“Which one should I choose?” Eythries stared down the trillions of options that appeared as shining dots over countless worlds.

“Let’s go with this one… She seems quite interesting…” The Godling extended His hand through the time-space dimension and reached for that being's mark casually. However…

“Ops… I caught the wrong one… Well, it should work as well. He is just a little common…” The mistake didn’t seem to bother the Eythries as if it was a common and normal occurrence.

“Aiden Whitehall… what a coincidence…”

** **

Aiden lay on his bed while reading a fantasy novel under de covers. The smartphone’s artificial light would give him a headache soon but it was already past midnight and he couldn’t bother his roommates. As a scholarship student, he was required to study every day to maintain excellence, so he only managed to catch up on his favorite novels late into the night. Fortunately, he would soon graduate and finally leave behind student life. In fact, he already had started sending his resume to tech companies in Dublin and other tech-invested European cities.

However, his life was set to change forever. Suddenly, a space distortion appeared beneath him and his body fell through it. Aiden crashed on hard ground and was immediately assaulted by a bright light. Scared, he stood up cautiously while observing his surroundings. He was in a large empty white room surrounded by walls engraved with all sorts of strange markings. Aside from six white pillars at each side of the room, he couldn’t see anything else… until he spotted a golden throne that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. The throne was at one side of the room facing the rest, like a king in his court.

“What the…?” Before he could finish the question something sounded.

[… Binding complete. According to the Divine Law number X, Aiden Whitehall is now the Master of the Celestial Trade Hall for the duration of his life. Welcome, Master Aiden.] The genderless voice sounded mechanic but not artificial.

Aiden stood quiet, staring at the nothingness for an entire minute before finally reacting.

“No… fu*ing… way.” Then he pinched himself and even slapped his face to verify that he was indeed awake.

How could such a wonderful thing happen to him? The legendary plot of receiving a system or a cheat was something Aiden only thought existed in fantasy books. However, it was now happening to him. He could only be dreaming or hallucinating, right?

The boy continue to test himself for consciousness until he was ready to accept reality. This was happening! To him! Shouldn’t it go to one of the standard major characters? Someone who was suffering or that died unjustly, or even the legendary lazy otaku? He was, in all he could think of, extraordinarily ordinary, so why him? Could it be that he was chosen randomly? No, that would be… wicked!

Wait… He won! He was chosen!

“Hahaha.” Aiden started laughing uncontrollably until it became embarrassing to continue.

“Mister, system?” He probed carefully.

[Master Aiden, do you wish for something?]

“Eh… First things first… How should I call you?” He was dying to know what kind of cheat this place would bring, but he could only restrain himself and be more professional, after all, it was addressing him as Master.

[Master Aiden, you may call me as you like.]

“What… are you, exactly?”

[I am a celestial assistant, Master Aiden.]

“Hum… I’ll call you Celes so… You can call me Master only.” Since it was an assistant there was no problem in giving it orders.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

[As you wish, Master.]

“Celes, can you explain what is this place and what can it do?” He started walking around and exploring the room.

[Yes, Master. The Celestial Trade Hall is a dimensional hub that connects several worlds in this celestial area. To keep the worlds connected to the source axis, the Hall needs to exchange items between them periodically. That is the duty of the Master of the Hall.]

Aiden pondered over those words, before asking again.

“What is the source axis? Why does exchanging the items keep the worlds connected to the axis? How are the items traded?”

[The source axis is related to the creation of the worlds. More information is restricted. Everything created in a world bares its signature, so when the items are exchanged, a celestial connection is formed tying the two worlds through the axis. However, to access those worlds the Hall needs celestial energy, which comes from the desire of its inhabitants. Therefore, to make the trade, the Master needs to attract and then fulfill a wish from an inhabitant of each world.]

“How are inhabitants selected?”

[Master, there is an emergency in course. Do you wish me to answer your question or proceed with the emergency report?]

“The emergency!” Aiden started sweating profusely. He just became the Master of the Hall, and before he even had a chance to enjoy any benefits, an emergency popped up. Who was the previous Master? How could he or she leave such a sloppy job behind?

[A world is drifting apart from the axis. Master, you only have three hours before that world leaves reach of the Hall.]

“How do I initiate the trade?” He stopped cursing his luck and focused on the task at hand. No matter why he was chosen, Aiden wouldn’t let go of this big treasure.

[Master, you have to choose an inhabitant from the world’s map and then send a card invitation.]

Before Aiden had a chance to ask, a hologram with many planets and light dots appeared at the center of the Hall. Instead of asking, he approached the hologram and started fiddling with it. The Hall should be adapting it to his liking because the hologram worked exactly how he thought it should.

Quickly, he browsed through the planets that had shining dots and zoomed in on one which looked particularly green. There were countless, probably millions of dots, but somehow, Aiden could see and tell each apart. He was lost for minutes to the beauty of this… magic. It could only be called magic. Fortunately, a prompt from the Celes reminded him of the urgent task.

Aiden zoomed again to an area where the green seemed to wane. There was one dot in there that looked a little brighter. He focused on it and an image of a beautiful young woman dressed in light red silk appeared in his mind. She was kneeling and praying for warmth to take away the cold and protect their fields.

He was ready to ask how to send the invitation to the woman when a card appeared in his hand. The card was white and gold, carved with marks similar to those on the walls. One side had a drawing representation of the white hall with the golden throne and everything, while the other side had markings that could give an observer the feeling that one could get anything desired from the invitation. Without needing to ask, he knew that it would work.

“Celes, how do I make the trade?”

[Master, once the inhabitant accepts the invitation, she can be summoned to the Hall. Then, she can plead for her wish and state what she can offer in exchange for it. You may deal with the trade as you see fit, but remember to only promise her one item for the wish. Master can request one or more items as his payment, but the traders can only receive one item.]

Aiden stopped to digest Celes’ words for a few minutes.

“How do I choose the second world to trade with this?”

[Master can choose any stable world to participate in the trade. However, be aware Master, every inhabitant invited needs to be satisfied with the trade.]

“That’s… difficult. How can I guarantee that the wish of one side will be fulfilled by the other party in the trade?”

[Master needs to choose carefully… Furthermore, Master can invite more worlds to trade. The wish doesn’t need to be fulfilled immediately, just before the inhabitant’s world gets away from the axis. Master can use the item from world B to fulfill the wish of world A, and then use an Item from world C to fulfill the wish of world B. In the end, Master only needs to guarantee that every inhabitant is satisfied, but it doesn’t need to be at the same time.]

“That helps…” Aiden still thought that matter was a little complicated and could easily drown him in a sea of unfulfilled wishes. However, he still didn’t want to lose this chance.

“Celes, send the invitation card to this woman.”

[Yes, Master.]

Then, the card disappeared from Aiden’s hand, and through the mental image, he could see it appearing on the ground in front of the woman. As if her prayers had been heard, the woman picked up the card and embraced it before shouting “I accept”.

Strangely, she didn’t consider how the card appeared out of nowhere, nor how she knew it was an invitation. At this point, the air distorted and a white and gold door appeared midair in front of the woman. Instinctively, she tried to open it, but it was locked. Then, her sight fell into the porthole, which matched the size and form of the invitation card. Without hesitating, she placed the card on it and opened the door.