Since Aakesh had completed the quest and already presented rewards to the Gupta family, Aakesh disappeared from the structure.
After the quest was over, the system removed the blockage on his cultivation, and he returned to his peak. When Aakesh was at his peak, he could instantly teleport to any place in the Primal dimension, so the next moment, he was standing inside the store.
Not long after, the automated alerts previously ignored by Aakesh began ringing in the store.
[Ding!]
[Host, congratulations for completing the Store Upgrading quest!]
[Host, your rewards for the quest have been successfully rewarded!]
An excited expression appeared on Aakeshâs face as the reward was his first step toward solving the mystery of his identity. It had taken him thousands of years just to take the first step, but now that Aakesh was here, he didnât find the time excessive.
As the system had stated, there was a new piece of memory in his head. If Aakeshâs memory was like an ocean, the respective memory seemed to be an island in the center of the sea. It didnât matter how rough the oceanâs waves were, and they would never be able to touch the island.
Aakesh couldnât help but grow nervous. Lily looked at Aakesh in surprise since it was the first time she had seen him having this expression.
Lily also knew just how significant the moment was, so she stayed silent and didnât disturb Aakesh.
After looking at that extraordinary piece of memory in his sea of memory, Aakesh finally decided to touch upon it.
The next moment, he took a deep breath and mentally touched upon the piece of memory.
Not long after, Aakesh found the sight in front of him changing. Earlier, he stood in the light, but now darkness had spread all over the area.
Suddenly, the darkness started dispersing as several suns started rising in the area. Aakesh couldnât even count the number of suns, nor could he calculate their sizes; they were that vast. Merely by standing in front of them, Aakesh could feel just how tiny he was.
Only after the darkness had entirely dissipated, Aakesh found out that those werenât exclusive suns but the halo behind living beings.
Aakesh couldnât help but tremble as the halo alone was enough to show that he was nothing here. It seemed to Aakesh that the beings around the area had not consciously released the golden halo, but it was automatic.
The feeling made Aakesh even more fearful and excited about his identity mystery.
Aakesh then attempted to look at the face of the closest being, only to find a blurry surface. Aakesh decided to give his all to peer through whatever mystery he could, so he released whatever amount of energy he had into his eyes to glimpse past the blurry feature.
Nothing happened to the blurred face, but Aakesh suddenly heard a chuckle as the being suddenly turned toward him.
âHaha, you arenât that strong yet,â The next moment, an unfamiliar voice filled with gentleness rang in Aakeshâs ears.
Aakesh only looked at the being in response and didnât say anything. As if the being had expected Aakesh to do the same thing, they chuckled and then turned toward the other beings.
âYou have seen enough,â Suddenly, a voice filled with coldness rang in Aakeshâs ears, and before he could find out its source, Aakesh found himself back in the store.
[Congratulations, Host, your authority isnât lowest anymore, but it had been upgraded to low!]
Before Aakesh could truly come over the scene he had seen just now, the systemâs emotionless voice rang inside Aakeshâs head, congratulating him.
âHey, system, I didnât see anything in that scene, and now that I am trying to reconnect to the piece of memory, I canât return there,â Aakesh ignored the systemâs notification and asked.
[Host, this is the first step toward finding the truths of your past!]
âSo, the first step is only to come in contact with those beings.â
[Yes, Host! Now that you have taken the first step and come in contact with those beings, your way toward knowing the past will grow more straightforward.]
Time flew by.
Aakesh finally stopped his conversation with the system about the scene since the system had now answered his questions, and he was satisfied with it.
The way becoming easier didnât mean that the quests would be easy. It only implied that it wouldnât take him this long only to take a single step. The difficulty of the missions by the system would only grow by several folds.
The system then rang the authority increasing notification once again since Aakesh had ignored it at that time and was busy thinking about the scene.
âWhat can I do with my increased authority?â Aakesh asked about the system since his authority was only low despite the upgrade.
[Host, with low authority, you can hire an assistant for you in the store to make your work easy.]
[Host, with low authority, your commission rate had grown to five percent of the sale, with the previous rules still being in place.]
The next moment, the systemâs response rang inside Aakeshâs head.
Aakesh didnât care much for it since having an assistant was actually his suggestion to the system. At the same time, he was already satisfied with one percent of the commission, so five percent of the commission didnât matter much to him.
As for getting some answers to unanswered questions, things went as Aakesh had expected. Only when his authority reached the mid-range would he have sufficient status to ask questions related to the system. While for queries related to his past, Aakesh was confident that it wouldnât happen before he at least had high-level authority.
âHey, system, what are the criteria for the assistants?â Aakesh then asked the system since he was going to hire one in the upcoming days. He was already busy taking payments for the cultivation arts the entire day. After the assistantâs arrival, he would get some time with Lily like earlier before the arrival of the cultivation arts.
[Host, the system has no criteria for the new assistant! You can decide that on your own since you would be the employer. You would have to pay their earnings from your pocket!]