JP groaned as he pushed himself upright, eyes gritty from a night hunched over resin-coated stones and leather straps. His hands were sore, fingertips singed from tinkering, but his mind was alive with sparks of invention.
He ducked out of his tent, expecting the usual empty morning field.
Instead, he froze.
Three small bodies lay scattered near his Alchemy-Pulse Stakes—a horned rabbit, still twitching faintly, and two singed birds that must have tried to perch on the posts during the night.
JP blinked, then let out a startled laugh. "Well… guess breakfast came to me."
He knelt beside the horned rabbit, Appraisal flickering to life:
Horned Rabbit – Low-Rank Beast. Edible. Meat Quality: Average. Hide: Usable. Horn: Minor Alchemy Material.
The birds weren't much, but they were edible too.
JP grinned as he gutted and cleaned the creatures, hanging the meat to roast over his fire. The rabbit hide and horn he tucked carefully into his pack—worth something later.
"Not bad," he murmured around a mouthful of sizzling meat. "A security system and a food trap. That's a win."
With his stomach finally full for the first time in days, JP packed up his prototypes: a handful of Glow Pebbles, a couple of Resin-Carry Straps, and one experimental Drip Pot.
He strolled into the village square, nervous but determined.
"Useful Tools for Daily Life – Affordable Prices!" he scrawled on a board with a piece of charcoal, setting his wares neatly on a crate.
At first, only curious glances. A farmer frowned at the odd stones, until JP demonstrated by whispering mana into one—soft amber light blossomed in his palm. Children gasped, crowding closer.
"Safer than oil lanterns," JP explained. "No fire risk, just steady glow."
The farmer grunted, then slid him two copper for a pebble. A woman hauling buckets tested the strap harness, shoulders relaxing as the weight distributed better. She smiled and paid him another coin.
Soon, coins trickled steadily into JP's pouch.
They weren't riches, not yet. Copper and a little silver at best. But each sale brought something JP hadn't felt in a long time: recognition.
Villagers began to murmur, pointing. The strange outsider wasn't just another reckless adventurer. He was someone who could make life easier.
By dusk, his pouch jingled again—not full, but enough to cover meals for days. JP sat by the fountain, turning a Glow Pebble over in his hands, watching it shimmer against the darkening sky.
This is it, he thought. This is how I'll carve my place here. Not just with sword or quest… but with invention.
From a rooftop, unseen, silver eyes studied him. Lyra's lips curved faintly.