We of course did as we promised days ago, sending out many advertisements to improve Serina’s reputation, including atonement. The minute we stepped into town, I received the notification I longed for.
[Congratulations, Kyushu has ranked up to E!]
[For directly leading in that activity, you received 20,000 spirit coins and 2 heavenly spirit coins. Option 6 in the Structures category is now available. Price has lowered!]
[Guard commendations returned to E.]
[Let it be known the immense difficulty it is to rank up a town. Your rewards were based on your performance and having a merit. While doing so with no political power whatsoever is admirable, perhaps you’d consider becoming a lord?]
[Yes or No.]
Yes was pre-selected, and flickering with flowers glowing around it. I selected No.
[Pretty please. Yes or No?]
System, dammit, leave me alone. I selected No again. It finally let me be. I wouldn’t be the unqualified downfall of this town. At least the mayor had some years in the seat to get used to it and even if I did, the life of paperwork wasn’t for me. Except for shop logs and orders, but that was beside the point.
“Is there anything you need?” I asked Serina Starrigon. The woman’s hand seemed to be a blur as she was writing, signaling the possibility of us poaching one of their duchy’s best wealth managers.
“No, I’m just surprised the Red Star just gave us her spare CMC, and for free,” Serina said as she stood up from her desk. “How’d you get in that one’s good graces?”
We were currently in the building we repurposed as a bank. Five guards with much better gear guarded the area, some armed with spears, some with swords. They still wouldn’t matter much to a magician, but with Serina being a somewhat powerful one herself, well, we were in good hands.
“Long story,” I said without glancing at Mandi. She was currently chatting with some of the hero’s party members that came to check out the commotion, only to be surprised by a town rank up. “Let’s just say we’ve somehow became business associates.”
Milia gave me a knowing smile but didn’t counteract my statement.
Serina still nodded, taking my word as is. At least I think. “While you’re here, I’d like you to make an account.”
“Maybe later,” I said. “I’m—”
“If you don’t, no one will,” Serina said. Her eyes hardened. “I signed the contract under the impression that my time will actually help contribute. A rank up is nice, it already feels more pleasant, but it isn’t enough.” She gestured to the crowd outside chatting among themselves, some with suspicious gazes. “I’m either a stranger to these people or someone who attacked their town, fought with that Raider man. Plenty witnessed it, and the only way for me to go out and about is in disguise. I’m fine without mortals bothering me. But sitting in an empty building all day until the end of the contract will drive me crazy. Besides, they know I’m a magician. Some are even terrified to come anywhere near this place.”
Honestly, I hoped Serina would come up with a solution for this problem. But as much as I didn’t want to be involved in the town building process, focusing on my shop, it wouldn’t make any sense to bail out after getting this far.
“Fine, I’ll make an account for my shop,” I said. “Put it under… The Cool, Hip, Awesome and Amazing Domain…” I paused as the women gave me the look, confirming that not only was my joke lame as hell, but I was an idiot. “Fine, just go with Cheat Potion Maker’s Shop. No, I’m not going to attach any name to this account, just the shop.”
Serina looked at me quizzically. “Why Cheat Potion Maker? It’s kind of…”
“It’s somewhat of an inside jest,” Milia said. “I think it works.”
Due to showing off my immense aura to make sure Serina didn’t try anything, I was pretty sure she guessed I was Raider. She clearly wasn’t stupid.
“I… suppose, if that’s what you want,” she said, passing me a one-page form. I quickly filled it out. It didn’t ask for much, just account name, town and kingdom, and job. After handing it back to her, she placed the form over a metallic blue cube that looked oddly familiar.
“Are these cubes common?” I asked.
She gaped at me. “Wh… why would you think that? They’re gifts of Wanda. Impossibly rare, but they help run the kingdom. The Lord Ruler may not be a monarch for some reason, but rumors say he’s at least one hundred years old. Plenty of time to somehow get ahold of the gifts.”
