I kicked a loose stone down the tunnel and sighed. “Alright. No more hidden chambers.”

  Elise gave me a sideways gnce. “Really? You finally done chasing danger?”

  I shrugged. “I’m not saying I’m done chasing danger. I’m just saying I’m not going out of my way to poke more magical bear traps.”

  “That’s the same thing,” she muttered.

  “No, no. See, one is premeditated stupidity. The other is just passive bad luck.”

  She snorted. “You’re still the common denominator.”

  Fair point.

  We continued down the tunnel, boots crunching against the gravel beneath us. The torchlight flickered along the newly expanded walls, casting long shadows that danced with every step we took.

  And yet… my thoughts weren’t really on the mine anymore.

  They were on the Ownership tab.

  Specifically… the vilge.

  I bit my lip. “Hey, Elise.”

  “Hm?”

  “Hypothetically speaking… what would happen if I bought the vilge?”

  She blinked at me. “Bought it? What do you mean, bought it?”

  “Like… in the Ownership tab. It’s listed there. Three million bucks. I’ve been staring at it.”

  Elise stopped walking and turned to me with that expression she reserves for moments when I say something truly stupid. “Dan… you’re not a noble.”

  I nodded. “Yup.”

  “You can’t own nd.”

  “Right.”

  “You’re not even from this world!”

  “Also true.”

  “Then why in the hell would you think you can just buy a vilge?!”

  I grinned. “Because my skill is weird. And overpowered. And probably not bound by the same rules everyone else pys by.”

  Elise stared at me like she wanted to sm my head against the wall. “Dan…”

  “Look, if I can buy it, I might be able to upgrade it too. Like I’ve been doing with the mine.”

  That shut her up for a second.

  She crossed her arms and frowned, clearly running the idea through her head. “That… would make your skill insanely powerful. I mean, gods-damned broken if you can just throw money at a vilge and suddenly it upgrades like a building in a strategy game.”

  I smirked. “Told you. Main character from another world always gets an OP cheat skill.”

  “I thought your cheat skill was just buying and selling stuff.”

  “Yeah. Turns out that’s the cover story. The real cheat might be building an empire out of chicken and rocks.”

  She sighed, rubbing her temples. “I’m going to regret this.”

  “Regret what?”

  “I’ll help you collect the bloodstones.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

  “Don’t make me change my mind.”

  I ughed and patted her shoulder. “You won’t regret this, Elise.”

  “I already do.”

  “Come on! This is going to be great! We’ll be rich. We’ll be powerful. I’ll have my own vilge. You can be the… I don’t know, Agriculture Commander or something.”

  “Just get mining before I throw you into a wall.”

  I grinned wider and rolled my sleeves up. “Let’s go make that money.”

  Because, seriously, if I could buy a vilge and upgrade it like a mine…That changed everything.

  And for the first time since arriving in this world, I didn’t feel like just some idiot stumbling through someone else’s story.

  I felt like I was writing my own.

  One bloodstone at a time.

  ___

  I leaned against the tunnel wall, panting slightly. Not from mining, of course. I hadn’t done a damn thing except cheer and occasionally pat Elise on the back like a good manager. But emotionally? Spiritually? I was exhausted from watching her rip bloodstones out of the walls like some kind of cheerful juggernaut.

  “You’ve got this!” I called out as she yanked another one free with a grunt. “You’re like a… bloodstone harvesting goddess!”

  Elise rolled her eyes. “You keep saying that like it means something.”

  “It means everything, Elise! That’s encouragement. Morale boost. Positive reinforcement. Teamwork!”

  “You haven’t touched a single crystal.”

  “Exactly! That’s called delegation.”

  She groaned and pulled out another one. I was pretty sure at this point she could deadlift a horse. It was kind of terrifying.

  Still, we kept it going for hours. Crystal after crystal, and I kept feeding them into my Buy & Sell like a happy little dragon counting his hoard. The numbers kept ticking upward, and with every sale, my soul grew just a little shinier.

  Until finally—finally—I hit it.

  5,229,012.89.

  The most money I’d ever seen in my entire life.

  I cpped my hands together, grinning. “Alright. I’m ready.”

  Elise slumped down against a wall and exhaled. “Good. Maybe now we can finally be done with this.”

