The sky turned crimson as Alaric reopened his booth at the Kamishiro Community Festival. Like yesterday, he arranged the keychains one by one.
But this time, his hands moved with a calmer rhythm. No longer filled with anxiety. There was a quiet sense of trust now. Not in the system, but in himself.
He never imagined that one reflexive act of saving a child would begin to pull his life into a path he had never pictured.
People started arriving earlier than the day before. Some young visitors brought photos of the keychains from social media, pointing and laughing as they looked at the display.
"This one, this one! Do you have it?"
"I sent a DM but he didn't reply. Turns out he really is selling here!"
"The design's a bit different, but it's unique. Looks great!"
Some even handed over money without saying much. All they said was,
"I'll take three. For souvenirs."
One hour passed, and 19 units had already vanished from the table. The clock showed 10:43 a.m.
Alaric fell silent for a moment, staring at the hairs on his own arm.
"Is this real...?"
Just as he was about to take a break, the system chimed in:
[High Demand Detected]
[Production Slots Full]
[Initial Production Trial Activated]
["Complete 20 additional units within 2 hours. Design accuracy: Minimum 85%. Material quality: Must not drop."]
Alaric swallowed hard. His box of materials was already half empty.
He quickly grabbed a small wooden board, glue, and threads he had bought the night before with what little he had. At the side of his booth, he sat cross-legged and began producing right on the spot.
His hands moved fast. Small cutouts, threaded stitches, light carvings with a sharp blade.
Maybe not perfect, but he knew people weren't only buying shapes. They were buying the stories attached to the object. Stories that reflected how they felt.
Even during production, he smiled at the customers. Alaric worked and sold at the same time, crafting those cute little keychains. A few kids stopped to watch and said:
"Eh, that ojiisan is making the keychains live!"
"He's not ojiisan, stupid! He's onii-san!"
They laughed. Alaric just smiled. Over the next three hours, every keychain he made was gone. Some even left handwritten notes for custom orders.
Total for day two: 48 units sold.
The system lit up again:
[System Recorded: High Adaptability]
[System Progress: +9%]
[Crafting Skill Leveled Up to Lv.2]
[Production Trial Passed – Redesign Access Unlocked]
Alaric looked at his rough hands stained with glue, then at the crowd around him. He didn't know where they came from, but more and more people were showing up just to see his booth. Someone even asked:
"Do you take resellers?"
"Do you have a website?"
He was speechless. He didn't even know what to say. But something stirred in his chest—a fire of confidence.
"Maybe I really was reborn... not just to fight—but to build everything from scratch."
-
The third day came with a different kind of air. Alaric arrived earlier, not just to prepare. But because he knew people would be waiting.
And he was right.
A line had already formed even before his wooden table was set up. Schoolchildren on holiday, curious mothers. Even two travelers from Korea stood there using Google Translate.
"This one… for love?"
"Yes," Alaric answered with a smile, "Love… and longing."
The space around his booth was no longer just a marketplace. It had become a little performance. Some people stayed just to watch his production process live.
He had brought a small burner to engrave customers' names on the back of the keychains—a creative touch based on a suggestion from the system the day before.
Someone even said,
"This isn't just a product... it's a story you hang!"
The words made Alaric pause.
He jotted it down quietly. It would become the name of a new series one day.
That afternoon, the system sent a sharper-than-usual notification:
[100 Unit Target: Reached in 3 Days]
[Total: 225 units in 72 hours]
[Special Reward: Badge Unlocked]
[Heart Crafter – Bronze]
[Recognized as a crafter of meaning. Your products contain living emotions]
[Production Slots Increased: 15 → 40]
[Mass Design System Unlocked]
[System Progress: +12%]
The system even suggested:
["Activate Branding & Name Your Business."]
Alaric stood in the crowd, holding the digital badge glowing softly in his interface. He closed his eyes briefly, then whispered:
"The business name... Makna Gantung."
"Ah, that's a great idea!"
Then suddenly.
A middle-aged man in a casual blazer and serious expression approached. He introduced himself as Hiroshi Kawaguchi, owner of a craft store in the city's famous art district.
"I want to feature your products in my gallery. Not just to sell... but to present them as works of art."
Alaric couldn't speak. His hands froze from the shock of it all.
