Tsukuru then dismissed the "Skills Tab" and returned to the System's UI. There was one last sub-tab to check in the "Profile" tab. The "Equipment tab".
As Reiju had said before, his three different "Equipment" tabs had been merged into one single tab. Before, when he had pressed this option, a new set of three sub-tabs would have appeared.
However, when he tapped it this time, it just opened a new screen.
In the upper-right corner of the screen, it simply read "Equipment".
Additionally, it had a row of three slightly smaller squares just above the grid of the tab on the upper-left side. Looking at it, the shape of the whole thing reminded Tsukuru of an old-fashioned Manila folder.
The first image, which appeared to be the one lit up by default, was the image that used to be used for the Weapons Tab. That of a pair of pirate cutlasses crossed upwards, forming an "X". Above the square, the word "Weapons" was written in small, light-blue digital font.
The second image out of the three showed the image that used to be used for his Armor Tab. It was a sleeveless, metal, knight's chestpiece with a rounded pauldron on either shoulder.
Finally, the third image showed the image that had been used for his Accessory Tab. A circular amulet attached to a thin, light-blue, string necklace with a group of three light-blue circular "beads" on either side of the amulet's "clasp".
On the screen in front of Tsukuru, it showed all his "weapons", such as his daggers, his swords, as well as the Elven Shortbow and the Hobgoblin Spear. It also showed the two different kinds of arrows he had, the Intermediate-Tier Firebomb Arrow and the Intermediate-Tier Frostnet Arrow.
Tsukuru then pressed the second icon, the one for the "Armor" section. Instantly, the grid changed. Instead of showing his weapons, it now showed his armor, such as his Basic-Tier Dunespire Helmet, his Intermediate-Tier Cave Spider Chestpiece, and his Basic-Tear Blade-Tusk Boots.
Surprisingly, his Intermediate-Tier Knight Gauntlets were also in this section.
'Huh,' Tsukuru thought. 'I guess nobody can really decide if these things are supposed to be weapons or armor.'
Finally, Tsukuru pressed the third icon. The one for the "accessories" section. Just like he had expected, the grid was blank. Though Tsukuru imagined that if he had been able to scan Faye's Vampire Ring, it would have been placed here.
Tsukuru then dismissed the "Equipment Tab" and returned to the System's UI.
The first tab had been checked, but he still had three more. The "Summons" Tab, the "Quests" Tab, and the "System Shop".
Tsukuru decided to ignore the "Summons" tab for now. If there were any changes, he'd most likely discover them the next time he made a new Video Summon. And seeing as how he still had an unused "Racial Slot" that would likely be sooner, rather than later.
Tsukuru clicked on the icon for the "Quests" tab, causing it to open.
As he did, he saw that his "Main Quest" had been updated. Where before his "Main Quest" had read "Reach Level 10", it now read "Reach Level 20".
'Hmm, looks like a Chain Quest,' Tsukuru thought.
A "Chain Quest" was a line of interconnected Quests in a video game, with the new ones only becoming available once the earlier ones had been completed.
Tsukuru's eyes drifted lower towards the "Daily Quests" section. And when he did, his eyes widened.
While the old"Daily Quest" was still there, there were now two new ones.
Daily Quest 2: Get 8 Hours of Sleep
Reward: 5 XP
Current Progress: Complete
Daily Quest 3: Eat 3 Square Meals a Day
Reward: 5 XP
Current Progress: 2/3
Tsukuru stared at the screen.
'So I wasn't just half-asleep this morning!' he thought.
A moment later, Tsukuru's left eye began to twitch in annoyance.
'Mom…' he thought in an accusing tone.
"There's nothing wrong with developing health habits," she replied.
Tsukuru let out a groan and swiped the screen away.
There was one final System tab to check. His System Shop.
On first glance, it looked normal. However, as he glanced up at the upper-right corner, where the four different types of currency normally were, he only saw one line. It displayed an image with a light-blue outline.
