I looked around the new room I had been given. Aunt Haruka had already arranged my belongings over the past few days, making everything neat and ready for me. After washing up and coming upstairs, I took in the space.
The room was simple, but comfortable. A bookshelf stood neatly against one side, and a desk with a chair faced the window, perfect for studying. The futon and other bedding were stored in the Oshiire, a large built-in closet that could easily hold me if I wanted to sleep there instead of laying it out on the floor.
This wasn't something we had in the apartment in the city. I could already tell it was one of the perks of having a whole house.
I sat down on the small chair, running my fingers along the smooth surface of the desk. "Elara," I called, and the hovering mechanical being beside me turned toward me, her core glowing faintly.
"How do you feel about this place?" I asked.
Elara gave a small nod. "The pollution in the air and the noise levels here are significantly lower than in the city we drove through", she said, her voice calm and melodic. "It is a suitable place for living a quiet life with a clear mind."
I nodded, agreeing completely. "Yeah… it does feel nice here. A place to actually think."
Then I leaned forward slightly. "Have you figured out what I should or shouldn't use for conversion into element?"
Elara's core glowed a little brighter as she processed. "I have identified many things that you should not convert, but very few that you can. In summary, you may safely convert living things. Non-living things are highly discouraged for conversion."
I exhaled slowly, absorbing that information. "Okay… got it."
I thought about the ARK system I had gotten for myself. From Mark's memories, I already knew what the ARK was and what Element meant, but this system wasn't like the survival ones I'd seen in the ARK games. This wasn't about fighting or surviving—it was a conversion system.
I could convert real-world objects, both living and non-living, into ARK Element, a kind of meta-element that could be used for almost anything.
But there was a catch. Element needed matter to be produced. Any matter could be converted, but matter wasn't infinite. That was why Elara kept warning me not to touch non-living things—their supply was finite, limited, whereas living matter could reproduce if necessary. And even then, each thing only produced a tiny amount.
I remembered the first time I had tried it, back in the hospital. An apple. Small, around 190 grams. My little stomach was already full, so I had converted it to check how this conversion function works. And the Element I got? Only 0.475 Element dust. Less than half a unit of Element Dust, practically nothing.
Well, the Elements in the ARK game from Mark's life also had a currency system—1 Element equaled 100 Element Dust, or 100 Element Shards. I remembered that clearly from his memories.
But this system… it was different. Not like the game at all. Here, within my ARK system, Element Dust is the smallest unit. One hundred Element Dust made one Element Shard, one hundred Element Shards made one Element.
And even that wasn't the highest currency. There was something above it—a Super Element, where hundred Elements equaled one Super Element.
I thought back to the first apple I had converted in the hospital, the one weighing around 190 grams. I had only gotten 0.475 Element Dust from it. That's tiny. Doing the math, if I had the same kind of apple—same weight, same quality, same condition—I would get about 2.5 Element Dust per kilogram.
But quality and condition mattered. Not just freshness. The apple had to be healthy, full of vitality, with a decent lifespan left. Even among apples, the amount of Element I could get changed depending on all that.
And non-living things? Their condition was judged differently, more like atomic stability, purity, or structure.
So it wasn't just about converting things blindly. Every detail mattered. Every action had a consequence. I had to be precise if I wanted to make the most out of this system.
I thought for a moment, tapping my fingers on the edge of the desk. "So… I should do the farming and stuff if we're only using living things?" I asked.
Elara hovered before me, her core pulsing softly as she tilted her body in a nod. "Yes", she indicated, her mechanical movements precise yet almost human in rhythm.
"It would be a good idea. From what I've observed during our travels, only very high atomic number materials produce significant amounts of Elements when converted—but even then, the yield is small. They are finite in the world, making them poor sources for consistent conversion when better alternatives exist."
I nodded slowly, letting that sink in. "Okay… then do you have any idea what kind of plants I should grow?"
Elara shook her body side to side, her core dimming slightly as if to emphasize her negative response. "Not plants", she said. "Animals."
I raised my brow, confused. "Animals?"
Her core glowed brighter, her voice carrying its usual melodic, motherly tone. "Yes. We should focus on farming animals. Specifically, fish."
I blinked. "Fish?"
"Correct", she continued, hovering slightly closer. "They require less time to grow and are naturally healthier than farm hens or other terrestrial animals."
"They occupy minimal space, and if necessary, I can create a device using Elements that integrates with their habitats. This will strengthen them beyond natural wild quality, producing higher-grade specimens for conversion."
I leaned back in my chair, thinking it over. "That… actually sounds like a good idea. But I don't even have a pond or anything here."
Elara's core pulsed again. "For now, if you desire, I can create a small portal-pond space that you can place in the yard. It will be large enough to hold 100 fish, each growing up to six inches."
"You only need to provide some food in the inventory of this portable pond for them to eat. If you wish, we can then produce enhanced fish food perfectly suited to their taste buds and growth requirements."
I felt a small thrill of excitement. "Alright… that sounds perfect. Let's do that."
Elara hovered silently out of the window, her core dimming and brightening rhythmically as she scanned the yard below. "Then I shall prepare the habitat. The fishes will grow efficiently, and you will have a reliable source of living matter for conversion."
I smiled slightly to myself, feeling the first spark of control over this new life I was starting. Farming fish… who would've thought that would be my first project?