Nick went combat class with a subtle spring in his step. He went straight there from the Rip Rudy Spell Store and arrived by 9 am. The atmosphere of the class obviously changed as Kevin Stalwart remained quiet, waiting for class to begin in contrast to his usually sociable demeanor. Everyone around him was quietly waiting for class to begin, even Marcia just stood next to Kevin, not saying anything.
All of the students noticed Nick's arrival but quickly turned away when a gust of wind blew unto the field, revealing Thompson Varrow, their combat instructor. Varrow held a sheathed sword in his hand and spoke to the other students sternly:
"Everyone, same program as usual, find a partner and start sparring."
After leaving them with those instructions, Varrow went to Nick and handed him the sheathed sword.
"This is a basic apprentice grade magic sword that I used in my early days. It is made from a Morning Wyvern's bones that are steel like so it is fairly durable and has still remained sharp after all the passing years. You should practise using a real sword from now on."
Nick accepted the sword with a strange expression, not knowing what to say, so he said the only appropriate thing that he could think of:
"Th...th...thank you."
Varrow could hear the subtle emotion in Nick's voice and was not surprised at the young man's reaction.
(To be able to withstand all the gossip and shunning happening around him with such poise. This young man must have had a hard life up until now. He reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger, I hope that he makes good use of that sword.)
Varrow spoke to Nick in a more fatherly tone than with the other students:
"Continue practising the Waiting Viper, I want to see major improvement by the end of the next month."
Nick nodded and took off his shirt, practising his sword technique with his new sword until class ended two hours later. The other students left while looking at Nick's new sword with a bit of jealousy as gaining the favor of a Regular Magician was a big deal in their eyes. While Nick was getting ready to leave, Marcia came over to him and asked softly:
"How..."
Before she could say anymore, Nick curtly interrupted her:
"Get lost."
Marcia stood there embarrassed, not saying anything more after Nick's dismissal and could only watch his back as he walked away.
(Sigh, I made the wrong choice.)
..............
Nick arrived at the General Beast Store at around midday and looked for Marshall, the clerk that Nick was supposed to stay in contact with for matters relating to his contract. As soon as Marshall saw Nick, he came over with a smiling expression, almost fawning over him.
(Carla warned me to treat this young man with extreme courtesy or I will pay dearly. I wonder why her attitude towards him changed so much?)
"What will it be today, mister Nick, do you want more beasts on credit?"
Nick shook his head and replied:
"I've produced all of the magic scrolls that I've promised but they are still in my dorm room packed in big, heavy boxes. Do you mind lending me some work men and recommending a moving truck rental service so I can bring them here?"
Marshall opened his eyes wide, not believing that he had heard correctly.
"You mean, all twenty thousand magic scrolls are ready?"
Nick nodded his head and took out a magic scroll from his backpack and handed it to Marshall.
"Sure they are, that is a magic scroll from this batch, you can test it if you want to or just hand it to Carla as a gift."
Since Carla had told him to treat Nick with extreme courtesy, he would not test the scroll until Nick was gone.
"Of course you can borrow some of our work men but they will need to be paid extra for their service, as for the moving truck, I'll call a friend of mine who works at such a business on campus, he'll go to your dorm room quickly after you give me the address."
Nick responded:
"Paying your workers won't be a problem, just give me a figure and this is my address..."
After discussing further details with Marshall, Nick transferred the workers' additional wages to the stores bank account and he also transferred money to the moving truck company's bank account as well to have things moved along as quickly as possible. The work men and Nick used one of the store's vehicles to drive to his dorm where the workmen retrieved the boxes of magic scrolls from his room and placed them onto the hired truck that would bring them to the store.
(Hard work really pays off...)
Nick revealed a rare unrestrained smile, showing some of his slightly crooked teeth.
..............
A fat, hairy African boar stood within a large, spacious cage, grunting at the two people that stood in front of it, dragging its hind legs across the cage floor, like it was going to charge at them. In the next moment, the boar disappeared and reappeared on a beast capture scroll as a red inked drawing.
Carla looked at the image, pleased with the product that Marshall had handed her to test out. She asked Marshall:
"Where is Nick now?"
Marshall who was standing beside her replied:
"He should be bringing the rest of the scrolls over to the store right now. Are you going to look through the boxes of scrolls to make sure that the quality is the same as this scroll?"
Carla shook her head.
"Nick is not stupid enough to try and deceive me. He actually fulfilled the contract ahead of schedule. I like that, when he arrives with the scrolls, you have my permission to unload them into the supplies area and count them. Tell Nick that I will make a payment by 5 pm today."
