Tokyo that afternoon was bright, with sunlight glinting off the tall windows of skyscrapers that stood like sentinels of the modern age.
In the middle of the city park, bustling with office workers on their break, students just out of school, and elderly strolling slowly along stone paths, Alaric stood awkwardly behind a small gray folding table.
On it, neatly arranged atop a black cloth that felt almost too formal for this kind of place, were handmade keychains crafted by his own hands.
They were simple. But not random. One was shaped like a small heart with a crack-like groove on the left side. Alaric had named it Longing's Meaning. Another looked like an old wooden window with a tiny flower beside it, titled Leftover Evening.
Ten designs in total, each born from emotions he had once felt, or never dared to say aloud.
The system had given him a mission name:
[CRAFTED FROM HEART]
[Goal: Sell 100 units in 7 days]
[Reward: Access to Production System Phase 1, Crafting Skill Lv.1 unlocked]
[Bonus: System Progress +32% (if successful)]
Alaric stood there in a plain hoodie and black pants. No banner. No flyers. Just keychains, and a small signboard that read:
"Meaningful Trinkets – Handmade from Heart to Heart."
But...
No one stopped. Not even a glance.
An hour passed.
Some young people glanced his way, then frowned, looking at him like he was some lost alien in the city center. A middle-aged woman walked by, mumbling quickly in Japanese, "A tourist, huh?" Alaric gave an awkward smile and lowered his head.
He tried to offer, "Sumimasen… kore wa… hand made original."
But his pronunciation was stiff. His tone sounded like a freezing Google Translate.
The woman gave a polite smile and shook her head. "Gomen, iranai."
Two hours in. Only two people had stopped. Three just took photos and walked away. Four little kids laughed because they thought the keychains looked weird and funny.
As the evening started to settle, a group of college girls stopped by, likely out of curiosity. One of them bought something, and the others followed just for fun. Total: 5 items sold in a flash.
Total for today: 7 units.
Alaric counted with trembling fingers. His goal was 100 units in a week. That meant at least 15 a day. He hadn't even reached half that on the first day.
He sat down on a park bench, watching the maple leaves, already turning yellow, sway before him. People passed by like the world was perfectly fine. But in his head, everything felt like a mess.
"Why did I think this experiment would work?"
Alaric reached into the small bag at his side and took out a half-empty water bottle. But he didn't drink.
"This system is stupid... this mission is stupid..."
But the system said nothing.
"Was I too trusting of this system? Or too confident in my dream?"
He leaned back against the bench. His eyes turned to the sky, then drifted toward the crowd.
No one knew who he was. No one cared. No one knew that he was the reincarnation of someone who had once lost everything and been given a second chance.
But as it turned out, chances weren't guarantees. He realized it now—this system didn't magically make him better. He was still Alaric, just a regular young man who happened to have a strange device in his head.
A quiet voice stirred within him:
"Maybe nothing in this world really comes easy... Even with a system. It still takes blood and tears."
"Damn it," Alaric muttered after reading the words that appeared in his mind.
The sky, once blue, was now growing dark. The busy park had quieted, leaving only a few couples and elderly folks sitting and chatting softly.
Alaric hadn't moved from his seat. The tiny keychains were packed back into their cardboard box. He stared at them the way someone stares at a dream that's just shattered.
"This won't work. I'm a nobody in a foreign land. I can't even speak their language properly."
Then a question crept into his mind—painful, but real.
"Why did I think life would change just because I had a system?"
No answer came. Only the cold night air brushing against his skin.
Suddenly, the system pinged.
[Day 1 Progress: 7 Units Sold]
[Time Left: 6 days]
[Status: Below Expectation]
Then, one more line appeared, like a jab.
"The system cannot replace sincerity. It only triggers potential."
Alaric stared at the words. Silent. His eyes turned red.
"If it's only potential... that means I still have to fall and struggle first, huh?"
He stayed there for a long while, until the park emptied and the crowds had all left. Street lamps flickered on, one by one. Night replaced day. But the feeling in Alaric's chest didn't leave.
Not disappointment in the system. But disappointment in himself, for believing the world would change just because of one robotic voice in his head.
But before he stood up to go home, he looked again at the box of keychains. Then took one out.
Longing's Meaning.
Shaped like a small heart, with a crack along its left edge. He stared at it for a while.
"Can you even sell longing?"
His lips curled into a bitter smile.
Yet in the next moment, he felt something stir. A small step. One that might just change the direction of his fate tomorrow.
_
The streets along the edge of the city park were still damp from an early morning drizzle. The sidewalk reflected the pale light of a cloudy sky, and the morning air carried a faint earthy scent.
Alaric sat on the same bench as the day before, his small stall already set up. Though his spirit hadn't fully returned.
