The pouch of coins felt heavier than it should. Maybe it was the weight of expectations. Or maybe it was the weight of the guildmaster's stare drilling into the back of my skull when I walked out of his office.
"One week," he'd said.
One week to multiply the money and prove I wasn't just some lucky street rat with a fancy ability.
Great. No pressure.
I stepped outside the Seawave Guild headquarters. The building behind me looked like it swallowed people whole and spat out only the successful. I tightened my grip on the pouch.
"Alright, Montig," I muttered. "Time to show these rich bastards what you've got."
Except there was a small problem.
I had no damn idea where to start.
No Street Tricks Here
Back at the market, life was simple: if something smelled like profit, I went for it. If it smelled like shit, I avoided it. Done.
But this was different.
The guild's world was bigger. Messier. The place smelled not of fish and sweat… but of hidden agendas.
I walked the streets around the guild district, expecting to spot opportunities. Prices, people, deals… something had to stand out.
Nothing did.
Absolutely nothing.
It hit me like a slap:
I had no knowledge of this world. No connections. No suppliers. No idea how things worked here.
The market was open and predictable.
This place was closed and confusing.
I sighed. "Goddamn it."
The system pinged faintly in my head.
[Reminder: One week remaining.]
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," I grumbled.
For the first time in years, the world wasn't whispering answers to me. It was silent. Mocking me.
A Different Jungle
By noon, I reached a plaza filled with vendors wearing fancy guild badges. Their stalls weren't simple wooden stands; these things looked like mini-fortresses. Signboards. Locks. Curtains. Guards.
Even their vegetables looked smug.
I approached one stall.
The seller glared at me like I had just pissed on his doorstep.
"What do you want, kid?"
"Uh… just browsing," I said.
He snorted. "Then browse elsewhere."
Rude bastard.
I tried another stall.
Same attitude.
Another.
Same.
Another.
By the fifth one, I wanted to punch someone.
Everyone treated me like trash—worse than the old market days. At least back there, they yelled at me with affection.
Here, they acted like I wasn't even worth yelling at.
"This sucks," I muttered.
When I sat down on a stone bench, I realized something horrible:
I didn't have a single useful piece of information in this district.
No special insight.
No insider prices.
No patterns to track.
Nothing.
And you can't multiply money if you don't even know how the hell things work here.
The First Lead
I was thinking of heading back when I heard two merchants arguing behind me.
"Are you insane? They raised the rates again!"
"I'm telling you, it's temporary. Just hold out."
"Temporary my ass—we're bleeding coins!"
I perked up.
Raised rates?
Bleeding coins?
That sounded like opportunity.
I didn't interrupt them. I just followed them discreetly to a small corner shop selling… bird feed.
Yeah. Bird feed.
Who the hell buys that?
The shopkeeper was yelling at someone on a phone crystal, sweating like he had run a marathon.
"No, I can't pay that! If the price stays the same another week, I'm screwed!"
Now that was interesting.
I stepped inside.
"What do you want, kid?" he snapped.
There it was again—disrespect from everyone wearing a guild badge.
I sighed. "Relax, old man. Just curious. Why are you freaking out?"
He groaned. "None of your damn business."
I looked at the shelves. The bags of feed had a thin layer of dust. No customers. No movement.
"How long have sales been dying?" I asked casually.
He blinked. "…Three weeks."
"And suppliers raised prices recently?"
"…Yesterday."
A tiny spark lit in my brain.
This wasn't about bird feed.
This was about someone squeezing out weak shops by raising costs.
But why?
Before I could ask more, the system pinged softly.
Ping.
[Observation Unlocked: Market Pressure]
You have discovered an externally forced price squeeze.
Externally forced?
Not natural?
Someone was doing this on purpose?
I grinned.
Finally. Something I could work with.
The Angle
"Can you buy from other suppliers?" I asked.
He shook his head. "All three suppliers raised prices. It's like they're working together."
Collusion.
Not the textbook kind — this was straightforward bullying.
"Tell you what," I said. "Let me check something tomorrow. I might have a way out."
He stared at me like I'd grown horns.
"You? A scrawny brat? Get lost."
"Suit yourself." I shrugged. "I planned to help. But hey, sinking sounds fun too."
His face twitched.
"…Fine. Come back tomorrow morning. But if you're wasting my time, I'll throw you out myself."
I smirked. "Relax. You'll want to kiss my feet when I'm done."
He gagged. "Ugh. Just leave."
I stepped out, adrenaline pumping.
This was it.
A squeeze. A dirty trick.
The perfect chance to turn the guild's coin pouch into something bigger.
I finally had my first path forward.
A Week Begins
As I headed back toward the guild district inn, I muttered to myself:
"One week, huh? Fine. Let's dance."
The city's trade district didn't scare me anymore.
Because I finally remembered something important:
Rich people are strong.
Guilds are stronger.
But greed?
Greed is stupid.
And I knew exactly how to exploit that.