Alex arrives back in his spotless and empty room. It's a stark contrast to his cramped apartment, which is filled with old things and trash lying around.
He slowly walks the long way towards the trading hub, checking his status and formulating a plan to escape his poverty.
Alex Kerber: Lvl 1
HP: 80/80, MP: 80/80
STR: 7, AGI: 7, PHY: 7, SNS: 7, CHA: 7, MNA: 7, INT: 7 SPR: 7, LUK: 7
Available Stat Points: 0
Innate Skills: Genius Conjurer lvl 1, Statistical OCD lvl MAX
Free Skill Slots: 1/2, Free Basic Skill Slots: 0/8
Basic skills: Basic Close Combat Prowess lvl 1, Basic Footwork lvl 1, Basic Endurance lvl 1, Basic Long-Range Combat Prowess lvl 1, Basic Eloquence lvl 1, Basic Concentration lvl 1, Basic Meditation lvl 1, Basic Mana Control lvl 1
Passive Skills: Pistol Proficiency lvl 1
Active Skills: Annihilation Grenade lvl 1
Fantasy Coins: 0 Soul Crystals: Small x1
Current Weapons: Mr. 5's Revolver (Deep Blue), Solid Marine Saber (Light Green), Navalia Hunting Bow (White)
Current Armor: Navalia Fur Armor (White), Navalia Fur Boots (White), Navalia Fur Gauntlets (White)
Miscellaneous Items: Navalia Wolf Jerky x14 (Gray), Navalia Arrow x66 (White)
After a few minutes, he reaches the central square and spots the road leading to the trading hub.
His current situation isn't looking good. He has 0 FC and no way to trade. Apparently, real money is worthless here. One of Roja's guildmates even buys white items for 10,000 freaking USD. "What a whale! Maybe joining them wouldn't be such a bad idea after all... well, I still have time to think about it. If I don't want to join, I won't. I prefer solo play, to be honest. I'm not much of a team player, and I'd hate to stay back or carry weaker people through quests just to stay grouped up. Maybe I can just join, sell them grenades at a high price, and do missions solo... That'd be perfect," Alex schemes.
After considering his current options, Alex realizes the only logical thing to do is sell some stuff. But what can he sell?
Thinking it over, Alex settles on selling his hunting bow and arrows. With his new pistol skills and revolver, the bow just isn't worth the effort anymore. The revolver is far more powerful, accurate, and doesn't rely on limited, subpar arrows. There's no reason to keep outdated gear when he can focus on mastering a real weapon.
The armor he's wearing, despite having nearly full durability, likely won't fetch a good price. How much could he really get for a slightly used white-quality armor with no effects? Not much—at least, Alex wouldn't pay much for it himself. These kinds of items are easy to come by in different worlds. Besides, he has no intention of entering any world without some form of protection.
The hunting bow, on the other hand, is a decent weapon, and he also has 66 arrows. There must be someone out there looking for a ranged weapon or, at the very least, someone who already has one and just needs arrows.
If he can't sell those two things, he has only one choice left—sell his Soul Crystal. But he desperately wants to avoid that since they're rare, and Alex needs it to level up his innate [Genius Conjurer] skill—assuming he survives the next mission. Demanding some guidance, Alex rudely messages Roja, praying she'll respond soon.
As he moves through the central plaza, he curiously eyes the different people, momentarily distracted by a beautiful older woman with a body Alex can only describe as the perfect MILF type. Just as he's admiring her, 1337 rudely interrupts his thoughts.
[If this were the real world, I would ZAP you until you ceased this foolishness. If you don't stop embarrassing yourself like this, I'll have to introduce a ZAP bank to get you to behave.]
Alex, annoyed, snaps back: "Shut up! It's not my fault she probably has a high CHA stat. I'm low level and can't resist those kinds of attacks yet."
[The host's excuses are laughable. That woman's CHA is probably even lower than yours... and using skills on other players is forbidden in the Fantasy Realm. The real thing distracting the host are the two bouncing mountains of flesh she's carrying.]
Alex blushes, caught in the act. "Sigh, fine, let's just get to the damn trading hub. Buzzkill"
[Host should be careful not to come across as a total creep. Offending people could make the host a target in future worlds.]
"..." Alex silently endures his rude system, briefly panicking and hoping there aren't crazy people around who would kill over a quick glance.
He finally arrives at the trading hub and can't help himself—he rushes from stall to stall, excitedly eyeing the different items players and workers are selling. Most of the items seem rather ordinary, but a few immediately catch his attention:
[Yubashiri]
World: One Piece
Quality: Light purple
Type: Katana (Sword)
Required Stats: STR - 1, AGI - 12, SNS - 10
Required Skills: Katana Proficiency lvl 3
Durability: 65/65
Damage: 30-40
Effect 1: Extremely light: Reduces STR - Requirement by 5 points and increases attack speed by 10%
Effect 2: Skillful Grade sword: Durability decreases more slowly
Effect 3: Sharpness: Increases the sharpness of the blade, making it easier to cut through objects and people.
Note 1: This sword, one of the 50 Skillful Grade swords, is light, sharp, and most of all, rare! Just be careful not to let it rust.
[Gotcha Pork Roast]
World: Shokugeki No Soma
Quality: Light green
Effect: Heals 100 HP over 50 minutes. Must be eaten outside of battle; the effect disappears if the player engages in combat during the healing duration.
Note: This only contains mashed potatoes, onions, mushrooms, and bacon. Don't be scammed into believing it's an actual roast.
