The carriage smoothly passed people happily walking at night with vampires roaming among them. Some child dropped something from her bag, and a vampire quickly retrieved it and returned it to the child. He raised his hat to the child, who blushed and thanked him. A blood moon shined through Alchemy Street's light pollution and smoke. Industrialized in scale, there was always a high demand for healing and disease-cure potions. Vampire workers seemed content to take a shift. He saw the blue-tinted glass from empty vials overfilling carts pulled by children knocking on doors asking for collections.

Eagle Eyes allowed him to view the city, which he hadn't seen before. All it took was time to pay attention; he learned so much. Like there was a building project in the distance, a massive tower with gears on the inside. If he wasn't mistaken, Basin City was about to have its own clock tower.

He relaxed his eyes, letting his vision return to normal. Seeing in the dark wasn't any easier, but the distance and scale he could see were life-changing.

Attributes had an effect on his perk. He could see a little further and with better detail with each point of dexterity.

He turned back to Mary, dressed to the nines. In his opinion, her lacy black dress made her look even more beautiful. She tossed back her raven locks and smiled. Her black lipstick only made her skin seem paler. Her dark brown eyes were mesmerizing, like the edge of an event horizon. She was sucking him into her family, politics, and, most troublesome of all, their drama.

Street lights dimmed as they approached the wealthy section of the city.

It felt like there should be music warning him of the darkness that awaited him. All he had was his crossbow, which he kept in its case with a few magazines. That didn't count the stakes in his bag of holding. He didn't like his odds fighting the undead at night with a two-foot stick, no matter how pointy they were.

His stakes weren't something to underestimate. One stab, and they could put down nearly any undead. They drained the lifeblood of opponents and converted it into solar energy for the next strike.

The fact that they were a short two-foot spike of wood connected to a handle made them less than ideal without supernatural speed or at least his own reaction time. The trouble was he had no way to measure a vampire's attributes.

They crossed a small waterway and entered the wealthy side of the city. 4 and 5-story mansions on massive estates with acres of land separating them from each other lined the street. Massive gardens filled with blooming flowers stretched out around the properties almost to the point of consuming the buildings themselves.

"That's my cousin's home. We can visit sometime if you wish. Their wine is impressive. Do you like wine? We try to keep the water clean, and the minister of alchemy swears he's nearly figured it out, but our people are mistrustful of it." Mary said.

"I think I need to be sober," Red said.

He had tried to focus on the outside on getting back home. The outside was where the most unpredictable things could happen. Sure, there was plenty of opportunity to make SP, but there was also plenty of opportunity for danger.

Red wanted to master the stances Viviane taught him before testing the outside world again. He wasn't ready. Jumping into danger without anything to fall back on will only get him killed.

"So I'm sure you hear this a lot, but how much stronger is a vampire than a normal human?" Red asked.

Mary looked overjoyed to have something she could talk to him about. "You don't ask easy questions. It depends on the bloodline. I was a natural birth, my mother was a natural royal birth, but my father was turned by a royal. So his blood should be noble like that fool who attacked you. A noble freshly turned should be at least 10 times stronger than the average man at night and only twice as strong during the day. But with age, that increases, and they will develop powers as they gain experience in their new life."

That was a lot to take in. "Powers," Red said.

"Let me ask a question." Red raised an eyebrow and nodded. "The fairy, where did she come from?"

"I found her and her mother when I went out to get supplies. She was being bullied by brownies, and I saved her. Then I offered her and her mother a place in my shop. Fairies are known for being crafty deal makers, so I thought she would do well manning the front desk." Red said.

It was all technically true, and by the look on Mary's face, she didn't want to call him out.

"So you wanted to know about our powers." Mary looked out the window. "We have time. So let's see, there are many disciplines, but they fall into five categories, well six if you include bloodlines. Anything that doesn't fall into the first five categories normally is a bloodline. There is Blood Craft, shadowmancy, mindviel, Fleshweaving, and Deathbloom. They cover most vampire abilities in one way or another. I'll give you a book about them. I have a few in my bedroom for day reading." Mary said.

Asking for details must have been too much for a carriage ride. He said to tell me everything about you.

"So I noticed you don't have many customers. Have you thought of making things besides weapons to kill immortals?" Red raised an eyebrow. "Maybe you could make some chairs and a dining room set or two," Mary said.

"I was getting sick of making crossbows," Red said.

"I'm sorry, but we need the order," Mary said.

