The System Business Registry contained more classes than Damien knew existed.
Combat classes were simple by comparison. A swordsman used a sword. A tank stood where sensible people would not. A healer repaired the results.
Business classes had decided language itself needed enemies.
Damien opened the first profile.
➤[Liquid Asset Navigator]
➤[Specialization: Rapid conversion of physical, system, and contractual holdings.]
He closed it.
"That one turns things into money," John said.
"Then it should say that."
"Rahul says that using expensive words leads to high fees."
The next profile belonged to a supply chain architect. The class could design transport routes, reduce cargo loss, and coordinate inventory transfers across multiple regions. This information was useful, but it assumed that the client already owned something to transport.
A commodity diviner claimed to sense future price movements. The profile included a warning that predictions represented class impressions rather than guaranteed outcomes. Reviews contained equal numbers of grateful millionaires and furious former millionaires.
Damien continued searching.
He read the descriptions because ignorance was expensive. The world had changed while he was unconscious, and professional classes had become as important as combat classes. A skilled warehouse keeper could prevent decay, expand internal storage, and protect goods from fire. A contract forger did not create fake contracts; the class strengthened genuine ones against loopholes. Agricultural appraisers measured crop quality before harvest. Bulk buyers concealed clients’ identities while negotiating large purchases.
None covered the entire operation.
He changed the search terms.
➤[Required service: Agricultural commodity acquisition.]
➤[Required service: Warehouse purchase or long-term lease.]
➤[Required service: Multi-region procurement.]
➤[Confidentiality: Mandatory.]
➤[Availability: Immediate.]
The registry reduced 30,000 profiles to 47.
Forty-six were unavailable.
Some had existing guild contracts. Others were booked for the summer harvest. Three refused unidentified clients. One had been imprisoned for using a storage class to smuggle venomous monsters inside sacks of rice.
The final profile remained.
➤[Jeremy Choo]
➤[Class: Stock Agent]
➤[Professional Services: Commodity research, bulk acquisition, storage procurement, inventory distribution, and managed resale.]
➤[Client Rating: 4.8/5.]
➤[Status: Available.]
➤[Independent Agent.]
➤[System-certified confidentiality contracts accepted.]
Damien opened the reviews.
Jeremy’s satisfied clients praised his caution more often than his profits. He had refused purchases that would expose buyers, discovered spoiled inventory hidden by a preservation illusion, and negotiated warehouse contracts across seven regions without producing a price spike.
The negative reviews accused him of being slow, argumentative, and unwilling to follow orders he considered reckless.
Damien focused on the class name.
The class name Stock Agent did not refer only to shares or company ownership. The system used "stock" in its older meaning: goods held for future use or sale. The class combined market research, bulk purchasing, storage management, and controlled distribution. Its holders gained no power to create products or guarantee profit. Their advantage came from processing contracts, quality reports, and price movements faster than ordinary merchants did.
That limitation mattered.
A commodity diviner could promise a vision. A warehouse keeper could promise preservation. Jeremy’s class promised neither. It offered coordination, which was less exciting and far more relevant when the plan involved thousands of sellers.
His certification record showed no disciplinary violations. Three high-value clients had renewed contracts with him. Two public merchant guilds had complained that he withdrew from negotiations after discovering concealed ownership structures.
The profile also listed his largest completed operation: the relocation of medical grain and potion ingredients across nine regions after a gatebreak poisoned a river network. Delivery losses had remained below one percent.
Damien did not need someone who could make one clever purchase.
He needed someone who could prevent ten thousand ordinary purchases from becoming one obvious signal.
Damien selected Request Consultation.
"You chose the difficult one," John said.
"He notices bad plans."
"You expect ours to be bad?"
"We are attempting to spend money based on a dungeon poem."
"Fair."
A fee window appeared.
➤[Consultation Cost: 50 Gold Coins.]
➤[Payment does not guarantee contract acceptance.]
