Chapter 35: Preparing for the Next Trial [Part-1]

Sunlight shone brightly through the infirmary window, landing directly on Alen’s resting figure.

Alen was sleeping peacefully on a clean, comfortable bed. It was the first time in several months that he had actually gotten to sleep on a soft mattress. He had gotten far too used to sleeping on the cold, hard ground of the Ascension Realm.

As the warm rays of the sun grazed his face, Alen finally stirred. He slowly opened his heavy eyelids, temporarily blinded by the bright morning light.

He instinctively raised a hand to block the sun rays. As his eyes finally adjusted to the light, he looked around his unfamiliar surroundings.

"Huh... how long have I been here? I just remember lying on a stretcher while a healer was using magic on me, and now I’m waking up here in this room... How many days have passed?"

He scratched his head, looking incredibly confused.

*Creak!*

Suddenly, the infirmary door opened. A doctor entered the room. She wore a crisp white coat with a stethoscope resting around her neck. She was the very same healer who had treated him after the tournament.

A soft, relieved smile tugged at her lips.

"Oh, it seems you have finally woken up. I thought you would take several more days to regain consciousness."

"Huh... how long was I unconscious for?" Alen asked, sitting up slowly.

She folded her hands in front of her and tapped her lips thoughtfully.

"Well... not too long. Just three days."

Alen choked, genuinely shocked by the revelation.

"Wait, what?! You mean, I was completely out for three whole days?!"

She nodded, walking closer to his bed.

"Of course. Judging by how severely you were wounded, you should have been admitted to this hospital for at least a full month. But for God’s sake, your body is incredibly blessed. Your recovery speed is almost double that of any normal Awakener. Your body fully recovered in just three days from injuries that would have taken another person a month to sleep off."

"Well... I suppose I can’t give the entire credit to your body for the fast recovery," she added with a playful wink.

"I also put a lot of mana into healing you. Hehe... so let’s just say it was teamwork."

"How are you feeling now?"

"Do you feel alright? Is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?"

Alen didn’t know exactly what she was talking about regarding standard recovery times, but he knew for a fact that his body was blessed. He possessed a unique ’Celestial Body’.

"No, everything is alright. I feel perfectly fine, like brand new,"

"Thank you for taking care of me."

He bowed his head slightly in respect.

"Hehe... you’re such a polite guy. No worries, you don’t have to bow to me. A simple ’thank you’ is enough."

Alen nodded and stepped out of the bed.

He sighed internally as he remembered the tournament. He had lost the final battle, which meant he hadn’t won the grand prize. He still had absolutely no money.

’Sigh... do I really have to go back to stealing from street criminals?’ he thought, feeling a headache coming on. ’Wouldn’t I just become a total scumbag if I keep doing that? What should I do now...’

As he was worrying himself sick over how he was going to survive in this city, the doctor called out to him.

"Wait! I almost forgot. You got this."

She reached into her coat pocket and offered him a storage ring.

Alen looked at the ring blankly.

"What is that?"

"Oh... it’s your reward for making it to the finals. There was a runner-up prize for second place. It’s not nearly as much as what the champion received, but it is still a very handsome reward."

Alen carefully took the ring. He closed his eyes and concentrated a trace of his mana into the artifact. Instantly, he could sense the thousands of gold coins neatly stacked inside the spatial storage.

A massive smile tugged at his lips. His immediate survival problem had just vanished into thin air.

"Thanks... See ya!"

He waved back at the nurse and hurriedly left the infirmary, walking straight out of the arena complex.

As he walked down the city streets, he caught a whiff of his shirt. It was the same shirt he had been wearing for months; it looked like beggar’s rags and released a truly disgusting stench.

"Yuck! I have to go to a clothing store first. I can’t walk around wearing these dirty rags," Alen muttered, pinching his nose.

"But before that, I need to book a room and wash up. I smell even worse than the clothes do."

He walked toward a nearby inn. As he entered, the clerk at the front desk looked at his bloody, dirty appearance with a highly suspicious glare.

Alen ignored her judgment, pulled a few gold coins from his storage ring, and paid for a room. He took the key and headed straight upstairs.

