[ DISTRICT 9 - RESIDENTIAL BLOCK - APARTMENT 4B ]
Leo, a D-Rank Spear User, kicked his front door open. He was exhausted.
"Honey?" his wife, Sarah, called from the kitchen. "Did you get the groceries?"
Leo dropped his backpack on the floor. It sounded light.
"I tried," Leo said, collapsing onto the cheap sofa. "The supermarket is a warzone. A loaf of bread is 50 Credits. The milk was sold out. The cashier spat at me when he saw my Hunter ID badge."
Sarah walked in, wiping her hands on a rag. She looked tired. The baby was crying in the other room.
"They hate us," Sarah whispered, sitting next to him. "The civilians. They think we're hoarding all the money because the Guilds are paying in Potions now."
"I don't have any Potions," Leo sighed. "I made 400 SP today killing Giant Rats. That's good points, but nobody takes points for baby formula."
He looked at his dirty armor. He smelled like sewer water and rat blood. He needed a shower, but the water pressure was weak again.
DING.
He opened his eyes. The System Interface was hovering there.
He idly browsed the Shop. He usually only looked at the Weapons tab, dreaming of gear he couldn't afford. But today, out of boredom, his finger slipped.
He clicked on a tab he had never opened before.
[ TAB: CONSUMABLES ]
Leo blinked. He expected to see Health Potions.
Instead, he saw... a grocery store.
[ ITEM: Nutrient Block (Vanilla) ]
[ RANK: F ]
[ DESC: Contains 2,500 calories, perfect macro-nutrients. Suppresses hunger for 12 hours. ]
[ PRICE: 1 SP ]
[ ITEM: Purification Gel (Tube) ]
[ RANK: F ]
[ DESC: Instantly removes dirt, grime, blood, and odors. Disinfects skin. ]
[ PRICE: 2 SP ]
[ ITEM: Baby Formula (Enriched) ]
[ RANK: F ]
[ DESC: Complete nutrition for infants. Promotes healthy growth and immune system. ]
[ PRICE: 5 SP ]
Leo sat up straight.
"5 SP?" he whispered. "For formula?"
He had 400 SP from today's hunt. That was... nothing. That was one dead rat.
"Sarah," Leo said. "Watch this."
He pressed [ BUY ]. He spent 8 SP.
A small shimmer of light appeared on their coffee table. A silver-wrapped bar, a blue tube of gel, and a large canister of formula materialized.
"What is that?" Sarah asked.
"Dinner," Leo said. He unwrapped the bar. It didn't look like much, just a dense white block. He broke off a piece and gave it to her.
Sarah hesitated, then took a bite. Her eyes widened.
"It tastes like... birthday cake," she mumbled. "And I feel full. Instantly."
Leo grabbed the tube of Purification Gel. He squeezed a tiny drop onto his arm, which was caked in dried sewer mud.
The gel foamed up instantly on contact. It didn't just clean the dirt; it dissolved it. A cool, minty sensation rushed through his skin. The smell of the sewer vanished, replaced by the scent of fresh mountain air.
"It's better than a shower," Leo gasped, looking at his pristine arm. "It's magic soap."
He picked up the formula. It was warm to the touch, ready to mix.
"Sarah," Leo said, his voice shaking. "I spent 8 SP. That's... ten minutes of work in the dungeon."
He looked around his crappy apartment.
"Why are we struggling to buy bread for 50 Credits?" Leo asked, anger rising in his chest. "Why are we letting the supermarkets price-gouge us?"
He stood up. He opened the Shop interface again.
[ ITEM: Soft-Weave Tunic (Self-Cleaning) ]
[ RANK: F ]
[ PRICE: 10 SP ]
[ ITEM: Heating Stone (Portable) ]
[ RANK: F ]
[ PRICE: 15 SP ]
"We don't need them," Leo said. "We don't need the supermarkets. We don't need the Merchant Guild."
He turned to his wife.
"I'm going back to the dungeon tomorrow. I'm going to grind until I have 1,000 SP. And then... we are going to live like kings."
[ DISTRICT 2 - THE MARKET PLAZA - 2 DAYS LATER ]
The transformation was visible.
The grocery stores were empty, but not because they were sold out. Because the Hunters stopped coming.
A group of E-Rank Hunters sat at a cafe table, eating silver Nutrient Blocks. They wore simple grey tunics—Shop Gear—that never got dirty and regulated their body temperature perfectly.
A civilian woman walked past them, dragging a heavy bag of overpriced rice. She looked at the Hunters. She saw their clean clothes, their glowing skin, their abundance of food.
