The Enterprising Trader

Meh, I'll think about it later.

For now,

"Uhm, system? Can I still call you that?"

[Affirmative.]

So it's back to what it was before huh?

"What was that earlier?"

[The user's level is below the required qualifications for this information.]

Nothing I can do about it then.

"So? What do I do now?" I said while looking at my surroundings.

A BBC(bean bag chair), a flat-screen television, and some snacks and drinks on a low table.

A perfect movie-watching package.

[The user will now view 'The Enterprising Trader's memories in the form of a movie.]

"Okay, but why are there so few items? Shouldn't I be in a theater or something? Isn't this too shabby?"

[As the user is inside their own soul, all conjured items needed are according to their preferences.]

"...."

H-Have I become so used to the poor life that I subconsciously thought that watching a movie in a theater is too expensive?

"Moving on, do I just turn on this television?"

[Affirmative.]

"By the way, didn't you say that I'll be unconscious for only a few minutes? Hasn't it been a few minutes by now?" I asked as I sat down on the bean bag chair and took some chips from the table.

[Just as time passes slowly when using telepathy or just simply thinking, 'thinking' within your soul also has the same effect, albeit the time that passes in the outside world is much less.]

Cool.

"So can I enter here every time or just when I unlock skills?" I ask.

[For now, the user is not yet capable enough to enter on their own, as such, they can only 'enter' their own soul through the help of The System. The System will only assist the user in entering their soul when unlocking skills.]

"Alright, alright, I get it. I still have a question before we start reading memories though." Taking a spicy-flavored chip, I ask. "Why do you call me 'they'? I have a name you know?"

The System has always referred to me as 'they' or 'the user'. My name, Zach, is on the first line of my status you know?

[The user's level is below the required qualifications for this information.]

Ah yes, of course.

Picking up the remote, I press the play button as I point it at the television and wait for something to happen.

*BZZT*

{"Uwaaah! Uwaaah!!!"}

{"Congratulations, Sir Duke, it seems that your prayers to the Goddess have been answered."}

In the television, a baby, still wet with blood, was held by a woman wearing a black and white long dress with an apron covering its front. The woman, most likely a maid, was showing the baby to a blonde-haired man of tall stature, wearing what looks like something straight out of the nobles of the medieval times.

{"Good. Bring him to the spare room by the end of the hall. The house's doctor should be there to examine him for any complications."} Said the man to the maid before walking away, not even sparing a glance to the baby.

'What a shit father *nom*' I thought while taking a bite of a hotdog sandwich.

{"Yes, milord."} The maid bowed and made sure to wait for 30 seconds after the man left before standing straight up and bowing another time for the unconscious woman on the bed.

After closing the ornate door, the maid made her way through the flashy hallway decorated with expensive looking vases and paintings depicting humans with wings and halos showing an open book to a kneeling man. Different variations of them can be seen as the maid tread in a specific, practiced pattern.

Arriving at another ornate door, the maid fixed her posture to make the now sleeping baby undisturbed and knocked on the door three times with her left hand.

{"Come in."} Came an aged voice from inside.

Hearing those words, the maid opened the door and-

*PAUSE*

Wait wait wait. Pressing the press button, I said,

"What is this? I thought I was going to learn a skill, not watch childbirth." I complained.

[The user may skip to the informative parts.]

So I can do that?

"Hmm let's see... how long is this thing anyway?"

[608,529 Hours : 16 Minutes : 22.13688 Seconds]

"Wow... that's a lot of time, uhh, 70 years?" I said after calculating.

[Incorrect. The correct answer is 69.42069 years.]

Haah, I really need to set some time to practice math stuff. Having superior talent doesn't really do anything if you don't, well, do anything. Noice number though.

"Can you mark the important parts then? So I can finish early."

[Executing order.]

Right as the system said that, yellow marks started appearing on the red line beneath the paused frame.

Now that I think about it, watching someone's life in the form of a YouTube video is slightly unsettling.

[Order executed.]

"Hey System, aren't we intruding someone's private life here? Not that I mind but, did this happen to me as well, I mean in my previous life?"

Imagining people watching my chuuni phase sends a shiver down my spine.

[The user does not need to worry as the user's soul is protected as per the raffle's rules.]

Releasing a sigh of relief, I skip to the first of the thousands of marks on the video showing the life of The Enterprising Trader.