The image showed what looked like a small pile of coins. On the left, it had four coins stacked in a row, with a further two coins on top of its upper-right side. Another coin could be seen under the stack on its right side, and there was a final coin lying on its side againstthe right side of the stack, obscuring whatever was underneath it. On the front of each coin, a dollar sign could be seen.
Directly to the right of the image, the number "40" was written in the System's digital font.
As Tsukuru stared at the image, as well as the number. He thought back to something. Every single time he had gotten XP for defeating a Level 3 in the Beast Weapons Hall, he had also received an additional line of text in the System message.
***
[You have received 10 Gold Coins.]
***
Tsukuru knew that he would start receiving currency from defeating enemies, as it was part of the initial System Upgrade. But he had just been assuming that the System was just being generous, as "Gold Coins" were the second-highest currency in the old System. But apparently, it was talking about something completely different.
As Tsukuru looked at the available options in the Shop, he noticed that they all used this new image as well.
And as he saw their prices, the "40 Gold Coins" he had didn't seem to be all that impressive. As even the cheapest options cost hundreds of Gold Coins.
Minor Healing Potions cost 300 Gold, while regular Healing Potions cost 800 Gold. Minor Energy Potions, which could replenish either Energy or MC, cost 500 Gold, with the regular Energy Potions costing 1,000 Gold. Additionally, that set of "Basic-Tier Black Centipede Gauntlets" that were still in the System Shop cost a whopping 10,000 Gold.
Looking above his Gold Coin Balance, he saw that the "Exchange" rectangle was still there. So at least he could still convert Credits into Gold Coins.
As he pressed it, a new, smaller screen opened up, overlaying the System Shop.
It showed a long line of nine vertical rectangles with light-blue outlines. Additionally, the sixth rectangle along the row was illuminated, with an up and down arrow appearing above the top and the bottom of it. Inside each rectangle was the number "0" written in the same type of numbering used for things like microwaves and digital clocks. Seven lines arranged with one on the top, middle, and bottom, and two along each side.
There was a small rectangle above the row of nine rectangles, along the edge of the right corner.
[10 Credits = 100 Gold]
A small smile cracked the corner of Tsukuru's face.
'So that's the conversion rate, huh?' he thought, relief washing over him.
Tsukuru then glanced down at his wristwatch. Currently, he had 17,950 Credits.
"I'll convert…100 Credits," he replied.
As soon as Tsukuru uttered those words, the numbers in the last four rectangles began to change erratically. The numbers changed so fast, in fact, that they were hard to look at, and Tsukuru had to turn his head away.
A moment later, a beep was heard.
When Tsukuru turned back to the screen, he saw that the last four numbers in the row read "1,000".
The smaller screen then vanished. As it did, Tsukuru saw that the number "40" next to the "gold coins" symbol had changed to "1,040".
A System message then appeared.
[100 Credits have been transferred. Current Balance: 1,040 Gold]
Tsukuru then looked down at his wristwatch. His Credit Balance now read "17,850".
With everything now checked, Tsukuru dismissed the System screen.
Tsukuru then quickly looked around. Logan was still fast asleep, and who knew when Quinn would come out of that Pod?
He let out a sigh and accessed his System's Inventory. He retrieved the book of Gary Dem from his Inventory, causing it to appear in his hand in the form of clustering pixels.
"Alright, Gary Dem," Tsukuru muttered as he cracked open the book to the saved page. "Let's see how you compare to your ancestor, Jack."
***
Elsewhere in the school, Sergeant Faye made her way to the library. Looking around, she saw that it was mostly unoccupied. Which made it perfect for what she needed to do.
She walked past the librarian and made her way to one of the tables.
Once inside the isolating bubble of the Isolation Orb, Faye brought her arm up to her chest and pressed the jewel on her Vampire Communicator.
Static crackled through the jewel for a moment. Then, Muka's voice could be heard.
"Faye, I assume that you have an update for me?" he asked.
Faye nodded, even though Muka couldn't see her.
"I do, my Leader," she replied. "I've found him. I've found the Vampire on the Base."