Dave soon finished searching the corpse and found several items. The first was the gun the cotton-candy-haired man had used, along with a few magazines and extra bullets. He even found a holster for the weapon. Dave had never seen or handled a firearm before, but years of playing games had taught him at least the basics. He fired a few test shots to familiarize himself with the weapon, then engaged the safety and fastened the holster to his belt so he could draw the gun quickly if needed.
The second item was a smartphone. He tried turning it on several times, but no matter what he did, it refused to turn on. Uncertain of what was wrong with it—and wary of being traced—he decided to throw it away.
Finally, he discovered a small pouch filled with coins of three different kinds: gold, silver, and copper. The gold coin bore the number 100 etched on one side, with images of various people and their names engraved on the other. The silver coin displayed the number 10 on one side and rough depictions of different flying islands along with their respective names on the reverse. The copper coins, each marked with the number 1, depicted illustrations of various monsters accompanied by their names. One of the inscriptions mentioned an institution called the United Bank of Lucid.
'They have banks in this world?' Dave was taken aback, but he had more pressing matters to attend to. He then quickly left for the village that he had seen earlier. The journey was relatively smooth; he didn't encounter any monsters or people, and he soon reached the place.
The village was peculiar; it seemed to be inhabited by two distinct groups of people. The first consisted of ordinary individuals who looked like people one might encounter in everyday life. They had naturally colored hair and wore simple, unremarkable clothing.
The second group, however, stood out. These individuals had brightly colored hair and eyes; some even possessed tails, horns, or elongated ears reminiscent of those of elves. Their clothing varied dramatically—from medieval armor to modern combat gear—and a few wore extravagant outfits that looked as though they had stepped straight out of a fantasy story. Watching them reminded Dave of the character customization in many modern games.
He looked down at himself. His clothes were stained with mud and blood, torn in places from sprinting through the woods. His left hand had a bloody wound and was stained with dried blood, and his shirt was missing a sleeve. He sighed—there was nothing he could do about it.
Approaching one of the ordinary people sitting on a bench near the fountain, which he assumed was at the city's center, Dave tried to ask for help.
"Good afternoon. I'm a bit lost—could you tell me exactly where I am?" he asked a man who looked to be in his early twenties. The man was wearing a green tracksuit, drenched in sweat, likely from jogging. He studied Dave for a moment before replying with a warm smile.
"Good afternoon. You're in Ur Village—that's on Peach Island. Peach Island might not have anything special like the other islands, but it's a peaceful place."
"I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you just said," Dave replied with an apologetic smile.
The young man was puzzled by Dave's words, but soon something dawned on him, "Ahhh.... You're one of the wanderers, aren't you?"
Dave frowned. "Wanderers?" he echoed, clearly puzzled.
The young man chuckled. "Yes, wanderer—you've seen those people with flashy hair and clothes. They're wanderers, just like you. If you want to know more about them, you'll have to find one yourself. Unfortunately, I don't know much about them. What I do know is that they all have smartphones, and I suggest you buy one too."
He pointed toward a building near the city center. "That's one of the shops where you can get a smartphone," he added.
Dave thanked him and walked toward the building the young man had indicated—a two-story structure with a sign that read Mark's Electronics. Inside, a middle-aged man with auburn hair and striking green eyes stood behind the counter.
When the man noticed Dave, he offered a professional smile. "Welcome to Mark's Electronics. I'm Mark. Is there anything in particular you're looking for?"
Despite Dave's disheveled appearance, Mark treated him like any other customer. "Hello," Dave said. "I'm looking for something called a Wanderer's smartphone."
"Smartphones? Yes, indeed—we have those. Wait a moment," Mark said. He bent down, retrieved a small box from beneath one of the display shelves, and placed it in front of Dave.
"This one costs a thousand coins," he added with his trademark business smile.
Dave rummaged through his pouch and pulled out ten gold coins. He had originally carried 1,234, but now only 234 remained. He handed the coins to Mark, whose grin widened almost comically.
"Pleasure doing business with you," Mark said as he accepted the payment, then noticed Dave staring at the box. "Is something wrong?" he asked, puzzled.
Dave offered a wry smile. "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure how to use this."
He knew how to use a smartphone, of course—but he wasn't sure whether this one worked the same way.
"Ah, a new wanderer, I see," Mark said. "It's simple—just open the box and place a drop of your blood on the phone."
Blood? Dave frowned in confusion but followed Mark's instructions. Inside the box was a sleek black smartphone. On the back, he noticed a small embedded needle—clearly meant for drawing blood. He pricked his finger and let a single drop fall onto the device. Within seconds, the screen flickered to life.
A glowing logo appeared: the word Lucid written in soft white clouds, floating against a backdrop of drifting islands.
Dave thanked Mark and left the shop. Outside, he found a bench by the fountain, sat down, and began exploring his new smartphone.
They looked very similar to the one he knew. The first thing that grabbed his attention was an app named Profile. Its icon was a simple, clean image of a blue human silhouette on a plain white background. He tapped on it, and several pieces of information appeared before him.
Name: Devan Nair
Nickname: -
Health: 80/100
Stamina: 50/100
Spirituality: 1000/1000
Abilities:
Mutations: 0/7
Skills: -
'Hmm… This looks like a status screen, but it's missing stats. Can this even be called a status screen? And what is this mutation? I get what health and stamina are, but what's this spirituality?'
Dave had many questions, but he decided to check out the other apps. He then clicked on the Lucid mobile banking app. When it opened, a loading screen appeared, followed by a welcome screen.
Welcome, Devan Nair.
Below were options for Pay, Scan QR Code, and Check Balance. The banking app was much simpler than the one he was used to. He tapped Check Balance without much thought, and another loading screen appeared. Then the result surprised Dave.
Account Balance: 5,000 coins.
He wasn't sure why he had so many coins, but he wasn't complaining—extra money was always welcome. Curious, he explored more apps. There were the usual ones: Settings, Messages, Contacts, Camera, Browser, and so on. Then he noticed an app called Event Log. Intrigued, he tapped it, and a few lines of text appeared on the screen.
- You have slain a Crabbit.
- You have acquired a common Saber.
- You have acquired a common 9mm Glock.
'This thing is tracking my actions? Does that mean someone or something is watching me?' Dave was a bit alarmed. He stared at the phone for a few minutes and sighed heavily. 'I don't even know what's happening anymore. I'm starting to get a headache.'
Now he was even more curious about this mysterious phone, and soon he found an app store. He selected it, and in the recommended section, there were a few options.
Lucid Maps - 1,000 coins
Spatial Storage (10 Kg) - 100 coins
Monster Compendium - 500 coins
Equipment Compendium - 500 coins
Skills Catalog - 1,000 coins
Dave was surprised. 'The apps here are all unique except the map, but why is the map so expensive? Should I buy some of these apps? I do have some money.'
He decided to buy everything on the list. His balance was now around 1,900 coins. Curious, he started exploring a few of the new apps, beginning with the most interesting one—Spatial Storage. Its icon showed a satchel with a strange pattern that, when looked at closely, vaguely resembled a face.
When he opened it, the interface showed an 8×8 grid, similar to an inventory screen in a video game. At the top were some instructions. The first one said: Bring an item near the phone to register it.
Eager to test it, Dave brought the saber he carried close to the phone. Within moments, it dissolved into a shower of white sparkles, and the app interface changed. One of the grid squares now showed a small image of the saber against a white background.