The "Choose Your Class" option seemed cool at first. There were a number of different options to choose from and you could see the mechanics for the starting abilities, bonuses, and skills they gave you.

  That got old really quick when I realized that the list of classes didn't end. I read the first dozen class mechanics and then I just started reading the class names and assuming I knew the gist of what they did.

  I sure as hell couldn't be bothered to read them all. I had to open the shop. I understood now why the system called itself glorious, but holy cow was this a lot of options. There was literally any possible class you could think of in a fantasy setting and even some you couldn't.

  I wasn't seeing anything that spoke to me, so I just started scrolling rapidly through the options without reading them. I figured I would scroll to the bottom and then work my way up instead.

  Rather than that happening, I just ended up spending entire minutes scrolling through hundreds of classes. This was getting ridiculous. Just when I thought the list would be infinite, I hit the bottom. I scrolled through the classes at the bottom until I finally found something that took my breath away.

  "Krinkler, Tinkler, Maker," I mumbled to myself. Maker. Boy, was that a class name if I ever heard one. I clicked on it immediately. I couldn't wait to see what it did.

  "Jack of all crafts, master of none. Can make anything you put your mind to, with enough levels, materials, and time."

  Interesting. This was exactly the vague kind of everything crafter class that I was looking for. I ran a retail store for adventurers. The more I could make, the more I could sell.

  This was perfect for my circumstances. My favorite part is that it gave me proficiency in all crafts. All of them. Sure, it was only apprentice level proficiency to start, but I was sure those could be improved.

  The hardest part of learning a craft was going from someone who knows nothing to apprentice level. So the hardest part was out of the way for me.

  One of the downsides of the class was that it didn't give me any starting abilities or bonuses. All I started with was proficiency in all crafting skills. Oh, and I had no weapons or armor proficiencies.

  Nothing combat related. So I was basically useless in a fight. Who needed combat skills, though, when you could make and sell everything?

  I could turn my shop into a booming business and then just hire adventurers to fight for me. Or better yet, I could hire them to teach me how to fight.

  I didn't know if Makers could learn how to fight, but there was nothing in the starting mechanics that said you couldn't. I still had an attack and defense skill, which was a good sign. They were only unarmed skills, but if I could learn new proficiencies from experts, I'd be set.

  Oh, and I didn't specify this, but skills also had numbers associated with them. Everything I had apprentice level proficiency in was set at 3 and everything else was set at 2. So 2 must have been the baseline for stats.

  Everything related to crafting that I already had apprentice proficiency in got bumped up to journeyman proficiency. So my repair, blacksmithing, and alchemy skills were all statted at 4 now.

  Well, then my charisma stat wasn't so bad. It was just at the baseline. That made my other stats overly impressive. A 5 in strength and a 6 in intelligence? I was skinny-strong, sure, but a 5? Huh. I guess I wouldn't complain.

  And a 6 in intelligence. I was smart, but I wasn't that smart. I mean, I could take apart and put nearly anything back together, and I could repair almost anything even if I'd never seen it before, but that wasn't too unusual, was it?

  I spent the remaining time before opening time making sure my shelves and racks were full, my floors were cleaned, and my money in the drawer was stocked.

  I opened the doors to the shop. Then I placed the stand up signs on the left and right sides of the doors to prop them open and advertise the shop. They read "Quality gear at affordable prices!" and "Beginner gear for the true beginner!"

  We didn't stock anything fancy. Just beginner to intermediate weapons, armor, and supplies that we bought from suppliers. We didn't make anything in house. We could do minor repairs with a furnace we had in the back, but it wasn't anything fancy.

  I had a feeling with my maker class, I'd have to use these meager pieces of equipment to make my first items and gear. Oh well. I can't blame anyone but myself in this instance.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  I chose the class. I could've been a fighter class and just slashed my way through anything that came my way, but no, I had to choose the fancy class that had actual utility in my day-to-day life. I say that like it's a bad thing, but it's really not.

  It just meant I'd have to rely on others to gather materials for me. Speaking of, a customer walked into the shop. They looked like a regular person. They didn't have any armor or weapons on them.

  They just looked like a regular peasant. Certainly not someone who could afford to buy gear. I walked up to them.

  "Is there anything I can help you with?" I asked.

  "Yeah, uh," she said, "I'm looking for fighter gear and supplies, but it seems like I can't afford anything here except maybe a healing potion. I heard you guys had the lowest prices, but I still can't buy anything here."

  Gears began turning in my head. How could I make this work in my favor?

  "We do rentals," I said. "You can either pay up front for the rental, or you can pay with a portion of the loot you bring back."

