Marcus looked at the gathered crowd. He could see an array of colourful people. There was a tall, muscular guy with boar-like ears—or at least he thought they were. Then there was the fat woman who looked like a toad.
Of course, there were more normal women as well. One was carrying an elephant symbol sewn to her chest.
She had blue hair and looked like she was in her mid-twenties.
"What is she doing here?" The blue-haired girl asked the moment she saw Alfia behind Marcus.
"She is my maid. You might as well ignore her." The alchemist said with a lazy shrug.
"Her people have killed my little sister." The blue-haired girl exclaimed with anger.
"I see."
"Is that all you can say?" She got snappy with Marcus.
"You want a hug?" The alchemist asked with a raised eyebrow.
Some people snickered hearing that.
"Ugh!!!"
The blue-haired girl got pissed hearing that.
"Enough, Shakti." Finn stopped her as it was getting spicy.
"We have a common enemy to beat. The Monster Nightmare is getting close. We have not much time. It's slowly getting stalled by several adventurers, but we will soon need to handle it."
The captain of Loki Familia explained to everyone.
"In the meantime, we have Evilus people spread out through the city as they harass adventurers and regular people. The longer it's going on, the more people will get uneasy."
"We should split up."
"I will stay here and fight Zald." The big muscle guy said to Finn.
"I shall protect the Tower of Babel." The guy clarified, and no one disagreed with him.
"Same with me." The blue-haired girl said to Finn.
"Good, then the rest of us will split up and dive to the dungeon to deal with the Nightmare."
Marcus didn't say anything. Instead, he simply observed everyone. It was a rare moment to see Captains of the biggest Familias gather in one place. He even saw the red-haired ponytail girl from the Astraea family. The girl would look at him from time to time.
The alchemist wondered if his word truly had affected her that much.
After everyone stands up and prepares to go to a battle, Marcus decides to stick around Loki Familia as he has no freaking idea about other Familias.
He could see what those Scout Girls were doing, but honestly, he had no time to discuss something like 'Justice'. It's quite a stale thing to him.
Instead, the golden-haired girl decided to stick close to him.
"You never did tell me your name," Marcus asked her as he noticed her getting close to him.
"It's Ais Wallenstein, I am a level 2 Adventurer." She slightly puffed her chest as she was proud of her level up.
"Not bad." Marcus nodded at her.
"Umm…What about you?" She then asked him with a slightly embarrassed tone as she didn't know if it was the right thing to do.
"Me? I don't have Falna or a Familia."
The moment he said that half of the people stopped doing whatever they were doing and looked at him as if he were a monster.
"...You don't have a Falna!?" Ais asked with a wide mouth.
"Nope. I come from a long line of Alchemists. I have practised alchemy all my life, and after learning alchemy, I have learned runes, soul magic, elements, and other things. That is why I am Grand Sorcerer."
"...B-But you don't look older than me…"
"I am what is called Reincarnator."
"...Oh…"
Funny enough, her eyes sparkled as if she had just met an actual 'Hero'.
"S-So, can you tell me something about where you come from!?"
Alfia's lips twitched as she saw this little girl getting close to HER master!
'She is just a little girl… ignore her…'
'Ignore her!'
Sure enough, Marcus decided to help Ais lessen whatever burning revenge she was feeling. Marcus doubts he can help it completely get over, but he should lessen whatever despair she is feeling.
Whatever the source of revenge is, it should be powerful if Loki Familia can't help it.
"I do apologise if Ais is getting in your way."
Finn said to Marcus as he walked over with a bandaged-up green-haired elf and dwarf. Both of them looked in quite a bad situation.
"It's fine." Marcus lazily waved his hand before pulling out a couple of blue glowing pills.
"Here. Consume these. It should be helpful for the fight." The alchemist handed over the pills to the two injured adventurers.
"Is it fine?"
"They look expensive."
Marcus brushed their concerns. "It's nothing impressive; it's just crystallised mana with a few runes."
He then clarified the side effects.
"Just make sure you got some food, as it makes you hungry."
"I see. My thanks."
Funny enough, Ais looked jealous that the elf and the dwarf had gotten pills from Marcus, but she did not.
Finn nervously laughed at this.
After talking for a bit, everyone proceeded to walk towards Babel Tower.
~~~
Marcus looked around as he finally walked into the dungeon. He could see the light coming from crystals in the walls. It appeared the crystals allowed everyone to see in the caverns.
"Since we have no time, we will have to rush it," Finn said to everyone.
"That is fine with me." The alchemist said with a casual shrug as a dog-headed monster tried to get close to them, but the beast grabbed its head, and it started to tremble before it rotted away.
All Marcus did was point his hand, and the monster simply died.
The only thing that remains of this creature is a small crystal.
The alchemist collected it and inspected it closely. He slightly grinned as he realised that this was what he needed. He might have touched these before, but he wanted to double-check if they were the same as they had been before.