  I opened my interface, practically buzzing with anticipation. Ownership tab… Vilge of Viskar… Three. Million. Dolrs.

  I clicked it.

  And then—

  Nothing.

  No dramatic rumble. No shimmering magical glow. No notification. No fancy upgrade jingle.

  Just... a sudden drop in my account bance. That was it.

  I blinked at the screen. “What the hell?”

  Elise looked over at me, unimpressed. “What happened?”

  “I just spent three million dolrs and absolutely nothing happened.”

  “You’re overreacting.”

  I stared at her, deadpan. “Three. Million. Dolrs. Elise. Do you know how many fried chicken buckets that is?!”

  She shrugged. “You didn’t even mine those bloodstones yourself.”

  “That’s irrelevant. We’re a team. You mined, I sold. Perfect synergy!”

  She gave me a ft look.

  “No, seriously. That’s my vilge now! Or—well, it’s supposed to be. I want a sign. A fg. A title. Something!”

  “You probably got it,” she said. “Maybe it’s just not fshy.”

  “I deserve a parade,” I muttered. “With trumpets.”

  She stood up, brushing dust off her pants. “Well, since you’re now the ‘vilge owner’ or whatever… maybe you should bring back something from the mine to prove you were actually working.”

  I snapped my fingers. “Good idea. Like a manager doing field work. Nice. Grab some mana crystals, will you?”

  She shot me a look. “No.”

  I gave her my best innocent grin. “C’mon, Elise. I’ll make it worth your while.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “How?”

  Oh-ho-ho. Now this was my moment.

  I opened my Buy & Sell, typed in exactly what I wanted, and bam—blue jeans appeared in my hand. Size 4. I held them up triumphantly.

  “Try these on.”

  She raised a brow. “I’m not changing in front of you.”

  “Fair,” I nodded, and immediately bought a changing divider. It popped up beside us. “Voilà. Instant privacy.”

  She rolled her eyes but stepped behind it. A few grumbles, some shuffling, then—

  “Ugh… this is way too tight! I can’t even—ugh—pull it up over my—”

  “Say no more,” I said quickly, already buying the next size up. “Here, try these.”

  I tossed the jeans over the divider, then paused. “Hey, what’s your favorite color?”

  “…Blue?”

  Perfect.

  I bought a modern ce bra and panties set in blue—small, medium, and rge, just in case. Tossed those over too.

  “Elise, welcome to the modern era.”

  She didn’t reply at first. Then: “This is… really nice.”

  “Told you.”

  A few moments ter, she stepped out from behind the divider in full modern attire—jeans, bck T-shirt, white sneakers. And for a second, my brain short-circuited.

  “Damn,” I said, covering my mouth and giving a slow thumbs-up. “Ten outta ten.”

  She looked down at herself. “It doesn’t look weird?”

  “Weird?” I blinked. “Elise, those jeans are doing every man in this world a favor.”

  She raised a brow again.

  “Compliment,” I added quickly. “Big compliment.”

  “Feels strange,” she said. “But it’s… comfortable.”

  I nodded, still staring a little too long before clearing my throat. “Okay, okay—shirt’s solid. But let’s try a bck one instead of white.”

  I bought a few bck tees in different sizes, tossed them over. She swapped and came back again.

  Perfect.

  Then I added a pair of cowgirl boots to the pile, just for fun. You know, country chic.

  “Last piece,” I said. “Sneakers are nice, but cowgirl boots scream badass frontier farmer. Full aesthetic.”

  She chuckled. “You’re weird.”

  “Fashion visionary,” I corrected.

  “And this is supposed to convince me to help you carry crystals?”

  “Oh, right.” I pulled out my trump card—fried chicken, still steaming hot.

  Her eyes widened. I waved the drumstick in front of her like it was a holy relic.

  “You could’ve just started with this,” she said, snatching it.

  “And miss out on the makeover montage? Never.”

  She bit into the chicken and moaned. “Okay… fine. You win.”

  Victory.

  Bloodstones? Secured.

  Vilge? Technically mine.

  Elise in jeans and eating chicken? Peak life experience.

  I grinned and whispered to myself, “Goddamn, I’m living the dream.”

  Elise carried a bundle of ten mana-infused crystals like it was nothing. Me? I was just strolling beside her, hands behind my head, enjoying the sunshine and the fact that I hadn’t lifted a single rock today.

