"Grumble~~"
Hayashi Aoyama opened his eyes and rubbed his incredibly empty stomach. "Looks like starving myself to death to trigger a return trip really isn't going to work. I'm so damn hungry... I guess I need to eat a proper meal before figuring out another way to transmigrate back!"
He glanced out the window. The sky outside was just beginning to brighten into the hazy, misty gray of early morning. He hadn't overslept at all; in fact, he had woken up much earlier than usual...
He had literally been jolted awake by his own ravenous hunger.
"In that case... System, did anything edible refresh in the shop?" he completely unabashedly shouted into the empty air.
The high-tech System interface effortlessly unfolded before his eyes once more, intelligently preempting his request by already opening the Shop menu. The items available in the System Shop were fundamentally divided into two major categories: Abilities and Physical Items. However, the items inside the shop weren't simply available on demand, nor did it indiscriminately stock everything in existence. It was based entirely on randomized probability: what you wanted might appear, or it might not.
How exactly did it work?
To put it simply, the System automatically refreshed the Shop's entire inventory once a month. Additionally, Hayashi had the option to manually trigger one free refresh whenever he wanted. Each refresh generated exactly twenty randomized 'goods.' What specifically showed up depended entirely on sheer luck, though a significant majority of the displayed abilities heavily leaned toward creation and learning.
For instance, there was a Master-level ability called the 'Crown of Mathematics.' Redeeming this absurd ability would instantly transform him into a modern-day Henri Poincaré.
Hayashi had actually managed to roll this ability in the shop before, but the asking price was a staggering 990,000 Points. All he could do was stare at it in pure, unadulterated despair.
Through observation, he had roughly figured out the pricing scale. Master-level abilities generally started at an absolute baseline of 100,000 Points, with the cost wildly scaling upwards based on the specific real-world value of the ability in question.
Mathematics, often hailed as the absolute most dazzling jewel adorning the crown of human intellect, was naturally priced at an extraordinarily premium tier.
Even the 'Drawing Kaleidoscope' he possessed was an immensely powerful ability with a base market price of at least 100,000 Points. Fortunately for him, the System's Newbie Gift Package had essentially generously handed it to him entirely for free.
Aside from abilities, the Physical Items that appeared were almost entirely dictated by the wild whims of the RNG gods.
For example, the bottle of 'Clonazepam' Hayashi had previously redeemed was actively bought from a random Shop refresh. Otherwise, how else could an impoverished shut-in casually get his hands on tightly controlled prescription medication?
When it came to Physical Items, the System was wildly, hilariously diverse. Anything and everything that existed in the real world had a chance to spawn in the shop.
Controlled substances, high-end graphics cards, junk food, smartphones, luxury sports cars... Hayashi had witnessed them all. Just last month, the system had randomly spawned a bowl of Tonkatsu Ramen. It was incredibly cheap, costing a mere 1 Point per serving. With the 10,000 Points he received from the Newbie Gift Package, he theoretically could have bought ten thousand massive bowls of it.
But tragically, the automatic monthly refresh had wiped it from the storefront.
At the time, he honestly hadn't cared. After all, he was actively experimenting to see if starving to death would trigger his return home.
But now, it was a massive, genuine problem. Because the newly refreshed batch of goods completely lacked any form of edible food.
Out of sheer necessity, Hayashi immediately triggered his one manual free refresh. The virtual shop wildly scrolled, revealing twenty entirely new randomized items.
He intensely scanned the newly generated list, completely ignoring the overpriced abilities and focusing solely on the final eight slots dedicated to physical items.
The items were: 'Controlled Medication - Prochlorperazine Tablets,' 'Artistic Ornamental Blade - Damascus Knife,' 'Dragon Pocket X60 Foldable Smartphone 8G Edition,' 'Nvidia Mini RTX 690i Graphics Card,' 'Peace of Mind Scented Shower Gel & Shampoo Set,' 'Ordinary Glass Cup,' 'Starlight Brand 1302D Iridium Fountain Pen,' and 'Divine Power Classic Men's Canvas Shoes.'
"Holy crap! Still no food?!" Hayashi's mouth violently twitched in disbelief. "None of this useless junk helps me at all... well, actually..."
He lowered his head and silently stared at his completely bare feet. "I have to formally meet with the editor lady today. I guess I could redeem these shoes..."
