I opened up my Ownership tab and hit Hire More Workers. Because let’s be real—this mine was getting huge, and if those invisible ghost workers were going to keep dropping piles of gold and crystals at the entrance, I wanted more of them.

  "More hands, more money," I muttered.

  As we walked toward the hidden chamber, I gnced sideways at Elise. “Hey, quick question. What do you know about farming?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Enough to not starve.”

  “Great,” I said. “Because I’m thinking of going full farm mode.”

  She blinked. “What the hell is farm mode?”

  “You know—animals, crops, harvesting, the whole agriculture empire thing. Forget mining. This mine can run itself. We turn the vilge into a meat and vegetable goldmine.”

  She tilted her head. “Meat and vegetable goldmine?”

  “Exactly!” I said, snapping my fingers. “Raise livestock. Sughter them. Sell the meat. Grow everything from carrots to potatoes. Sell that too. More food means more people. More people means more hands. More hands means more crops. More crops means more profit. I’ll be like… the Pablo Escobar of agriculture.”

  “Pablo who?”

  “Never mind. Just a guy who was really good at… um… selling things.”

  She squinted at me. “Illegal things?”

  “Details, Elise. Don’t get caught up in the past.”

  I pulled up my Buy & Sell and typed in farming equipment.

  Then I saw the prices.

  “God. Dammit.”

  “What now?” she asked, amused.

  I pointed at the screen. “A plow. Five. Hundred. Thousand.”

  She choked on a ugh. “That’s absurd.”

  “A tractor?” I continued, scrolling. “One. Million. Dolrs.”

  She spped her knee, ughing. “Oh, the perfect overpriced scam for the perfect overpriced skill.”

  “Look, it’s fine. We’ll start small. Chickens or something.”

  Eventually, we reached the chamber. The walls had strange carvings, and in the center of one… a glowing golden circle pulsed like it was calling to us.

  "Alright," I said, taking a step back. "Touch it."

  Elise crossed her arms. “No, you touch it.”

  “What? You wanted to see what this was. It’s only fair.”

  “Oh really?” She raised a brow. “That’s your logic?”

  “Fine,” I said, sighing dramatically. “I guess I’ll be the bigger person—”

  I lunged to push her forward, but she dodged with ninja reflexes, and I stumbled face-first into the glowing circle.

  And vanished.

  “Not cool, Elise!” I yelled as my body was yanked through some kind of weird, tingly air pocket.

  But when I nded… she wasn’t there.

  I stood up, dusted off my clothes, and looked around. “Where the fuck am I?”

  Torches around me lit up one by one, illuminating a massive, dome-like chamber. The walls were lined with carvings, statues, and something that looked like ancient writing I couldn’t read.

  There was an eerie silence. That kind that crawls under your skin and whispers, You shouldn’t be here.

  Great.

  Absolutely great.

  I tapped my foot nervously. “Okay, this better not be some Indiana Jones-style death room. Because I don’t have a whip. Or muscles. Or, you know, plot armor.”

  A pedestal stood in the center of the room.

  Naturally, it was glowing too.

  “Of course,” I muttered. “There’s always a glowing pedestal.”

  I approached it slowly, half-expecting arrows to shoot out of the wall. But nothing happened.

  Yet.

  Just as I reached out to touch it—

  “DAN!”

  Elise’s voice echoed from behind me, and I turned to see her stumbling through the glowing wall, looking incredibly unamused.

  “You couldn’t wait five minutes?” she huffed.

  “You pushed me!”

  “You tripped!”

  “Details,” I said again.

  We both turned to look at the pedestal.

  “So…” I rubbed my hands together. “Wanna see what happens when I touch this one?”

  Elise groaned. “This is how people die.”

  “Or get rich.”

  “Or die.”

  “Or both.”

  She sighed. “Fine. But if a monster jumps out, I’m feeding you to it first.”

  “Deal.”

  I touched the pedestal.

  Because, of course, I did.

  I stared at the shimmering blue portal in front of us.

  “Holy shit,” I breathed. “It’s a portal.”

  “Yeah,” Elise said casually, as if portals were just normal Tuesday occurrences. “That… definitely appears to be the case.”

  “How?” I asked, turning to her. “How is there a portal inside my mine?”

  Elise gave me a look. “Why are you asking me? You’re the mine owner.”

  “Yeah, and I don’t remember selecting interdimensional wormhole from the upgrade options.”

  I squinted at the portal. On the other side, I could see people walking about. Buildings. Streets. Life. It wasn’t just a portal—it was a portal to somewhere. Somewhere poputed.

  “Where does it go?” I asked, taking a few steps back.

  Elise crossed her arms. “How should I know? You think I’ve seen other cities before? Remember? Small vilge life?”

  “Oh right. That was a thing.” I rubbed my chin. “You’re really missing out.”

  “I’ve seen a lot tely, thank you very much.”

  Fair point.

  I took another step back. “Still… a portal to another pce. That’s kinda cool. Like, imagine the possibilities.”

  “Possibilities for what?” Elise asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “Trade. Travel. More fried chicken. The important things in life.”

  Elise snorted. “And danger. Don’t forget that one.”