With these crystals, he will be able to improve his stuff and house.
"Say Alfia. Monsters in deeper floors drop bigger crystals, right?" He asked his maid as he swirled the small crystal between his fingers.
"Indeed. On floors below sixty, they are quite big."
"S-Sixty?" The Loki Familia members looked at her with disbelief.
"Yes. Zeus and Hera's Familia hold the record of reaching the deepest floor." The silver-haired girl said with a small smirk.
"I see. In that case, we shall visit it soon." Marcus said with a pondering look.
"Master… I don't want to sound rude, but it can take days to visit floors that deep." Alfia's forehead was sweaty when she said that. She was not challenging him; it's just that it sounds crazy to go to such deep floors with only two of them.
"I know. But I was living in the void for over 150 years. This dungeon looks like an entertaining thing to test my equipment and collect things."
GULP
Several people behind him gulped down. But only a single one looked at him with more awe… and that is the golden blonde girl with golden eyes.
"You lived in void?" Ais asked him with sparkling eyes.
"Yep. For a long time. I saw a world of pure water. There was no land at all, and it was full of gigantic sea monsters. The bottom of the ocean was full of metal so thick that rays of light simply bounced off it, making them purely black and extremely heavy."
"So there are wolds in the void?" The girl looked confused.
"Yep. Basically, each world is round and constantly spins around a ball of fire we can sun. So, if you want to leave your world, you need to fly extremely high." Marcus explained to Ais how the cosmos worked.
Funny enough, Riveria looked annoyed as Marcus knew how to keep Ais interested enough. Alfia looked similarly annoyed as the blonde was far too close to her new Master.
Regardless, the group dived to deeper floors and everyone needed to fight more.
On floor 10, there were orcs which tried to surround them. This is where Ais pulled out her rapier and lunged at them. The girl tried to show Marcus how she fights.
Not that it was difficult, as these Orcs were easy pickings.
But then a roar followed.
"An Infant Dragon," Alfia said from behind Marcus.
When Ais saw the lizard, she had a frenzied look. High winds surged from her as he dashed at the lizard with a furious look.
"Oh…"
"A dragon…huh…" The alchemist used his hand to hold his chin as he pondered what this meant.
"So she is related to the Air spirit? How curious," Alfia said as she opened her eyes and looked at Ais for the first time.
"Air is very flexible magic to wield." Marcus wondered if he could create a weapon she could actually use to full capacity.
After all, he wants to see whatever he created unleash its full capacity. As someone who spends years making his perfect suit just for it to collect dust, it is… sad.
It's one of the reasons why he went to space, where he could use it to its full capacity and even improve it further.
As Marcus thinks about it, he sees how Ais dissected a poor dragon in Marcus's eyes into small bits.
"AIS! Relax!" Riveria shouted at Ais, who snapped from her frenzy and immediately looked ashamed.
The golden-eyed girl looked at Marcus, and when she saw that he saw the entire thing, it only made her more ashamed.
"It's fine." The alchemist walked over to the golden blonde girl.
"So it's a dragon. You want to kill a dragon. Is that why you want to be strong?"
The girl slowly nodded her head to his question.
"Revenge is fine. However, what will you do when you kill that dragon?" He asked her with a raised eyebrow.
His question made her brain stop functioning for a second as she was out of words.
"...I…I…"
"For now, think it over. We have to move."
She nodded at him as they continued to move. Loki Familia looked somewhat perplexed about how easily he could deal with Ais… from the very beginning, he could easily deal with her.
They have been struggling with something since she joined them over two years ago.
"Don't look so sad," Alfia said to the trio from Loki Familia.
"Not just everyone can force me to be his maid." The black-clad girl said in a slightly arrogant tone.
"..."
"..."
"..."
~~~
"So this is floor 18…" Marcus looked at the wide cavern, which is an ecosystem on its own. He could see forests—monsters flying above the forest and even a lake in the middle of the floor.
"There is even a small village which rips adventurers off," Finn said to Marcus as they continued to walk towards the exit to floor 19.
As they approached, he saw barricades with adventurers guarding the stairs, which led to deeper floors.
"We shall wait here. We should make more space."
Marcus nodded at the proposal as he walked some distance away to prepare his weapon.
"Tell everyone to make quite a bit of space as my weapon doesn't know the difference between monster or adventurer." The alchemist said to the leader of Loki Familia.
"Right."
As everyone was getting into position. The whole place started to tremble as someone big or more like a massive group of something was approaching.
**ROAR**
With monsters roaring, Marcus pulled out his weapon and targeted the entrance to the lower floors.
Light started to gather in at the tip of the weapon, and Marcus began to channel his mana as well. However, he doesn't want to feed it too much as he could damage the dungeon in progress.
Sure enough, Monster started to spill out. All of them were black, and there was something behind them. It was big…
But the Alchemist didn't bother to figure it out as he released the trigger, and a basketball-sized ball blasted from his weapon.
