As soon as Logan confirmed his purchase, weapons rained down in front of his feet with a clatter, swords clanging, axes scraping, metal poles clinking together. 50 swords were nothing to sneeze at, and the pile of weapons could fill a small closet.

Logan crouched down and peered at each selection. Utilizing [Idiot's Inspect] didn't pay dividends—unlike with his Tree Fridge, the System Market description was correct and upfront. They were basic weapons, F grade at best. Weapons that would shatter against monsters like the Rattuspede. They would be ineffective against anything with a high constitution attribute.

Oh well. They weren't for Logan. They were for everyone else who hadn't leveled yet. Anyone who was low leveled. There were billions of people who had survived, and each one was a potential customer. These users didn't all have KarmaCoin, but that didn't matter. His private market gave him the ability to sell items on loan. Even someone without KarmaCoin could make a purchase. Better yet, Logan would receive additional money when the loan racked up interest.

With a blink, Logan willed the pile of weapons inside of his spatial storage collar and then activated [Dominion Building], toggling through the option that allowed him to add items to his private market. He would have to account for the 10% processing fee (an outrageous tax), but even with that, he could make this profitable. Although… there was a fine line between making a profit and setting the price too high. If the price were too high, no one would buy them.

Logan ran a thumb over his stubble as he considered a way forward.

Accounting for the 10% processing fee, each utility sword had cost him 2,200 KarmaCoin. At this point, a nice 50% profit margin might be reasonable. That way he could set the price of each sword at 3,300. Still pricey for most people who were just beginning to level up, but not so astronomically high that people would balk.

As the weeks progressed, it would be reasonable to gradually raise his prices. That way his focus could be on profit but not profit to the point where he took advantage of everyone.

Back before the Integration, Logan had been envious of billionaires and those who managed to succeed, but he'd sneered at anyone who had excessive, ridiculous wealth they used to benefit nothing but themselves or their shareholders. Logan wanted to succeed, but he could do it in a way that was fair and reasonable. After all, he needed to complete his Save Humanity Quest. If there wasn't anyone left to save, then what was the point?

Logan toggled through his private market options and put the large axes, metal poles and whips up for sale at the same rate. With a 50% profit margin, he would make 132,000 Karma Coin once all the weapons sold. That wasn't mind blowing when you considered that one monster carbon sucking tree netted him over 400,000 KarmaCoin, but it didn't matter. This was small scale. Once he set up additional lodestone locations, there was an unlimited market out there.

Billions of people. Billions of people paying interest that accumulated daily.

Countless billions of potential KarmaCoin.

Even Logan couldn't do the mental math when it came to a calculation that was that massive, but it was a hell of a lot. For now, Logan could use this as a test case for what items sold the quickest and what was the most desirable.

Logan toggled out of his private market, deactivating [Dominion Building] as he moved back to his Tree Fridge and rested his hand against the lodestone. His hand felt as if he'd dipped it into a bucketful of ice water as the Tree Fridge activated.

[Welcome, Idiot! Entering the Karma Lodestone Menu.]

[What would you like to buy?]

Logan toggled through to the F grade options, disregarding the food, but selected everything that remained in the menu:

[F GRADE WEAPON MENU:

1 paperclip: 400 KarmaCoin

1 ballpoint pen: 800 KarmaCoin

F GRADE CLOTHING MENU:

1 knit cap: 500 KarmaCoin

1 pair of self-cleaning swim trunks: 1000 KarmaCoin]

He confirmed his purchase and then toggled through to the E grade menu, once again disregarding the food.

E GRADE WEAPON MENU:

1 chunk of metal: 100,000 KarmaCoin

1 toenail clippers: 200,000 KarmaCoin

1 dagger: 1,000,000 KarmaCoin

1 curse: 2,000,000 KarmaCoin

E GRADE CLOTHING MENU:

1 enhanced pair of self-cleaning swim trunks: 100,000 KarmaCoin

1 bonded companion hat: 200,000 KarmaCoin

1 form fitting suit: 1,000,000 KarmaCoin

1 waterproof wetsuit: 2,000,000 KarmaCoin

*unlock further options at higher grades]

This was the tricky part. Now that he'd purchased the weapon pile from the System Market, he was on a budget. Although his KarmaCoin kept fluctuating, he had about 3.7 million KarmaCoin left. He wanted the bonded companion hat for sure, since it was only 200,000, but if he threw in the chunk of metal and toenail clippers, that would leave him with 3.2 million.

