Authors note:
Changed a bit of the story, I know its the first chapter but I feel this new direction will suite it better, sorry for those who will have to read this chapter again for the new line of thought. I do hope it will be for the better in the end.
If you find any grammar or spelling mistakes please pm me and I will change it. I am just working on this by my self and doing it for fun so any help is appreciated.
Now on to the Start of this story, hope you enjoy, and if you do you should know what to do. :P
Chapter 1 – Where it all started
Behind a beautiful mahogany desk in the most comfortable chair of his life, being lit by the combination of a lamp and the light of a computer screen is the sleeping form of Charles Smith, a formerly small business owner and secret nerd, now turned protagonist of our story.
Opening his eyes, the first thought that pops into Charles's mind is that this is not where he went to sleep last night. Looking around Charles sees a large well decorated room with two sofas opposite each other, with a small coffee table separating them, in the right corner of the room.
To the left was a standing desk with different decanters of unknown liquids filling them and perfectly made crystalline glasses to drink the liquids with. In front of his desk were two well-made comfortable chairs sat facing him, there purpose supposedly for formal meetings.
The only door he could see from his position was right in front of him, to the back of the room, made of polished oak with a shiny gold handle. Overall, the room was expertly decorated to his tastes, but definitely not his office.
At that thought the computer made a chime and Charles's attention was drawn to the notification indicator that was flashing. Using the mouse situated next to the keyboard, Charles clicked on the icon and a message popped up on screen.
[Hello Charles,
This may be disorientating on your human mind, but bear with me for a short while. I am the Market, a singular multidimensional construct with the purpose of conducting trade and making profit. To facilitate this the market needs a manager and a head merchant, this person's purpose is to run the market and help it grow. You are that person. This is the first and last time we will speak directly. For you now have the responsibility to help me grow and we are now one.]
And after reading that sentence a bolt made of pure energy and information was sent straight at the forehead of Charles, making him fall unconscious.
Waking up, for a second time, with a remnant of the information being processed, Charles said, as if second nature, "Status". Upon the utterance of that word a glowing gold box appeared in front of him.
[Name: Charles Smith
Title: The Merchant
Age: 21
Race: Human
Rating/Rarity: Unquantifiable
Description: Charles Smith is the Merchant of the Market. He has the task to make profit and grow the Market in any way he deems fit. Being the singular Market Owner, his value is Unquantifiable by the Markets standards. Charles is a driven individual and a bit of a nerd.]
Looking at the Markets high opinion of him, Charles felt a bit smug. Opening the abilities tab Charles looked at the abilities the Market had given him.
[Abilities
Merchants Eyes – Active – Level 1 – Allows the user to look at something and deduce the value of that object in terms of the market's standards.
Merchants Mind – Passive – Level Max – Allows the user to keep a calm mind and always place profit in front of any situation. Also allows for the user to pick up on market stability and economic cues more easily, which intern allows for more opportune and better deals.
Merchants Greed – Passive – Level Max – Based on the scale of the deal and the amount of profit that can be made from said deal, this ability will give a corresponding amount of market points in reward for the hard work.]
All the abilities had a purpose really and would help greatly in his future endeavours, Charles knew it. Merchants Eyes was the generic eye skill, with a bit of a twist, that would allow him to see the status and the value of an object, from the Markets Perspective and in the form of market points, which is the Markets base currency. Being level 1 Charles suspected that the ability would gain sub abilities and evolve the more he used it.
Merchants Mind, like Gamers Mind from the manhua The Gamer, would allow Charles to keep calm and think through a problem logically. It would also allow him to keep his profits in the forefront of his mind which will help him be a better merchant.
Finally, Merchants Greed would give him an incentive to make the most out of a deal by giving him a point multiplier based on the scale and how well the deal goes. This overall was just a nice ability to have and would give him something to focus on during his negotiations allowing him to keep his mind focused.
Getting up from his chair Charles turned around. What he saw was another door that he could not see from his position at the desk. He knew, from the information transferred to him, that this door led to his personal bed chambers.
Walking through the door he was met with a comfortable room that would be perfect to relax in. It had a large king size bed, a plush sofa and a set of armchairs that would be perfect to relax and or lay down on.
Against one of the far walls was a set of shelves that were most likely made to put books on if the few that where already on there were any indication. Next to the bed was a walk-in wardrobe that he knew had all the attire he would need for day-to-day life and to conduct business in.
Finally, directly across from the bed and next to the sofa and the armchairs was a hearth that was set into the wall with a decently sized television directly above it. Overall, it was a room that would be perfect to de-stress in after a hard day's work.
Returning to his office, Charles walked to the main entrance and then through it. On the other side was a pathway with concrete floor and walls. This was the Staff only area of the Market. Just like all the locations in the Market, the Staff area can expand to fit all the departments or branches that it needs for the operation of the Market. The only branch currently available in the staff area is the Storage warehouse.
