The first sign was the silence.
Jin had returned to the Scar Zone's outer ring the next day, drawn by curiosity and a growing hunger for Trade Points. The once-busy scavenger trails were eerily quiet. No clanking metal. No cursed laughter. Even the wind seemed afraid to blow.
The system pulsed.
[Alert: Rift Residual Disturbance Detected]Class: UnknownRisk: Elevated
Warning: Unknown lifeform active within 500m.
Jin's breath hitched. "Lifeform?"
He dropped behind a pile of fused vehicle husks and activated the toolkit's micro-scanner. The crude device beeped uncertainly, then displayed a shape—bipedal, wrong proportions, erratic movement.
He should have run.
But another ping followed:
📦 Item Nearby: Rift-Hardened Beast Claw (Unclaimed)Estimated Value: 40–60 TP
Secondary Market Available: Beast Trade Circle (Locked)
Jin's eyes flicked toward the source. At the base of a broken pillar lay a thick black claw, large as his forearm, embedded in rusted plating. Green steam still rose from it.
He had just taken a step forward when the metal groaned.
And then it came.
Not running. Not roaring.
It limped.
A creature that looked like a jackal made of obsidian, limbs twisted by exposure to Rift energy, dragging one broken leg but still radiating menace. Its left eye was sealed shut with crimson crystal; the right glowed like a flickering furnace.
It sniffed the air.
Then turned.
And saw him.
[Mutant Jackal-Class Riftspawn – Tier E]Combat Rating: Lethal (Low-Tier Traders)Status: Agitated
Tip: You are unarmed. Escape recommended.
Jin turned to bolt—but the jackal moved faster than expected, hurling itself at him with unnatural strength.
A warning scream blared in his interface:
Health Threshold Exceeded – Activating Emergency Function
📦 [Emergency Toolkit Deploying]– Smoke Core (1 use)– Shock Rod (2 uses)
Jin fumbled for the Smoke Core and smashed it to the ground.
Thick black gas exploded outward, swallowing the mutant in a haze. He scrambled through the scrap maze, breathing hard, heart pounding so loudly he thought it would break his ribs.
The jackal howled behind him—a sound like glass shattering underwater.
He ducked under a collapsed bus, crawled through an exposed tunnel, and emerged into a familiar trench near the Scar border.
Only then did he dare to look back.
Nothing.
Silence again.
But the system's interface remained red.
[Hostile Entity Presence: Lingering]Suggestion: Relocate immediately
New Opportunity: Hidden Market Access (Temporary)
Criteria Met: Rift-Exposed, Survival of Tier E Encounter, Trade Threshold > 50 TP
Unlock Hidden Trade Node: "The Shadow Broker's Caravan"?[Yes] / [No]
Jin didn't hesitate.
Yes.
The world blurred for a moment.
The smog, the metal, the silence—all pulled away like a curtain.
And suddenly, he stood inside a strange, glowing hallway of canvas and silk. The air smelled like old wood, metal dust, and blood incense. Strange shadows flickered in the corners, never quite taking form.
A man sat cross-legged behind a table of floating artifacts. Or at least… it looked like a man. His face was obscured beneath a porcelain mask shaped like a grinning skull with gold-trimmed horns.
His voice slithered through the air like smoke.
"Ahhh… a fresh face. And already Rift-touched. Delicious."
Jin stayed still. "This is... the Shadow Broker's Caravan?"
The figure clapped once.
"Indeed. A market that walks between realms. We appear only to Traders who smell of danger and desperation. You, my friend... reek of both."
Jin's eyes narrowed. "What can I trade here?"
The broker gestured.
[Shadow Broker's Caravan – Temporary Access: 30 minutes]Special Trades Available:– Mutant Beast Claw → 75 TP + "Shard-Infused Gloves"– Energy Node Fragment → ??? (Mystery Option)– Reputation Transfer Token (??? Value)
Bonus Trade: Offer System Blood Sample for 1 Permanent Rift Stat Point⚠ WARNING: Side effects unknown.
Jin stared at the list. The claw alone was a huge gain. But the offer for his blood…
He backed away.
"I'll take the claw trade," he said firmly.
The Broker cackled. "Wise... perhaps. But the ambitious always return."
A moment later, the trade was done.
Jin now had 132 TP.
A pair of jagged gloves rested in his inventory—black fingerless gauntlets that pulsed faintly with Rift energy.
[Shard-Infused Gloves]Effect: +1 Strength, Passive Monster Tracking (Low Range)Notes: Stains left on the skin may be permanent.
The caravan began to fade.
"Wait," Jin asked quickly, "why are the rifts opening more frequently now?"
The Broker's mask tilted.
"Because the world is shifting, little merchant. The seals are breaking. The monsters are stirring. And soon… even the Traders will not be enough to stop what's coming."
Then he was gone.
And the smog of the slums returned.
Jin stood alone in the trench, gloves on his hands, inventory full of strange items, and a distant monster still prowling the ruins.
But he wasn't afraid anymore.
Because for the first time, he knew:
The gates had opened.
And he was going to build an empire from what crawled out of them.
To Be Continued…
📌 Author's Note:
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— [RealmVendor]