As he led them towards Richton’s Tomb, Logan could admit to a frisson of excitement. This was something that he’d crafted, using his imagination and willpower. If it did what it should, it would give him access to funds, unlimited funds as long as he kept adding items to his private market.

  In the past, Logan had dreams of becoming someone who his nieces could look up to, someone who they could be proud of. Logan had never wanted to be a deadbeat uncle, an uncle who had to crawl to his sister for funds. He wanted to make something out of himself, but unfortunately, life and his career had constantly kicked him in the ass. He’d get a promotion at work, then his truck would break down, forcing him to replace his transmission. It was a constant push and pull. He’d take one step forward, feeling elated at his success, then be kicked in the nuts about something outside of his control.

  Before the integration, becoming financially independent had seemed like a pipe dream. But with [Lodestone Creationist], he might just make it into a reality.

  “Why are you leading us over here?” asked Brooke, scanning her surroundings, her jaw clenched in tension.

  “Isn’t this Richton’s Tomb?” said Sarah with a furrow in her brow.

  Richton’s Tomb was overgrown with ivy, the long, dry grass around it unkempt. The door was filthy, but unlike the rest of the building, Logan’s lodestone glinted as if it were alive. Looking at it with fresh eyes, he could see that there was something unnatural about it, a presence all its own. It was as if it were drawing him in, luring him closer.

  And if that’s how Logan felt and he was the one to create it, he couldn’t imagine what the others thought.

  Logan gestured at the lodestone. “Scan it with [Identify],” he said, doing the same with [Idiot’s Inspect].

  [Lodestone Access Point: Idiot’s Market]

  What.

  Oh, come on!

  Logan held back an eyeroll, wanting nothing more than to bring back that glitchy AI minion just so that he could curse it and kill it all over again. Naming it an Idiot’s Market wasn’t exactly an advertisement. It looked like a frigging joke shop. That wouldn’t cause people to go out of their way to explore it.

  But when had anything been easy?

  The others—Brooke, Chase, Sarah and Frederick—all had that far away look that meant they were examining it with the [Identify].

  “What…?” Sarah asked, scrunching her eyebrows and inching closer.

  Despite the wacky name, Logan could barely smother his smile, feeling so excited that he was brimming with energy. He’d created something before anyone received access to the System Market. He’d created a frigging virtual store by manipulating fire and metal and creating a lodestone! It was beyond kickass.

  But the thing about this eventual System Market that Asthea had said everyone would receive, meant that he was on a time limit. He needed to expand as much as possible to take advantage while he could. On top of that, he needed to use the heck out of his spatial collar to grab as many items as possible.

  Sarah rested her hand against the lodestone and then gasped.

  Chase jumped forward, alarmed. “What is it?”

  Her eyes were glassy, her mouth open wide. “It’s… it.” Sarah swallowed. “It’s a store. We can buy things.”

  Frederick jerked forward and rested his hand on her shoulder. “Food?” he demanded, his voice tense.

  Sarah took a few seconds to respond, her voice distracted. “Nothing substantial, but yes, food. Food and weapons. Armour.”

  His hand clenched on her shoulder. “This is what we need then. Finally, the System gave us something that helps rather than puts us in danger.”

  Sarah worried her lip. “But…” Gasping, she took a step away from the lodestone and then flexed her hand as if were tingling. “There’s a cost.”

  “How much?” snapped Brooke. At the mention of weapons, she’d straightened, her eyes full of greed.

  “Not much,” said Logan. “I tried to keep the prices reasonable, but you’ll need KarmaCoin to buy them. If I could have gotten around that requirement, I would have, but the System wants everyone on that currency. Human currency is a thing of the past.”

  Brooke narrowed her eyes. “This is yours? Another skill? Why can’t you just give us weapons and food for free? You know how much we need them.”

  Logan rubbed the back of his neck. He felt a surge of guilt but then he thought of the weapons he’d already given them while fighting the rat army, and how they’d lost them when they became prisoners of Pied. A surge of indignation and defensiveness swept away the guilt. Hell, Brooke had even lost his baseball bat! The bat would always have a special place in his heart; he’d crafted it himself when he’d been desperate for a weapon, any type of weapon.

  And now, it was gone.

  “I think the prices are fair,” said Logan, firm.

  Sarah crept back to the lodestone, pressing her hand against it, her eyes faraway as she viewed the items. “It… even though I can’t afford any of this, it’s letting me enter into a lending contract.” She gasped and then turned to Logan, her mouth in a smirk. “Maybe you weren’t a useless employee after all. Predatory lending in the apocalypse? Really, Logan?”