  “Yeah…” I trailed off, suddenly sobering. “You know what’s weird? All of this.”

  Elise arched a brow. “You just figured that out?”

  “No, I mean—listen. A fifth circle mage casts a disease curse on the vilge. Then vanishes. No trace. But we end up in a mine with dried blood, hidden chambers, and now a magical portal to gods-know-where.” I looked at her seriously. “That mage knew about this pce. I bet you anything they used this chamber to escape.”

  Elise’s expression darkened. “…You think there could be more portals?”

  “I think this whole mine is more than a glorified hole.”

  I turned back to the portal and watched the people walk by on the other side, unaware of us watching them from the shadows.

  “This isn’t just a dungeon or a cave. This is something bigger.”

  Elise stayed quiet for a moment before saying, “So what are you suggesting?”

  “I’m suggesting,” I said slowly, “that maybe this whole adventure arc we’ve been living? It’s only the first chapter. And if I stick around… I’m getting dragged into something way above my pay grade.”

  “And here I thought you wanted to be the hero.”

  “I wanted to be rich,” I corrected. “Not cursed, not hunted, and definitely not portal-hopping to who-knows-where while dodging high-circle mages.”

  Elise gave me a sideways gnce. “You pnning to back out now?”

  I hesitated.

  I wanted to say yes. That I’d sell a few more shiny rocks, build a luxury cabin, and live the rest of my life pretending none of this ever happened.

  But…

  My eyes drifted back to the portal. The unknown. The mystery. The implications.

  And, of course, the potential profit.

  I sighed and muttered, “Goddammit, curiosity is going to get me killed.”

  Elise chuckled. “You’ve already cheated death enough times. What’s one more?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “That’s what worries me.”

  “I’m just saying,” I told Elise, hands gesturing wildly like some conspiracy theorist, “if this whole mine had a hidden chamber, and that chamber had a portal, then obviously the fifth circle mage used it to escape.”

  Elise looked at me with a mixture of skepticism and pity. “Dan… you really think the person who cursed the vilge just knew about a secret portal no one’s found in years?”

  I shrugged. “I mean… yeah?”

  “It sounds incredibly illogical.”

  “So does a disease that turns people into tar-vomiting zombies,” I pointed out. “And we didn’t even know a fifth circle mage was involved until we got that book. And you guys made it sound like fifth circle mages don’t just grow on trees.”

  “Fair,” Elise admitted. “But if they’re using portals to get around, how do they even know about them? Is this a one-way trip to wherever this is?” She pointed at the glowing visual in the circle. “Wouldn’t someone have noticed a stranger randomly appearing in their city?”

  “All valid questions,” I said, rubbing my chin. “Which means we need to test it.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You’re not seriously thinking about going through that portal.”

  “Of course not,” I scoffed. “I’m not about to yeet myself into a city full of unknown nobles, mages, guards, and people ready to stab me for breathing funny. No thanks. I’ll stay here in this little vilge, making money and slowly turning into the Pablo Escobar of agriculture.”

  Elise tilted her head. “You and that name again.”

  “Forget it.” I waved it off. “But seriously—we need to test it.”

  “Alright,” she said. “What’s the pn?”

  I grinned and opened my Buy & Sell. “We rope it.”

  Literally.

  I bought a rope for ten bucks—total scam, by the way—and tossed one end through the glowing circle.

  Nothing happened.

  No fsh. No zap. No magical swirling. The rope just sort of… drooped.

  I stared at it. “Is this thing broken?”

  “Maybe only people can go through?” Elise offered.

  “Then this is a crap portal.”

  “By what standard?”

  “By mine! If you’re going to be magical, at least be consistent!”

  Elise rolled her eyes. “How did portals work in your world, then?”

  “We didn’t have them.”

  She gave me a bnk look. “So you know nothing about portals, but think this one sucks?”

  I nodded solemnly. “Exactly.”

  She groaned. “Gods, you’re exhausting.”

  “I’m going to do something really stupid.”

  “When don’t you?”

  I paused. “Hey! I make good choices sometimes.”

  “Name one.”

  “Uhhh…” I scratched my head. “Well, there was that time I—okay, forget it.”

  Without another word, I stepped up and touched the glowing circle.

  Nothing happened.

  I pressed harder.

  Still nothing.

  I smacked it. “Yeah, I’m starting to think this thing’s defective.”

  “Let me try,” Elise said, pushing me aside.

  The moment her fingers touched the surface, the entire visual shimmered—and then zoomed out. Like a magical camera lens pulling back to show a wide-angle view of a city.

  “…Okay, that’s new,” I muttered.

  She moved her hand again, and the view zoomed back in—this time, on some vish room with fancy curtains and a throne. A line of nobles stood before a very round man reclining zily in a chair.

  “Dude needs to lose a hundred pounds,” I said, squinting.

  Elise’s face went pale. “No fucking way.”

  “What?”

  “That’s the king!”

  “What?! That’s the king?” I pointed at the tubby guy on the throne. “The guy who looks like he lost a fight with a bakery?”

  Just as I said it, the king looked up.

  Not figuratively.

  Directly at us.

