The Seed’s Progress Dropped, Seriously?
Setting aside the other notifications, I quickly checked Cha Sahyeon’s status first.
[User Information: Sahyeon (Villain)]
Age: 22 years old
Main Skill: Living Shadow (B-rank)
Title: The Master of Shadows
Attack Power: B-rank
Attack Speed: B-rank
Movement Speed: B-rank
Agility: B-rank
Special Notes▼
└Seed of Catastrophe (36% progress completed)
The progress, which had been 37%, had now dropped to 36%.
It was only a 1% decrease, but the fact that effort could lower the progress gave me great hope.
If I continued to take care of Cha Sahyeon like this and adjust the progress along the way... maybe I really could stop the end of the world.
《Would you like to access the Item Shop?》
With rising excitement, I nodded slowly at the message as I was staring at the status window.
Cha Sahyeon, nestled in my arms, was completely absorbed in the gaming console she had received, so it would be fine to take a quick look.
Paaat!
As the light that had temporarily blinded my vision faded away, a /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ much larger and longer status window floated before my eyes.
[Item Shop]
A special item shop accessible only to regressors who cleared the 'Hidden Quest: I Can't End It Like This (L-rank).'
You can purchase a variety of products to assist your regression life.
《Currently sorted by newest. If this is your first time, it is recommended to sort by recommendations.》
Just like an online shopping mall, the products were neatly listed with images.
As suggested, I changed the sorting to recommendations and began to check the items.
[Regressor Growth Package]
A set containing all basic items necessary for growth! From recovery potions to skill experience enhancement fruits, a variety of items can be obtained.
Price: 198,000 cash (One-time purchase only)
[Status Window Expansion Ticket]
A ticket that upgrades the functions of your status window.
Allows you to check hidden additional stats.
Price: 11,000,000 cash (One-time purchase only)
[Skill Capsule: Sacred Power]
A capsule that grants a new skill. Upon consumption, you gain the <Sacred Power> skill, starting at C-rank.
Price: 50,000,000 cash (One-time purchase only)
There were many other enticing items, such as potions that doubled training experience or pills that instantly boosted both attack and defense.
‘But the problem is.......’
I glanced toward the bottom right of the Item Shop.
There, a number was clearly displayed.
[Available Cash: 0]
‘Fuck.......’
Of course.
I had no 'cash' needed to purchase items.
Given that the money I had on hand wasn’t counted, it seemed that this 'cash' had to be acquired separately.
But just opening the Item Shop without even explaining how to obtain it—what the hell?
This was like a pie in the sky.
I sighed heavily, grumbling internally.
Ding!
Just then, a familiar notification sound rang, and something blinked at the top right corner.
It was the gift box icon, now flashing an exclamation mark.
A notification in the gift box? That couldn't be ordinary.
Wait, did they send me some cash as a first-time user gift?
‘Honestly, if you're opening the Item Shop, you should at least gift me 10 million cash to celebrate. That's only fair.’
Grinning to myself, I tapped the gift box button.
This time, a golden light burst forth and a triumphant fanfare echoed from somewhere.
Bababa-bam!
《The Cash Box obtained from quest clear rewards has been opened!》
Clink!
《Cash Box: System First-Time Usage Reward (1,000,000 cash)》
《Cash Box: Hidden Quest - I Can't End It Like This (L-rank) Reward (100,000,000 cash)》
《Cash Box: Main Quest - Meet the Villain Bearing the Seed of Catastrophe Reward (10,000,000 cash)》
《Cash Box: Sub-Quest - Slow and Steady Wins the Race (A-rank) Reward (5,000,000 cash)》
《Cash Box: Main Quest - Clear a B-rank or Higher Dungeon with the Villain Reward (6,000,000 cash)》
《Cash Box: Sub-Quest - Eliminate the Obstructor and Return to the Villain Reward (1,000,000 cash)》
《Cash Box: Hidden Quest - Lower the Seed of Catastrophe’s Progress (L-rank) Reward (200,000,000 cash)》
“M-Motherfucker.......”
