Chapter 144: Independence And Advancements
"Come again?"
The burly merchant's dazed reaction made Jakk furrow his eyebrows in displeasure. When he wasn't with those that he was comfortable with, he always preferred to get his assignments over and done with as quickly as possible. But now, Rivira's City Representative was slow on the uptake and kept him from rejoining the rest of his party in their daily dungeon exploration.
"Fine, let me tell you again. Isaac's presenting you with two options. First, for him to continue with the current agreement and to keep renting your property. If that's your choice, then I've brought 1,120,000 valis with me, to rent it for another eight more weeks. As for the second option, it's to allow him to permanently buy the asset. Isaac's offer is 15 million valis, which is a little bit more than the income you'd get from renting it out for two years. Which one do you choose?"
Although his bunny ears made him seem a little less threatening, even harmless, Bors was well aware that the youngster in front of him had already slightly surpassed him in stats. As Jakk was a member of the Loki Familia, slighting him unreasonably wouldn't end well for him. What legitimately frightened Bors, however, was the man under whose orders Jakk had actually stopped by, Isaac Blackshaw.
Even down here he had received plenty of news about the upcoming protest that was to take place tomorrow on the plaza in front of Babel. Combining that with the knowledge that Isaac wasn't actually locked up at all gave him a relatively decent glimpse at the game that was being played here - and he was fully aware that it was completely out of his league. After all, he was just a small-time merchant! One who was involved in a plethora of illegal activities, but nonetheless only a minor character in the big picture.
The reason that he was so taken aback by Isaac's offer was that he had thought that the young man had already forgotten about the place that he had rented. Nobody had ever entered it and it had just stood there - empty, silent and unattended. This had caused Bors to conclude that it may have been a simple insurance of sorts, one which this enigmatic business partner of his hadn't needed to make use of. But today, on the last day that Isaac was still his tenant, a certain Hume Bunny youth had barged into his place in the early morning hours and had presented him with an offer to buy the property. Having his previous expectations overturned so suddenly made Bors' mind stagnate for a bit. However, after catching an annoyed look on Jakk's face, he hastily returned to reality, cleared his throat and put on his most professional smile.
"My apologies, I was simply overwhelmed by the honour of being graced with such an opportunity, causing my mind to waver. Thanks for explaining it once more. Of course, I'll accept the second proposal! I have a small request, though. I wonder, would you hear me out?"
Hiding the disgust that he felt for such shameless and fawning behaviour, Jakk put a remarkably heavy bag of valis on the counter and nodded.
"Go ahead, I'm all ears."
The older adventurer didn't even dare to count the money that he was being presented with and hastily explained himself, trying to assume the least threatening posture possible. Well, he succeeded, but he looked extremely awkward as a result.
"Could you ask Isaac to let me continue operating my humble business in peace? In exchange, should he need my assistance or connections, I'll support him to the best of my ability."
Not wanting to stay any longer, as he was genuinely feeling creeped out by this excessive bootlicking, Jakk nodded once more and rushed out of the store, back towards where he had come from - the building in Rivira that Isaac now owned.
Once the bunny boy was finally gone, the usually vigorous Bors collapsed on his chair in exhaustion, a relieved smile on his face. All the tension had finally disappeared.
'Phew, that was a close shave.'
Although his behaviour had honestly been pathetic and obsequious, he felt like he had made the smartest decision. He had no regrets.
Admittedly, the price that he had been offered was way below what would have been the norm for a property in a stable and secure environment. For example, in Orario, one would have to at least present five years worth of rent to convince most landlords to sell their treasured assets. However, in a place like Rivira, which usually had to be rebuilt once every two years, the price that Isaac had proposed was considered to be quite generous. Even for a man like Bors, who made a lot of black money, it was a hefty sum.
He would have accepted the offer even if it had only consisted of a single valis, though. And there were plenty of reasons for that decision. After observing the mind-boggling growth speed of Isaac, it was clear that he had already become someone that he couldn't afford to offend - and he would only become an even more prominent figure in the future. But that wasn't the scary part. The fact that the Guild had hidden the truth about him from the masses, as well as his ability of inciting that very populace so easily, was far more dangerous. It made it clear that he wasn't someone who would necessarily care about the legality or morality of his actions, or someone who even needed to be concerned with such inconsequential worries because he was basically untouchable.
Bors himself knew that while he would be able to fend off most of the outlaws of Orario, someone in such a lofty position as Isaac wasn't a threat that he could deal with in any way at all. Thinking back to how he had attempted to swindle him out of a little bit more valis back when the young man had requested a Status Thief from him, he began to shiver.
It was imperative that he was allowed to continue his various dealings, as he would lose more than just his City Representative role if he were to be deprived of that income. Even if Isaac wasn't fully aware of his operations yet, he could just ask the Braver for more information and ruin him whenever he wanted. Compared to the Loki Familia, which preferred to operate above board, the enigmatic young man was the far bigger danger.
