Returning to his apartment, Nao placed his shopping bags on a table and glanced at the clock, which read 9:35 AM.
"So, I was out for a full two hours."
Nao had left for the market at 7 AM and returned by 9 AM, more than two hours of a round trip.
Glancing at his shopping bags, he saw a wide variety of seafood, including crab, sea urchin, eel, salmon, clams, squid, and more.
The reason he bought so much seafood was to verify whether the increase in evolution points was related to the variety or the amount of food.
As he walked toward the aquarium, he noticed the arowana fish lying still at the bottom of the tank.
This happened because Nao's level of conscious control was not yet strong enough to manage two bodies simultaneously.
When Nao pulled most of his consciousness back into his main body, the clone would become dull, and vice versa.
In the aquarium, Nao poured all the different kinds of food in, then submerged his consciousness into the arowana clone's body.
Inside the tank, the arowana awoke, revealing a pair of golden pupils.
Seeing its food sinking, the fish exerted itself and rushed forward.
A large piece of eel was immediately bitten in half by the arowana.
As soon as the chunk entered its stomach, it was quickly digested.
Suddenly, a warm current flowed through its body, and the familiar, pleasant sensation made Nao let out a small moan.
The fatigue from his previous journey was erased by this comforting feeling.
After a brief pause, the clone bit into a piece of squid.
...
Fifteen minutes later, as the food in the tank diminished, a line of text appeared before him.
[Your arowana clone has gained a small amount of evolution points by consuming a large quantity of food...]
[Current evolution point progress: 3/30...]
[Your body has received feedback of 0.01 energy points...]
Nao realized that the growth in evolution points seemed to have nothing to do with the type of food the clone consumed.
'So, do I really need to feed the fish as much as a whole pond to fill its evolution value? And this is just the beginning—what about later on...'
Just as Nao was thinking about this grim future, the arowana clone was devouring a piece of tuna.
Unexpectedly, this tuna provided three times the energy of fish of the same weight.
"Huh?"
Sensing the surge of energy flowing through the clone's body, Nao's eyes showed confusion.
Still bewildered, Nao directed the arowana clone to consume another piece of tuna.
As the piece entered its stomach, the same large wave of energy coursed through the clone's body.
Along with that, another familiar line of text appeared before him.
[Your arowana clone has gained a small amount of evolution points by consuming weakly mutated tuna...]
[Current evolution point progress: 4/30...]
[Your body has received feedback of 0.01 energy points...]
"A mutated tuna? So that's it!"
After Earth underwent the reiki revival, many native animals experienced mutations.
As a result, mutated animals became common on Earth.
"But isn't 1 pound of mutated meat worth 4,000 yen? How did I get it in a package full of fish for only 10,000 yen?"
"Did the shopkeeper make a mistake? Or is this a bonus from the shop?"
"No! This isn't the time to think about that."
Shaking his head, Nao pulled out his phone and called the store's number.
After a few rings, the call was answered.
"Hello, Aqua Garden here. How can I help you?"
"Hello, Can I buy bluefin tuna, and how much does it cost?"
"Of course, sweetheart. The price can be discussed."
"Then can I buy 30 pounds of bluefin tuna?"
"Hmm?! Are you sure, young man? The price for 1 pound of tuna is 4,000 yen. That means 30 pounds would cost over 100,000 yen!"
There was a tone of slight irritation and disbelief on the other end of the line.
Indeed, buying 30 pounds of tuna would cost more than 100,000 yen, specifically 120,000 yen—a significant sum for a young man.
It could easily be mistaken for a prank or typical teenage mischief.
However, Nao was not in the mood for jokes.
"Just send me your account number and deliver it to the address I'll send!"
"And hurry up, I'm in a rush."
"Young man, I know you're in a hurry, but are you sure—"
Before the shopkeeper could finish her sentence, the call was cut off.
Looking at her phone, the shopkeeper could only smile wryly and shake her head.
Reluctantly, the shopkeeper sent her account number, and shortly after, a notification appeared on her phone.
[XV has sent you 60,000 yen!]
Along with that came a message.
[I've sent half of the money as a deposit.]
[I'll send the rest when the goods arrive.]
[And please send them to this address.]
Seeing the message on her phone, the shopkeeper could only smile wryly.
"Is this the world of the rich? Throwing money around so casually."
...
In Nao's apartment.
"Did I act too rashly?"
Reflecting on his actions, Nao couldn't help but think he may have acted too hastily.
After all, if you don't count the three days he spent bedridden with a headache, this was essentially his first day since transmigrating.
"No, if it's for the sake of this special class, it's not too rash."
In a world where demons and monsters have risen, education wasn't abandoned. In fact, it became more important than in the previous world.
Since the second emperor of humanity came to power, he mandated that all martial arts education begin at age 16 and be provided by high schools.
