Daniel had been talking for forty minutes, and Mr. Tan had stopped listening after ten.
"Daniel," Mr. Tan said at last, glancing at his watch. "You're a nice guy. But we signed with the other company last week."
Daniel kept smiling. That was the job. You kept smiling until the door closed behind you.
"Of course," he said. "If anything changes, you have my card."
"I have three of your cards," said Mr. Tan.
Outside, it was raining. Just the steady, gray kind of rain. Daniel checked his phone and saw two missed calls from his manager. One message.
"Did you close Tan? We need this one."
He put the phone away without answering and walked toward the train station, his bag heavy with brochures nobody would read.
At the crossing the light turned green, Daniel stepped forward still thinking about what to tell his manager.
He heard the horn before he saw the truck.
There was a bright light, very loud and very close but then nothing at all.
---
Daniel woke up to the smell of grass.
He was lying on his back under a wide blue sky. A bird sang somewhere nearby.
He sat up fast.
He was in a meadow full of small yellow flowers with a forest to his left and low hills to his right. Straight ahead, a dirt road led down toward a cluster of roofs and a thin line of chimney smoke.
He looked down at himself. Weirdly gray suit, same crooked tie, dry shoes, but his bag and phone were gone. He seemed fine, just anxious.
"Okayyyyyy," he said out loud. "Oookayyyy. I got hit by a truck."
The bird kept singing.
"And now I'm in a field...real field??"
He waited for the field to explain itself. All he could hear was bees buzzing.
Then a pale blue square appeared in the air in front of his face with clean white letters like a screen on a very nice iphone (or samsung if you prefer).
[Merchant System activated.]
[Welcome, Danial.]
Daniel waved his hand through it. The square stayed where it was.
[Name: Danial]
[Class: Merchant]
[Level: 1]
[XP: 0 / 100]
[Skill: Appraise (Lv. 1). See the true value of an item.]
[Coins: 1 copper]
[Main Quest: LOCKED. Close your first fair deal to unlock.]
"One copper," Daniel read. "Great now im Danial. Even in this screen, I'm broke salesman."
He had played enough phone games on long train rides to know a status screen when he saw one.
He read the last line again. A main quest. Locked.
"Close first fair deal?" he said. "The F**, what i suppose to sell, my body?"
A new line appeared.
[Tip: Merchants earn XP by closing fair deals. A fair deal is one where both sides win.]
Daniel read that twice. Something in his chest loosened a little.
"Both sides win," he said. "Like he** i can, what is this screen? who send you??"
The screen faded.
"Hey no no dont fade away yet. Damn im still clueless, maybe i just walk around first and figure where the he** i am"
He stood up, brushed the grass off his suit, and walked toward the smoke.
---
A wooden sign at the edge of the road said in neat blue letters: "Welcome to Meiden Town."
It was a small town of stone and wood, with red and brown roofs. Flower boxes hung under the windows. Chickens walked across the main street. An old woman sweeping her doorstep nodded at Daniel as if strange men in gray suits came by every day. People stared at his clothes, but nobody seemed scared. Mostly they looked curious.
His stomach growled. In the middle of the square stood a big two-floor building with a sign shaped like a cooking pot: "Marta's Inn". Warm light came from the windows and so did the smell of soup.
Daniel reached into his pocket. There it was: one small copper coin he was sure had not been there before.
He went inside.
The inn was busy and loud in a friendly way, with long wooden tables, a stone fireplace and farmers eating bread and stew.
Behind the counter stood a round, red-cheeked woman with her sleeves rolled up and her gray-brown hair tied back. She was laughing with the farmers. When she saw Daniel, she put her hands on her hips.
"Well now," she said. "Look at you in that weird outfit. Never seen one, did you just drop from the sky or come across the sea young man?"
The farmers laughed.
Daniel smiled. Smiling was easy here. "What? This suit? well uh, this is how people dress when they want to look serious."
"Does it work?"
"Nehhhh Not very often."
She laughed, a big warm laugh. "I'm Marta and this is my inn. You look hungry, serious man."
"I'm Daniel with an 'e'. You know me better than i am and yes, i do feel very..hungry." He put the copper coin on the counter. "What can i buy with this?"
Marta looked at the coin. Then she looked at him. "About half a spoon soup."
"You broke or something?"
She shook her head, already filling a bowl. "Sit down Daniel with an 'e'. Here, eat and pay me later. If you run off without paying, the Next thing you know your on the menu. It's a small town."
"Make me as steak pie on your menu..hehe..but thanks really, i fine a way to pay you back," said Daniel.
The soup was thick with potatoes and chicken, and the bread was warm. It was the best meal he had eaten in years. He did not say that out loud, but Marta saw his face and looked pleased with herself.
While he ate, he watched the inn. He was a salesman so watching people was a habit.
Marta moved fast, but she kept stopping at one kitchen shelf and sighing.
"Something wrong?" Daniel asked when she came by to refill his water.
Marta hesitated. "The supply wagon was late again. Three times this month and it was never late before." She lowered her voice. "Travelers say the roads are getting worse. Bridges out, wagons stuck, nobody fixing anything. I'm low on salt, low on flour, and my money's tied up in things I can't use."
"What kind of things?"
She pointed at a small clay jar with a cork top. "That. My late husband bought it from a trader years ago. Some fancy spice. I never learned to cook with it. Nobody here wants it. I might get three coppers for it if I'm lucky."
Daniel looked at the jar and thought: Appraise.
A smaller blue square appeared, only for him.
[Item: Red Sunleaf Spice (sealed)]
[Condition: Excellent. The seal kept it fresh.]
