"RING... RING... RING..."

I moved my hand, quickly found my phone and turned off the alarm.

I got up from bed, brushed my teeth, took a bath, got dressed, dried my hair and tied it, ate and finally focused on the screen. Finally pleading:

"Can you please not distract me so much? I can't go on with my life normally with you on my face, there is a limit to how much I can ignore you. Can you turn it off or something?"

There was a pop up above, its text had a friendly green color.

After finishing the tutorial, the user has access to visual configuration.

“I can change configurations after finishing the tutorial?”

I frowned, weighing the pros and cons.

‘It doesn’t seem like it will let me be if I don’t do this tutorial. But even after finishing, it will continue to bother me…’

I talked to it, trying to get more information before deciding.

“You showed up out of nowhere, bothering my normal life, what can you even do for me? How good are you?”

As expected, it answered.

With the system you can have spaces for storage, produce and buy items to sell and, with that, be the best traveling merchant!

'Didn't it heard when I said I don't want to be a traveling merchant?'

I looked at it skeptically. Yesterday it talked about producing and buying something in a shop too, but was that even possible? Well, this system is theoretically impossible too, so could it really be useful? I decided to try.

“Sigh... Ok, you win. Let's finish it soon. Accept prizes. So? That's it? No music or visual effects? What now?”

There was another pop up.

Congratulations, you unlocked your storage.

You can say ‘storage’ to access it.

I stared at it.

‘It can understand me, can’t it?’

I narrowed my eyes.

“Why can't you just talk directly with me? I know you understand me. Obviously you're showing your tail more and more."

I bluffed, but after a minute there was just silence as an answer, I mean, there was no new pop up.

"Ignore me, huh? Ok... Storage."

It opened another screen with three spaces, like a storage in a game. It said 'Travel Backpack'.

"So... How should I put something inside? No pop up this time, are you shy?! Hehe"

I teased, trying to get an answer, but nothing.

“Tsk…”

'It's getting smarter…'

While thinking, I glanced at today's tasks and the second mission from the tutorial.

'More walking... 5 kilometers... Is it going to put me to walk 10 kilometers at the end of the week?! For the same amount of points too...'

I had dark lines on my head. I'm not the most active person, but I could do it within the deadline of one day.

Tutorial Mission 2: A Merchant should never be out of stock, run and store at least 99 units of a new product in your storage. Prize: Expand storage. Type: Mandatory. Done: 0/99.

Weekly task: Day 2/7 - A merchant needs a healthy body to travel - walk 5 kilometers. Prize: 30 points. Type: Mandatory. Done: 0,01/5. Time left: 16h 39 min 55 s

Daily task: You're out of stock. Find a product to have in stock in your storage. Prize: 10 points. Type: Mandatory. Done: 0/1. Time left: 16h 39 min 55 s

'Oh, lucky, it's almost the same thing. Ninety-nine, I have only three spaces, so I probably can stack up in each space, like those games! I will buy something later...'

I checked the time and got ready to go out. I have classes after all. It's early, but I need to drive slowly, so as to not risk getting in an accident because of this screen.

《☆》

It was difficult to focus on class, but I did it somehow. Now I'm driving to a nearby supermarket. I should be fast, since I need to go back to class in the afternoon. Time is running out.

'Great... Less than an hour before next class... I should have just bought a bunch of pens.'

I looked at the clock, worried about being late.

'Finally here.'

I parked and ran inside the supermarket. Going for a bunch of easy things to buy and carry, I got a small mountain of chocolates on my trolley and ran to pay. Back in the car I put everything inside and got my hands on one.

"Storage. Put away? Keep. Just store it, please."

Only when I thought with all my mind that I wanted to store it in my storage did the chocolate disappear from my hand and appear in the storage, after figuring it out, I put the rest inside. To my surprise, it wasn't stacked like I thought, an image appeared in the place of the storage, it looked as if the chocolates were thrown inside a dark room, or something like that. In my confusion I tried to touch it, while thinking about knowing more about it. Somehow I knew, like in a list on my mind, there were 102 chocolates and that it occupied 0,98% of that space.

'So how much can it hold?!'

I held up my curiosity, since I won't buy more, there are too many already.

'Oh, but I could always calculate it, right? Well, let's leave that for later.'

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Accepting the prizes, I saw I had three new spaces in my storage.

Tutorial Mission 3: A fixed flux of products of quality is the right word for a successful business, select good seeds for farming. Prize: Unlock Farm. Type: Mandatory. Done: 0/3.

"Farm? Is it a food business? You want me to be a traveling merchant that sells food? That doesn't make sense, how would I even explain the food's origin…"

I could only roll my eyes at it and get out again.

'Luckily I didn't leave the supermarket yet. Let's just finish it soon and be free from its interface on my face.'

I bought some packs of corn, carrot and tomato seeds and put them in my storage. It worked.

'Next...'

Tutorial Mission 4: Now it's time to collect the fruit of your hard work. Plant and farm the fruits of one of the seeds of your choice. Prize: Unlock Seed Storage. Type: Mandatory. Done: 0/10.

"You're crazy! How much time will it take to even grow a leaf?"

As if to answer my angry questioning, a new popup appeared:

Bonus mission!

Congratulations on concluding two mandatory missions in less than 2 hours, keep that up!

KNOWLEDGE IS THE NEW ORDER!

Find a book about farming. Prize: Six instant harvest. Type: Optional. Done: 0/1. Time: 60 minutes

Do you wish to accept?

Yes / No

"A bonus mission… It’s optional, should I accept? One hour, huh... I think I can find something at the shopping mall. Yes, I accept it."