  “What.” There had been no option like that when he’d set it up.

  Brooke gently pushed Sarah to the side and then rested her hand against the lodestone, her eyes becoming unfocused. “…you’re right,” she said, her voice tight. “For the items not under auction, I can buy them even if I don’t have enough KarmaCoin, but only by entering into a KarmaCoin lending contract.” She turned and gave him a glare. “You’re charging ten percent per day!”

  Logan frowned, looking from Brooke to the lodestone. “That can’t be right. Hold on. Let me check.”

  Brooke grudgingly moved to the side and Logan rested his hand against the lodestone.

  [Private market owner recognized! Would you like to add items to your private market?]

  Logan bypassed that option, looking further, toggling on the auction choices, then digging… shit. It had been there all along. The System had built in an option that would allow anyone to buy an item, even if they had no KarmaCoin, but interest accumulated daily. Logan already knew that credit was bad enough when you were paying ten percent per month, but per day? Holy crap! He’d bleed everyone dry.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Toggling through, he eventually came across an option that let him adjust it so instead of charging daily, he could charge per month. And hidden in the clause, there was a loophole. Logan had begun to wonder how he’d ever make any money if the System let everyone buy items without money; after all, couldn’t they just keep building interest forever and Logan would be shit out of luck?

  But no, there was a six-month clause. If after six months, they couldn’t pay off the loan, the item reverted to the private market, and the user would still be on the hook for the outstanding loan.

  Damn.

  He felt a prickling sensation on the back of his neck, an uncomfortable slosh-iness making his stomach lurch. It was all very well and good to make money, but he didn’t want to become an oligarch, only concerned about profit. But at the same time, wasn’t it good that people could buy items even without KarmaCoin? It would give them a chance to earn it, and still have food.

  But wait… that brought up another question. If they bought food on loan, what would happen if they couldn’t pay off the loan within six months? There was no returning that. The food would be gone!

  His heart racing, he toggled to the interest percentage, turning it to the lowest amount possible, at 0.05% per month.

  That did it. He wasn’t going to add food to the market. He couldn’t. Because he suspected that he knew what happened after six months. If the person hadn’t paid off the loan, well, there was only one way to get food back that had already been digested.

  The System would kill them.

  Logan toggled back to his inventory, searching for an option to remove the food, but whatever he’d already added to the market, would remain.

  He backed away from the lodestone, dropping his hand. “I’ve lowered the interest charge to 0.05% per month. It was the lowest it would let me go. But don’t buy the food, I’ll give that to you for free.”

  Sarah smiled with her teeth. “Give us the weapons for free as well.”

  Chase scoffed. “The man saved our lives. He’s giving us food. Beggers can’t be choosers. Besides, a few of us have KarmaCoin from quests. I have a couple thousand, which should let me buy a few items to spread around.” Chase nodded his head at Logan. “I’m not ungrateful, and I don’t begrudge someone who wants to earn a living.”

  Sarah sneered. “Earn a living when we’re all dying? Wow, Logan, I never would have thought you’d stoop this low.”

  Brooke frowned at Sarah. “I’m not sure that’s called for, Sarah. It’s just a store. He’s not forcing you to buy things.”

  Sarah scowled and then wiped her expression clean. “You’re right, of course.”

  ***

  Logan didn’t know how he felt after that experience, but one thing was certain—his excitement at raising money had plummeted to his feet. He didn’t like being responsible for anything that could kill someone, even if he’d had no idea that it could do that in the first place.

  If people became aware of it, instead of building an empire, he’d be known as a predator. He suspected that the feeling came from being associated with anything that had the word ‘contract’ in it. Contracts brought Pied to mind, and his contract makers. Logan wasn’t that type of person.

  Why couldn’t he help people while raising money? Why did the System have to be an asshole and continue to ruin everything?

  Sighing, he scrubbed his hand through his hair as he made his way back to the lake. One thing was clear. Going forward, he’d add nothing but weapons and supplies, no food. In fact, he’d encourage people who had KarmaCoin to buy the food first and clear out the existing supply so he didn’t have to worry.

  But that brought to mind the mystery of KarmaCoin. Chase had said others had received KarmaCoin from quests, but surely, there were other ways to raise it? Logan could receive KarmaCoin from growing trees, anything that reduced carbon. Wouldn’t the others be the same?

  He’d received a reward for discovering olivine, and the System had indicated that he could receive further rewards if he managed to grind up the stone. Others could do that. And yet, was carbon reduction the only way to earn money?