[Market value: 2 silver, 40 copper]
[Note: Rare in this region. Prized by cooks in Bridge Port.]
Daniel almost choked on his bread.
"Sweet Marta," he said carefully. "How many coppers are in a silver?"
"A hundred. Why?"
"You ask why? Because that red sand in the jar is worth about two hundred and forty coppers."
Marta laughed. Then she saw he was not joking, and she stopped.
"How would you know that?"
Daniel decided not to explain the floating blue screen.
"Well let just say god speak to my ear, just kidding, i know someone who a friend of a friend tells him about it and you dont want to know the rest," he said. "That red sand is Red Sunleaf. Cooks in Bridge Port pay a lot for it."
Marta looked at the jar like she had never seen it before.
"Well, I'll be," she said softly.
---
The chance came that same afternoon, when a thin trader in a long green coat came in to rest his feet. His wagon outside was full of crates, and he was heading to Bridge Port in the morning.
Daniel stood up and fixed his crooked tie.
Marta raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going?"
"To the gold where i can smell," said Daniel.
He sat down across from the trader with a friendly smile. "Good afternoon. My name is Daniel, and I—"
"No thank you," said the trader, without looking up from his stew. "to whatever you going to say in that funny clothes."
A farmer at the next table snorted into his cup. Daniel felt his ears go warm.
He did not argue. Instead, he asked one simple question. "Chill bro, im just wanna ask how were the roads coming in?"
The trader paused, spoon in the air. "Terrible," he said. "Since you ask."
So Daniel asked more: which roads were worst, and what sold well in Bridge Port. He listened more than he talked. That was the last secret of sales people only wanted someone to listen.
By the time the stew was gone, the trader had told him his name was Tobin, that he had lost two days to a washed-out road, and that Bridge Port was full of rich cooks from the big houses near the castle.
"Those cooks," Tobin said, "will pay anything for good spice. Anything. But it's hard to find."
"Hahaha it is hard to find, but i give you a plot twist" said Daniel.
He did not push. He just let Tobin open the jar and smell it. Tobin's eyes went wide.
"Red Sunleaf," Tobin whispered. "Still fresh. Where did you get this?"
"It belongs to Marta," said Daniel. "She's thinking of selling. But she wants a fair price."
Tobin offered one silver.
Daniel smiled and said nothing.
Tobin offered one silver and fifty coppers.
Daniel explained, kindly, that it would sell for four silver in Bridge Port, so two silver and twenty coppers still left Tobin a good profit.
Tobin looked at the jar. He looked at Daniel.
"You drive a hard bargain for a man in a funny suit," he said.
"Come onnn...It's a fair bargain, you know you can sell it double the price" said Daniel. "We both win."
Tobin laughed and held out his hand. "Two silver, twenty coppers. Deal."
They shook on it, and the screen flashed gold.
[Fair deal closed: Red Sunleaf Spice. Both sides benefit. +50 XP.]
[First fair deal bonus! +50 XP.]
[Level up! Danial is now Level 2.]
[Reward unlocked: Trade Ledger. A book that records every deal and contact.]
A small leather notebook appeared in his hand. It was warm and smelled like new paper.
Tobin paid Marta in silver and coppers right there at the counter. Marta counted it twice. Then she counted it a third time, just to enjoy it.
"That's enough salt and flour for two months," she said. "And then some."
She came around the counter and slapped Daniel on the back so hard he almost fell over.
"Daniel with an 'e'," she said, grinning, "you just paid for your soup about eighty times over."
"Can I also have more bread or chicken?"
"You can have a room and all that." She tossed him a heavy iron key. "Upstairs, second door. Free for a week. After that, we'll talk."
Daniel caught the key and opened the notebook. On the first page, in neat handwriting that was not his, it read:
Marta, Meiden Town. Innkeeper. Trust: High.
Tobin, traveling trader. Trust: Good.
Daniel turned the book over in his hands and smiled.
---
His room was small and clean, with a thick wool blanket on the bed and a window over the town square. The sun was going down, painting the roofs orange.
He sat on the bed and let himself breathe. It was the strangest day of his life, and also one of the best.
He thought about what had just happened to him and his old job. Eight years of it. He had been good at talking. He had been good at remembering names, birthdays, and whatever games he finished playing. Yet he had never felt like this, never felt appreciated.
Today, Marta needed money. Tobin needed spice. He got the food and the room, and all Daniel had done was bring them together.
His manager was probably still waiting for a reply about Mr. Tan. Daniel found he did not miss it at all.
"Merchant System," he said quietly. "I don't know if this is a game or some isekai s**t, but game on dude..game on."
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the screen appeared again. But it was not blue this time.
It was red.
[Main Quest unlocked.]
[Save the Trade Routes of Stevia Kingdom.]
[The roads, rivers, and ports that carry goods across the kingdom are failing.]
[If they are not restored, the markets of Stevia Kingdom will close.]
[Time remaining: 100 days.]
[Reward: ???]
[Failure: ???]
Daniel read it slowly. Then he read it again.
He thought about Marta's late wagons. Three times this month, she had said. He thought about Tobin's washed-out road.
Outside, the last of the sun slipped behind the hills. Down in the square, someone laughed, and a door closed, and Meiden Town settled in for a quiet night.
Daniel looked at the red screen and loosened his tie.
"A hundred days?? S**T wait wait!! i was just kidding, i said game on like i am happy not a new challange," he said. "Arghhh Okay. I done worse than this, 100 days arent that bad i guess. D*mn..."
He had not. But it felt like the right thing to say.
[Time remaining: 99 days, 23 hours.]
End of Chapter 1.
ns216.73.217.61da2
and then Add to home screen.