The next second, it slammed into the monster, which caused an enormous explosion.
The explosion sends all the monsters flying in all directions. The white mist spread out through the area of explosion before the implosion effect kicked in, and all of the monsters were pulled into a single point…
Screams of pain and the sounds of breaking bones spread through the area before an even bigger explosion followed.
The adventurers looked at this with wide eyes. They never expected such a gory outcome: most of the monsters were dead, and sections of the dungeon had been destroyed.
Everyone was out of words. The group of adventurers simply stared at the carnage with disbelief.
A single blast from thar rectangular weapon simply erased the entire horde of monsters.
The girls from the Astraea family, Loki Familia, and members from smaller Familias couldn't speak for several minutes straight.
That was until the dungeon started to tremble as something more was coming their way…
"..."
Everyone snapped out as they realised what was coming their way.
"Damn! Is the Juggernaut!" Finn exclaimed as he looked around and was getting ready to face it.
"It's fine, I will handle it." Alfia took a step forward and looked at her Master, who was inspecting his broken weapon.
"Sure. But you are not permitted to die."
Snort
"As if I die from something mundane as this!" The black-clad girl snorted as she gazed at Ais. The little girl even had a rosy cheeks. It was not good!
'That little girl is getting annoying!'
The maid realised that the longer the little girl was around Marcus, the more she depended on him and wanted to be close to him.
None of these things are good.
As she was pondering on that an armoured monster with sharp claws manifested from the dungeon walls.
Alfia looked at her Master. He finally started to pay attention to her. It was good. It was time to show what she could do.
As her body is healed and her disease doesn't weaken her, she is as strong as level 9. However, Juggernaut is quite a difficult enemy for her as it can reflect magic. But that's fine, as she can also deal physical damage.
"Give me your sword." She motioned to one of the lower-level adventurers to give her his great sword.
"S-Sure."
The guy threw it, and the silver-haired maid casually caught it as she proceeded to dash at the Juggernaut.
The monster dashed at her as well. But in the first exchange, the victor was already obvious.
The thing about Juggernaut is that his power depends on the floor they are in.
Since they were on floor 18, the monster the dungeon could produce was barely around level 5.
Something like that is child's play for Alfia as she cuts his hands first before impaling the sword into the beast's head.
The creature swiftly disintegrated, and the silver-haired girl threw the sword back at the adventurer before walking back to her Master.
Marcus nodded at her before returning to inspecting his weapon. As he expected, the insides of the weapon had deformed, and his weapon was out of use.
While he was doing that, the adventurers killed the strangler monsters.
Once that was done, they approached Marcus.
"Many thanks for your assistance, Marcus Goldman. Because of you, there are no casualties in this dive. Many of us expected to lose one or two." Finn said with a small smile. He decided to brush aside how crazy the guy's weapon was.
Not everyone has his strong mentality, as the girls from the Astraea family are rethinking how they talk with him.
Not only was he insanely strong in regular combat, but he is also an incredibly talented weapon smith! If he can create something like this, what else could he do?
But, the one who impacted the most was Ais…
Ever since joining Loki Familia, she has been looking for HIM, and it appears she has finally found her HERO.
It doesn't help that Marcus' hair is black, just like her father's. It doesn't help that the enemies were black monsters, just like that black thing who killed her family, and most certainly, it doesn't help that she just witnessed what true power looks like.
This power is so strong… strong enough to wipe out all these evil monsters.
Ais relentlessly thought about what Marcus had told her about what to do after the dragon was dead.
Now she knew. Everything has fallen into place in her mind.
She decided to be what her mother was to her father. She wants Marcus to be her Hero who can save her from that despair. Well, he doesn't need to as her despair is gone; instead, what she felt was diligence.
The girl will train and become strong enough to be beside her Hero.
And the Black Dragon?
She already imagined it getting utterly crushed and disintegrated in the same way as these monsters got.
Marcus didn't even realise how he had derailed the golden blonde girl.
All he noticed was that her gaze was slightly different. There was no more than frenzied desperation.
In his eyes, that was fine.
"Say, what will happen to the crystals?" Marcus asked Finn as the adventurers were swiftly cleaning up the mess.
"These are your kills so that you can take all of them."
"Oh…" The alchemist's eyes perked up.
"In that case, I want to buy off the slums." He said to the Captain of Loki Familia.
"...That can be arranged. I think this is more than enough to cover it." The pair looked at the mountain of high-quality crystals.
"And whatever remains?" Finn asked as he knew all these crystals were more than enough to cover the cost of the slumps he was inhabiting.
"Bring the remaining crystals to my home. I will use them to improve my house and my tools."
Marcus explained to the Pallum.
~~~
After the explosive end of the monster horde, the group returned to the surface to continue fighting.
