We were staring at each other awkwardly. I couldn't help but wonder, do I have to collect the drops manually? I've never seen people in games, anime, manga, or light novels go out of their way to collect them.
Don't they automatically get collected and stored in your inventory or something? Now that I think about it, I don't even have something like an inventory.
"Um, actually, I forgot to bring it with me today. I will bring it up later," I broke the awkward silence and finally said something.
"I-I see. Don't worry and take your time. Things like rat tails only go for around 4 to 5 aluminum coins, but a slime core can fetch you around 1 big aluminum coin because they are some of the main ingredients used for mana recovery potions."
"But before we buy something, we'll have to appraise things first because some slime cores look similar but have totally different properties.", she continued.
"For example, water slime and normal slime cores look very similar. Unless you appraise them, you can't find the difference unless you are an exceptional alchemist."
"I see. Thank you for the information. If you don't mind, can you recommend a good inn for me to stay at tonight?"
"Certainly. There is an inn just opposite the adventurer guild called New Moons Inn. It's a little pricey, but it's favored amongst adventurers because of its location."
"Thank you. Well then, I will leave now. Have a good day."
Ember bowed down and said, "You have a good day as well."
I left the guild, and as it was night, I started looking for the inn. It was easy to find since it was very close by, and I entered the Inn.
A young boy in his late teens greeted me, "Hello, welcome to the New Moons Inn. I have never seen you before. Are you new around here?"
"Hello, yes, I just arrived in town today, and I would like to stay here tonight. Is there any room available?"
"Well, for now, we only have the common room, three shared rooms, and one single room available. Which one do you need?"
"How much does each of them cost?"
"The common room costs around one big aluminum coin a day. For the three shared rooms, it's around three big aluminum coins. And as for the single room, it's around 5 big aluminum coins."
"Then I would like to have a single room for two days. Is it possible to extend the stay later? Also, I am kind of hungry. Do you guys have some food?"
"Well, yes, you can extend your stay as much as you want. Just let us know beforehand. And as for the food, you're quite lucky because we have a fresh deer that my father and I caught just this morning."
"I see. So, how much do I need to pay? And can I take the food with me to the room?"
"Well, for a two-day stay and the food, the total comes to around 1 copper and 8 aluminum coins. As for the food, someone will bring it to your room within a few minutes since we are kind of busy at the moment. Is that fine with you?"
"Certainly, that is not an issue," I said, and I rummaged through my coin bag and gave him 1 copper coin and 1 big aluminum coin.
"Thank you. Here's your chance. Now please follow me, and I will guide you to your room. It's on the first floor."
I followed him to the room. It was not very big, just a small 10×10 room. There was a big bed, a single table, a dresser, and a single chair. However, it was quite cozy.
I lay down on the bed; it was quite soft. There are so many things I don't know about this world, like the money system and the use of metals like aluminum and titanium instead of fantasy metals like orichalcum and mythril.
I don't even have some standard skills like an appraisal, inventory, automatic drop pickup, etc, to name a few. It looks like I will have to use Truck's search engine skills again.
While I was lost in thought, I heard a knock on the door. I opened it and saw a girl who looked like she would be in middle school holding something in her hand.
"Hello, here's the food you ordered. Once you finish eating, please leave the dishes outside the door. Someone will pick them up later."
I thanked her, took the food from her, and placed it on the table. I guess I'll have a word with Truck once I finish my dinner.
After eating, I left the dishes outside the door and lay down on the bed again.
"Truck, are you there?"
He responded, "Yes, I am here. What do you want?"
"Well, there are some things I need to know, so I will have to use your Search Engine skill again."
"What do you want to know?"
"Well, for starters, I want to know about the money system and the usage of metals like aluminum and titanium instead of fantasy metals like orichalcum and mythril. Also, I don't have some standard skills like appraisal, inventory, automatic drop pickup, etc."
"Well, actually, I overheard your conversation with the guild attendant earlier. I used the Search Engine skill to know the answers for these."
"What? Were you spying on me? Give me some privacy."
"Well, it's not like I am listening to all your conversations. I was just curious to know more about the world, just like you. That's why I listened to your conversation."
