Congratulations. You are officially the most broke person in the kingdom.
X blinked. The words hung in the air, glowing with a weird green light, right in front of his nose. He rubbed his eyes. The words stayed put.
He wasn't dreaming. The ground under his worn-out boots was definitely real and uncomfortable. The smell of old cabbage from the market was definitely real and gross. He was, as usual, standing in the worst part of the square, holding a sign that said, "WILL DO MATH FOR FOOD" in slightly sad handwriting.
Business had been… bad.
"Alge," X said, not moving. "Do you see a… glowing green… thing? Congratulating me?"
To his left, Alge didn't look up from his chalkboard, which was covered in frantic numbers. He was a tall guy who always looked like he'd just bitten into a lemon. "I see the very high chance we'll be eating air for dinner," Alge muttered, erasing a line. "I do not see any glowing congratulations. Are you hungry-dizzy again? I told you not to eat that shiny street meat."
"No, it's right there!" X insisted, swiping his hand through the text. It wobbled but didn't go away. "It says I'm the kingdom's most broke person. Did I win a prize for being terrible at life?"
The second he finished talking, the words vanished. A see-through screen popped up instead.
Name: X
Money Right Now: 3 Copper Bits
Special Title: The Brokest
Weird Power: Money = Magic???
Next Goal: Get 1 Silver Coin. Reward: Something?
Big Mystery: FIND X - (This part is broken.)
X stared. "Okay. New screen. It says my money does magic."
Alge finally looked over. His eyes got big behind his glasses. "A floating screen. Interesting. Illusion? Describe the numbers."
Before X could, new words scrolled across the bottom.
System Ready. Hello, X. Every coin you get = Magic Points. Magic Points do… stuff. Weird stuff. Have fun.
"It says coins turn into magic!" X said, a spark of hope lighting up in his empty stomach. "Magic, Alge! No more sad cabbage!"
"It says 'weird stuff,'" Alge corrected, sounding deeply tired. "That means 'trouble.' Do not poke the mysterious floating screen, X. We need to observe. Carefully. For a long, long time."
But X wasn't listening. The word "magic" was buzzing in his head. He looked at the three copper bits in his dirty hand. His entire fortune. What if he… used one?
Driven mostly by hunger, he shuffled to the closest stall—Old Man Garrick's bread cart. Garrick looked at him with the usual "oh, it's you" face.
"One stale roll, please," X said, placing a single copper bit on the counter.
The bit left his fingers.
The world blipped.
A sound like a hundred bells and breaking plates rang out from nowhere. The copper bit in Garrick's hand flashed gold and disappeared.
Magic Point Get!
Money Spent!
Doing Weird Stuff Now…
"What in the—" Garrick started.
The air around X's feet started to wiggle. Then, color exploded on the ground. Bright green. It wasn't grass. It was… fabric.
In two seconds flat, the dirty stones around X were gone, replaced by a super fancy, emerald-green carpet.
X looked down at his boots, now on plush velvet. He looked at the roll in his hand. He looked at Garrick, whose mouth was hanging open.
New words appeared.
Weird Thing Happened: 'Fancy Floor'
What it did: Made the ground fancy for a bit.
Note: Nice first try. Maybe aim for something helpful next time?
Next to him, Alge let out the world's heaviest sigh. He pulled out a notebook, wrote "Weird Log #1" at the top, and started scribbling. "Observation," he said, voice completely flat. "X spent one coin. The result: fancy rug. Conclusion: The 'magic' turns money into random, silly things. You bought bread. You got a carpet." He pushed his glasses up. "The magic isn't just weird. It's a joker. We are in so much trouble."
X took a wobbly step. The carpet was soft. A big, silly grin broke out on his face. Trouble or not, this was the least boring thing that had ever happened to him.
He had two bits left. Who knew what they'd do?
Somewhere deep in his ragged coat pocket, something small and fuzzy sneezed. A single, shiny silver button clinked against the last two copper bits.
Weird Pet Found: 'Trouble' has joined.
Note: Good luck. You'll need it.