Clink, clink, clink!
The notification windows and the sound of coins clinking kept pouring in without a break, leaving me utterly stunned.
So there had been hidden cash boxes tied to all the quests I had cleared so far?
How much was this even?
[Available Cash: 331,000,000]
Three hundred million? Three hundred million!?
I hit the jackpot!
Clutching my pounding heart, I thought,
‘Maybe I can cash this out somehow?’
The moment the thought crossed my mind, a new status window appeared as if to snap me back to reality.
[Cash]
Cash can only be used within the Item Shop and is obtained through clearing quests.
*Caution! Cash cannot be exchanged with real-world currency.
...Of course.
This really was just like game cash.
‘Still, with three hundred million, I can buy almost anything, right?’
Among the recommended items, the most expensive was the Skill Capsule.
Sacred Power, huh.
‘But Sacred Power doesn’t seem like an attack skill at all.’
Getting a new skill was obviously good, but what I desperately needed now was combat power.
Even after reaching S-rank, I was still swinging a sword without any additional skills, making it tricky whenever I faced another S-rank opponent.
It was unfortunate.
If it had been a new offensive skill, I would have bought it immediately given the price.
“Hmmm.”
Maybe there was another item that granted skills?
Just in case, I changed the sorting from ‘recommendations’ to ‘highest price first.’
The list rearranged itself.
“Huh.......”
[Crystal of Protection]
An item that temporarily halts the Seed of Catastrophe’s progress in the villain.
Once the Crystal of Protection is used, no matter what happens during the active period, the Seed’s progress will not increase.
Price: 600,000,000 cash (One-time purchase only)
‘S-Six hundred million?’
Thinking I must have misread it, I rubbed my eyes hard, but the price didn’t change.
The item effect — stopping the progress of the Seed in Cha Sahyeon — certainly justified the high price, but...
Still, it was ridiculous. I had just barely gathered 300 million cash from clearing all the L-rank hidden quests, yet it would take twice that amount to buy this?
‘But even so, the fact that this item exists is a relief.’
For now, the progress was at 36%, so it was manageable.
But if it exceeded 50% later due to mismanagement, I would seriously have to consider purchasing it.
Even though I now knew it was possible to lower the Seed’s progress, managing it was never going to be easy.
Cha Sahyeon was sensitive and unpredictable, making her care extremely difficult.
While I was at it, I continued browsing to see what else was available.
[Time Stop Potion]
Drink this potion to stop time for 10 seconds.
Only the user can move during the frozen time.
Price: 100,000,000 cash (One-time purchase only)
Time stop, huh.
That could come in handy someday too.
[Charm-Enhancing Talisman]
Tear this talisman to receive a temporary charm buff.
Your appearance will seem more radiant to others, making it easier to gain their favor.
Price: 80,000,000 cash
What the hell?
It just makes you shine a little more and it costs 80 million cash?
No way I’m buying that.
After browsing the Item Shop for a while, I stroked my chin and thought hard.
Since I had about 300 million saved up, it felt like a waste not to buy something.
But the Crystal of Protection was too expensive to afford right now.
‘I’ll save up for the Crystal of Protection later... For now, I should purchase items that I urgently need.’
Saving up might seem like a good idea, but realistically, it wasn’t going to happen quickly.
Besides, I was severely lacking in power right now.
If I got greedy and tried to hoard cash, I might end up failing a quest, raising the Seed’s progress instead — and that loss would be enormous.
‘If you’re stingy, you lose everything. Better to buy what I can use immediately.’
Having made up my mind, I proceeded to purchase the items I had marked earlier.
Ding!
《Regressor Growth Package purchase complete!》
《Status Window Expansion Ticket purchase complete!》
《Skill Capsule: Sacred Power purchase complete!》
I also added the Time Stop Potion to my purchases.
Better to have it ready — you never know when you might need it.

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