"Hey," the woman called out to one of the Hunters. "Is that the Shop water?"
The Hunter looked up, holding a jug of crystal-clear Mana Water. "Yeah. 1 SP a gallon."
"I'll give you 100 Credits for it," the woman said, pulling out her wallet. "The tap water tastes like rust."
The Hunter hesitated. He could buy another gallon for 1 SP. 100 Credits wasn't much, but it was profit.
"Make it 200," the Hunter haggled.
"Deal."
The transaction happened right there on the street. The Hunter handed over the jug. The woman walked away clutching it like gold.
Across the plaza, a dozen similar deals were happening. Hunters were buying bulk supplies from the Shop—soap, food, batteries—and reselling them to civilians for cash.
The Black Market had arrived. And the Hunters were the new Merchants.
[ SANCTUARY - LIVING QUARTERS ]
Eidon sat on the sofa, scrolling through a holographic report only he could see. A plate of cookies—freshly baked by one of the new Battle Maids—sat on the table.
He watched the consumption data scrolling by.
[ MOST POPULAR ITEM: PURIFICATION GEL (F-RANK) ]
[ DAILY TRANSACTIONS: 50,000+ ]
"They are addicted to the comfort," Eidon observed, taking a bite of a cookie. "Once you use magical soap, you can't go back to the chemical sludge they sell in stores."
Moira was pacing behind the sofa. She stopped, leaning her arms on the backrest, resting her chin on them so she was staring directly at the side of his face.
"You conquered the world with hygiene products," Moira deadpanned. "I expected fire and blood. You gave them a bath."
"Wars are won by logistics, Moira," Eidon said. "If the enemy controls the food supply, they control the people. I just became the supply."
"It's diabolical," Moira whispered, leaning closer, her eyes half-lidded. "You strangled the Merchant Guild with bubbles. You made them obsolete without even drawing a sword. You didn't just beat them, Eidon. You domesticated them."
As she spoke, a small, semi-transparent window drifted naturally into Eidon's vision next to her head. The [ Eye of Heaven ] was always active, peeling back the layers of reality whether he wanted it to or not.
[ TARGET: MOIRA ]
[ THOUGHT: He looks so ruthless when he talks about logistics. It makes me want to burn a city down just to watch him organize the ashes. Also, there are crumbs on his lip. If I licked them off, would he kill me? 50/50 chance. Worth it. ]
Eidon blinked, then casually wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"It's efficient," Eidon corrected, clearing his throat. "Tea."
A Battle Maid—a summoned entity of elegance and lethal grace—glided over instantly from the shadows, holding the silver teapot. She moved with a perfect, calculated sway, stepping close to Eidon's left side to pour.
Moira's gaze shifted. The [ Eye of Heaven ] updated the text box instantly, the font turning a bold, warning red.
[ THOUGHT: She's too close. She's in the Zone. That's my Zone. If she pours that tea, I'm going to summon my Greatsword and accidentally decapitate her. Then I'll blame lag. ]
"I'll do it," Moira snapped aloud, moving faster than the maid could react. She snatched the pot from the summon's hands with enough force to nearly rip the handle off.
She glared at the maid. "Go stand in a corner. You're blocking the air."
The maid didn't argue. She simply bowed and retreated to the shadows.
Moira poured the tea, her mood swinging back to supreme satisfaction as she claimed her place by his side. She set the cup down for him, making sure her hand lingered near his.
Eidon glanced at the text box one last time as it faded.
[ THOUGHT: Safe. The Zone is secure. He's drinking the tea I poured. I practically own him now. ]
Eidon stifled a laugh, shaking his head as he sipped the tea.
"So," Moira said, unaware her mind was an open book, sitting on the armrest and swinging her legs. "Now that everyone is clean and fed... they have a lot of extra money, don't they?"
"They do," Eidon nodded. "The average Hunter is accumulating SP rapidly because their cost of living just dropped to zero."
"And what happens when people have too much money?"
"They get bored," Eidon smiled. "And they get ambitious."
He swiped his hand, closing the consumption report and opening the Global Auction interface.
"It's time to give them something to fight over. Something that isn't just about survival."
"Like a weapon?" Moira asked.
"Better," Eidon said. "Power. Influence."
He tapped the [ AUCTION ] button.
[ ITEM: Guild Skill - "Legion's Heart" (A-Rank) ]
[ QUANTITY: 2 ]
"We're going to sell them the ability to build an army," Eidon said. "And since there are only two copies... well, friendship is about to get very expensive."