The Divine Trader Of All Realms

Why is it so cold?

Zane's consciousness clawed its way back through layers of fog. He remembered everything. He was leaving the space when his body suddenly felt weak, then drowsiness crept over him like a predator until he fell asleep.

What! I fell asleep? seriously... I didn't expect it to get me while I was traveling. good thing I woke up in Ashburn. Wait!

His eyes snapped open, expecting the familiar rat-infested alleys of Ashburn Street. But the world had shifted beneath him while he slept. The garbage smelled different, cleaner, more processed. The air itself felt different.

Street lamps cast harsh artificial light into the alley, their LED glow nothing like the flickering sodium bulbs of home.

Above, stars glittered like scattered diamonds against a canvas of deep purple sky. It wasn't day yet, but this wasn't the perpetual twilight of Ashburn either.

This isn't Ashburn.

Zane had never left Ashburn in his entire life. His understanding of the outer world came mostly from grainy TV broadcasts and fever dreams of escape. He'd always imagined traveling beyond his small town to see what the world had to offer, but in his fantasies, he'd chosen when and how to leave.

From the distance, gleaming chrome structures rose like metal gods, their surfaces drinking in starlight and reflecting it back in prismatic waves. The towers hung suspended in the darkness, defying gravity with their impossible heights. They pulsed with inner light, as if alive.

Zane had used his new skill, Realm Traveler, expecting to end up on Ironclad Street. He hadn't expected to find himself in some random alley in an unfamiliar city, feeling like an ant beneath titans.

As his eyes adjusted, recognition hit him like a physical blow.

The Vance Corporation.

It wasn't just a company. it was a leviathan. A conglomerate that devoured industries whole, digested competitors in boardroom black holes, and excreted profit margins that shattered national economies.

Its logo, three jagged crimson lines, wasn't mere branding. It was a brand burned into the skin of civilization itself.

In the entire western continent, not a single company could compete with Vance Corp. It ranked among the top three corporations on Earth.

You could find those crimson claws on nearly every merchandise in the western continent.

Vance Corp didn't just dominate sectors; it was the economy.

Even in forgotten Ashburn, that logo haunted every screen, every product, every dream of something better. The corporation's reach extended into places that didn't officially exist on maps.

Just now Vance Corporation headquarters loomed before him. Taller than mountains, wider than city blocks, it rose from the urban landscape like a needle threading the sky. Zane had seen it countless times on TV, but experiencing it in person made his chest tighten with something between awe and terror.

He was seeing the Vance spire.

What the heck! how am I in Nexus City.

Nexus City is the largest city on the continent. A true megacity where thirty million souls lived stacked atop each other in vertical neighborhoods. Where the poor dwelt in the shadows of the rich, and the rich floated in penthouses that scraped the belly of heaven.

"Nyx,"

Zane whispered, his voice barely audible above the city's distant hum,

"how did I end up here?"

The AI's response materialized directly in his mind, cool and precise:

[You slept during the travel, hence you lost your focus. The range of travel increased exponentially and you randomly traveled to this location. Fortunately, your range of travel is still relatively small, so you are currently near your target location.]

Zane's suspicions were confirmed. Nexus City wasn't far from Ashburn, actually, it was the nearest major population center. It only took half a day to travel from Ashburn to Nexus by conventional means, though few from his hometown could afford the journey.

He still had time to get back home. He would need money to travel, but having a system called the Super Trading System, he felt a flicker of confidence for the first time in years.

Looking around, he realized he was in the outskirts of Nexus City. No vehicles moved through these streets, and the buildings around him resembled residential blocks, though even these "modest" homes dwarfed anything in Ashburn. The people here were day workers, the bottom rung of Nexus society, yet they lived like kings compared to where he'd come from.

Zane checked his watch—3:17 AM. It would be hours before people woke up. The city's night shift workers were already at their posts, and the day shift wouldn't emerge for another four hours. He had time to explore this new reality.

"Where did this system come from?" Zane asked, his eyes filled with curiosity and a growing hunger for answers.

[This information is currently restricted. Information related to other planes is above your current privilege level. You need to upgrade your level to increase your privilege.]

Zane didn't gain much information, but at least he now knew there existed other planes beyond his own. The universe was much larger than he had thought. It was also much stranger.

As he felt the space around him, he made a discovery that sent electricity through his nerves.

He could sense a larger space, bigger than anything he could see.

Almost infinitely vast, though Zane could somehow feel its boundaries like walls made of concept rather than matter. He knew this was the universe he was familiar with: the galaxies and nebulae, together with stars and planets spinning in their eternal dance.

Then there were pocketed worlds that existed both inside and outside the universe, defying normal physics. These pocketed worlds were realms. The known universe was just one plane among many.