Damien paid before John could offer.
His available balance dropped by 50 gold coins, leaving it noticeably smaller.
The registry requested a meeting time. Damien selected Immediate.
The request remained unanswered for six minutes.
During those six minutes, John brought food, Damien searched current corn prices, and the worldwide channel produced nine new theories about the hidden update. One theory claimed all cows would gain human speech. Another predicted the system would introduce marriage quests.
The most popular post combined both.
Damien closed the channel.
The consultation request turned green.
➤[Jeremy Choo accepted.]
➤[Secure professional meeting established.]
A man appeared above the lounge table.
Jeremy Choo looked to be in his late thirties. He wore a dark blue shirt with rolled sleeves, narrow glasses, and no visible jewelry except a System-certified agent badge. His black hair was neatly parted. Behind him stood shelves filled with paper files despite digital storage making them unnecessary.
He glanced once at Damien, once at John, and then at the confidentiality setting.
"Mr. Dawson, Sir John."
John leaned toward Damien. "He recognized you."
Jeremy heard him. "Most people recognize Sir John."
"Good answer," John said.
Jeremy’s expression remained professional. "You requested agricultural acquisition, storage procurement, and managed resale across multiple regions. Those are three services, not one. What is your time frame?"
"We begin today," Damien said.
"And finish?"
"Major purchasing within forty-eight hours."
Jeremy became still. "That is not a reasonable schedule for property inspection and bulk commodity verification."
"The event begins in less than three days."
"What event?"
Damien opened a system confidentiality contract.
➤[Proposed Clause: All information disclosed during this consultation will remain confidential for thirty days unless disclosure is required to prevent immediate loss of life.] ➤[Violation Penalty: Suspension from the Professional Class and the assessment of damages.]
Jeremy read every word. "Change thirty days to ’until released in writing by the client, or publicly announced by the system.’ Remove the exception’s ambiguity. An emergency authority must verify immediate loss of life."
Damien made the changes.
Jeremy signed.
The contract flashed gold.
➤[Confidentiality agreement registered.]
Damien showed him the patch notice and the final stanza of the parchment.
Jeremy read silently.
He did not laugh. He did not claim to understand immediately. He requested the earlier stanzas, matched them against the system update history, and opened agricultural data in three floating windows.
"You believe the model predicts locusts," he said after several minutes.
"Yes."
"System-created?"
"Probably."
"Global?"
"The notice reached all of Earth-69."
Jeremy removed his glasses and cleaned them. "Do you have government confirmation?"
"Preparations have begun. That information is also confidential."
"Of course it is."
John smiled. "You understand quickly."
"I understand that powerful clients become vague precisely when the details are most dangerous." Jeremy replaced his glasses. "What do you want purchased?"
"Warehouses," Damien said. "As many suitable warehouses as we can acquire without making the market notice. Buy existing structures or secure long leases. They need preservation systems, transport access, and enough distance between them that one attack cannot destroy everything."
Jeremy’s hands began moving through data.
"And the stock?"
"Corn."
The agent paused.
"Only corn?"
"As much as possible."
Jeremy closed two of his windows.
"That is concentration risk, storage risk, and possibly the fastest method of informing every commodity trader on Earth-69 that someone expects a shortage."
"Can you prevent that?"
"I can reduce it. I cannot purchase a planet’s corn invisibly."
"We don’t need the planet’s corn."
"How much do you need?"
Damien looked toward the countdown.
➤[Patch Deployment: 67:58:03]
"As much as our budget can buy."
Jeremy leaned back.
"Then before I recommend anything, I need to know the budget."
Damien looked at John.
John looked back.
Neither spoke.
Jeremy waited.
’Can they even talk? I’m losing talktime here!’
The professional meeting timer continued counting, charging Damien by the minute.
"We should decide quickly," Damien urged them.
John glanced at the fee display. "Finally, a financial principle I understand."
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter