Location: Still That Damn Forest
Time: Post-Mauler Murder Hour
Mood: Tired. Bloody. Confused Millionaire (Sorta).
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Carl sat on a rock that might've been a log or a mossy corpse—he didn't really care. His body still thrummed with the afterglow of "Hey, I just murdered something much stronger than me" euphoria, and his shirt was fifty percent blood, twenty percent dirt, and ten percent confusion.
He opened his status screen with a tired sigh and a dramatic finger swipe.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[Status – Carl Reyes]
Title: Lost One/Crash Course Survivor/Crimson Slayer
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 72 kg
Level: 5
HP: 150 / 150 (increased by 30 from +1 endurance)
MP: 90 / 90
Strength: 12
Agility: 11
Intelligence: 15
Endurance: 11
Luck: 2
Abilities:
• Improvised Weaponry – F (New)
• Unarmed Combat – E (New)
• Appraisal – F
• Sprinting – E
• Basic Adaptability – E
System Credits: 0
[Stat Points Available:] 6
"Alright," Carl muttered, rubbing his chin like he was about to make an important stock decision and not desperately trying not to die tomorrow. "Let's not be stupid with this."
He mentally tapped open the stat allocation menu.
[Allocate Stat Points?]
→ Yes
He cracked his knuckles. "Okay… what do I need more of? Speed? Smarts? Pain resistance?" He glanced at his own bruised ribs. "Yeah, probably that last one."
→ Strength +1 ("Need to hit harder.")
→ Agility +2 ("Dodging death: always a solid strategy.")
→ Endurance +2 ("Maybe my bones won't shatter on impact next time.") (each 1 endurance is 30HP)
→ Luck +1 ("Let's not roll a natural one on my next life decision.")
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[Updated Stats:]
HP: 210 / 210
Strength: 13
Agility: 13
Endurance: 13
Intelligence: 15
Luck: 3
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Look at that. Lucky number thirteen across the board." Carl frowned. "…Except luck. Still low enough to make dice cry."
Then he noticed the System Credit Balance still glaring back at him like a bank account after a Taco Bell binge.
[System Credits: 0]
"Wait… still zero credits?" Carl narrowed his eyes at the glowing UI. "I just ripped through a lizard gang and a crimson kaiju. Where's the payout, huh?"
Silence.
Carl squinted up at the system. "Hey, System? Why do I have exactly zero space dollars after getting covered in Mauler intestines?"
[Processing… Oh. Right.]
[Almost forgot to give you those.]
Carl squinted at the screen. "You forgot?"
[Oops.]
"You wouldn't have remembered unless I asked, would you?"
[Haha. Hypothetically… no.]
A guilty DING chimed like a toddler caught with a cookie.
[System Credits Calculated.]
• Killed Crimson Mauler (D+ Rank): +300 Credits
• Killed Forest Gek x5 (E-Rank): +500 Credits
• Miscellaneous Loot: Monster Bits, Weapons, Ugly Pants: +50 Credits
[Total System Credits: 800]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Carl scowled. "You're a scam artist in code form."
[Correction: Entrepreneurial digital assistant with selective memory.]
He stood up, brushing something fleshy off his jeans, and turned toward the battlefield. Piles of weapons, cracked armor, a pouch with something that suspiciously jiggled when poked.
He crouched beside a particularly crispy Gek corpse. "Let's see what you got, scaley. A pouch, bones, oh—jerky that smells like a funeral—wait… where do I even put this?"
A beat.
Then:
[Inventory Slot Count: 0]
[Confirmed: You are poor and ill-prepared.]
Carl blinked. "You're joking."
[I am not. This is the face of fiscal reality.]
A new screen burst open in a blaze of capitalist cheer.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[System Market – Storage Solutions]
• Sub-Space Inventory (F-Rank)
• Capacity: 15 Slots
• Item Tier Limit: E-Rank or Lower
• Bonus: Waterproof, bloodproof, sarcasm-resistant (maybe)
Price: 5,000 System Credits
Carl choked on air. "FIVE THOUSAND?! For a magical fanny pack?!"
[Correction: For a glorified interdimensional spatial compression artifact. Also, yes.]
"Do I look like I'm rolling in cosmic dough?"
[You look like a half-digested soup of regrets and body odor.]
Carl rubbed his temples. "Alright. Enlighten me. How do credits actually work before I start duct-taping items to my thighs?"
[Initiating Core Valuation Tutorial. You asked for this.]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[CORE AND MONSTER VALUE TABLE: BECAUSE CAPITALISM EXISTS EVEN HERE]
• F-Rank Monster Kill
Value: 30–50 Credits
Comment: Basically garbage with teeth.
• E-Rank Monster Kill
Value: 80–120 Credits
Comment: More juice. Might power a flashlight.
• D-Rank Core/Monster Kill
Value: 180–250 Credits
Comment: Good for budget enchantments and discount wizardry.
• C-Rank Core/Monster Kill
Value: 400–600 Credits
Comment: Highly illegal in some kingdoms. Explodes if microwaved.
• B-Rank Core/Monster Kill
Value: 800–1200 Credits
Comment: Risk your life for a mortgage payment.
• A-Rank Core/Monster Kill
Value: 1500–2500+ Credits
Comment: Can power barriers or eldritch vending machines.
• S-Rank Core/Monster Kill
Value: 3000–5000+ Credits
Comment: Sell it? The System might try to steal it first.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Carl scratched his head. "Wait, why'd I get 300 for the Mauler if D-Ranks only give 180–250?"
[Because it was a D+ Rank, genius. Almost C-Rank. You lucked out.]
"…Okay… But why does the chart also says 'Monster Kills' for F and E ranks, but 'Core/Monster Kill' for D and above?"
A paused.
[Sigh… Because starting from D rank monsters, those monsters start having monster cores you can harvest and sell to the system. F and E monsters don't have monster cores, they only provide SC when killed.]
[You earned 800 SC earlier because for stabbing it good and killing the monsters… you get it now?]
"Okay okay, chill man."
[Note: Carrying too many cores may attract unwanted attention. Or explode. Possibly both.]
Carl squinted. "…That last part felt important and also legally questionable."
[Also, cores might corrupt weak gear if stored improperly.]
[But don't worry. You don't own anything worth corrupting.]
Carl flipped the system off with both hands.
He reached down and pulled a pulsing orb from the Mauler's corpse with a wet shlorp.
It was warm—deep red, veined with gold, and gently vibrating in his palm like a purring gremlin. Carl frowned.
"You're trouble, aren't you?"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[Crimson Mauler Core – D+ Rank]
• Value: 300 Credits
• Status: Unrefined, Potent
• Potential Uses: Trade-In | Sell | ???
He tapped Store for Later.
[You have no inventory, genius.]
"…Right."
Carl sighed and hovered over Sell. "…Sorry, little orb. You deserved better."
Poof.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[+300 Credits]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Carl winced. "That felt like selling my firstborn to buy lunch."
He then sold four of the five Gek cores too—kept one out of spite. Stuffed it in a pouch like a petty trophy.
[+400 Credits]
"Gonna call this the 'Core of Spite.'"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[Current Credits: 1,500] (800 from earlier+700 from selling cores)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Carl stood, wiped monster goop off his shirt (and onto the nearest leaf), and scanned the woods.
Then—movement.
A trail of faint slime. A flicker of light bouncing between trees.
Carl's heart leapt.
"…Bouncy?"
He sprinted.
Branches whipped past. Mud squelched beneath his boots. The trail shimmered like someone spilled gelatin through a haunted forest.
[Objective: Track the Slime.]
"Hang on, buddy," Carl called. "I'm coming."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
TO BE CONTINUED…
Next Chapter: Slime Trails and Tribulations