"Are you... sure?"
Hiroshi smiled.
"It's rare to see someone who can touch feelings with such light hands. But you've done it."
Alaric could only smile and bow respectfully.
-
That night, after closing his booth, Alaric walked alone through the festival street. Small lanterns glowed softly overhead, and the Tokyo sky felt closer than usual.
The system spoke gently:
["You're no longer just a buyer of fate. You're beginning to write it."]
Alaric smiled.
["And the first sentence... begins with the hands."]
["Hands that failed. Hands that doubted. But also... hands that chose to keep creating."]
And tomorrow, he would make even more.
The fading buzz of the festival gave way to the footsteps of people slowly heading home. Among the remaining tents and wooden boards being dismantled, Alaric stood beside his small cart, now nearly empty.
Under the warm glow of a streetlamp, the middle-aged man was still waiting for him.
Hiroshi Watanabe a simple name, but every word he spoke carried weight. Earlier, he only introduced himself as a gallery owner.
But now... standing closer, Alaric realized the look in Hiroshi's eyes wasn't just that of a collector. He saw the soul of a key player in the art world.
"You haven't gone home?" Alaric asked, trying to keep his tone polite.
Hiroshi chuckled lightly.
"Neither have you. And I wanted to make sure you don't walk alone tonight."
Alaric turned, slightly surprised. Hiroshi continued:
"I have a space on the second floor of my shop. It used to be an old studio, now unused. It's small, but enough for you. If you'd like, consider it... your workshop now."
Alaric was silent for a moment.
"And here," Hiroshi opened his wallet and pulled out an NFC card, "Consider this a small fund. For materials. As your starting investment."
Alaric reached for the card with his right hand. Even the system stayed quiet, letting this moment flow without interference.
"Why are you helping me this much?" Alaric murmured. But Hiroshi heard it.
He smiled.
"Because I was once like you. And because I know... hands that always touch people's deepest feelings will always find their way."
The next day, Alaric visited the studio Hiroshi had offered. It wasn't much compared to modern offices. The walls were faded, there was only one window. But to Alaric, it felt like an altar for his mission.
He cleaned the long wooden table. Started filling the empty shelves with materials. The system even helped him arrange the layout for maximum efficiency, and suggested one crucial change.
A notification appeared:
[New Skill Unlocked: Collective Resonance]
[If an item connects to the collective emotion of a group, its impact multiplies. Viral potential increases exponentially.]
Alaric stared at the notification for a long moment.
"So, it's not just about looking good. It has to speak."
His hands got to work. Not just reproducing now, but redesigning. Creating keychains inspired by small conversations in the park. About being left behind. Or about hope for the future.
Each design was given a short name: Hope in a Pocket, Window to the Past, and Steps That Never Returned.
Each one was produced in limited runs of just 20–30 units.
Because Alaric didn't want these items to be products. He wanted them to be stories you could hang, remember, even gift to someone as a vessel of meaning.
It was time for collaboration to begin.
Hiroshi had offered more than just space. He opened up his network too. Within two days, Alaric was introduced to two young local artists. Phoya, a poetic watercolor painter, and Daichi, a young calligrapher with a modern flair.
Alaric, who had been unsure at first, was now finding his rhythm.
"I'll make the form and meaning," he said.
"You just breathe color and life into it."
They began their first collaboration. A small keychain as always. Phoya painted a soft blue cloud behind it, and Daichi wrote a single kanji: yuki, meaning snow.
He named the design: The Snow That Never Fell in Front of My House.
And the product blew up.
Within 48 hours, the entire batch sold out on the local marketplace. Floods of satisfied comments poured in. People weren't just buying the design, but the story behind it.
"This feels just like me."
"I cried reading the story."
"Can you make a design for longing... for a soulmate?"
The system pinged:
[[Collective Resonance Detected]]
[Viral Effect: 740% Above Average]
[Additional Design Slots Unlocked]
[System Progress +7%]
[Total Progress Including Bonus : 94%]
That small meaning spread far.
One night, after their tenth batch sold out, Hiroshi took Alaric out for ramen. There, they discussed something important: the name.
[Remember, like I said before. This is no longer just about products]
[You need a name that can travel anywhere]