Chapter 65: 64. Hopes and Dreams

“What are you trying to do?” he asked me with a raised eyebrow, “Didn’t we come here to invite people to join our guild? Why bribe them?”

“The chief of this city has illegal control over a Mythril reserve, and I am sure he’s already amassed a decent quantity of the metal in the past couple of days. He can sell the metal in the black market for high prices, and weapons made out of it can be sold for profitable sums too,” I said, “As soon as he and his citizens join my guild, I’ll confiscate all the Mythril and seize control of the mine, and the laborers will no longer be able to mine the metal without permission from the top rankers’ council as it’s a resource point that belongs to Earthlings. Why would he convince his citizens to work for me if he had the choice to stay here as a rich monarch?”

I had to give him more incentives to join my guilds…

I could threaten him, but I decided to bribe him instead to form a friendly relationship. Of course, I didn’t plan to kiss his feet and throw money at his face; I’ll give him enticing reasons to join my guild, and tell him that I would use force if he didn’t want to.

Now that I think about it, he must’ve given a lot of Mythril to Stella to keep her mouth shut about where he got the metal from…

Ratska furrowed his eyebrows and scratched his chin with his left hand.

“I assume you want to bribe him with my potions, right?” he said, “Which ones do you want me to make?”

“The permanent stat buff potions,” I whispered, “What would you need to craft at least five Magic potions and five Vitality ones?”

“I need as many flasks as possible, one hundred Vileweeds, two hundred Zephyra flowers, two hundred Cyclops’ eyes, and as many Troll’s essences as you could provide me with,” he whispered, “I know the recipes of most variants of the permanent potion, but I didn’t have the chance to try any of them myself due to the lack of Trolls’ essences. People just consumed them raw instead of risking the chance of failing the potion brewing process.”

He was asking for a huge quantity of resources, but I didn’t complain. It was a worthy investment to help him reach a hundred percent chance of brewing both kinds of permanent potions.

I am not sure if he’ll be able to brew a potion using the Troll’s true essence, but this isn’t the right time to ask him about it.

“What’s your success chance of brewing either of the permanent potions?” I asked.

“Around thirty percent, and it’ll increase further with each brewing attempt.”

“Don’t worry about the resources then. It’s a long-term investment, and it will pay off down the line,” I smiled, “Have some rest; I’ll get you those resources tomorrow.”

“Alright then. Good night,” he mumbled as he walked away. He touched the door of his designated room, and he entered when it opened.

“Good night,”

I waved my hand at him and walked toward the door of my room. I put my hand on the door, and it opened as soon as I touched it.

My first impression of the room was that its ceiling was much higher than what I used to; it was at least six meters high. A white crystal was attached to each corner of the ceiling, and they provided light.

So, they aren’t using electricity yet…

The room looked much better than the one at Zinnia’s house, and it was larger; its ground had an area of about eighty square meters. The floor was made of a smooth layer of shiny blue quartz, and the walls were made out of hardened sand that was covered in matt gray paint.

There was a square window on the wall opposite to me, and its glass was transparent, unlike the yellowish one that the windows of the outer district of the town were made of.

All the furniture in this room was made out of wood and painted white. There was a king-sized bed on the right side of the room, and one nightstand on each side of it.

A red communication crystal was on top of the nightstand to the left side of the bed, and it was twice as big as the ones that I bought for me a Ratska.

The bed sheets were also white, and so were the pillows.

On the left side of the room were two closed wooden doors, and they were four meters apart. Each one of them was at least three meters tall and a meter wide.

I walked toward the bed, then jumped into it when I was close enough.

What a soft mattress! Humans should’ve been thankful for their easy life before the system appeared.

I enjoyed the comfort for a while, then got up to take a look at whatever was behind the two doors of the room. The left one contained a toilet. It was similar in concept to Indian toilets, but it was too large for humans.

The other door led to a small room that contained a bathtub, and it was at least thrice as large as the ones commonly used by humans.

I grinned, then I took off my thermal suit. It became translucent as soon as it fell to the ground.

I put it inside my storage ring and stretched my arms and legs. I opened the hot-water faucet and waited for the bathtub to fill up, then I jumped inside it.

“This is so cozy…,” I mumbled.

