The Shop Terminal emanated a subtle green glow. Its exact hue seemed to become my constant companion since the System arrived.

“Well, that’s annoying,” I hoped I could turn off the light somehow in the settings so that’s the first thing I set out to do. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a familiar cogwheel that is present in almost all modern user interfaces or anything that could reasonably be the settings option.

I sighed and accepted that I would have to get used to the light. I focused on actually seeing what I could buy.

The interface reminded me of those kiosks found in fast food places where you could order your quadruple cheeseburger after a boozy night out, but there were seemingly unlimited options to choose from. There was a search bar and an almost endless list of categories. I scrolled and scrolled for a few minutes but I couldn't get to the end, seeing Recreational Drugs, Procreation Aids, and Scales, just to name a few.

Of course, curiosity got the better of me and I selected Procreation Aids. The items were not recognizable to me, looking more like torture devices than the bedroom toys I was expecting to find. Perhaps I was just the wrong species to appreciate them. The Scales category turned out to be a mix of kitchen scales to weigh flour and scales of actual creatures. I saw that 25 grams of scales from an alien animal called Zzzbbzd went for 60 credits.

I typed Blueprints into the search bar and was immediately inundated with so many different ones, most of them useless to me and my situation. While a blueprint for a Gluber-sized microscope might be useful for whatever a Gluber scientist looked like, it wasn't something I needed.

It quickly became obvious that I would have to know exactly what I wanted to buy, to filter out all the bullshit I didn't need. I was becoming overwhelmed with options, so I stepped away from the Shop Terminal to catch my breath.

"Calm down, Dee. It's okay, " I reassured myself and sat down on the couch.

The first rays of the sun were peeking through the cabin windows. The birds were waking up as well, their song letting me know nothing nasty was prowling outside my property limits.

The core of the problem was that I didn't know what needed to be done first. I've always had issues prioritizing tasks, switching between them as soon as I became aware of a new thing that needed to be done. It often drove Mom insane, as I'd leave a third of the laundry unfolded or only vacuum half of the apartment I spent my childhood in.

"Sometimes I wonder what's going inside of your head, " She'd often say. " If you're going to do something, do it all the way. Don't leave things unfinished. "

She was, of course, right. Mom was almost always right. I wished she was here to tell me what to do. She knew how to tackle problems head-on.

I don't know when the tears came but they did, and I felt six years old again. I just wanted my mom.

After some time of wallowing in my grief, the sun had risen to signal mid-morning. I was hungry and I felt gross. All I wanted was to take a hot shower, crawl into bed, and be miserable all day. However, since the first step of this required me to have running water and a heater, I gave up on it altogether.

Instead, I walked back to the Shop Terminal and typed in The System Guide in the search bar. The top result was a book called So You've Been Integrated: A Practical Guide to the System For Dummies. It cost 10 credits, which was most of my wealth. However, most things available for purchase were over 50 credits and I needed all of the information I could get. I confirmed my purchase and was met with a message on the Terminal screen:

Thank you for buying So You've Been Integrated: A Practical Guide to the System For Dummies.

We noticed that you don't have a book reader linked to your account.

Purchase now? Yes/No

"Now that's just stupid!"

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

My anger was barely contained when I tapped Yes on the screen. When I saw that the reader cost 500 credits, I kicked the damned thing, giving myself 3 points of damage and making the machine's green glow pulse. The pain made my temper deflate and I hopped around on my uninjured foot until the feeling subsided.

The absurdity of the situation wasn't lost on me. My life was getting more and more ridiculous with each passing hour.

I had just wasted the little money I had. It wouldn't have bought me much, but it was a start. I almost paid with my life for those credits. I wasn't looking forward to what that meant for my future.

"No point beating yourself up about it, Dee. You couldn't have known. "

And it was true. Perhaps I should have expected an asshole design made to extort money from you. It happened all the time with humans. Why did I expect the alien store to be different?

I went back to the purchase confirmation screen and tapped No.

Your book will become available on your book reader.

Thank you for shopping!

"That's something, at least. "

I decided to see what the clothing options were, as I was running dangerously low. I had one bucket and a half-used bar of soap. We didn't have a washing machine in the cabin since we lived pretty close and never stayed longer than a week at a time. The only washing machine I had available ran on elbow grease and sweat.

After trying out different search keywords, I was able to find a pack of five of Human Female Adult Underwear for 50 credits, Human Female Adult Cotton T-Shirt for 70, and Human Female Adult Work Boots for 350. There were some tech-wear-like garments available as well, but they were so out of my price range that I didn't even bother giving them a closer look.

I made a mental note to buy some underwear first, as I could re-wear the same shirt for a few days, but underwear was non-negotiable.

Before I could step away from the Terminal, an icon of a coin caught my eye in the bottom right corner. I tapped it and the background colour swapped from white to black, keeping the signature green hue of the text.

Welcome to the Seller's Market!

As a species that has been recently integrated, you get a discounted fee on sales transactions.

After your planet's trial period, the transaction fee will increase from 1% to 5%.

Terms and Conditions Apply.

Join the Seller's Market now? Yes/No

A wave of relief washed over me. My eyes filled with tears for the second time today, but this time from joy. This changed everything.

I eagerly tapped Yes and scrolled past the Ts and Cs, and confirmed my enrollment.

Sell Now? Yes/No

I looked around the cabin and grabbed a handful of old pencils from a cup on the table. A sale confirmation came up on the interface and I got 1.98 credits for 6 pencils, with 0.02 credits going to the store. I was just overjoyed.

If someone was standing outside the cabin window gazing inside, they would see me jumping up and down and screeching in pure happiness. The little happy dance was followed by a frenzy of selling all the useless bits and bobs that had ended up in the cabin.

After I stopped myself from selling off all my cutlery, I've amassed a wealth of 38.57 credits.

Those 38.57 credits were proof that I could make it, and I felt like a million bucks.

I decided that a celebratory meal was in order. I have secured the cabin, picked out a class that promised to keep me fed, and found a way to make an income without putting my neck on the line.

I pulled out the Crowling meat from my inventory. It still looked and smelled fresh, implying that the inventory put things into some sort of stasis. I was pretty sure it would have started to smell funky by now.

I had a very distinct memory of a similar-sized chicken fillet, smelling up a storm in my apartment. I had pulled it out of the freezer around noon, thinking it would thaw by dinnertime. Then I went out to grab a coffee with a friend it turned into a very late night. I woke up hungover as hell, and the smell didn't help my nausea.

Some lessons were learned the hard way.

With this in mind, I went to the kitchen and opened the fridge, to see what I could just chuck into my inventory and keep as long as possible. There wasn't much. The milk had probably already gone bad, but there was some cheese and dried meat that was still good.

It had only been two days, but the fridge was reasonably well insulated, and I hadn't opened it much.

After a few days of living off sandwiches, I was pretty set on my decision for my next meal.

"It's time to make a little Crowling stew," I said and cackled like a witch in her forest cottage, about to eat little kids.

Name: Diana Mond

Age: 25

Class: Homesteader

Level: 1, 25/200 exp

Strength: 3

Constitution: 6

Intelligence: 6

Wisdom: 3

HP: 38/60

Energy: 60/60

Points to distribute: 0