Adriel was standing still, waiting for his meat to finish roasting.
'Still not ready…' thought the boy as he half-dozed, having not slept the night before.
After meeting the first inhabitant, Adriel couldn't stop thinking about three things: katanas, swords, and demi-humans with huge breasts and asses.
'I hope no one's reading my mind. Then again, what would they expect from a teenager?' That thought slipped through the mix of both cool and dark images flashing in his head.
After spacing out for a few minutes, his meat was ready.
Adriel took a small bite to make sure the flavor was good, and once confirmed, he began eating as if his life depended on it.
'Even though the scythe looks badass, it's almost completely useless in real combat. I need a sword or a katana. They may take more practice, but they're more useful, subjectively speaking.' Adriel couldn't stop thinking about weapons while eating his tasty meat.
'Status window of Elena.' Adriel remembered what the system had told him after the contract.
When he saw the window, Adriel was surprised. The woman had the passive skills of infertility and hormones, but what impressed him the most was her money. 'Fifty coins, fifty gold coins, fünfzig.' Adriel thought in every language he knew that magical number.
'There was an auction option in the shop. Maybe there's a good weapon now, and this woman has more money than any human, that's for sure.' A macabre smile crossed Adriel's face.
The boy approached his friend Kael, who was still asleep.
Adriel bent his leg backward, then thrust it forward sharply, kicking Kael's left arm.
After waking up and cursing for two minutes, they talked.
Adriel pulled a blue sphere from his pocket. "This thing contains a shield. Elena, Amara, and I are going to use the system. I'm giving it to you just in case." He tossed the blue ball to Kael, who barely managed to catch it.
"Are you sure? I think you'd need it more than me."
Adriel shook his head. "A scythe needs to be wielded with both hands to be useful."
After that, Kael understood why Adriel gave it to him.
After talking to Kael, he went to wake Amara, gently pushing her shoulder.
'Was that so hard?' thought Kael as he watched.
Adriel, Amara, and Elena looked north. "Try to tear apart some of the werewolf's meat if you can. It's really delicious and seems nutritious," said Adriel with a small smile before running off.
'Werewolf?' Kael scanned the area just to find the monster's corpse lying on the ground, with some meat missing.
Kael placed his palm on his temple. "I think I've fallen way behind on what's going on."
'And Steven?' Kael looked around, stunned, then realized something. 'Don't take candy from strangers… I think something similar happened here,' thought the increasingly disbelieving boy.
Adriel, Amara, and Elena were walking through the wilderness, looking for the place where they could use the system.
"What did you dream about?" Adriel turned to look at Amara.
"Nothing special, just some feathers of different and beautiful colors, and there was a weird goblin too," said the girl casually.
"One's the Pheasant, but what's the other?" asked Elena.
'From what I can see, this world has all kinds of mystical creatures that existed in our reality. So it must be something from a story or some kind of exotic animal,' Adriel thought as he kicked a rock.
Once they felt the discomfort, Adriel told Elena to activate her system. Curious, he touched it himself and realized he could use it.
After noticing that, he started browsing until he found the auctions. Only three were available.
'Mace: A large mace useful in combat, capable of destroying goblin heads and shields created by them.'
'Kamasutra: …Better skip reading this one,' thought Adriel, recognizing the book's name.
'Katana: Classic katana, perfectly sharp to cut goblins and ***** with ease. Can't read that, probably because I don't know that race,' thought Adriel before selecting the katana and offering ten coins for it.
"The bidding ends in 30 minutes," mentioned Elena as she stared at the system.
"Then we'll wait for it to end," said Adriel as he lay down at the foot of a tree.
Everyone sat quietly. After 15 minutes, a system screen notified Adriel and Elena that someone else had placed a bid on the item.
Adriel opened the system and saw the new bid. 'Twelve coins.' Adriel stared at the screen for 14 minutes, during which the price rose by three more coins.
When only ten seconds were left, Adriel added one more coin, setting the price at sixteen.
Adriel watched as a blue sphere materialized in front of him. When he grabbed it, he saw the katana inside. 'Classic Katana. Stage: Initial. Category: B. Description: Iron katana with great sharpness. Blade length: 90cm.' Adriel felt excited about his new weapon.
Adriel simulated the motion of releasing something, materializing the majestic sheathed katana. He grabbed a strap, tied it around his waist, then placed the blade facing upward and drew it, slashing diagonally as he unsheathed.
The boy felt the air hit his chest. 'Weird, this air feels very direct.' Adriel looked down, realizing and remembering that the Pheasant had cut his clothes.
"Why didn't you tell me everything was showing?" asked the startled young man.
"You look very good like that," said Elena, lying on the grass.
"I know I shouldn't say this, but… she's right." Amara looked away and covered her face, embarrassed to be caught.