I stood outside the house of nightmares, gripping the walking e like my life depended on it.

  Because, let’s be ho—it did.

  This is so fucked.

  The elder stuck me in a house with a spider. A big-ass, venom-spitting, death-trap of a spider.

  And, judging by how casually Matra talked about it, people knew.

  Yeah. They knew.

  They were usio get rid of the problem. Either I killed the thing, or I died trying.

  I sighed, dragging a hand down my face. “How the hell did I get here?”

  I wasn’t supposed to be in some backwater medieval deathtrap. I was supposed to be at home. In bed. Avoiding my responsibilities like a normal person.

  I kicked a loose rock, scowling.

  Why am I even listening to the elder?

  There were other houses. Houses that didn’t e with acid-spitting nightmares.

  Then, I remembered the bodies I saw earlier—the rotting corpses slumped ihose abandoned homes.

  I shuddered.

  “Yeah… maybe I’ll just stay here.”

  I gnced down at the walking e Matra gave me. It was old, rough, and looked like it belonged in a thrift shop. I tilted my head.

  How much is this worth?

  I opened my Buy and Sell interface, fog on the e.

  A prompt popped up:

  Sell Crude Walking e for 5?

  I sighed. “Not worth it.”

  Seemed like nothing was worth selling at this rate.

  Whatever.

  I resigned myself to my fate and slowly pced my hand on the door handle.

  Taking a deep breath, I pushed it open just a crad peeked inside.

  The spider was still there.

  It g to the wall, motionless, its long legs sprawled out like some demon statue.

  I squinted. Was it asleep?

  I hoped so.

  Slowly, cautiously, I stepped inside.

  Then—

  SLAM!

  The door shut behih a loud bang.

  “Jesus!” I yelped, practically leaping out of my skin. My pulse spiked, and I whirled around, half-expeg the spider’s mother to be standing behind me.

  Nothing. Just an old, creaky door.

  I exhaled. “e on, Dan. Stop being a bitch. Man up.”

  I turned back toward the room, f myself to assess my surroundings.

  The pce was a wreck.

  Broken wooden ptes, spoons, aing utensils were scattered across the floor. A wooden table with two chairs sat he ter of the room, both covered in thick cobwebs.

  And then, of course, there was the spider.

  I inched fripping the e tightly.

  I was almost close enough to swing when—

  CREEEAK.

  The floor betrayed me.

  The floorbroaned, loud and sharp.

  I froze.

  The spider’s fangs twitched.

  My breath hitched.

  “Shit.”

  I knew what was about to happe.

  The moment the floor creaked, I knew I was screwed.

  The spider’s fangs twitched. Its legs flexed, shifting slightly.

  Then, with a siing hiss, it moved.

  I barely had time to react before the demon spawn from hell lunged off the wall, its massive body crashing onto the flht in front of me.

  I stumbled backward, barely avoiding its needle-like legs as they smmed into the wood where I had just been standing.

  Holy shit—holy shit—holy shit—

  Its bck eyes locked onto me.

  I didn’t think. I swung.

  The e whipped through the air and smacked against one of its legs.

  A dull THWACK.

  The spider did not care.

  It hissed again, rearing up, its fangs dripping with something viscous and green.

  I swung again, this time aiming for its face.

  The e ected, and the spider jerked backward, its body twisting. I didn’t know if it was actually hurt or just annoyed, but I wasn’t stig around to find out.

  I bolted toward the door—

  —just as the spider spat.

  A stream of liquid shot past me, hissing as it spttered against the wall.

  The wood sizzled.

  Acid.

  I barely avoided the same fate.

  I turned sharply, gripping the e tighter. “Oh, E ON.”

  The spider charged, its legs clig against the floor as it came straight for me.

  I did the only thing I could.

  I threw the e.

  It smacked the spider dead ter in the face.

  The impact made it reel back, its body jerking wildly.

  I took the ce.

  I grabbed one of the wooden chairs, lifted it over my head, and smmed it down onto the spider with every ounce of strength I had.

  The chair shattered.

  The spider shrieked, filing as it tried to escape the debris.

  I backed up, breathing hard, sweat dripping down my forehead.

  The spider twitched, its movements sluggish.

  It was hurt.

  Now or never, Dan.

  I grabbed a jagged piece of broken chair leg, gripping it like a makeshift spear.

  Then, with a deep breath—

  I charged.

  The spider spat again, but I dodged, skidding across the floor.

  With all my weight, I pluhe wooden stake straight into its eye.

  A siing ch.

  The spider vulsed.

  Then, with o twitch, it stilled.

  Silence.

  My breath came fast and hard, my entire body shaking.

  The spider was dead.

  I stared at it for a long moment, making damn sure it wasn’t about to pull some horror movie bullshit a back up.

  It didn’t.

  I let out a shaky ugh, wiping the sweat from my forehead.