“You probably really shouldn’t believe everything written in the history books or rumors,” Milia said. “The Lord Ruler is a title, after all, passed on from generation to generation within the royal family.”
Serina chuckled. “You’re right. I still want to believe the Lord Ruler’s the most powerful magician in the kingdom. Someone who kept us from being devoured by the empire.”
“The current emperor’s friendly and he and the Lord Ruler’s good friends,” Milia said.
“Why is he stepping down?” I asked, curious. “Isn’t he like, immortal?”
Rather than give me looks that reminded me of my ignorance, they answered without missing a beat.
“The day of succession is a tradition in the empire,” Serina replied. “Every ten or twenty years, a new emperor is announced.”
“Ah, let me guess. A fight for the throne,” I said.
“A vicious political affair. Couldn’t imagine if they started fighting…” Serina said, her voice trailing off.
Milia nodded. “Their fight for the throne would be worse if the children of the emperor weren’t so powerful. A fight between them could level their territories. Retaliation’s detrimental for the people. So the current emperor not only forbid in-fighting and assassination attempts, but anyone prosecuted would be executed by the Astral Empire champion himself.”
“They have a champion?” I asked.
“It’s not surprising you don’t know of it, being so far out here in… the sticks,” Serina said, showing just a brief expression of distaste. “I can’t understand the logic of being what you are and running a shop out here, but you’re building it up, so that’s that. As for the Astral champion, well, he’s known as the World Slasher.”
This world sure loved its fancy titles, from the Throat Eater to the Peace Spawner. Hell, even I somehow got into the mix with Raider, though my case was truly to hide my identity. Then again, who was to say it wasn’t the same for these guys, right? Especially the assassin. Still, I wasn’t that amused with the edgelord names. But also realized I was really no different. Dammit.
“World Slasher,” I said, almost monotone. “Really?”
To my surprise, Serina seemed to cringe too. Even Milia gave me a sad smile.
“Well, it’s just how things operate,” Serina said. “He’s apparently powerful enough to cut entire cities in two with a legendary sword. Well, some say he wields a spear at times.” She stared at the wall for a bit. “The day of succession is going to be a gloomy one.”
“I heard that the new emperor’s probably going to start expanding again,” I told her. “How’s it looking for us? We’re friendly with the empire, right? Or is the Lord Ruler just being optimistic and naive?”
“Both and not,” Milia said. Serina nodded in agreement.
“This topic is… ugh.” She shook her head. “Your shop’s registered now. Already, the move seems to have worked, people are curious. If you can try to give us a good word, I’ll be grateful.”
I nodded. “Of course. Thanks for helping us out.”
I turned to leave, though Milia stayed behind, either to make an account for herself or even access her existing account in the system. At least that was what I assumed.
It took only a few moments to convince the people to give the bank a chance for the sake of our town.
[Rank up the town once more to receive an MMABS upgrade. However, if you accept the title of Lord, you will be able to access the town menu at will from your cube, as well as additional bonuses.]
The system’s insistence and pestering set off red flags and once again, I denied its call. All problems began with unqualified, overpowered magicians… right? It seemed that way so far.
I greeted the hero’s party members, chatting with them for a bit, and then walked back home. With Wolverine joining me in the lab, the first thing I did was check out the mysterious sixth option in the Structures category.
[6. E-ranked Mana Airship. Price: 15,000… 5,000 heavenly spirit coins. Airship powered by air mana. Requires mana steam engine to run. Use pulsing mana stone to help upgrade. The airship comes with a B-ranked mana shield capable of blocking physical and magical attacks, but not celestial attacks. Upgrade for additional features. Perfect place to cultivate concentrated air mana when airborne. You will receive a pilot spirit but may choose to pay 5,000 additional spirit coins to attend the system’s course. The parked airship will increase surrounding air mana by 10%. You may offer this benefit to a nearby town. Residents who lived in a mana-deprived area will truly know what it feels to be connected to the proper universe. Chances of air mana magicians being born or the spark manifesting in some increases tremendously. This benefit will remain with the town permanently, even if the ship leaves, gets destroyed, or is placed inside your inventory.]