'Still, I actually profited this time. Well, not only me, but also Rivira.'
A small smile began to blossom on Bors' face. Now that he had an even deeper connection to Isaac, he might profit off of it in the long run. After all, he was capable at what he did, and his services would surely come in handy someday. Aside from that, now that a figure like him owned a property in Bors' city, Isaac surely wouldn't watch it get destroyed and would intervene when real danger struck. In a way, Bors hadn't only been paid money - Rivira had also been blessed with a protector. At least that was what he was telling himself.
When he later got some intel from his men that were spread throughout the city, he became even more glad that he had done his best to not offend Isaac in any way during today's meeting.
It was reported that Jakk hadn't entered the city through any way that they were aware of, and he had also not left Isaac's property after entering it either. This got some observing adventurers curious, so they asked one of the few with a detection Skill to scout the place, only to find that there wasn't anyone inside. It was as if the Hume Bunny youth had simply appeared out of nowhere, and then disappeared into thin air after his business was taken care of.
Of course, Bors did his best to make those in the know swear oaths of silence, but certain rumours of a ghost having appeared in Rivira still began to spread. Still, because they sounded so surreal, nobody really believed them. At most, some suspected that a formerly unknown monster species had reared its head, while some others considered a rare Skill to be responsible.
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At around the same time that Jakk paid a visit to one of Isaac's old acquaintances, the one who had sent him there also bought the rights to the subordinates' base in the Twilight Manor.
There wasn't much of a reason for doing so, except for wanting to avoid the hassle of having to pay the rent again and again. Now that he had more money than he could easily spend, he talked to Riveria for a bit until she agreed to sell it to him for 50 million valis.
Of course, it was still under the protection of the familia and the formation that enveloped the manor grounds as well. Because he was a part of the familia himself, there was no problem with extending such a benefit to him. Honestly, Riveria would have tried her best to convince Loki to give him the place for free, but Isaac insisted on paying them some valis and spared her the trouble.
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Ever since about a day ago, when Lefiya had become the first one to succeed in adding one of her drops to her mana flow, three more students had achieved this as well: Riveria, Titania and Alicia. With all the guidance, and the successful example of Lefiya to encourage them and lead the way, these veterans of magic had progressed to the same stage relatively quickly.
The motherly High Elf had been the fastest, followed by Titania shortly after - and that was despite the comfy sofa's trauma, which caused her to stiffen up every so often when a certain finger snapping sound reached her ears. Lastly, around two hours ago, at 5 p.m., Alicia had also managed to officially take her first step on the path of Mana Cultivation.
Seeing his teachings bear fruit and the efforts of his students paying off, Isaac felt a little accomplished. However, he didn't relish the sensation, because something momentous needed his nigh immediate attention. To get everyone up to speed, he loudly clapped his hands and waited until they had stopped casting their Magics and had turned to face him.
"My apologies, but we'll have to interrupt the practice for a few minutes. I'm close to a breakthrough and it wouldn't be smart of me to split my focus at this point. I don't want any of you to suffer an Ignis Fatuus while I'm occupied, so please stay put for a bit."
Disregarding their surprise, he sat down in a relaxing, meditative pose and cut off nearly all mental connection to the outside world. Not only was he surrounded by those that he was reasonably certain wouldn't try to harm him, but Ais was also present - so there really wasn't any need to be on too much guard. If something unexpected and dangerous truly happened, then he would still be capable of reacting in less than a fraction of a second before being seriously injured. Not to mention his ability to regenerate from the most grievous wounds, and even the death of his vessel…
Turning all of his attention inwards, he guided the 180,000th drop of mana into his mana flow. Excruciating pain accompanied his motions, and he felt like his mana channels were about to burst at the seams. Thankfully, he had experienced this same agony multiple times before, so he didn't hesitate at all - not that he had ever done so on prior occasions anyway.
Three minutes later, the mana drop had finally been integrated into the flow, and all the agonizing pressure had disappeared as if it had all been a lie, a mere illusion. The channels uniformly expanded a considerable bit further, clearly following a designed pattern. As if shackles that had been holding them back had been broken, they increased in size until they reached another invisible and undetectable threshold.
By now, he was relatively certain that these bottlenecks were tests or assessments of sorts, not fully natural occurrences. If one managed to withstand the overwhelming pain and keep a clear enough head to force the drop onward the entire way, one 'passed'. To be honest, he felt quite inclined to study what would happen if one 'failed'...
Showing a relieved smile and breathing out in the comfort brought about by overcoming this hurdle, Isaac glanced at the expected system notification.
