Chapter 2: Florida Man Collected Trash to Prepare for Isekai Adventure
<I shall hereby introduce your system features.>
Jessica coldly ignored Felix's odd conversation and proceeded to introduce the system screen to him. The system menu is split into two. Jessica's portrait remained on the right screen while the newly created left monitor showed Felix's information.
<Please check the system screen on the left and get familiar with it. You will be stuck with this system menu for a long time.>
Felix nodded and stopped steering the conversation. He looked at the screen.
.
Name: Felix Ariel
Bloodline: [Unknown]
Element Affinity: Fire, Metal, Void
Level: 0
Mana: 0
.
Felix was a little disappointed as he thought of typical RPG attributes, such as Strength, Dexterity, Agility, Vitality, and Intelligence. Instead, it showed strange information.
"What is my bloodline?" asked Felix.
<You are a descendant of the great [BEEP] [BEEP] [BEEP] of [BEEP] Universe. However, your bloodline is very thin as your family branch belongs in a lower universe, and your world lacks spiritual or mana resources. Therefore, your talent is considered mediocre and negligible in the eyes of the great being.>
Hearing an insult from an anime girl was painful. Still, Felix was curious about the censored words.
"Who is my ancestor again?"
<Lord [BEEP] [BEEP] [BEEP] of [BEEP] Universe.>
"Why the censor?"
<The censorship is beyond my authority. I was created by Lord [BEEP], and my administrative power is insufficient to bypass the censorship or disclose this piece of information.>
"…Forget it, then," Felix changed the subject. He pointed at his level. "So, how do I raise my level?"
<You can raise your level by gathering mana through the automatic mana extraction option in your system menu. For starters, please select the Mana Extraction option on the left side of your system screen.>
Felix rechecked his system screen. On the left side, there were two functions available: the status detail screen and the mana extraction choice. He pressed the second option to test it.
The system screen changed, showing a recycle logo and a giant trash bin image. Under the picture, an empty square box shone, attracting Felix's attention.
<Next, please bring an item that you wish to discard into the square box underneath the picture on the screen.>
"…And what will happen?"
<You will gain mana at the cost of the discarded item. Please bear in mind that the item will disappear forever.>
"Sounds like a perfect system for throwing away chemical waste. I'll bite."
Felix left his room and explored his house. Entering the living room, he grabbed empty beer cans from the coffee table and turned around. The system screen followed Felix. When he whirled around, it was already in front of him.
Testing the system's ability, Felix deposited an empty beer can by pushing it against the system screen. Jessica's portrait screen on the right mumbled with dull eyes and prompted Felix with a confirmation message.
<You have extracted mana from an aluminum can. You have collected 0.001 mana.>
"Hah?" Felix was taken aback by the amount. "Not even one mana but 0.001?!"
<The amount of mana depends on the market value and the quality of the object. An empty beer can is considered trash in your world, which is worth approximately 30 cents per pound. Trading one into 0.001 mana is already generous.>
"…"
Although Felix was disappointed, he silently gathered trash and unwanted items, giving them to the system.
.
.
By 3 PM the same day, Felix had cleaned every room in his house. Since his entire family had passed away, he didn't need their clothes, personal items, and some furniture. As such, he discarded almost everything except for his belongings.
.
Name: Felix Ariel
Bloodline: [Unknown]
Magic Element Affinity: Fire, Metal, Void
Level: 0
Mana: 7.595
.
After sacrificing so much trash, clothes, and furniture, Felix still couldn't raise his level to 1. He stared at the sparkling clean house and broke a sweat.
"You even took all the dust in my house, but you only gave me 7ish mana. What do I have to give you to increase it higher?" Felix complained.
<Please contribute Element Au and Element 710 to rapidly increase your mana.>
Felix's expression turned dark. "I know the element table. Au is gold, but what the hell is Element 710?"
<Element 710 is a reference to a certain managed democracy game, which is trending on X right now due to drama regarding the publisher forcing gamers to link their game with their SNOY domain, which is often compromised by hackers. Also, the constant nerfs and repetitive content are causing the game to be on the decline.>
"I haven't played games recently. What is that?"
<Long story short, Element 710 is OIL if you read it upside down. In this case, we refer to crude oil to be precise. Would you like to know more?>
"…"
The references were killing him. Felix rubbed his forehead in exasperation.
"And how the hell do I get crude oil?! Dig up my freaking backyard and pray that dinosaurs died somewhere around here?!"
<Don't worry. You don't have time to look for crude oil in your world anyway. For now, I advise you to convert everything, including your house, into mana. You will not be coming back here for a long time after tomorrow noon.>
The system reminded Felix about the pending transmigration. He had less than 21 hours to strengthen and prepare himself, which brought up some questions.
"What do I have to prepare exactly?"
<For starters, firearms - guns and ammunition.>
"Oh, no issues, then."
Felix grinned widely. He returned to his room and pushed his bed aside, revealing a trap door on the wooden floor. Unlocking the trap door, Felix opened the cover, revealing a secret 20-cubic-meter room full of crates and boxes.
Climbing down into the room, Felix admired his family's collection of firearms.
Floridians couldn't call themselves Floridians without big guns! Florida men without guns were heretics and a disgrace to the state!
"How about these?" Felix proudly showed his arsenal to Jessica.
However, the system girl was not impressed. Jessica's avatar stared at Felix with a dull expression.
<Please liquidate those antiques, such as junk from WWII and unrepairable rifles, into mana. Again, you won't be returning here for a long time.>
"But why?"
<You need 10 mana to increase your level from 0 to 1, which will unlock necessary system features, such as system inventory and quests.>
<In addition, liquidating firearms gives more mana than furniture, household objects, or trash.>
Felix pouted. He gazed at his grandfather's Karabiner 98k, which was broken in half. A rusty M1911 pistol inside a glass box was also a treasure his father cherished.
But since both of them had perished, Felix shrugged and sacrificed the two items for mana, shoving the entire showcase display table into the floating system monitor next to Jessica's avatar screen.
*DING*
<You have extracted mana from two broken firearms. You have collected 1.405 mana.>
His mana stock increased to 9.000, but it was not enough. He searched for more objects that he didn't need.
"What should I give you for that one point of mana?" Felix asked the system.
<How about the 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridges of that broken Kar 98? You don't have any other rifles that can use them.>
"Will that be enough for the mana?"
<More than enough.>
"…If you say so."
Although Felix doubted Jessica, he tossed a metal ammo crate full of 7.92x57mm cartridges to the system screen. There were only 10 remaining inside the box.
*DING*
<You have obtained 1 mana.>
<Congratulations! Your level has increased to 1!>
<New system features have been unlocked.>
<You can now regenerate energy daily.>
<You have unlocked 10 slots of inventory.>
<You have unlocked the quest feature.>
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