  “Holy shit. I just killed a giant spider.”

  I looked down at my hands, still trembling.

  Then, at the mess I’d made.

  Then, back at the acid-burnt wall.

  Then, finally, at the dead spider.

  I let out a slow breath.

  “Yeah. I’m never sleeping here.”

  I stood over the dead spider’s remains, hands on my hips, breathing hard.

  The house was a disaster.

  Broken furniture. Acid-burnt walls. Cobwebs still hanging from the ceiling. And, of course, the giant-ass corpse of a venom-spitting demon.

  I exhaled sharply. “Okay… so now what?”

  I g the body, frowning. “I ’t just… leave it here.”

  I had no idea how long it would take for something this big to rot, but I was not about to find out.

  I sighed, rubbing my neck. Maybe I could drag it outside? But then what? Bury it? Toss it in the woods?

  I groaoo much work.

  Then, an idea hit me.

  I squi the carcass. “Wait a sed…”

  I sell it?

  I opened my Buy and Sell interface, focused on the spider’s body, and waited.

  A prompt appeared.

  Sell Juvenile Web Lurker Carcass for 25?

  My eyes widened.

  Holy shit.

  I barely hesitated before thinking, YES.

  The body vanished instantly.

  No mess. No acid. No weird smell. Just gone.

  I grinned. “Oh, hell yes.”

  This just ged the game.

  I could sell more than just s—I could sell actual objects.

  Which meant…

  I turned sharply, eyes sing the rest of the room.

  Time to rob this pce blind.

  I moved to the ets first, yanking them open.

  Inside? A few cracked ptes, some rusted spoons, and wooden bowls.

  I focused on one.

  Sell Wooden Spoon for 0.50?

  I smirked. “Sold.”

  I did the same for everything else—

  Ptes? 1.00. Cups? 0.75. Chairs? 3.00 each.

  I moved to the table, tapping it in curiosity.

  Sell Wooden Table for 5.00?

  I stared.

  “…You have got to be kidding me.”

  That table was solid. Heavy. Well-built. Easily worth at least 50, maybe even 75.

  And my skill was me FIVE.

  “This is highway robbery.”

  I sighed but sold it anyway.

  After a solid ten minutes of selling literally everything that wasn’t nailed down, I pulled up my bance.

  Current Bance: 53.50

  I grinned. “Hell yeah. I’m rich.”

  Now…

  What should I buy?

  I pulled up my Buy and Sell interface, staring at the list of items like a kid in a dy store.

  Or, more accurately, a broke kid in a dy store, realizing that even though he finally has money, he’s still too poor to buy anything good.

  I sighed, rubbing my . “Should I even buy anything? Or should I just save it?”

  I mean, what could I even buy?

  I scrolled through the categories, tapping through food, tools, survival gear—nothing really jumped out at me.

  Then I found a filter option.

  I smirked. “Oh, hell yeah. That’s what I need.”

  I set it to 50 and below.

  The list exploded.

  Hundreds—no, thousands—of items suddenly appeared.

  The sheer amount was overwhelming. If I wao, I could probably spend days just going through every siem.

  “What the hell am I even looking for?” I muttered.

  I rubbed my head, scrolling mindlessly through the list. What do I need?

  Then, the realization hit me.

  Alright. Gamer mode time.

  I narrowed my eyes.

  I was in a fantasy world.

  I had no powers besides this marketpce skill.

  I couldn’t level up.

  I couldn’t learn magic.

  But…

  I had an endless market.

  How could I take advantage of this?

  I tapped my fingers against my arm, staring at the list as I scrolled. “Think, Dan. If this was a game, how would you min-max this?”

  I kept scrolling.

  Five minutes passed. Then ten.

  Then, something caught my eye.

  I stopped.

  Low-Rank Disease Cure Potion – 50.

  I clicked it.

  A prompt appeared.

  Would you like to buy this item?

  I hesitated. No.

  The prompt disappeared.

  I frowned. “Is there a way to see a description?”

  I paused, recalling how I visualized selling items.

  Maybe…

  I focused, trying to visualize the item’s details instead of just the purchase button.

  A new window popped up.

  I grinned. Bingo.

  I leaned forward, reading the information.

  And then… my eyes widened.

  Holy shit.

  [Item Description]Low-Rank Disease Cure Potion Price: 50 Category: Medie & Remedies Stock: Unlimited

  Description: A weak but effective potion desigo cure on and low-grade diseases. Works best on mild to moderate iions, fevers, and viral illnesses.

  Cures most non-magical diseases at early to mid-stages.

  Limited effe advanced iions ical ailments.

  Does not restore lost health or stamina.

  Not effective against terminal illnesses h-rank poisons.

  Warning:

  Results vary based on the severity of the disease.

  Potion must be fully ed for best effect.

  Overuse may weaken natural immunity over time.

  Not reended for repeated use within a short period.