…

A meeting that required no pomp or grand display was something to feel comfortable in. The lord of Basin City wore his black regalia, a sword gifted to him by the king, and a symbol of his position. He wore his worn riding boots and had his groomsmen saddle saddle the horses. His wife wouldn't attend. She was busy with a book club, and he didn't need her advice for this meeting. Commissioning weapons for his guards was well under his authority as a city lord.

The Hermes Cult had done too much damage for his comfort, and a new weapon that could shake up the battlefield and drive them back was welcome. He admired his daughter for the find.

When he saw the man, he had been expecting a dashing youth, but instead, what he got was a middle-aged mortal built like an ox. He moved like a sword novice who had only picked up on martial training. His clothing was perfect as a method was used to create it that had no flaws. Perhaps there was some new textile machine he was unaware of. If so, that was something else to discuss if a conversation over exploding crossbow bolts turned dull.

He smiled carefully to avoid revealing his fangs because humans always find it uncomfortable. Fangs were only revealed to criminals or those trusted to the point where facades could be dropped. It was human nature to fear the vampire.

Lord Vrynos decided to forgo courtly requirements such as bowing for the meeting. For his daughter's new friend, they would meet not as equals but as fellow citizens of the kingdom. "Greetings, Red. On behalf of Basin City, thank you for agreeing to take up this contract. I understand you've met my daughter but few others of noble birth. Let me introduce my son, Kailith. He will be responsible for selecting the guards who will use your weapons against the cultists."

"We've seen fireball staves before, among other tools of war. Can you tell us how your crossbow is different?" Kailith asked.

Prove you aren't wasting our time.

That was the bottom line and the reason for this test.

The human stared in the direction of the range they set up. It was roughly 800 yards away. He wouldn't embarrass the boy and call him out for being unable to see in the dark. The city lord felt it wasn't his place to note his human limitations.

It was far enough to excuse using horses for the short ride. The fact it was so he could ride once more with his daughter was left unsaid.

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He had some torches lit so the human wouldn't be completely blind.

Red took his crossbow out of its case, which was a bulky thing clearly made to keep the weapon and show where it was. There would be no accidents while he kept it there. The man glanced down range again. "There are five targets set up. I can perform the test here."

He thought he had misheard the human. No human could hit a target from 800 yards away at night. He enjoyed this type of challenge theoretically and would have gladly bet with his wealthier guests about it.

This was a business deal with a new craftsman he hoped to raise. He didn't want to insult the boy, but he had to learn his limits. The city lord decided to give him a test.

"There are five targets prepared very well. For each one you hit from here, I'll add a 10% bonus to the initial sum." The city lord had more gold than he knew what to do with. 300 crossbows traded for their weight in gold wouldn't dent his treasury.

Regardless, the human wouldn't hit a target. It was too far away and at night. He doubted the weapon could even send a bolt 800yrds.

"What if he fails to hit one?" Mary asked.

"Then he gets nothing upfront, and it will be five years before he's paid. Do you still want to go down this road?" It was essential to offer an out and allow mortals to prove their character by accepting it.

Red slammed a square into the crossbow with a click. He pumped the handle, the string pulled back, and a bolt loaded. The lord marveled at the ingenuity of the weapon. Even as he internally sighed at the creator's pride.

The lesson would only make the man better.

That alone was worth the price, by his estimation. Red aimed down the rows of torches, possibly the only reason this challenge was possible for the human craftsman. The targets should be nearly invisible, even for a far-sighted human, but it has been a long time since he was mortal. There was also the chance the mortal used a non-verbal sight-enhancing spell.

The shopkeeper pulled the trigger, pumped another, and fired, followed by an explosion. Orange flowers bloomed in the distance, and his vampiric eyes barely caught the latest flying bolt, which impaled a dummy's chest before erupting in a fiery explosion. The last two shots were spot on, and the box should still have 30 bolts left before it was empty. He listened to each pump and heard the pulleys inside lowering the weight of the draw. It was an incredible weapon, a true feat of engineering.

The city lord slowly picked his jaw off the ground.

Three hundred men mounted with these weapons could wipe out any other force in the field. 60 teams mounted in groups of five could sweep the Hermes cult from his lands.

His son patted the human on the back good-naturedly. "How much silver is needed for a custom one for myself?" Kailith said.

"This will make our neighbors nervous." Minister Smith said.

The normally reserved man stared at the still-burning dummies in the distance.

"At 50% of a 300 crossbow order, with each crossbow going for 300 ounces of silver, that should be around 45000 silver ounces." He would have it paid out in gold, but 450 gold ounces was cheap for the weapon offered. It wasn't even a rounding error to his treasury.

