2 Disease Resistance

According to Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, before a person could accomplish their life goals and desires, they must first satisfy other criteria that took precedence based on the circumstances around the individual.

For example, a popular and educated teen from an affluent family should pursue fame as the next step toward self-actualization; similarly, an adult living in underprivileged conditions must seek employment to save enough money to escape poverty.

But Ashton was neither a popular teenager nor a member of the lower classes, he was outright homeless!

Rather than seeking information about the Goddess, Ashton should focus on his most basic needs: Food, water, and shelter. Only then could he afford to do anything else.

However, Ashton doubted he could just find them around and seize them for himself, at least not without facing terrible repercussions. As someone born in a global civilization where everything was monetized and nothing was free, he doubted that this world followed different rules.

Ashton could already see himself peering at some random store or Motel, glaring at the prices outside the building while enduring the freezing night and his hungry stomach.

Of course, he wasn't even close to that point yet. The weather was exceptionally sunny and warm today, and he had eaten some food sometime before arriving in this world. So, aside from being emotionally compromised, it could be said that he was in excellent health!

Returning to the previous matter, everything came down to needing money in the end. Without money, he couldn't afford either food or shelter, let alone more complex demands like protection and health insurance.

In a society where people had to pay to live, Ashton had to obtain some form of monetary income.

But how exactly? Should he seek a job to sustain him?

Despite being already an adult, he had barely finished high school and had no actual work experience.

What was he supposed to do to find work here? What kinds of occupations were available right now? Were the skills and knowledge he acquired on Earth even helpful in this world?

"Necklaces! Earrings! Rings! Bracelets! All of them made of pure gold and polished jewels!" Suddenly, a booming voice interrupted Ashton's thoughts, drawing his attention to the source.

There, he found a man clad with an outrageous amount of jewelry crossing a bridge into the central plaza, approaching passing people, waving his ornaments in their faces, and yelling offers at them. "You can buy any of them for the low price of 200 Gold! If you buy two, I'll give you a 20% discount!"

Watching the man trying to sell his wares, Ashton got a small idea. Maybe he could also sell something?

He could make quick money this way, as opposed to the weekly or monthly wage he had to wait to receive by working in an organization.

But as soon as that proposal appeared, it got shut down very quickly. Even if he wanted to sell something, what was he supposed to give up? He had nothing save the clothing he wore at the moment.

Was he supposed to sell them and remain butt-naked? That was one fast trip to jail…

'…Jail?' As a strange concept gradually emerged inside Ashton's mind, his cognitive process temporarily stopped.

Going to jail to get free lodging… Although it was a source of many jokes about poverty on Earth, he might actually try it to see if it worked.

Enjoying free beds and free meals behind a set of iron bars… No, wait, what in the world was he thinking?!

Heading to jail just to get a roof over his head? He wasn't THAT desperate!

Each idea in Ashton's head swiftly proved to be a failure in some way, increasing his irritation at each passing minute.

'Goddammit!' He cursed as he tightly clutched his head out of sheer frustration, pulling on his short hair.

Unlike most people on Earth who became completely independent a few years after adulthood, he didn't even have a crutch to rely on until he could get used to this new lifestyle.

He needed to find money right away.

Not later;

Not soon;

Not in a week or two;

Not in a few days;

Not tomorrow;

He needed it RIGHT NOW!

But how was he even supposed to get any of that when he was stranded in a completely different world?!

"...Ah." In an instant, Ashton's hands stopped moving through his black hair and relaxed their grip. And as he came up to a certain realization, his expression softened, and the corners of his lips twitched.

No, it wasn't accurate to say that he realized something. He simply remembered a specific detail that had been temporarily forgotten due to his anxiety.

Ashton was now in a world where monsters were real, technology had not advanced to the level of modernity he was accustomed to, and the church was a powerful force. In such an extravagant scenario, why was he considering the issue as if he were still on Earth?

He'd read many novels and played numerous games set in similar circumstances. Surely, there had to be something in this city he could take advantage of for situations like this, like an Adventurer's Guild.

Perhaps he could try to take some doable tasks off their list and live off the money earned from them until he was ready to settle down in this city? Maybe gathering herbs, finding lost pets, or doing some manual work where help was needed…

Yes, that definitely was something he could do! And even though Ashton wasn't certain he could find a place like that ─ offering various jobs to the volunteering public ─ he was certain that looking around the city won't be a waste of time, not at all.

At the very least, it was a much better notion than doing something as unreliable as seeking a workplace in a different world. How long would the interview take? Did he even qualify as a job candidate? It wasn't like he had a reliable background… or any at all.

But just as he was about to commit to the duty he gave to himself, which was to search around the city for anything that could help him, he was stopped by a holographic blue panel that appeared right ahead.

[NOTICE!]

[Ability: (Disease Resistance) has been obtained!]

Ashton blinked in surprise at the sudden appearance of the screen. He had actually forgotten about it, but he also had a system! If he played his cards well, he could… he could…

…Wait, did it say that he gained an ability called "Disease Resistance"?