The small box of handmade keychains was laid out neatly like yesterday, but this time without a sign. He didn't bother writing anything in Japanese anymore. Yesterday had torn his confidence, and he hadn't finished stitching it back together yet.
His hand gently held one of the keychains. He liked its shape. But still, he wondered. Who would care about a cracked heart-shaped trinket made by a foreigner?
He let out a long sigh and looked up at the sky.
"What am I even doing here...?"
Right then, the sound of small footsteps snapped him out of his thoughts.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
A cheerful little voice followed.
"Kaa-san, I wanna go over there!"
A young boy shouted.
Alaric turned instinctively.
The boy, maybe five years old, had run ahead of his mother, who had just finished buying something from a food cart. The mother turned and shouted in panic.
"Yamete! Kiken dayo!!"
Alaric's head whipped toward where the boy was headed.
Tires... tires...
A small car was speeding down the narrow road, way too fast for such a tight lane. The driver looked panicked upon seeing the child who had darted out of nowhere. There was no time to stop.
It all happened in a split second that somehow felt like forever, but wasn't.
Alaric didn't think. He just moved.
His body acted on its own—reflex, not bravery. Pure human instinct. To protect.
He ran. Shot up from the bench and sprinted toward the boy. No time to shout. No time to think. Just move.
His hand grabbed the boy's collar, then his own body rolled to the roadside, shielding the boy in his arms. The car screeched by, missing their legs by mere inches.
CKIIITT!
Tires screeched. The car halted. The driver jumped out, pale. The mother rushed over, crying and shouting.
"Arigatou... arigatou gozaimasu...!!"
The woman hugged her son tightly, then looked at Alaric with teary eyes. She tried to speak in a mix of Japanese and English.
"You save my son... I—thank you... thank you very much…"
Alaric sat there on the ground, panting, a slight scrape on his hand from the asphalt. But that wasn't what made his heart race.
It was what happened next.
The system pinged again.
[Humanitarian Action Detected]
[Emotional Link Established: Connected to Local Minority Network]
[New Location Unlocked: Kamishiro Community Festival]
[Recommendation: Relocate Sales Area]
[Social Connection: +15]
[System Progress: +3%]
Alaric froze.
"Community Festival...?"
A small holographic map appeared before his eyes, floating like a transparent screen only he could see. A glowing blue marker pulsed gently over a district near the city's edge, labeled: Kamishiro Festival – Minorities' Day Celebration.
The system added:
[This area is more welcoming toward unique ideas and foreign sellers. Recommended for small-scale ventures]
Alaric slowly stood, brushing off his pants. His hands were still slightly trembling. But in his heart, a new hope stirred.
He gave a small smile.
"I'm human. And this system... can feel that too."
_
Three hours later, Alaric arrived at Kamishiro community park. It wasn't as big as the city park, but it was far livelier. Food stalls from various countries lined the paths. India, Nepal, the Philippines, even Sudan. Folk music played faintly in the background, and kids ran around with colorful balloons.
He was granted permission to set up a small stall by one of the festival volunteers who had seen what happened earlier. They helped him connect to the event's vendor system.
Alaric's booth wasn't flashy. Just a plain cloth over a wooden table, his keychains laid out like before.
But this time...
People stopped.
An elderly woman in a hijab paused and read the name of one of the keychains—the one he often looked at himself. Longing's Meaning.
She smiled.
"Longing? That's Indonesian, isn't it?"
Alaric nodded.
"Yes. It means longing. Missing someone... deeply."
The woman picked one up and gave a soft smile.
"I'll take it. I live alone here. This keychain... feels like what I carry inside."
Alaric bowed.
"Thank you..."
Soon after, two high school girls from a nearby school dropped by, then brought over three more friends. One of them laughed and said:
"This is the guy who went viral last night! In our local LINE group!"
Alaric's eyes widened.
"Viral?"
The girl showed him her phone. There, a photo of the keychain posted yesterday. The caption read:
"Bought this from a foreign guy yesterday. Weird, but it stuck in my mind all the way home."
Over 300 likes. Comments filled with nostalgia and curiosity.
That day, Alaric sold 31 units.
As he packed up that evening, he looked up at the sky again. But this time, not out of despair.
But out of awe.
"So, even human feelings... can be a connection too."
And for the first time since arriving in this foreign land, he smiled fully.
The system reappeared.
[Day Two: 31 Units Sold]
[Time Left: 5 days]
[Status: Momentum Detected]
[Bonus Unlocked: Crafting Skill Lv.1 Unlocked]
[Production Slots Active: 10/10]
[System Progress: 14%]
[Total Progress: 64%]
["Well done, Alaric. You're beginning to understand. Selling isn't what matters most... it's touching something alive inside someone else."]
Alaric paused, then quietly replied,
"System... are we starting to understand each other?"