[ Mana Cultivation - Foundation Establishment (SS): Enables one to interact with their surroundings by using mana. Reduction in mana expenditure: 37% ]
As he opened his eyes again and took in his surroundings, he quickly realized that most of those present were sending intrigued or questioning gazes his way. Preempting their inquiries, he spoke up.
"I just added the 180,000th drop to my mana flow. At certain points, you'll encounter thresholds which are painful and difficult to overcome. The first one is at 1,000 drops, so you won't have to worry about it in the short term."
While almost everyone grew solemn when they heard about the risks ahead, one person was different. Far more concerned about her lord than about the danger that she herself could face, Mina hastily rushed up to him and inspected him closely. Her eyes had already turned slightly red, as if she was about to shed tears.
"Are you alright, milord? You said it's painful, so…"
A bit helpless at her adorable and caring display, Isaac sighed and stood up, then he patted her head in order to hold back the waterworks.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Sometimes, pain is necessary to advance further. Overcoming difficulties also feels extremely rewarding, in some cases even almost ecstatic, so overall, it's really quite the good deal."
His affectionate head pats and reassuring smile quickly melted the icy thorn of worry that had stabbed into the Chienthrope girl's heart, and she happily returned to her respective area - as well as the helpless monster that she had left behind - eager to restart her magic practice.
But before everything could return to normal, a grey-haired girl mostly covered in a black shroud hurried over from the entrance to the private world, a complicated expression clouding her features. Not only was she clearly uncomfortable with so many people turning to stare at her, but there was also something else on her mind. Only when she arrived in front of Isaac did Hel's speedy steps eventually come to a halt.
"Isaac, Hermes has secretly come to visit, and he requests a meeting with Kalin."
Immediately, it was apparent as to why she was so distraught. Hermes wasn't exactly known for his trustworthiness amongst the gods, as a number of them knew that he liked to pull the strings behind the scenes. Well, at least the more perceptive deities were aware of this. Some others, like a certain foolish Queen of the Entertainment District, were far too preoccupied with stroking their own ego to truly pay attention to this mere god of wanderers. Now that Hermes had come to meet with Kalin, the normally already quite paranoid Hel couldn't help but fear the worst.
"Huh? Why does he want to meet with me?"
Plain confusion was written all over the young man's face. He had never interacted with the deity in question, so how come he was suddenly being sought out, completely out of the blue?
Smirking slightly at Kalin's flabbergasted state, Isaac unhurriedly revealed the truth of what seemed like a huge mystery to his subordinate.
"His request should only be a cover. One part of his goal should be to meet me. However, he can't just tell everyone that he knows that I'm not actually in solitary confinement, not even the members of the Loki Familia. After all, he doesn't know who is aware of this and doesn't want to ruin my plans. So, in order to attract my attention, he requested a meeting with you. When all is said and done, something like that would surely reach my ears. Anyway, if you're ready, then let's go and meet him."
Even though parts of the bewilderment obscuring his eyes had evaporated, Kalin was still puzzled about something.
"But if that's true, then he doesn't actually want to see me, right? Why do I need to come along?"
Showing a certain smile that Asfi would have found intimately familiar, Isaac explained further.
"Like I said, all of that should only be a part of his goal. He has never met you before, but he has requested to meet you. That can't solely be for the purpose of alerting me. Should that have been his entire goal, then he would have just asked to meet Mina, who he had a run-in with before. I suspect that he has some other matter to discuss, one that involves you."
Finally accepting these words as the answer that he had sought, Kalin nodded to himself and got up to leave. But before they could go anywhere, Riveria hastily interjected.
"Wait! Does this mean that the break is going to continue? What should we do in the meantime?"
A calming smile on his lips, Isaac extracted a drop of blood from his fingertip and let it hover in mid-air via manipulation of the air around it. Its golden colour made the two who hadn't been clearly told about Isaac's current state of being - Cynthia and Julie - widen their eyes in shock and belated realization. On second thought, it should have been obvious, shouldn't it? He owned a world of his own. Who aside from a deity would be capable of such a feat?
Not really caring about what the peanut gallery was convinced to have figured out, Isaac stayed silent for a second or two, before nodding very slightly and finally responding to Riveria's questions.
"You can continue with your practice as before. Now that a part of me is here, I'm able to use it to keep track of what is happening. Should any Ignis Fatui occur, I'll be able to interrupt them. Talking to you all will be a bit tough, though, so I'd like to avoid it until I'm back. With that said, see you in a bit, and do your best!"
Waving at his students casually, he walked towards the home node with Kalin and Hel in tow, disappearing from his world just seconds later.
For a bit, many were a bit undecided and cautiously glanced at the resplendent drop of Ichor floating in the sky.
Contrary to those who were hesitating, Isaac's subordinates didn't waste any time questioning their master's words and resumed what they had been doing before the interruption. As the one who was still the most unfamiliar with her Magic, Aselina was the first one to mess up and almost had it explode in her face… but then, a familiar sensation enveloped her, causing the rampaging mana to dissipate safely.