"But still, I can't let this slide."
"Alright, I am sorry, and I will make sure not to do it again. Moreover, aren't you curious about what I found out?"
*sighs*
I sighed and said, "Fine, tell me what you found."
"Let's start with the money system. You should already have some kind of idea, right? There are two different types of coins: normal coins and big coins. 10 normal coins are equal to one big coin. So, basically, an aluminum coin is the cheapest, and ten aluminum coins equal 1 big aluminum coin."
"Then copper and iron follow. These are commonly used. And then there is the gold coin, which equals 10 big iron coins. This is very rare and only used by nobles or rich merchants."
"I see. Then why do metals like aluminum and titanium exist in this world?"
"So a long time ago, the whole world of Fantasium was going through a shortage of commercial metals. Many wars were waged on countries that had metals like iron, copper, silver, or gold."
"The dwarves were the largest producers of metal, so they were constantly attacked from all sides. Then the heroes were summoned."
"One of the hero's unique skills was called Metallurgy. He introduced metals like aluminum, titanium, tungsten, etc., and taught how to mine and extract them efficiently, as well as how to smelt the metals effectively and reduce wastage. After that, the shortage was over."
"Then what is a hyper alloy? Why doesn't this world have something like orichalcum or Mythril?" I asked curiously.
"Well, the hyper alloy is one of the most guarded secrets in the world of Fantasium. No one but the dwarves knows how to produce it. It's an alloy of tungsten, titanium, and other metals, but the exact ratio is not known."
"The hyper alloy is very flexible and hard to break. It can withstand temperatures up to 10,000 degrees Celsius, which is nearly twice as hot as the surface of the sun," he continued.
"As for your second question, the reason orichalcum or mythril is not used is that they simply don't exist in this world. The Search Engine's exact words were, 'Why do you expect fantasy metals like orichalcum or Mythril to exist in this world? As the name suggests, they are fantasy metals, and this is not fantasy but reality.' "
"The worth of a metal depends on how well it conducts mana. Aluminium is the worst conductor of mana, and gold is an excellent conductor of mana. Excluding hyper alloy, because it's the best in the world."
"Ok, then for my last question why don't I have some standard skills like appraisal, inventory, automatic drop pickup, etc?"
"Well, they exist. You just have to buy them with your P.O.W.E.R. points."
"What? Why don't I get them from the start?"
"I am not sure. The Search Engine's exact words were that they are not an absolute necessity to survive in this world. Most people don't have that kind of thing."
"Then how do I buy them?"
"Just open your status screen and select P.O.W.E.R points. Then a list of skills will appear, and you can select what you want from them. I suggest you also get the map skill because it automatically registers all the places you have already visited."
"Alright, let me give it a go. Status Screen."
I opened the status screen and selected P.O.W.E.R points: 1800. I searched for skills like appraisal, inventory, automatic drop pickup, and map.
I found them, but each cost around 400 points. They're kind of expensive given that I only get around 100 points per level, but they are a necessary expense.
"Well, it looks like I got no choice."
I bought those skills, and suddenly the light blue status screen displayed something saying, "New features have been added to the Status Screen, commencing System Update."
After some time, I opened the Status Screen and couldn't find those skills. Then I remembered what the System Screen had told me and selected the Status Screen Skill.
Status Screen
New Functions:
Auto-gathering: Allows the user to gather things automatically, like monster drops. If the user has information on either flora or minerals, they will also be picked up automatically. This skill does not have a rank.
Inventory (C): Allows you to store items in a pocket dimension. This skill has been integrated with the skill Status Screen, allowing the user to manage and see items easily. The storage limit is 50 kg, and the higher the level, the more you can store.
Appraisal (C): Allows the user to see the information of items and even other people's information. The higher the level, the more information you can see. This skill has been integrated with the skill Status Screen.
Map (C): It automatically registers all the places that the user has already visited. The higher the skill, the more detailed the map is. Since the level is higher, Mini-map and user location sub-skills have been added to the map. This skill has been integrated with the skill Status Screen.
NOTE: As a hero bonus, all the skills have ranked up from E to C
P.O.W.E.R Points: 200