But it was not necessary, as the big and tall muscle guy had beaten Zald. After the defeat of Zald, Evilus' troops shattered. Then, the God Ebirus was sent back to Heaven, which meant the end of Evilus.
Whatever troops of fanatics left swiftly retreated into hiding.
Before Marcus could return to his home, the adventurers wanted to have one more meeting.
"Now that Evilus is shattered, we would like to ask your maid who the other Gods who are part of this faction are," the blue-haired girl from Ganesha Familia said.
It was quite something for her to control herself so well, even her sister being dead.
"...There still should be Thanatos and Enyo. I have seen Thanatos but only heard about Enyo." Alfia explained to them.
"Can you show us the locations of the bases you know?"
"Very well. But this is the last time I help. My job now is to serve my Master," the black-clad girl said in a deadly serious tone, which made people remember that she was a deadly fighter who could take all of them at once.
"...Of course."
Marcus, who was looking at this, is quite amused. He got quite a catch. He never thought this girl was this feared.
The pair could finally leave after pointing at locations on the city map.
"Ah, man. Finally, the city can return to normal, and we can be at peace."
The alchemist stretched his hands as he exclaimed with a happy tone.
"...Doubtful, Master," Alfia said with a resigned tone.
"Now, the entire city knows you and your power. On top of that, you have no Falna. With how gods are now, you are the number one target for them to add you to their Familias.
These gods won't stop until either one of them is successful."
The silver-haired girl explained to him.
"...Can't I just pack them up and send them on their way?"
"Yes, but how long will it be until you give in? These are gods who were around for thousands upon thousands of years. Their patience is far greater than any mortal.
Some of them would even scheme and try to bribe you."
She blushed while saying that as she imagined that some of the Goddesses would throw themselves at him or even give him small armies of women to serve him.
Nothing is off the table!
All of this is in Alfia's head, not that she is wrong. But at the moment, such a thing would not work with Marcus's young body.
"...Hah…so that is how it is."
"Yes."
After returning to his house, Marcus went to eat and get a quick shower. This time, his maid joined him without him asking. She washed his back the same way he washed hers.
After that, they went to sleep. This time around, the Silver-Haired beauty hugged him closely and made sure he didn't go away anywhere.
It's amusing how a little girl can impact her this much. Not that such a thing crossed Marcus' thoughts. He would never consider that Ais, of all people, make Alfia jealous.
Nope, Marcus thought that his maid had finally stopped resisting.
~~~
Marcus expected some semblance of peace now that Evilus was gone. He expected markets to be how they were before.
That was what he expected—but not being interrupted first thing in the morning.
It was Loki Familia. They had an entire carriage of Valis and magic stones.
As the carriage entered the barrier, Marcus went out to greet them.
"Sorry for disturbing you so early," Finn said with a strained smile as he saw Marcus half asleep.
After all, he was resting, recovering his lost mana. That means his body was in rest mode, and he was quite sluggish.
"It's fine~ what you got for me?"
"Right. As you asked, the guild swiftly sold you the land you wanted. They didn't question a thing since you helped with Evilus.
You are the current owner of this territory." The Pallum gave him the owner's papers, and on top of that, there were chests with valis as well.
"On top of that, they sold it for half the price, so the remaining valis goes to you." After showing the chest, he opened the other ones, which were full of Mana crystals.
"And these are the crystals from all those kills."
After showing the loot and money, Finn left with his family. Ais was there, too, as she waved her hand in a happy manner, which somewhat confused Marcus.
The girl looked… much better now. Did something happen with her revenge?
After pondering this, Marcus took all the stuff back before slipping back into his bed.
The moment he did it, the beauty in his bed pulled him back into a hug.
Yep, it was the best method to recover lost energy.
Past midday, Marcus finally woke up. The first thing he did was take a quick shower. By the time he was out of the shower, Alfia was already making some tea for him.
"We will go shopping, and then I will return to my work. Now that I have magic crystals, I can make a reactor."
He explained what he would do, and he took a sip of his tea.
"... 'Reactor'?" She looked at him with a curious look.
"Basically a heart which generates energy for the whole house."
Marcus clarified as he realised that advanced technology terms in the medieval world were uncommon.
"I see. So it will be a big power source. I thought you already had one." She said that while looking around, she wondered what powered the light, the kitchen's tools, and the cool thing he called 'fridge'.
"No, up till now, we are at the mercy of mana in the air."
"Hmm, it shouldn't be an issue, considering we are above the dungeon." She pointed out that they live above the biggest source of mana on the continent.
"Yes. But I simply can't accept that I have to rely on something." He exclaimed with an annoyed sigh.
"For more than 200 years, I was completely self-sufficient. That includes power, food, and resources. I didn't need pity from the air or forbid something like people who raise food." When Marcus said that, he had a borderline insane look.
Alfia snorted as she finally saw some of his true face. It appears he absolutely hates depending on something or someone.
