Daisuke fell on his back in bed, eyelids growing heavy as the sensation of a full belly after seven years and a long day prompted a wave of exhaustion.
He adjusted his newly acquired attire, feeling the fabric stretch against his satisfied stomach. Zephyr, now clean and nestled on his chest, yawned and curled into a tight ball.
Daisuke’s fingers traced the soft fur of the pup’s head, admiring the silver and light gray pattern of his coat. On Zephyr’s forehead and beneath the eyes, a symmetrical design in red caught Daisuke’s eye, a captivating contrast against his fur and piercing blue eyes.
It’s been a long day, and tomorrow is more or less going to be the same. I need to set up a small stall and head back into the mountains to uproot another Mana Crystal to sell.
After spending the next few minutes in futility trying to call the game’s menu screen, Daisuke eventually drifted off to sleep.
***
The following day, Daisuke sat down to the promised breakfast, skillfully dodging Gretchen’s inviting glances before embarking on a quest to find a logging mill in town.
Wanting to refrain hiring a lumberjack and spending more on labor costs, he simply ordered the tools and supplies he needed for his stall—a hammer, nails, and most importantly, plywood.
In hindsight, the notion of saving a few gold coins seemed brilliant, but as Daisuke began hauling the materials to the designated spot one by one, he couldn’t help but regret his decision. And the broiling sun beat down on his body as if mocking his efforts.
“Hey, Big Brother~”
While shuffling back to the carpenter’s stop like a zombie, Daisuke heard a melodic voice calling out to him from the distance. It was the same little girl from yesterday.
***
GULP-GULP-GULP!
Daisuke sighed with contentment after helping himself to some water. “Thanks. I really needed that.”
Disgruntled, the little girl pouted as she accepted the leather pouch from him. “You may not look like a bum anymore, but you sure are dumb.”
Daisuke’s face crumpled, then he allowed a rickety smile. “I see you’re still as brutally honest as ever, and you’re even rhyming now.”
Before the girl could let loose with a snappy comeback, Zephyr freed himself and the two began playing.
“I’m so sorry about Reeza,” the girl’s mother apologized on her behalf. “She takes from her father.”
Daisuke scratched his cheek awkwardly. “That’s okay; she’s a good girl.”
“She is,” the woman agreed, her eyes softening. “By the way, may I ask why you’ve been back and forth in the sun all day?”
“Oh, that,” Daisuke tousled his hair embarrassingly, unable to hold her gaze. “I’m trying to set up my very own stall, but I want to keep the expenses to a minimum.”
“Oh.”
“Kyuu~”
“It’s terribly hot today,” said Reeza as she poured water from the pouch in a steady stream. “Drink up, you must be thirsty.”
Zephyr didn’t hesitate.
“Why don’t you borrow our trolley?” the woman offered Daisuke sincerely.
“What? No, I couldn’t impose any further; you even gave me something to eat yesterday.”
“I haven’t seen Reeza so happy in a while,” the woman explained with a warm smile, watching as the canine lapped at the stream of water. “Please accept this favor as a token of my gratitude.”
Daisuke pressed his lips to a thin line. That part of him—the part that feared pain and betrayal again reared its head, but he stuffed it down.
If he wanted to broaden his social network to aid in eventually finding his friends, he needed to subdue the seed of distrust that had taken root inside of him.
After taking a moment to assess their sincere expressions once more, Daisuke decided. “Thank you. I’m in your debt once again.”
“It’s no problem at all.”
“Let’s go, Zephyr,” Daisuke called as he pushed the wooden trolley out onto the open street.
“Aww, already?” Reeza drawled in a whining tone.
“Thanks again! I’ll bring it back before sunset.”
The woman waved with a smile.
***
As expected, the trolley made transporting the materials significantly easier. By mid-afternoon, Daisuke was driving the last of the nails into the wooden stall.
“Phew~” a sigh escaped his lips as he swept away beads of sweat from his forehead. I may be cheating my way out of paying more taxes for having a physical store, but—
He appraised the structure with evident displeasure. It’s so sloppily made I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t mind cutting me some slack. Once I sell all the crystals, I’ll think about what to sell next and upgrade to Gold Rank.
***
A partially concealed Mana Crystal gleamed in the sunlight. Zephyr’s tongue drooled saliva in the strong breeze. They were both in the bed of the cart as Daisuke excitedly whizzed back to town from the embrace of the hilly mountains.
After returning the trolley, Daisuke got straight down to business. The moment he put the crystal up on display, people started slowing their purposeful strides and craning their heads to look. Some whispered among themselves, while others approached to make inquiries or to bargain. The few people who were turned off by the crude stall now felt a sliver of interest as more people gathered.
Daisuke didn’t want to arouse suspicion by directly asking a player about the cost of Mana Crystals on the game’s online store, so his market analysis was mostly incomplete. To compensate, he resolved to listen keenly and gather information through eavesdropping or casual interactions.
But, until he had more of a clue, he decided to use the Merchants’ Guild base price as his only reference guide. To that end, he placed the crystal on the market with a thirty percent increase in the cost. So, instead of ninety silvers for an ounce, it was now priced at 125.
It was always better to price a product higher and reduce the price accordingly, rather than setting it low at the get-go. And, in the unlikely event that the crystal just refused to be sold as a whole, he had purchased a Magic Scale and chisel for the purpose of breaking it down into smaller bits.
Eventually, a man garbed in an extravagant attire sauntered over. His eyes glittered like those of a collector rather than an opportunist seeking to turn a quick profit.
“M-Magnificent,” he murmured, beaming with childlike glee. Then he pulled out a magical monocle and began appraising the item. “May I?”
Daisuke nodded.
“Just as I thought—it’s obvious from its radiance that this isn’t your average Mana Crystal. You… managed to pull this from a Hidden Dungeon, didn’t you?”
Astonished whispering spilled out from the crowd.
Daisuke was just as astounded. Hidden… Dungeon? That’s right. Jean did mention something like that before.
“Mana Crystals from Hidden Dungeons exhibit a slightly brighter glow than those from normal dungeons,” the man informed confidently, “which is a testament to their superior density and purity.”
Eh? Daisuke blanched. Does that mean I was ripped off by the guild?
***
At the same time, a teary-eyed Jean was nervously biting her fingernail. Her gaze was fixated on a crystal orb used to measure the purity of said commodity—the same crystal orb she had forgotten to use on a recently large purchase.
I-I’m going to lose yet another job, aren’t I?
***
“How much does it weigh?” asked the connoisseur, already seeming to resign himself to the purchase.
“It’s roughly four pounds,” Daisuke replied candidly before using the magic scale to prove the truth of it.
“One hundred gold,” the man offered firmly.
“Eh~?” O-One-hundred gold?! That’s more than the forty percent profit I was gunning for!
“Oh? Just a few minutes into your new venture and already you’re pulling down this kind of traction.”
The voice came from the shady figure who stopped Daisuke outside the Merchants’ Guild the previous day. As if his presence was a foreboding disaster, the sun suddenly disappeared behind a thick billow of dark clouds, plunging the world into gray.
