Max was about to log out of the system when he accidentally touched a strange symbol on the system panel. A message appeared, asking if he wanted to travel back to planet Earth. The option puzzled him. He thought that clicking it might send him permanently back to Earth—cutting off his chance to live in the fantasy world he had just begun to explore.
But curiosity won.
He hesitated only a moment before clicking "Okay."
In the blink of an eye, Max was back in his small apartment room. Everything looked exactly as it had before—dim, cluttered, and completely ordinary. For a moment, he thought maybe it had all been a dream. Maybe he'd gotten drunk and hallucinated everything.
But then, the familiar voice echoed in his mind:
"Return to Planet Earth successful."
Max froze.
It was real.
He quickly opened his system panel—and to his surprise, there was a new button: "Log in to the Fantasy World." His heart raced as he clicked it.
Instantly, he was transported back—right onto the same carriage where he had been riding alongside the dwarf and other travelers. Relief washed over him.
He could travel between the two worlds at will.
Max saw an opportunity.
He returned to Earth and took out loans from the bank. With the borrowed money, he bought various items that were cheap and common on Earth but would be valuable in the fantasy world—glasses, salt, canned food, soap, matches, and more. He stored them in his subspace, a vast storage area granted by the system. It had seemingly infinite capacity.
He was ready to start his trade empire.
Back in the fantasy world, Max sat on the same carriage, surrounded by other travelers and the dwarf merchant. The journey continued.
Max decided to show the dwarf some of the items he'd brought from Earth. He pulled out a simple glass cup—something he had bought on sale.
The dwarf's eyes widened with amazement. "Such clarity! Such brilliance!" he exclaimed, inspecting it like it was a rare treasure. He had never seen anything like it.
"How much do you want for it?" the dwarf asked eagerly.
Max glanced at his system panel. The listed value was one silver coin. Thinking like a businessman, Max smiled and raised the price slightly.
"One glass for two silvers," Max said, "but if you buy a full set of ten, I'll give them to you for one silver and fifty copper coins each."
The dwarf considered it, then nodded. "Deal."
Max had made his first successful sale. He felt thrilled. He continued showing more items to other travelers—salt, soap, canned foods, and other simple things. To them, these were foreign luxuries.
He made sure not to raise prices too high—to avoid suspicion—but each sale brought in a healthy profit. Slowly, his system panel updated. His total wealth had now reached one gold coin.
The other travelers were curious, impressed, even envious of Max's unique items. But none of them knew his secret: he could travel between two worlds. And only he had the system that made it possible.
Max quickly realized that selling too many items in a single place could attract dangerous attention. So, he decided to sell things one by one, in different towns and cities, maintaining low exposure while growing rich quietly.
This was going to be his path to power.
After a long journey, the carriage finally arrived at their destination: Sky City.
Though not particularly large, the city held a grand history. Legend said it was once home to a tribe of flying humans. Sky City was built on ancient foundations—and it held something else of great value:
A dungeon.
In this world, dungeons were mysterious, monster-filled zones that regenerated beasts every week. They were both goldmines and death traps. Adventurers made a living clearing them regularly, to prevent monster overflows and earn materials from slain creatures.
This explained why the dwarf had joined the caravan. He was a blacksmith, eager to see the monsters in the dungeon and collect rare parts and materials.
Max was curious. "What do you mean by different types of monsters?" he asked.
The dwarf explained, "Each dungeon has its own ecosystem. Some monsters are native to only one dungeon. Some can even be tamed."
He pointed to the horse-like creature pulling their carriage. "That's a horpis—a monster once found in a dungeon. Tamed by a skilled monster tamer."
Max listened intently.
The dwarf spoke of various jobs and classes: adventurers, wizards, blacksmiths, tamers, and even specialized guilds—the Merchant Guild, Adventurer Guild, Wizard Guild, and Blacksmith Guild.
Max's mind spun with ideas.
He realized that this world was rich in raw resources, but lacked the economic systems, production methods, and knowledge of Earth.
That was his advantage.
What if he introduced Earth's economic models, marketing tactics, product packaging, and logistics to this medieval fantasy world?
Even more, he considered exporting goods from the fantasy world back to Earth. For example, goatskin or cloth from Sky City could fetch high prices on Earth. And Earth's basic textiles might be considered luxury here.
With his system, subspace storage, and world-travel ability, Max had something far more valuable than any sword or spell—trade potential.
As the carriage rolled into Sky City, Max heard the sharp clash of steel and shouts echoing through the air.
The carriage came to a halt.
Max leaned out to see what was going on—what he saw left him stunned.