"I see."
"Yes. So let's then we can hit the road."
"Understood."
The pair got some food, such as sandwiches and tea. About half an hour later, they were ready to go shopping.
"Do take your sword with you." The black-clad girl reminded him.
"Oh? You think someone will attack me?"
"While you are powerful, you don't have a god behind you. In this city, Familia is extremely important. On top of that people want to figure out your secrets.
Someone like you appearing like this is an opportunity for many." She said with a deadly serious tone.
"...I see… in that case."
Marcus walked over to a table and put his gauntlets on before taking Yamato.
The pair walked through Orario's marketplace. Marcus checked the prices. His lips twitched as the prices went up.
"I suppose I have another reason why I want to blow Evilus up again." He said to his maid as he looked annoyed.
"With how much Loki Familia gave you, you should not worry about money," Alfia said lazily as she followed him.
"I should, But I am not used to living with finite resources." He exclaimed with a disappointed sigh.
"...finite? Is this some sort—"
"It means resources which end. You thought that I needed resources before?"
"...Wait… you telling me you used to make things from nothing?" She tried to grasp how he could do that. Not even gods with their arcanium could make stuff just pop from nowhere… There should be an A to B to C process that allows items to appear.
"There is no such thing as 'nothing'." He shook his head as he continued to look for that glorious meat.
"I used to have something called Triple Core Reactor. In simple terms, it's a miniature planet. Something which I could make now. But the other thing which I could not is the Matter Converter. In simple terms, it's automated Alchemy."
"So you could make energy from this reactor and then turn that energy into things, like food or water?"
"Precisely."
"...I see. What is stopping you now?" She asked him with ever-growing curiosity.
"Difference in magic." He replied.
"Magic here requires more steps than from where I came from."
He clarified what he meant.
"If I wanted to make my Matter Conventerr, it would be around 50,000 times more difficult," he said with a sigh.
"But I am not going to give up that easily. I might create something in between, and I might be able to create it again in some shape or form."
Alfia slowly nodded. Whatever it was sounded to her like some sort of Magnus Opum of her Master.
"...I see… well, I will help you with whatever I can."
"Good to her." He nodded at her, grateful that his new maid had stopped resisting and was now part of his camp.
~~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~~
In the Tower of Babel, Gods have gathered to discuss Evilus' recent actions.
But more importantly, to discuss Marcus Goldman.
The appearance of such a powerful being has piqued everyone's attention.
"Now, let's discuss Marcus Goldman. I have heard that Astraea's Familia and Loki's Familia made the most contact with him." One of the gods said with a grin, as he wanted all the details.
"From what I know is that he is some reincarnation of Grand Sorcerer. My Familia's captain said that he is a weapon smith and wields an array of strange magic without any chants." Loki said with a grumpy tone.
She was pissed that Marcus did something to HER Ais. The girl was not the same after this. The blonde girl started reading books and, on top of all, became very obedient.
While all these traits are great, what annoyed Loki is that it was not her or her Familia who changed her!
But this guy! Who is not of her Familia!
'Humph! Just you wait! I will pin you down and force you to join my Familia!'
What is interesting for the Gods is that Marcus is not part of any familia. This allows him to be fluid and interact with all familias.
After Loki, it was Astraea's turn. Unlike Loki, who looked more like a guy than a girl, Astraea is a gorgeous brown-haired beauty.
"Unlike Loki, my Familia barely interacted. But from what the girls understood, he has ample experience." The Goddess said with a thoughtful tone as she thought over the words he said to his girls.
To think that he could easily make them question everything is something she never expected.
It doesn't help that Ebirus challenged their beliefs beforehand.
"I see."
"And what about Alfia, the 'Silence' of Hera's Familia? She serves him now. She is another level 7. Her just being with him makes him one of the strongest factions in the whole city."
It's funny how, just by mentioning that every single God gathered here from minor familias, has their greed piqued. They all want those two in their Familias. If they have them, they will become major players immediately.
"True. Then I suppose… may the best one win?"
"H-Hold! He interacted with us the most! He should join us!" Loki slammed her hand on the table.
"You already have a bunch of level 5's…" One of them complained.
"A couple of 6…" Loki said with a mosquito voice while looking down.
"Haah?"
"Finn and Riveria levelled up after I checked their status yesterday." The God of Mischief clarified.
"...Damn…"
While there was a commotion, one of the seats was empty, and that one belonged to Freya, who was not in the meeting.
Perfectly honest, after she saw Marcus' soul, which reminded her of the starry night sky, she couldn't control herself and wanted to acquire such a person as soon as possible.
Now that her strongest fighter is a level 7, she has a good shot at getting him under her spell.
~~~
"As I said. We have company." Alfia said without even looking. She could sense several people following them.
"Wonderful. I doubt anyone is going to miss them." Marcus smiled. His smile was wicked. People of this world have no idea how dangerous a proper alchemist is. Especially him, who mastered life and could turn dirt into gold.