Okay, the sixth option shattered expectations so high, if Cheetara wasn’t currently on my shoulder, I would’ve cheered like one of those guys, you know what I’m talking about, that go nuts after their favorite team scored in a game. Being quite numb to the high prices already, my excitement only continued to blossom, at least mildly. Mildly because I currently had no idea how to adequately gain normal spirit coins, let alone heavenly spirit coins. At least the system’s quest paid nicely, but I’d end up dying from old age waiting for each one, completing them and hoping it rewarded me with even one spirit coin.
Flying with Beakwing made me immune to the thought of heights. However, riding the ship wasn’t even required for it to be useful. Even in my storage ring or parked, it would turn Kyushu from a mana-deprived town into a place that could potentially spawn the Avatar. Okay, that was a joke, but air magicians would, in fact, be a thing.
The fact that the entire ship could be slurped into a storage ring felt absolutely insane. Like, what the fuck kind of Looney Tunes dimension did the system bring me to? I just couldn’t complain about this option. Ranking up the town to make it show up and then revealing that it could in fact introduce mana to the townspeople meant a lot of things. I hadn’t read up on everything, but I was pretty sure mana-based technology existed, but only worked in places of adequate mana. If I could introduce this technology to Kyushu, we’d probably be on our way to S-rank.
“While we’ve got a little time before the others return, let’s do a little potion training,” I said to Cheetara and Wolverine. Yes, I started teaching my wolf and kitten how to make basic potions. I don’t know why I felt the need to do this, but I did. Imagine teaching your dog how to become a mad scientist. Or whatever the doggy equivalent was.
Wolverine eventually got bored, despite doing quite well. Cheetara seemed to want something challenging, but I had to decline that. I made all of the day’s batches on the side.
“The others are here,” I said.
In the depths of the forest, a coyote glowing with red aura dug up something from the forest floor, while cackling to himself. A bone! And not just any bone, but a troll bone. Using the Axem’s borrowed magic, he began casting. What came out of his mouth wasn’t his own voice, but the now the voice of something powerful that possessed the canine. Something dark and ancient, speaking with a hiss at the end of his sentences.
“Arise and hear my wordsss. Arise!”
Nothing happened.
“Hey.”
No response. Suddenly, Mudwater, who was not Mudwater, roared with power.
“Hey! Get your lazy ass up, or I will storm into hell itself just to reap your soul.” The voice sighed. “Why do I bother with necromancy? The saint’s energy is making this impossible. Mutt, just bring the damn bone back to the dungeon. I’ll revive it beyond the range of the saint’s aura. Then it shall be unleashed to the outside to crush whom it might. Ahahahaha.”
Mudwater’s awareness snapped back to himself, but the orders he received were as clear as day. He picked up the troll bone and hurried back to the dungeon.
“I’m pretty sure that’s not how necromancy works,” the coyote said under his breath. Thankfully, his master couldn’t hear him from the dungeon, or he’d be a dead canine. “I sure hope you’re having more fun than I am, wolf. Perhaps soon, we’ll have a rematch.”
[With the town’s rank finally at E, your shop’s value has increased and now the D rank can be properly utilized. The damage shield is now active.]
[D-ranked Shop Damage Shield. Increase the shop’s rank to increase its protection. This shield also protects the safe, not that it is needed due to the dryad’s spell. Your farm is considered a safe zone and will receive divine protection. Chances of gaining local higher-tier customers increased! Legacy of a proper potion maker is now on the right path.]
[Something about your shop is somewhat appealing. It may only be a D-rank, but it is not a lousy E- or F-rank. There is no shame entering such a humble abode. Not even some dumb troll will break through the divine protection!]
[Rank up your shop for further features. Hey, one of these days you may be directly making money from sects, dukes, royalty, other nations, and even the Outworlders.]