He entered his room, immediately shed his filthy clothes, and took a long, warm bath.

As he washed himself, the grime and stench of the battles finally washed away. He dried off and put on a fresh, temporary set of clothes provided by the inn—a simple, plain t-shirt and loose pants. It looked incredibly basic, but it was clean.

He walked out of the room. His silver hair was still slightly messy from the bath; he had completely forgotten to style it, as he wasn’t in the mood to do anything but complete his current tasks.

Leaving the inn, he walked toward a massive shopping mall located in the commercial district.

The shopping mall was vastly larger than anything he had ever seen on Earth. And the craziest part was that this entire, gigantic building was dedicated exclusively to clothing. In Vale City, different products had entirely separate massive malls. Because everyone prioritized branded, magically tailored items, the demand was astronomically high, forcing the city to build massive, specialized infrastructure to lessen traffic.

Alen stepped through the sliding doors. The interior of the mall was pure luxury.

He passed through the entrance gates, where a magical detection spell quickly scanned his body to ensure he wasn’t carrying any dangerous artifacts or explosives.

After passing the security check easily, he walked deeper into the mall, staring at the endless variety of clothes—from casual shirts to enchanted jackets and high-end coats. It was honestly overwhelming. He had never shopped for clothes alone before. In his past life, he had always gone with his parents, or occasionally with Sam.

"Sigh... It’s too difficult to choose," Alen muttered, sulking in front of a massive display window.

As he stood there, a store clerk approached him from behind.

"Do you need any help, sir?"

Alen turned around. It was a young woman, likely in her early twenties. As soon as she got a good look at his striking, handsome face, her eyes practically lit up.

"Oh... yes, actually," Alen admitted.

"Then please, come with me!" she said enthusiastically.

She led him to a different section of the store where several small, enclosed booths were located. They looked like standard changing rooms, barely large enough for two people to stand inside.

"Go ahead and stand in the center for a minute," the clerk instructed.

Alen looked at her in confusion. He didn’t know what she was going to do. Was she preparing him for a photoshoot?

Sighing, Alen stepped into the center of the booth.

The girl immediately brought up a tablet and tapped a few items on the screen. The glass door of the room suddenly slid shut, trapping Alen inside.

Using her tablet, she selected several different design catalogs. The room magically scanned Alen’s physical proportions, and suddenly, holographic projections of different outfits began to layer perfectly over his body.

Inside the room, Alen watched the mirror in complete awe.

He looked down at his body. He was rapidly "wearing" dozens of different outfits. The clothes were made of pure, projected mana. It was just an illusion, but it allowed him to perfectly see which style suited him best without having to physically undress.

After rapidly cycling through several combinations, the clerk finally turned off the tablet, and the booth door slid open.

"Here, take these," the clerk said, handing him a neatly folded stack of garments.

"From my professional perspective, this is the perfect combination for you!"

He took the clothes and walked over to a changing room to put them on for real.

A few minutes later, the clerk, who was waiting patiently outside, heard the door unlock. She turned her head and glanced at him—and her entire face instantly flushed a deep shade of red.

Alen stood there calmly. He wore a fitted black shirt underneath a sleek, monochrome jacket tailored with sharp white and black accents. The dark, stylish pants fit him perfectly. With his messy silver hair falling slightly over his cold, azure eyes, his naturally handsome features were elevated to a flawless aesthetic. He looked like he had just stepped out of a high-end fashion magazine.

He turned to check his reflection in a nearby pillar mirror.

"Hmm... It seems I definitely look better in this,"

"Thanks for picking it out for me. Where should I pay?"

The clerk just stared at him in complete awe, totally lost in a daydream.

Alen blinked and casually waved his hand in front of her eyes.

The clerk violently snapped back to reality. Realizing she had been completely smitten by his appearance, she blushed furiously and stared at the floor.

"O-Oh! You should go to the front counter!"

"Ah, okay. Thanks."

Alen walked away from her. He already knew where the counter was; he just asked her to confirm that the purchasing system here worked the same way it did back in his old world.

He walked up to the counter, handed over a few gold coins from his storage ring, and confidently walked out of the mall, ready to start his new life.