People haven't realised that if he can make dirt into gold, what about people themselves?
To Marcus, these people are nothing more than working resources.
"...Are you planning to end them?" Alfia asked with a curious tone.
"Yes, of course. They are walking resources. You do realise that I am an alchemist," he said with a smirk as he, on purpose, decided to walk towards less-used roads.
He realised that whatever God wanted him couldn't wait for evening.
And that is just sad. You have been alive for a thousand years, yet you have not developed some sense of patience?
Alfia swiftly realised that he was intent on dealing with them now. She will assist with whatever she can.
A few moments later, four people dressed in black appeared in front of them. They looked quite short.
'Pallums?'
Then, behind them, two more appeared.
"Is this supposed to be an insult to my Master and me? Your Goddess, send a couple of level 5s and a level 6?" Alfia turned around and faced the big, tall guy.
"I have slain Zald. Such feat allowed me to level up." Then, his hand moved on the weapon on his back.
"You two better come with us. Our Goddess wants a word."
"... I should be impressed?" The black-clad girl replied with a mocking tone.
"We are on the same level now." As the big guy was about to pull out his big sword. All of them dropped to the ground.
"W-What the fuck is this!?" The cat person who was next to the big guy started to swear.
"Fundamental force: Gravity. The same force which allows you to walk on the ground leisurely has been weaponised against you." Marcus turned around and looked at them.
"While you are at the same level as my Alfia—" The silver-haired girl blushed when she heard that.
"You need at least a hundred thousand people to be able to fight me. You should have realised that levels to me are meaningless." As he said that, he showed his glowing gauntlet.
"You are facing a being who conquered life, destroyed planet size civilisation and traversed void." He said while walking over and pressing his foot down on the swearing cat person.
"That is why. You all shall be an example."
"W-What is happening!?" The guy tried to scream in pain, but at that moment, Marcus slammed his face into the stone ground.
Slowly, everyone realised that he was turning the cat guy into some sort of black material.
Alfia's eyes widened as she realised what he meant! Even people could be transmuted!
Regardless of level! Such realisation made her feel that her knees would give up. Thank her Goddess that she didn't resist that much. Now she realised how terrifying her new Master can be when he is pissed off!
"A-Allen!" The big and tall guy exclaimed as horror filled his eyes.
"Don't worry; you are next, and then I will go after your Goddess. If she is pretty, I might turn her into a toy.~" Marcus' eyes glowed with sadism.
"Y-You!!!" He tried to stand up, but at that moment, something broke…
He coughed up blood at that moment.
"You think that you can push through with sheer willpower? It's not magic that is holding you down but the land itself. No living being can resist when land itself is calling for you to drop on your knees and beg for your life." As he said that, the cat guy by the name turned into rubber. Except for his back, which became a paper sheet with his falna.
Marcus won't miss the chance to study Falna.
"So much for level 6. It appears that a higher level only makes you suffer for longer." The alchemist joked as he removed his leg and looked at the tall Boaz.
"You are next. Don't worry. I promise to make you into something useful." He said with an honest tone.
"F-Fuck you…"
"That's the spirit!" Marcus exclaimed with a proud tone as he once again slammed his foot on the guy he started to turn into rubber.
Alfia could only watch how Marcus turned one of the best current Adventurers into crafting material.
After the transformation, he turned and looked at the group of Pallums. They looked petrified.
"Aren't you guys just cute? None of you are begging to spare you. Quite the loyalty you have." Marcus was impressed. None of them are snivelling under his foot and begging to spare them.
"These are Goddess Freya's Familia members."
The moment Marcus heard that Goddess' name, he frowned. He immediately lost interest. He thought someone with a better reputation would come after him, like Astraea or someone like Artemis. Maybe even some sexy Egyptian Goddess counterpart. But it was the Norse slut.
"I see."
With a hand motion, all of the Pallum just rot away and dies.
"To think that I will have the attention of a slut." Marcus complained as he lowered his hand.
"...You are the first person to call her that way."
"Oh? Am I wrong? She is Goddess of Beauty and Sex, no?" Marcus frowned. Was he wrong? He has heard about Loki, who was a prankster. He saw her banner, then Astraea, Goddess of Justice, and Hephaestus, Goddess of the Forge. Then Thanatos, God of Death.
Though Ebirus had a different Divinity, from what he heard, he was God of Evil… So, might it be different?
"Not quite. No one had the gall to call her a slut. Not even other Gods. Though she does have rumours of charming people to join her Familia."
Marcus' frown returned with force when he heard that.
"Oh, is that right? I might as well retrain my mental barriers then." The alchemist replied as he proceeded to collect the remaining weapons and armour. He just got more resources to work with.
"What is that?" For a second, she forgot about the fact people died and instead asked what he meant by 'mental barriers'.