The warehouse is made up of a set of large industrial shelves, that would be used to store large quantities of goods. The number of shelves seemed to run on forever in an ever-expanding grid of storage devices. The shelves themselves were special, incorporating whatever space folding technology that the Market used to make all the space for the eventual different branches, each shelf could hold an almost infinite quantity of one item in an expanded and time frozen space.
At first glance, given the quantity of the items that can potentially be stored, it would be a nightmare to store and retrieve items from the storage, but in fact the Market processed all the items itself and would allow the retrieval and deposit of items by authorized staff from the different terminals inside the Market. Making it easy for the day to day running of the Markets different Branches.
Exiting the warehouse, Charles made his way out of the Staff area and into the Hall. This area being the place that all the branches that can be accessed by the customers can be placed. Currently the Hall was empty as there were no branches purchased for this area. But Charles knew that after he is done looking around, he would be ready to begin the first step in the Markets development.
Moving on, the final area of the Market is The Reception. This is the entrance location to the Market, being a well decorated room with two large reception desks/counters to either wall that the customers can be used to request items to trade that are already in storage.
And finally, there is the archway that connects the Market to the outside world. The archway itself was special as it connected the Market to all openings that are made, called Storefronts. Meaning that if two customers went into two different Storefronts it would allow them to meet in the same reception room in the Market. It would also allow for the customer to exit at the same Storefront they entered, however as a perk, any employee of the Market can exit at any of the Storefront's locations.
Feeling satisfied with the tour, Charles teleported back to his desk in his office and sat down. And yes, he can teleport to anywhere in the Market after all he is the manager, and it must come with some perks. Opening one of the applications at his terminal he went into the shop.
This is the Market shop, a place where you can buy items that will help in the running and or development of the Market. This shop uses Market Points as currency. This form of currency can be gained by doing deals for the Market. Currently Charles has 5000 points to spend.
Searching through the shop Charles found many items that would come in useful like the
[Market Bag (Cost: 1000 + 1000 per Bag purchased) – allows wielder to input any item into the shops storage and withdraw items of common or uncommon rarity. Items must be smaller than the diameter of the bags opening. Bags may only be used by personnel of the market.]
Which would be useful in traveling around a world by yourself and selling the markets goods for profit without having to have a physical Storefront location.
Or the
[Teleport Scroll (Cost: 250) – One time use, teleport ability that allows for the user to appear anywhere the user has been before or can see.]
Which could help get the user to a location they have been before but does not have a Storefront. Or it could help escape a sticky situation. It acts like an instant one-person gate spell.
And, of course, there are other items that would be essential in the development of the Market such as
[Storefront tokens (cost: 1000 + 1000 per Storefront purchased) – token can be placed on any building or opening. This token allows a connection to the Market and will create a permanent Storefront location]
This is definitely needed in order to expand the Markets influence in an area. It would allow for a new Storefront to be placed giving access to that area for trade.
Another essential item would be the
[Branch tokens (cost: 100 + 50 per branch level purchased) – token can be used in the Market in order to place or manually upgrade a branch.]
This token is essential in that it allows for unlocking a branch for the first time which would expand the Markets list of available items to sell. Also, it can be used to upgrade a branch without waiting for the required experience in order to level up naturally.
Buying one Storefront, one Teleport Scroll, two branch tokens and one Market bag. Charles had a balance of 2500 points left. Leaving the shop application Charles saw a notification that was now blinking. It read
[Congratulations for learning the ropes in the Market and understanding your new purpose. Now unlocking the Market and giving access to the Market System allowing for remote control over aspects of the Market.]
And with that notification a screen popped into Charles's vision that allowed access to the different functions that can be used through a terminal. All except the actual movement of items from storage as that was a Market allowed function and was not part of the terminal's functionality.
After looking in the system for a while, Charles saw a notification that he had missed.
[Levelling Subsystem now active. Starting Merchant at Market Level 1 and accessing tier 1 branch unlocks selection and functionality. Also allowing the Merchant to access his first world selection for free in order for smoother starting development.]
The tier system was a way to allow the Merchant to access the different branches in a semi regular fashion. The way it did this was by picking, from the Markets vast selection of possible branches, the branches most needed in that situation given in order to allow for the easier growth of the market. Therefore, the selection may not be what the Merchant wants but will help the Merchant in the long run.
The world access Selection was the bread and butter of the Markets different functionalities. It allows for the Merchant to select a universe to again access to in order to set up a new Storefront and in turn expand the Markets trade possibilities.
The world list itself came from the infinite possibilities of development and or imagination of people in its creation. Therefore, it also allows access to fictional worlds in Charles's opinion.
Looking down the list, Charles couldn't decide which world would be the best as his beginning. Knowing that there are fictional possibilities in this selection, Charles decided to pick with that in mind as it is better to fight the enemy you know than the enemy you don't.
But, looking at that list Charles kept playing the pros and cons of each world in his head. Some were too dangerous for a squishy guy like him, and others were too small and lacked potential for development. Then he came across a world that he knew and loved.
DanMachi.