Realizing that his words had indeed been the truth, because no Ignis Fatuus had occurred, the last few that had still been on the fence finally started chanting their Magics once more.
Only one person had been immersed in their own practice this entire time, even when Isaac had gotten everyone else to stop: Quinn. As the only one without a Magic, he couldn't suffer from it blowing up in his face. Aside from that, he was also the only one who had yet to perceive his mental layer. Everyone else had a shortcut available by relying on their Magics, but he… he had to take the 'elite course' and get there on his own.
More ignorant folk might not be aware, but discovering one's mental layer wasn't as easy as it sounded. In fact, even 'listening inwardly' and mentally scanning one's physical body was tremendously difficult. Some people were innately able to do it, and some naturally acquired the ability to do it over the course of their lives - but most would never become capable of following in their footsteps in any way. Interacting with one's mental layer was similar. Most people would never even think about doing so… because they weren't aware that it existed. Even mages, who did know at least that, didn't understand what it really was. Only after having been taught about Isaac's deductions did the puzzle pieces finally fall into place for them. In the end, those that had not acquired the shortcut - a Magic - were left behind.
Quinn had no specific way to 'feel' his mental layer's existence, or to inspect it. He had been told to look for something that, allegedly, was a part of him, but that he had never been aware of before. It was a search for something invisible and intangible, without any guidepost to lead him. Honestly, he was just flying completely blind. If his trust in his master hadn't been extremely great, then he would have already given up due to sheer frustration by this point.
For three days, during his magic practice, he had done nothing but think. He was supposed to look inward and discover something entirely new. He didn't know what he was doing, and the only thing that drove him was his willpower - the urge to not give up, the desire to succeed, and also the conviction that this mental layer was there, and was real. After all, others around him had already found it, so he should be able to do so as well! The problem was that he wasn't 'playing on easy mode' like the rest of them…
On the second day of his training, he had wanted to curse loudly multiple times, but had stayed silent because he had wanted to avoid disturbing the other students. He also was aware that it wouldn't have looked good for him to complain like this, and it even would have reflected badly on his master. Eventually his annoyance had faded as he had dived deeper into his psyche, shutting off nearly every connection to the outside world unknowingly.
When his master had gotten everyone's attention, he hadn't even noticed it - Isaac hadn't wanted to disturb him either - because he had been far too focused on his mind… or rather, on something that he didn't understand, and couldn't really explain.
In truth, he had already started to gaze upon his mental layer hours ago, but he simply wasn't aware that he had succeeded. His thoughts had slowed to a crawl, and the only thing moving him forward was his desire to find his goal - no matter what.
As if he was lost in perpetual darkness, he took steps forward in an unknown direction, one by one. He didn't know how much time had passed, and he wasn't even fully conscious anymore. It was at this point that he stumbled across a sprawling lake that served as the only source of 'light'. At first, he didn't have any reaction, but then his mind was slowly startled awake.
'I found it! I really found it!!'
Very close to tears, Quinn hastily stabilized himself. He made sure that he didn't lose this particular feeling and the mental path that he had taken to get to where he was. Then, very cautiously, he emerged from this state and opened his eyes. A minute of deep breaths later, he closed them again and attempted to find the mental layer once more. After all, if he couldn't replicate his success, then he hadn't truly reached his goal yet.
Fortunately, now that he clearly recalled the peculiar feeling that had overcome him before, he just 'knew' how to re-enter his mental layer with his mind instinctively. He honestly couldn't explain this phenomenon, but he didn't ponder about it for long before allowing himself to feel relieved at finally having succeeded.
Tears glistening in the corners of his eyes, he laid down on the ground and relished in the sensation of accomplishment that overcame him. A smile much brighter than the ones that he usually showed spread across his lips.
In that moment, the very last vestiges of doubt that his subconscious mind had harboured for Isaac and his teachings evaporated.
At the same time, in another world, a system notification appeared in front of the eyes of the teacher in question.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Shiro_the_Hero
Shiro_the_Hero (Want to read ahead? Check out my P atreon for advance chapters! :D - Currently unavailable, but any help is really appreciated!)
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A meeting with Hermes again, after all this time. What could he possibly want?
Those of you who paid close attention during his last appearances will know at least a part of it.
May you enjoy the cliff~
Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! \o/
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This week was finally a very relaxing one. Two one chapter weeks back to back feel like a real holiday~
From now on, we're back to normal, unless I state otherwise/something unexpected and major happens. Look forward to the upcoming two chapter week!
I'll see you all in the comments and replies (which I finally have the opportunity to respond to again), or on Thursday, when chapter 145 will be posted!
As always, stay safe, stay healthy, and - most importantly - stay alive so you can continue reading this story for years to come~ o/
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