"It's an art alchemists use when they work on something volatile. Most of the common alchemists work with liquids. But the better ones can work with hard materials. The thing about this art is that you can control your memories, double check your old memories or build mental barriers when you have people who can use mind magic like charms."
"Do you think it will work against Goddess Charm?" Alfia asked curiously. She wondered if it would.
"Depends. Is her Arcanium truly sealed? If it is, then it's most likely. " He shrugged at her. As long as they don't use Divinity, it should hold. In the end, it will be a battle of wills and energies.
Something like charm is dangerous as you can't see it or deflect it. But mental barriers level out the fighting field.
Freya stopped in her tracks as she felt how Allen, the cat guy, had just died. Then, a few short minutes later, she felt how her strongest, Ottar, had just died too. Then, lastly, she instantly felt how her four Executives died.
All of them are dead in a flash!
Her eyes trembled as her glass of wine dropped on the floor.
"No… This can't be." She bit her lower lip from sheer frustration.
The Goddess felt like she was about to pull her hair. Such a thing can't be happening! Did she underestimate his power? Is this 'Grand Sorcerer' that much more powerful?
She did observe him fight. He had some powers…
That is why she sends Allen with Ottar, a level 7 and level 6, to ensure he has no space. The level 5s were to ensure they were pinned down and captured.
But now all of them are dead!
She lost an enormous amount of fighting force. All she has left are a few level 5s… worse than Loki, who is rumoured to have two level 6s now!
"In that case… I will charm him myself, and then he will help me regain my lost fighting force~" One thing the Goddess is proud of is her ability to charm. Even Gods can't resist! There is no way a mere human could withstand it.
"This loss is very painful, very painful indeed. I will make you regret it~ once you are mine, that is~"
For now, Freya decided to wait a little bit, as she knew that he had raised his guard. She could wait for him in the marketplace when he wanted to buy his food. At that time, his guard should be lowered. She watched how he liked the process of shopping.
Once he lowers his guard, she will charm him.
She took another glass and poured some wine as she thought about that.
However, her smile swiftly disappeared as she felt the loss of so much talent. It makes her quite angry.
~~~
Marcus needed to make a quick trip to his home as he had extra baggage this time around. He has a pile of rubber now, and now he can make some great stuff!
Like his Iron Wolf suit! It's about time his Suit makes an appearance in this world. It brought fear into his old world. It was enough for him to get the title Grand Sorcerer, Master Alchemist and Nuclear Deterrent.
But this time around, he should be able to improve it. Though it will take a while, he still needs to bring back Legion and his AI.
After bringing his loot back home, he went to shop. This time, nothing happened, and he was able to shop properly.
"I thought we would have more people trying to get to me," Marcus complained, carrying a bag of food. Alfia had a large bag as well.
"Not everyone is like Goddess Freya, Master. I have no doubt the Gods are scheming as we speak."
Marcus hummed upon hearing that.
"Pity."
"Why so?"
"Because time is something one should never give to Alchemist. That is the worst one could possibly do." The alchemist sighed while saying that.
"The longer we are allowed to work. The less we need. The less we need, the less these Gods can possibly offer to me." He chuckled while saying that.
"Oh…even if they offer women?" Alfia asked him with a very curious tone.
"Hahaha… oh, it's amusing how clueless you are sometimes, Alfia…" For some reason, he laughed at her question.
"What do you mean?" She asked with a frown. The girl doesn't grasp why her question was funny to him.
"You assume that I can't make women…"
"!!!"
Alfia nearly dropped food on the floor as she needed to control her balance.
"Y-You are not joking!?" She asked with a nearly pouting and angry voice. She doesn't like being played like this!
"Why would I lie about my abilities? You do realise that I don't need to do that. More like I need to hide some of it." Once again, he slightly joked about it.
"...You can make…life?"
"IF I ever wanted to overrun the whole world, I might make some of them. Having an active army was always a man's dream." Marcus shrugged without care as he mentioned world domination.
GULP
She has known him for only three days, but he has terrified her more than she has in her 24 years of life. This man is more dangerous than any Evil God. None of the Gods she has met have ever mentioned whole world domination before.
Sure, Erebus wanted to destroy Orario, but that is just a single city. The guy before her didn't mind at all to conquer the world with nothing but his creations.
The sheer difference in worldview is… humbling.
It makes her both fear and respect him even more. Now she wonders what kind of world he lived in to produce a mentality like this…
He desires to leave the world, explore the void alone, and even destroy the civilisation of his birth world.
Yes, she understood it. He never put them together, but he left enough hints. The person in front of her had enough in him to wipe everything out.
Something she never could do. Her reason for joining was to be a villain so that she could help raise the next generation of Heroes, as they will need those to face the Black Dragon, but it pales in comparison to what he achieved.
As she considered it, she realised she needed to ensure he would never snap like he did in his world!
Her eyes widened as she realised the sheer horror such a thing could produce!
