Merchant Of Yliaster

Maxwell Aurelius was an immensely successful man who took pride in his ability to change any situation so that he emerged advantageous.. In his 54 years of life, he's done many things that people from Zephyr would only dream of achieving. In these last 14 years, though. He had discovered that even he had his limits. To understand how, one would first need to understand his past.

His rise to greatness started the day he created his own company in his early twenties. The company's name was Aurelius, and it was named after his surname. Maxwell's family was poor when he was growing up, but they still did everything they could so that he could receive a proper education. Using his surname for the company, he would like to think he immortalized them. The idea behind the company was simple, as its purpose was to enable people to exchange stuff without being limited by distance. The only thing they would need to do would be to mentally connect to the newly created World Wide Web, and they would have access to an incredible amount of goods and a catalogue they could browse with their thoughts.

The idea behind the company was simple, but founding it had been anything but. Maxwell risked everything he owned to found the company, and he worked his ass off just to get a slightly better performance to beat his competition. He was also more successful due to him capitalizing on the World-Wide-Web's potential earlier than others.

Seventeen years after he founded Aurelius, it was not hard to see that the risks he had taken had been worth it, as he was the wealthiest man on Zephyr without a contest. He could rival the wealthiest country on the planet in fortune, and he had scars to prove it. Many assassination attempts were made by parties who didn't want such a strong player to exist, but they learned the hard way that you couldn't kill the wealthiest man on the planet easily.

He never tried being a role model for people, but with or without his consent, people started to see him as a figure of power, as his position at the top of the world was solidified with every crisis he faced. At one point, he was deemed by the world as unbeatable until death itself claimed him. Just as he thought he had finally secured a semblance of personal peace, as people were finally too afraid to cause him problems, something no one expected happened.

Fissures in reality appeared throughout the world, and otherworldly creatures of all kinds started to pour from them. Understandably, the world was immediately plunged into chaos due to the surreal disaster. Creatures people only seen in myths and legends started appearing en masse, causing carnage among the cities of Zephyr.. Ultimately, though, the military response against the monster invasion was swift. Countries around the world mobilized their forces, and the ensuing battle continued for years to come, shattering Maxwell's hard-earned peace. He was soon fighting for not only his own peace, but for the world's.

The resistance they managed to sustain in the war was, in great part, thanks to the material Etherium. This material was also responsible for the creation of the World Wide Web. It was a material that they learned how to manufacture from the Ethereans, an incredibly advanced alien civilization. Thirty years before the monster invasion, when Maxwell was just a small kid, Etherans discovered satellites sent from Zephyr. Unfortunately, they were far from friendly. After 11 years of desperate war, where they fought against a civilization way ahead of them technologically, they managed to push back the enemy.

Or rather, the enemy civilization deemed the invasion too costly to accomplish, and a treaty was signed. The civilization of aliens, or "Etherna" as humanity named their civilization, gave them the formula to make Etherium as compensation for the damage, and as a trade for the prisoners humanity still kept. This material started a technological and cultural revolution in the coming years, as it was discovered later that the material had extraordinary telepathic properties. They had no idea then that this material would be their only boon in the upcoming war.

The creatures they fought were immensely resistant to conventional weapons, but they discovered in the first year that etherium-based weapons were quite effective against the monsters. They might not be able to penetrate the monster's skin, but the telepathic qualities of etherium were able to kill the monsters efficiently without touching any vital parts.

Even though humanity could fight using this material, there was still a limited supply of it, and Maxwell worked for years organizing the world's supply to make ends meet in the war. He navigated through all the hurdles and managed to buy almost all of the etherium in the world before things escalated. He controlled the supply of etherium single-handedly in the following years and made access as efficient as possible for the war efforts. This way, humanity could last 14 years against the invasion, even with the bad hand they were dealt. There were questions about his fairness when he held the whole stock single-handedly, but there were hardly any point to be corrupt when the whole world was fucked as a whole.

