Killing my excitement and impulse to buy everything, I forced myself to calm down from the inside out. Looking at the 100 tons of atoms, it felt like I needed to collect more.
'System, how much is the conversion rate from coins to energy?' Crow asked, mind already racing.
"And... can I convert atoms to coins?"
---
>Ding!
Host: 1 energy = 10 coins.
100g of atoms = 1 coin.
Conversion from atoms to coins costs 100 energy per ton.
Vice versa applies.
---
Surprised, Crow started doing the math.
'Wait... converting atoms to energy costs 1,000g—or 1kg—per energy, but converting 1 ton of atoms to coins also needs 100 energy?'
He paused, squeezing his brain for insight.
'Isn’t that just 10% of the cost? Then... if I convert only 999kg instead of a full ton, it should be free, right, System?'
---
>Ding!
Correct. If the total doesn't reach 1 ton, the system won’t charge the conversion cost. However, once your cumutive total reaches a ton, the energy fee will apply on the next unit.
---
Crow blinked at the screen. He thought he found another system loop. But the st part of the message spped him.
I wanted to curse someone’s mother.
'...The fuck you mean 'correct'? My math was right, but you're telling me it’s not a loophole?!'
If Crow could strangle the system, he would.
---
>Ding!
Host: Correct.
---
Holding the five-foot-tall, 80-centimeter-wide stub, I gripped the two-inch space at the corner of the scanning device, wanting to crush it with my fingers—but nothing happened. No crack. No bend. Just... nothing. It felt like polished marble, smooth and unyielding.
I increased the pressure, feeling the strain in my fingertips. Activating [Finger Strengthening] x2, I gained 4x power, then yered it with the [Strength] ability—boosting my total strength twelvefold, specifically focused on my right fingers. I tried again. Still nothing. Solid as ever. If anything, it felt like my fingers would snap before the stub gave way.
Staring at the stub in surprise and disbelief, I muttered, “What if I cut this thing and smashed it into someone’s face?”
Crow echoed in my head, 'Even if its durability is infinite, you still need strength to deal damage.'
I muttered under my breath, lowering the mouth part of my mask. “So it’s more of a defense item than an offensive one… since it relies on my strength.”
Thinking it over, I used [Identification].
---
[Identification]
Shop
A holographic structure resembling a stone stub with an integrated hand scanner.
---
Another expectation shattered. Then why did it feel like my fingers were about to crack? The texture felt so... real.
I narrowed my eyes, thinking through the possibilities. “System, is it because I’m receiving my own strength back? Just self-harm?”
---
>Ding!
Host: Correct
---
Running my fingers along the stub, I felt the soft, limestone-like bumps under my skin. It was oddly smooth and natural—like a river-worn rock. Then, a hand gently touched my shoulder.
“What are you doing?”
The voice was loud, clearly meant to startle—and it worked. I froze mid-motion. The excitement had taken over so completely that I’d forgotten I wasn’t alone. My team was still waiting behind me.
In just those couple of seconds, I managed to humiliate myself thoroughly. If I could have a superpower right now, it wouldn’t be flight or invisibility—it’d be the ability to obliterate memories, especially my own.
I gnced back. Yep. Judging by their looks, they saw everything—how focused I was, how lost I’d gotten touching some rock-hologram thing. Even Crow didn’t make a joke in my head. That’s how bad it was.
Swallowing hard, I met Samantha’s eyes. I wasn’t sure if I should thank her for stopping me… or curse her timing. Because honestly? I’d just been wondering if it would taste like real stone. And yes—if she hadn’t interrupted—I might’ve licked it.
Looking back at the stub, I slyly rubbed my hand against it again—just to show I wasn’t embarrassed at all about what I’d done. “It’s soft… and it feels slightly cold, even after being hit by direct sunlight,” I said calmly, adding a touch of logic to cover the weirdness of the moment.
Then I noticed Samantha step forward, leading the group, curiosity pin on her face. The others followed, equally intrigued. And yeah—the cold wasn’t a lie. It really was strange.
Gncing at my team, I couldn’t help but sigh. To my left, the people requesting tools and guarding the gate were staring. We probably looked like a bunch of oddballs, casually petting rocks.
