Traveling Merchant In the Apocalypse

”Bip…Bip… Bip… ”

”Hmmm… ”

I hummed dissatisfied while moving my hand around, looking for my phone. Finding it, I slipped my finger a few times, but the bipping didn stop.

”Bip… Bip… ”

Moving my finger around, and even slapping the phone, still didn work. I put my head under my pillow to muffle the sound and try to go back to sleep, but to no effect.

”Bip… Bip… Bip… ”

Why…?

I feel like crying.

Its the only day I can wake up late… So why won this sound stop!

”Bip… Bip… Bip… ”

Already impatient, I sat up in the bed, trying to look around for its origin. To my surprise, the first thing I see is a blue floating screen in front of my face, brightening my room. It said:

”Loading 87%… ”

And the number keeps going up with each bip. Even after rubbing my eyes, it continued there.

”Loading 89%… ”

Looking around, there was nothing out of place. I am in my bed, in my room, the lights are off, the air conditioner is on, the door and the curtains closed, the smell is alright. I looked at the time on my phone and its only 2h05 a.m.

”Ah, gimme a break… ”

I murmured and lied down in my bed.

Im sure its a dream, tomorrow it will be back to normal.

Closing my eyes with peace of mind, ignoring the sound, until at some point the bip stopped and I was able to sleep like an angel.

☆☆☆

Drumming my fingers on the table, I looked ahead impatiently.

Whats up with it? Why didn it disappear? What do you mean inding completed? And it changed… Whats up with this Welcome, Arya? Im at home, though, nothing differs, even the neighborhood, just this…. THING!

Its late evening, I woke up around eleven and ignored it all day, but it just won go away. Im AWAKE and shouldn be seeing this.

Leave me alone! How am I supposed to drive with that distracting me? I want sushi… No, thats not the problem, this is WEIRD.

I pursued my lips, remembering how no one said anything when I put the trash out in the morning. It seems that either Im the weird one for thinking this is weird or no one sees it, only me. And I bet all my chips on the last option. I pinched my thigh again and hissed while grimacing in my mind.

It really hurts… So, have I played too much lately? Read too much? Now Im having problems separating dreams from reality? Am I hallucinating? Did someone put something weird on my food? But I live alone.

While denying the less possible options, I have to consider the worst: Maybe I lost my mind.

”Sigh… There is no way… No way… ”

Im not insane, you know, I can be, Im pretty sure of it. No family history of this kind of disease, no trauma, not under too much stress either… There is no trigger, so how could a perfectly sane person lose her mind in one day? No, I surely didn .

Is something wrong with my eyes?

Looking in the mirror, there is nothing in them.

Wait, did it just disappear? Oh, its here again… Its not anymore…

I played getting near and far from the mirror, it seems if I stay too close to something it will disappear and won block my view.

Great, thats an advance… oh, how about glasses? Oh… didn work…

Putting my sunglasses aside I blocked my eyes with one hand, then tried looking with one eye and then the other.

”Still there… still there… sigh… okay, what do you want? Uh? ”

I snapped to the air. Nothing happened. I slapped my forehead, sliding my hand across my face and sighing again.

”What am I even doing…? ”

I shook my hand, where the screen should be, for the thousandth time today. Nothing.

”Alright, you won disappear, so why don you change? Its been a day already, didn you change in the morning? Change again, are you just going to continue… Uh? ” The screen finally changed.

”Traveling Merchant System? Turning in the best in business you say? What now? Do you think we
e inside a novel by chance? Do you know what age it is? Go back a few decades to find someone… Besides, why would I sell things while traveling? It may still work for some people, but… Do you think Im crazy and would go for this career change after studying so much? Im good and well, becoming a doctor in two more years! Don ** with me. ”

I ignored it again and began cooking my dinner.

Why does it seem to be getting brighter?

Looking up, the text changed. It had one more line.

”Congratulations, you
e randomly selected by the system Traveling Merchant, you will be able to become the best in business.

Confirm to begin the tutorial ➧ ”

”Didn I already say I don want to? Leave me alone. ”

I had my fill and played with my phone, until ten. Im adapting to its presence easier than I thought, is it the power of human adaptability?! Now how should I sleep with this light in my face… Maybe a pillow will do… Looking at the letters again, it changed.

”Time limit to begin is almost finished. As such, the tutorial, missions and tasks will begin automatically in 2 hours. ”

”What? Didn you say I needed to confirm? What do you mean by a time limit? Begin automatically in 2 hours? Aren you too full of yourself? ”

I was flabbergasted at how thick skinned this said system was. I didn ask for it, Im living well, you know. Seeing the countdown and thinking about how I needed to sleep soon, I frowned.

I will just take a look. Only a look.

”Begin tutorial? ”

It said a lot of things, showed some things, but basically I can resume it to this:

– There will be missions or tasks: mandatory and optional, which can be time-limited or not.

– If you accept an optional mission or task, you have to finish it, like the mandatory ones. If you fail those, you will be punished as the system sees fit.

– The missions and tasks can give you points that you can use to unlock facilities to produce products or directly buy products at shop, to be a better merchant. Or the prize can be directly something the system designed.

– Another way of getting points is unlocking facilities and producing.

And thats all it makes clear, besides, it says I will know more with upgrades. I can only give it an eye roll.

Seriously… And of course it has to give me time-limited tasks in the middle of the night…

”Tutorial Mission 1: A good merchant should have a proper way to store products, find a suitable container and you will get yours. Prize: unlock storage. Type: Mandatory. Done: 0/1.

Weekly task: Day 1/7 – A merchant needs a healthy body to travel – walk 4 kilometers. Prize: 30