M2 was immensely relieved when the secretary came back. It had been a whole five minutes of Miss Layla sitting there, smiling pleasantly with Avi seeming to have Buddha-level patience. In Avi’s case, he supposed someone who was able to wait around a thousand years for his arrival meant that five minutes was trivial.

He had newfound respect for Miss Layla’s professional demeanour. She was cool, poised, and didn’t seem to be intimidated by the two strangers sitting across from her who’d claimed to have seen a Heavenly Lightning Jade Dragon and lived to tell the tale.

Well, that was technically true. It was after the encounter that he’d died because of that Old Fart.

Anyway, as Miss Layla read through the documents, her brow became increasingly creased until her left eyebrow began to twitch. She looked about to say something when there came another knock at the door.

“Enter.”

The door opened to admit Aenwyn, who carried a tray with a steaming tea pot with four empty cups on it.

“I am sorry for the delay,” she said meekly as she placed the tray on a small serving table that suddenly appeared beside the desk, presumably summoned with a storage ring or something. M2 didn’t fail to notice the look Miss Layla gave Aenwyn when she noticed the four cups.

“Please, have a seat. If Miss Layla doesn’t mind, of course,” M2 said in an effort to smooth things out for Aenwyn. He’d already established with her his expectations when dealing with the auction house, so he was glad that she’d taken the initiative to add a cup for herself.

“Not at all,” Miss Layla said, all smiles. For some reason that gave him a few chills down his holographic spine.

“Also, the President asked me to deliver your earnings from today’s auction once he learned that you were already meeting with Miss Layla,” Aenwyn said, producing a storage ring and handing it to him in a very respectful way; the one where the giver bowed while presenting the time on their upturned palms.

M2 was very glad that he didn’t have the physiological reactions of his main body, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to keep a blush from turning his face red. So, as cool as he could, he accepted the storage ring and briefly inspected it to see what was inside. He nearly dropped it.

Not only was the correct change in there from their sale and subsequent purchases, but this particular ring could accommodate up to ten cubic metres of space, significantly better than the one his parents had gotten him.

Thinking that the ring was just used to transport the small fortune of Tier 3 Cards and Crystals, he began transferring the money into storage.

“Oh, no, the ring is a gift from the President,” Aenwyn said hurriedly once she noticed the subtle fluctuation around the ring that showed that the ring was in use.

M2 nodded, again glad that he didn’t have a biological body, and handed the ring off to Avi so that she could inspect it.

‘Holy crap!’ She sent as soon as she inspected it.

‘Yup, looks like they took a liking to us.’

Miss Layla softly cleared her throat, brining their attention back to her.

“I’m glad that the President finds value in our business dealings,” she said, giving a slight nod towards the storage ring. “It seems that I’ve failed to properly greet Sir Kinkade and Miss Asura as esteemed guests of Heaven’s Bounty, please forgive me,” she said, almost demurely, as she leaned forward in a sitting bow.

*Boom*

M2 mind blew out, as this was about as uncomfortable as he’d ever been. It was one thing for the Clan to treat him well, since he was an important family member. This. This was like going to a department store and having the employees there treat him like royalty. And probably mean it.

“No need to be polite, we’re all friends here. Please, just call us by name,” he said, raising his hands in what he hoped was a placating manner here. Holographic bodies, FTW!!!

He caught Aenwyn’s faint smile, though from the side facing away from Miss Layla.

“Then, please do just call me Layla,” she said with a smile that would have stunned him before coming to this world. Fortunately, he’d been thoroughly inoculated by Altaea during their time together, so he was able to stay with it.

“Then, Layla, we may come across other… unusual items from time to time. Would it be acceptable to come to you with any inquiries?”

“Most definitely,” Layla replied, still smiling. “Any time you visit us, we’ll be sure to have Aenwyn act as our liaison should we not be immediately available to speak with you.

“Also, are you already registered as a client of Heaven’s Bounty?”

M2 nodded as he handed over his Bronze VIP Token. Layla took it, a surprised look on her face, then opened a drawer and pulled out a device that looked remarkably like a card reader. He didn’t know why, but he hadn’t actually associated the VIP card with the mundane ID cards from back on Earth. To be fair, he hadn’t had any expectations of coming across anything remotely similar to tech from back home.

