The clink of coins echoed faintly as JP divided the silver on the inn's wooden table.
He slid two across to Lyra. "Your share."
Lyra arched a brow. "You could've kept it. Most rookies would."
JP smirked faintly. "Then I'd be broke and friendless. Doesn't sound like a good plan."
For a moment, Lyra's cool demeanor softened. She accepted the coins with a nod. "You learn quickly."
After the meal, Lyra excused herself, heading toward the guild to look over quest postings. JP lingered at the inn, climbing the narrow stairs to the small rented room. The faint smell of wood polish and old straw greeted him as he shut the door.
He sank onto the bed, drew a slow breath, and whispered:
"Status."
The translucent board bloomed into view, faintly glowing in the air.
[Status Board: Active]
Name: JP (??? – Transmigrated)
Class: None
Level: 1
HP: 56/56
MP: 22/22
Strength: 7
Agility: 6
Endurance: 8
Intelligence: 12
Luck: 10
Skills: [Appraisal Lv.1], [Alchemy Beginner], [??? Electrician's Instinct]
Condition: Stable
Inventory: Satchel (Herbs, Wolf Meat x3, Wolf Hide x2, Mana Lamp, Emberstone Fragments, Moonshade Resin)
JP stared at it, his heart quickening. So it's really like one of those games… or those webnovels my niece read.
He could almost hear her voice, sitting cross-legged with a phone in hand, eyes sparkling as she rattled off tropes.
"There's always HP and MP. Inventory space—like magic storage! Skills that grow the more you use them. Stats you can boost. Oh! And Luck is secretly broken, Uncle JP!"
He chuckled under his breath. "If you were here, kiddo, you'd be laughing your head off."
But her words anchored him. This board wasn't random—it was a framework he could learn. He traced the glowing numbers with his eyes, memorizing them.
Strength, agility, endurance. Intelligence higher than the rest… probably because of my training as an electrician? Luck… well, I'll take what I can get.
The "Electrician's Instinct" line pulsed faintly, mysterious, waiting to be understood.
Later that afternoon, JP wandered the village streets. The bustle was comforting—vendors calling out their wares, children darting between carts, the smell of fresh bread mixing with smoke from forges.
He paused at a blacksmith's stall, where blades glinted in the light. Crude, iron-forged weapons—short swords, hatchets, even spears.
"Looking for something?" the smith grunted, wiping soot from his brow.
JP scratched his cheek. "Something I can actually use. I'm… new at this."
The smith eyed him, then plucked a sturdy short sword from the rack. "Simple. Balanced. Won't snap unless you're stupid. Eight silver."
JP winced at the price but weighed the pouch at his belt. An investment. If I want to survive outside, I can't rely on a herb knife forever.
After some haggling, he walked away with the sword and a basic leather guard for his forearm. The weight of the blade in his hand felt awkward, foreign—but it was something solid.
As he adjusted the scabbard at his hip, he whispered again: "Status."
The board flickered. His Inventory updated.
Inventory Update:Short Sword, Leather Guard
He smiled faintly. "Guess it really does track everything."
By sundown, JP stood at the edge of the village square, watching the lamps flicker to life one by one. He rested a hand on the new blade at his side, the Status Board's faint glow still burned in his memory.
This world may be strange… but I'm learning its language.
And tomorrow, he vowed, he would test both his coin's worth—and his courage.