I scrubbed my body, and the quantity of grime and filth that came out surprised me. I had to drain the bathtub twice due to the accumulation of dirt in the water.

I smelled myself and realized the difference between my current state and the previous one. I stunk a lot before cleaning myself, and I didn’t even notice.

Ratska should’ve said something about it… Oh well, I guess living in the sewers for a while numbs the person’s sense of smell.

After about thirty minutes, I went out of the bathtub and dried myself using a towel that was hanging from the wall.

There was a large mirror, so I took the chance to see my body. My physique was more muscular than it used to be in my past life and before the system came, and I was slightly taller than before.

My hair was still black, but it was shiny, and needed a haircut. Even my eyes no longer gave the impression that they belonged to a dead fish.

I noticed the large tattoo that was on my back, the one that was related to my Latent Ability according to Loki. It was a large pentagram that was surrounded by two circles and many symbols from a foreign language.

I tried to make sense of those symbols, but I didn’t understand shit. Either my translation skill didn’t have information on this language, or the symbols were something from the Antecedent Era.

I should probably call Loki; Now that I can’t use my system-based skills, I should take the chance to improve my control over my latent ability.

I silently commanded the system to call Loki, and he replied immediately.

“Hello, Jason,” he said, “How’s the weather?”

“You must be bored, huh? It’s sunny as always, and you probably already know that,” I replied, “I’d like to inquire about that large tattoo on my back; you said that we’d talk about it through the InterGalacticLine. I can’t use my system-based skill right now, and I thought that working on my Latent Ability would be the best investment of my time.”

“True, True,” he spoke with his usual cheerful tone, “Using your latent ability wouldn’t put as much stress on your body-soul connection as the system-based stuff, and it’s mostly safe to experiment with even in your case. The trick to using it would be learning to control ambient mana without the system’s assistance. After achieving that, you’ll have to direct that mana into your tattoo and power up every symbol using it. Then, your Latent Ability will be good to go.”

The system made controlling ambient mana with basic proficiency as easy as breathing, how hard could it be to do it on my own?

“Got it,” I replied as I nodded, “Thank you, and I’ll keep you updated on my progress.”

He laughed for a while, called me a ‘Fool’, then hung up.

I smirked, then put on my Thermal Suit once more and changed its color to be completely black. I walked toward the bed full of confidence. Then, I sat there and closed my eyes while trying to imagine the mana around me. It seemed like a thick stream of gas co-existing with air.

I concentrated hard for a couple of minutes, trying to get a small amount of mana to move according to my will, but I failed miserably.

I tried once more but kept at it for half an hour this time. However, I made no progress.

Shit, I would’ve given up on it if there was an easier method to achieve natural control of mana, but there is nothing to do about it…

I sighed and got up to take a look at the city through the window.

I could see the inner districts of the city, and they were livelier than the outer ones. Even the buildings were much better.

There was a large castle made out of white quartz; it must’ve been the leader’s house.

I wonder what kind of person he is…

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If the negotiations with him went well, then I’ll be able to hire all the competent citizens of this town. There were many skilled blacksmiths and craftsmen living here, and having them as members of my guild would improve its overall power.

Suddenly, I heard a ringing sound. I turned around; its source was the communication crystal.

I moved toward it and touched it with my hand.

All of a sudden, a tiny hologram of a Lizardfolk appeared on top of the crystal. Her thin head, slender build, and slim shoulders indicated that she was a female, but I wasn’t sure about the color of her scales due to the blue hue of the projection.

“Hello mister,” she spoke, “We’re preparing a steak for your dinner; do you have any objections about the meal?”

“It’s perfect,” I said with a smile, “In fact, I’d like a small box of matches and a large piece of plastic to be delivered along with it. Put it on my tab.”

“Okay,” she bowed, “They’ll be swiftly delivered to your room.” Then, the projection of that Lizardfolk disappeared.

After about ten seconds, I heard knocking on the door.

When I opened it, I found a decorated white plate on the ground with a cooked steak on top of it. There was also a small cardboard box, a large plushie in the shape of a Lizardfolk, and a folded piece of paper next to the plate.

I opened the piece of paper, and it contained a message from Quaya. She told me not to worry about my expenses here, and that she’d take care of all of my needs.

I took my meal and the other items with me inside the room and put them on top of the empty nightstand. There were no utensils delivered with the plate; I had to use my common Cleaver to cut the steak.

