Wait a minute, a different thought sparked, pushing aside the marital woes and existential dread for a moment. If I'm back… does that mean…?
He closed his eyes, concentrating. In his first life here, the System had been gibberish – screens full of an alien language (English, as he later learned on Earth) that meant nothing to his Riveriyan-speaking self. On Earth, he'd finally understood it, tinkering with it idly, like a strange mobile game he couldn't quite uninstall. But Earth had no Void Power, no Spirits. The System had been a curiosity, nothing more.
Come on, you overgrown plant-themed shopping list… show yourself.
He focused, picturing the interface he remembered from Earth.
Flicker.
A translucent screen shimmered into existence in his vision, unseen by the outside world.
[Welcome Back, User Lloyd Ferrum!]
[System: The Shopping Tree - Fully Operational]
[Current System Coins: 0]
[Shop Access Cost: 10 System Coins]
Hah! A genuine grin, the first since waking up, touched Lloyd's lips. It worked. It was here. And thanks to eighty years spent learning English on Earth, he could actually read it this time.
"Zero coins," he muttered under his breath, the grin fading slightly. "Stingy as ever, I see." He remembered the grind on Earth – trying to figure out what counted as a 'task'. Apparently, 'successfully adulting' didn't offer many coin rewards.
But here? In Riverio? This changed everything.
This world ran on Spirit Power and Void Power. Inherited abilities, summoned spirits, complex power rankings from F to SSS and beyond. His family, the Ferrums, were an Arch Duke household – powerful, influential, but always teetering on the edge of political machinations. His father, Roy Ferrum, was strong. His mother, Milody Austin, equally so. Even his younger sister, Jothi, showed promise.
And him? Lloyd Ferrum, the first time around? He'd been… average. Pathetically average for an Arch Duke's heir. One Spirit Core, yes, but mediocre compatibility. A decent enough inherited Void Power from his father, but nothing spectacular. He hadn't even reached the Ascension stage with his Spirit before his death. And that spirit was a dog who could not even use magic.
But now…
He looked at the flickering System interface again. Buy Spirits. Customize abilities. Buy Void Powers. Rank them up.
This wasn't just a second chance at life. This was a chance to potentially rewrite his entire destiny. To not die face-down in some ditch at twenty-five. To maybe, just maybe, figure out what the hell was actually going on.
And perhaps, eventually, graduate from the sofa.
First things first. He needed System Coins. Ten just to open the shop. How did he get them again? Tasks. Missions. Trading valuables.
He eyed the opulent room. There had to be something he could trade. A loose gem? A decorative silver button? He mentally scanned his own meager possessions from back then. Probably nothing worth 10 System Coins.
Okay, tasks it is. What counted as a task? Getting off the sofa without waking the sleeping dragoness in the bed? Seemed like a high-difficulty mission right now.
He carefully, slowly, swung his legs off the sofa, his movements measured and silent, honed by decades of practice (both the original sofa years and the Earth years of trying not to wake up his wife when getting up for a midnight snack). His feet touched the plush carpet.
So far, so good.
He stood up, stretching cautiously. His back popped. Definitely nineteen.
He needed information. What exactly was the date? How long after the wedding was it really? Had anything significant happened in the week since the wedding that his past self had blithely ignored?
He glanced back at the bed. Rosa hadn't stirred. Her breathing was deep and even. For a moment, seeing her like this, unguarded, young, he felt a pang of something other than awkwardness. She was trapped in this political marriage just as much as he was. Maybe even more so. In his first life, he'd never really tried to understand her side of things.
Another thing to potentially change, he mused. But that was a problem for later. Much later. After coffee. And preferably, after acquiring god-like powers via a cosmic shopping catalogue.
Right now? Operation: Escape the Bedroom and Find Coins was a go. He tiptoed towards the door, his bare feet sinking into the expensive rug. Each step felt like navigating a minefield.
He reached the door, his hand hovering over the ornate brass handle.
Just gotta... turn it... slowly...
The click of the latch sounded like a gunshot in the quiet room. He froze, glancing back at the bed.
Rosa shifted, murmuring something in her sleep, then settled again.
Lloyd let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He slipped out of the room, closing the door with painstaking care behind him. Freedom. And the faint, lingering scent of expensive potpourri.
Now, for the real challenge: navigating the Ferrum Estate as a 19-year-old nobody with the memories of an 80-year-old Earthling and a desperate need for magical game currency.
This, he thought, a strange mix of dread and exhilaration bubbling within him, is going to be interesting.