Wait a minute.

He had to account for the 10% processing fee, which was an extra 50,000.

So, 3.18 million.

That wasn't enough for two of the big ticket, 2 million KarmaCoin items. That meant he either sacrificed two of the smaller E grade items, or he had to wait to purchase the other big-ticket items. Logan wanted the bonded companion hat and the chunk of metal, but he could take or leave the toenail clippers. I mean, come on, toenail clippers?! And yet, 200,000 still wasn't enough to account for the processing fee. He could always buy what he could afford now, and then quickly pound out a few monster carbon sucking trees for the rest.

That meant he could only purchase one big ticket item.

Logan scrutinized the list:

1 dagger: 1,000,000 KarmaCoin

1 form fitting suit: 1,000,000 KarmaCoin

1 curse: 2,000,000 KarmaCoin

1 waterproof wetsuit: 2,000,000 KarmaCoin

Since he'd already purchased the self-cleaning 'non-enhanced' version of the swim trunks from the F grade menu, the enhanced version was a lower priority.

As for the form fitting suit, he was betting it was some type of armour. With [Mimicry Armour], Logan didn't need armour anytime soon. As for the wetsuit, it had to be something to do with being underwater. There were a million possibilities, and if Logan didn't have [Deepwater Explorer] and [Mimicry Armour], he might have gone with that option.

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The dagger could be like his Cursed Rope, a catch-22, but it could also be like his spatial storage cat collar—invaluable. That was where the luck of the draw came into account.

As for his other choice… did he want to buy something that the System labelled a 'curse' that cost 2 million KarmaCoin? Just the name alone didn't inspire confidence. For all he knew, based on the green beans, he could be buying a curse that affected the world.

But then again, although the Tree Fridge had given him items that had drawbacks, all of it had turned into something that had helped Logan throughout the last two weeks. He'd had to overcome the green beans' self-replicating problem, but in the meantime, the beans had been a valuable resource. By figuring out how to eliminate them as a threat, Logan had made improvements to [Life Fabricator].

And yet, if he could only purchase one of the big-ticket items, he knew what made the most sense.

Logan made his purchases:

[Please confirm your purchase of [chunk of metal], [toenail clippers], [dagger], and [bonded companion hat] at a cost of 1,500,000 KarmaCoin plus a 10% processing fee?]

[Yes.]

[No.]

As he mentally hovered over the [Yes] option, Logan looked down at his feet, his heart in his throat, anticipation thrumming through his stomach.

***

Unlike with the System Market purchase of weapons, his new items didn't fall to the ground in a clatter. Rather, they materialized with a blink. One second, he was staring at the protruding roots of his willow tree, the next, he was looking at a bundle that hadn't existed.

Two piles. Two piles of what Logan suspected were classified by grade.

Logan shuffled to the closest pile and then crouched down and studied the items.

The first item was the most colorful, and not something that could be overlooked. Logan rolled his eyes and then picked up the orange swim trunks with a twist of his mouth. They looked just like the swim trunks that Jack had given him, kitten pictures and all. Unlike Jack's, there was something about them that made him blink and squint, as if a fine film shimmered over the fabric.

Logan scrutinized them with [Idiot's Inspect]:

[Orange Kitten-Patterned Swim Trunks. B grade. Self-cleaning. These swim trunks cannot be torn, pierced, or lit on fire. When equipped, receive a 2% boost to all attributes.]

He promptly took a step back, his mouth gaping. You bet your ass, the System was having a laugh at his expense, trolling him, but at the same time, he couldn't deny that they were valuable as hell. A 2% boost to all his attributes just for wearing ugly swim trunks? Logan would take it.

