Frustrated, his breath becomes short. But he still tries to calm his mind, looking for a way to solve his problem.
“Hey! Is there any way to cure the poison?”
[A small vial of Ether liquid is enough to cure you from this level of poison]
[A small vial of Ether Liquid = 55 gold coins]
[Your current balance = 0 gold coins]
“Wooo! It's much more expensive than the portal scroll. You're deliberately selling it in a higher price just because I need it?”
[Prices are determined based on need and item availability. This is the basic law of economics. Just complete the quest, then you will have the gold coins to buy items.]
“You damn capitalist! Can’t you just give me one for now? I’ll pay you later!”
[We do not accept that type of transaction]
“Come on, Jimmy! Use your brain! Think! Think!”
“I should have…”
“Hold on! Wait!”
“Hey! Show me that quest again!”
The system shows him the details of the quest.
After reading it carefully, for whatever stupid thing coming to his mind, he points the gun at his own head, looking so ready to commit a suicide.
“God, please! Don’t hate me! I really don’t have any other choice!”
The hands are shaking in fear. The trigger feels so heavy for him to pull at the moment.
In fact, there is nothing left for him in this world anymore. He knows there is no family who will cry for his death. Except...
“Erick!”
Yes, he still has a little brother. He has made a promise that he will collect so much money that they won't have to stay as freeloaders in their aunt's house.
His facial expression drastically changes, showing so much determination.
And then…
Bang!!! He ultimately pulls the trigger of the handgun.
Jimmy drops lifelessly, with blood flowing freely on the floor. A few moments later, his dead body shimmers with some blue light, and then disintegrates into the thin air.
But then…
Srrrnnnk!!!
[Congratulations!]
[You’ve unlocked an achievement]
He is back inside the portal circle, lying on the ground unconsciously.
Soon, he wakes up in aghast. He is gulping, due to the nightmare he just experienced. But then, he suddenly screams excitedly.
“Just as I thought! The quest gives me a condition that the count will be reset if I die! Which means, it will bring me back if I die here!”
A moment later, his attention is attracted by the warning which has been alerting him for a while.
[Congratulations!]
[You’ve unlocked an achievement - learning how to live in Icalaterra the hard way]
-You’ve just received 500 gold coins as a reward.
-Your level and experience are reset back to the ground state after death.
Jimmy holds his forehead with a disbelieving face.
“Achievement?”
[!]
[Would you like to make a purchase with your first earned gold coins?]
The system then displays one window consisting of so many items, complete with price information.
“Wait! I only need to get home,” he mutters as he touches the portal scroll icon.
Ten gold coins are deducted from his balance. He rushes back to the portal circle, and confirms the intention to access that portal.
The two portal scrolls appear and turn into a blue hologram. Jimmy’s body is also shimmering for a moment before completely disappears from that place.
The next moment he can see his surroundings, he finds himself standing inside the wrecked bus.
“Oh, I’m back!”
“Hold on! Everyone? Where’s everyone?”
The place looks so deserted, making Jimmy so confused. At least, some police lines are still there around the scene.
“Oh, they must have been taken back to Summerfield!”
His hometown, Summerfield, is still about four hours away by car, while Drada can probably be reached in one hour on foot.
So he decides to go back to Drada, keeps walking on the street while occasionally asking for a ride to any passing car. But no one gives him a ride.
An hour later, he finds a food shop named Miller's Delicacy on the side of the road at the border of Drada city. And indeed, he is already so tired, thirsty, and hungry.
He rummages through his pockets, but finds nothing except two pieces of coin.
“My money? Ah shit! I threw all my money in that cave.”
He then looks inside the shop through the glass wall, only to makes sure they sell a bottled mineral drink. But some people mistake him as homeless begging for food.
“Hey, look!”
“Could be beggar!”
“He looks so weak, must be hungry for not eating anything for days.”
One of the customers raises her hand, calling for the shop owner. Jimmy still doesn’t realize his situation, while that one customer is now complaining about his annoying presence.
And a few moments later…
Plak!!!
A girl slaps Jimmy’s head with a small towel from behind. “If you want to get some charity, look somewhere else. I’m doing business here!”