That said, this was more of a magi-tech kind of set up. The card reader looked a bit like a debit pin pad you’d see in a store, buttons and all. Except the buttons weren’t plastic/silicon/whatever they were made of. Instead, they looked like precious gems with their functions etched into them.

He watched as she slid the VIP token/card into the device, causing it to light up. A few taps later, she pulled the card out and inserted what looked like a clear crystal card, tapped a few buttons, then repeated the process with a second crystal card.

“These are our Emperor-Class VIP cards. As such valuable members, I will wave the normal fee for them,” she said, placing them on the desk in front them. “These will allow you entry to any auction held and allow for the best auction room to be provided. If you visit another city with a Heaven’s Bounty Auction House, that branch will also arrange for the same kind of services you’ll be enjoying here.”

M2 blinked at that. He wasn’t sure what they’d done to warrant such treatment but chalked it up to the healing gem and their knowledge of the Heavenly Lightning Jade Dragon.

“Thank you,” he and Avi said in tandem as they dipped their heads slightly, storing the cards away in their realm storage.

* * * * *

Layla sat down again once Kinkade and Asura left, letting out a huge sigh.

By every outside appearance, well, besides their height and near perfect appearances, indicated that they were mortals who’d never practiced a cultivation technique. But.

She was certain that, at least Kinkade, had been the one responsible for that ridiculous display of Mental Strength. The sheer amount of energy wasn’t what had surprised her though, as she’d felt much more potent displays in the past. No, it was what had been done with it that had unsettled her so. The amount of control needed to do what he’d done was… impossible.

Yet, she’d been witness to such a display. She didn’t think that even one of their Alchemists could compare. Now, this wasn’t just baseless supposition and conjecture on her part as she, herself, had minor attainments in the field of Mental Strength. And yet she couldn’t figure it out, which vexed her more than she’d ever admit to anyone.

Eventually, her office door opened again to admit Aenwyn, who then approached the desk and had a seat when Layla motioned for her to do so.

“What is your cultivation at now?” Layla asked without preamble.

“I am merely at Tier 1, Rank 5,” she replied, bowing her head slightly.

Layla nodded, then asked “Did you feel any traces of cultivation from them?”

“No.”

“Do you have any attainments in Mental Strength?”

“I’m not gifted in that area,” she said with a slight shake of her head.

“What do you make of them? What are your impressions?”

Aenwyn thought about it for a moment before saying, “They’re certainly unusual. They appear to be foreigners given their colouration, and especially their height,” she said with a slight disbelieving shake of her head. “I’ve not met anyone so… polite as them, especially ones with VIP access.”

“How so?”

“Most guests will either ignore me entirely, which they initially seemed to do, or try to get extra… benefits from me,” she said, trying to be polite about it, both knowing exactly what she was talking about. “Yet once they seemed to remember that I was there, they treated me like… family.”

Layla started at that. Yes, she’d gotten the impression that they were polite, even humble, but treating a “servant” like family wasn’t unprecedented, but exceedingly rare, to put it lightly.

“They invited me to sit with them, telling me to eat with them and have tea,” she said, still a bit stunned that someone would do so.

“No leering, or anything?” Layla asked, unconsciously sitting forwards in her chair.

Aenwyn shook her head. “No, if anything, it almost felt like he was treating me like… a younger sister or even his daughter,” she finished with a slight blush and an even fainter expression of frustration on her face.

Layla almost smiled at that. Aenwyn would certainly be considered a beauty no matter where she went, and having someone of the opposite sex, and roughly the same age as her, treat her as Kinkade had might have given a hit to her self-esteem. Yes, no one wanted to be ogled by every customer, nevermind being groped or worse, but there was a part of someone that… appreciated being seen as attractive.

Layla did smile then, remembering her interactions with Kinkade. She’d been treated almost exactly as how Aenwyn had described it.

Not that she wanted to be fawned over, but it was nice to do some harmless flirting from time-to-time, especially with someone as attractive as Kinkade.

“Do you think that it was an act? Like those old relics who pretend to be pure and upright, but have harems with hundreds of women in them?”

Aenwyn thought about it for a few seconds this time before replying.

“With those sorts, you usually get subtle hints that they’re like that,” she finally said. “A lingering look here, a seemingly innocent or innocuous comment there.”

