Everyone had their own trailer—small in size, yet still larger than the house I used to live in.
That fact alone was enough to make me smile with faint sarcasm.
I headed straight to one of the trailers, closed the door behind me, then threw myself onto the couch.
It was more comfortable than I had expected—soft enough that drowsiness washed over me almost instantly.
I nearly closed my eyes, if not for the light slap I gave my own face.
"Not time to sleep…"
I raised my wrist and activated my personal scanner.
A transparent screen appeared before my eyes, somewhat like a phone, but clearer, faster—stranger than anything I had ever used before.
I was looking for only one thing.
Money.
It didn't take long to find it.
Balance: 1,000,000 Athena.
I froze.
I stared at the number in silence, then closed my eyes and opened them again.
I looked a second time… then a third.
The number didn't change.
"…A million?"
The word slipped out quietly, as if I didn't quite believe myself.
I felt a genuine shock.
Not the kind that makes you shout or jump, but the kind that empties your mind for a few seconds.
It was an enormous amount.
Bigger than anything I had ever imagined in my life.
If someone had told me not long ago that I would own this much money, I would've laughed in their face without hesitation—probably thinking they were joking… or insane.
Some of you might say I'm exaggerating my reaction.
Maybe it looks that way from the outside, but if you were in my place, you'd understand.
Athena is the official currency of Athens, and everyone knows its value.
It's not an ordinary currency—certainly not something to take lightly.
One single Athena equals one hundred dollars.
When I put the numbers together in my head and calmly did the math, I finally understood what I was seeing.
What I owned now…
Was worth one hundred million dollars.
I let out a slow breath without realizing it.
The number was so large my mind needed extra time to process it.
Then, without meaning to, a faint smile appeared on my face.
So this is how it feels…
To be someone born with a golden spoon in their mouth.
It really was an amazing feeling—I couldn't deny that.
But I didn't allow myself to enjoy it for long.
I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them again and refocused on the scanner in front of me.
I had a goal.
Money was nothing more than a means to achieve it.
I quickly switched to the private networks section.
There, I searched for only one name.
Alkaria Market.
Alkaria Market isn't an ordinary place.
It's not a site you stumble upon by accident, nor does it appear on any official network.
Everything sold there… isn't meant to be available to the public.
Forbidden technologies banned years ago.
Skills, combat techniques—anything you could possibly imagine.
Even if you somehow found it by chance, you couldn't enter without knowing the password.
A word known only to a few.
But I…
I knew it.
I paused for just one second, then entered the password without hesitation.
The moment I did, the interface before me changed completely.
The screen filled with dozens of sections and options, as if I had stepped into an entirely different world.
I stood there briefly, trying to take it all in.
But I didn't care much about what I saw.
There was only one thing on my mind.
Until I found it.
=== [Farman Device]
A device designed specifically to deal with environments that don't belong to this world.
It forces the body to adapt to the Rift's environment, allowing entry without suffering immediate physical collapse.
Price: 100,000 Athena
When I saw the price, I wasn't particularly surprised.
I had expected something like this.
It was indispensable.
Designed to help the body adapt to Rift environments—especially for those not yet accustomed to them.
Without it, entering a Rift could be genuinely dangerous.
The moment I read its name, memories of the last time I entered a combat field resurfaced.
The memory returned suddenly, without warning.
A chill ran down my spine, and I shivered slightly without realizing it.
I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself.
Then I closed the browser immediately, refusing to think any further.
I leaned back on the couch and relaxed my body, waiting for the device to arrive.
Alkaria Market doesn't operate like a normal marketplace.
They're excessively cautious and don't allow anyone to know their password—or even approach their network—without thoroughly investigating their background.
Every step is calculated.
Every transaction monitored.
The reason is simple…
One mistake could lead to them being traced.
They don't send their goods through normal channels.
Instead, they use the Anya Network itself—a network that can be easily traced if not handled with extreme care.
Because of that, I expected it to take some time.
But I didn't wait long.
As I lay there, staring at the ceiling of the trailer absentmindedly, a small box suddenly appeared in front of me—as if it had materialized out of thin air.
No delivery sound. No notification.
It was just there.
I sat up immediately and stared at the box for a few seconds, as if confirming it was real.
Then I reached out and picked it up.
It was light… lighter than I expected.
I took the device out of the box and examined it for a few seconds.
It was circular in shape, about the size of my palm, made of dark metal with a smooth surface.
At its center was a smaller circle, surrounded by faint lines barely visible—almost like part of the design itself.
That was when a voice came through the speakers, announcing that the train had arrived at its destination.
I slipped the device into my pocket before standing up.
…
I was now in the middle of a dense forest.
Intertwined branches blocked much of the sky, with only small rays of light slipping through.
The ground beneath my feet was rougher than I had expected—filled with rocks and exposed roots—forcing me to stop several times just to make sure I was heading in the right direction.
Every step required attention.
Sometimes I slipped slightly.
Other times I tripped over a tree root, took a deep breath, and kept going.
About an hour had passed since I left the train.
A full hour on my way to the Rift, without being completely sure of its exact location.
The way locations were discovered in the game didn't help at all—making the situation more frustrating than I had expected.
Doubt began creeping into my mind.
Did I take the wrong path?
Did I pass it without noticing?
I continued wandering cautiously, changing direction from time to time, watching everything around me.
Then… suddenly, something felt different.
A faint sensation—but a clear one.
A strange energy… coming from ahead.
I stopped in my tracks, clenched my fist slightly, and raised my head.
That feeling was familiar—the same sensation I had felt before.
I moved toward its source with quicker steps.
My heart began to pound harder, and the closer I got, the clearer the sensation became.
And when I finally saw it…
I couldn't stop a wide smile from spreading across my face.