  “Man,” I said, “if only the modern world could run like this. You know—order a few people around, eat fried chicken, and rake in profits.”

  Elise gnced at me sideways. “Why are you sulking?”

  “I’m not sulking!”

  “Sure you’re not.”

  “I’m not!” I waved a hand. “I’m just… reflecting.”

  “Right. Reflecting while pouting.”

  I sighed. “I went from dirt poor to a multi-millionaire in just a few days, and it all means nothing.”

  She raised a brow. “Why?”

  “Because I can’t take it with me.” I gestured vaguely at the vilge ahead. “The money, the resources, the mine—it’s not real. Not back home. It’s not like I’m wiring this cash to my bank account on Earth. If I could, I’d be living like a damn king.”

  Elise was quiet for a second, then said, “If.”

  I blinked. “Huh?”

  She looked ahead. “If you return.”

  Oof. Right in the existential crisis.

  I groaned. “Ugh. Why’d you remind me?”

  We passed through the vilge gate just as one of the knights came walking down the road. He didn’t have his helmet on, and he was sipping from a water skin—until he spotted us.

  Or rather, until he spotted Elise.

  The man stumbled mid-step, nearly face-pnting on a pile of loose cobblestone. “By the gods,” he muttered, eyes wide.

  Elise gnced over. “What’s his problem?”

  I gave her an obvious once-over. “Yup. Totally working.”

  She looked at me suspiciously. “You keep walking behind me. Why?”

  “Huh? Oh! That’s purely for your protection.”

  “Protection?”

  “Of course.” I gestured galntly. “Someone’s got to watch your back. You never know when danger might strike.”

  “Last I checked, I didn’t need protecting.”

  “You say that now,” I said, grinning. “But you do. Trust me.”

  What I didn’t say out loud was: this view is a divine blessing, and I shall cherish it forever.

  I chuckled quietly to myself.

  “What are you ughing at?” Elise asked, narrowing her eyes.

  “Nothing! Just enjoying the day.”

  As we walked farther into the vilge, more people turned to look. Old men, young men, even a few women—mostly eyeing Elise, obviously.

  I muttered, “Still don’t see a sign with my name on it.”

  Elise smirked. “Might be around here somewhere. Probably buried under a thousand feet of dirt.”

  “Ha. Good one.”

  But seriously, I better not have been scammed. Three million dolrs had vanished like a magician’s rabbit and I hadn’t even gotten a ‘congrats’ pop-up. The least I deserved was a statue or something.

  Before I could dwell on that thought too long, the vilge elder called out to us.

  “Ah, Dan! Elise!”

  We stopped and made our way over. Elise gave him a polite nod. “Elder.”

  I offered a wave. “Hey, man. How’s it going?”

  Then I gestured at Elise like I was showing off a prize-winning cow. “What do you think?”

  The elder squinted, then chuckled. “Strange clothes… but she wears them well.”

  “Perfect,” I said with a wink. Elise rolled her eyes.

  The elder got to the point. “I heard from Seraphina that you’re working at the mine now.”

  “Yup!” I beamed, holding up a crystal. “Look at this! Straight from the source.”

  Elise elbowed me in the ribs so hard I nearly dropped it.

  The elder raised a brow but moved on. “If you’re going to be working here, you might as well live here.”

  “Fair enough,” I said. “Do I get a room at the royal inn or—?”

  “Matthew’s house is empty,” the elder interrupted. “But it was destroyed in the fire… like most of our buildings.”

  My eyes narrowed. Slowly, I turned to Elise.

  She met my gre head-on. “What?”

  “You know what.”

  “Not my fault.”

  “Says the arsonist.”

  “I didn’t start the fire!”

  “You helped it grow!”

  The elder cleared his throat. “There is a rge plot of nd avaible.”

  I looked back at him.

  “It’s near the mine. Farther from the vilge center, but you could build your own house there. Unless you prefer to build here, inside the vilge walls.”

  I scratched my chin. “So… the options are live near the creepy dungeon mine I own, or build in a burned-down vilge that may or may not catch fire again?”

  “Essentially,” the elder said.

  I looked at Elise. “What do you think?”

  She shrugged. “Well, you do love your mine.”

  “True.”

  “And if you get eaten by a spider in the night, at least it’ll save people the trouble of burying you.”

