As I appeared in my bedroom in Nova City, I felt a brief moment of relief at hearing Samantha’s voice.

I’d been worried that she would either continue playing hooky, or that she would actually never come back. It would have been agonizing, not knowing if Samantha was messing around in my head.

The second after I felt glad to hear her voice, I immediately felt skeptical again. Why was I so glad she was back? Was she messing with my head again?

At least this was a familiar question, and it was a relief knowing that Petra could help provide answers.

I’m glad you’re back! I thought back to Samantha. I kind of missed you.

Samantha sounded more pissed than I had ever heard her.

I thought maybe you would come back. I said it somewhat tentatively.

…

No. I’m sorry, I didn’t know what was going on, and I didn’t mean—

No—

I was waiting for you to come back, I said, again.

Samantha sighed, more exasperated than I had ever heard her.

I pulled up the relevant items on my interface.

Axillary Auxiliary Unisuit (B-rank): When desired, forms a protective membrane around your body. When desired, can connect to your nervous system and augment your own physical body with up to two additional limbs. +20 Physical Defense, +20 Dexterity. +1 equipment slot. Cost: 2,250 Points.

Yggdrasil’s Seed (B-rank): A seed of the World Tree. Cost: 3,000 points.

Samantha was surprised, shocked, and it still sounded like she was recovering from a very painful last few hours.

But I couldn’t tell what that surprise meant.

Should I not have?

Samantha was quiet, and it made me increasingly nervous. Of course, there were no returns. But it couldn’t be a bad thing, right? Worst case, it was just a waste of money. And I already had the unisuit, which I was excited about.

Ten seconds later, Samantha said,

Of course, she had to include that last dig. My plebian mind can’t even begin to understand…

But she was understandably pissed.

Hey, Samantha? For what it’s worth, I’m really sorry.

Samantha sniffed.

My Communication Crystal held a dozen or so messages. I had been gone for around two hours, and in that time, the sea creatures had begun their attacks.

Ryker was busy defending the Californian coast—completely holding his own, after a begrudging alliance with the remnants of the Armed Forces—Dawnbreaker was wondering how I was doing, and Ethan said he had found small deposits of Mithril in Barith Town. His first message was asking if he should join the battle against the sea creatures. His second message told me that he would be fighting the sea creatures, quoting the line, better to ask forgiveness than permission.

Evangeline, Bandile, and Renshu all sent me messages, inquiring about buying Mana Crystals or Mana Fragments. Of course, Nova City wasn’t the only City with mana deposits, but according to Uman’s intelligence, it was the largest mineral deposit that had yet been discovered. Perhaps more importantly, we had heavily invested in the mining industry, with several different factories, including the Compressor, Extractor, and Compactor.

I called Dawnbreaker first. “This is Jarek. What is the situation? Any Zone Lords?”

For once, Dawnbreaker sounded more relaxed over the Communication Crystal. “Everything is under control,” she said, calmly. “Honestly, if things continue at this rate, then you overhyped the sea monsters’ invasion. All of our coastal towns have plenty of Mana Shards and our cities have Mana Crystals, so so far this is just free experience for the mid-tier fighters. There are plenty of Region Lords, but no Zone Lords. Are you sure your information is correct? That there are underwater Zone Lords, too?”

I was silent for a second, as I asked Samantha the same question.

Samantha said.

With my luck, I knew just which one of those options would come true.

I called Abelino next, to share the news of a Mythril deposit near Barith Town. This would likely become a test of our friendship. Technically, Barith Town was in Abelino’s jurisdiction, and he could easily claim the mine now that he knew it held C-rank metals. As things stood, he would be getting 75% of the wealth that came from this mine. Hopefully, he wouldn’t gun for complete ownership.

Abelino was his usual friendly self, and he confirmed that the town was currently defended—since Ethan had left without really addressing that minor detail. He was, of course, more than excited to hear that we had access to C-rank metals, now.

“It seems I have to thank you,” Abelino said. “You showed me the Transcendent Taproot, and a mine with C-rank metals. I believe our partnership will go far. And your warning about the sea monsters has saved many lives. I am in your debt once again. Of course, 25% of the metals in Barith Town will go to you. Additionally, I hope you will consider the People’s Unity Government first when you are ready to sell any products you have made.”

“Of course,” I said. “There is something else I’d like to ask you. I’ll send you the dimensions for a flying vehicle. I’d like your D-rank Blacksmith to get to work asap on forming the various parts. I will pay well.”

“A D-rank flying vehicle? Instead of money, let’s say this. I’ll provide you the metals and the blacksmith’s labor for free. For every four sets I provide you, I want the fifth set to be delivered to me as a complete item.”

“Fine.”

“I’m glad we could come to an agreement. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

There was something unnerving about calling Abelino. It was the feeling of calling a sales representative, who picks up the phone immediately, filling you with positivity until you almost forget why you called in the first place, and you find yourself being upsold on the latest project.

But at least he wasn’t actively trying to kill me.

Uman was my next call. Now that inter-Zone travel was possible, Hermes Whispers was quickly expanding to as many cities as possible. There were already several branches in Asia, Africa, and Europe. They were primarily geared towards intelligence gathering, but soon they would expand to trading as well, once we had the manpower and additional resources.

“When should we expect the next transfusion of cash?” Uman’s question was direct.

“What, did you spend all the money I gave you already?” I asked, somewhat surprised. I hadn’t expected Uman to be so profligate.

“Of course not,” Uman said. “But for budgeting purposes, we need to know what our cash flow will be. You gave us 50 million coins. Is that supposed to last a year? Ten years? Should we plan on a similar investment soon?”

“I’ll have to get back to you on this,” I said. “We have a new direction that we are heading, as a company. I want to use Hermes Whispers to gain the materials I need to make high-value Rune Patterns. I can make small, two-person planes, you just have to help me find all the supplies I need. I will send you a list, and this is going to be our new top priority. Let people know to save up their coins—we’ll auction off the first D-rank plane in a few days.”

I hung up with Uman, and then considered who to call next.

I was less than enthused about talking to Evangeline, but I reached out to Bandile and Renshu, agreeing to sell them Mana Shards at a low price.

Samantha said, as I stared into the depths of my Communication Crystal. There was one thing I had been putting off, this whole time. The thing that, arguably, I should have done first, but the thing I was very much dreading.

I activated my Communication Crystal one last time.

“Jarek, how was the Infinite Tower?” Petra’s voice sounded chipper, almost too happy. “Are you ready for your… treatment?” She jokingly added a sinister tone to the last word, but it still brought shivers to my spine.

“I’m ready,” I said, swallowing my saliva.