“No! I only want to buy a bottle of mineral drink. You see, this is all I have,” explains Jimmy as he shows the two pennies in his hand.
The girl scrunches her face. “This is not a convenient store! Don’t act stupid with me! I knew you were just a homeless beggar. Trying to fool me, heh?
Jimmy finds the girl look pretty, exactly his type. But the way she treats him is really annoying. Feeling so uncomfortable, Jimmy ultimately walks away.
“Daamn! It’s not like I’m expecting any charity from her.”
He tries to check the store section in that strange system again. At least, he is quite relieved to find out he still can access it. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no food or drinks there.
“Hold on! Is there a way for me to withdraw the gold coins I’ve earned?”
[!]
[Would you like to make a withdrawal in the currency used by this country?]
“Eeeh? I really can do it, huh? Yes, please! Can I take out a few dollars?”
[!]
[The exchange rate today is $893.64 for one gold coin]
[Please adjust how much gold coins you want to exchange]
Jimmy is stunned by the exchange rate. His eyes are now filled with dollar symbols, and his brain immediately makes the calculations.
Currently, he has 490 gold coins in his balance. That means, based on his quick calculation using his not too smart brain…
“Holy shiiiit! I'm rich!”
And he earned it only after two days trapped in Icalaterra. Even though he had to bet his own life to get that much money, his face looks so bright with an indescribable excitement.He exchanges one gold coin for $893.64. And soon, a light occurs in front of him, and some dollar bills drop, along with a few pennies. Excited, he rushes back to the fast food outlet to order.But again, he gets yelled at by the previous girl. “Why are you still here?”“I just want to make an order,” says Jimmy.“Making an order?” the girl squints.Annoyed by the girl’s harsh treatment, Jimmy deliberately takes out a piece of $100 bill and shows it to the girl.He expects the girl to be surprised and change her attitude. However…“Whose money did you steal?” she inquires.“Steal? It’s mine,” replies Jimmy.“Bullshit!” the girl denies. “You just said you only had money to buy a bottle of mineral water.”Jimmy ignores her argument, stepping forward, and putting the money on the table. “Just give me some food
Upon entering the shop, he gets the same reaction as the girl at food outlet earlier. At least, the sales girl in this shop doesn't immediately cast him away.“Excuse me! Are you lost?” “No, I want to purchase a motorbike,” replies Jimmy.The girl looks so unenthusiastic, before she looks to another direction, to another sales girl with yellow hair, looking pretty like a flight attendance.“Amy! Could you come here for a moment and do something for this guy here?”That girl simply takes her leave, even without making sure that one sales girl named Amy really comes to Jimmy.In the meantime, Jimmy has to endure his annoyance for being ignored while that Amy girl is busy with her phone. It stays like that, at least until Jimmy confronts her.“Yes?” Amy asks coldly.Jimmy sighs by showing his unenthusiastic face. “Look! I came here to buy, and don’t you judge me based on my slightly torn dirty T-shirt. I just got into an accident, and I want to get back home with a bike I’m going to buy
An hour later, the girl returns with two friends, while Jimmy himself has been yawning so many times in boredom. He sees one of them prepares the motorbike and then takes it outside for a test drive.The other one comes to Jimmy giving two boxes, one containing a helmet, and the other one containing a set of touring outfits; shoes, one jacket, and a pair of gloves.Soon, the guy who went for a test drive comes back with Jimmy’s new bike, while Jimmy has been holding his excitement.At last, he will experience how it feels to be a rich guy, buying his own motorbike with his own money. No one will call him a freeloader anymore.“Here, the changes,” Amy gives Jimmy some dollars and coins along with purchase receipt, Jimmy’s ID card, and also the document of the ownership of the new motorbike.“So, you really got into an accident, huh? I bet you haven’t had a shower for a while. Don't you want to stay here for a night at least? You can take a shower at my place if you want.”The way this