The pop up disappeared and the mission appeared under the others and began to count down the time.

I headed to the shopping mall by the side of the supermarket, it wasn't as difficult as I thought. Since some people like to make vegetable gardens as a hobby, I found many books on the subject and bought the thicker one, to be sure.

I put the book inside the storage and to my surprise when I concluded the mission, it soon changed for the prize, it was six packs.

'Where is the bo-?'

Somehow a bunch of knowledge invaded my brain and, instantly, I knew a lot about farming and vegetables.

I froze, dumbfounded.

'Did it... Just...'

I held my forehead because of the headache it caused, while walking back to the bookstore. There I opened one of the same books. I was sure then. I can swear to God, I never read that book, but somehow I knew everything inside it and didn't just know by word, but really understand it.

'How...?'

I had to breathe deeply, to hold my shit together. Finding that this thing can interfere with my brain like that is scary.

'Yeah, it's good to learn without much effort, but IT JUST PUT SOMETHING INSIDE MY BRAIN. There were some signs before, otherwise how could I be the only one seeing it? It must be stimulating my nerves directly, or something like that… But this one was too much at one time… What if it can change my memories too?! Does it really only hear what I say or it reads what I think?'

I breathed deeply a few more times.

'Is that why it's so easy to accept this thing? Is it messing with my mind since yesterday?'

I didn't know if it was the right choice to continue doing its missions. So, I drove to a hospital.

'I need to get checked.'

《☆》

After doing an extensive check-up, I can only give up. There is nothing in my body, no machine, no chip, or sign of anything inside me that shouldn’t be there. Nothing that could be detected by human technology, at least. Nor is my brain working abnormally either.

'Seems like the only one who can give me answers is this 'system', but will it? What if it lies to me? What guarantee do I have? Could it be really a supernatural thing that I can do nothing about as a human?'

I was sitting in my car seat, in the hospital parking lot. I bit my lip, unable to accept, but whether I accept or not, this is my reality. I can only ask my questions to The System and decide later.

"System, what are you?"

System Traveling Merchant

I was happy to see it at least answering this time, so I continued, choosing carefully my words.

"System, why are you here with me?"

Insufficient right of access.

After this pop up disappeared, the screen with the missions began to shine more brightly, especially the letters of the tutorial mission.

'Is it telling me to continue if I want to know?'

That was the conclusion I came to, since the system letters seems to change colors and brightness to get my attention. Well, at least I prefer to believe it’s not a coincidence. Considering my options, it's not like I can do something against or even touch it, and from what I saw, it can do something against me if it wants. For now, since it's not doing me bad, I will hear it out.

"Alright... But I want answers later."

'Farm.'

It opened and looked just like a game farm, with three open fields on its ground, with grass all around, it has a healthy green color, and heavy fog around that space with the fields.

And with it I was sure…

‘So you really read my mind! Don't keep acting as if you're dead, I know you can hear me. My privacy, you will give me it back later, I swear.’

First let's finish it. Somehow I could just throw the seeds in the fields, I choose tomatoes. It then showed a clock about the time it would take to harvest, for tomatoes it would take twelve hours. It's insanely fast isn't it? Should I just wait and keep the prize for later? I dismissed that thought and used my prize of ‘Instantly Harvest’, since I want to finish it earlier and get free.

After that, looking in my storage, it showed that I have fifteen tomatoes.

'So, for each field I get five tomatoes. Would it be like that for everything I sow?'

I got my prize and opened the seed storage. It had eight spaces, there were many seeds of corn, tomato and carrot occupying three spaces, in this one, they are stacked up and each kind can only occupy one space. Looking at my storage, the seeds weren't there anymore.

'I should give up trying to predict how this system will work… Anyway, it's good to save space and it's easier to use seeds this way.'

I put more seeds in the fields to grow, but it will be corn now, which will take 8 hours to harvest. I looked at the clock, since I'm already too late for any of my afternoon classes, I will just do the next tutorial mission.

Tutorial Mission 5: Now that you have a flux of products, you should go for diversification, reach new markets with variety! For that technology is needed. Use your points to unlock a machine on your farm shop. Prize: Variable. Type: Mandatory. Done: 0/1.

'Are the points I have even enough for something? Prize variable... maybe if I unlock an expensive machine, it would give me better prizes… How many days would it take to be able to buy something like that though…'

Bonus mission!

When the belt tightens, working harder is the only solution.

Prize: Surprise.

Do you wish to accept seven bonus tasks?

Yes / No

'Here you're showing your tail again. Are they easy?'

There was no answer.

'Show me the shop first.'

Do you wish to give up doing the bonus tasks?

Yes / No

‘... Ugh, you really give me no way around. Alright, I accept the bonus tasks.’

Ding! Ding! Commitment and persistence is the way to success!

Bonus Task 1: Find a new product for your store. Prize: 10 points. Done: 0/1. Time left: 1h 59 min 28s.

Bonus Task 2: Haggle while buying a new product. Prize: 20 points. Done 0/1. Time left: 1h 59 min 28 s.

Bonus Task 3: Find new seeds. Prize: 10 points. Done 0/3. Time left: 1h 59 min 28 s.

Bonus Task 4: Sow a new vegetable. Prize: 10 points. Done 0/1. Time left: 1h 59 min 28 s.

Bonus Task 5: Barter with other merchants. Prize: 20 points. Done 0/1. Time left: 1h 59 min 28 s.

Bonus Task 6: Collect vegetables. Prize: 10 points. Done 0/5. Time left: 1h 59 min 28 s.

Bonus Task 7: Sell something. Prize: 20 points. Done 0/1. Time left: 1h 59 min 28 s.