The cold dawn air slipped through the cracked window of the apartment, but Eric barely noticed. His eyes were fixed on the transparent screen hovering in front of him — the Midas System had evolved once again.
Now, two golden options glowed before him:
1. Convert Coins
2. Dimensional Vault
He tapped the second option.
Instantly, a new window appeared.
"Current Space: 0 cm²."
Eric frowned.
Zero.
Nothing.
It was like owning a vault that didn't have room for a single grain of dust.
Below it, a new option:
Purchase Space
When he clicked it, he nearly fell off the bed.
1 cm² = 1 gold coin.
He did the quick math.
To get 1 square meter, he'd need 10,000 coins.
Ten thousand.
The equivalent of more than 5 million euros.
Eric laughed — but it wasn't joy.
It was frustration, almost anger.
"The system knows how to give… but it really knows how to take back."
Yes, that would probably be the most expensive square meter on the entire planet.
But he needed to run a test. He couldn't ignore the chance to understand how this "dimensional vault" worked. The idea of an invisible, maybe portable storage space was way too tempting.
Eric stood, glanced at the wardrobe stuffed with gold coins, and felt responsibility crush his chest.
He had a little over 1,500 gold coins.
He had already set aside 1,000 for Elena — her request demanded it.
Collecting enough ordinary coins in such a short time had nearly killed him.
His muscles still ached from remembering those endless runs searching for loose change.
But the reality was cruel:
leaving all that gold scattered inside the apartment was suicide.
Even with security in the background, it was only a matter of time before someone got suspicious.
Or worse — before his landlady decided to break in.
For twenty minutes, Eric remained frozen by the dilemma.
Store gold safely in the dimensional vault…
Or keep resources available to keep feeding the System.
Curiosity won.
Curiosity always wins.
He pressed Purchase Space.
A message appeared:
"Minimum purchase: 1,000 cm²."
Eric almost hurled the phone through the window.
"They're watching me…" he muttered.
It was impossible not to suspect. The System knew exactly how many coins he had.
It knew the limit.
It knew exactly what it could take from him.
He inhaled deeply.
And confirmed the purchase.
The sensation was physical.
Like paying an enormous debt at the edge of your budget.
A twist in his stomach.
A pinch in his heart.
And a stubborn tear threatening to fall.
He almost laughed.
"Why does it hurt so much to spend gold I'm not even supposed to have…?"
When the sting faded, Eric waited for something grand — a dimensional tear splitting open, beams of light shooting from the floor, maybe a triumphant announcement.
Nothing.
Only a new button:
Access Vault
He tapped it.
Nothing happened.
"Did I get scammed?" he murmured.
Then he saw it.
A tiny blue dot in the air.
A faint glimmer he almost mistook for dust.
Eric reached toward it…
And his finger disappeared.
He yanked it back, startled.
He touched again.
Gone.
He leaned forward — his eyes crossed an invisible threshold.
And he saw it.
A small metallic box floating in a dark, wall-less space.
No floor.
No ceiling.
Just a void that didn't exist in the physical world.
Depending on how Eric touched the blue point, he accessed different sides of the box — from above, from the sides, as if opening invisible doors.
Amazed, he began storing coins.
One by one.
Two hundred.
When he tried inserting coin number two hundred and one, the entire box vibrated — and rejected it.
Full.
Still, 200 coins were now secure, safe from thieves and snooping landladies.
He closed the vault.
The blue light faded.
The space vanished as if it had never existed.
He reopened it.
The light returned.
The coins were there.
Eric exhaled in relief.
It was real.
His phone vibrated.
A message from Lucia Herrera:
"I already found a buyer for the store. The money will be in your account today."
Then another:
"Why did you ask such a low price? It's absurd! You're basically giving it away!"
Eric laughed.
The lawyer had a sharp personality — and an even sharper financial instinct.
He replied:
"Take your commission. Handle the paperwork."
Her answer came seconds later, calmer:
"Understood."
Eric lay on the floor, exhausted.
The tension was fading…
But his mind was restless.
What if the dimensional vault could store other things besides coins?
What were its limits?
He wouldn't sleep without knowing.
Eric stood, sent a quick message to his security detail.
Minutes later, the car pulled up in front of his building.
One of the men opened the door.
Eric smiled — he was starting to get addicted to this.
Being treated like someone important.
"Where to?" the mercenary asked, rigid as always.
"To the pawnshop district."
The man frowned.
"Forgive the question, sir, but… what will you be doing there?"
Eric shot him a sharp look that clearly said none of your business.
The man straightened up.
"I'm only asking in case we need reinforcements, sir."
Eric smiled, satisfied.
"No reinforcements needed. We're hiring some services."
"What kind of services?" the mercenary insisted, sounding almost investigative.
Eric understood.
They were watching him.
Maybe Emir had ordered his movements monitored.
Eric kept his smile — colder this time, calculated.
"We're looking for prospectors… good prospectors."
The mercenary's eyes widened.
Prospectors?
For what?
Eric simply relaxed in his seat, watching the city outside with a calmness he didn't feel.
The Midas System had just given him a new power.
And he intended to find out how far it could take him.