Speaking of other places, a good trip into the deep east sounded like a good idea to increase my business opportunities now that I had nothing to be embarrassed about.
“Alright, that’s enough system menus for me today,” I said, at just the peak of a headache. The water breathing potion would finally be created tomorrow and soon, more dungeons added to the schedule for ingredient harvesting. After we got the herbs from the C-ranker first.
Customers flooded in the moment we flipped the sign to open and the first happened to be the same girl from the other day that tried to get a job here in attempt to get closer to Lucas.
The people Lucas lived with returned the other day, an older man and his wife. I couldn’t have imagined the awkwardness if the boy focused on girls instead of his training. They were almost like his grandparents, having known him since he was a child. However, being traveling merchants with no family holding them back, the couple left again, stating it may be months before they returned. I did get some advice from them, but they were in too much of a hurry to stop by the shop.
Harmony and Mandi didn’t show outright hostility to the girl, but the exact opposite. They treated her just like any other customer, not allowing her to hop into Lucas’s line. The flash of determination in her eyes reminded me why teenagers got on my damn nerves. I didn’t want to join in the blockade fest of keeping dating out of Lucas’s life; however, on the clock, time belonged to the shop.
Not that it was Lucas’s fault. So far no one had flown close to my shitlist, aside from being bratty teenagers. The girl bought a low-quality health and energy potion, then stepping aside to let the next person in line go to Mandi, she began asking Lucas harmless little questions. Even made a few subtle compliments, mixed in with other things that seemed to annoy Alexander. However, she left moments later without initiating anything, perhaps playing the long game.
Or hoping someone would arrange the marriage between them. Nothing seemed off about the girl, but I still told Wolverine to make sure she didn’t cause trouble. It was seriously just a teenage crush from a town’s girl, and it’d be kind of weird if my pupils didn’t attract a lovebug or two. Just… not in my damn shop, sheesh! This was why schools were needed. All of the teenage hormones and angst could be locked away in there so that everyone else wouldn’t have to deal with it. They always said high school was among the best years of your life. A convenient lie for movies to manipulate unknowing customers. Then again, that depended on perspective.
When the customer lines died down, Chenzu stepped into the shop, taking a seat near the kid. The golden fox, Mazu, trailed in after him, sitting at Alexander’s feet.
“Are you going to tell him, fox, or should I?” Chenzu said.
Mazu sighed. “It really matters not.” He turned to me. “I know your forest is far from ordinary, but the cleansing from your aura should’ve done wonders.”
“Okayyyy,” I said confused. “What’s your point?”
“Well, I sensed the presence of a powerful hostile creature inside and it may be headed this way,” Mazu said.
“What kind of creature?” I asked, alarmed. I came from behind the counter and equipped my silver knuckles. Alexander nodded at the craftsmanship and in those eyes, even I knew he appreciated dwarven works, dwarven magic. Even a half-dwarf held unbelievable talents.
“A troll,” Mazu said. “I’ll never forget such a scent.”
“What!?” Milia snapped, jumping over the counter. “What do you mean a troll?” Her aura raged with a ferocity that made even me nervous.
“You must know the troll?” Chenzu asked.
“Well yes, I slayed it!” Milia snapped. “How can it be alive? That should be impossible. Unless…” Her eyes widened, then hardened. “Necromancy.”
“Eh… that was the other thing I wanted to bring up,” Chenzu said. “My nose is picking up the awful scent of unnatural death. And I hate it. The thing is, it shouldn’t be able to walk into saint aura.”
“It’s definitely the Axem’s doing,” Milia said. “Come on, I cannot have my forest being defiled by necromancy!”
[Quest: Kill the Axem-infused troll. Failure to do so will result in the death of the forest, its creatures, and you will receive a fatal aura backlash. On the bright side, this can be quite rewarding for a potion maker or alchemist.]
My eyes widened. Well, it wasn’t like we planned to let the undead troll live, anyway.
