Just seeing that one move from Jōsuke Shima left Yecheng stunned. After all, just ten days ago, when they first met, the guy was basically a helpless newbie getting his butt handed to him.
And now, after only about ten days, not only had his appearance changed dramatically, but his strength seemed to have gone through a complete transformation?
"Yōsuke, what exactly happened to you in these ten days? Why do I feel like you're a completely different person now...?"
Back then, Jōsuke might've looked ordinary, but at least he gave off the vibe of a young man full of spirit. But now, to Yecheng, he seemed like a battle-hardened old man.
Yecheng was extremely curious—what kind of experience could change someone's aura so drastically in just ten days?
And when he asked that, Jōsuke actually gave a confident smile and said, "Yecheng, I finally had my proper start!
It was a bit bumpy, but overall, I'd say it was a pretty good opening."
Seeing the nostalgic look on Jōsuke's face, Yecheng put on his best "I'm all ears" expression.
At first, his face was still calm. But the more he listened to Jōsuke recount his post-separation experience, the more bizarre Yecheng's expression became. In his heart, he kept screaming: This counts as a 'pretty good start'!?
After parting ways, Yecheng headed to the adventurer's guild while Jōsuke made his way to a tavern in town.
Compared to Yecheng, who had some basic strength and could hunt monsters to feed himself, Jōsuke had clearly been starving in the forest for quite some time.
So after getting a half-bag of copper coins from Yecheng, his first thought was to fill his stomach.
There was a reason he chose a tavern. In games, taverns are where you usually hear juicy rumors and gather intel.
Since they were still new to this world, collecting information early on was crucial.
Thanks to Yecheng's earlier reminder, Jōsuke also took care to hide his appearance before entering.
When he walked into the tavern, the patrons were curious about his covered face, but not overly surprised or nosy.
Unfamiliar with the local currency and cost of living, Jōsuke, like Yecheng before him, thought that big bag of copper coins was a hefty fortune.
So he went all out and ordered a full table of fine food. After all, spending big would make the tavern owner more friendly—and more likely to share information.
So far, everything made sense. Jōsuke was using his gaming experience wisely and felt pretty proud of his strategic start.
But then came the fatal flaw: during his small talk with the tavern owner, he finally learned the actual cost of things in this world.
And that's when he realized… he couldn't even begin to afford the feast in front of him.
He tried to negotiate and ask for a tab.
Skipping out on the bill wasn't an option. He'd already seen how strong even average people in this world were.
Even though the tavern owner wasn't an adventurer, the guy was built like a tank—his arms thicker than Jōsuke's thighs. As a shut-in weakling, there was no way Jōsuke could take him on.
So when he nervously admitted he might not have enough money and asked to pay later, the owner's smile instantly twisted into a scowl.
"No money and you still pretend to be some big shot!? I don't do tabs here. Even adventurers gotta pay up if they eat!"
The owner had initially thought Jōsuke was a rich customer worth keeping friendly with—that's why he chatted so much.
But now realizing the guy was just a broke poser? The owner's attitude changed instantly.
Looking at this skinny little thing, who looked weak and was weak, the owner grabbed Jōsuke like a ragdoll and searched him from head to toe.
Finally, he dug out all of Jōsuke's wealth: a grand total of 27 copper coins.
When the coins spilled onto the floor, the owner's face turned green with rage. He had assumed that even if Jōsuke didn't have enough for the meal, he'd at least be close.
But no! This guy had the audacity to order a table full of food worth around one gold coin—with only 27 copper coins on him!?
And after pigging out, he shamelessly claimed he was just "a little short"? A little!?
Based on the currency conversion in Gran Bahamal:
1 gold coin = 10,000 silver coins = 1,000,000 copper coins.
With only 27 measly coins, Jōsuke couldn't even afford to wash dishes to pay off the debt!
If you've got the nerve to dine and dash, then getting beat up is the natural consequence.
During the scuffle, the wooden mask Jōsuke had made to hide his face got knocked off.
The tavern owner had already been furious about the unpaid meal, but when he saw Jōsuke's face and realized he was a "half-beastman," he got even more pissed.
In this world, no matter the race, half-breeds—especially beastmen—were not treated kindly.
They were often seen as little more than wild animals with barely any intelligence.
But after the initial anger, the tavern owner had a realization. Jōsuke, a supposed beastman, could talk and seemed a lot smarter than usual for his kind.
So, just like those adventurers from before, a certain idea popped into his head.
"Kid, don't blame me. Whether you're a beastman or not, if you eat here, you pay. That's just how it works.
Since you don't have the money, I'll just sell you to the slave traders.
A talking beastman's pretty rare. Selling you should cover the meal cost."
Despite Jōsuke's constant protests that he wasn't a beastman, it was all useless in the end.
Poor guy had barely escaped one group of adventurers, only to end up sold to the slave traders anyway.
The only difference was who did the selling.
Talking beastmen were indeed a rare find, but to the tavern owner's surprise, the slave traders only offered three copper coins for him.