Corporate Commission (1)
I obtained the mana herb from the village chief. It's a foundational ingredient for crafting a legendary-grade mana elixir. Hand this over to Hardin, and he'll whip up an elixir just for me.
◈ Elixirs crafted with this material gain Massive Mana Recovery Speed Increase.
◈ Elixirs crafted with this material gain Massive Mana Capacity Increase.
◈ Elixirs crafted with this material gain Instantly recover an additional 2,500 mana upon use.
◈ Elixirs crafted with this material gain Additional mana recovery proportional to time spent stationary.
The options on this item are insane. Not just massive boosts to recovery and capacity, but two extra effects to boot. All mostly recovery-focused. Plus, adding more ingredients to the finished elixir could stack even more options.
'At this level, it should solve most of my side effect issues.' It won't be a perfect cure, but it'll handle combat problems well enough.
With that, my business in the swamp was done. Time to move to the next phase.
"April, what're your plans from here?"
I talked it over with April. We needed to decide if we'd stick together or part ways here.
"Hmm, I wanna check out other places too, but I didn't have anyone to go with. With you, though, I could travel worry-free. You kinda remind me of my big bro."
She whispered the "big bro" part right in my ear. Why whisper something like that?
"So yeah, I'd love to tag along... umm."
She's opting to stick with me for now. Her skills aren't exceptional, but they're definitely helpful. And she's got real talent too.
'Most importantly, she's easy to handle.' Talent matters, but this was the real draw. No point in talent if I can't bring her to my side.
But...
'She'll probably never shut up from now on...'
Can I handle that? Hmm...
"Oh, here, take this."
While I pondered, April rummaged around and pulled something out. Black coffee beans. Americano beans!
"I noticed you love americanos, right? You downed them non-stop during that campout. These are pretty rare beans. I wanna stick together, but just in case you're thinking otherwise, here—have 'em early!"
Rare beans? How rare could they be?
Wait, the game has coffee like in real life, but rare beans too? Was that always a thing?
"Oh, FYI, these are made from swarubang dung."
April covered her mouth with her hand as she said it. Why act all secretive about something that's barely a secret?
Anyway, swarubang's a monster. A high-level feline beast in Esperro. Beans made from its... dung.
Hold up. Is this kopi luwak? Looks like the devs based it on that.
If so, yeah, they're rare for a reason...
"April, let's head to Brockton together."
My hesitation vanished. Sure, she might be noisy, but that's better than traveling alone in silence.
* * *
We left the swamp. Jerard seemed set to settle down with the chief's help, and he said to let him know anytime I needed more mana herbs. Even talked about building me a personal mana herb warehouse.
Anyway, we forged some kinda connection. After that, April and I headed to the train station.
That's when I learned another perk of hers. She's loaded.
"I've ridden first class since I was little, so anything else makes me nauseous. You okay with that?"
"No complaints here."
First class—several times pricier than standard. And she bought mine too.
Definitely noble-born. Anyway, we got back comfy in those unexpected seats and went straight to find Hardin.
Luckily, he hadn't left yet.
"...You actually got this?"
His eyes went wide at the mana herb. No surprise there. It was legendary-grade. Probably his first time brewing with one like this. His hands were shaking bad.
"Th-this is too precious... No charge for the work. But can you promise all your elixir crafting to me alone?"
No fee, huh? Probably for his research. Brewing with top-tier mana herbs like this would level up his skills big time.
No reason to refuse. Especially since Angela connected us—no funny business expected.
'Messing around would get him blacklisted by Avalon's enforcers who oversee the request office.'
Avalon. The group Angela used to run with. Divided into departments, including the enforcers who regulate requests. They ensure completions and step in if things go south.
Hardin wouldn't dare risk it.
"Deal."
I accepted. It'd take time, but he'd contact me via business card when done.
Handed over the herb and headed to my lodging. April booked the same hotel. A suite, naturally. Girl's seriously rich...
"This way, sir."
Oh, suites get personal escort service. I dragged my own bags last time.
Money really is king.
"Can I come hang in your room, bro?"
Before entering her massive suite, April asked timidly.