How many planes are there?

The question burned in his mind as he tried to push his perception further, to glimpse the vast architecture of reality itself—

Pain lanced through his skull like a white-hot spike. His vision blurred, and he gasped, stumbling against the alley wall. The exploration had consumed nearly all his mental strength, leaving him drained and shaking.

he had only peaked for a few seconds, it only took that short amount of time for his brain to get tired.

Just then vitality washed over his body. revitalizing his brain.

This feeling was familiar.It was the same cool, refreshing feeling he'd experienced when he first acquired the system, but stronger now. It felt like diving into a mountain spring after crossing a desert.

A heavy torrent of life surged through his body, and immediately the tired feeling vanished. His headache disappeared, his vision cleared, and he felt more alert than he had in years.

"What is this refreshing feeling I keep experiencing?"

Zane asked while looking at his surroundings. his health felt much better than moments before.

[You are currently experiencing the Endless Vitality perk of the system. Your body can restore itself to peak condition every time it deteriorates.]

Just then, a familiar glowing panel materialized before him, its light casting strange shadows on the alley walls.

『Super Perks』

✦ Endless Vitality

「A divine trader can never find himself in an unsuitable condition for trading. An endless spring of vitality now flows within your body.」

Divine trader? The words sent a chill through him. What exactly was he becoming?

Zane continued asking the system questions, probing its limits like a scientist studying an alien artifact. He learned that the system was frustratingly restrictive when it came to providing information.

It either told him the information was classified or not related to the system's functions. It was like a computer that could only access certain files.

It only answered questions concerning the system itself. The system could give him details about skills, perks, attributes, and assets, but ask about the weather and it would go silent.

Nyx had mentioned the system didn't have any connection to the outside world. It existed inside his body and only observed the world through his eyes.

If Zane slept, the system would still be awake but wouldn't gain any new information. It was like a passenger looking out the window of a moving car.

The system only contained pre-programmed information that would become available to Zane as he increased his level. It was a treasure chest with locks that could only be opened by growth.

His only liquid assets were the 50 Super Points. Zane didn't want to spend them yet, not until he understood their true value.

He also had access to a shop tab where he could theoretically buy anything within the realm of possibility. He just needed to place an order and have the currency to back it up.

Since he currently didn't have any money to experiment with, he could only wait and plan.

Zane learned that Supreme Coins were the system's currency and could be exchanged with any currency in existence at a rate that defied economics.

One Supreme Coin equaled $100 USD, but that was just the beginning. The system could apparently convert between currencies that didn't even exist yet.

Zane realized that his Mentality stat had increased from 9 to 17. He guessed it was due to absorbing the skill orb, but the jump was significant.

His other attributes had remained the same, creating an interesting imbalance in his capabilities.

Zane was disappointed to find that only fifteen minutes had passed. Time moved differently when you were discovering the fundamental nature of reality. He had to find another way to pass the hours until dawn.

Then he remembered. He hadn't even checked his other skill orb.

What other ability would he gain? The first orb had given him the power to travel between spaces. What could the second one do?

Zane checked around for any security cameras. He didn't want to be trending online after being seen using supernatural abilities.

In a city where Vance Corp monitored everything, privacy was a luxury he couldn't afford.

There were no obvious cameras around, but in Nexus City, surveillance was woven into the very fabric of the infrastructure. Smart glass windows, traffic sensors, even the LED streetlights could be recording.

He couldn't risk it, so he decided to wait. After all, the skill orb was in his inventory and wouldn't disappear.

Or would it?

The thought sent a spike of anxiety through him.

Surely not.

Zane couldn't help but worry. He was overly cautious by nature. A survival trait learned from years of poverty. He wouldn't use his abilities in public.

He wanted to wear the mask but remembered he had to remove it from a strange book, which was also not normal for a person to do in plain sight.

The only thing he could do was walk around and familiarize himself with his new environment.

Zane wished he had a cell phone. At least then he wouldn't be this bored and isolated. He had pawned his phone to pay rent the previous month. He wanted to buy another one but hadn't saved enough money yet.

But that was before he acquired this strange sytem.

Now...He looked at the glowing interface that only he could see. Now I have options.

As he began to walk deeper into the sleeping city, Zane felt something shift inside him. For the first time in his life, he wasn't just surviving.

He was becoming something more. The question was: what would he choose to become?

The Vance Spire loomed ahead, its crimson logo pulsing like a heartbeat against the sky. Somewhere in that tower, decisions were being made that would reshape the world. And now, with a system that defied explanation and powers that transcended normal reality, Zane realized he might finally have a voice in that conversation.

The night was young, and so was his transformation.