Layla nodded along, fully aware of the tell-tale signs of a closet pervert. “If anything, I think that he was more… socially awkward than anything,” she said, getting a thoughtful nod from Aenwyn.

“You think that he was too afraid to do or say anything with Asura with him?”

It was Layla’s turn to think a moment, but then said “Maybe. But I didn’t get that impression from them. The one where you know that a pair are a ‘couple’.”

“More like best friends,” Aenwyn said with a nod.

They both looked each other in they eye, the same thought seeming to occur to them at the same time.

“Honey trap?” They both asked in unison, then burst out laughing.

After a good laugh, they each picked up an enchanted cup that kept the tea inside it warm and took a sip.

“Probably wouldn’t work,” Layla said with a sigh. “But let’s continue treating them well and keep our more… enthusiastic attendants away whenever they visit.”

Aenwyn nodded with all the wisdom and sagacity of the nineteen-year-old girl that she was.

* * * * *

‘Light, it’s hard dealing with beautiful women!’ M2 sent to Avi once they’d returned to their rented room.

Avi shot him an amused look, knowing full-well how awkward he was around beautiful women.

‘What’s the problem? If you like them, say so,” Avi sent back, amusement thick in her tone.

‘It’s not that, and you know it. It’s one thing to admire beauty, but quite another to get to know someone. Yes, a person might be nice to look at, but be completely incompatible with you. Best to “friend-zone” someone until you get to know them better,” he sent, nodding sagely.

‘You’re an idiot,’ she sent with a shake of her head.

Prime: What?

M2: What?

M3: What-the-what?

‘How long did it take you to finally get a girlfriend back on Earth due to this philosophy?’

‘That’s not the point,’ he replied, looking everywhere but at Avi.

‘Uh-huh.’

‘What do you suggest then? Ask out every woman I find attractive? Start up a harem? I’m not so durable, mentally or physically, to handle being rejected constantly, nevermind if they actually agreed to such a ridiculous thing!’

Avi just shook her head, not quite knowing where to start with that statement. Joram could be incredibly astute, on point, and insightful most of the time, but when it came to women and relationships, he was an idiot.

‘Well, I’m sure you’ll figure something out one of these years.’

She watched as M2/Joram slumped in defeat, seeming to deflate.

‘Why can’t I just spend my time reading, cultivating, crafting, researching, and all that good stuff?’

‘Because you’re human.’

- - - - -

Joram watched as his many cores zipped around his growing Knowledge Star, occasionally adjusting their orbits. Now that the Knowledge Star had grown, it required more maintenance so that the orbits of the cores would remain stable. He still didn’t know what would happen if one of the cores fell into the Knowledge Star, nor did he quite want to know.

Well, that was a small lie. Of course he wanted to know what would happen, but he didn’t want to potentially blow himself up. Especially since he hadn’t yet been able to figure out what had gone wrong with [Astral Seed]. Sure, he’d come back, but having to wait a thousand years was a little bit more than terribly inconvenient. He liked his family and the life he’d been born into, and so he didn’t want to risk leaving them all behind in the river of time.

Hmm, time… he mused. He’d done a lot more reading, studying the many levels of cultivation recently. He’d learned that as one went up in the Tiers, it was no longer sufficient to merely build up one’s core. The cultivator would need to learn to detect the various grades of mana as well as learning to draw them in and refine them.

That also led to learning how to detect the various Laws of the universe. It was very similar to the many stories that he’d read. Learn of the Law of Fire, or the Law of Metal, that sort of thing. Once the cultivator had learned to detect these Laws, they then needed to increase their understanding of said Law. And as their understanding improved, so did their ability to not only feel and see when that law was present, but they also began to be able to influence that Law. Eventually, one would be able to control that Law, even going so far as creating, say, flames of increasing potency. But also being able to insulate oneself from that Law, or even becoming an avatar of that Law.

Scary stuff!

That said, there were so many Laws that one could study that it would take thousands of years to even gain a superficial understanding of half the listed, known, Laws out there.

Well, for normal people anyway.

