Wolverine stared at the tasties—chickens for a while longer before shaking his head. A part of him felt annoyed that the walking food supply didn’t put any real effort into evolution. Instead, they chose a cozy, carefree life. Perhaps that was once a life meant for him or even Disciple Cheetara Cutie.
He was about to turn to the kitten when he felt someone take a large… whiff and then rub against him. The sunlight wolf cub’s reaction to jump at least a few meters into the air was probably a bit much, and having the elicrone stare at him with hungry eyes only felt more embarrassing. Cheetara fell over laughing, slapping the ground a few times.
Wolverine managed to land with a little dignity, though he growled a bit before letting out a sigh. Nothing could faze him after Best Buddy’s promise to take him for a long walk tomorrow. Wolverine knew that his master didn’t enjoy leaving the sunlight wolf behind. However, to the sunlight wolf, it was a great honor to be in charge of the home’s defense. No rolly-rolly would make it here unchecked!
“Oh my, come on, handsome, no need to be so shy,” Lady Feathers said, fluttering her dark wings. “You should take a good bite of me. Just one.”
Wolverine stayed as far as possible from the dangerous elicrone. He honestly began to wonder who the real predator was. Not even a fully adult sunlight wolf would stand a chance against the weird bird. Best Buddy, the strongest person ever, seemed to want to run away from Lady Feathers too. The mana bird’s bizarre behavior made her unpredictable.
“You’re killing me,” Cheetara said as she struggled to stand, laughing. The kitten wiped a tear from her eye. “You are too funny, Big Brother Woofy.”
Wolverine cleared his throat. “How about we…?”
Suddenly, a ripple of condensed dark mana towered into the sky from the direction of the town. It felt beyond awful, rotten, and devoid of anything except its own interests. It didn’t last more than a second, of course, but Wolverine witnessed inky blackness and bloody redness, something that humans wouldn’t be able to see without either being a master magician or evolving into higher tier beings. Though he wasn’t sure if they were capable of such things. This was likely a spirit and magical beast trait, serving as a way to protect the land itself.
Normally, Wolverine would rush over to the town, but he needed to erase any chance of that evil mana being able to allow its master to home in at its location with relative ease.
“Big Brother Woofy, what are you doing?” Cheetara asked, her eyes determined despite the fact that they witnessed a doom-doom event.
“I must prevent the doom-doom from cursing this land,” Wolverine said as he leapt to the rooftop.
“Oh! That scary power that disappeared,” Cheetara said. “Can I join you?”
“Sure, you may witness my hidden ability, but you cannot tell Best Buddy, okay?” Wolverine said. “Best Buddy must see it for himself and be surprised. No hints, no freebies.”
“No problem!” Cheetara cheered. “I love secrets. But keeping them from Father makes me sad.”
“Like I said, he must see for himself,” Wolverine said. “Would you like to see his smile?”
“Oh! That’s true!” Cheetara said, hopping onto the roof to join the sunlight wolf.
Wolverine focused, closed his eyes, and allowed his aura to blanket the premise.
“We’re about to witness it,” Lady Feathers said to an approaching Sir Bright. “Ooh, if only I could convince him to take two bites out of me now.”
“I’m starting to think you’ve gotten some words mixed up,” Sir Bright said, shaking his head. The male elicrone turned to the majestic glowing sunlight wolf cub. “He’s connected to the winds of fate, an ability that couldn’t be gained except by his connection to Master Nate, I assume.”
“Wouldn’t that put him on an evolution toward divine beast?” Lady Feathers asked.
“Perhaps,” Sir Bright said. “He doesn’t have any interest in taking human form. I think no wolf does, as they prefer strength over the vulnerability that humans have.”
“Sunlight wolves may not even have the human option in their evolution path,” Lady Feathers said.
Wolverine tuned out everything as he looked up at the sun and howled. “Winds of Fate, grant this land protection, for it shall not become a destination for the Lord of Darkness! Fated Cleansing!”
