"Spacetime Traveling Merchant: A mysterious merchant who traverses countless worlds. No one knows their origin. The only thing known about them is that whatever you need, as long as you can pay an equivalent price, they will trade with you. No matter what you desire—even godhood—they can help you achieve it. All you have to do is offer enough in return."
The profession's description wasn't much different from before—it was still just as tempting, truly a class not to be underestimated.
Chu Lian was both delighted and puzzled that she had been acknowledged for this profession. Her business skills weren't exactly impressive, and becoming a Spacetime Traveling Merchant hardly seemed like something suited for someone with no talent in trade.
She continued reading, coming across a list of the profession's innate talents and abilities.
Innate Talent – Fair Trade: Everything you sell will always return an equivalent value. No being can deceive a Spacetime Traveling Merchant's trading instinct—they are recognized by the origin itself as arbiters of fairness. When not in the Spacetime Traveling Merchant identity, this talent functions as a skill that allows fair trade at a cost.
Innate Talent – Scales of Exchange: When uncertain if both parties' items are equal in value, the Scales of Exchange can be used. Place both items on the scales—if they balance, the trade succeeds. If not, the lighter side must offer more until balance is reached.
Skill – Spacetime Traversal: A Spacetime Traveling Merchant can walk freely across any plane, unhindered—so long as they know the coordinates and passageway of that world. However, if the merchant is evil, the World Consciousness has the right to reject their entry. Even if they force their way in, they will be treated as a world enemy and attacked.
Innate Talent – Priority Damage Immunity: As long as the Spacetime Traveling Merchant does not break the fairness of a trade or harm others, they cannot be injured by any attack.
Innate Talent – Identity Concealment: Since not all Spacetime Traveling Merchants possess strong combat power, they require the utmost protection. Unless they expose themselves, no information about them can be perceived during a trade. They appear as a dark mist shrouded beneath a cloak—one that even the brightest sunlight cannot dispel.
Innate Talent – World Affinity S Rank: Due to the nature of their profession, Spacetime Traveling Merchants are not repelled by worlds unless they cause major ecological destruction. Because they can communicate with any lifeform as equals and often prevent disasters through diplomacy, they are regarded as emissaries of peace. Even when not using the merchant identity, as long as they are not rejected by the world, this affinity remains active.
Beginner Merchant License: Only those with this license are authorized to sell goods at the Spacetime Traveling Merchant Headquarters. However, since you are a beginner, your shop will start as a small roadside stall. Upgrade it gradually. How? Once the host completes their first trade, the method will be revealed.
Mystery Shop: You may open your shop within a dimensional rift and broadcast its coordinates across the multiverse. When beings who know of the Spacetime Traveling Merchants wish to trade, they can enter through a dimensional tunnel and conduct a fair exchange with you. Note: Items displayed within the Mystery Shop are invincible while inside. Each time a customer arrives, you will be notified and can teleport to the shop immediately.
Customers will wait in the shop for three hours. If you do not appear within that time, the trade will be canceled, and your reputation will suffer.
If you have someone trustworthy, you may entrust them to manage your shop. However, as only you can replenish and conduct trades, most Spacetime Traveling Merchants prefer to manage their own stores personally.
For every 10,000 successful trades, your credit level will rise by one rank. The more your reputation grows, the more confidence others will have in trading with you.
The Mystery Shop is the foundation of every Spacetime Traveling Merchant. Beyond trading, no other means can reveal its location. It can be considered an absolutely safe zone—use it wisely.
The profession's description ended there, and Chu Lian couldn't help but feel like she had struck gold. With the system supporting her, this profession seemed tailor-made just for her.
"I didn't expect this profession to have so many innate talents. Even though most of them only activate when using the Spacetime Traveling Merchant identity, the ones listed in the system's description—Fair Trade, Spacetime Traversal, and World Affinity—can be used in any identity. Even if they require a cost to activate, it's still far better than what other Spacetime Traveling Merchants get," Chu Lian said, stretching her arms lazily, her mood bright and relaxed.
"This profession is one of the most unique hidden classes. It may not grant strong combat power, but its special abilities are the most broken of all. Still, your profession level is low for now. Once you obtain the ultimate Merchant License, you'll understand just how powerful it truly is. Oh, wait—no, even at the Intermediate License stage, its abilities will blow your mind. I think you'll love them," Shiroha's calm, drifting voice appeared in her mind, further stirring Chu Lian's excitement.