Maxwell was not a hero or a saint who sacrificed himself for the world. He saw himself as someone who was barely not antisocial, if anything. But, he still did everything he could for humanity as a whole because even he could see that their survival depended on it. Now he felt bittersweet about the whole situation. His people were loyal to him to the point of ignorance; he could be considered the owner of the world, but did the things he accomplished matter when the world was burning before his eyes?

"So it was all for nothing..." Maxwell whispered as he stared at the planet below from his spaceship in orbit. He summoned different capitals from the planet to the screen in front of him, and all he saw was destruction. In the last 2 days, things have become immensely more difficult for some unknown reason. Creatures they deemed strongest before started to swarm out of the fissures like they were ants. Forts they thought unbreachable were breached in seconds or minutes. It was as if some higher being was bored with them.

There was something different about these creatures apart from their strength. They seemed to specifically destroy all etherium they could get their various appendages on. As it was, almost all of the etherium outside the worldwide web was gone, but Maxwell couldn't care less about that as the people who were going to use that etherium were gone, too.

"I will be the last one to die, it seems," he said, considering that he was in the spaceship furthest away from the planet. He thought about his life, evaluating it. He had everything at some point, but he still felt unsatisfied. He started his company with the dream of a free life, in which he could try everything the world had to offer. In the end, all he had left was a broken world and civilization in tatters.

He concentrated on relaying his last message to the few people who would survive this apocalypse. "All units in orbit, this is Maxwell Aurelius speaking. Initiate Project Resurrection. Eject your etherium towards the planet and scatter."

He watched as all of the indicators turned green, signifying that the command was received. He probably had a couple more seconds to send a message before they ejected their etherium cores, losing their ability to receive messages. He concentrated again and this time cranked the message range to full. This would reach everywhere if he had his way. He could at least give hope to the people below, as he failed to give them anything else.

"Citizens of Zephyr, this is Maxwell Aurelius speaking. Project Resurrection is initiated. Humanity will live among the stars."

The simple message echoed through the minds of the citizens of Zephyr. Maybe it wouldn't mean much for a society with selfish individuals, but for citizens of Zephyr, who had been connected to each other telepathically for years, it signified that they didn't have anything to lose. With their sacrifice, their people would live. Maxwell watched as the Etherium Web started to glow throughout the planet, releasing a soft green glow. Project Resurrection sent humanity to the stars for resurrection. But to be resurrected, one should first die properly.

He watched as the last phase slowly kicked in. The spaceships around the planet have already left, leaving Maxwell's ship alone in the atmosphere. This was the first time he could see the Etherium Web covering the world so clearly, and it would be the last time. Slowly, the soft glow intensified, increasing to a blinding intensity.

A tool for communication and prosperity would now be used for a cause opposite to its purpose. There was a sudden flash of light, drowning the world with a beautiful green light, and billions of lives were sacrificed in a moment. The process was instant, but the resulting telepathic wave would kill everything in the star system.

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Maxwell closed his eyes and listened to the complete silence. This was the only telepathic silence he felt since the World Wide Web was created. It felt lonely and, in a way, nostalgic. It made him remember his childhood as he waited for the telepathic wave to reach him. Unfortunately, it was interrupted by something utterly unexpected.

Anomaly detected...

Scanning the star system for lifeforms...

Life forms: 1

Complete extinction is expected in 2 seconds

Clarification needed...

Emergency protocol 1 activated.

Initiating "Soul Extraction"

Maxwell always had a quick mind, but he too had his limits. Before he could understand what was happening, he was consumed by an excruciating pain all over. The pain seemed to come from his mind itself. After a hellish experience for a couple of seconds, he opened his eyes. Or whatever he was using right now to see.

He was in an empty white space and he had no body as far as he could tell. It was a panicking experience to suddenly lose his body, but luckily, he had no lungs to hyperventilate with. He could now see the messages he heard before in front of him, laid out in a simple interface. Just then, new messages started coming.

Memories analyzed.

Unknown material with an isolating quality detected in high quantity.

Material name set to Etherium from the subject's memories.

Result of analysis: Unknown material named etherium interfered with system initiation.

