premium stock to accumulate sufficiently for another major sales event. "You can close the shop now, your shift is ending in a few minutes," Noah instructed Lola. "I won’t open the shop early today. I need to advance my body tempering skills while waiting for stock to refill. There is no point in opening the shop with no stock." Lola nodded with understanding. "That makes sense, it’s better to use that time to train. Training time should never be wasted." Noah headed to the second floor’s open training area and settled into the demanding exercises that characterised body tempering advancement. The routine was gruelling but necessary for balancing his development. Three hours later, he opened his eyes after completing an intensive session that left his muscles aching, but his vitality was now closer to level 10. [Your skill Body Tempering has reached level 8!] But instead of finding himself alone in the second-floor area, Noah discovered Lola sitting cross-legged in front of him, simply staring with her wide, beautiful ruby eyes that glinted with obvious appreciation. How long has she been sitting there? Noah rolled his eyes before standing up, his voice carrying mock indignation. "What are you doing, you creep? Staring at a man practising. When did you even get here? So sneaky." She chuckled with amusement. "Mind you, it’s not any man, I’m only staring at you. Seeing you all focused and intense while training... it makes a girl feel things~" "What kind of things?" Noah said, surprising himself with confidence. He couldn’t let her gain the upper hand all the time; he had to tease back. Lola’s ruby eyes sparkled with delighted surprise at his boldness, her smirk widening into something that made Noah gulp internally. "Do you want to find out?" She leaned forward slowly, closing the distance between them until she was an inch away from his face. Her sweet breath warmed his skin, making his pulse quicken involuntarily. Up close, Lola looked even more impossibly beautiful than usual. One could see her skin, which was flawless without the slightest imperfection, appearing softer than silk even without touching. Her ruby eyes held depths that seemed to pull him in, while her lips curved in a smile that promised secrets he’d never imagined. "Well?" she whispered, her voice barely audible but carrying enough heat to make the air between them feel electric. "Are you going to answer, or are you going to keep staring at my lips?" Was I staring at her lips? Damn it, I was. Noah found his voice, though it came out slightly rougher than intended. "Maybe I’m trying to figure out if you’re all talk or if there’s substance behind all that teasing." Lola’s laugh was soft and genuinely amused. "Oh, there’s definitely substance. The question is whether you can handle it." Her hand moved to rest lightly on his chest, her fingers tracing small patterns that made his heart rate spike noticeably. The touch was innocent enough, but the intent behind it was anything but. "You know," she continued, as if they weren’t in an incredibly intimate position, "for someone who claims to be unaffected by my charms, your heartbeat tells a very different story."