Once again, smut will come. But you will have to display unmatched patience first.

~~

Chapter 82

“Have you not slept?” Cassandra asked. She must have observed my slightly haggard appearance, to which I simply nodded to not stretch the topic.

“I heard you broke through,” Cassandra said.

“How?” I asked, a slight frown showing my real apprehension on my face.

“Your brother told me.” She simply replied.

‘My brother?’ I thought for a while and then something clicked in my mind before I asked, “Do you have something special with my brother?”

“What?” She asked, not understanding the cusp of the matter before she understood, and simply shook her head, “Nothing like that. He was training early in the morning, and I joined him.”

And that was how I gained a sister-in-law.

“I see.” I simply replied and asked, “Did anything special happen yesterday?”

“Aside from your breakthrough, nothing.” Cassandra replied, “The monsters that appeared from the dungeon were of no use; nothing could be gained from them, and we lost a good number of our forces to those useless things.”

“Not one thing?” I asked.

“Not even a degraded mana crystal.” She replied.

“Could I take a look at the monsters?” I asked.

“Why?” She asked, no apparent reaction in her tone.

“Just curious,” I replied.

“…” She thought for a while before she said, “Fine. You can have one.”

The topic ended on that note, and I was brought to the Lady’s room. Zara was already waiting for me, and Carlson was in the same place he was yesterday, calmly sipping his tea.

“You’re here, Jack.” Zara said before she turned to Carlson and said, “Father has something to tell you before he heads back.”

I turned my attention to him, and he said without me saying anything, “I looked into the batch you were born in, Jack.”

Batch?

“It looks like your special ability has something to do with that. The temple is not disclosing anything yet, but I will have it checked and let you know. Until then, you are to keep your ability hidden.” With these words, which I had no idea about, he stood up and left.

Least to say, I had no idea what that was about, but from the looks of it, he didn’t have anything more to say and nor did Zara, seeing she addressed another topic at hand, “Shall we begin, Jack?”

Oh, boy.

May my ancestors forgive me for this one or condemn me to the deepest pits of hell, but…

“I terribly apologize, Lady Zara, but as you may have heard, I have recently constructed another circle. I would like to ask for some time to stabilize that circle if I may be so bold.” I asked as respectfully as I could, to which Zara only sighed and nodded, “Well, it cannot be helped if that is the case. You may leave for the day.”

“Thank you very much, Lady Zara,” I replied and left without saying another word.

Once outside, I left for the forest, but this time, I made sure to tell everyone. As I arrived, I went a little deeper, but didn’t enter the forest infested with demonic energy, and just remained on the outer edge of the forest where no one could see me anymore.

I then simply lay in wait. It wasn’t long before a group of people could be spotted. They were dressed like hunters, like my family, but they didn’t seem the good kind. But even if they were, only one fate awaited them.

~~

[Pure Blood crystal]

[Rank: Undetermined]

[Description: A blood crystal without all the flaws and nothing but advantages

The fire of purification has washed away all negative aspects and has enhanced the positive gains using the remnants of the essence of impurities

With the addition of the user's blood, not only is the item bonded to the user, but it is also tailored to the needs of the user]

[Effect:

#1: MAX MP+ 1,000,000

#2: Blood Control +50%

#3: Resistance to blood control +50%]

[Limited to the user]

I managed to make pure three blood crystals, which was mostly luck, of course. I needed four of them anyway, so that was a good gain. I still had one of the guys left alive, even though half of his life force had been devoured. I tried to replenish my lost permanent HP with the remaining half of his life, but it didn’t work. Guess I needed full body for that instead of just half.

Anyway, poor chap met an unfortunate end. Didn’t even grant me any EXP as well. What a waste.

All that was left to do now was to raise the level of my ‘Creation’ skill. It won’t be easy, given I had run out of things to make and the new invention I was trying to make had some flaws.

The main problem I was facing was the fuel replacement. For example, to run a car, one needed gasoline. To power equipment, one needed electricity. Now, making energy wasn’t a big deal. Processing it, however, was. I could make turbines and create enough electricity to power batteries, but the materials required to make batteries were a bit too difficult to find. Especially silica.

So the proper replacement for that would have been mana or a mana stone, just like Zara’s butt plug, but that was a stroke of luck. The skill took care of it on its own. However, whenever I tried to do it for this invention of mine, it ended up as a failure. The best thing to do was to add it manually, but I was having a hard time making it work like that.

In the end, the only way to do it was by adding it through the creation skill. But if it wasn’t working, then there was a chance the skill level was low for such a complex invention.

Once again, making it manual was the only option. Only, I would be using the skill to make a battery, not the entire invention.

~~

I returned to the city and went straight to the mansion of the lord. I entered Zara’s room as her guard. She was working on a few documents while the low hum of a buttplug could be picked up by my keen ears.

Did she still have it in?

How did she go for a number two then?

Anyway, she seemed distressed. Was it because of that?

“Are you all right, Lady Zara?” I asked just to be sure, and only then did she take notice of my presence. She sighed after a while and replied, “It’s the letter from the king. We need to pay taxes this year, but there has been no hunting to facilitate that.”

Zara’s reply made the situation in this town clear. Soon, it was presumed that people would start to leave for other towns. Well, it was everything I already had in mind. Still, that was a good chance to make it mine.

This town, I mean.

“May I be presumptuous enough to offer a suggestion, Lady Zara?” I asked.

“What?” She asked without any apparent reaction.

“Why not consider farming? A good number of the population of this town are unawakened or low-level ones. Would it not be better to trade by crops?” I asked a series of questions.

“It is a possibility, but not an immediate solution. We need to pay taxes in two months at most, and we won’t be able to grow crops until then. Also, the problem is that the land around here is not suitable for many corpses.” She stated a number of issues that were real-time issues.

Those variables were valid, and if it were possible, this town would have done that long ago.

But…

“What if we don’t sell just crops, but special crops?” I asked.

“Special crops?” She asked, her gaze a bit skeptical.

“You mean magical herbs?” She asked.

“Something similar.” I replied before I asked, “If you allow me and grant me some land, I promise to produce results in a month.”

My posture was a good 90 degrees. If she didn’t agree, then it was a pity. But if she did, my checklist to take over the town would diminish by one box.

“Hmmm…” She mused for a good while before she asked, “Are you confident?”

“I am.” I simply replied.

“…” Once again, after a short while of thinking, she nodded and said, “Very well. I will grant you the left side of the town that is empty. You can use it to grow your crops. But I will only allow full-scale development once you show me some results.”

The land she was granting me was too small for the bigger picture, so I guess that was just a trial version. I needed to prove my capability before she would invest in me further.

Well, she was about to be surprised. After all, I had something this world didn’t have.

“You shall not be disappointed, Lady Zara.” I bowed once again and replayed my confidence.

“Let’s hope I don’t.” She simply replied and dismissed me.

I left without a word to carry out my plan.

Time to do some farming.

~~

Let me know if you encounter any mistakes.