A world where the gods roamed the land playing a game where they send the humans into a dungeon in the hopes of reaching the bottom. It, intern, was of a low enough level, so that survival shouldn't be a problem. It would also have enough options for development with the best market in all worlds. A good first start!
Confirming his choice, a teleport scroll appeared in his hand. This scroll was called a world scroll and allowed travel to a designated world. The location you end up can be either random or use your memories of a location to pinpoint it to within degrees of accuracy based on the clarity of the memories. This scroll is a lot more expensive in the shop but with that high price it has a wider and more powerful set of abilities.
Having the means in order to go to his new world all that was left was to plan for what he would do when he got there. To that end he opened the tier 1 unlock menu.
[Tier 1 Unlock – Starting out
The Workshop – The workshop is used to turn materials into their processed forms, such as ingots or processed leather, and those products into usable tools, weapons, Armor, or other unique items. Everything made in the workshop can be sold or used. All staff working in the workshop will gain a basic understanding of how to operate equipment and make the needed items, this buff will end if staff is reassigned to other tasks. More blueprints and techniques can be gained as branch level increases. Technology and blueprints to do with this branch can be used and or made if branches level requirements are met.
The Mine – The mine has the function of generating ores based on a predetermined selection. This selection is based on the level of the specific branch. The ores are real and can be used for other items or sold as is. The amount of ore is reset every 24 hours and the amount and variety of ore increases as the branches level increases. Ores found in other worlds can be mined here so long as the level requirement is met.
The Farm – The farm has the function of growing crops and fruit along with raising animals and beasts. Everything grown or developed within the farm can be sold or used for other purposes. Each 24 hours all plants mature and are ready to be harvested. The number of animals also double unless specified not to. The variety of plants and animals increases as branch level increases. Any plant or animal brought to the farm can be developed so long as the level requirement is met.]
Looking at the three branches he unlocked, Charles thought about which one he should use his free token on. For one the workshop was almost definitely out of the question, as it would be impractical to buy it when he had no ores to give it and no people to staff it. Although it would definitely be a good business venture later on, after all adventurers always need better weapons and armour, but he would need a good artisan to run the workshop as with familias like the Hephaestus familia around you would need something special to compete with them.
Next the Mine. Solid choice, especially when you think about getting the smithy at a later date. But again, impractical as it would be tiring work along with an unsteady market to sell the product before the smithy is up and running.
Lastly, the Farm. It was the choice that Charles was leaning towards. It would allow for a commodity that all places need and allowed for the development of the unique flora and fauna that may be collected in the course of his travels. And deep-down Charles was a collector at heart, which excited him to no end.
Although the farm was the most tempting choice. Charles remembered that there were dedicated gods and goddesses in Labyrinth City Orario focused on agriculture and it would be a hard market to push into. However, a steady source of high-quality base metal, in the beginning, would be an amazing resource and opportunity.
Picking the Mine, Charles felt the Market change and the Staff area expand slightly. Moving to the Staff area he found another arch way leading to a mountain of incalculable size with a mining village at the bottom of it. The village itself was of a decent size and seemed to be built around the entrance to the mine and would make the running of the village most efficient for working in the mine. As it seemed was the design of the branch.
Looking around Charles saw many buildings like living quarters, a small mess hall and other buildings needed for the running of a traditional mining village. Looking at the entrance to the mine, Charles saw a small terminal and walked up to it.
This terminal was used to transport the product and get the needed items from storage. Along with the needed storage management feature the mines terminal had analytics and information on all aspects of the mine.
Finally, Charles opened up the mine terminals information menu.
[Branch Name: The Mine
Current Level: 1
Description and Features: The mine has the function of generating ores based on a predetermined selection. This selection is based on the level of the specific branch. The ores are real and can be used for other items or sold as is. The amount of ore is reset every 24 hours and the amount and variety of ore increases as the branches level increases. Ores found in other worlds can be mined here so long as the level requirement is met.
Unlocks:
- Level 1 – Gain access to Coal, Iron, and copper.]
Looking at the analytics of the Branch, the mine would passively produce one cubic meter of each resource per hour and could hold one days' worth of resources in its internal storage before it must be moved into the market's storage by someone, currently Charles himself. This of course could be expanded, by adding miners to mine more resources and upgrading the branches level to increase resource diversity and passive production amount, and could be automated, by adding a branch manager.
The amount of resource generation at this time would be around 1300kg per hour for coal, around 8900kg per hour for copper and around 7800kg per hour of iron. All at the highest quality.
Leaving, Charles appears in his office. He then moves to his bedroom and walks into his wardrobe. Changing into a smart casual outfit with a black shirt, dark jeans, a black blazer with a white pocket square with the letter "M" embroidered in black on it.
He was now ready for the world. Looking stylish and dapper. Grabbing his Market bag, Charles went to his terminal and traded the rest of his points into DanMachi's currency Valis. This exchange used the Markets information on a world to estimate the price of the currency to market points. It came to 1 point equalling 15 Valis. Putting 37500 Valis into his bag, Charles took out his world scroll and teleported to the place where gods roamed the world and new business opportunities would be acquired.
