The mall was no longer silent. The city had been too quiet the day after the portal opened, like it was holding its breath. But on the morning of the third day, everything changed.
A distant screech echoed through the sky—a sound not belonging to any bird. The survivors in the district flinched. It came from the opened portal that now pulsed like a wound torn into the world's fabric. Faint whispers of smoke curled from it, and every so often, a shadow would flicker too quickly for the eye to catch.
Kaito stood at the entrance of his shop, watching. He had set up a simple stand outside: a small folding table with a wooden board propped against it that read in chalk:
"Wounded? Hungry? Got monster Cores? Trade for survival. Ask inside."
He looked at his sign, then back at the street. He adjusted it slightly so it faced the alley better.
Ayame returned from a supply run, her boots scuffed, jeans dust-covered. She glanced at the board and frowned.
"They won't believe that until someone else does it first," she muttered.
"That's the plan," Kaito replied. "One spark. That's all we need."
SYSTEM UPDATE
[Meri: Kaito, you have completed 62% of the current quest: 'Welcome Your Real Customers'] [Meri: I suggest you bait the hook. Make someone curious.]
"Meri, define 'bait.'"
[Meri: Word of mouth. Let someone leave with something incredible and no strings attached. They'll talk. Then they'll come.]
He considered it. Free samples, essentially. Dangerous, but calculated.
Ayame handed him a rough sack. Inside: six Cores. "All low-tier. Nothing bigger than a goblin."
"Still valuable. I can use these to give the illusion of demand," Kaito muttered.
He stepped back into the shop, placing the sack on the table behind the counter. He glanced at the System Menu and flicked through items. One item in particular stood out:
[Beacon Dust] - 1 Coin Creates a glowing spark visible for several blocks. Works only at night. Non-lethal. Used to mark safe houses.
He purchased one. Just in case. A spark, after all, was sometimes literal.
By noon, someone hovered near the entrance. A thin boy, maybe fifteen, eyes hollow, face drawn. He had no weapons. Just a cloth sack.
Kaito stood silently as the boy looked at the chalkboard.
"You take these?" The boy pulled out a glowing Core fragment. It pulsed faintly.
"Yes. Want to trade?"
"What can I get for it?"
Kaito gestured to a sheet he'd posted inside the door.
Trade Rates (Temporary) • Core Fragment (Faint) = 1 Coin • Full Core (Low) = 2 Coins • Mid-Tier = 4 Coins • High-Tier = ???
"You have one Coin's worth. I can offer you a filtered water bottle or medical tape," Kaito said.
The boy stared.
"What's the catch?"
"No catch. Just trade. You help us survive. We help you."
The boy snatched the water bottle when handed. Gulped. He didn't thank them. He just ran.
But Kaito didn't mind. He looked at Ayame.
"He'll tell someone."
She nodded. "And someone will doubt him. But someone else will be curious."
LATER
Three people showed up that evening.
A young couple and a man with a busted knee. All of them hesitated until Kaito stepped out and waved.
He explained the board. Explained the Core system.
Ayame added, for good measure, "I didn't believe it either. Then I got healed. Didn't cost anything but monster parts I already had."
"How do you get Coins?" the woman asked.
Kaito pointed at the Cores.
"They're not just rocks. They contain energy. My system recognizes that. And it gives me Coins for it. Coins let me access... things. Supplies. Items. Useful stuff from somewhere else."
The man with the knee injury groaned.
"Will it fix this?"
Kaito purchased a Healing Patch (2 Coins) and handed it over. "Place it above the joint. Hold it for ten seconds."
The man did. He screamed once. Then silence. Then tears.
The couple stared.
"You'll spread the word now," Kaito said calmly.
"We don't even know your name," the woman whispered.
"You don't need to."
SYSTEM NOTE
[Meri: Quest Progress: 88%] [Meri: You're building trust. Just a little more.]
AT NIGHT
More came. Seven total. Some with Cores. Some just watching. But one thing changed:
They didn't come armed. Not all of them.
And someone—a wiry woman with missing teeth—asked what Kaito needed most.
He answered honestly.
"Information. What monsters are where. What people need most. What this city lacks."
She returned twenty minutes later with a torn map and circled three regions.
"Monsters here. Screechers. Ugly things. Hard shells. You kill one, you get three Cores."
"You kill them?" Ayame asked.
The woman laughed. "Hell no. I watch others die trying. But I see. I listen."
Kaito traded her a Sound Trap Device worth 3 Coins.
He added to the board outside: NOW ACCEPTING MONSTER MAP INFO.
At midnight, two more survivors showed up. They didn't speak. They left Cores in a metal bucket and walked off.
Rumors were working.
Kaito stood on the rooftop at dawn.
Smoke rose in the distance. The city was changing. Some buildings were gutted by fire. Others were being boarded up. Communities were forming and falling apart daily.
A new sound entered the morning air: a hoarse voice yelling.
"It's true! The merchant trades Cores! I got antibiotics! For a rat Core!"
"A rat?" someone scoffed.
"Yeah! From the sewers. Glowed blue."
Kaito smirked. That hadn't even been from his shop—but it served his narrative perfectly.
MERCHANT'S STAND GROWS
Ayame spent the day painting signs. She didn't smile, but she painted.
A group of four young men—clearly scavengers—tried to intimidate them by asking for discounts. Kaito simply stood there.
"I don't fight," he said calmly.
They laughed.
Ayame stepped forward. "But I do."
They walked off.
A tall man in priest robes visited around dusk.
"Are you the one giving hope?" he asked.
"I'm offering trades. Hope's a byproduct."
The priest handed over a strange Core—green and black, pulsing like a heartbeat.
"We found this near the portal. It whispers to anyone who touches it."
Kaito blinked. Even Meri went quiet.
[Meri: That's not a normal Core, Kaito. That's something else.]
He purchased it instantly.
[Item Acquired: Core of Whispering Rot (???)] [Item stored. Analysis in progress. DO NOT USE.]
[Quest Complete: Welcome Your Real Customers] [Reward Unlocked: Shop Rank I - You may now design your shop layout and request specific item types in the daily refresh.]
[Meri: Congrats, boss. You're no longer a mystery. You're a rumor worth believing.]
Kaito exhaled. Then smiled. The shop's light flickered on as the world outside darkened again.
They would come. And he would be ready.