Days passed quietly in the Dimensional Convenience Store.
Hao still hadn’t stepped outside into the Molten Ashlands.
But he wasn’t clueless.
He had already asked Kurome and Tian Lu about their experiences out there.
’I could fight if I need to, Master.’ Kurome had said. ’But… it’s not ideal.’
The usually elegant and confident lynx sounded a little grumpy that day.
Which meant it must’ve been very bad.
She often took the night shift, so when she did go out during the day, the sun above the Scorching Soul City made her powers noticeably weaker.
Her Abyssal Veil could still form, of course.
She was a Pumbral Void Lynx, born of spiritual shadows.
But with the sun shining at full blaze, it was like trying to paint on water.
The light didn’t just reduce her control, it diluted the shadows she summoned.
They became thinner, lighter, and less stable.
She explained that if she adjusted her positioning, using buildings or terrain to angle the sun’s light, she could still make it work.
’But shadows need contrast.’ Kurome added. ’And if there’s too much light, then…’
She made a motion with her paw like something fizzled out.
Gone.
And yes, for some reason, strong light didn’t make shadows darker – it made them scarce.
Shadows weren’t things.
They were absences.
If there was light coming from everywhere, there was no room for darkness to hide.
Simple.
Sort of.
Even during the night in Scorching Soul City, it wasn’t completely dark.
And that mattered for someone like Kurome.
It should have been her time. Her moment.
But her shadows never reached their peak here.
She preferred standing guard back in Sovereign City, where the night sky stretched endlessly and shadows wrapped around her like a second skin.
But she also understood her duty.
Being in the Scorching Soul City would temper her further.
Test her control.
Train her patience.
A different battlefield.
One she wouldn’t run from.
And it helped that her body was built for this kind of climate.
Her void fur wasn’t just for show.
Whether the temperature was boiling hot or bone-chillingly cold, her coat adjusted like it had a mind of its own.
It absorbed what was needed, deflected what wasn’t.
No sweating. No freezing.
Tian Lu, on the other hand, just said. “It’s.”
“Little.” “Bit.” “Hot.”
“Employer.”
Straight to the point.
He was used to all types of harsh terrain.
But even he admitted the sun in Scorching Soul City had a bite to it.
And the only reason Tian Lu said anything at all – was probably because he figured his employer was asking for normal people.
What he didn’t realize… was that his version of ’normal’ was already on the “sword-dueling-a-volcano” side of things.
It’s not “just a bit.”
It’s “open your door and start evaporating.”
Hao knew better than to take their words lightly.
If these two – who weren’t exactly easy to overheat or push around – were calling it ’hot,’ then it must be insane out there.
The kind of heat where breathing might actually feel like sipping a pipping fresh soup.
Hao glanced toward the store entrance.
How do the people in the Molten Ashlands live like this?
Their bodies must’ve adapted.
Either that, or they all carried talismans that doubled as portable air conditioners.
Because if someone from Earth got tossed into those extreme temperature without warning?
They’d be crying, cooking, and collapsing all in under five minutes.
Heatstroke speedrun.
Just thinking about it made Hao want to stay inside even more.
Inside was nice. Cool!
If he really wanted to head out, it’d be much better to explore Sovereign City anyway.
After all, he’d only been out there once.
It’s not like he was absolutely avoiding the boiling pit of torment they called Scorching Soul City…
But also, yeah.
Yeah, he kind of was.
Even if the soft serve ice cream’s effect from the store could help balance out the temperature –
Maybe… someday.
Future Hao problem.
Besides, he still had to oversee the store.
He was a responsible storekeeper, okay?
Keeping things in order. Guiding employees. Stocking products.
But it wasn’t all bad.
Ever since he set the store’s main location to Scorching Soul City, his cultivation had been moving like a rocket on spicy chicken.
Seriously.
Solar qi? Pouring in like it was on a two-for-one sale.
At first, he didn’t even notice.
He just figured the heat was making his brain feel more active.
But then, one quiet afternoon, curiosity hit him.
’System, why do I feel like I’ve activated a cheat code?’
[Correct observation, host. You’ve more or less done just that.]
[Previously, when the Sovereign City entrance was the primary anchor, the store’s spiritual intake was linked to that region. Picture it as the main qi pipeline. All cultivation energy you received came filtered through that connection.]
So even if Hao lounged around inside all day, it was as if he were meditating in that part of Sovereign City.
Which, unfortunately, was a dark alley.
Balanced. Decent. A little sun at noon helped things along.
[But now that you’ve designated Scorching Soul City as the store’s main location? Congratulations, host. You’ve effectively jammed the store’s spiritual straw into a blazing furnace.]
Hao stared at the ceiling.
So that explained the turbo mode.
It wasn’t just in his head.
He was genuinely cultivating faster – double the speed, sometimes even more.
Like going from the free-to-play version to an ultra-premium VIP gamepass without paying a cent.
All because the “main connection” of the store was now rooted in a hellish region.
The Molten Ashlands’ environment was ridiculously rich in solar qi. So much so that Hao felt like he was marinating in sunshine broth.
Gourmet-grade.
His meridians were feasting.
Not sipping. Not nibbling.
Feasting!
He could practically hear them slurping.
’So the stronger the qi in the area where the store’s door is… the better I cultivate inside?’
[Indeed, host. Think of each door as a tether. Whichever one you choose as the store’s main “root,” that place’s natural energy gets funneled straight into the store’s spiritual grid.]
[At present, your available options are Sovereign City and Scorching Soul City.]
’So the shit door was actually a cultivation jackpot?’
Hao nodded to himself.
Maybe I’m not cursed. Maybe I just suck at first impressions.