It took several more hours to finalize everything. Jared worked efficiently, clearly motivated by what was probably the best commission day of his year.
I signed papers for both the warehouse and the retail space. Since I was paying the asking price on both and not requesting any special contingencies, the process moved quickly.
"I'll handle all the registration and official documentation," Jared said as we wrapped up. "Just like Anna, I'll deliver everything to you personally once it's finalized."
We shook hands. "Thanks for your help."
"Thank you, Mr. Sinclair. If you need anything else, commercial or even residential, don't hesitate to call."
I walked out of his office as the owner of two more properties. A warehouse and a luxury retail space. Combined with the villa, I now owned real estate worth over millions of dollars.
A little while ago, I'd been worried about a thousand dollar laptop.
I sat in my new car, just processing that fact. Then started laughing. The absurdity of it all just hit me at once.
I drove home as the sun was setting, stopping to pick up takeout on the way. Thai food this time. Pad Thai, spring rolls, curry. I was working my way through every cuisine available on delivery apps.
At the gate, I pulled into the security office to register my new car. The guard took down the license plate and make, adding it to my approved vehicles.
"New car, Mr. Sinclair?"
"Yeah, figured it was time."
"Nice choice. Have a good evening."
I pulled into my garage, which I'd completely forgotten about during the morning delivery chaos or even last night. This space could have held so much merchandise. Oh well. Too late now.
Inside, I headed straight for the living room, collapsing onto the couch with my takeout. Turned on the TV, found some mindless show, and started eating.
My phone buzzed with a text from Anna. Heard you had a productive day with Jared! Congratulations on the new properties.
I texted back a thank you. She'd connected me with both Jared and the villa. I should probably send her something nice as a thank you gift.
Tomorrow's problem.
I ate my Thai food, watching some detective show I'd seen before but couldn't remember the ending of. My eyes grew heavier. The couch was comfortable. The food was good. The TV droned on pleasantly.
I didn't remember falling asleep, but at some point, consciousness just slipped away.
When I woke up hours later, the TV was still on, playing some infomercial. The takeout containers were scattered on the coffee table. My neck hurt from sleeping at a weird angle.
I dragged myself upstairs to my actual bed, barely managing to change out of my clothes before collapsing properly.
I woke to sunlight streaming through my bedroom windows and the distant sound of birds. For a moment, I just lay there, staring at the ceiling.
I owned a villa, a warehouse, and a luxury retail space.
I had access to an interdimensional trading system.
I'd sold years of my life to a dying billionaire and local goods to a medieval merchant.
"My life is insane," I said to the empty room.
The system didn't respond, which was probably for the best.
I rolled out of bed, every muscle reminding me of yesterday's shopping marathon. My lower back especially protested. Apparently, walking around markets for hours and climbing over boxes wasn't great for posture.
The shower helped. I stood under the hot water for probably too long, just letting it work the soreness out.
Clean clothes. Coffee. Breakfast. Normal morning things to ground myself in reality.
Except reality now included interdimensional trading, so maybe I needed a new definition of normal.
My phone showed several texts. A few promotional messages and one from Jared with updates on the property paperwork.
Let's see what the status of the system is.
I pulled up my status screen.
Transaction with Chen Xuan pending. Estimated completion: 6-7 months (Blue Light time)
Right. The time dilation. Chen Xuan had just received enough merchandise to supply an empire. It would take him months to sell everything and gather payment.
Which meant I had around a week. I'd better use the free time to set up the antique business, or at least learn how to set up one.
Name: Alex Sinclair
Age: 20
Lifespan Remaining: 64 years
Merchant Level: 1
Progress to Level 2: 9/500 points
Current Points: 9
Available Features: One Random Low-Level World Access (Blue Light Planet), Client Registry, Transaction History
Nine points. Seven from the first Blue Light shipment, plus two remaining from the Edward Black transaction. Not bad, but nowhere near the 500 I needed to level up.
I needed more connections. More trades and more worlds.
"System," I said aloud, "is there any way to speed up point generation? Any features I'm missing?"
"Current merchant level limits point generation to direct system transactions."
"Great. So I'm stuck in the slow lane until I can afford to not be in the slow lane."
The system didn't respond to my sarcasm.
I spent the rest of the morning researching antique businesses. How they operated, what licenses I needed, industry standards, everything I was going to need.
Around noon, my stomach reminded me that food existed. I made a proper lunch for once, using the groceries I'd bought earlier. Sandwich, fruit, and actual vegetables. My body probably appreciated the break from takeout.
As I ate, I thought about Chen Xuan. He was probably already on his way to the capital with his caravan of imported goods.
And in return, I'd asked for mortal artwork. Pottery, paintings, jewelry. Things I could sell on Earth as genuine antiques, because they were.
It was a brilliant setup, really. I could explain my growing wealth as successful antique dealing. The goods were real, authentic pieces from another world. No fraud, no lies, just an interdimensional exchange nobody would ever suspect.
I researched gold buyers. Reputable dealers who could convert those ingots to cash without too many questions. Most required documentation of origin, which would be a problem.
Unless...
What if I used the antique business as cover? Claimed the gold was part of an estate purchase, melted down ancient artifacts? That might work. Especially if I mixed it with actual antiques from Chen Xuan.
This was the part no one told you about in power fantasies. The logistics. The paperwork. The careful planning needed to legitimize one's interdimensional income. While the system may ensure my transactions don't raise any red flags, I still needed connections and a source of revenue so I can keep funding my system based transactions to generate points.