  “Comforting.”

  “I try.”

  I sighed. “Alright. I guess I’m building a house near the mine.”

  The elder smiled faintly. “Welcome to Viskar, Dan.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “Now… is it too early to ask for a throne?”

  Elise smacked me on the back of the head.

  “Okay, okay! Joke! Kind of.”

  We chatted with the Elder a bit longer, mostly about vilge stuff I tuned out halfway through. Something about supply shortages, rebuilding, housing problems, people dying—real cheerful things. I nodded when appropriate and smiled when Elise elbowed me for zoning out.

  Eventually, we said our goodbyes and started walking away.

  “So,” I said, hands behind my head, “you got a job or something to get back to?”

  Elise gave me a look. “I usually go hunting.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Really? Because I’ve yet to see you hunt a single thing besides my patience.”

  She rolled her eyes. “A lot’s happened tely. My father’s mostly taken over the hunting tely.”

  I smirked. “So basically, he put you out of a job.”

  She smacked my shoulder.

  “Hey! I’m just stating facts!”

  “I still have plenty to do, thank you.”

  “Well,” I said, rubbing my arm, “you can always come work at the mine.”

  She gave me a look like I’d just suggested she lick a toad.

  “Please,” she scoffed. “I’d rather eat a spider.”

  “Tempting offer,” I said, grinning. “But what if I told you… you’d get a lifetime supply of fried chicken. All you can eat.”

  Her mouth opened slightly. Then closed. Then opened again.

  “…No. You can’t bribe me with chicken.”

  “Not even if it’s mouth-watering, crispy, tender, divine—”

  “No.”

  I shrugged. “Suit yourself. I’ll just be over there, enjoying paradise in a bucket.”

  She gnced sideways. “Let’s see how long you’ll be grinning once Seraphina drags you off to meet those nobles.”

  “Joke’s on her. I’m not going.”

  “Fine,” she said sweetly. “Then they’ll just come here instead. See the monkey in its natural habitat.”

  “Ouch. That hurt.”

  “Really?”

  “Nah,” I smirked. “But like, credit where it’s due—that was a good one.”

  She grinned. “I’m learning.”

  “I’m creating a monster,” I said, feigning despair. “Go, Elise. Go out into the world and inflict emotional damage on the citizens. Make them cry in their beds!”

  I broke into a maniacal ugh that echoed down the path.

  Elise didn’t respond.

  “…Too far?” I asked.

  “Yup.”

  I shrugged. “Still worth it.”

  There was a beat of silence before Elise tilted her head and said, “You know… what if that nd the Elder gave you? What if that’s what you bought?”

  I scoffed. “Pft, no way dude. It said vilge ownership. Vilge. Singur. That means the whole thing. You know—everything. Houses, roads, angry old dies.”

  “Check it and see.”

  “It’s not gonna say anything different,” I said, opening my Buy & Sell interface anyway just to prove her wrong.

  I pulled up the Ownership tab… and paused.

  Viskar Vilge – Ownership: 1% Properties: 1 Acre Undeveloped Land

  There was even a little drop-down menu with options.

  My jaw dropped. “Well… call me stupid and fuc—”

  “Stupid,” Elise interrupted immediately.

  “…Not literally!”

  She shrugged. “You said call you stupid.”

  “Yeah, but that was just an expression!”

  “Still accurate,” she said smugly.

  I narrowed my eyes. “Okay, fine. But what about the st part?”

  “What about it?”

  “You didn’t… you know… follow through.”

  Elise squinted at me. “What?”

  “I said, ‘Call me stupid and—’ never mind.”

  She smirked. “Ha. That was a good one.”

  “Thank you,” I said with mock pride. “I try.”

  I stared at the screen again, still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I spent three million dolrs and got one acre of dirt with a complimentary illusion of ownership.

  “I’m going to sue this interface one day,” I muttered.

  “You’re going to sue a magic system?”

  “If I can figure out who’s running it, yes.”

  “Good luck with that, Dan.”

  “Thanks,” I sighed. “I’ll need it.”

  She chuckled, and we kept walking—me with a bruised ego and Elise with a smug grin.

  And somewhere, deep inside my soul, a little voice whispered: You’re definitely going to do something stupid again… very soon.

  And honestly?

  That voice was probably right.