"So you are the system?" Maxwell asked about the emptiness, making the obvious deduction. He still felt like he should be panicking, but he felt weirdly calm. He was answered with silence, and he hummed before rephrasing his question. "Clarification needed," he said more formally, using the words he had heard before.

Analyzing the subject.

The subject is deemed worthy.

Maxwell Aurelius of Planet Zephyr is given user privileges.

World Leader status confirmed.

WORLD STATUS:

Life forms: 0

Status: Extinction

Summary

In the year 3290 of Zephyr the planet was scheduled for system initiation according to the scan made 30 years ago. In the following 30 years, an unknown material known as Etherium caused the planet to be isolated from the influence of the system. Dimensional fissures were opened as planned without giving the planet the tools to protect itself. With the organization of Maxwell Aurelius and the extraordinary telepathic properties of etherium, the planet could fight off beasts for 14 years. Life was destroyed when the fissures reached grade 4 by the sacrifice of the inhabitants. Destruction of etherium from the overload enabled proper system initiation.

You call this a proper initiation? Maxwell could feel some anger pierce through his unnatural calm state. He just stared at the explanation for some time, taking it all in. It was ridiculous, really. They were able to fight back in the war thanks to the etherium, almost worshipping it and now it turns out that it's because of the etherium that they couldn't fight back properly in the first place. "Clarification needed about Etherans." He asked. He felt sick because of the new knowledge but he would deal with emotions later, now he needed information..

Analyzing...

Clarification is unavailable.

"Do you have a paywall or something? Even after losing the fucking world I'm dealing with broken programs." Maxwell laughed. He was feeling hysterical. At least he saved his race so he could find some peace in that, for whatever that was worth.

"What happens now? Are you going to kill me now that you pillaged my memories? That would complete the set I think." He asked and this time system seemed not very concerned with the informal language as it just summoned a window as an answer.

User status:

Name: Maxwell Aurelius

Age: 54

Class: NONE

Nobility: World Leader

World: Zephyr

Traits: ???,???

Stats: NA

User level is not enough to reveal the trait...

An exception is being made according to emergency protocol 1...

Trait revealed: Merchant of Yliaster

The Trait is forcibly awakened.

Merchant of Yliaster(Unique Trait): A trait created for Maxwell Aurelius himself for his achievements and unique situation. Through the trait, equivalent exchange can be made with the system using resources in possession of the user or willing parties. Resource uniqueness must pass the system evaluation to be eligible for use.

May you grant yourself and others what their heart most desire.

Maxwell suddenly felt like someone had hit him with a hammer on the head, and suddenly he knew what this trait meant beyond the description from the system. It felt very natural for him, as if it were something he had had since birth. As he understood, he could give things he owned to the system with this trait, and the system would give him something of equal value that he wanted. He felt a bit strange as this seemed to be a bit unbalanced, but he could feel that some restrictions were in place.

"List exchangeable resources," he commanded. Maybe he could get out of this situation using this trait.

Resources eligible for trade:

ZEPHYR

"Huh?" Maxwell reacted intelligently. "I guess I do own the planet at this point," he commented, still being weirdly calm about the situation. He knew instinctively that the planet would disappear completely if he used it in the trade, but it wasn't like it was useful for anyone. All of his people on the planet were already dead. The fact that he actually didn't have any other choice helped his conscience, too, as he mentally selected Zephyr for trade.

Planet Zephyr was selected for trade.

Appraising value:

Mundane planet

7 billion souls were detected in tier 3, 13 billion in tier 2, and 23 billion souls in tier 1.

Error...

The transaction is too high-level for the user.

Selection is set to automatic.

Transmigration rights are selected.

Transmigration is ?? times more energy intensive because of the Trait:???.

Initiating...

May you once again reach great heights, Merchant.

Maxwell, for the second time today, felt that he was too slow to understand what was happening. Notifications flew by at high speed, making him struggle to follow them. He suddenly felt like he was being slowly submerged in water. The last thing he felt was the faint hope for a better life before an endless darkness consumed him.