The screen in front of Kai shimmered with golden light as he accessed the newly unlocked tab—Interworld Trading Hub.
He didn't know what to expect.
Black-market listings? Auction houses? Maybe a trader Discord chat with emoji-reactions?
What he found was orderly chaos—a system more advanced than any marketplace he had ever seen.
There were live trades being placed, reputation-based discounts, pop-up events like "Orbital Flash Sales," and even trader bounties for exotic items. He had entered the true economy of the stars.
And he was far behind.
The Dashboard of Dreams
[Welcome to the Interworld Trading Hub, Rank 3 Trader.][Market Credit: 0][Listings Available: 3 (per refresh cycle)][Buyer Ranking: Bronze Initiate][Selling Limit: 10 CU per transaction][Secure Deliveries Remaining: 10/month]
A map opened with interconnected nodes: worlds, stations, and hubs.
Each one flickered with demand spikes.
Zephar-6: "Seeking cryo-seeds for terraforming."
Gorlath Mine: "Urgent need for nutrient paste packets."
Drelven Citadel: "Luxury cultural items requested. Will overpay."
Kai tapped the last one. A perfect target.
"Drelven? That's an elite entertainment planet," he recalled from a trade manual. Rich nobles, art snobs, and collectors. A good place to sell… say… a Cultural Echo?
He opened his Vault and listed it.
[Item Listed: Cultural Echo]→ Asking Price: 8 CU→ Buyer Interest: Moderate→ Delivery Cost: 1 CU (auto-teleport)→ Estimated Sale Time: 3–6 hours
Now… he had to wait.
Buying Low
While the Echo was pending, Kai browsed items in the under-10 CU bracket. Cheap goods. Mispriced relics. Clearance items from desperate traders.
He found a set of three things worth risking:
"Glowstone Shards" – common in Tier 1 worlds but could be polished and sold as charms.
1.5 CU for five.
Estimated resale: 4–5 CU.
"Pre-Fall Battery Core" – damaged, but intact.
2 CU.
Potential use for crafting or trading to tech collectors.
"Herbal Soothe Blend" – a forgotten crate of organic space teas.
3 CU.
On Drelven, that could fetch triple.
He bought all three.
[Transaction Complete. CU Remaining: 10.5][Inventory Updated.]
Now his Vault was filling up—finally.
But that wasn't the highlight of his day.
The Message from a Stranger
An alert pinged.
[Incoming Message – Direct Line: Unknown Trader ID]
He tapped it.
A single line glowed.
"You're that upstart with the Earth Whisper Scroll. I want in on your supply. Meet me at Trade Beacon 9A."
There was no signature. No ranking.
But the coordinates were real. A mid-tier floating bazaar above a neutral asteroid zone.
Kai didn't know if it was a trap—or a true opportunity.
His instincts screamed don't go. But his ambition whispered louder.
You're here to rise.
He glanced at the Vault's value. The Cultural Echo had sold while he was shopping.
[Sale Complete: Cultural Echo → 8 CU][Delivery Fee Deducted: -1 CU][Net Gain: +7 CU][Vault CU: 17.5]
Rising From Nothing
Back on Deraxis, Kai packed his new items into a secured case. Not flashy. Not rich. But it was a start.
A poor kid from a forgotten fringe world now held nearly 20 CU in goods and credits. More than his entire district earned in a month.
He wasn't a powerhouse. Yet.
But with every trade, he was rewriting his place in the galaxy.
And tomorrow, he would meet a potential partner—or enemy.
He took a deep breath and smiled.
"Let's go see what Beacon 9A has for me."
Status Update:
Kai Zareth's journey had truly begun. With Rank 3 unlocked, he was no longer bound to the limitations of his backwater planet. The Interworld Hub opened up new avenues, dangers, and opportunities.
He now had inventory, capital, and attention.
In a galaxy where trade was power, Kai was building a future—one bargain at a time.
Vault Holdings:
5 Glowstone Shards (Est. 5 CU)
Pre-Fall Battery Core (Est. 4 CU)
Herbal Soothe Blend (Est. 8 CU)
Current CU: 17.5Reputation Rank: 3 – Initiate TraderSecure Deliveries Remaining: 9/MonthTrader Network Visibility: Low-tier, but rising