So, Time. That was one of the more advanced Laws out there, much like Space, Void, Gravity, Creation, Destruction, and all that. The most basic Laws were ones like the Elemental Laws; air, earth, fire, water. Each one would lead to a more complex Law, like going from earth to metal, or water to ice (which doesn’t include cold, as that was its own Law). Then, based on one’s understanding of various combinations of Laws, you could branch out into others. Like, knowing air, earth, and water would lead to a much easier comprehension of Wood. Or knowing air and fire would lead to an easier comprehension of lightning.

Then there were more esoteric Laws like Life and Death. What made those Laws? How did one go about studying the concept of Life or Death? It got more complicated as one advanced further along those paths.

So on and so forth.

That said, certain Laws were virtually unheard of at lower Tiers of cultivation, as they were somehow tied to the various grades of mana, namely: Base, Earth, Heaven, and Immortal Mana, or Qi. Base Mana covered things like the basic Laws, Earth covered the advanced Laws. Getting into the Laws that tied into the basic structure and foundations of reality itself required one to be able to cultivate Heaven and Immortal Mana/Qi.

So, at the very least, he’d need to increase his cultivation before he could mess around with the Law of Time.

Which meant that he needed to fix his cultivation issues, asap.

… which led him to his current issues.

Avi and M2 had done a great job in retrieving the herbs that he needed to refine the Nine Revolving Pathways Pill, but he wasn’t at the level of control and understanding of Alchemy that he needed to be at to successfully refine the pill.

So, there he was, practically neck-deep in refined pills and stacks of herbs, medicinal plants, and other ingredients that Avi and M2 had retrieved on their daily forays into the outside world.

With the rare ingredients that they brought back, Joram had tasked M3 to see if it was possible to create cuttings of them. If possible, Joram really wanted to expand the gardens and fields of medicinal herbs, plants, and trees that Avi had meticulously cultivated in his absence.

Also, if he was able to get those cuttings to grow, then he wouldn’t have to worry about acquiring them again in the future.

On that note, he’d also read that the richer the environment was in mana, the faster the plant would grow, and would also result in a higher quality ingredient.

So, he’d spent another day creating more psionic items for Avi and M2 to sell. The proceeds would then go to buying various grades of raw Crystal, which was then ground up and added to a fertilizer mix that Avi had developed.

He wasn’t sure how long the various herbs would take to fully mature, or if his plans would work, but he hoped it would be soon as he was going through prodigious amounts of herbs as he practiced Alchemy.

Sure, he could just sell all the pills he made to fund all this, but he was a bit of a… hoarder. Well, not like the ones you’d see on TV where the person’s dwelling was packed so tight with random stuff that they could hardly move about. No, his “hoarding” was somewhat more… draconic. But also, practical.

Who knew if he’d need these many healing, cultivation, and mana condensing pills in the future? What if some terrible- knock on wood- event occurred where he would suddenly need access to thousands of pills? Yes, that was a far-fetched scenario, especially given that he could heal people much faster than a pill could, but his training as a Boy Scout growing up had had a much more profound effect on him than he’d ever thought possible.

“’Always be prepared’, as they say,” he mumbled as he finished refining another batch of mana-condensing pills.

That was a bit of a misnomer, as they didn’t actually attract mana once ingested, but instead opened your body up in a way that allowed for easier absorption of mana. Or, rather, allowed for a greater absorption rate of mana.

He motioned with a hand, sending this new batch of pills into a waiting jade bottle. He was getting the hang of making them in his unusual way. Most alchemists used a pill cauldron to assist in refining pills and elixirs, but his method was a bit different.

Since he was using an augmented version of [Modify Matter], the ingredients would float in front of him as they were broken down into their component parts, the useful ones and the trash ones. It had taken him some time to not only detect the molecules of the beneficial aspects of an ingredient, but to also sense what mana they carried and how to bring that along with the molecules.

Once he’d figured that out, [Extract]ing everything that he needed, and discarding the rest into separate storage containers, he was able to use the augmented [Modify Matter] to bring everything together right in front of his eyes.

All told, the process was significantly faster than what Alchemists used today, but also allowed for a much higher grade of pill or elixir to be produced. “Pill Veins” and “Pill Clouds” were actually a thing.

From what he’d read, producing a pill with veins meant that the effect of the pill would be upwards of forty percent better than a regular pill, while producing clouds meant that it would be upwards of sixty percent better than a pill with veins in it. Meaning that a pill with clouds would be over twice as effective as a standard pill of that variety.

