The light inside the convenience store slowly faded.
The system notifications hovering around Lucian finally began to disappear one by one, leaving only a few glowing windows floating in the air.
Lucian stood perfectly still behind the counter.
Elena leaned against the refrigerator nearby, staring at the screen like she had just watched a miracle.
For a moment neither of them said anything.
Then Elena finally spoke.
"…Five hundred."
Lucian nodded slowly.
"Five hundred."
She pointed at the counter where the candy bar had been.
"You traded a two-dollar chocolate bar… for a divine phoenix feather."
Lucian rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Best trade I've ever made."
Elena stared at him.
"I don't even know how to respond to that."
Lucian grinned.
"The system liked it."
The glowing interface floated in front of him again.
Merchant Rank: Dimensional Merchant
Narrative Value: 697
Lucian whistled softly.
"That's… a lot."
Elena crossed her arms.
"Spend it wisely."
Lucian nodded.
"Oh, I plan to."
He opened the Merchant System Menu again.
New options had appeared.
Shop Upgrades
Merchant Inventory
World Routes
Merchant Gate
Lucian tapped the third option.
The screen expanded outward into a massive star-like map.
Thousands of glowing lines stretched across the interface like a cosmic spiderweb.
Each line connected to a different point.
A different world.
Lucian blinked.
"…Whoa."
Elena stepped closer.
"Is that what I think it is?"
Lucian nodded slowly.
"Every world the shop can reach."
Most of the routes were still dark.
Locked.
But a few had begun glowing faintly.
Lucian read the first one.
World Route Available
Designation: Terra-9
Lucian raised an eyebrow.
"Wait."
Elena looked over his shoulder.
"That's the world Kael came from."
Lucian nodded.
"Looks like trading with someone unlocks their world route."
Elena crossed her arms thoughtfully.
"That makes sense."
Lucian scrolled down.
Another route appeared.
World Route Available
Designation: Celestial Pathway
Lucian blinked again.
"That must be where Orion came from."
Elena leaned back slightly.
"You're telling me you can travel to a celestial realm now?"
Lucian shrugged.
"Apparently."
Elena shook her head slowly.
"You opened a convenience store and now you're basically running a multiversal travel agency."
Lucian smiled.
"Exactly."
He tapped the Merchant Gate option.
A new message appeared.
Merchant Gate allows the owner to open stable travel portals to unlocked worlds.
Travel Cost: 50 Narrative Value
Lucian nodded.
"That's cheap."
Elena raised an eyebrow.
"Cheap?"
"You saw how fast we earn points."
Elena sighed.
"I'm starting to see the problem."
Lucian leaned against the counter.
"So…"
Elena looked at him suspiciously.
"So?"
Lucian pointed at the glowing route.
"Want to visit another world?"
Elena's eyes widened.
"You're serious."
Lucian shrugged.
"Why not?"
Elena thought about it for a moment.
Then she smiled slowly.
"…Actually."
Lucian grinned.
"Actually what?"
"That sounds fun."
Lucian laughed.
"I knew you'd say that."
He stepped out from behind the counter.
The system window hovered beside him.
Lucian selected the Terra-9 route.
The screen confirmed the selection.
Opening Merchant Gate
The air inside the store began to vibrate.
Energy flowed through the walls.
The shelves rattled slightly.
Then—
A circular portal began forming near the entrance.
Unlike the unstable portals from before, this one looked perfectly smooth.
A ring of golden light surrounded it.
Inside the portal, a new world slowly came into focus.
Lucian stepped closer.
Elena followed.
The view inside the portal showed a massive landscape.
Mountains stretched toward the sky.
Ancient forests covered the valleys.
In the distance—
A massive castle towered above a medieval city.
Lucian whistled.
"That's cool."
Elena stared in amazement.
"…That's definitely not Earth."
Lucian folded his arms.
"Looks like Kael's world."
Elena glanced at him.
"You're actually going to step through that."
Lucian nodded.
"That's the idea."
Elena smirked.
"You're insane."
Lucian grinned.
"Probably."
He walked closer to the glowing gateway.
The air around it felt warm.
Stable.
Inviting.
Lucian stretched his shoulders.
"Well."
Elena raised an eyebrow.
"Well what?"
Lucian smiled.
"Field trip."
Elena laughed.
"You're ridiculous."
Lucian took one step forward.
Then another.
The portal shimmered slightly as he approached.
Behind him, the convenience store hummed with quiet energy.
The Multiverse Merchant's shop stood ready to welcome travelers from every corner of existence.
Lucian turned back toward Elena.
"You coming?"
Elena didn't hesitate.
"Obviously."
Lucian nodded.
Then the two of them stepped through the Merchant Gate together.
The light swallowed them instantly.
For a moment there was nothing but glowing energy.
Then—
They emerged into another world.
Wind rushed through the trees.
The smell of fresh earth filled the air.
Lucian opened his eyes slowly.
He stood at the edge of a massive forest.
Towering mountains stretched across the horizon.
In the distance, the city they had seen through the portal rose high against the sky.
Elena stepped beside him.
She looked around in awe.
"…Okay."
Lucian smiled.
"What?"
Elena grinned.
"This job just got a lot more interesting."
Far away—
High above the city walls—
Something powerful suddenly stirred.
A pair of glowing eyes opened in the darkness.
And somewhere deep inside the castle…
A voice whispered quietly.
"The merchant has arrived."