Merchant of Shadows by Andrew Karevik
English | 2025 | Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Aaron Maddox was a corporate shark, ruthless and utterly devoid of remorse. Profit was his god, and people were just tools to be used to advance his plans. That philosophy worked wonders… right up until his actions caught up with him and flipped his entire world upside down. Literally.
Now he’s stuck in a brutal, game-like world where Reputation is everything, and his starts at Hated, the absolute rock bottom. His new Class? Shadow Merchant. Sounds mysterious, right? Wrong; it just means everyone despises him on sight, and he can’t catch a break to save his life.
Every deal he makes grants him XP, but what do you do when no one will even talk to you? With no coins, no allies, and a stat sheet full of disadvantages, Aaron has to claw his way up from the dirt. And he’ll do whatever it takes to survive, even if it means taking up Fishing or diving headfirst into deadly dungeons just to scavenge something worth selling.
If he plays it smart, he might level up enough to open his own Shop, maybe even turn a profit. And if he gets really good at this whole “being a better person” thing? He could build a Reputation that isn’t completely toxic and, one can but dream, get to manage a village of his own down the line.
His path won’t be paved with gold however. It’ll be carved through monsters, betrayal, and choices that hurt like hell. But for the first time in both his lives, Aaron might be earning something real.
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