Yes, you could make a lot of money selling pills and elixirs, except he wanted to save most of them for an emergency.

Maybe I should sell all the regular pills, and just keep the ones with veins and clouds…?

M2: Go for it!

M3: Yeah, inundating the market with psionic items isn’t the best idea, so selling pills is probably the best way to go for earning money most of the time.

Joram nodded to himself as he waved a hand, gathering the piles and piles of jade bottles filled with regular pills and stacking them off to the side in an area designated “for sale”.

‘Grammy?’

‘Yes, Joram?’

‘What day is it?’

There was a pause before the answer came. ‘It is the morning of the 24th. If you intend on attending little Xiora’s birthday gathering, I suggest you return soon.’

Joram sent his thanks as he silently panicked over what to bring Xiora for her birthday. Sure, it was only her fifth birthday, but he wanted to get her something nice. Not too crazy, as he didn’t want anyone to question where he’d gotten the present, but something more meaningful than a new doll or something.

He discarded things like a Ring of Sustenance, as he could just provide her with most of the effects of one through the Network, and other items that were unknown in this world. He also discarded ones that would be “too expensive” for a five-year-old to have gotten by himself, even if he was the Matriarch-Successor’s son.

“Gah, I’ve never been good at getting people gifts…” he complained as he looked about his workshop.

Can’t do a sculpture as that would blow my cover. Can’t make her clothes as I lack appropriate materials, in this case, something “normal”.

Gems were relatively cheap if they were of the non-mana-infused variety. Yeah, he could explain coming across a nice, mundane, specimen.

Bah.

He looked around again, at a loss.

Then he finally gave up and went with what he knew she’d probably like. He grabbed a chunk of random wood, the used [Fabricate] on it, causing the block to seemingly fall apart, until you noticed that the core of the block remained, now a sculpture of two children standing side-by-side holding hands.

It was, of course, him and Xiora. He hadn’t put in the level of detail he could have, instead having opted to give just enough that you could identify who they were. He finished up by polishing it with a bit of mineral oil, giving it a nice glow. With that done, he looked about for another chunk of wood, this time to create an appropriate give box.

A few minutes later, he was prepared and ready to attend Xiora’s birthday gathering. He stored the gift away in the storage ring his parents had gifted him, then shifted back to his room.

“Tillia?” He called out as he opened his bedroom door, expecting to see her in the living room.

Nope.

‘Tillia?’ He sent, wondering where she’d gone.

‘Yes?’

‘Would you like to come to Xiora’s birthday gathering with me?’

He nearly jumped when the door to Tillia’s room opened so fast that it banged in its slot, allowing Tillia to do a sliding entrance, her eyes fixing on him like he was dinner.

“Yes!” She said, scooping him up and rushing them to his bedroom again where he was promptly stripped down to hos underclothes then redressed in what she deemed “appropriate”.

It was so fast that he couldn’t even voice his opinion on the chosen outfit before he was once again whisked away.

‘Have you prepared an appropriate gift for Xixi?’

‘Of course!’ He sent, mildly offended at the question before he remembered that he’d missed more than one of her parties…

Tillia looked around as they rounded a corner, spotted a small sitting area where one could admire the view with a friend, then b-lined it there.

He was surprised at her energy, having carried him all the way there. It had been a long time since she’d done something like that, him having grown and whatnot…

‘C’mon, bring it out,’ she sent, making a grasping motion with her free hand.

‘Rude,’ he sent right back, but still summoned the box that contained the little sculpture.

Tillia’s eyes went wide as they landed on the box, glanced back at him, then placed the box on the table so she could open it one-handed. That done, she lifted the small latch, opened the lid, then slid the covering cloth aside. Not only did her eyes widen again, but she let out a soft gasp of surprise, her grip on him loosening enough that he became nervous that she’d drop him.

‘You made this?’

‘Yup.’

She continued to stare at the statuette, her fingers not quite touching it as though unsure if she should or not.

He wasn’t sure what the issue was, as he’d purposely not put in a lot of detail. No eyelashes, no individual hairs. Heck, he hadn’t even done the nails/nailbeds on their hands, never mind the folds and seams in their clothes. It was something that he considered rudimentary, not worth too much attention.

‘This is amazing,’ Tillia sent, awe evident in the tone.

Well, crap.