The morning after the customer arrived passed in an eerie silence. The sky was still grey, clouds hanging like torn fabric over the decaying city. The calm before the storm. A quiet only the dead respected.
Kaito stood behind the wooden counter he had reinforced overnight with nails and scrap iron. The scent of drying paint lingered faintly from the signs Ayame insisted on making for the front of the shop. Not that many people were walking around to read them, but it gave the place a sense of permanence.
"Meri," Kaito murmured under his breath, "you there?"
[Meri: Always. You're not that interesting, but I can't leave you alone. You'd probably trade your lungs for a shiny rock.]
"I might, if it was glowing."
[Meri: You do know some of those 'glowing' items might be radioactive, right?]
"I'll just trade my immune system for some anti-radiation pills then," he replied with a shrug.
[Meri: …Fair.]
The banter calmed his nerves. Because outside this thin wooden barrier, the world was shifting. The streets had gone from chaotic to something more dangerous: organized fear.
People were moving in groups now—quiet ones, scavenging silently, watching shadows. Every step they took seemed to avoid puddles, broken glass, and open roads.
He noticed it as he swept the front stoop: no more screams.
That was scarier.
The first customer—the teenage boy from the day before—hadn't come back. Kaito didn't blame him. The boy had been curious, not loyal. No one was loyal yet.
He wasn't expecting loyalty.
He was building dependence.
Inside the shop, Ayame sat at a wooden table, using a rag to clean off a battered Core from a horned zombie she had taken down. She wore Kaito's spare jacket, sleeves rolled up, a faint smear of blood on her cheek.
"Hey," she asked, holding up the Core. "Why do you need these again? You don't even fight. Are you secretly doing magic rituals in the back room?"
Kaito smiled. "Close. I feed them to a talking voice in my head, and in return, I get items from other dimensions."
Ayame blinked. "I was joking."
"I wasn't."
She stared at him for a long moment. Not mocking. Not skeptical. Just... watching. Then, finally, she said, "I believe you."
He tilted his head. "Why?"
"Because if I lie to myself out here, I die," she replied, tossing the Core to him. "And you're the only person I've met since this nightmare started who doesn't look scared."
"I'm scared," he said simply. "But I'm busy."
He opened the system quietly and traded the Core in.
[You have received 2 Coin.]
He checked the shop again. As always, it had refreshed.
SYSTEM SHOP – DAY 3
[Bound Compass] – 6 Coin – Tracks last held Core's monster origin
[Pain Suppressant Gum] – 1 Coin – Chewing nullifies pain for 10 minutes
[Barrier Field (Tier I)] – 12 Coin – One-use, blocks up to 3 low-tier attacks
[Scavenger's Toolkit] – 4 Coin – Increases chance of high-quality loot from ruins
[Unknown Artifact – ???] – 15 Coin – Description: "Do you trust the gamble?"
He frowned at the last one. He wasn't ready for mystery boxes. Not yet.
Instead, he bought the Pain Suppressant Gum and slid one over to Ayame.
"What's this?" she asked.
"Candy that kills pain for ten minutes. But don't get cocky. It doesn't stop bleeding."
She narrowed her eyes. "Why are you helping me?"
"Because I'm not the hero," he replied. "I'm a merchant. If you live longer, you bring me more Cores."
Ayame stared at the gum, then pocketed it. "Smart. Ruthless. I'm beginning to like you less."
"I'll grow on you."
[Meri: She will. Eventually.]
OUTSIDE
By noon, the change began.
A low vibration shook the floor—barely noticeable, but rhythmic, like a distant engine or massive heartbeat. Kaito stepped outside and looked up.
Above a burnt-out supermarket two blocks down, the sky shimmered.
Then it tore.
A jagged rip opened in the air, glowing faint purple, humming like electricity chewing through flesh. The sound was deep, wrong, and almost musical—as if the universe couldn't scream properly, so it sang instead.
Ayame bolted to his side, knife in hand. "That—what is that?"
"A portal," Kaito whispered. "The first one."
Through the tear came three things:
1. A Crawler, low-slung and bone-skinned, crawling on the sides of buildings like an insect.
2. A Bloodfeeder, a leech-like creature hovering mid-air with pulsing tendrils and a jaw like a surgical clamp.
3. A humanoid thing in scorched armor, holding a broken lance—eyes burning with unnatural light.
They didn't scream. They didn't roar.
They just watched.
And then they moved.
INSIDE
Kaito didn't panic. He closed the door, locked it twice, and calmly walked to the table.
"Time to test a theory," he said.
Ayame had gone pale. "You're calm. Why are you calm?"
"I'm immortal."
"Then help me fight!"
"I didn't say I was useful."
[Meri: Incoming threat. You may not be able to stop them, but your items can.]
[New Quest: Defend the Shop.]
[Objective: Survive a wave. Duration: 12 minutes.]
[Reward: Core Upgrade Token.]
Kaito bought the Barrier Field immediately and deployed it in the doorway. A thin shimmer of blue energy curved over the frame like liquid glass.
Then he handed the Scavenger's Toolkit to Ayame.
"What am I supposed to do with this?!"
"Use it. Trust it. And try not to die."
[Meri: That's the closest thing to love he's capable of.]
THE DEFENSE
The first monster—Crawler—scuttled down the side of the building, limbs clicking like scissors. It launched toward the shop, fast and low.
Ayame threw a metal rod. It missed. But as the Crawler hit the door, the Barrier flared. Sparks erupted, and the thing bounced off, shrieking in mechanical pain.
"Ten minutes," Kaito muttered. "Twelve total to survive."
The second monster—the Bloodfeeder—descended slow, reaching tendrils through shattered windows nearby. It wasn't attacking—just listening, sensing, smelling.
Ayame moved to the side, near the back entrance.
[Meri: You have 4 Coin. Suggest: Buy again.]
Kaito hit the shop.
NEW STOCK:
[Rust Moth Jar] – 3 Coin – Release to corrode enemy weapons and armor
[Noise Beacon] – 1 Coin – Attracts nearby creatures for 30 seconds
[Tendon Wraps] – 2 Coin – Increase throwing weapon speed
He bought the Noise Beacon and threw it out the second-floor window.
The monsters turned immediately. The sound was like a shrieking child and a malfunctioning machine trying to harmonize.
The Bloodfeeder shot toward it.
The Crawler reared, confused.
Ayame took the chance. She leapt from cover, stabbed down with a broken pipe, and pierced the Crawler's back. It spasmed—died—then exploded in a soft whump of black mist.
She hit the ground hard and didn't get up right away.
Kaito threw her the Pain Gum.
"Eat this! Now!"
She did. And screamed. "That didn't help!"
"It stops pain, not trauma!"
"YOU THINK THAT'S A HELPFUL DISTINCTION?!"
[Meri: I love this woman already.]
13 Minutes Later
The monsters were gone.
Not defeated. Not killed in glory.
Just distracted long enough to retreat back into the shadows, fading through the portal as it hissed shut.
Ayame lay against the wall, breathing heavy, bruised but alive. "Twelve minutes of hell."
Kaito stood over her, offering a hand. "And you survived."
She took it.
[Quest Complete: Defend the Shop.] [Reward: Core Upgrade Token] [New Quest: Establish Trade.]