"This is insane. So much cool stuff is being sold. One of the 50 Skillful Grade swords is already light purple grade... Katana Proficiency lvl 3? Do you first master regular swords before learning to handle katanas, or can you master them directly? And how is this weapon even showing up in the damn tutorial section? I guess that's why it's the only purple weapon around."
Alex's eyes drift to the Pork Roast, curiosity piqued. "The roast looks awesome, but how does it stay fresh? The system must be working its magic. Ending up in a world like Shokugeki no Soma could be cool. There would probably be lots of healing items, but I wonder what the missions would be like... likely involving threats that don't usually occur in the anime. There must be worlds like that—low rewards but low risks. I don't see much from Star Wars or other sci-fi worlds either. Maybe they'd just be too tough for tutorial players."
[Lucky Water Bottle]
World: Sand Land
Quality: Blue
Effect: Taking a swig recovers 10 HP over 10 seconds. You can drink from it three times before it's empty. The bottle replenishes itself every 24 hours, whether it's completely or partially drained.
Note: Water is a rare commodity in Sand Land. You better savor every mouthful like it's your last... because it might be.
Alex smiles, feeling nostalgic as he spots items from old works he loved reading ages ago. Most kids nowadays don't even know about the beginnings of manga and anime; they're all into standard Isekai stuff. He frowns slightly, though he enjoys the newer genres too.
Finally, he stops browsing and starts talking to a few merchants, asking about prices. They silently point to a small number displayed by the system just beneath the item's stats.
"What? 25,000 FC for the damn water bottle? Are you insane? 50,000 FC for the sword? That's ridiculous! How do you expect anyone to earn that in the damn tutorial while learning skills? Do you think everyone's getting an S rank all the time?"
Alex can't help but feel disgusted by the obviously inflated prices. He doesn't outright insult the merchants, but let's just say he's no longer surprised that nobody seems to be buying these impressive yet overpriced items. He shoots them a nasty glance.
The merchants, seemingly recognizing the look on Alex's face, just sit behind their stalls with bored expressions.
"I guess they might as well try... it's not like they lose anything by just waiting. People probably have more FC outside of the tutorial anyway."
Alex also notices some of the workers selling more generic items:
[Healing potion]
World: Fantasy Realm
Quality: White
Effect: Instantly heals 20 HP and minor wounds, can only be drunk once every 12 hours. May reduce the effectiveness of similar healing items.
Note: Basic healing item
Price: 1000 FC
"Bland, boring, and pretty generic. At least the price is somewhat fair. Once I get a few FC, I should buy one for emergencies. Having a life-saving item on hand is really important. Plus, it heals wounds," Alex thinks, recalling the time he was injured and couldn't fully recover his HP.
After walking a bit, Alex notices an empty stall and wonders if he can just take it.
"1337, how can I sell stuff here?"
[Host can approach any empty stall and use it as long as the host does not leave the stall. Host is quite fortunate, as stalls outside the tutorial section would require a rental fee.]
Without thinking too much, Alex chickens out on coming up with a clever name and lazily names it "Bow & Arrows" without any creativity involved.
"Arrows... hmm. I'm paying 100 FC for six revolver shots from the worker-run stores here. I saw that generic arrows cost 10 FC. Why is an arrow cheaper than a bullet? I guess bullets are way more OP... maybe that makes sense."
Before selling anything, Alex decides it would be smart to first find out the cost and effectiveness of a generic bow and arrows elsewhere. He leaves the stall he just claimed and hears a different voice from 1337 in his mind.
[If the player does not return in 10 minutes, the stall will be forfeited.]
"Whatever, 10 minutes should be enough."
After a few minutes, Alex finds the nearby store run by workers. He enters and checks out their limited product line, comparing them to his own, starting with the arrows.
[Quality bone Arrow] x66
World: One Piece
Quality: White
Durability: 3/3
Damage: 3-5
Note: A quality arrow with a sharp, bone-made arrowhead.
[Arrow]
World: Fantasy Realm
Quality: White
Durability: 5/5
Damage: 3-4
Note: Basic Arrow
Price: 10 FC
He also compares the generic bows being sold by the workers to his own bow:
[Quality Hunting Bow]
World: One Piece
Quality: White
Type: Bow
Required stats: STR - 4, PHY - 3, SNS - 5
Durability: 25/25
Damage: 10-15
Note: A well-made hunting bow, suitable for hunting beasts and humans alike.
[Bow]
World: Fantasy Realm
Quality: White
Type: Bow
Required stats: STR - 3, PHY - 3, SNS - 4
Durability: 30/30
Damage: 10-12
Note: Basic Bow
Price: 1500 FC
Alex analyzes, "I guess the generic stuff is slightly worse than the items from other worlds."
He asks 1337 to analyze other hidden attributes like maximum range and difficulty of use. They're all about the same. The generic items only have some advantages in durability, but the other stats are actually worse compared to the ones he got from Navalia. Since durability isn't a big deal for arrows (which you usually don't retrieve) or bows (which rarely get hit by enemies), he figures he can charge a bit more for his items.
Without hesitation, Alex shamelessly abandons his first stall like an old toy and claims a new one right next to the workers' business, as if his previous setup never existed. No guilt, no hesitation—just pure opportunism. He names this new stall "Bow & Arrows V2," showing off his complete lack of creativity but feeling oddly proud of the upgrade.
Setting his prices at 15 FC per arrow and 2000 FC for the bow, he grins to himself and posts a note: "Package deal: 2800 FC." The nerve of setting up shop right beside the generic sellers—he almost feels proud of his boldness and intelligence.
Finally, Alex sits behind his stall, waiting confidently for customers... and waits... and waits... until he nearly falls asleep.