  My breath caught. “Uh… Elise?”

  “I see it.”

  Others in the room looked up too, guards unsheathing their swords as if preparing for battle.

  “Why are they looking at us like they can see us?” I asked, backing away. “Is this a two-way mirror?!”

  “There’s shouting,” Elise said, squinting. “I can’t hear it though.”

  “This is bad. This is so, so bad.”

  Then she moved her hand again—and the view shifted, cutting off the king’s chamber entirely. We both let out a breath we didn’t realize we were holding.

  Elise stared at the portal-thing, expression unreadable. “…This isn’t a portal.”

  “What?”

  “It’s not a portal. It’s like… a viewing device. Like a looking gss. Something to watch faraway pces.”

  “Seriously?” I asked.

  She nodded. “That’s why your rope didn’t do anything. It’s not a gate—it’s a lens. A really creepy magical telescope.”

  “Wait… so… they could see us?”

  “Maybe,” she said. “Or maybe it just reacted weirdly because of your voice or presence.”

  I groaned and sat on a rock. “Fantastic. We just stared down the king like a couple of nosy gremlins. He’s probably going to send a hit squad.”

  Elise looked back at the glowing wall. “Dan?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I think your mine just got even weirder.”

  I stared at the viewing wall and muttered, “Yeah. I think we just opened a whole new can of crazy.”

  Elise crossed her arms, gncing at the glowing wall again. “Okay, seriously—what other options did this mine offer you?”

  I rubbed the back of my neck. “Uh… upgrades?”

  She gave me a ft look. “Be more specific, genius.”

  I sighed and opened my marketpce menu. “Alright, alright. When I first bought the mine, it gave me a bunch of options. Let me see… there were things like:

  Upgrade Options Avaible:

  Install Lighting System – 2,000Add Support Structures – 3,500Expand Deeper Paths – 6,000Generate Mine Map – 500Build Mineral Storage Facility – 4,000Reveal Hidden Chambers – 8,000Install Rail and Cart System – 7,500Hire Workers – (Variable Cost)Elise raised an eyebrow. “That’s… a lot.”

  “Yeah, well, this mine’s apparently a premium deluxe edition,” I said with a shrug. “But now a bunch of the options are gone. Like the map, lighting, and support structures. They’ve all changed.”

  “Changed how?”

  I pointed to the screen. “Now it says Upgrade Lighting to Tier 2 – 25,000, Upgrade Support Structures to Tier 2 – 25,000. The others are still there though—well, mostly. I already expanded the mine a couple of times, but there’s another expansion option now… for 45,000. And guess what else?”

  Elise tilted her head. “Let me guess—another hidden chamber?”

  “Ding ding ding! Hidden Chamber number two. Only costs a nice 23,000.” I gave a halfhearted chuckle. “This pce is turning into a fantasy IKEA with all the DLC content.”

  Elise frowned. “Yeah… this is weird.”

  “You think?”

  “No, I mean really weird. Who builds a mine like this? Who hides multiple chambers? This isn’t a mine—it’s some kind of dungeon.”

  “Hey,” I said, pointing at her. “I literally said that a few days ago. Real-life dungeon. You didn’t believe me then.”

  She ignored me. “How many hidden chambers are there?”

  I looked at my menu again, scrolling to see if there was a total count. “No idea. It doesn’t say. It’s not like it gives me a helpful tooltip like ‘Congratutions, 2 out of 5 hidden chambers discovered!’ I’m just flying blind here.”

  “Then you should find out,” she said simply.

  I squinted at her. “You know, for someone who just called this pce a creepy dungeon, you’re awfully curious about uncovering more secrets.”

  “I’m just saying, if it’s already this weird, there’s probably more to it. And if you don’t figure it out, someone else will eventually.”

  I groaned. “You sound like Matra.”

  She smirked. “Maybe Matra has a point sometimes.”

  “I don’t know, Elise… I don’t have a good feeling about poking around more. Like, what if the next hidden chamber is full of spiders again? Or traps? Or cursed items that turn me into a goblin?”

  “Wouldn’t be much of a change,” she said dryly.

  I gred. “You’re lucky I’m a benevolent overlord of this mine.”

  She snorted. “Overlord? You literally just fell over trying to push me.”

  “Strategic maneuver,” I said proudly.

  She rolled her eyes, but I could see the smile tugging at her lips.

  Still… a second hidden chamber. New expansions. Tiered upgrades. It really did feel like I was inside a game. The only difference was that dying here meant dying for real.

  “Alright,” I muttered. “Maybe I’ll buy it ter. Not now. I need to build up more funds first.”

  Elise gave me a look. “Dan, you just made over money from selling those minerals at the entrance.”

  “Yeah,” I said, clutching my chest. “But I felt every dolr leaving my soul when I spent it.”

  She ughed.

  I looked back at the golden viewing wall and narrowed my eyes. “Still… something’s off here. This mine has secrets. A lot of them.”

  Elise nodded. “And you’re sitting on top of it.”

  “Yeah.” I swallowed. “Which means sooner or ter, it’s going to bite me in the ass.”

  “Probably.”

  I sighed. “Great.”