It didn't matter if you were rich or poor.
The goal was to give ordinary people the chance to compete with the powerful and to suppress those in power from creating rampant nepotism.
With the resources possessed by top experts, they could easily create a few elites who could swiftly incite rebellion.
After all, the truly frightening thing isn't a single expert but a group of experts loyal to one another.
And this isn't just a theory—it's a reality. Lumian City is an example.
Lumian City was originally affiliated with a nation, but over time, the ruling family of Lumian City worked hard to rival a country.
Lumian City gradually distanced itself from its former nation, eventually becoming a city with authority and power on par with a country.
Thinking of Lumian City, Nao couldn't help but reflect on the description of the city.
"Lumian City, the mystical city where it always rains, earning it the nickname 'The Rainy City.' And also the residents of that city-"
"Ding dong."
Glancing at the door that chimed, Nao checked the clock, which showed 10:23 AM.
"Thirty minutes, pretty fast. Seems like the rumors about express drone delivery aren't just rumors."
Walking toward the door, Nao opened his apartment door. However, contrary to his imagination, there wasn't a drone behind the door but a woman.
Standing outside the door was a woman wearing a long beige coat, a dark turtleneck, a black skirt with a zipper, and light brown high-heeled boots, holding a large package.
She was the shopkeeper.
"Oh, it's you, young master. I didn't expect your first purchase to be so quick and in such large quantity," the shopkeeper said, slightly surprised.
"Hahaha, yes, sorry for disturbing your rest to deliver this."
Nao spoke with a slightly apologetic expression.
"No, you didn't disturb me, sweetheart. It's just that you were a bit cold on the phone earlier," she said with a smile, though with a hint of irritation at the end.
"Sorry if I offended you earlier. I was really in a rush and didn't think about the consequences."
" Here, I've transferred the rest of the money to your account, and I've added a small bonus as an apology for my rudeness earlier."
Nao spoke apologetically, showing his remorse while transferring the remaining money through his phone.
"Seeing your enthusiasm, I feel a little embarrassed. As a bonus, I'm also giving you an electric eel, which is great for making supplement soup. Consider it a gift for your first large purchase."
"You know, recently a lot of people have been getting sick with a condition that causes them to lack vitality and blood, making them pale and weak. That soup should be enough to nourish your body. Just make sure you don't catch that illness too," she added, smiling with a serious and concerned expression at the end.
"Thank you for your concern, ma'am. But I'm sure I can take care of myself."
"Oh, by the way, are you tired, ma'am? Would you like to come in for a drink? Consider it my hospitality."
Nao offered with a small smile.
"(Shakes head) No, I still have a lot of work to do at my shop. Thanks for the offer, though, sweetheart. See you around."
"Goodbye, ma'am," Nao replied, still maintaining a small smile.
After the shopkeeper walked away, Nao closed the door.
...
Inside the apartment.
Nao's faint smile was replaced by an indifferent expression, his eyes filled with pain.
"150,000 yen, 150,000 yen."
That was the amount he spent today.
The original Fuyuki's savings were 300,000 yen. He wasn't sure if that was a lot or not, as in his previous world, he wasn't Japanese.
But according to original Fuyuki's memories, it was three times the average savings of a high school student.
Yet, even with that much money, he still spent half of it in a single day.
Nao's feelings at that moment were understandable.
"I hope you don't disappoint me," he muttered while looking at the clone fish in the aquarium.
After putting the eel in the fridge, Nao placed all the tuna into the aquarium.
Seeing the food arrive, the cloned arowana rushed toward the pieces of tuna.
Warm currents started flowing through the clone's body, and a familiar feeling of comfort returned to Nao, relaxing his tense nerves.
Lines of text appeared in front of him, but he ignored them, entirely focused on the clone's progress and the pleasant sensation in his body.
After 30 minutes, more than 30 pounds of bluefin tuna had been devoured by the arowana.
At this point, the arowana, which had initially been just over a foot long, had grown to over 70 centimeters, and the aquarium was barely able to contain it!
The dragon fish swam happily in the water, its two whiskers flowing, and the scales on its body emitted a faint golden glow. Its momentum was incredible!
Suppressing his excitement, Nao opened his panel.
[Main Body] Fuyuki Nao
[Vitality] 0.46 (+)
[Talent] External Incarnation (Innate Talent)
[Energy Value] 0.29
...
[Clone] Arowana
[Realm] Weak Mutant Species
[Talent] None
[Evolution Value] 30/30
[Tip: Your dragon fish clone has reached full evolution value and cannot continue growing through feeding. It can only grow further after successfully undergoing evolution!]
[Tip: Your arowana clone lacks potential genes. It is recommended that you evolve by integrating genes from another creature for better results!]
[Tip: For the first evolution, you can only combine the genes of one creature!]
[Tip: please select the creature gene to be combined in 10 minutes]