This was the quest that had been assigned to her half a month ago, and after working tirelessly, she had finally completed it. Seeing such a satisfying result made her more than pleased.
But she wanted more.
So, she wanted to visit the headquarters of the Spacetime Traveling Merchants.
"How do I enter the headquarters of the Spacetime Traveling Merchants?" Chu Lian asked eagerly.
"See the ring on your left hand? Infuse your spiritual sense into it, and you'll be transported there," Shiroha explained.
Chu Lian blinked in surprise. Now that it was mentioned, she realized there really was a bracelet around her left wrist.
Normally, she disliked wearing jewelry. The 'Kenpfer' bracelet she had worn during her cosplay shoots—to help disguise her Electromaster ability from Misaka Mikoto—had long been stored away in her inventory and forgotten.
If not for Shiroha's reminder, she wouldn't have even noticed that a bracelet had appeared on her wrist.
"Why can't I feel anything at all? It's like it doesn't even exist," Chu Lian muttered, staring at the elegant pale-violet bracelet in confusion. With her current strength—half-step Earth Rank—how could something attach itself to her body without her noticing?
"Because it doesn't truly exist. It only manifests when you intend to enter the Origin Land—the headquarters of the Spacetime Traveling Merchants. Understand now?" Shiroha patiently explained, seeing her puzzled expression.
"So it only looks like a physical object, but it doesn't actually belong to this world. It's just the key connecting me to the Origin Land, right?" Chu Lian raised her hand, examining it closely until she finally understood its nature.
"Exactly. So you don't need to worry about other Spacetime Traveling Merchants seeing your bracelet. Only you—and those of us bound to your soul—can perceive it." Shiroha's explanation dispelled Chu Lian's brief concern. This profession clearly offered exceptional protection for its users, leaving almost no chance for outsiders to uncover their true identity.
"Connect with your heart... connect with your heart... connect with your heart..." she whispered softly, closing her eyes and channeling her spiritual sense into the bracelet.
A strange ripple of light and shadow enveloped her. For an instant, she felt as though she had crossed infinite space and time—and yet, at the same time, as if nothing at all had changed.
Noise filled her ears. She slowly opened her eyes, finding herself surrounded by countless figures, all cloaked from head to toe in garments of every style and color.
Most revealed only a pair of hands or half of a face—everything else was completely concealed.
Chu Lian tried probing them with the system's scan and her spiritual sense, but the moment she got within a meter of anyone, both abilities ceased to function entirely.
The figures she had tried to observe noticed her probing and turned toward the source. What they saw was a newcomer dressed in a pristine white robe, her face hidden except for a delicate chin and fair, slender hands.
Instantly, they recognized her for what she was—a rookie.
And so, they lost interest just as quickly. After all, they'd done the same when they were new themselves. No one here ever thought much of it—after all, in this place, no one could ever know another's true identity.
"Phew... that scared me. I thought they were about to attack me," Chu Lian exhaled softly after confirming that the others showed no reaction. After all, she had just tried to probe their information—if they had retaliated, it would've been perfectly reasonable.
"Relax. In this place, aside from trading, entering, or leaving, no other abilities can be used—whether they come from your own power or from any skill," Ayase's voice echoed gently in her mind. She must have woken up out of concern, worried that Chu Lian might run into trouble during her first visit to the Origin Land, and offered an explanation.
"I see... then I don't have to worry. But if no abilities can be used, how was I able to use the system and my spiritual sense to scan them just now?"
"That's because it's the only ability permitted here. Spiritual sense is part of one's existence—if even the soul were restricted, everyone here would be little more than walking corpses. However, even with spiritual sense active, all you can do is probe—nothing more."
"Alright then, I won't use anything else. I'll just focus on trading. Let's see... where's my spot?" Chu Lian calmed herself as she spoke with Ayase, shifting her attention to the reason she had come—to experience what trading among Spacetime Traveling Merchants was really like.
"You don't have any goods. How are you planning to trade?" Ayase wasn't mocking her—just curious about what this girl was thinking.
"I may not have many points, but I can still buy a few things first. Just wait a bit," Chu Lian said, following the bracelet's prompt until she arrived at a small, empty stall.
"A single square meter, huh? Pretty tiny... but it'll do," Chu Lian murmured, shaking her head helplessly before sitting down behind the pitifully small stand. Then she began rummaging through her system inventory.
One by one, all sorts of strange items appeared on the stall's surface, waiting quietly for another merchant to arrive and begin a trade.