Soon after he finishes taking a shower, he gets hungry again. Only then does he leave the beach and heads to the border.He takes the times to visit that one food outlet he visited before, to fill his empty belly before taking a long journey to Summerfield.Coincidentally, it’s quiet without any customers. Jimmy's arrival on a luxury motorbike makes the girl who owns the shop looks excited in waiting, tying her shoulder-length black hair up on the back.But then…“Oh, shit! No way? It’s that guy earlier,” mutters the girl by closing her mouth, recognizing Jimmy’s face soon after Jimmy takes off his helmet.“Who?” The girl’s younger brother asks from behind.“No one!” The girl ignores his curiosity.“Oh, wait! That guy?” The younger brother recognizes Jimmy’s face. “Isn’t that the guy we saw on the side of the road at Boslow Hill? I thought he was just a thug!”“Just go back to the kitchen!” Laura slaps her 14 year-old brother with a small towel.Soon, she finds Jimmy walking towards h
Jimmy gives a shy smile with the lie, but Laura doesn’t say a word. She just finds another similarity between her and Jimmy. Now she feels so bad for treating Jimmy so harsh this morning. “Oh?” the girl just mumbles with her blank face. “So you are heading back to Summerfield now?” “Yeah! By the way, thanks for the water,” says Jimmy as he walks away. “Hold on! Wait!” the girl calls. “Do you have a phone number?” Jimmy turns around. “A phone number?” “Um…, uh… It, it will be a long road. Something could just happen to you on the way, so…” “Oh, you are right! But, sorry! I don’t have a phone. You see, I lost everything because of the accident.” Jimmy smiles and takes his leave. The girl still looks so stupid, before her stupid face turns sour, believing that was only Jimmy’s way rejecting her politely. *** As darkness slowly covers the small town of Summerfield, an 11 year old boy is still busy in front of a washing machine. These are the clothes that have piled up in the last
Jimmy has been expecting that his aunt would be curious about his new motorbike, and has prepared a story for that. But Aunt Molly is even more confused by him returning home unscathed.What's more, now he finds Cynthia looking at him with a horrified face. Cynthia doesn’t look curious, but horrified by something so strange and inexplicable.“Um, Jimmy? What about your legs? And your head?” she asks.“What?” Jimmy mumbles with a pale face, not expecting that there was someone witnessing his dire condition in that wrecked bus.“I…, I clearly saw your head bleeding so badly,” mutters Cynthia. “And your legs…”Right at this moment, Jackson McNeil is just returning home from work. The arrival of his car catches the attention of everyone in the parlor.When they turn their attention, it is only then that they notice Detective Dotson, who has been standing by the front door for a while.This detective parked his car on the side of the road. There is even his partner in verandah. Their arriv
Without saying anything to Jimmy, she just raises her chin up and then walks away.But then…“Aunt Molly!” Jimmy calls.Molly turns around and only responds to Jimmy's call with a sour face.“I’m going to move out, and I’ll take Erick with me,” says Jimmy.Molly's eyebrows twitch. From that alone, Jimmy already can read the mood.“I'm old enough,” continues Jimmy. “You can’t stop me now! I already have a part-time job. I'm sure it's more than enough for…”“More than enough for what?” Molly interrupts coldly. “What do you think you can do with the meager salary you earn at Leonard’s farm?”“The salary isn't big in your eyes, but it's enough to cover our expenses,” Jimmy insists.“You may leave,” says Molly. “But Erick has to stay here with me.”Jimmy looks so annoyed. He clenches his hands so tightly. It's not to punch that 41 year old lady. He is enduring his frustration at the moment.“With Uncle Jackson's large income, you could have hired a maid. But you still prefer to enslave us,
Later, Jimmy stops at the gate of a housing complex called 'The Serenity Garden', a complex he never entered before.“So, this is the most beautiful housing in Summerfield, huh?”After taking a brief look at the map, he rides his bike inside the complex.There are a total of 37 two-story modern houses. The yards seem spacious because there are no fences between the houses, only garden full of flowers separating them.Several children are seen playing around in cheer. Jimmy stops by the side of the road, and soon a boy comes over to him.“Are you lost?” asks the boy.Jimmy shows the photo to the boy. “Well, I’m looking for this house!”“Oh, this must be The Vampire’s Den?” utters the boy, seeming to recognize it.Jimmy scrunches his face. But then the boy explains that it is just a name given by parents in the complex to scare their children.“The house is empty,” says the boy. “But it's the coolest house in the area. You just keep going down this road. It is on the other side of the h