"My God!… If I were in good shape, I'd get drunk just from looking at this thing…"
Renji said it between broken breaths, staring at the new screen that had exploded in front of him like digital fireworks.
This… was not the old networks.
Not the cold gray menus.
And not the sterile system interfaces shoved in his face every day.
The network… was alive.
Vivid colors, icons glowing as if made of poured sugar,
Menus rolling with exaggerated smoothness,
A soft light shimmering along the edges of the windows,
As if someone had taken everything enjoyable on the internet… and compressed it into a single hour.
Map panels—
Multiple, layered, some of them three-dimensional,
Displaying terrains he didn't recognize, and regions he couldn't even pronounce.
A public chat channel—
Overflowing with messages bouncing like enraged bees.
Private groups—
With glowing emblems; some enticing, others frightening.
Auctions—
Displaying impossible items:
Poisons, spells, ammunition, wings (!!?),
And product names he couldn't tell whether they were real or just jokes.
Global events—
Shaking countdown timers,
Red headlines reading: "Ends in 12 minutes," "Only 5 slots left."
Guilds—
With emblems resembling those of armies.
And a universal leaderboard—
Tens of thousands of players… or beings… or whatever they were,
Competing over things he didn't understand.
Everything was too much.
So much it was overwhelming.
So much that the colors made him feel nauseous.
But his eyes… his mind… his heart…
Were searching for one thing only:
The store.
If he found it… maybe he could buy medicine.
A bandage.
A skill.
Anything that would stop him from dying right now.
He searched.
Scrolled.
Opened menus one after another.
But the store—the cursed thing—wasn't there.
Gone.
Hidden.
Or perhaps locked.
His heart began pounding rapidly.
His lips trembled.
Not from pain… but from despair.
Suddenly, out of desperation, he decided to do something stupid:
He entered the public channel.
It was full of noise.
Messages flooding in rapidly.
Insults, jokes, shouting, numbers, advertisements,
People talking about raids, deals, worlds.
With difficulty, pressing his trembling fingers against the mental interface—he didn't know why he couldn't do it with his mind—he typed:
[Rinji]: Does anyone know where the store is? It's urgent… my arm… it's bad.
He kept sending messages until he caught the attention of some players, and replies appeared immediately:
[WizardDude]: LMAOOOOOO is your store with the jaguar now?
[CapySlayer44]: Your arm? Use a bandage.
[Rinji]: I don't have a bandage… I need the store.
[xXDarkWolf]: Ah, a newbie.
[MamaBear]: What exactly is your problem?
[Rinji]: I'm bleeding. Seriously.
[BladeOn]: Looooool… pretend you're dead, it'll get better.
[Ghostling]: Stop it.
[Ghostling]: Listen… open the top interface, at the top.
[Ghostling]: There's a button shaped like a magnifying glass.
[Ghostling]: Type "Store" or "Shop".
[Ghostling]: The system sometimes hides it from low levels.
[WizardDude]: No no no, let him bleed, maybe he'll level up.
[MamaBear]: Ignore him… listen to Ghostling.
Renji slowly lifted his gaze to the upper corner.
There—very small—almost transparent—was the magnifying glass.
With his trembling hand… he pressed it.
The search field opened.
He typed "Store," just as that player had told him.
A loading bar appeared for a second…
Then a long list exploded in front of him—
So long that he cursed silently:
"Damn it… no time… no time…"
Panels rolled past his eyes:
Store_Asia / Store_Arena / S-Market / S-chat / Trades / Medic_Hub / …
He couldn't even think.
He clicked the first option.
The screen didn't open a store…
It opened a chat room.
Messages flying everywhere:
People selling, people buying, people cursing, people mocking.
But he didn't have the luxury to scrutinize.
He typed:
[Rinji]: Is this… the store?
The reply came instantly:
StitchMaster: Yes. What do you need?
He explained what had happened—the jaguar, his arm, the blood…
He typed everything quickly and frantically,
Words tangling in his mind before appearing on the screen.
After a moment:
StitchMaster: I have the treatment.
StitchMaster: "Surgical Thread – Silver Level".
StitchMaster: You buy it… and the system will stitch your arm via the virtual girl.
Renji couldn't believe it.
Hope… flared inside him like an ember.
Then the man typed:
StitchMaster: Price is 600 coins.
His breath stopped.
He immediately opened his Personal Data screen:
────────────────────────
Personal Data
────────────────────────
■ Name: Yosukawa Renji
■ Talent: B+
■ Level: 5 (250/29)
■ Wealth: 520 Coins
■ Core Attributes:
• Accuracy ... B
• Stability ... D+
• Focus ... C-
• Perception .... E+
• Motion Reading ... D-
• Readiness ..... D
• Endurance ... C-
• Discipline .... E
────────────────────────
"Damn it… I only have 520…"
He returned to the chat:
[Rinji]: I only have 520. Please… it's bad.
StitchMaster: 600.
[Rinji]: I'll die.
StitchMaster: 600.
[Rinji]: I'm begging you…
StitchMaster: 600.
Desperate attempts and messages passed.
And in the end… after insistence, humiliation, and an agonizing silence:
StitchMaster: …Fine. 520.
StitchMaster: I'll show you where to send the money.
He showed him the send button, the method, the steps.
Renji was shaking violently from blood loss.
He carried out the transaction.
Pressed confirm.
A message appeared:
[520 coins have been transferred.]
StitchMaster: Wait… the "surgical thread" will be sent to you privately.
Renji closed his eyes.
He felt that he had… survived.
Or at least taken one step away from death.
One minute passed.
Then two.
Then three.
Each one tore away a piece of his life.
Each heartbeat weakened.
Each second pressed on his chest like a stone.
He couldn't wait any longer.
He searched for the store again,
Opened the search menu…
Typed "Store"…
"Medic"…
"Silver"…
"Thread"…
Nothing.
No entry.
No store.
As if the entire place had never existed.
As if the system had slammed the door in his face.
Anxiety turned into anger…
Then suspicion…
Then searing fear.
Until, finally, a small notification shook in the corner of the screen:
"You have received a private message."
His heart leapt with joy.
He opened the window quickly…
Tears almost spilling from his eyes in relief.
But what appeared before him…
Was not a "surgical thread".
Nor a tool.
Nor instructions.
It was a single emoji:
The middle finger.
Right in his face.
Clear.
Blatant.
Shameless.
Simple.
Renji froze in place.
And for a moment…
He felt whatever remained of his body…
Completely wither.
"Damn it… I've been scammed."