*BZZT*

{"Next is... about The Four Kingdoms. What do you know of The Four Kingdoms, young lord?"}

In the television screen, an old man with a grumpy expression, wearing what seems like a scholar's outfit can be seen tutoring a small child, about 7 years of age with chin-length blonde hair and bright, innocent blue eyes.

{"Uhmm..."}

The small child pondered.

{"Go on, take your time, young lord."} Contrary to his grumpy face, the old man seemed to be a patient person.

{"Ah! I remember now!"}

The child brightly smiled.

'Wow, as I thought, some children really are annoying. *nom* Good thing the peeps at home don't really think too much of my maturity, thinking its about my quirk and all that. *nom*' I thought as I bit a hamburger.

{"The Spades kingdom spwe-specwialize-"}

{"It's specialize, young lord."} The old man corrected.

{"Right! The Spades Kingdom spw-specializes in warfare and military. Although they are new, they are not to be messed with!"} The kid said.

{"Next is The Hearts Kingdom! It is where the church is, the place closest to our Goddess, the maker of all people!"}

{"Then, next is The Kingdom of Clubs! Because of their lowcation, they have the perfect place for argri-agririculture-"}

{"It's agriculture, my lord."}

The old man corrected again.

{"Oh right, sorry ehehehe~"} The kid showed an apologetic expression while scratching the back of his head.

However, the old man, upon seeing the kid's actions, had an irritated look on his face as he—

*PAK*

Back-hand slapped the kid, making him fall down on the seat he was seating.

{"Young lord, while mistakes are acceptable, behaviors such as what you have shown earlier are not. It will become a habit. Remember that habits are only acceptable if they do not besmirch your status."}

The old man said, his expression now back to normal.

Looking at the kid, I can see he had this look of 'What just happened?' while clutching his right cheek with his right hand. He probably hasn't been slapped before.

Standing up, the kid brushed off the dust on his clothes and sat back down on his chair, this time though, he had a more serious expression on his face.

{"Last but not the least is our kingdom, The Kingdom of Diamonds. We provide and buy from the other kingdoms. The people from the other kingdoms go to our kingdom to buy and sell their items."}

{Good. It seems the Young Lord has not been slacking in his studies. Now, for our next lesson, we are-"}

*PAUSE*

"Okay, this is getting pretty boring. What's the purpose of all this? Can't you just show the parts where he's using the skill?"

Am I supposed to watch his whole life like this to learn the skill?

[As the user has not requested anything, The System has not changed the video.]

So it's my fault now?

Releasing a sigh, I said,

"Just cut these useless parts out and only show the parts where I can learn the skill."

[Executing order.]

Right as the system said that, the video length got shorter and shorter until it became almost half of what it originally was.

Looking at that, I can't help but be impressed by this guy's dedication. Judging by the skill name, {(C) Appraise}, it should be about inspecting items and stuff. Spending half of your life appraising and identifying items takes some real tenacity. Especially if you came from a time where not much is known about the world. Finding out whether something was fake or real without the help of machines must have been hard.

Moving on, I stretch myself for a skill acquisition grind.

***

-3 hours later-

*ding*

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[ Congratulations! You have acquired skill: {(C) Appraise.}]

(C) Appraise

- Find out what material/s are used in an item in a single glance.

- Depends on the user's knowledge of materials.

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What the hell? So in the end, everything's still based on me huh?

Lying down on the floor, I close my eyes as I think about this skill.

It was what I expected, honestly. Well, except for the part that it requires knowledge about materials. Thinking about it logically though, even if I can tell the difference between item 1 and item 2, it won't really matter much if I don't know what material they're made out of.

Sighing to myself, I request the system,

"Show me the parts where he reads about ores, wood, and stuff."

[Executing order.]

Sipping a soft drink, I get into a comfortable position and prepare myself for another grind.

***

-3 hours later-

Haah~

Stretching my body, wait... how do I even get tired in this place? Isn't this the inside of my soul?

Wait... if I am inside my own soul, doesn't that mean that I technically fucked myself?

Jokes aside, now that I have already learned all that I can, I might as well watch the rest of his life. According to the system, only 10 minutes has passed in the outside world, so it wouldn't hurt to take my time here.

***

-5 hours later-

I take back what I said about earlier.

I never knew that watching people live can be so boring. Wake up, eat, take a shit, appraise items, eat, work, sleep, repeat and randomize. I had to press the skip button a ton of times just to keep on going on you know?

How can Gods even find enjoyment in this? I guess you can call this as some kind of sneak-peak on how bored they really are.