Aldrin held his breath as he clicked the shopping cart icon. It's a new feature.
Although he hadn't become the IDLE Database's host for more than a day yet, unlocking a new feature was always a welcome change. This just meant that he would've another thing to look forward to.
As soon as his mouse's clicking sound filled his room, the black background of the IDLE Database transformed to white before a list of items that could be purchased using IDLE Points appeared before him.
Moreover, there were also five tabs just like with the Idle Adventure Mode. Instead of one, two tabs were already unlocked.
The first tab was called Shop and the second tab was called Production.
While he's thinking about how to figure out the difference between the two, messages reminiscent of what he first saw at the bogus dimsite where he became the IDLE Database's host appeared on the interface, explaining to him the new features.
[Welcome to Idle Shopping!]
[In this feature, Host can buy things without the hassle of going out of your house]
[The expected delivery time is always between one second and one day]
[If it exceeds that time frame, Host will be refunded your IDLE Points used and will get to keep the package you bought]
[Moreover, the Host can also buy things that can generate IDLE Points]
[Host can check it at the Production Tab]
[However, each Production Method will need to be bought again after 24 hours]
[Host can buy the Production Methods multiple times]
[However, the cost will increase the more the Host buy]
[The IDLE Points generated by the Production Methods will be credited to the IDLE Point storage every 0:00 local time]
[Host can also harvest it manually but there will be a cooldown of five hours every manual harvesting]
[As for the locked tabs. Host needed to discover the hidden criteria for unlocking them]
[It is up to host how to discover it]
After that series of messages, he was once again faced with the Idle Shopping interface.
As Aldrin scanned his eyes to the list of items, he almost choked from his saliva when he saw the first item on the list that was being sold by this IDLE Database.
[Exchange 10,000 Federation Credits: 100 IDLE Points]
"10,000 Federation Credits! IDLE Points can be converted to real-life currency! How… How is that possible?" Aldrin exclaimed as questions once again began sprouting in his mind.
However, he soon calmed down.
'Do I still need to be surprised at everything? This mysterious program that became bound to me is about to turn me into an Energy Refiner! What is a few thousand Federation Credits!' Aldrin thought.
But after thinking about it, Aldrin stopped in place as he picked up his phone and opened his bank account to check his remaining balance from the money he saved up.
520 Federation Credits…
Earlier, he bought three boxed meals and a large bottle of soda at the Convenience store and it cost him 150 Federation Credits.
He's about to empty his savings!
Following that, he looked back to the slightly glowing rectangular block due to his cursor pointing at it.
[The Credits will be instantly sent to Host's bank account directly after purchase]
That pop-up descriptive information made Aldrin gulp his saliva once more.
With only 100 IDLE Points he could get 10,000 Federation Credits…
Considering he's now gaining more than 300 IDLE Points in Idle Adventure Mode… He could get 30,000 Federation Credits in an instant…
"No! IDLE Points are precious… It's the crucial part of my being an Energy Refiner!" Conflict filled Aldrin's face as he couldn't move on from thinking about where 10,000 Credits could get him.
In hindsight, he could become like his friend Bert. By converting his IDLE Points to Federation Credits, he would soon be able to get enough capital to open his own business. And from that, grow into a tycoon!
That's a nice prospect for everyone.
"No… I shouldn't be tempted by… little things like that… I can earn more Federation Credits once I successfully become an Energy Refiner! I can exchange once or twice to abate my impending lack of money but it cannot be my focus." Aldrin shook his head and resolutely steeled his mind. "I got bestowed the chance to change my life through this IDLE Database. And for sure, being a tycoon isn't my calling…"
Unfortunately, even if he said all that with utter conviction, Aldrin's mind continued moving to every possibility that opened before him.
And one thought made a mark on his mind, 'Why do I need to choose? With IDLE Database, I can become both! An Energy Refiner and a Rich Tycoon!'
As soon as he reached that point in his mental struggle, Aldrin heaved a sigh of relief as he began to calm his emotions down.
Once he's done, he moved his cursor to the other items on the list of what he could buy.
[Purchase Weapon: Starting from 100 IDLE Points]
[Purchase Armor: Starting from 100 IDLE Points]
[Purchase Books: Starting from 50 IDLE Points]
[Purchase Metadome: Starting from 1000 IDLE Points]
[Expand IDLE Points Storage: Starting from 1000 IDLE Points]
"Weapon, Armor and Metadome sounded plausible considering I will become an Energy Refiner… but why do I need a book? Do I still need to study?" Aldrin wondered as he couldn't think of any books that could cost 50 IDLE Points or 5,000 Federation Credits if he went by the conversion shown to him.
Due to that, to clear his curiosity, his cursor moved towards it.
[Rift Knowledge, Energy Refiner Knowledge, Concept Knowledge and other related books can be bought. It will not come in physical copy but a digital one that will be transferred directly to Host's brain]
After reading that, Aldrin nodded twice but… he soon stopped upon reading a foreign word to him.
'Rift Knowledge and Energy Refiner Knowledge is understandable… but what is Concept Knowledge?'
Although he wanted an answer to his question, there's no more information than he could glean from the descriptive pop-up.
The only way to find out about it is to buy a Concept Knowledge book.
"I'll be putting that aside for now… I still have a lot to check and I still have three runs to go through. It's starting to brighten outside."
He began his run right after midnight and during the two runs, he used up nearly six hours of time if he included the time he showered, he ate and he contemplated things.
Without having a wink of sleep throughout the night, Aldrin still wanted to finish all the five runs before sleeping.
Moreover, he was also excited about the other features he hadn't checked yet. Especially the Production… That meant, he now had another avenue for earning IDLE Points separate from the Idle Adventure Mode.
As excitement welled up inside him, Aldrin skimmed through the other listed items before checking the Production Tab.
Nonetheless, he still spent at most five minutes just rejoicing that it's possible for him to buy a Metadome through the IDLE Database! It's a heavily regulated product, how will this mysterious program make it possible?