One Gold Coin

That night, Neto had a strange dream.

Instead of an option to [Log out], the gaze of a grotesque eye greeted him. Floating in a sea of shadows, its yellow iris and hexagonal pupil adjusted to his every move. An optical nerve slithered somewhere out of sight.

His body was like a cloud, intangible and invisible, yet he could move with the whim of his will. As he flew from the nightmarish abomination, dread filled in his chest. He knew the eye was following him, but there was no one here to help. His gut instinct was to call for help, but he quickly swallowed that urge.

'This is a dream.' Neto calmed himself, attempting to breathe, but this body wouldn't let him. 'I must have logged out successfully.'

Neto forced himself to turn around. Just as he expected, the eye wasn't far behind, but someone unexpectedly halted its chase. Rakshasa.

He was happy to see the demon, this would probably be his last time after all.

Unhinging its jaw, Rakshasa swallowed the eye in one gulp, then melted into the abyss.

'Even here, you'll save me? Selling your soul isn't too bad, after all.'

Once again, Neto was alone. Soon, he would wake up in his bed at SUN, and if their word was true, he'd be able to walk again. What good would that be? For the past ten years, Neto was shackled to one wing in their hospital. He was an adult with no work experience and no education. An insurmountable mountain of debt hung over him like a noose.

In the midst of his despair, a disembodied voice echoed through his head.

{Finally, I'm back in this world.... Well, I know you think this is a dream, but when you wake up, I'm going to need you to get stronger. Some unsavory people sent you here and won't let you play around for too long.}

"Are you my System? Let me just wake up already before I end up in a mental institution as-"

Slivers of conciousness interrupted Neto's soliloquy.

He expected his familiar hospital bed to greet him, however...

"Unnng..."

Neto's head felt like a geyser about to pop. An intense pressure pushed against the walls of his skull, and his mouth was as barren as the dead sea.

Neto was hungover.

Rolling on his side, he turned to face a massive rat, who squealed and ran away. It looked like the MC in a delinquent show. If delinquent shows starred rats, that is...

As if that wasn't bad enough, something pungent and chocolate-colored slopped over Neto's head. He turned to face the sky and saw an overweight man emptying his chamber-pot.

"Sorry!" the man holard, slamming his window shut.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!!!" Neto cursed. This world really loved covering him in blood, mud, and shit...

There was no doubt about it:

'I'm still in SUN's game?' Neto thought, looking at his hands which were tanned instead of blank white.

At that moment, the geyser in Neto's head released, and spicy bile shot out of his mouth. His belly emptied of all he had eaten the night before. Foul garlic and stale alcohol coated his tongue.

Neto let out one more moan before picking himself off the soiled cobblestones. While he stood, his hand closed around something small and metallic.

One gold coin.

"Wait, a second... didn't I have a whole pouch of coins? Were they all gold coins?!!!"

'Remember Neto! Remember what happened before you passed out!'

First, he stumbled out of [The Heavenly Donkey]. Then, there was that beautiful girl, and her kiss-

"That bitch!!!!" Neto screamed. "She must have stolen it!!!"

Neto swallowed his pride and stepped out of the gutter.

"System, store this coin."

[-------]

"...So, my system is just gone? What the fuck is going on right now?"

Nearby, a mother wearing a peasant robe walked past Neto with her daughter.

"Dont look at that ugly homeless man, darling... he's obviously insane." She whispered, shielding her daughter's eyes.

"Ahem." Neto wheezed.

Maybe if he said the phrase 'inventory, store this coin.'?

As he was brainstorming how to access his inventory, Neto's coin disappeared. 'Hmm, so I don't have to say it out loud. Does this work for [Sense] as well?'

Net's consciousness expanded, revealing everything in a five meter radius from all directions.

'That definitely worked..'Neto sighed. 'I'm not going back to the hospital anytime soon, am I?'

In truth, he didn't really care. Despite the danger of this world, he'd never felt more alive, and if he had to go back to his old world after experiencing this… well, Neto might pay a visit to Truck-kun in his wheelchair.

He was still on Nornenheim's main street, so quite a few lodges came into view just from turning his head a couple degrees. Most buildings were cobblestone or wood, but some looked like they'd been weaved from metal threads. This world's architecture definitely relied on magic.

Neto examined only the most affordable-looking ones, eventually opting for a middle-of the road establishment beside a bathhouse and a strip of street-food vendors.

"Oy! Get of here, ugly bum!" the owner yelled as Neto opened his cheap wood doors. A squirrel with batlike wings shrieked at Neto from the man's shoulder.

'What a weird pet…'

There was still feces in Neto's hair and face, no doubt.

However, his MMO knowledge was a powerful tool. Gold coins spoke for themselves in this type of world.

"I'll take a room for one, please."

Ignoring the red-faced owner, Neto strode up to the front desk with every ounce of confidence he could muster.

"I SAID GET OUT OF HERE, YOU'RE RUINING MY CARPE-"

'Inventory, retrieve gold coin.'

When Neto slapped his gold coin on the hardwood counter, the atmosphere in the room changed entirely. The old man's squirrel-bat looked like it was about to attack Neto, but when it saw his coin, it calmed down entirely.

"Do you have change?" Neto smiled.

Blood drained from the old man's head.

"O-of course I have change! I also have a change of clothes ready for you, sir. Please, allow me to show you to the best roo-"

"No need. Please take me to the least expensive room you have. Ill be staying here for one month."

"Of course, sir!"

Neto breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know how he'd respond if he'd underestimated the coin's value.

The landowner went into a backroom and came back with a backpack. His squirrel-bat flew onto the counter beside Neto and deposited a sack of silver coins.

"There you are, Sir. Your change and some clothes. Also, Might I suggest you take a bath before I show you to your room? There is a phenomenal place next door."

"Thank you, Mr...?"

"Tadao."

"Thank you, Mr. Tadao."