And yet, the existence of something that troll-worthy had him wondering if the glitchy AI minion had returned. But then again, these items had been available in his Tree Fridge at the beginning—nothing had changed. So even if the swim trunks came from the glitchy AI minion, it didn't mean they were connected to it anymore.

Logan wasn't putting them on now—he was out in the open—but he would use them as soon as he could change. At least Ernie would be pleased, with his wacky fashion sense.

For now, Logan threw them inside of his spatial collar.

The next item was what looked like a… knit cap. That couldn't be it. By now, Logan knew not to trust whatever came out of the Tree Fridge. Logan peered at it, studying it. It was undeniably a large, knit cap, but it looked… gross. Covered in green mold and smelling like a clogged-up toilet.

The hell?

[Stinky Knit Cap. E grade. A knit cap that once belonged to Grabolin the Goblin. Covered in Grabolin's mucus, once equipped, its repelling stench will be anathema to all goblin-kind.]

Logan jerked back and dropped the hat to the ground with a grimace of distaste. Goblins?! Since when did goblins exist? Oh, hell no. Just thinking about wearing a hat covered in phlegm made his stomach slosh. Gross gross gross.

With a moue of disgust, Logan willed it inside of his spatial collar.

Still, he'd just learned something worthwhile. Based on this item, Logan could encounter a goblin down the road, whatever the hell that was. He could only hope they existed on a different world, a world like Asthea's. Earth was already apocalyptic enough; they didn't need a monster from a fairytale to make it worse.

Logan paced away from the willow tree, taking breaths of clear air to remove the stench from his nose before making his way back to his items.

Two more items remained in the F grade pile.

Small black pouches that looked like velvet. It reminded him of the pouches you'd receive in an old-fashioned jewelry store. Logan picked up the first, trying to be as careful as possible, and then he peered inside.

A metal loop the length of his thumb. Huh. It was tiny, with two loops on either side. Was this supposed to be the paperclip?

Logan removed it from the pouch and held it up, letting the sunlight illuminate it. Such a delicate thing, something he could easily lose. This was a weapon?

Logan scanned it with [Idiot's Inspect]:

[Looped Skill Ring Holder. S grade. This skill ring holder emits the pain of the souls trapped inside of skill rings.]

Logan's mouth went dry. S grade was good shit; the question was, what exactly did it do? Based on the description, you could add skill rings to the holder, and Logan had a heck of a lot of skill rings inside of his spatial collar from the octopi rescue inside of Pied's Kingdom. But 'emits the pain of the souls trapped inside of the ring'? How? Logan was hesitant to test it until he encountered a monster swarm. If the effect were widespread, he could inadvertently hurt Lara, the kids, or the civilians.

For now, he willed it inside of his spatial collar.

There was one more item from the F grade menu. Logan picked up the last pouch and peered inside.

It was a long, metal cylinder the size of a pen. It shone once he took it out of the pouch, the sun reflecting off its surface, creating a beam of light. It was lightweight, almost weightless, with the gleam of a System sourced object.

Logan scanned it with [Idiot's Inspect]:

[Endless Barrier Ink Pen. C grade. Use the ink within the ink pen to erect indomitable barriers. Similar to a salt barrier, no entity C grade and below can pass the barrier once erected. Although the ink is endless, it is not invulnerable to the elements. Beware. A barrier can be attractive to those outside of it.]

Logan stared at the description and then read it again for good measure. Holy shit! Even though this thing was only C grade, based on the description, it could act like the 50 million KarmaCoin defensive array. All he had to do was etch the ink around the area he wanted to protect, and it would create a barrier.

Logan hesitated.

Any System message that had 'beware' in the description was dicey as shit. Although it seemed similar to the defensive arrays, if the 'elements' represented something like the weather, that meant that if it rained and it interfered with the line, it was possible that the barrier would be useless.

Logan needed to test this.

He raised his voice. "Shoot!" he shouted. "I know you're there! Come out where I can see you."

Logan had been aware of the vine cat's presence since he'd arrived at the willow tree but had left her to her own devices. Shoot was harmless.