Shouldn't I be the one visiting hers?
"Do whatever."
"Yay! Awesome. Gimme a sec to unpack, then I'll head over! Wait up!"
Acted nonchalant and told her to come. We needed to talk future plans anyway.
Personally, I wanted to know more about her. Any hidden motives? What she planned to do traveling with me?
Entered my room first. Rest and sort skills while waiting. It'll get noisy once she arrives.
Let's lie down and allocate points. Got six to spend.
Oh, first—the beans from April. Used the hotel's machine to grind 'em.
Drip. Drip.
Americano done quick. Whoa, the aroma hits different. Good call accepting her.
'Prioritize Weapon Revive first.'
The core skill for Weapon Summoners. Levels up the number of summons. Means more item options for me.
Next: Void Rift. My strongest attack skill right now. Higher levels cut portal mana cost and boost creation speed.
'Means more portals, more hits.'
Its big flaw? Limited range. Levels expand that—more portals for coverage, faster for no escapes.
'Then...'
One skill caught my eye: Prototype Restoration. Currently just fixing [Yodo Barseto]. But Lv5 unlocks something big.
'Restores ancient weapons.'
Esperro has all item types, including ancient gear. Old and worn, but prized for options.
'Loaded with unique ones.'
Ancient-exclusive options, super useful. Restoring them? Stats might boost, or new powers awaken.
'Gotta test it.'
Not grabbing ancients yet, but soon. Pre-level this skill.
Six points spent. Two more summon slots. Portal costs/speeds improved— even better with [Soul of the Dead]'s +2 skill fusion.
Prototype Restoration hits Lv5 soon. My level's 16 now. Skills way up from lab escape.
Hardly started real growth, but...
'Aptitude's effect is huge.'
Double EXP for me. Road's long—stronger creators and originals out there. But no worries. This pace? I'll catch up fast.
Screeech!
"Bro! I'm here! Seen the suite? Didn't know Brockton had hotels this nice. Not even a big city, but why's it so luxe? When I was little, I traveled everywhere with my bros... (skipped)."
She bursts in like rap lyrics. Perfect timing—right after I finished skills. Not intentional, but good instincts.
Anyway.
"Been wondering forever—what's this for?"
April, scanning the room, pointed at the [Giant Tree Ore] on the table. From the spirit tree. Gem-like, fist-sized.
"Never heard of monster ore?"
"Monster ore? Nope."
"...Ores from specific monsters. Uses vary by type. This one's..."
Since we're teaming up, time to train her properly. Skills, basics—everything.
Wonder if she'll focus? Theory might bore her. Show her.
Shing.
Infused mana into the held ore. Knew it'd work instinctively. Natural flow.
Easier than expected. Magic power, probably.
"Whoa, how'd you infuse mana so casually? Took me forever to control mine. Got a secret?"
April's shocked. Is it that hard normally?
"Just flow it in."
"...Yeah, duh. Anyway, it's turning blue now?"
Guessed I wasn't helpful; her eyes went to the ore. Transparent [Giant Tree Ore] now blue—my mana infused.
"Stores my mana here. Pull it out as needed."
"That's awesome! Can I get one?"
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"Only from spirit trees like the one we beat. You can't take 'em."
"...So how much?"
What? Drama line much?
How much anyway?
"At least 100 million babel. If anyone's selling—which they won't."
"Guess not now. I'll buy one later with cash! Wow, but your room's so tiny. Not claustrophobic, bro? Must be uncomfortable."
Weird vibe. Feels like she's attacking me. Her face hardened. Did I mess up?
'Descartes wasn't after this just for storage, though.'
Ignored her for a sec, thinking. He uses dark mana, not regular. Processing it?
Processed ore changes stored mana properties.
How much did that guy know...?
'I'd erase him now if I could.'
Can't yet. Not normal trash—elite-grade, Lv40+ boss buffs.
Need more growth first.
Bzzz.
Mana hummed faintly from my pocket. Angela's business card.
Angela messaged. Drunk again today? Typos everywhere. Slurring habit?
'Anyway, set items incoming.'
The request I'd been eyeing just dropped.