You do not control the merchants

"It already feels familiar in here," Mathew muttered to himself as the shadows surged forth.

It was truly a wonder how quick the human brain could be to adapt to new experiences or situations. Mathew only visited this place a few times, and he no longer felt weirded out by the shadowy interior of this strange space.

'I don't really consider this place weird if I were to be honest with myself,' Mathew thought as he observed the usual succession of events.

The mist-like shadows surged, veiling him away from the normal world. And as their density increased, the world outside dimmed away.

The space just a hand-reach away now turned into an impenetrable land of shadowy fog.

"You've successfully established a seed of fortress in this location," the merchant announced with its usual voice the moment the space stabilized.

'Huh?' Mathew shrugged when nothing followed that sentence.

"Is that it?" he asked, painfully aware of how tricky the merchants liked to be.