John looked at his store, rows of bookshelves spread evenly throughout the building. He thought about how he could change it and make it easier for the books to be sorted according to what the people were looking for. Sending them to the closest bookshelf worked, but if that's how this shop is going to work then perhaps there's a better way to handle it.

He still wanted to have the bookshelves laid out in case multiple people did come through at a time. But then he realized they'd have to wait to pay anyway, if everybody here is going to be using speech as they have so far. It's not as though people can just grab a book and send an interesting story to John, they would have to wait in a line and tell their story which can take a few minutes.

Maybe it would be best to just allow one person in at a time. But then what if a customer came in and browsed while the previous one told their story, and by the time the customer found a book they liked the previous one was done telling their story.

He decided on keeping some bookshelves available for people to browse through but to set up the entrance better to accommodate the one on one interactions. He would have his desk sat by the wall near the front door, and then add another bookshelf next to where he sat that he could fill with books people want.

The rows of bookshelves already in the building would remain as they were, this would just be an additional one added right next to where he sat. He looked at the space, his desk was already rather close to where the bookshelves went. And if he placed another bookshelf here on the wall, it would block off being able to access the one side of the bookshelf closest to the wall. A simple fix, however, as he focused on the space between his desk and the rows of bookshelves.

The space expanded in a strange way. If you were approaching the normal rows of bookshelves it would look as though the newest addition were shrunk. Yet if you wanted to browse this new bookshelf, it would seem as though the original bookshelves were pushed farther back.

John sat back down and thought about other additions he could make to his shop. A part of him thought about working on his speech again, but it was a frustrating venture.

He didn't understand how sound worked well enough to produce it and would need to study. A problem for another day, or perhaps he could pay more attention to how the humans that came by produced their speech. He never did care much for it, but he begun to think of speech as perhaps being less barbaric than he first thought. It was slow and inefficient, but complicated in its nature. That these beings could produce such sounds so effortlessly impressed him.

One thing he could work on was his lighting, he still hadn't quite figured out how that all worked. He supposed it was bright enough since nobody had really complained yet but he would still like to have somebody in to verify this or help him out at least.

Advertising was another thing, but he wasn't quite sure how to do that either. He could work on making some books that float outside his shop but would that draw in more people or just look strange? John wasn't sure, and he was rather satisfied with the additions he had already made.

He would want to change out the material of his building at some point but that was something he would have to plan. He needed to know what material he even wanted it to be, and then needed to acquire that material, and while he could figure out how to transmute it himself, it was better to find somebody who specialized in that. If only to keep the economy working as it was. John was already doing enough giving out free books, but he didn't have enough customers for anybody to care about his little bookstore anyway.

So the only thing he could do is clean. He thought about erasing all of the dust and debris that had floated in through the wide open windows when he realized he still had no windows in his shop. That could be something he worked on, of course. The windows could stay even after the material changed so he could go pick out some nice windows for his store in the meantime.

He was about to get up and go shopping when somebody opened the door and walked in. This was another human. Most of them were human around here, he found. There were a few elves as well but they generally tried to stay hidden and he respected that. This person was without a doubt human, however. He wore a well fitted suit of silver armour with a sword at his waist. His dark brown hair tied back with a string. The man looked at John, his blue eyes seeming to judge every fiber of John's being. An impressive human, John remarked to himself. The man exuded confidence and power.

"Where is your boss? I've heard of an exceptionally strong warrior owning a bookstore here. I would like to fight him." The man said, glancing around the store.

John responded with the idea of his ownership, pushing it through to the man's mind. He felt more resistance here than he had with anybody else on this planet. A small bar to be sure, but it interested John nonetheless.

The man scoffed at John, "You're the owner? You're barely even level fifty, and I'm supposed to believe you are the powerful owner of this shop? Please. Bring me your boss or I will slaughter you where you stand."

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John thought about what to do. The man wouldn't believe that he was the owner because he was too weak, a mistake that made John more than a little happy with his decision to not take [Identify] all those years back. This man must have had it, and were John to be less forgiving then the man would have paid for his mistake with his life.

Maybe John would have taken the skill as well if he were human and didn't need to sacrifice something else to have it. But this situation raises the question of whether it's worth it even then. It is much safer to assume that everybody can kill you in the blink of an eye, or at least ensure you can't be killed. John doubted this man had achieved immortality, humans very rarely did.