A blueish-white light briefly expanded from the sunlight wolf, spreading for miles in an instant. It even covered Wingston and slightly beyond. And there, fate itself destroyed the established link between the Lord of Darkness and Kyushu.
“Hopefully no more humans will be foolish enough to say his name,” Cheetara said.
The fact that even the kitten had the common sense to avoid allowing the poison to find its way onto her tongue spoke volumes. The human that said this likely held enough malice, perhaps combined malice with others, which almost spelled the end for the town.
Wolverine doubted the Peace Spawner would be too thrilled at being called to Best Buddy’s palace while it was still being constructed. He’d certainly do more than hurt his master’s servants.
After the light contracted back into the sunlight wolf, he let out a sigh of relief. While directly exposed to the sun, Wolverine essentially had nearly unlimited mana. But without the proper physique, he simply couldn’t handle much from the bright ball of life. He sat and meditated. Cheetara followed his example, taking it as important wisdom from her dear big brother.
“You have my thanks for your hard work, Sunlord Wolverine Woofy,” Sir Bright said. “If only those humans knew what you did for them.”
Wolverine didn’t reply, remaining in his meditative state, restoring and refining his power. Best Buddy’s land was important to the sunlight wolf, and he’d even fight the Lord of Darkness himself if it meant protecting it. In a way, he did directly contest with that monster.
“We should be able to farm fruits from this tree to create new things to add to the menu,” I said to everyone. “They’re basically inedible for now, but imagine the possibilities. I don’t know about you guys, but being an E-rank shop kind of sucks. Some of the options of that cube aren’t available to me due to my shop’s rank.”
“That may include hidden options, opportunities,” Chenzu said.
“My plan is to circumvent our unfortunate situation of an F-ranked town by upping the quality of our shop,” I said. “Potions will still be the main item, but we’ll add other things. And hopefully adding unique potions to the mix will double our lines.”
“Double our lines in an F-ranked town?” Chenzu said. “I… hate to be the bearer of bad news, but with our location, well, easier said than done is the nicest way I could put that. Even if we started selling exotic quality items.”
“Patience, beastkin,” Milia said. “Ideas have to be given the chance to be manifested into their intended form.”
“Fair enough,” Chenzu said, then glanced at the oversized fishman. “Shall we take out the obstacles so we can get started? Maybe by playing beneath a tree, I could find inspiration to purify the darkness remaining within my heart. That, or find a spiritual wine unmatched in the land, one attuned to the divine.”
By this time, the fishman mini-boss was growling, preparing to barrel toward us. I had faith the teenagers could deal with it, but having Chenzu play some notes to control the situation felt more ideal.
[Enemy analysis.]
[Greater Lurkerman. C-ranked demonic monster.]
[Mini-boss fight begin!]
“Get ‘em, team!” I cheered at the teenagers. I was a little disappointed that none glared at me and instead straightened their backs, bettered their stances, and ruthlessly tore that thing apart with decent rookie teamwork. Okay, just kidding, watching them fight was exciting. They were actually using things I taught them! Potions too. I made sure to equip them with the best quality ones, as no apprentice of mine would be stuck with the low-grade variants, unless of their own volition.
Realizing that I basically had the fucking hero’s party personally teach me about dungeons and how to maneuver them while inside an A-ranked monstrosity was probably an opportunity most would kill for. Add having a fiancée who seemed to know even more, and I felt like a walking cheat code.
It took the teenagers ten minutes to bring the monster down, as it turned out to be much tougher than they expected.
While they rested, Milia, Chenzu, and I harvested from the tree. In fact, we took every last fruit on it. This was almost a two hour walk. We needed something to make up for it.
I considered leading us to the floor’s guardian, but that mountain still appeared to be hours away.
