Jonathan barely slept that night. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw that same golden text burning in the dark.
[Spending System Activated]
"To spend is to grow. To hoard is to decay. Spend, and you shall prosper."
He'd tried convincing himself it was a dream, a trick of exhaustion, maybe even the start of madness. But as the first rays of dawn spilled through the window, a quiet weight in his pocket said otherwise.
Twenty copper coins. The number of coins he found in his dad's box last night.
"So all I had to do is spend right?" Thought Jonathan " alright as soon as the sun rises we'll see what it can do"
Soon the rooster's crow woke Jonathan up. Jonathan quickly got ready and bolted out the house.The morning air was cold when he stepped outside. Eternal Sky Village was slowly coming alive — smoke curling from chimneys, the smell of porridge in the air, a few dogs chasing each other down the muddy path.
He walked down to the little market that was set up in the east of the village and headed towards aunt Mary's bakery
Where stacks of rough brown bread sat cooling down on a board.
"Well, if it isn't our new chief," Mara said, her voice rough but warm. "Looking for breakfast or responsibility advice?"
"I think I'll stick with the loaf of bread" chuckled Jonathan "how much for a loaf"
"Two copper for the dry ones, three for the soft ones,which one would you like"
"One soft one please" Jonathan replied as he placed 3 copper coins on the table
"Pleasure doing business with you" said aunt Mary as she handed him the bread with a smile.
Just then a sudden golden text conquered Jonathan's view.
[DING!]
[3 Copper Coins Spent.]
[Reward: 6 Copper Coins Earned.]
Jonathan's eyes widened when he saw this, in disbelief he quickly checked his pouch and counted his money "..22,23" it really did double his spent money. Jonathan thought of all the possibilities he could now do with this newfound power of his.
"Umm are you okay village chief?, it's like you just seen a ghost,your not thinking of returning the bread, are you? cause we don't do any refunds" aunt Mary glared at him warily
Jonathan quickly chuckled "of course not aunt Mary, I just forgot to get some for my uncles as well can I have two more soft breads please"
Soon Jonathan's ears got to hear another beautiful sound
[ DING! ]
[ 6 copper coins spent ]
[ 12 copper coins awarded ]
Jonathan left the shop grinning from ear to ear "with this power it would be an insult to settle as a nobody, a nameless village chief,
My goal from now on is to become the strongest and enjoy a life full of life's greatest pleasures"
With his newfound passion Jonathan quickly went to the other only shop in the market the rest were just villagers looking to barter their stuff they no longer needed.
Soon Jonathan arrived at the general store and started buying out most of the shop ranging from fruits to the more expensive items such as meats,nails,hammers etc this resulted in a series of transactions.
[ Ding! ]
[ Spent 20 copper coins ]
[ Rewarded 40 copper coins ]
[ Ding! ]
[ Spent 39 copper coins ]
[ Rewarded 78 copper coins ]
[ Ding! ]
[ Spent 51 copper coins ]
[ Rewarded 102 copper coins ]
….
Soon Jonathan finished his shopping spree and started walking home he entrusted the shop to bring the items he bought to the house.When Jonathan reached the house he was met with his two uncles who didn't look too pleased with him
Daren angrily said " where were you for the last 2 hours Jonathan, instead of learning how to manage the village you start disappearing on us like your fathe.." Daren stopped at the end knowing he went too far.
Jonathan eyes flickered with sadness for a second but quickly covered it with a laugh " no uncles I went to buy some food so that everyone can enjoy a proper meal since it's been a hard few weeks "
Daren replied "listen I'm sorry I didn't mean to lash out on you like that but I want you to be able to stand on your own two feet without our help… something came up and me and your will have to leave for a while that's why I'm so worried about you when we'll be gone"
Jonathan was tooken aback " what do you mean your leaving Daren, Jack you can't just be leaving all of a sudden something serious must have happened tell me I can help I.." Jonathan hastily said before being cut off by Jack
"Listen kid I believe in you and I also believe you will become someone great and make this village into something very beautiful so focus on that me and your uncle will only be gone for little while think of it as a mini vacation okay" Jack said with a seriousness
Jonathan clenched his fists in anger and overwhelming with powerlessness and frustration,frustrated that he can't do anything or help with anything it was the same before his father left he knew there was something wrong but never told him.
Jonathan quickly calmed down and asked
"When are you leaving"
"In two days" they replied in unison
"Okay I'll make sure to do my best to assist you for whatever your going to do"Jonathan squeezed out a smile
Daren and Jack looked at eachother and sighed both thinking what could he possibly help them with but they just let him have his moment.
At this moment 5 people could be seen coming carrying large bags heading towards them.
"Looks like they arrived"said Jonathan with a smile.