I felt a wave of relief. 'Great. They’re touching the floor now. Real subtle. At least when it’s a group effort, it just looks like a weird team-building exercise instead of public indecency,' Crow muttered, conveniently ignoring the fact that he’d been the one who started it—solo, and thankfully not with the floor.
Finding a decent spot to sit, I reminded myself—as long as I didn’t close the shop, I wouldn’t have to touch that thing again.
"Why was I even mad at the system?" Crow muttered. "Forget it." No point chasing that thought further.
I got two options: convert atom to coin, or direct energy to coin. With 300,000 energy on hand, the choice was simple—energy gave me 3 million coins. Atom? Only 100,000 coins and it still cost 10,000 energy. Yeah, no.
In the end, I picked the obvious one.
---
> Ding!
- 300,000 energy
+ 3,000,000 coins
---
Still stuck in the weapon section of the shop panel, I kept scrolling through the never-ending list—just the knife category alone felt like it could go on forever. I gave up and switched to the item section, hoping for something more useful. And I found it.
This was something actually important.
It made sense, too. If you’re going to let groups enter a dungeon, everyone should know what they’re getting into. The more people rush in unprepared, the faster they get wiped out.
---
[Party Creation Token]
Create a temporary team of up to 10 creatures.
Usage: 20
Price: 5,000 coins
---
It was the cheapest option, but there were others—like a 20-creature version, which cost double, same usage limit. No matter what the upgrade was—creature count or usage—it always followed the same pattern: double the feature, add +5,000 coins. Simple, but deadly efficient.
Another important thing for others but useless for me.
---
[Ability Seed]
Item Use: Consumable.
Effect: 100% chance to gain a new ability. (Note: With each additional ability, the success rate is halved. Duplicates will instead level up the existing ability.)
Price: 10,000,000 coins
---
Looking at it, 'Shit, so having a lot of abilities isn’t surprising anymore,' Crow muttered, feeling mildly scammed by the system. 'But wait… that st part? That’s a trap. Even if you only unlock one ability, it still feels like failure.'
Crow felt somewhat banced, but the fact remained—there was still a high chance some people could stack hundreds of abilities.
“System, is there any kind of status like Luck or something that affects this?”
---
>Ding!
Host: Yes, but this item is not based on luck. The abilities that can be generated are determined by the creature itself, not by chance.
---
I didn’t know if this thing was like a core—something I could absorb The shop didn’t show images, just names and vague descriptions. I decided to buy the first item before I forgot.
---
>Ding!
-5,000 coins
Item Acquired: [Party Creation Token]
---
It materialized in front of me, floating—about 7.6 cm wide and 18.8 cm long, thin like a credit card but with smooth, circur edges. I wanted to ask if anyone else could see it, but then I saw the 3-second countdown.
Panic fred. What if it disappeared? Or worse, fell and vanished with no refund? Even if it was just 5,000 coins—that’s five dungeon solo runs.
I snatched it. The feeling in my hand? Like gripping a high-end credit card—smooth, cold, and slightly weighty.
Now that it was in my hand, I just needed to fill it in. At the top left corner was a slot beled [Leader], followed by a plus sign. In the middle, there was a slight interference—yeah, that tiny plus sign was probably for adding members. I tapped it, and my name appeared with a minus sign beside it. At the bottom right corner, a number: 20. On the back, it read Party Token, occupying the entire area.
With that sorted, I returned to the shop interface. Looking at the item list and my remaining million coins… it really hit me: I could barely afford five big purchases. Damn, I felt poor.
After browsing, I ended up buying three items. One of them was this:
---
[Thunder Fang Axes]
Weapon Type: Light Weapon
Weapon Attributes:
Density Points: 90 (Note: 1 point = 8000 kg/m3)
Damage: 900 (Note: Density Points × 10)
Durability: 270 (Note: Density Points × 3)
Element Compatibility: 100%
Special:
When thrown and it hits a creature, an arc of lightning will strike the nearest enemy within a 3-meter radius. (Note: Damage is equal to the weapon's damage)
---
It cost 1,500,000 coins, and I only bought one piece. Lifting the thing—it weighs about 7 kg, maybe a bit less, but not much. I'm not exactly sure, just basing it on feel.