The flight back home was mostly quiet and uneventful. I couldn’t be tempted much by the system’s lure of treasures beneath the water in a C-ranked dungeon. Even if they were good, without the water breathing potion, we still wouldn’t have access to them. The water itself looked as if it ran quite deep and likely led to an underwater cave. The play there would be to combine the night vision potion and the water breathing potion for an ultimate water exploration machine.
“Who’s the best swimmer?” I asked.
Milia snorted. “Clearly me.”
Harmony gave her a look. “Is that a challenge, Milia? Because I’ll have you know, I’ve learned from the best military swimming instructors out there.”
“Pfft, you’re both no match for me,” Mandi said. “I may not have magic, but I love swimming.”
Lucas said nothing, his gaze off in the distance, hoping no one noticed him. But all eyes were on the teen boy.
He huffed. “I’m okay at best.” His voice was so low, I could barely hear him.
Harmony smacked his back. “You’re in perfect hands. I’ll teach you myself.”
Lucas grimaced but tried to look indifferent with the blue-haired girl’s gaze on him. Teenagers, am I right or am I right? Not that I was smooth, but we were not getting into my embarrassing stories of the past.
Milia and I actually wondered if Lucas would end up with either of the two, but eventually dropped the subject. While I didn’t agree with the so-called brutal path of the magician, the dryad did have a point. My apprentices would likely set off on their own. Perhaps I could even give them quests myself.
Harmony planned to follow my footsteps, but even I knew it wouldn’t be to work at my shop forever. The kid’s potential was too great, and it’d be a disservice to her path if she didn’t learn eventually. That disappearing technique Milia taught her was supposed to be incredibly difficult, requiring the apprentice magician to put months to even a year into mastering the basics, and controlling the mana output for it to work. Yet she seemingly mastered the basic use of it in days. I shouldn’t be surprised that she said my own speed was her inspiration.
Being someone’s role model when you still didn’t feel as if you earned it was awkward.
I closed my eyes, entering a semi-meditative state as I planned to turn Lucas into a powerful force as well. Maybe he could become the world’s deadliest, but friendliest blacksmith. I voiced that just to see what he’d say.
Everyone laughed, but the redhead seemed to love the idea, stars in his eyes.
“You’ll have to work really hard, of course,” I said. “Even I can’t increase my Dao in just a day.”
The teenagers all shamelessly gazed at my wrist, reverence in their eyes. However, I wasn’t an expert on how they’d be able to come across their own. Milia still wanted to guess it and so far, hadn’t gotten it correct.
Upon reaching our yard, I asked the teenagers if they wanted a ride home. Mentioning lunch, they opted to stay, suggesting burgers. I went back and picked up Howie so he wouldn’t miss out. Seeing people enjoy food from Earth was an interesting experience, to say the least. Despite the normalized prices, salt and spices were still on the expensive side. I learned that some areas received salt as a part of their payment! Nuts, but an eye opener of what I took for granted.
Right around the time I tossed the first set of beef and veggie burgers on a makeshift grill, the sound of an approaching carriage caught everyone’s attention like the rumble of thunder.
Gwendolyn, Hector, Rose, and the big Wingston himself, who I learned was named Manthis, all stepped out of their carriage when the butler opened the door.
They all gawked at my yard and small farm, the incredibly colorful garden, and even the sleeping griffin. Beakwing would wake immediately if he sensed even a hidden killing instinct. That or he probably smelled intentions. Magical beasts were just as mysterious as their spirit beast counterparts. Spirit beasts could be evolved from any animal while magical beasts were predefined. Griffins, dragons, wyverns, and other fantasy non-demonic creatures.
Rose’s first move was to hug the shit out of her little sister.
“Oh, I’ve missed you so much,” she said, then glared furiously at Gwendolyn. The Red Star simply rolled her eyes.
“Greetings, Sir Nate, Lady Milia,” Gwendolyn said and actually bowed. Manthis followed suit. Milia and I returned their bow, inviting them for lunch. They had never heard of burgers and the gleam in Gwendolyn’s eyes settled the matter. Manthis thankfully had a heart and also pulled Mandi into a hug, lifting her up a little. Following him was Hector. They greeted Howie too.
