The rain just kept coming down. It got even heavier falling in drops that hit Kaitos face like wet clothes. His arm hurt a lot where the Ironjaw had scratched him. There were three cuts on his arm all covered in dirt and blood that was starting to dry. But he was getting a little better his health was going up one point every minutes. This was a good thing in a world that seemed to be against him the Ironjaw and the rain and everything else. The rain and the Ironjaw were really making things tough, for Kaito.
He just could not stop moving because the moment he stopped it felt like he was giving up like he was surrendering and that feeling was really bad for him. He kept moving because stopping felt like the biggest surrender of all like he was admitting that the moving was not doing him any good that it was not taking him anywhere and that thought was really scary, for him so he just kept on moving.
The forest got smaller and smaller after what felt like a long time. The weird trees. We got to a rocky area with big black rocks that looked like teeth that had been broken. In the middle of this area was something that made Kaito stop moving: an old iron pole that was two times as tall as Kaito, with a big crystal ball on top that was cracked and sending out a faint blue light. There were chains hanging from the pole. They were not holding anything now they were just swinging back and forth in the wind. The forest was quiet. The only sound was the chains moving in the wind and Kaito just stood there looking at the big iron pole, with the crystal ball on top.
A new status window popped up out of nowhere:
【Debt Collection Node Detected】
【Current Debt: 847,392,110 ?】
【Interest Accrued (First Cycle): +0.01% (84,739 ?)】
【First Debt Installment Due: 1,000 ?】
【Time Remaining: 23:59:59】
【Penalty for Non-Payment: Asset Forfeiture → Vitality Drain (1 HP per 10 ? overdue) → Permanent Status Lock at 0 HP】
【Recommendation: Pay or Negotiate at Node】
Kaito just stood there staring. He had one thousand seconds to do something. The thing is, in a world where Kaito had nothing, not a thing this was a lot of time. The timer was ticking down one second at a time. Kaito could hear it loud and clear second, by second.
"Great " he said to himself. Fantasy loan people who want money back. What is going to happen do we have to go on a mission to get a good credit score?
He walked up to the pole carefully. The crystal started shining more as he got closer and it made a special picture in the air that only he could see. There were some choices that appeared on this picture. They were scrolling by:
? Pay Installment (0 ? available)
? Negotiate Terms
? Offer Collateral
? View Debt Origin
He tapped Negotiate Terms with a finger that was shaking. The interface did what he wanted because it could tell what he was thinking. This was another part of the system that was really good, at knowing what you wanted to do which was pretty scary.
A voice, not fuzzy one, from the phone call but a different one that was really smooth and cold kind of like metal that has been polished came from the orb.
The Collector Protocol is now active.
Greetings, Heir of Nothing. You have to pay the transfer penalty it is not something that can be changed. We can talk about paying it in smaller parts.
You have a choices to consider.
* Option 1 is to do a job for us. If you finish the job on time you do not have to pay one of the installments. You will also get a small bonus.
* Option 2 is to give us something that belongs to you. This could be an item, a skill or even a part of your body. We will decide how much it is worth away.
* Option 3 is to do nothing. If you choose this your vitality will start to drain
The Collector Protocol is watching you Heir of Nothing. It is waiting for you to make a decision about the transfer penalty and the options that are available, to you, the Collector Protocol and its options.
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Kaitos stomach felt really bad it was worse, than when he was hungry. He did not want to think about body parts that was just not something he wanted to deal with.
He said I want to see the task. The task is what he wanted to look at. He wanted to know what the task was. Show me the task that's what he said.
The orb was pulsing. It looked really strange when the orb pulsed like that. The orb just kept on pulsing.
You have a task to do. The task is called "Clear the Node Perimeter".
Your goal is to get rid of the Rustwisp Scouts that are camping out nearby.
You need to get rid of three of these Rustwisp Scouts. They are level five to seven.
To prove you did this you need to collect the cores from the Rustwisp Scouts.
If you do this task you will get a reward. The reward is one thousand five hundred ?.
You will also not have to pay your installment.. You will get a Basic Currency Pouch that can hold one hundred ?.
If you fail you will have to pay your installment right away.
You will also have to pay a fee of five hundred ?.
You have one hour to do this task. This is because you are, on a cycle since you are new.
There were three monsters. He was at level 3 now and he had a branch, two fangs, four pieces of metal that were all rusty and a hide that was damaged. His arm was still hurting him. His health was at 45, out of 120.. He did not want to just sit there and bleed slowly while the debt kept getting bigger.
The person said yes he accepted.
The timer has changed to 59:59.
Kaito held onto the branch tight. It was not perfect anymore because of the fight with Ironjaw. He walked around the space in the woods. The noises he heard before were not just because of the wind. Three things came out of the dark. They were small and thin like foxes that had not eaten in a time.. They were not really foxes. They were made of fog and old wire that was all rusty. The eyes of the Rustwisps were, like points of green light that was not working right. They were Rustwisps.