  By now, he was convinced that the System had used pollution as an excuse to invade. The Collective cared about profit, and they did that by exploiting animals that they could make into skill rings. There had to be hundreds of worlds that were part of the Collective, and Logan doubted that they all earned KarmaCoin by reducing carbon.

  Either way, Logan wasn’t going to let his discovery ruin his elation. Once he got rid of the food problem, setting up lodestones in populated areas would still be a way to give people access to weapons. And in the event that they took them out on loan, by the time six months rolled around, they’d know how to earn KarmaCoin.

  Glancing down at his boots as he trampled over the beach, Logan deployed [Mimicry Armour], raising the sand around him and reforming his exoskeleton. For a second, he debated extending his armour to Lara and the kids, but he doubted that it would keep while he was miles away.

  “Well,” said Logan as he waded into the lake and over to Ernie. “Are they ready?”

  Ernie splashed a tentacle, getting Logan’s facemask wet, and then twirled in the water, before bobbing in place, his expression solemn.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Ernie gave the swarm of octopuses a sad look. “I’m going to miss them! I only knew them for less than a day, but it was nice to be around my own kind! Now, all that will be left will be minions.”

  Logan gave him a gentle smile. “Think of it this way. You rescued them. You—”

  Ernie drooped. “Not on my own.”

  “You think that without you, that I would have rescued them? I know you think I’m a good person, but I’m not that altruistic. No, Ernie. It was you. All you.”

  Ernie twitched a tentacle. “Well…” he hedged.

  “Ernie,” said Logan firmly.

  Ernie puffed his cheeks, looking shy. “All right, all right! You might have a point.”

  “Despite your cravings for slaughter, deep inside, I think you’re nothing but a softie. You care. And that’s a great thing.”

  “Pfft! Enough of this emotional siesta! We might as well have a crying session while we’re at it! Off you go.” He slapped his tentacle against the surface of the water, splashing Logan. “Go, go! Take my brethren back to their home.” Ducking underneath the surface as if he were hiding, he swam back to the shore and over to Lara and the kids.

  Logan held back a smile and swam over to the octopuses’ swarm. Off in the distance, he could make out the head of Larry, the undead sturgeon, his red eyes glinting in adoration as he tracked Ernie moving up the beach.

  The octopuses were restless, swimming aimlessly in place. There were so many that they lit up the lake in tropical colors, from vibrant orange to purples. Amongst the tropical octopuses, he could make out larger, brown Pacific Octopuses, three times the size of the others. Scanning them with [Idiot’s Inspect] was almost impossible due to their sheer number, but Logan could tell that most were mid-level, level 30 to forty.

  One of the octopuses broke off from the main group. It was dull brown, but its body was decorated by vibrant blue ringed spots. So blue they glinted in the water and seemed to flex and glow. Unlike Ernie, it was small, so small that it was barely the size of Logan’s fist.

  Logan scanned it with [Idiot’s Inspect]:

  [Greater Blue-Ringed Octopus: Level 45. Might in a tiny body.]

  [Highest Stat: Wisdom. Characteristics: Excretes neurotoxin. Hidden name: Vicious.]

  Damn. Logan had heard about these fuckers. They were one of the most poisonous animals in the world, so toxic that if you ate one even after it was cooked, you were a goner.

  “Are you the human who will take us to our home?”

  Logan blinked. The octopus hadn’t said that out loud; it had been in his mind. Despite himself, Logan inched back. The thing was so tiny that he could crush it in his fist, it was only level 45, but something about it gave him the creeps.

  Plus, Logan couldn’t kill it. Ernie would never forgive him.

  “Yep,” he said, swinging his arms in the water. “I can take you all right now if you’re ready.”

  “We’re ready, human. No tricks, you understand? No human lies. We go because the bright one told us that you are fair, that you are a friend to our kind. But Vicious doesn’t trust, oh no, she doesn’t trust. I know what you want. To decorate your body in jewelry, in the ghosts of the past. I will—"

  “Er, right. Well, if you’re ready to go, then let’s go.”

  Logan didn’t have time to listen to this bullshit. He was on a tight timeline, and there wasn’t a reason that he couldn’t transport and run.

  This would be the tricky part though. As far as he knew, all he had to do was picture where he wanted to go and [Threshold Shift] would take him, but this time, he had to transport the octopuses from the lake to the ocean.

  The ocean was vast, and he could go anywhere, but thinking about teleporting into the middle of the ocean, with land nowhere to be seen made him wary. Even though he had [Deepwater Explorer], he could admit to a fear that he’d transport himself, and the System would screw him over, making his skill malfunction, stranding him in the middle of the ocean.

  No, Logan knew where he needed to go.