'Weight: 7 kg... Density: 720,000 kg/m3...'
If I’m not wrong, to find the volume or size of an object:
> Volume = Mass ÷ Density
"Then this thing’s volume should be tiny. Like... the size of a sugar cube?"
I gnced at the axe in my hand—clearly rger than that. Crow activated full brain power.
'Wait—maybe it was the size of a sugar cube, but they stretched it into this form.' Crow couldn’t help but ask. It didn’t feel right, but maybe it was something simple like that. I turned to the smartest one, hoping it wouldn’t make mistakes, and blurted out, "System, did they stretch the sugar cube-sized object?"
---
Ding!
Host: Wrong!!
---
I stared at the interface, blinking in disbelief. It felt like the system had just spped him across the face. For the first time, he got an answer that didn’t sound like a normal system response. His brow furrowed. “Are you sure?” I muttered under my breath.
The same response fshed before my eyes. I scratched my head, gncing nervously at the team, still deep in their scroll through the shop. They didn’t even have a single coin, just staring in frustration at the list. But again, the real issue wasn’t them—it was the system. His throat tightened as he considered the worst-case scenarios—what if it had been hacked or something?
Trying to steady his breath, he braced for the usual, predictable response—the one that always followed that single question. "Why?"
---
Ding!
Host requires 500,000 energy.
---
I exhaled sharply, feeling a wave of relief wash over me. "Thank goodness you're fine," I muttered, then paused for a moment. I stared at the screen again, counting the zeros in the number, but the system was still acting a little too weird for comfort. For now, though, everything seemed back to normal.
"Still," I looked at the result. "Fuck you."
"It's really uncomfortable to make a wrong guess," Crow muttered in my mind.
Looking at this in my hand, the Thunder Fang Axe is forged from a dense, matte-gray alloy that crackles faintly with electricity. The axe is compact yet deadly, fitting snugly in my hand. The weapon is a dual axe, but I’m only holding one.
The bde measures 50 cm (about 19.7 inches) in length, with a width of 15 cm (5.9 inches) at its widest point. The shape is reminiscent of jagged, curved fangs, with the inner edges razor-sharp. At the top center of the bde, intricate lightning patterns are etched, seeming to crawl along the surface, all angling inward toward a focal point at the center, as though drawing energy toward it. These patterns not only serve as an aesthetic feature but also help channel the weapon’s electric energy during strikes.
The handle is short, about 30 cm (11.8 inches), wrapped tightly in dark leather strips for grip. At the base, there's a small conductive spike, around 3 cm (1.2 inches) in length, designed to discharge any built-up static when needed.
Looking at the top part, there was something small—like a node or a nub. Its purpose was unclear, but it felt important. The etched lightning patterns all angled toward it, as if silently urging focus on that one spot.
As I waved the axe through the air, a sharp krzzzt sliced the silence—like electricity itself was scraping against the air.
As I waved the axe around, its electric energy crackling in the air, I couldn’t help but notice the others watching me closely. Samantha and the others approached, curiosity written all over their faces.
"How did you get that?" Samantha asked, her eyes wide.
I didn’t bother to give much of an expnation. "I bought it," I said ftly, leaving no room for further discussion.
My gaze shifted to the group. I had already made up my mind about something important. I was pnning to hand over the [Party Creation Token] to Ethan, to make him the leader. But, for some reason, he felt distant to me. And honestly, so did Lena. That left only one person I felt I could trust for this role—Samantha.
I reached into my pocket, used [Spatial Storage], and pulled out the token. Handing it over to her, I spoke firmly. “I want you to become the leader of this party card. I'm not pnning on always joining the group for dungeon runs."
Samantha seemed taken aback by my sudden decision, her eyes widening in surprise. I didn’t give her much of a chance to protest.
"Okay, looks like you all have your rest," I said, my voice firm. "Everyone put your
name on that card thing and start the dungeon run." I cpped my hands together, signaling that it was time to move.
The group exchanged gnces, but there was no hesitation in their actions. They knew what needed to be done. The dungeon awaited, and it was time to focus.