Gwendolyn, thankfully, had positive words for her daughter but didn’t offer any hugs. By the acceptance in Mandi’s eyes, she likely figured this was the best she’d get until proving herself.
“Keep up the path of fortune,” Gwendolyn said. “You may just surprise us.” She said nothing else, but even I would’ve loved to hear that from her if I were in Mandi’s position and still wanted her approval for some reason. I believed the more simple answer to this ordeal was that the redhead wanted to get along with her mother.
“This is far more impressive than I expected,” Manthis said to me. “I take it you’re preparing to increase this shop’s ranking soon, hopefully.” He gave my place a look of pity. “The Lord Ruler never explained the magic behind this, but if I had to offer any advice, it would be to expand this place some, while offering goods that you can’t simply buy anywhere else.”
He turned, then froze, his eyes looking at my Heaven’s Tears.
“Are you absolutely certain it restores mana pathways?” he asked, alarm in his voice. Gwendolyn leapt from her seat to read the sign.
“Lord—I mean Sir Nate, as your newest friend, I must urge you to increase this price,” Gwendolyn said. “I’d buy it from you if I weren’t scared you’d learn of its value and visit Wingston to rip the liquid from my stomach. And if I could get ahold of this many spirit coins.”
“One thousand spirit coins and fifty thousand gold seem low to you?” I asked skeptically.
“Don’t get me wrong, that’s a fortune, but a potion that successfully restores one’s pathways is practically unheard of. No sect would dare reveal this information to the public,” Gwendolyn said. “This is worth at least one hundred thousand spirit coins and maybe one million gold. At the least.”
My eyes widened.
“But the dangers of having such a potion are quite high,” Manthis said. Both the fine robe-wearing people fixed me with a concerned gaze. “I know you want to possess a famous shop, get to the top five, but staying alive should be your priority. Imagine attracting the attention of a hostile sect. You’d be helpless against an elder.”
“Mother, Father, I think he gets it,” Hector said, shaking his head. “They’re right, Sir Nate. Your best bet would be to sell it privately to trusted people only. Or just keep it for yourself and go around performing miracles for a price.”
I chuckled. “I’ll be fine, but a quick price raise will do. At this point, almost all of the townspeople know about it. If word’s going to get out, let it get out. I need the spirit coins.”
[Heaven’s Tears. Item grade: SSS. Item quality: Extraordinary. Effect: Rapidly heals and also repairs damaged mana channels within the body.]
“Anyway, the shop’s currently closed,” I told them. “Let’s have lunch. The burgers won’t eat themselves.”
By now, the fresh bread was ready, Milia brought in the veggies, and Harmony prepared a tangy sauce her maid, Anna, created often. Both of Mandi’s parents were tossed into heavenly bliss as they took their first bite. The wonder followed suit with Rose, Hector, Howie, and the other butler. We smiled, having witnessed everyone’s surprise at this point.
“For what appeared to be a simple meal, this is… highly surprising, impressive,” Manthis said. “This smokiness compliments the beef, and I can tell you carefully chose your ratio of beef and fat. Perhaps the saying of simple is best. Is it okay if I try your vegetable-based burger too?”
“Sure,” I said. “I eat both versions as well.”
“I think the veggie’s the best,” Harmony said.
“It’s amazing, but meat is unbeatable,” Lucas retorted.
All of the pets received meat as well and cheerfully enjoyed their fill. They knew it wasn’t something we ate every day.
“This sauce is on point, Harmony,” I said.
“My version pales in comparison to Anna’s,” Harmony said.
After lunch, it would be time to get down to business. Gwendolyn and her husband, Manthis, were the key to saving this town.
And also connecting it to the rest of the Kingdom. We had some work to do. The shop’s advancement was so close, as if barely out of reach. Maybe the same could be said about the town after things were fixed.
