The cold air of early morning slipped through the crack in Eric's window—
But he barely noticed.
His eyes were locked on the transparent screen floating before him.
The Midas System had evolved once again.
Two golden options glowed:
Convert Coins
Dimensional Vault
He tapped the second.
Instantly, a new interface appeared.
"Current Space: 0 cm²."
Eric frowned.
Zero.
Nothing.
It was like owning a vault that couldn't hold even a grain of dust.
Below, a new option appeared:
Purchase Space
He tapped it—
And nearly fell off the bed.
1 cm² = 1 gold coin
He did the math instantly.
To get just 1 square meter, he would need 10,000 coins.
Ten thousand.
More than 5 million euros.
Eric laughed—
But there was no joy in it.
Only frustration.
Almost anger.
"The system knows how to give… but it definitely knows how to take."
Yes.
That might be the most expensive square meter on Earth.
Still—
He had to test it.
He couldn't ignore the opportunity to understand how this "dimensional vault" worked.
The idea of an invisible, possibly portable storage space was too valuable.
Eric stood up and looked at his wardrobe, overflowing with gold coins.
The weight of responsibility pressed down on his chest.
He had a little over 1,500 coins.
He had already set aside 1,000 for Elena.
That alone had nearly destroyed him.
His muscles still ached just thinking about the effort it took to gather so many coins.
But reality was harsh:
Leaving all that gold lying around his apartment was suicide.
Even with security watching from afar, it was only a matter of time before someone became suspicious.
Or worse—
Before his nosy landlord decided to snoop.
For twenty minutes, Eric stood frozen.
Store the gold safely…
Or keep it available to fuel the System?
Curiosity won.
Curiosity always wins.
He pressed Purchase Space.
A new message appeared:
"Minimum purchase: 1,000 cm²."
Eric almost threw his phone out the window.
"They're watching me…"
It was impossible not to think it.
The System knew exactly how many coins he had.
It knew his limits.
It knew exactly how much it could take from him.
He took a deep breath.
And confirmed the purchase.
The feeling was physical.
Like paying off a massive debt at the edge of bankruptcy.
A tightness in his stomach.
A sting in his chest.
A tear threatening to fall.
He almost laughed.
"Why does it hurt so much to spend gold I shouldn't even have?"
When the sensation passed, Eric expected something grand—
A dimensional rift.
Light beams.
A dramatic announcement.
Nothing.
Just a new button:
Access Vault
He tapped it.
Nothing happened.
"Did I just get scammed?"
Then—
He saw it.
A tiny blue dot in the air.
A faint glow—
Almost indistinguishable from dust.
Eric reached out.
Touched it—
And it vanished.
He pulled his hand back, startled.
Touched it again.
Gone.
He leaned forward—
And his vision crossed an invisible boundary.
And then—
He saw it.
A small metallic box.
Floating.
In a dark void.
No walls.
No floor.
No ceiling.
Just emptiness—
Something that didn't exist in the physical world.
Depending on the angle he touched the blue point, he accessed different sides of the box—
Like invisible doors.
Fascinated, he began storing coins.
One by one.
One hundred.
Two hundred.
When he tried to insert the 201st coin—
The box vibrated.
And rejected it.
Full.
Even so—
Two hundred coins were now safe.
Protected.
Untouchable.
He closed the vault.
The blue light disappeared.
The space vanished—
As if it had never existed.
He opened it again.
The light returned.
The coins were still there.
Eric exhaled deeply.
It was real.
His phone vibrated.
A message from Lucía Herrera:
"I found a buyer for the store. The money will be in your account today."
Another followed immediately:
"Why did you set such a low price? It's absurd! You're practically giving it away!"
Eric laughed.
His lawyer had sharp instincts.
Very sharp.
He replied:
"Keep your commission. Handle the paperwork."
Her response came seconds later:
"Understood."
Eric lay down on the floor, exhausted.
The tension was fading—
But his mind wasn't.
What else can the vault store?
What are its limits?
He wouldn't sleep until he found out.
He got up and sent a quick message to his security team.
Minutes later, a car stopped in front of his building.
One of the men opened the door.
Eric smiled.
He was getting used to this.
To being treated like someone important.
"Where to?" the mercenary asked.
"The pawn shop district."
The man frowned.
"Forgive me, sir… but what will we be doing there?"
Eric gave him a look that clearly said:
That's not your concern.
The man straightened.
"I only ask in case we need reinforcements, sir."
Eric understood.
They were monitoring him.
Maybe Emir had ordered it.
His smile returned—
Colder now.
"We won't need reinforcements. We're going to hire some services."
"What kind of services?" the man pressed.
Eric understood.
They were evaluating every move.
He kept his tone controlled.
"We're looking for prospectors… good ones."
The man's eyes widened.
Prospectors?
For what?
Eric leaned back in his seat, watching the city pass by the window—
With a calm he didn't truly feel.
The Midas System had just given him a new power.
And he intended to find out—
How far it could take him.