Earth's Water, That World's Treasure - 2
"Selling water. Clean, potable fresh water. Any price is fine. Unlimited supply."
The recording ended. Now, my will embedded in that voice would echo across to that world.
It wasn't anything grandiose. But in that world, plenty of people would value this fresh water dearly.
"Alright, that's as far as we go for now... Time to take a break."
I'd done everything I could. What came next was up to luck. Whether anyone showed up at the Trading Post or not was beyond my control.
First, let's lie down...
The moment I hit the bed, the status window popped up right in front of me.
"What the—why all of a sudden—"
Visitor approaching! Incoming communication request!
"This fast?"
I bolted upright in surprise and connected to that world through the status window. A TV-sized holographic screen materialized before my eyes. On it was a blonde woman wearing a stunned expression.
"Hello."
"Th-this is West Ranger Squad Leader Lisa Martinez."
"Jeong Isu."
No sooner had we exchanged light greetings than Lisa shouted in a frantic voice.
"Y-you're selling water! I came right away! Can I get it now? I don't know how the water gets delivered, but—"
I gave a faint smile. I hadn't expected our first trade to kick off this quickly.
"Yes. I'll prepare it right away."
A few unopened bottles of mineral water remained in my studio apartment.
A bit of a waste, but...
Trades weren't something I could do endlessly just because I wanted to. Each one consumed my mana. At my current level, once this trade started, I'd be out of commission for at least a week.
"You seem in a hurry."
"Yes. Please. It looks like there's a water tank at this Trading Post... Right now... Today, or tomorrow at latest—if we can't drink water, everyone will die."
Looks like I held their lifelines in my hands.
Not a bad position at all.
She didn't seem like a raider. If so, building a long-term trade relationship with them wasn't a bad choice. What I needed was trade volume, not immediate profits.
"Sending it right over."
Another screen appeared. It showed a box similar to my Subspace Inventory.
"Just put the items you're sending in there."
I grabbed five 2L bottles of mineral water and placed them in my subspace box.
"I-is everything in there... really water? Pure water, no processing?"
"What else would it be?"
Apparently, during a trade, items in my Subspace Inventory were visible to them too.
"A-anything! What do you want? Name it!"
"Hmm, good question?"
I hadn't thought that far ahead. I'd planned to just sell without demanding anything specific, but I hadn't expected there to be nothing worth taking from them.
"Among what we have that's valuable... how about firearms?"
"No need."
I wasn't planning to hunt personally, and there was no reason to suddenly acquire guns.
Common sense says it'd violate firearms laws...
I didn't plan to hide my ability from the nation forever long-term. But until this 'trade' stabilized, I wanted it to seem like a safe, harmless power.
Even junk guns are still guns.
Guns from that world weren't special unless they were unique pieces. Most wouldn't outperform the K2 rifles used by the national military. But a gun was a gun, no matter how crappy. My ability let me import unregistered firearms into Korea through unknown channels.
Can't risk that.
No matter how I spun it, it screamed criminal potential. No reason to expose that. My mindset wasn't criminal anyway, and even if I did use it for crime, someone with my level of power would just get used and discarded.
"Then... clothes? Even the ones I'm wearing—"
"Hate to say it, but... no thanks."
Clothes worn by a beauty like Lisa might appeal to certain crowds. But I wasn't part of that 'certain crowd.' I had no desire to collect ragged, torn, stuffy wasteland gear. And reselling them? No clue where to even start.
Wait...
A spark of an idea flashed in my mind. I quickly opened my status window to check.
If I keep exchanging worthless junk infinitely... Nah, doesn't work.
To count as trade volume, the initial exchanged item had to register as a trade good through the system.
"Our drugs or food—"
"Nah, pass."
Drugs from that world were literal drugs. Boosting reaction speed or enduring pain sounded like potion effects, but rationally, they were narcotics. I wasn't about to become a junkie. Sure, in life-or-death situations like theirs, prioritizing survival over future addiction made sense—but I didn't want to trash my body like that. Food was the same. Better to hit a convenience store than eat wasteland grub. Taste, price, hygiene—all better.
"Then what... Ah! This, maybe. If you need it—"
"What's that?"
In her hand was a small steel ring.
"They say it's good for health... but it does nothing for me."
"Not important to you?"
"Yeah, I just picked it up somewhere—"
"Perfect. I'll take it."
I nodded calmly.
Items as payment... not bad.
[Wasteland 2] had countless items scavengeable from ruins. It leaned more post-apocalyptic than magic or superpowers, but psychic ability users and items that 'slightly ignored physics' existed.
This is better.
Cursed items were rare, and since Lisa had worn it herself, the odds were even lower.
"So, I just... place it here?"
"Yes."
She set the ring in the tiny box.
...Oh?
And just like that, I could see the ring's properties.
Nice.
In game terms, it wasn't top-tier. 'Non-combat Health +1' offered minor skill check benefits, but health mattered most in combat—where it affected HP, deciding life or death by a point or two. Unique option, but not that unique.
But not for me.
I didn't fight anyway. I could enjoy the full Health +1 passively.
Nice.
Far more reliable than vague 'may support health' supplements online. Overkill for a few bottles of water.
"Got a good item. Thanks, I'll put it to use."
"Y-yes! So, the water—quickly—"
She craved it like an addict. I got it. Lisa and her squad must've been suffering without water.
"Close your side's door... Good. Proceeding with the trade."
I channeled my mana. My Awakener ability activated across dimensions.
...
I closed my eyes briefly, then checked my Subspace Inventory. The small steel ring was there.
"D-did the water really—"
They'd received it too.
"That's it for today. Good work."
"Th-thank you so much! You're our savior!"
"Hit me up if you need to trade again..."
"A-again? For real?"
"Yes. Next time... I can supply more than this."
Lisa's eyes gleamed.
"Thank you! Next time, I'll definitely bring something worthy as payment!"
"No need to go that far... But if you insist, I'll gladly take it."
I smiled faintly and ended the call calmly.
Then, I thought.
...Success.
I'd figured the first day wouldn't yield results. But this was success, plain and simple. Proving the ring's effect might be tricky, but even this 'Non-combat Health +1' could fetch a high price here. Not on par with modern medicine using monster parts and mana stones, but side-effect-free, semi-permanent health maintenance? Valuable.
But more importantly, trade volume was rising. As long as Lisa lived, it'd keep climbing. Didn't matter what I got from them. My only cost was mineral water.
Instead of thinking 'sell water to buy stuff from [Wasteland 2],' it was 'sell water to buy trade volume.' Massive profit.
And... time to put in my resignation.
No hard feelings toward the company. But no reason to stay now. As an Awakener, even without combat skills, I could make bank gathering scraps in gates.
Someday I might live off this ability alone, but...
Stability mattered. My power relied on buying and selling. Realizing profits? Unknown timeline.
Don't rush...
My life had flipped massively. Just hours ago, heading home on the subway and bus from a dead-end job, this was unimaginable.
Key was safety. Secure success without variables.
I grabbed my phone, ordered mineral water online for the next 'trade.' Signed up for an Awakener site, researched part-time gate work requirements.
Good...
My heart raced. Tomorrow was unpredictable—a thrill office life never gave.
Training alone pays this much—
Keep trading, get Awakener certified, resign—plenty to do.
I dragged my sleepy body to bed, turned off the light, and crashed, buzzing with anticipation for tomorrow.