Jack stood over the flattened remains of the black snake, his eyes fixed on the two copper coins that shimmered with an unnatural luster against the dim light of the manager's office. They sat there quietly, mocking the laws of biology.
Where did they actually come from?
In any normal world, a snake contained bones, meat, and perhaps a bit of venom. In Jack's new reality, it apparently contained currency. It was a classic RPG trope, monsters dropped loot upon death. But it raised a dozen questions. Did the system classify a common garden snake as a "monster"? If so, was there an experience bar he was missing?
He pulled up his [Attribute Panel] again, scanning every line of text. Strength, Agility, Intelligence... the numbers remained stubbornly static. There was no progress bar for "Level 1," no "Experience: 2/100."
"I guess I'm playing a 'Pay-to-Win' game rather than a 'Grind-to-Level' one," Jack mused. "The system doesn't care about my growth, only my wallet."
He reached down and scooped the coins off the floor. They felt cool to the touch, heavy for their size, and possessed a metallic density that felt more "real" than the yen in his pocket. Despite emerging from the literal pulped remains of a reptile, they were pristine. No blood, no slime, not even a speck of dust from the floorboards.
He flipped one over. On the front was a large, embossed circular ring; on the back, a smaller one. No text, no dates, just abstract geometry.
"Jack... Jack-kun?" Sayuri's voice drifted from the hallway, thin and wavering. "Are you alright? It's been very quiet in there."
Jack quickly slid the coins into his jeans pocket. "I'm fine, Sayuri-chan. The 'beast' has been slain. You can come in now."
"Really? You're sure?"
"One-hundred percent."
The tiny landlady cautiously poked her head around the doorframe. When she saw the snake's crushed head, she let out a breath so long it was a wonder her small lungs could hold that much air. She patted her chest, her eyes bright with relief.
"Oh, thank goodness! Jack-kun, you're amazing! You're like a knight in a school uniform! I don't know what I would have done, I probably would have had to move out and live in a park!"
Jack pointed at the bag he'd prepared. "Do you want to keep it? Maybe a trophy for the wall?"
Sayuri's face went from pale to a ghostly white in half a second. She shook her head so vigorously her ponytail became a blur. "No! Absolutely not! Please, throw it away! Take it to the furthest trash can in Beika! I never want to see a scale again!"
"Understood. Consider the problem disposed of."
Jack tied the trash bag, grabbed his baseball bat, and saw himself to the door. Sayuri thanked him profusely, even offering to waive his late-key fee for the next year, a gesture Jack noted was incredibly generous for a landlord.
Once he reached the apartment's internal garbage station, he checked for witnesses. The coast was clear. He willed the baseball bat back into his [Inventory]. Then, he looked at the trash bag. If snakes dropped coins, did their bodies count as "Crafting Materials"?
Waste not, want not. With a thought, the bag vanished into a new inventory slot labeled: [Material: Unknown Snake Corpse].
Walking out onto the main street, Jack pulled the coins back out to test a theory. He put one back in his physical pocket, then focused on the other.
Deposit.
The coin in his hand vanished instantly. It didn't go into an inventory slot like the bat or the snake; instead, his system interface in the corner of his vision updated.
[Current Balance: 0 Gold, 0 Silver, 1 Copper.]
Withdraw.
A copper coin materialized in his palm. The counter ticked down to zero.
"So that's how it works," Jack whispered, a smirk playing on his lips. "The system wallet is a separate dimension for its own currency. No weight, no risk of losing it, and it doesn't clutter the inventory. Elegant."
He deposited the second coin and felt a surge of satisfaction. He now understood the basics: kill things, get paid, and deposit the loot. The next step was figuring out the "Monster Manual." Did birds drop coins? Stray cats? (He hoped not, he wasn't that desperate yet.) Or did it have to be something considered "hostile"?
He checked the time on the smartphone provided by his identity. It was getting late, and the shadows in Beika Town always felt a little too long, a little too hungry. He decided to focus on his immediate survival before going on a hunting spree.
First stop: food. He found a local ramen shop tucked between two office buildings. The scent of rich, creamy tonkotsu broth was irresistible. He sat at the counter, slurping down a massive bowl of noodles that cost him a few hundred yen but felt like a king's feast.
Next, he headed to an ATM at a nearby convenience store. His [Identity Card] functioned as a multi-purpose tool; when he inserted it into the machine, it recognized him as a legitimate account holder.
[Current Balance: 500,000 JPY]
"Starting funds," Jack noted. It wasn't a fortune, about five thousand US dollars but it was enough to keep a high schooler fed and housed for several months. He withdrew 100,000 yen in cash, feeling the thick stack of bills in his hand.
He glanced at the security camera, maintained a neutral expression, and walked out. Once he turned the corner into a quiet alley, he stowed the cash into his inventory. Unlike the copper coins, the system wallet didn't recognize yen; it occupied a slot as a physical item.
Following his map, Jack arrived at a large supermarket to stock his empty fridge. He bought the essentials: eggs, rice, milk, bread, and enough frozen meals to last a week. By the time he walked out, he was lugging two heavy plastic bags. There were too many people around to use his inventory, so he began the trek back to the apartment.
As he crossed a busy intersection, a large, polished sign caught his eye.
「SETO MARINE PRODUCTS - BEIKA BRANCH」
Jack slowed down. Seto? The name rang a bell. He remembered an anime about a mermaid bride and a family of yakuza sea-dwellers. He looked through the glass windows. The shop was pristine, far too clean for a fishmonger. There wasn't even the faint, briny smell of a harbor.
"Welcome to Seto Marine Products!" a cheerful female attendant greeted him as he stepped inside. "How can I help you today, sir?"
"Just looking," Jack replied, his eyes roaming over the massive glass tanks.
"Of course! You can leave your bags at the counter if they're too heavy. Please, take your time!"
The service was impeccable, scarily so. Jack walked toward the back, where the high-end ingredients were kept. He saw long, undulating sea eels, massive king crabs, and lobsters that looked like they could crush a human hand.
If a snake is a monster... are these?
He looked at a particularly aggressive-looking lobster. If he bought it, took it home, and "slayed" it with his baseball bat, would it drop copper? Or, given the price tag, maybe even silver?
He checked the price: 15,000 yen.
"A bit of an expensive gamble for a test run," he muttered. He could buy a whole crate of live chickens at a local market for that price. He thanked the attendant, who remained perfectly polite despite him buying nothing and retrieved his groceries.
As he stepped back onto the sidewalk, he looked at the shop directly next door. The sign featured a stylized cow's head.
「MITO MEATS - BEIKA BRANCH」
"Seto Marine and Mito Meats side-by-side," Jack chuckled. "So the Seto family and the Mito family from Food Wars are cornering the market in Beika. This world is getting crowded."
Mito Meats was famous for its high-quality beef, managed by the family of Ikumi Mito, the "Meat Master." He knew they wouldn't be selling live cattle over the counter; everything here would be neatly butchered and vacuum-sealed.
Does the system count 'butchering' as a kill? Jack wondered. Probably not. The life force has to be there.
He looked at the two shops one last time. He didn't have the funds to buy an entire cow or a bluefin tuna just to test a theory, but he had a plan. Tomorrow, he'd go to a local pet shop or a livestock market.
He needed to find the most cost-effective way to farm.
"Beika Town might be the city of death," Jack said, looking up at the moon as he reached his apartment building, "but for someone like me? It's a gold mine."
He climbed the stairs to Room 202, checked his pockets for his keys, twice and stepped inside. Tomorrow was his first day at Tonosaki Academy. It was time to see if his classmates were as profitable as the local wildlife.