【Basic Appraisal (Passive) Activated】
【Rustwisp Scout – Level 6】
【Threat: Moderate (Agile, corrosive touch, pack tactics)】
【Weakness: Physical disruption to core (chest cavity)】
The Ironjaw did not charge at him like they usually do. Instead they moved fast appearing and disappearing in the blink of an eye trying to see how he would react to the Ironjaw. The Ironjaw were darting over the place and it was hard to keep track of the Ironjaw.
The first one came at Kaito from the side. Kaito swung his arm low. Caught it in the air. The branch made a cracking sound when it hit the things ribs and for a short time you could see inside it. Then Kaito used an Ironjaw fang like a knife. Stabbed it. A dark mist shot out. The wisp broke apart into sparks.
【Enemy Defeated: Rustwisp Scout (Lvl 6)】
【EXP Gained: 45】
【Loot: Rustwisp Core x1】
The other two creatures circled around him fast making this scary hissing noise. One of them jumped onto the back of the man its claws digging into his hide cloak. This burned his skin with some kind of acid. It even scratched his shoulder. The acid was eating through the fabric of the cloak. The man felt the burn from the acid, on his shoulder.
【Damage Taken: Moderate (Corrosion Burn)】
【HP: 38/120】
【Status: Minor Corrosion ( -1 HP every 30 seconds until cleaned)】
Kaito roared loudly his body twisted in a way and he slammed backward into a big rock. The wisp made a crunching sound its core started cracking. Kaito finished it off with the branch he was holding.
【Enemy Defeated: Rustwisp Scout (Lvl 6)】
【EXP Gained: 50】
There is one thing left.
The last Rustwisp was really smart. It stayed back. Just kept flickering waiting for Kaito to bleed out from the corrosion that was eating away at him. Kaitos vision started to get all blurry around the edges. His health points were going down fast: 37... 36... The Rustwisp was still waiting for Kaito to weaken more, from the bad corrosion.
The man could not wait longer. The man charged forward.
Kaito knew the wisp was going to dodge so he was ready. He threw a branch at the wisp not really trying to hit it but to make it move to the left. The wisp did that it dodged to the right and that was exactly what Kaito wanted. The wisp ran into the path of the second thing Kaito threw a fang, which he threw from underneath. The fang went through the middle of the wisp. The wisp had no chance because Kaitos fang punched through its core.
The creature just burst apart. It was, like the creature could not hold itself together anymore so the creature burst apart.
【Enemy Defeated: Rustwisp Scout (Lvl 7)】
【EXP Gained: 65】
【Level Up! Level 3 → Level 4】
【HP Restored to Full (Level Up Bonus)]
【New Attribute Point Available: Allocate Now】
Kaito dropped to one knee. He was gasping for air. The corrosion status was finally gone when he got the level-up. His HP was now 140 out of 140. Kaito felt that he was stronger now. It was not a difference but it was enough, for Kaito.
He picked up the cores. These were three balls of metal that were glowing and warm to the touch. They were all weird looking. He took these cores. Put them into the orb. The cores were really important. He was careful with them. He made sure the cores were safely, inside the orb.
I just finished a task.
My installment is waived now.
I got a reward of 1,500 ?.
I also got a Basic Currency Pouch with a Spatial Storage that can hold 100 ?.
My debt is 847,392,110 ?,. The good thing is that I do not have to pay interest for 30 days.
A little bag made of leather showed up on his belt. It was empty. You could tell it had some magic in it. He wanted a coin in his hand so that is what happened. The coin was made of copper. It had a picture of a crown on it but the crown was broken. The coin was a ?, an ordinary looking thing.
One thousand five hundred dollars is a lot of money. It felt like nothing when you compare it to eight hundred million dollars.. The thing is, one thousand five hundred dollars is still something.
The orbs voice came back. It sounded like it was almost laughing at something. The orbs voice was really calm. It seemed to be enjoying itself.
You did a job, debtor. The next cycle starts in thirty days. You have to survive. You have to earn money. You have to pay your debt.
* The system has nodes like this one, in Layer 0. You need to find these nodes. You need to work with these nodes. If you do not do this your debt will catch up with you.
The crystal lost its shine. The chains made a lot of noise for a moment then they were quiet again.
Kaito stood up the pouch was at his side his cores were. He was still alive. He was really hungry it felt like his stomach was eating away at him and the rain just kept coming down. But for the time since everything got reset Kaito had some money. He had something he could use to get what he needed. He had a way to start over. The currency was like a tool, for Kaito it was something that could help him get back on his feet.
He looked into the storm toward those lights that might be a village or the storm had more monsters or it could be another node. The storm had lights and he was not sure what the distant lights were. The distant lights could be a village or the distant lights could be another node or the distant lights could be monsters.
The voice in his chest was louder now, less mocking.
Keep standing boy. You just paid your bill.