The vine cat burst out of the tree line, her twitching tail full of blooming flowers. Panting, her green shoot tongue hanging out of her mouth, Shoot pranced, her butt up, her claws digging into the grass. Whenever she wasn't in sight of the kids, she transformed into her normal appearance, losing her green fur and letting her vines replace them like a green, sculpted living hedge.

"Mother!" she burst out, barking in excitement, her ears perked, flowers blooming in her eardrums.

Logan scanned her with [Idiot's Inspect]:

[Chameleon Vine: Level 30. A master shapeshifter. The chameleon vine's mimicry abilities advance by gaining acceptance as well as XP.]

[Highest Stat: Intelligence. Characteristics: Curiosity. Hidden name: Shoot.]

Shoot had leveled up a massive amount since he'd left. That wasn't surprising considering that unlike everyone else, she could level up by obtaining the acceptance of everyone around her. Even Logan, who wasn't fond of cats, could admit that she had an inherent charm.

"What were you doing hiding in the woods?"

Shoot bounced, flower petals falling to the ground. "Protecting mother!"

Logan smothered a smile. "I don't need protecting. But I appreciate the thought all the same." Logan peered down at the barrier ink pen in his hand. "There's something you can do to help me, though."

"Shoot will help mother!"

Logan grimaced at the endless 'mothers,' but then let it slide. "Follow me." Shoot obeyed as he climbed over the willow tree roots. Eyeing an even bare patch of soil, Logan made sure to keep his E grade pile of loot in sight.

Shoot panted, vines writhing and flowers blooming as she stared at him with wide eyes, her expression full of devotion. Crouching down, Logan peered at the end of the pen, scrunching his eyebrows. Although it resembled a pen, there was no ink that Logan could see so he wasn't sure how this worked.

Trial and error.

Logan dragged the end of the pen over the ground, licking his lips, waiting for…

Huh.

Ink flowed from the pen. It resembled purple ink, and yet it shone in the sun as if it were layered with gold. The ink flowed effortlessly; the dirt didn't create drag like it would with a normal ballpoint pen, no clogging. It was as if Logan was drawing on a solid piece of paper.

Logan drew a square around himself the size of a small shed. When he closed the loop, there was no System message, but there was a popping in his ears, a pressure. Something had activated.

Logan straightened and willed the pen inside of his spatial collar.

"Okay, Shoot. I want you to come to me. Don't run. I don't want you to hurt yourself but try to walk to my side."

Shoot's eyes flickered. "Yes mother!" Despite Logan's words of warning, she bounded over to him in a run, her claws digging furrows in the grass.

"No, that's—"

It was too late.

Shoot ran face first into an invisible barrier, bouncing like a ping-pong ball with a grunt of pain.

Logan winced.

Shoot shook her head, her tail between her legs as she stared at him with betrayed, shining eyes. Aww, man. "I did warn you," Logan muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Should I do it again, mother?"

Logan shook his head. He'd wanted to test the barrier, and he'd received all the confirmation he needed. There was no reason to put Shoot through torture. "No, that's all right. I think we can safely say that—"

Behind Shoot, there was a scuffing noise.

Red eyes. Hairy, pointy ears and an orange pink tongue lathered in foaming saliva. A rabid squirrel. The monster was the size of a racoon, fur grey and dirty, claws sharp and dripping with blood.

Logan's mouth tightened. Other than snakes, rabid squirrels were one of his most hated monsters. After the last time he saw one, he couldn't help but think of Eleanor and the murderers at the cabin. Both events in his life that he'd rather forget.

"Watch out, Shoot. Behind you." Logan could take care of it with a flick of his fist, but Shoot might want the XP.

Just as Shoot turned, another puffy tail burst out of the tree line. It was slightly larger than the first, its mouth full of not just excessive saliva but the remains of a meal, blood dripping from its orange tongue. It squeaked, chittering. Giving Shoot a dismissive glance, it jumped ten feet and then took a flying leap at the invisible barrier, slamming itself against it as if Logan was the most delicious meal of its life.

Logan blinked, staring down at the stunned thing, and then he looked to the tree line.

That was no squirrel.

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