Chapter 138 (1): Hooking Up
Atori and Gunther survived and returned to Saint Paul’s Cathedral. With the angel opening a portal for them, they had already arrived when the tactical team returned to the cathedral. Atori was exhausted from the battle, while Gunther had narrowly escaped death. Neither was in good condition.
Renata was an exception. Angels took good care of those with the holy spirit constitution. Outside of her neck feeling sore, she was perfectly fine.
News that the two Gold-rank mages had returned to the cathedral spread. The other factions in Londan searched for the gates of hell to confirm if the demon had been banished. The Free Mage Alliance, for example, had returned to the scene to investigate, led by Obed.
The altar was destroyed, the molten territory retrieved by hell, and the gates closed...
The mysterious space deep underground Londan vanished. Obed found nothing and ended up putting a question mark on his report. The Thousand-Eyed Demon had disappeared, but just in case, they shouldn’t assume that the demon had been banished to hell. The demonic descent still required further investigation.
It was a messy situation.
***
September twenty-fifth.
Training base, Lando Estate.
Grunts and scoffs could be heard in the sparring ring. Since Silvia was watching from the side, the two fighters fought without crossing boundaries, not even grappling and throwing each other for once. Half an hour later, the last sparring session ended.
Silvia looked at Wayne curiously. “What’s going on? You seem dispirited these couple of days.”
Veronica nodded. She noticed the same thing. Wayne had been behaving and keeping his hands to himself when they sparred, not taking advantage of her like he had been. It was dull. She was hoping to learn more about the dark side of humanity from the scum!
Wayne sighed regretfully and said with a wave of his hand, “I made an investment recently that gave no return, which is a loss. That’s why I haven’t been myself.”
It wasn’t just a loss, but a catastrophe. As a result, he had been eating a lot more recently, having a feast every day at the Lando Estate as if that would make up for his loss.
Learning about the reason for his bad mood, Veronica huffed. The young lady had a poor understanding of finance and didn’t get why anyone would cry over an unsuccessful investment. As Mr. Lando said, investment could lead to gains or losses. No one could be the winner every time. As long as one investment yielded revenue, it would make up for the losses from the previous nine investments.
It wasn’t wrong per se, but it was an investment philosophy that only applied to the rich. Regular people might look on with envy. If they actually bought into it, though, they would be easy prey for exploitation.
Hearing that Wayne was worrying about investment, Silvia said with a chuckle, “Cheer up. The stockings are selling amazingly. The factory is working overtime every day. By the next month, you’ll get your first share. You’ve already made yourself a rich man.”
You earned enough to never worry about your livelihood after your first foray into business. Why would you ever be sad?
Wayne perked up. That was right. Stockings were selling like hot cakes, and the market of Londan alone could support him for life.
Due to limited manufacturing capacity, their stocking business couldn’t even satisfy the Londan market, let alone spreading across Windsor, yet due to the incredible reputation it’d built up, several foreign companies were already waiting for their chance to discuss partnership.
Stockings had become scarce goods!
Later, especially once the war broke out, and the factories were all devoted to manufacturing military equipment, the production of stockings would hit an all-time low. As a result, their price would be pushed even higher. By that time, men wouldn’t need anything but a pair of stockings to hook up with women.
“This is the last day for sparring. From tomorrow on, I’ll teach you the techniques of close combat. Veronica, you’re especially lacking in the manipulation of your mana as a Silver-rank mage...” Silvia went on and on about her daughter’s shortcomings before saying with an arched eyebrow, “Be careful. If you don’t work harder, you’ll soon be surpassed by Wayne.”
It was clearly an attempt to instigate her, but it was incredibly effective, making her driven while also making Wayne her primary target.
Wayne didn’t mind; he welcomed it, actually. Now, with her feeling disgruntled about him, he would be able to make her cry and whine in a hundred and eight different ways.
“As for you,” Silvia said to Wayne. “Have a good rest today. Tomorrow, I’ll teach you how to cultivate your Silver Cross.”
Finally!
Wayne’s eyes lit up. It should’ve started days ago. Through the dragon-blooded girl’s fists, he had managed to tap into his full potential. His life essence had stopped growing. With the foundation established, it was time to push himself to greater heights.
Soon, though, his expression turned troubled. He remembered that during the Silver Cross stage, a mage still had to enhance their life essence through the four elements. As he continued to study diligently, he was no longer the ignorant mage apprentice he had once been. He had grasped the basics of magical theories and gained a thorough understanding of the field.
Whether at the Silver or Gold rank, the key to a mage’s training was ‘balance’. From a hexagram to a cross and finally to the most stable shape, a triangle, every step a mage took was linked to balance. For example, at the Silver Cross stage, god, life, void, and self supported and complemented each other; if even one was missing, no balance could be achieved.
To other mages, life, namely the life essence, was the simplest part to fulfill. They could gather enough elements per day by meditating. To avoid losing their mind, they even had to control their intake of fire elements.
However, it was different for Wayne. The simplest part for others was nearly impossible for him; it wasn’t because he didn’t work hard enough, but because his old friends had become too poor for him to exploit.
Speaking of which, he remembered Director Schrödinger. He hoped to reclaim the antique silver coin as its rightful owner soon.
“There’s another thing. Since I only have so much time, I won’t be able to keep training with you after teaching you the techniques. If you want to get stronger, you’ll have to work hard on your own.” Silvia glanced at them and warned, “In your future sparring sessions, you’re allowed to fight back rather than take turns hitting each other and taking hits. Behave yourselves and don’t make a scene.”
Wayne and Veronica nodded meekly, swearing to be good.