Kael pedaled down the cracked gravel road, the green bicycle rattling softly under him.
Even though he hadn't been in the house long, the land already felt like it was... waiting for him.
Kael parked the bicycle just inside the wide, sagging front doorway. No way he was leaving it outside. Not because someone might steal it—but because nature had a habit of reclaiming anything left alone for too long out here. He leaned it carefully against the wall near the staircase.
He pulled out his phone.
4:20 PM. Battery: 29%.
"Shit," he muttered. "Didn't think I used it that much today."
No charger. The power in the house had been shut off for years, and there was no solar or backup source, either. He rubbed the back of his neck, thinking.
He could charge it at Martha's shop—maybe tomorrow. She'd probably be fine with it, especially after giving him the bike and survival bag. But until then, he'd have to be careful.
Since I won't be using my phone unless it's urgent, it should last until tomorrow. I think—maybe.
Kael slipped it back into his pocket and looked around the house again.
Money. I need more money. I should head back to the other world—but first, I should grab some things from here.
Because Kael had something most people didn't: a portal to another dimension. And a skill called Dimensional Exchange.
It meant he could sell junk—for actual currency. But not just any junk.
Kael spent the next hour scouring the house. Room by room.
The living room was a mess of overturned furniture, old magazines, and mold-eaten drapes. But behind a broken armoire, he found a rusted set of candlesticks—tarnished but still solid metal. Brass, maybe.
In the guest bedroom, he pried open a storage trunk full of moth-eaten linens and discovered a set of antique cutlery. Silver-plated, chipped, and spotted with rust. Still, it had a certain vintage charm.
The kitchen yielded more: a broken pocket watch tucked into the back of a drawer, some old coins that looked obsolete, and a cast iron pan so heavy it felt like it could double as a weapon.
In the attic—dust swirling around him like smoke—he found a box of old military medals and dog tags. His grandfather's, maybe. Kael paused, the dog tags cold in his hand. After a moment, he set the medals aside. Some things weren't meant to be traded.
Back downstairs, in a narrow closet by the back door, he found a heap of tools: wrenches, a hammer with a cracked handle, and a hand drill that probably hadn't been used since the Cold War. He tested their weight, dusted them off. Still solid.
By the time he was done, he'd assembled a small mountain of Accessories—If anyone saw these, they would call it a pile of garbage. Which was true anyway. But for Kael, it was money.
Ah, I feel like a garbage collector.
Kael laid everything out on an old woven rug in the living room, bundling it all together into a makeshift sack. He tied the corners of the cloth tightly and slung it over his shoulder, testing the weight.
It was very heavy, but Kael was not so weak that he could not carry it.
Kael walked down the stairs into the basement, the rug-sack thumping softly against his back.
He stood in front of the mirror.
Kael took a deep breath.
He didn't hesitate. He enter.
This was his inn room. Dawn was just beginning to break.
Kael adjusted the bundle on his back and glanced around.
"Alright," he murmured. "Let's see what this stuff's worth."
He placed the bundle on the floor and knelt beside it. One by one, he laid the items out in front of him. The broken watch. The cutlery. The tools. The candlesticks. He kept the pile neat, intentional. Like a merchant displaying goods at a medieval bazaar.
He focused on the pile, then spoke aloud—just in case it helped.
"Exchange."
Then:
『Exchange requires equivalent value. Processing…』
Kael waited, watching as faint glyphs shimmered above each item.
A faint chime echoed in the air.
『Item: Rusted Candlesticks (x2) – Material: Brass – Craftsmanship: Hand-forged – Deterioration: Moderate
Value: 4 Bronze coins, 6 Copper coin』
Not bad.
Kael nodded slowly. Since these were junk, the amount of coins Kael was getting for them was much higher.
『Item: Silver-Plated Cutlery Set – Pieces: 9 – Condition: Poor – Decorative Value: Mild
Value: 3 Bronze coins, 2 Copper coin』
『Item: Broken Pocket Watch – Mechanism: Damaged – Material: Steel Alloy – Era: Pre-Digital
Value: 2 Bronze coins, 4 Copper coins』
Kael exhaled a short breath. That was a bit surprising.
『Item: Obsolete Coinage – Type: Mixed (Non-Fantasy World) – Metal Content: Medium – Numismatic Appeal: Low
Value: 1 Bronze coin, 8 Copper coins』
『Item: Cast Iron Pan – Condition: Worn – Weight: 4.2kg – Utility: High
Value: 1 silver coins, 1 Copper coins』
That one made Kael smile a little. Apparently, utility mattered more than he thought.
『Item: Hand Tools (x5) – Condition: Aged but Functional – Origin: Industrial Era
Value: 6 Bronze, 3 Copper』
…Huh.... that's a lot. Although I don't know the value of Bronze coins, I think it would be worth more than Copper and less than Silver. Although I'm not sure exactly how much amounts. But it's a good start.
Finally, the screen tallied everything.
『Total Exchange Value: 1 silver coin,
16 Bronze coins, 4 Copper coins』
A jingle of coins—rang out. In a small flash of light, many coins fell to the wooden floor.
Kael picked up the coins and counted them.
1 silver coin, 16 Bronze coins, 4 Copper coins
"So junk from Earth really does have value here," he muttered. "And I've got a whole house full of the stuff…"
That meant one thing: he had a business model now.
Hmm... but since it's morning now, I should pack everything and go out. I need to gather all the basic information about this world today.