1 A Not So Ordinary Shop
"Frick, I'm tired..."
At the present time, a young man no older than fifteen could be seen sitting inside of what appeared to be a modern building with various computers set up inside that were all separated with a small desk-wall in between each of them.
The male had a slim physique with a fair complexion, which contrasted rather well with his black hair that had a blue tint to it, along with a pair of royal blue eyes as well. His attire consisted of a pair of black shorts, white running shoes, and a simple black and blue t-shirt.
This was none other than Aleric, a young man who had recently found himself flung here into this new yet very familiar world. After all, who hasn't heard of Pokemon at this point? Well, aside from everyone who are probably too old, young or just don't have access to the internet...
Anyway, the important thing is that Aleric had been teleported here into the Pokemon world, more specifically, onto the shores of the damn Alola region. With some navigational help from his system, he found himself here now as the new owner of this internet cafe.
Yep, that was the situation.
In any case, the reason for Aleric's current state of exhaustion was because he had just finished up testing out the current and only game the cafe had. It wasn't just clicking on the keyboard and mouse, he had literally found his consciousness teleported into the game.
The game was Genshin Impact, you know, that gacha game that had people crying about their wallets for quite a while now. It was rather strange though as the game still played out how a normal game would, that being the game didn't move if the player has yet to make a choice in something like a conversation.
Aleric had experienced this when he first encountered Amber, that question about Paimon being a mascot and all that, you can probably guess what answer Aleric had chosen to give Amber in regard to Paimon... Emergency Food.
Thanks to the system though, the 'gameplay', if you could even consider it that at this point, was far more realistic compared to the original game. Aleric had experimented a bit and found out he had far more freedom when it came to his fighting style, manipulation of Anemo, and more.
After a few hours, it was already mid-day in this world, that meant he was probably playing for over ten hours. He wasn't at all tired physically, but when it came to being mentally tired, that was another thing entirely.
"I'll be going up against Dvalin soon, so that means I'll be able to witness the iconic scene of Venti getting kicked by Signora." With a heavy sigh, Aleric dropped his legs down from the desk before standing up and stretching. "I wonder when my first customer will show up..."
Getting his first customer was easier said than done, especially since this internet cafe was literally located somewhere in the fucking forest. It wasn't too deep, but it was deep enough that you wouldn't be able to see it unless you made the short trip.
.
『Current Quest』
● Task: Have five different individuals play Genshin Impact for the first time - [Progress: 0/5]
Rewards:
● 100,000 Pokedollars
● Pokemon Gacha Token
● 100 System EXP
.
'Considering Genshin Impact is a free game, I don't need to be concerned about whether or not they can pay to activate the game. In that case, can even Pokemon play computer games? Can pokemon even read human writing? It'd be pretty weird if my first customer was a caterpie or something...'
Looking towards the entrance, Aleric suddenly froze in place.
[I have found you, human]
"..." Aleric could only stare in stunned silence as a relatively large pokemon around the same height as himself, though that was mainly thanks to that huge orange crest on its head. He could easily recognise this Pokemon... it was Tapu Koko, one of the Alola Island Guardians. "You were looking for me...?"
During the past few hours he had been in this world, which included the hours he spent in the game, he was for sure certain eh had absolutely no interaction with the legendary pokemon in front of him. If he did, it was honestly impressive if he managed to forget such an encounter.
[You understand me?]
'Wait, what?' Aleric blinked before widening his eyes in realisation. He hadn't even registered the fact that he understood this dude, after all, Tapu Koko's sudden appearance made him completely disregard that little detail. 'Holy shit, I can understand him...'
[How interesting...] Tapu Koko muttered while stroking his chin in thought with those strange shell-like attachments he had on his arms. [Then again, considering I saw you dropping out of the sky from a portal is enough to tell me you weren't going to be so simple. The question now is...]
Before Aleric could say anything, Tapu Koko appeared in front of him with a burst of incredible speed.
[Are you a threat or not? You have a different feeling compared to other humans. An anomalous entity such as yourself may prove to be a major concern, so perhaps dealing with you now would be for the better]
"I-I wouldn't do that..." Aleric stuttered a bit as he leaned his head back a bit due to how close they were. "You might want to put that claw of yours away, otherwise..."
