The moment the crate opened, the world seemed to narrow for Roland.
The egg rested quietly inside, yet it didn't feel quiet at all. A faint glow traced along its surface, the white half shimmering softly while the black half absorbed the light around it, and those thin golden strands spiraled across it like something alive, something breathing beneath a shell.
His fingers moved almost unconsciously.
He tapped.
***
Species: Unknown
Element: Light
Potential: King Tier
Level: 1
***
For a second—
Nothing happened.
Then his expression shattered.
His jaw dropped, his eyes widening as the words burned themselves into his mind.
"This is legit…" he whispered.
A beat.
Then louder—
"This is fuc*ing legit!"
The disbelief didn't stay disbelief for long.
It exploded.
"It's not even registered…" he muttered, his voice rising, energy flooding back into his limbs as he grabbed the egg with both hands, lifting it like a treasure he had just dug out of fate itself.
"A variant… a real variant!"
Laughter burst out of him, unrestrained, echoing across the sleek apartment.
"Hahahaha! Jackpot!"
He paced once, twice, still holding the egg, his mind already racing ahead.
"King Tier potential… fifteen thousand credits…"
He shook his head in disbelief, grinning wider.
"What kind of idiot lists something like this for that price?"
His gaze flicked back to the seller's name.
Nexus Pet World.
The grin sharpened.
"New store… no history… no reviews…"
A small pause.
Then a quiet chuckle.
"If you hadn't written 'King Tier' in the listing…" he murmured, eyes narrowing slightly, "I would've thought you were just trying to scam someone fast."
His thumb hovered over the seller page for a second longer.
"I don't know who you are…"
The words came out softer now.
More deliberate.
"But I'll be watching you."
***
The next morning;
Averton City.
Sunlight filtered through half-closed blinds, stretching across Arceus's desk in soft golden lines, the kind that made everything look calmer than it really was.
On the bed, Black remained curled into itself, unmoving, lost in whatever quiet dreams a newborn direwolf could have.
Meanwhile—
Arceus blinked awake slowly, his hand brushing over his face before instinct pulled him toward the terminal.
Inbox.
New messages.
He opened them.
[13500 credits added to your account] — From National Bank
[Congratulations on your first sale with NovaMart…]
[Sale Complete. Credits Transferred…]
He stared.
Not long.
But longer than necessary.
The numbers didn't change.
They didn't flicker.
They stayed.
Real.
He opened the Character Interface.
Store Earnings: 13,500 Credits
Eligible for exchange.
His fingers hovered.
A faint tremor ran through them.
Not because of the amount.
Not really.
But because of what it meant.
One day.
One sale.
It worked.
He leaned back slowly, the chair creaking beneath him as his gaze drifted toward the window, the city stretching beyond it like something vast and waiting.
"How long…" he murmured quietly, almost to himself, "has it been since I earned money like this…"
Not borrowed.
Not begged.
Not scraped together.
Earned.
Clean.
Simple.
Through a deal that actually worked.
A faint breath escaped him.
"This is just the beginning."
His hand clenched slightly.
Then—
Without hesitation—
Ding!
[13500 credits have been exchanged for 135 coins]
His phone buzzed.
Ignored.
Irrelevant.
Coins.
That's what mattered now.
He moved immediately.
Summoner's Shop.
Purchase.
List again.
Item: Luminous Direwolf Egg
Price: 15,000 Credits
No pause.
No overthinking.
The cycle had begun.
***
Five days later;
What started as a ripple became a rhythm.
Then a pattern.
Then—
A system within the system.
Ten eggs.
Ten sales.
Each one moving like clockwork.
Each one returning 13,500 credits after deductions.
Each one feeding the next.
Arceus sat cross-legged on the floor, a bowl of instant noodles in hand, steam rising lazily as his eyes rested on the numbers glowing on his screen.
+40,500 credits.
Five days.
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
He was winning.
Slowly.
But surely.
And yet—
He sighed.
Because the money sitting there…
Wasn't his to use.
Not yet.
Not in his mind.
It was fuel.
And fuel wasn't meant to be admired.
It was meant to be burned.
"To grow…" he muttered quietly.
"To build…"
Without another thought—
Ding!
[40500 credits have been exchanged for 405 coins]
The system responded instantly.
Purchases followed.
Ding!
[You purchased a Luminous Direwolf Egg – 100 coins deducted]
[You purchased a Blazing Direwolf Egg – 100 coins deducted]
[You purchased a Terran Direwolf Egg – 100 coins deducted]
[You purchased an Electral Direwolf Egg – 100 coins deducted]
[Items added to inventory]
Arceus leaned forward slightly, his focus sharpening again as he returned to the laptop, the cursor hovering over the listings.
A small pause.
Then—
"Let's push it a bit."
He adjusted the price.
25,000 credits.
Not reckless.
Not greedy.
Just—
A step forward.
Listings updated.
Terran.
Electral.
Blazing.
All live.
Then—
He waited.
Minutes passed.
Then hours.
No sale.
No notification.
No sudden rush.
And strangely—
Arceus exhaled in relief.
A quiet, steady breath.
"…Good."
His shoulders loosened slightly.
He didn't want that chaos again.
Not the frantic pace.
Not the pressure.
Not yet.
"Slow and steady…" he murmured.
"This time… we build it properly."
The thought settled deep.
Firm.
Unshaken.
***
Then—
Reality returned.
Moving.
The next step.
Everything he owned—furniture, tools, books, old remnants of a life that had stretched too long—vanished neatly into the Inventory Space, stored without weight, without clutter.
Black—
Still very much alive and very much unwilling to be "stored"—sat inside a pet carrier, occasionally nudging the sides with curious energy.
To anyone watching—
Arceus was just another man moving out.
One suitcase.
Basic belongings.
Nothing special.
But in truth—
He was carrying far more.
A system.
A future.
A second chance folded neatly into invisible space.
***
He stood at the doorway.
The room behind him was empty now.
Quiet.
Stripped of everything that once defined it.
Seven years.
Compressed into a single glance.
His eyes moved slowly across the space.
The walls.
The corners.
The silence.
A breath filled his chest.
Heavy.
Then released.
"It's a goodbye."
Not dramatic.
Not loud.
Just—
Final.
He turned.
Stepped out.
And this time—
He didn't look back.
By mid-afternoon, the sun had softened into a mellow warmth that stretched across the buildings of Sector 12, casting long shadows that slid slowly along the pavement as Arceus rode into the apartment complex again, this time not as a visitor but as someone who belonged there, at least for now. The engine of his motorcycle died with a low rumble, and for a brief moment, he sat still, hands resting on the handles, feeling the quiet weight of transition settle into his chest before he exhaled and stepped off.
The corridor outside Apartment 17 felt more familiar than it should have, the faint hum of distant voices and the smell of cooked food drifting through the air like something welcoming rather than foreign. When the door opened, Celia stood there as expected, her expression relaxed, her presence steady, as though she had already accepted this change long before he arrived.
"Room's ready," she said, giving him a small nod as she stepped aside. "Help yourself to whatever's in the fridge."