Chapter 2: Coffee, Coins, and Confusion
The next morning, sunlight crept slowly through the dusty blinds of Haruki Saito's bedroom, casting a dull warmth on the hardwood floor. It had stopped raining sometime during the night, though the ground outside still held the smell of wet pavement and blooming weeds. In the corner, under a crooked calendar, his desk lamp was still on, illuminating a mess of crumpled papers, pencils, and open sketchbooks.
Haruki stirred under his blanket, blinking slowly as his eyes adjusted to the light. For a brief moment, he wondered if everything from last night had been a dream. The voice, the system, the ridiculous message about his manga selling in a place called Gravaxia—it had to be the product of sleep deprivation and stress, right?
Then he glanced at his tablet.
A glowing interface hovered inches above it, translucent but unmistakably real.
"…It wasn't a dream."
Haruki sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Still here, huh?" he muttered.
The moment he spoke, the mechanical voice returned—polite, monotone, and unnervingly cheerful.
•|[Good morning, Host. You currently have 94,240 Realm Coins.]|•
•|[Reminder: Skill Points (3) are unassigned. Would you like to allocate them now?]|•
Haruki hesitated. The glow of the system menu was soft but persistent, like a pop-up ad that refused to be ignored.
"Alright, alright," he said, stretching his arms before tapping the floating window.
The "Skills" tab opened with a satisfying hum. Categories appeared in a clean grid: [Drawing Speed], [Line Precision], [Creative Inspiration], [Panel Composition], and—somehow—[Cross-World Appeal].
Haruki chuckled. "Cross-World Appeal? What does that even mean?"
•|[Cross-World Appeal increases emotional resonance and cultural adaptability of your manga across realms.]|•
"Of course it does," he murmured. "This is so stupid it might actually be genius."
After some thought, he allocated his three points: +1 to [Drawing Speed] and +2 to [Panel Composition]. He confirmed his choices, and a warm sensation tingled faintly in his fingertips.
He picked up a pencil.
It felt smoother. The drag against the page, the way lines curved under his control—sharper, quicker, more confident. His hand moved before he had time to think.
He stopped, staring at the short sketch he'd just done of a fantasy knight gazing at a distant moon.
"That would've taken me thirty minutes yesterday," he whispered. "It took five now."
Suddenly, the world felt very different.
Haruki made his way to the small kitchen, stepping over loose laundry and a pair of old slippers. He started the coffee machine, its familiar chug and hiss grounding him to reality, and leaned against the counter, his mind still racing.
He hadn't checked the Realm Market yet this morning. Part of him was afraid the whole thing had glitched or disappeared overnight. But no—it was still there.
His manga one-shot, "Starlit Dreams," had climbed even higher. Over 11,000 copies sold in Gravaxia alone.
A new message appeared:
•|[You are now ranked #17 in the Gravaxia Storytelling Charts.]|•
•|[Unlocking Bonus Feature: Reader Feedback]|•
Haruki blinked as a fresh tab opened: Reviews.
He tapped it.
User: Elwin_Archmage
"This tale sings with sadness and hope. I showed it to my apprentice.
User: Zunth the Fifth Hammer
"There was no battle. No axe. No glory. But my mate liked it. So I liked it. 4 stars."
Haruki exhaled, overwhelmed. These weren't bot comments. These sounded… real. Real people—or creatures, he supposed—on another world, reading his story. Feeling it. Reacting.
He poured himself a cup of coffee, hands still shaking slightly.
"Okay," he said aloud. "I need to understand this system better."
For the rest of the morning, Haruki sat at his desk, going through every system tab.
He learned that Realm Coins could be exchanged for either real-world currency or used inside the system store. The exchange rate was staggering—even if he only converted half of his current Realm Coins, he'd have more than enough to pay bills for the next few months.
"But why me?" he muttered. "What kind of system just shows up and hands out magical royalties for rejected manga?"
No answer came.
He clicked open the Store tab.
Sections included: [Materials], [Skill Books], [Special Tools], and [Inspirations]. One item caught his eye immediately:
Skill Book: Enhanced Focus
Cost: 10,000 RC
"Sharpen your mind. Increase concentration during drawing sessions."
He bought it on impulse.
The book downloaded as a glowing data-packet into his system menu. A moment later, a soft warmth entered his forehead. His mind cleared. The background noise of stress, guilt, even hunger—dulled.
It was subtle. But real.
Haruki stared at the blinking cursor on a new canvas.
Ideas poured in.
By the time the sun dipped below the skyline, painting the buildings in hues of gold and purple, Haruki had finished storyboarding a new one-shot: "Kirin's Promise" —a quiet tale about a girl and a mythical beast who kept watch over forgotten shrines.
He uploaded it.
This time, he watched the live analytics.
Ding.
•|[Uploaded to Gravaxia, Aetherion, and Duskmire Realms.]|•
•|[Sales (First 15 minutes): 3,942 copies.]|•
"Duskmire?" he asked.
•|[A fog-shrouded realm inhabited by nocturnal races. Strong interest in melancholic or dream-like narratives.]|•
He laughed. "Well, they picked the right story, then."
More coins. More reviews. More proof that somehow, impossibly, this was all real.
But the most surprising thing came just as he leaned back to rest.
A knock at the door.
Haruki stiffened. He rarely had visitors. Maybe once a week, the mailman. But this was different.
He got up cautiously, walked down the narrow hallway, and opened the door.
Standing there was a girl about his age, wearing a dark red hoodie and carrying a small satchel.
"Um. Hi," she said, adjusting her bangs awkwardly. "Are you Haruki Saito?"
His heart skipped. "Yeah... and you are?"
She hesitated. Then smiled shyly.
"You don't know me. But... I read your manga. The one about the stars."
He blinked.
"Wait. You mean... here? In this world?"
She nodded. Then she whispered something that made his stomach twist.
"I think I have a system too."
To be continued...
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Thank you for reading!