Damien stared silently at the rows and columns of ten blue boxes floating neatly in front of him.
They were arranged in perfect symmetry—two rows of five, each one with its own subtle shimmer, the faint hum of mana resonating quietly within the confined space of the inventory.
His gaze swept from one end to the other, inspecting the items in each box.
Out of the ten boxes that floated before him, seven were filled.
The remaining three stayed dim and transparent, the soft emptiness within them making the glowing ones stand out even more.
The first five boxes each held rabbit meat.
The pale, freshly skinned flesh looked almost too clean, faintly gleaming under the blue light of the inventory space.
Damien had made sure to clean them thoroughly before storing them inside, knowing that keeping them this way would help preserve them longer.
In the sixth box was the corpse of the wild boar he had taken down earlier this morning.
Its body was still whole, frozen in time the moment he placed it into the inventory.
The thick black hide looked dull under the blue hue, and its tusks gleamed faintly white.
It took up nearly the entire box’s space, leaving no room for air, no room for anything else.
The seventh box, however, looked different. Instead of a distinct animal form or slab of meat, it contained a simple, tightly sealed black bag.
It looked unassuming compared to the others, its material coarse and rough.
Yet inside that bag were the smaller trophies from his hunt—the teeth and tufts of fur he had skinned off from the rabbits’ corpses.
He had taken great care not to waste anything, carefully separating the usable parts from what couldn’t be sold or crafted later.
Each tooth, each strand of fur, had been stored meticulously within that one black bag.
He exhaled softly, leaning back as the boxes floated in front of him, their glow subtly fading and brightening like a steady heartbeat.
He remembered clearly that out of the nine rabbits he had hunted, he had only brought five with him into the system’s inventory.
The remaining four, he had dropped off at home earlier that morning to be used as meat for their feeding.
However, before then, he had made sure to skin the rabbits, separating meat from fur in the most efficient way possible.
This way, Claire wouldn’t have to go through the messy part of preparation.
All she would have to do was wash the meat before cooking it.
He turned his attention back to the floating boxes and blinked slowly, his focus shifting as a peculiar thought crept into his mind.
There was something strange about the system inventory, something he had discovered due to the test he carried out before leaving the forest.
It wasn’t something he was sure was intentional or not, but it was undeniably useful.
A glitch.
That was the only word that fit.
He had realized that as long as he packed all the items he wanted to store inside a single bag—no matter how many or how heavy—the system only counted it as one item.
The black bag in the seventh box was proof of that. It should’ve taken at least four or five boxes to store the fur and teeth individually, but because they were all packed together, the system saw them as a single object.
Damien had tested it again just to be sure, placing several stones, herbs, and random pieces of junk inside the same type of bag.
The result had been the same every time. The system didn’t recognize the contents—only the container.
That meant that if he played it smart, he could save a massive amount of inventory space.
The realization had given him a small but undeniable thrill. In a world where every small advantage counted, this was a huge one.
He closed the inventory window, his expression calm but his mind already racing with plans.
His plan for the day was simple enough—sell the remaining four portions of rabbit meat and the wild boar.
He already knew where to go. The place wasn’t too far, just at the edge of the village where most hunters gathered to trade.
The sun hung high above the treetops, casting long, golden streaks across the path as he walked.
The smell of damp earth mixed with faint traces of smoke from nearby chimneys.
The path itself wasn’t busy; only a few villagers passed by carrying baskets or pushing carts filled with vegetables.
After a few minutes of steady walking, Damien reached the edge of the village.
The houses there looked slightly older—roughly built from stone and timber, but still sturdy.
The smell of dried meat and herbs grew stronger as he walked further, guiding him toward his destination. He turned to his right and saw it.
A fairly large shop stood not far from the path. Its wooden sign swayed lightly in the breeze, the letters carved deeply into the board and painted in faded gold:
Buy and Sell Your Meat Here.
The sign was simple, but it was enough.
He paused for a brief moment, scanning the exterior.
The shop wasn’t too crowded, but a few hunters stood outside chatting casually, each carrying small sacks or bundles wrapped in cloth.
Damien’s eyes gleamed with a strange glint, which quickly vanished like it was never there.
There was a counter on the shop, through which one could see the interior.
Damien approached the counter, his eyes scanning the space carefully.
There was no one behind it. Not a single person in sight.
He frowned slightly and glanced around. Maybe the owner had stepped out back for a moment.
He waited a few seconds, tapping his fingers lightly on the wooden surface.
"Hello?" he called out. His voice echoed faintly through the shop.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then, from behind the counter, a soft, and seductive voice replied, its tone calm and slightly cool.
"What do you want?"