I cut it into two portions, and blood started dropping out of each piece when I pressed them with the cleaver.

As I thought, people here eat meat raw… They didn’t even cook this steak properly.

I took my Epic grace fuel dispenser and an empty flask out of my storage ring. I put the plushie inside the fuel dispenser and the barrel started making a continuous buzzing sound.

The buzzing stopped after about ten seconds, and a system screen appeared saying that the conversion was a complete success.

I opened the barrel’s faucet into the flask, and a transparent liquid started leaking. It filled the flask quickly, and I had to close the faucet to prevent the fuel from falling to the ground. The fuel dispenser still contained some fuel, but I didn’t have other empty flasks to store it in.

I’ll just keep the fuel inside the dispenser until I buy some empty flasks…

I went into the bathroom and brought my items with me, including the steak. I dropped three drops of the fuel to the ground and ignited them using a match.

Suddenly, a large blue fire started as soon as the fire contacted the transparent fuel. The flame was nearly twenty centimeters tall, and it burned fiercely and brightly.

This is the result of burning three drops of fuel! This is my chance to properly cook the steak.

I held a portion of the steak with each hand and exposed them to the flame. This was my best method of cooking the steak without using my skills.

The fire was strong, but I didn’t feel any pain from it thus I couldn’t estimate its temperature. It got extinguished after burning for about a minute, and my steak was well done at that point.

The area underneath the flame was discolored; it was paler than the usual blue quartz of this room. Interestingly, the fuel didn’t leave any sludge, unlike most fuels that humans used back in the day.

I wonder if they’d realize that I burned the bathroom floor…

I shrugged, put my meal on the plate, and went back toward the bed. I ate the steak slowly using my cleaver; it was the first meal that I had in a couple of days, and it was delicious.

The fuel that the Dispenser produced didn’t leave any leftovers after burning, and it could burn for much longer than usual fuels. It’d be game-changing if some craftsmen could reverse engineer the fuel dispenser, and mass-produce similar items.

I’m going to visit Elves and Dwarves soon anyway; I’ll see if any of them can achieve that feat.

I put my cleaver, and the fuel dispenser back inside my storage ring, then I pulled my Legendary grade shield out.

It would be helpful to me, but there wasn’t much that could hurt me on Earth at my current level, at least until the first dungeon breakout. I was still debating whether I should take it for myself, or give it to a weaker but crucial member of my guild like Ratska.

I also needed to sign a contract with the Gnome, in case he got a better offer and decided to pull the rug from underneath me. I was sure that this town’s chief had some servants with variants of the Scribe class; I’ll ask for one of them to form a contract between me, Ratska, and the town’s leader.

I’ll just sleep for now; tomorrow will be a busy day and I have to take a rest now that I have the chance to do so…

I put the shield back inside the storage ring and sprawled on the bed. I took a look at my system clock; it was nine o’clock.

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the stars throughout the ceiling.

I slept before I even realized it.

.

I woke up feeling refreshed; this night’s sleep was one of the best in my entire life. It was five o’clock in the morning; everyone must’ve been asleep at this point.

I went out of the room and descended the stairs.

Quaya was standing behind the counter, and she had a bored expression on her face. She greeted me as soon as we made eye contact.

“Hi Jason, Good Morning,” she said with a chuckle, “Zinnia told me about you. I’ve never thought someone like you would visit our town.”

“Good morning, Quaya,” I spoke with a smile, “I have some urgent business deals with this town’s chief, and I hope to become friends with him.”

She laughed, then replied.

“You mean you want to become friends with her?”

“Oh, I didn’t know that, but such a thing wouldn’t prevent us from becoming friends, would it?” I smiled, “Anyway, can you tell me about the direction that I should take to get to the nearest System Trading Station?”

Quaya gave me a long list of simple instructions to get to the trading station, and I thanked her before leaving. I walked for less than a minute, but something strange grabbed my attention.

The roads were empty, and I couldn’t see any Lizardfolks walking around.

The silence is almost eerie; I expected poor people to be early risers at the very least.

Suddenly, I felt something entering the perception field of [Flawed State of Being].

It was a single creature, and it appeared without alerting me at all.

#

Special shoutout to:

chris

GenericKane

Water Dragon

Bladesunder

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