[Otherwise?]
Before Tapu Koko could say anything, he suddenly felt all the strength in his body leave him before his hovering body soon crashed down onto the polished wooden floorboards. Despite how loud that crash was, no damage could be seen from the impact.
The only reason why Aleric wasn't at all afraid despite being in the presence of the island guardian was solely because of the system. He had already figured out about the built-in defence system of the cafe, which would strip the offender of all their power if they attempted anything.
Plus, while he was in the store, he was invincible.
"Otherwise that would happen..."
[Wh-What is this?] Tapu Koko could only groan as he pushed himself up off of the ground with difficulty. After a few seconds, Tapu Koko's strength slowly began to recover as he struggled to even stay hovering. [I-I... I felt as if all of my powers were taken away]
"That's exactly what happened. So, try not to be so hostile while in my cafe. That's not a threat or warning, just some advice." Aleric gave a small sigh, taking a deep breath before continuing. "In any case, I can assure you that I'm no threat to Alola or any region for that matter. I'm just a simple internet cafe owner."
[Simple, right...] Tapu Koko's tone was full of doubt when he said this. [What's an internet cafe?]
"That... actually, this could be a good way to test if Pokemon can play the games." Aleric muttered that last part to himself as he held his chin. Tapu Koko rose an eyebrow as he saw Aleric muttering. "How about I show you? The first, and only, game in my store right now can be activated for free. Since you're my first customer, you don't need to pay for your In-game hours today."
[I barely understood anything you just said...] Tapu Koko deadpanned a bit as he finally got his hovering under control. [While I am a bit confused, money really isn't an issue for me, I have quite the amount of cash to my name]
"What?" Aleric gave Tapu Koko a very disbelieving look. "What the hell does a pokemon like you need money for? Scratch that, how the hell did you even get money? Do you go around picking up random coins off the street or something?"
[That happens sometimes, though the money mainly comes from some offerings people have given to me over the years]
"Huh..."
[So, what is this game you were talking about?]
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
[Who is this small humanoid creature?]
"..."
[Oh yeah, this is awesome!]
"..."
[I just threw a tornado! Aleric, you said multiple people can play together, come join me!]
"...I hate my life." Aleric could only listen to Tapu Koko's constant shouting while dropping down into his chair. It didn't help either when the Island Guardian, someone who is supposed to be some kind of deity, rushed over with stars in his eyes. "You aren't Adventure Rank 16 yet, I can't join you even if I wanted to."
[That's too bad, I really want to see how good you are] Tapu Koko said in a slightly disappointed tone, crossing his shelled arms over his chest while closing his eyes. [In any case, this game is far better than I initially thought it'd be! I'll definitely keep playing!]
Aleric had observed Tapu Koko's gradual progress into getting used to fighting with a human body, as well as using different weapons for battle. It did take a bit of time, but the guardian deity eventually managed to get into the groove with it.
"Yeah, I'm glad... just please stop shouting so much."
[By the way, what's this card for?] With a confused look, Tapu Koko took out what looked to be a black and golden card from wherever the fuck he kept it. [Does it serve some special purpose?]
"Oh, the membership card? Yeah, along with being the main way you'll be paying to play here, it will also serve a very special purpose in the future. So, keep hold of it and try not to lose it. Getting it replaced would be a massive pain in the ass."
[I see, very well then]
If he was being entirely honest, Aleric had no fucking clue what special purpose the card actually served, all he knew was that there would be a special feature in the future thanks to the system. He had to admit though, he was very curious to find out.
At the current stage, the Genshin Impact currently available here in the cafe was the 1.0 version, so there was quite the limited pool of characters the players could play around with. While he was certain the system would update the game in the future, he had no idea when or why that would happen.
At the very least, he got his first customer.
.
『Current Quest』
● Task: Have five different individuals play Genshin Impact for the first time - [Progress: 1/5]
Rewards:
● 100,000 Pokedollars
● Pokemon Gacha Token
● 100 System EXP
