Kaan was excited. This was his last day at his cashier job. He said goodbye to his co-workers and left the store, hopping onto the Metrobüs—which he was never a fan of. With five Golrums in his hand from Aethel, he headed to the Grand Bazaar for the exchange. The commute was hell, as expected.
"As soon as I get some money by exchanging these, I'm buying a car and a house," he thought as he arrived at the jewelry store.
"Hello, I want to exchange some gold," he said, handing the Golrums to the inspector.
"Of course, sir, let's take a look at the gold," the jeweler said, taking the coins. He noticed the Golrums had a person inscribed on them. I never saw gold like this, he thought, looking at the coins suspiciously.
"Where did you get these, young man?" he asked.
"I got them from Thailand," Kaan lied comfortably. "They are obtained legally, sir, don't worry."
The jewelry inspector remained suspicious but said nothing as he continued to test the gold. "Yep, this is .99 gold. Let's weigh it to be sure." He picked up the Golrums from the testing space and placed them on a precision scale that looked like it came from the future.
"One hundred twenty-seven grams," the jeweler declared. "That is equivalent to $17,000 USD. Would you like to get your money cash or bank transfer, young man?"
$17K! That much? Wow, it is enough for getting a ride and getting a home. Nice, Kaan thought. And this was just five Golrums! I have 129 more! I am filthy rich. He he he he.
"Cash, sir," Kaan said. As soon as he agreed, the apprentice jeweler started running to the bank to retrieve the money.
After taking his money, Kaan, nervous and clutching the cash, hopped back onto the Metrobüs and went home to look for used cars and a small house suitable for operating the strange reward he had claimed from the Ring.
When he first returned.
DING!
Congratulations on returning unharmed to your dimension. You completed the objective "Repair the steam engine and improve it" and you made a significant contribution to the Aethel dimension. You will receive your reward now.
Would you like to receive the reward now?
YesNo
"Yes, of course I would want to receive my reward for four months of grueling porter work!"
As soon as he selected 'Yes,' a smooth, spherical object appeared in his hands. It resembled a large flashlight, slightly damaged on the lens, and, true to form, had a little corroded USB-C port.
"Of course you have a USB-C port," he said with a sarcastic laugh. "I am not even surprised anymore. But what are you? Are you an interdimensional flashlight?"
The holographic interface popped up with a description:
Universal Material Analyzer (from the Level 3 Kendral dimension, slightly damaged)
Status: Fixable.
Explanation: A material analyzer that uses 5V. Shoots small electron beams at the target material, analyzing its structure, composition, and core components.
"Wow, that's really useful. Let me take you apart so I can fix you," Kaan said, placing the device on the table and retrieving his ancient soldering iron. He took apart the device to look inside.
"That's some advanced lithography inside—better not touch that," he murmured. "I see some wires got loose. Let's solder them back in their place." Zzzzt. zzzzzzt. zzzzzzt. "Now I need a USB-C port, because that port is unusable."
He quickly left his apartment, went to a local electric shop to get a new USB-C port, and rushed back to his house. After replacing the port and charging the device a little bit, a mini-hologram popped up in front of the lens.
"Yes! I got it working. Nice, let's test it."
He aimed the device at his desk table.
Analyzing!
Item: A crude table.
Ingredients:92% Birchwood, 6% Glue, 1% Water, 1% Dirt.
Status: Can be broken anytime.
"What do you mean 'can be broken anytime?' That table is older than me and sturdier than ever!"
Warning: Inside components of the Universal Material Analyzer are not fixated properly. Please fix it ASAP. It can run but cannot analyze complicated materials.
"Oh, so I need to fix it more. But I don't have the space or proper tools right now. Let's focus on the other rewards first."
DING!
Congratulations! You made significant contributions to the Aethel Dimension. Here are your rewards:
Ring level up!Ring level up!134 Golrum transferred to User.
Clinggg! Sacks of goldrum crashed to the table and broke the table.
Despite the broken table, Kaan was excited. "Nice! I got the Golrums. Tomorrow, I will officially quit my job and get these converted into working capital."
Present
He was surfing in his ancient laptop, trying to find a better place to call home and a car that could get him from point A to point B.
"That's perfect!" he exclaimed, finding an affordable house for sale in Şile with a quiet garage and a strong internet connection.