It wasn't that he didn't own any shoes. When he first transmigrated into this body, the original owner was wearing a pair, but they had eventually been worn completely to tatters.
Later on, Hayashi had bought a cheap pair of cartoon slippers, but he rarely bothered wearing them since his general area of activity was essentially restricted to the ten square feet around his bed.
Honestly speaking, if Ayumi Ito hadn't called him yesterday, he genuinely wouldn't have stepped foot outside this cramped rental apartment at all. He would have just stubbornly stayed inside to draw more manuscript pages.
"I'll just redeem the canvas shoes then." Hayashi decisively spent 10 Points without a second thought.
[Points: 250 → 240]
A brand-new pair of pristine canvas shoes, perfectly tailored to his exact foot size, materialized out of thin air onto the floor right in front of him.
"Oh, right. I should probably hit the public bathhouse for a quick shower before I head out." Humming a cheerful tune, Hayashi immediately turned back to the shop interface and redeemed the shampoo and shower gel.
[Points: 240 → 236]
The bottles of shampoo and shower gel instantly popped into existence right before his eyes.
...
The Editorial Department at Manga World Publishers.
Early in the morning, the busy manga editors of Manga World began to steadily clock in one after another, settling into their respective workstations to kick off another grueling day of work.
Hiroshi Oumi spotted Ayumi Ito looking noticeably drained and exhausted. Startled, he immediately asked, "Ayumi, did you stay late to work overtime at the company last night?"
Ayumi shook her head gently. "I just put in a little bit of overtime at the office. I left the company right at ten o'clock."
Hiroshi opened his mouth, completely speechless. Overtime until ten o'clock at night? And she called that 'a little bit'? She was practically working herself into an early grave!
Then again, he remembered hearing that Japan had an infamously toxic, deeply ingrained overtime culture. People often said to respect regional differences, but Hiroshi felt this particular regional quirk was completely, utterly unnecessary.
Still, he gently advised her, "Ayumi... You just joined the company. It's perfectly fine to relax a little bit."
"It's mostly because I have to formally sign the contract with Aoyama-sensei at noon today, so I just put in a bit of extra overtime last night to finalize all the preparations," Ayumi earnestly explained.
"Aoyama-sensei?" Hiroshi paused, the name not immediately ringing a bell.
"He's the original author behind 'Edgerunners,'" Ayumi clarified with a bright smile.
"Ah... that manga..." Realization suddenly dawned on Hiroshi.
To be completely honest, while 'Edgerunners' was undeniably solid overall, especially in highlighting the author's incredibly strong, wildly mature artistic fundamentals, with panels detailed enough to be directly used as anime storyboards, Hiroshi genuinely hadn't paid it much mind.
The core setting of 'Edgerunners' felt a bit too bizarre and niche, completely deviating from the established mainstream tropes. Even though it was highly original and undeniably fresh, his experienced instincts subconsciously categorized it as a massive commercial risk.
Above all else, it was still an absolute newcomer's debut work.
A rookie's very first serialized project usually came severely bogged down with endless pacing and structural issues. It was incredibly rare for a debut work to become an explosive, overnight sensation.
However, he did silently concede that 'Edgerunners' absolutely possessed a certain degree of raw potential. At the very least, Hiroshi's official evaluation was that 'Edgerunners' was more than qualified to strongly compete for the National Manga Association's Best Newcomer Award this year.
And since Ayumi Ito was also a completely fresh rookie herself, it was the perfect opportunity for her to manage and guide this artistically mature newcomer.
Manga World Publishers was already the undisputed titan of the Federation's manga industry.
The formal process of signing a basic contract with a newcomer no longer required a Chief Editor's personal intervention. The massive corporation had incredibly streamlined, efficient procedures for this exact scenario. Ayumi simply needed to strictly follow the standard protocol to get the contract signed.
"In that case, Ayumi, you just stay busy handling the contract details with this newcomer sensei. Just remember to bring back all his original drafts for our archives to prevent any potential plagiarism disputes down the line," Hiroshi casually instructed as a final reminder.
"Understood, Senior!" Ayumi responded with sudden, vibrant energy, completely shaking off her exhaustion.
A few minutes later, she grabbed the neatly printed stack of contract documents and headed straight downstairs toward the pre-arranged restaurant.
(End of Chapter)
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]