Suddenly a round of teleportations began to ensue on the platform, as the empty stage, a moment earlier now had several million people standing on it.
The participants looked at each other with flustered expressions since their getting out suddenly only meant a single thing.
The contest clearly stated that the first participant to establish their monopoly over the financial market in the world would be the winner of the competition.
âWho is it?â This question rang in the minds of every participant except one.
In one of the corners of the stage, a man had a bundle of joy on his face. He was the one who had achieved the goal set by the store owner for the competition.
âI did it!â The man screamed in his heart.
Similarly, in the seated area, a group of people had their eyes moist from joy since they were family members of the winner.
The winner of the competition was Jonnah.
Jonnah belonged to the Beast group of races. His ancestry originated from the union between two races.
Jonnah had a humanoid structure, but his body was entirely different from a human. He had the head of a bear, while dense silver fur covered his entire body. His nails were sharp enough to rip a low-level cultivator into pieces.
Since Johannaâs level wasnât very high, he couldnât use metamorphosis and couldnât transform his features.
Johannaâs race wasnât high in the food chain in the beast groups, so his life hadnât been easy since his birth.
The beasts were the cruelest when it came to their atmospheres since only the survival of the fittest worked there. If not for countless races and members, the beast race would have become extinct due to their nature, without even fighting an overwhelmingly strong enemy.
âFriend, did you win the contest?â
Jonnah was smiling, which looked terrifying on his bear face when he suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice ringing in his ears.
Jonnah turned around and saw the man to his right looking at him with a weird expression.
âWhat do you mean?â Jonnah turned flustered as the store owner hadnât announced the winner, and he wanted to wait till that time.
âHaha, you are the only one smiling among these many people here,â The manâs face turned weirder, but soon, he laughed and responded.
The man had only decided to ask since the beastâs behavior didnât make sense to him, but when he saw the flustered expression, his heart sank down.
The man belonged to a Kingdom that had been in a fight with the beast groups since last thousands of years, so after seeing a beast winning the honor of being an assistant to the store, the man felt the situation turning worse.
But soon, he remembered that the store owner had clearly said that the storeâs assistant couldnât have affiliation with others, so his worries disappeared, and he laughed.
âIf you won, let me be the first to congratulate you,â Without waiting for Jonnahâs response, the man added since he could see the beast didnât want to reveal it.
Jonnah nodded with an awkward smile. Before he could say something, the entire store turned silent as the store owner stood from his chair.
âThe winner of the contest is Jonnah, a member of the Paltry Bear race,â Aakesh announced the winner to the public. His face had a smile, which only a few people had seen.
The reason; the assistant was going to be a part of the store, so from this moment, Jonnah was one of the storeâs own members.
After the announcement, Aakesh turned in the direction of Jonnah, and he became the center of attraction in the midst of more than ten billion people.
A nervous expression appeared on his face as this was all the first for him.
Jonnah had become a store customer a few decades ago when his family migrated to the Bisan Kingdom. Panagea had done wonders for him as it gave him enough to have his family live without worrying about food like he used to do when he was young.
It also allowed him to grow strong enough to avenge his fatherâs death. In the beast group of races, death was a common sight.
One of the Paltry Bears took a liking to Jonnahâs mother, so to impress her, the bear killed Jonnahâs father. If not for Jonnahâs motherâs strong fightback, even Jonnah would have become a casualty for someone to gain the favor of his mother.
As Jonnah reminisced the changes in his life since he had become a customer for the store, a strange scene happened on the platform.
People began to make space for Jonnah to travel to the center. It included people from varying cultivations. Even Immortals moved away to make way for him. From now on, Jonnah wasnât an ordinary beast, but he had the colossus of the store behind him.
Jonnah sensed the change as he broke out of his trance. Jonnah didnât know what to feel at that moment.
The next moment, he took a deep breath and raised his right foot. Not long after, he brought it down and turned around to look at the man.
The man had a knowing smile on his face. Jonnah nodded and thanked the man for his congratulations.
He then returned his focus to the primary task.
He turned his sight in the direction of the store owner and proceeded forward.
âCongratulations on becoming a part of the store,â Aakesh congratulated Jonnah with a smile.
Jonnah nodded and responded with a respectful bow.
Time flew by, and the participants on the platform began returning to their respective seats in the attendeeâs section.
The next moment, only Aakesh and Jonnah were present on the stage.
Aakesh then turned around and looked at the tower. He snapped his fingers, and soon, the gates of the tower closed as the starry scene disappeared, and not long after, the tower also vanished.
âThe three-day event is over! All of you can leave now. Weâll meet next year,â Aakesh expressionlessly announced at the end of the event.
A few minutes later, only Aakesh, Jonnah, and Jonnahâs family members were left in the store.