  We didn't do rentals. Too many people died in the dungeons or just never came back for that to be profitable. But this woman seemed like the honest type, and I needed someone to gather materials in the dungeons for me if I wanted to make anything worthwhile.

  Sure, I could buy supplies in bulk to make basic things like common health, mana, and stamina potions, but anything above common required materials that people weren't selling.

  Anything they risked their lives for, they were likely to keep, even if they couldn't do anything with them. Which was dumb, but people were dumb. I couldn't necessarily fault them for that.

  "You rent gear?" she asked. "No one does that anymore! I hear too many people run off with the merchandise or lie about their findings."

  "You're a smart one," I said. I was trying to flatter her, so she liked and trusted me more. "You're right. No one rents anymore, and neither did we up until today. Officially, we still don't, but the ownership of this shop just fell to me, and you seem like the honest sort, so I'll make a deal with you."

  "I'm listening," she said.

  "If I rent gear and lend supplies to you," I said, "I'll let you pay me back at cost for the supplies and gear when you finish your first dungeon incursion or hunting expedition or whatever it is you plan to use the gear and supplies for. Obviously, you'd want to keep the gear for future trips.

  "The only thing I ask for in return is you give me all the crafting materials that you come across. The more you bring back, the better things I can make and the better gear and supplies I can give you for future trips, so it's in your favor to gather as much as you can. That includes weapons and armor if you can carry it."

  She put her hand on her chin and thought about it, or at least pretended to. That would've been manipulative though, and again, she didn't seem the type. So I figured she really was thinking.

  What about, I don't know. The deal I was offering her was a once in a lifetime opportunity for a peasant who couldn't afford gear. What was she going to do? Punch the goblins and giant rats to death?

  "I'll agree to it," she said, "under one condition. You come with me. We can gather more materials with two people and I want you to bring extra supplies in case I need to borrow more during the trip."

  "You want me as your portable merchant shop companion, huh?" I asked. "I can do that, but I get to keep all the loot from anything I kill or find, assuming I do either of those things. You can keep the enormous chest of gold at the end, assuming there is one."

  "I can agree to that," she said.

  We shook on it, and a bond was instantly forged between us, is what I want to say, but what really happened was two people grabbed each other's hands and lifted them up and down.

  I had no idea if she was going to go back on our deal or what. For all I knew, she was going to kill me in the dungeon and loot my corpse. But there was no reward without risk, and I needed this, so I would be taking that risk.

  Our business was on the decline in this town. The problem with only selling beginner to intermediate gear without traveling around is that everyone who bought the gear either died or graduated to needing higher level gear. So over time clientele eventually dried up.

  And we were getting near the end of our savings, just keeping the shop open. So I had to do this, or I'd have to close the shop and eventually starve to death or get a job, and a single job wouldn't make enough to feed me and my siblings.

  The harsh reality was that I needed this shop to start making money again, and in order to do that, I needed to sell higher level gear. Since I couldn't afford to buy higher level gear, I'd have to make it, and in order to do that, I'd have to go into the dungeons or hunt for materials.

  So like it or not, I was going into danger with a random woman who I knew nothing about. At least she was tall, broad shouldered, and a fighter class. That would give me the best chance of survival.

  Stats:

  Strength: 5

  Dexterity: 4

  Constitution: 3

  Wisdom: 4

  Intelligence: 6

  Charisma: 2

  Resources:

  HP: 65 hit points

  MP: 120 mana points

  Stamina: 65 stamina points

  Proficiencies:

  Bartering: Apprentice (3)

  Appraisal: Apprentice (3)

  Repair: Apprentice (3)

  Alchemy: Journeyman (4)

  Blacksmithing: Journeyman (4)

  Enchanting: Apprentice (3)

  Tinkering: Apprentice (3)

  Woodworking: Apprentice (3)

  Artifice: Apprentice (3)

  Leatherworking: Apprentice (3)

  Stoneworking: Apprentice (3)

  Glassblowing: Apprentice (3)

  Textiles: Apprentice (3)

  Papermaking: Apprentice (3)

  Pottery/Ceramics: Apprentice (3)

  Jewelcrafting: Apprentice (3)

  Inscription: Apprentice (3)

  Brewing: Apprentice (3)

  Cooking: Apprentice (3)

  Herbalism: Apprentice (3)

  Architecture: Apprentice (3)

  Engineering: Apprentice (3)

  Shipbuilding: Apprentice (3)

  Cartography: Apprentice (3)

  Ritual Magic: Apprentice (3)

  Calligraphy: Apprentice (3)

  Painting: Apprentice (3)

  Sculpture: Apprentice (3)

  Spellcrafting: Apprentice (3)

  (And More)(Far too many to fully list)(Will come up in the story as they become relevant)

  Abilities/Spells:

  None