…
…
…
By the time they returned home, Marcus had noticed that his maid turned pale for some reason.
"Are you fine? You should get a change of clothes. Black clothes absorb a lot of sunlight, and it could make you feel out of energy." The alchemist looked concerned for a second.
"I-It's fine…. Besides, I don't have a change of clothes." Alfia sighed. She quickly recovered as she didn't want to look like she was feeling bad.
"...Right~~~"
The alchemist swiftly remembered that he wanted to make some maid clothes!
"Let me make something quick~"
Alfia, at that moment, felt a cold shiver pass her whole body.
'What is he planning?'
Soon enough, Marcus created measuring tape from the rubber he had gotten. As he promised that boar guy, he would use rubber for good stuff, like making measuring tape to measure hot girls.
"Now come over…I need to measure you~" Marcus said with a smug smile on his lips.
"...W-What are you planning?" She asked him. The girl got defensive for a second.
"I shall make your clothes, Alfia~," He said to her as he showed the measuring tape.
"...Will they have special properties?" She asked as her defensive look shifted into a curious one.
"If you want." He lost his smug look and simply shrugged at her.
"Then do it. I want to see what you can make." Her eyes slightly sparkled. She saw his armour, the weapons. They all are unique, so if he makes something for her, it will be unique. There won't be anything like this in the world.
"Is that a challenge?" Marcus' eyes light up. Alfia nearly took a step back.
'Did his eyes almost lit up like fire?'
The girl needed a double take.
"It is. I want to see something this world has never seen before." She said that with a smile. Marcus seriously nodded. Whatever joking attitude he had was gone. Instead, he was in very serious mode as he walked over to her and proceeded to measure her.
After getting her waist, burst and ass, he quickly went to write them down and then proceeded to work.
The girl was very interested in what he would do, so she watched very closely.
However, she was confused as he had first created a table and started to carve runes there. Then he brought some dirt from outside and turned it into sand, and then he turned on the forge.
Honestly, she was more confused than anything, but then she realised something…
He is making tools…
In other words, he needs tools to make whatever he has in mind!
And oh boy… did he start to work. He created one table after another. Before long, his workshop got cramped, so he then destroyed all of his workbenches and created one which could work for everything…
What Alfia doesn't realise is that Marcus is moving through 'ages'. He created a sewing machine, magnifying glass, and tools to make small items which could be placed in his Iron Wolf suit.
In other words, Marcus is using this opportunity to make tools to create his future suit.
After getting the table he wanted and spending a week finalising the product he wanted, he used his alchemy to create a pen and proper paper to start designing the clothes he wanted.
The girl snapped out of her reading. By this point, Alfia had bought several books to read and walked to watch what the alchemist's drawing was.
She was surprised at how quickly he got her body lines and started to draw a maid uniform.
"...You really are making a maid uniform for me…" Alfia sighed in resignation.
"This is just for home use. I will make you an adventurer's suit as well."
"... 'Suit' ..." For a second, she was confused. The moment he mentioned suit, she imagined the black clothes men wear in balls.
"Oh…of course… I haven't mentioned… it yet. But the reason why I started all of this was to mould alchemy with technology. To create a suit which could allow me to traverse stars and live in a void."
He swiftly pulled another piece of paper and started to draw something with mechanical precision.
It was an adult male form. Soon enough, she spotted something that was almost like a skin-tight uniform… like it was completely connected to the person.
There were no gaps… or entrances…
"...How you suppose to get into something like this?" She asked with confusion.
"Metal hands powered by mana would put all of this piece by piece. Once the suit is on, it could technically run for as long as the sun shines on it."
"What you are looking at IS the reason why I am here." Marcus pointed at the suit.
"This suit could blow up this whole world, and I am not even joking. See those joins. Those joints can magnify my punching power hundreds of times. See the piece at the chest? This allows me to travel from star to star through an endless void."
"...Is that even possible? How can something so small make you so powerful?"
By this point, she realised that Marcus had long ago established boundaries for what Gods were supposed to be able to achieve with their Arcanium.
No, he never chained himself to the limits of a single world.
"Will you recreate this… suit?"
"Nope…"
"...Why not?"
"Because I will make something better." He smiled while saying that.
"In this world, magic and magical beings are more common. I should be able to find metals and materials better than what I found in my birth world. Who knows, maybe space in this reality is different too.
I might be able to find even better alien worlds."
Alfia's lips twitched. She was about to feel disappointed, but he quickly proved her wrong.
"I see, good. I expect something amazing."
The maid swiftly told him that she wanted to see something amazing, which was enough to fan Marcus' creative flames. Sadly, the girl doesn't realise yet, but she should do it in moderation.
"Don't worry, I already have some ideas. One thing I AM VERY good at is making suits. I have close to 300 years of experience in that regard." Marcus showed her a very confident smile, which made her experience goosebumps.