Marshall responded:
"Yes maam."
..............
Nick arrived at the General Beast Store, riding in the hired truck and then watched as the workmen unloaded the truck and brought the boxes of scrolls into the store. Marshall went out to meet Nick, saying:
"Thank you for your hard work, mister Nick. Boss Carla was pleased with the quality of the magic scroll that you gave me earlier and said that you will receive payment to your bank account by 5 pm today."
Nick nodded his head and said:
"It's been great doing business with you guys, I hope that our relationship will continue into the foreseeable future."
Marshall responded:
"Definitely."
Marshall went back inside of the General Beast Store and Nick looked for the location of nearby restaurants on his smart phone. After finding one that seemed interesting, Nick made his way there.
A soon as Nick entered the Many Soups restaurant, he ordered two servings of red peas soup with pig's tail and took a window seat where he spent the next hour eating his soup and reminiscing about his progress thus far.
(Now that I've completed my contract and will have many millions to burn, my progress will sky rocket from here on out as long as I keep working towards my goals. Next, I have to start cultivating my soul using the methods in Slade's inheritance. Now that I have money, that isn't so difficult. I also have to continue studying space path; there's also the need to continue studying rule path on my own and I guess I do that by creating more rule path spells. Since I made money by creating magic scrolls, I'll continue to make more magic scrolls that have practical uses for the people on campus and I'll see how well I do. Oh, and lets not forget about this...)
Nick picked up the sword that Varrow gave him and unsheathed it. The blade kind of looked glassy but Nick felt that it was definitely hard and sharp.
(I wonder how many people Varrow has killed with this thing?)
Nick touched the blade of the sword and something strange happened. The surroundings changed into a pitch black void and Nick stood in a space littered with bones with an old rundown temple looming over him. A figure shrouded in Darkness sat on the edge of the temple's roof and looked at Nick with scary, ruby red, lifeless eyes.
(Those eyes...they seem similar to mine since I became rank 2 so my change in appearance must have something to do with this guy.)
"Who are you?"
The figure replied:
"That is not your concern"
Nick felt exasperated at hearing that.
(Not this shit again.)
"Okay then, what kind of curse did you put on me, why is it altering my body?"
The figure spoke with a gravely voice:
"You ask many questions boy but are still unworthy of any answers. However, I will say this, the blade in your hand must wipe away thousands from this world before I will be give you any answers. Do not think that my power was given to you for free, if you do not create blood shed and develop yourself well, I will surely destroy you."
Before Nick could ask any questions, the surroundings returned to that of the quiet restaurant before the change. Nick asked Slade:
(Did you see all of that?)
Slade replied:
[How could I have missed it. Whoever that Magician is, he is a demon for sure but that is not the real concern here, he has threatened to destroy you if you do not become stronger and he seems to want you do do so through killing.]
(I realize all of that but come to think of it, those aren't such bad terms, all things considered. At least we know for sure that Malevolent Shrine and my physical changes have some connection with him. As for killing to make myself stronger, honestly, that was already in the cards for me since finding out that devouring magic beasts made myself stronger.)
[You seem intent on becoming a demon, are you sure that you want that when it is probably easier to live peacefully within this cushy little society?]
(Hmph, this place is a poor land, in the books that I got from the library, worlds ten times larger than this one with far more abundance of magic were described. Why would I settle for this place? This world is only a stepping stone.)
[Ha, ha, ha. Good, when the blood shed begins, I hope that you won't balk. A demon does not compromise.]
(So be it.)
Nick finished his now lukewarm soup and when it finally became 5 pm, he took out his phone and looked at his bank account to see nearly £230,000,000 in it. Nick immediately left the restaurant and went to the academy's real estate office where all purchases of land and rental of space on the academy campus had to take place. Nick walked to the desk of one of the officers present and said to him:
"I want to purchase an office space on campus, preferably outfitted with furniture. How much will that cost?"
The male real estate officer looked at Nick and seeing that he was young, almost the same age as him, did not have much hope of making a sale.
(He's probably here because he is curious.)
"Well...we have four such units available for sale that are situated within the academy's commercial district."
The real estate officer took out a tablet computer and showed Nick the properties, captured on its holographic screen. Nick looked at all four and told the real estate officer that he chose the one across from a restaurant that he knew sold fried chicken and fried rice everyday. Coincidentally, that happened to be the most expensive property.
The real estate officer discretely rolled his eyes at Nick and quoted a figure:
"If you want it to be set up with furniture and a magic security system. The price will be £90,000,000."