And even when they did it was usually in the form of something like a vampire. Immune to the passing of time but not to raw destructive power. He thought back on the half vampire he had met and whether she had gained immortality or not. Maybe she would return someday and share more stories.

"Hello? I'm going to give you ten seconds to tell me where your boss is before I strike you down." The man said, reminding John of his current predicament.

John tested the man for a moment with his magic, trying to control the space he occupied. There was almost no resistance, he found. The man had some power, likely even one of the strongest humans John had ever met. Perhaps even the strongest.

But that just didn't mean anything, it was as though he found a particularly powerful ant that could carry a slightly larger leaf than the others. It was a shame the man was so aggressive, he would have some very interesting stories to share John thought. He put together another thought, one of peace. One of trading information and stories, and pushed it to the man. Again he did not flinch, despite the larger blast of information.

The man scoffed once more and drew his sword. "No. I will be fighting your boss."

He started to run towards John. From John's perspective, the man was running almost in place. But from the man's perspective, the distance between John and the man had extended, John visible as only but a speck in the far distance. The man's face warped in confusion, unable to understand what had just happened. John allowed the man to run for a few minutes before he shrunk the space once more. The man suddenly jolting to awareness as John returned to his proximity.

"What did you just do to me?" the man roared at John.

John once more pushed the idea of peace and a trade of information to him. But the man scoffed and screamed at him, rushing to him again. John allowed him to approach and just as his sword was about to strike the man was teleported to the forest just outside of town. John shook his head and thought about what kind of windows he would like again, when the door was flung open by the same man. John sent forth the idea of banishment, of not being permitted to enter his store again. And then teleported him outside of town again.

The man came back yet again moments later, almost ripping the door off its hinges as he threw it aside and leapt into the store, sword ready. He screamed at John and ran at him again. John gripped the space the man occupied, preventing him from moving. The man's eyes went wide as he fought against the hold but found himself unable to move an inch.

At this point, John was furious. He had insisted on peaceful trade, and when that failed even removed the man from his store safely. And then did so again and told the man he was not allowed. And now he is here again, damaging his building, insistent on seeking his death. He would give the man one last chance, but this time he would make it as clear as possible that the man was in above his head.

John stood from his chair and approached the man. He built up the idea of death, of despair and sent it forth to the man. John drew a sign in the air, and his windows blacked out, all contact from the outside world blocked off. He pulled all of the air in his building together, concentrating it around the man floating next to him, isolating it from everything else. Then he teleported them out into the vast expanse of space, remembering to pull all of the air with him and keep it contained around the man so he wouldn't die in the vacuum.

John looked at the man and made sure he was watching before he pointed out in front with his finger. [Devastation], he thought.

The two of them watched as space itself seemed to warp and tear, thousands of kilometers in front of them. Purple arcs of lightning bouncing around the tears for a few moments before there was a noticeable lack of existence in the space ahead of them. The universe seemed to implode in on itself as a wind rushed past them towards the non existence, filling it back in.

John allowed the universe to settle for a moment before he looked at the man again and allowed him to move once more, confined within his air bubble. The man looked at John and cried, apologizing for his idiocy and thanking him for not killing him. J

ohn nodded, satisfied the man had learned his lesson and teleported them back to his building. He allowed the air to fill his building once more and then drew another sign, the street outside returning to his windows. The man screamed and ran out his door. John wasn't sure where he would be going, but he didn't much care as long as it wasn't here.

He sat down at his desk, upset about what had happened. Not only did he not have anybody come in with an interesting story today, but he even had somebody actively seek to make his day worse. He thought about closing for the day but maybe somebody else would come in and share a story and make his day worth it. He supposed it was a little interesting to meet the strongest human he had seen yet, as disappointing as that was.

With the variety afforded to them, John was surprised the man hadn't taken all of the advantages he could get. He seemed to be somewhat resistant to telepathy at least but space magic seemed to be as effective against him as anybody else. If he had the option, why wouldn't he take all of the skills he could get to make his prospects as good as possible? Impatience, maybe?

He had heard that humans live for a long time when they're higher leveled, so it should be common sense at that point to rethink your perspective on time, John thought. Instead of rushing through life fighting the strongest you can, focus on yourself and build up your skills and possibilities first. If the man had spent a few decades practicing space magic, John may not have been able to trap him in an endless corridor. Maybe it comes from their short lifespan without the assistance of levels. They end up planning for sixty years then live for thousands, but struggle to ever shift their instincts over to the new timescale they have.