Nick nodded his head.
(The price is high but that should be expected on this campus. I need this building, not only to get away from the prying eyes of other students but to do business as well. I also need the space for researching magic; my dorm room is just too small and I have to waste a lot of time walking to other academy and commercial buildings when I stay at the dorm so...)
"I will buy the property, provided that all the basic amenities, including the ones that you mentioned are set up."
The real estate officer wore a suspicious expression when he heard Nick say that he would buy the property.
"Really?"
Nick replied:
"When can I get the paperwork done and pay the selling price?"
The real estate officer replied excitedly:
"Right away, sir."
(A 1% commission on this property is £900,000. I'm about to get up outta the hood.)
Nick watched as the real estate officer prepared the paperwork with surprising vigor and two hours later, after paying the selling price, Nick now owned a commercial property within the academy commercial district.
Nick went to his dorm room and packed up his belongings which was easy since he did not own much and all of his clothes and personal effects could fit inside a travel bag and his backpack. Nick meditated until he fell asleep at his desk and early the next morning, he officially moved out of the River Run Dorm
When Nick arrived at his new home, he opened the door with a few tears in his eyes.
(A few years ago, I could barely find food for myself and now I own my own place of business. I almost can't believe it.)
Nick went inside and explored all three storeys of the building. The ground floor consisted of a hall with sofas , a television and an eating space. The first floor had five offices that were already outfitted with carpets, desks, computers and telephones and the second floor consisted of a large carpeted room with a large oak desk, a refrigerator and a restroom area that had a few toilets and a shower.
"No bed?"
(Oh right, this is a commercial building, I'll have to buy one later.)
After checking his building out Nick carried his sword and backpack with him to combat class where he practised the Waiting Viper shirtless for two hours and then left to go to the spell creation club. When he arrived, Nick greeted everyone present and received his new task from Norman which was still just looking through documents filled with Valteese and making corrections.
(He must be doing heavy research, since he has so many documents that need to be looked through.)
Nick left the spell creation club and went back to his building where a box of supplies was placed at his door. Nick had ordered supplies that he would use to practise magic. Nick went into the building and stayed on the first floor where he begun to draw a magic formation on the floor, filled with symbols from a mystical language that he did not recognize. Nick sat in the center of the formation and activated it. Nick's soul immediately began shaking which caused him a great deal of pain.
Thirty minutes later, Nick's soul crumbled to a size 1/6th of the original, the sudden damage to his soul making him feel hazy. The process had been so painful that Nick had tears flowing from his eyes throughout; he picked himself up, washed his face and left his building, making his way to the General Beast Store. Nick had used the Soul Breaking Formation to remove the impurities in his soul which naturally caused much of it to break away.
When Nick entered the store, Marshall greeted him happily. After the contract was completed, Carla promoted him to store manager and now he had authority over the stores non-magical operations and was making four times the money that he was making before.
"What will it be today, mister Nick?"
Nick replied wearily:
"I need a large volume of your most decrepit animals, how much will that cost?"
Marshall thought for a while and quoted a price:
"We have in stock right now, about two hundred animals that we were planning to put down for various reasons, you can have them for a discounted price of £40,000."
Nick accepted and paid the price, telling Marshall to place them in the underground chamber that he was in the last time he wanted decrepit animals. Marshall wore a suspicious expression as he thought:
(Is he going to...)
Nick made his way to the underground chamber with Marshall following behind him and started using chalk to draw the soul calming formation on the ground. With cages of sickly, ill-tempered animals in front of him, Nick cast his spell:
(Eat Soul.)
Marshall looked on in horror as the souls of the animals flew into Nick's 'maw' one by one.
(I knew it, he's doing this again.)
Nick spent the next few hours eating the souls of the animals to repair his own soul and using the soul calming formation to sooth any disturbances caused by the side effects of the spell. 'Breaking' the soul, healing the soul and calming the soul, these were the three general methods of soul cultivation. There were of course better methods to cultivate the soul in Slade's inheritance but Nick did not have the qualifications to use them.
Nick said goodbye to the fear stricken Marshall and returned to his building where he meditated and then slept on one of the ground floor's sofas, looking forward to the next day.
For the next two months, Nick religiously followed a daily routine of going to combat class, visiting the spell creation club, cultivating his soul, studying space magic and practising the spells within his arsenal.
..............
One sunny morning, Nick walked away from his desk, leaving a pile of documents on it and looked out of the second floor window of his commercial building, looking tired but satisfied.
"After two months, I've finally created another useful magic scroll."