His daughter smiled as they mounted up to approach the scene themselves.

…

Horses were fascinating animals. He had only ridden twice and never had free reign to go where he wanted, but he always wanted one. Riding was fun; his horse carried 450 ounces of gold in its saddlebag. She was a gift from the city lord. He also had two vampire guards riding to ensure the gold made it to his shop.

He was expected to finish all 300 crossbows in six months. That was a lot of time, and it left him a little worried about the state of the towns around the city. Every day, merchants still seemed to bring fresh food into the city. While some hamlets were hit, others had protections enough to repel undead attacks.

There was a lot he didn't understand.

So maybe he shouldn't worry about geopolitics.

Red led his new horse through the door to his shop, much to the confused expressions of the vampires.

Wallet 4.5m

A liquid metal slime wasn't much of an option for fairies allergic to metal. So, Red decided to buy something else for security. A slime queen appeared in all her pink glory in the corner of the room next to the bin filled with stakes. She had the silhouette of a woman, but her body was entirely pink, almost like an abstract drawing of a woman. Her flesh rippled as she shifted on her hip, and occasionally, her slime core shifted across her body.

Red issued her a salary allowing her to purchase any food she might need and full access to use any weapon he'd created to defend the shop.

She was a slime queen, but her attributes were low, and those could be trained in the gym. He only had to spend 200,000SP to get her.

He then purchased the Dojo and connected it to the attribute gym. Then, he bought a healing room and an alchemic recovery pod. Before his new horse could use the bathroom on his clean floor, he purchased pasture land in the kingdom. A door appeared, and he was the proud owner of 5 acres of land suitable for raising horses. When he opened the door, he found a greenhouse in the shop. He wasn't outside. There was a sunroof to help grow grass and stables for his new horse.

Red upgraded Vicky's alchemy room to uncommon at the cost of 550,000SP. He upgraded her greenhouse to common for 50,000. Then, he upgraded his workshop to common.

He upgraded his shop level.

Shop lvl4

Room Expansion+

+1 Location

+1 Perk Roll

Red watched the room stretch and checked his mental map of the shop, which showed that every room grew larger, including the upstairs kitchen, bathroom, and indoor pasture.

Wallet 2.6m

Everything was coming together. The shop was bigger than ever, and Red had tons of space to live in with no threat of some little shit kicking his ribs in. He planned to buy more slime queens later and have them grow stronger in his attribute gym. He purchased them with Uncommon abilities but trash attributes. With a gym, they should easily grow stronger.

He took a break and did what he wanted for a few days before throwing himself to the grindstone.

…

Five blessed days had passed with no interruptions. Red's occasional stop at the common-tier workshop was enough to build a few crossbows daily. He could make them in his sleep. Most of his time was spent practicing his new sword technique, so he went to the Dojo and immediately gained the skill.

Lake Bed Dance (Epic) lvl3/150

Red altered the way his skills appeared on screen to lower their clutter. He glanced at his complete skill list.

Lake Bed Dance (Epic) lvl3/250

Wood Crafting (Common) lvl9/20

Enchanting (Common) lvl1/20

Blacksmithing (Trash) lvl1/10

Marksmanship (Trash) lvl4/10

Fireball (Trash) lvl5/10

Lake bed dance was a complex skill to master. Swinging a sword in the Dojo made him choke and gasp for air. The skill was trying to drown him when he used it. But every level filled his mind with knowledge about the skill like little breadcrumbs leading to something incredible. Reaching level 3 had been a trial, so he used it more in the gym to improve his attributes. It seemed his body took to training easier through full body training.

He was preparing himself for the next instant dungeon. A water dungeon seemed the next prominent stage in searching for resources.

Red's strength hit 26, and he wanted to test his strength between points to see the difference. He checked his chart. Between 24 and 25, he gained 15 pounds of lifting strength. Red added 15lbs to the rack and felt giddy. He slipped under the bar and lifted; it was heavy but not his max. He felt the difference. He still needed to test it, but he was hopeful. After adding one pound to each side, he felt his limit at 17lbs 2lbs increased from strength level 25. He added it to the chart.

It seemed that every point counted more than the one before, and breaking through a tier increased lifting strength by double or more depending on the tier.

Red continued to hold off leveling his shop because of the location issue. He hadn't seen a new customer yet, but that door would open with all new problems.

He left his gym and visited Vicky in her alchemy lab. Viviane was taking over the desk. His slime queen was in the gym lifting weights and slowly increasing its attributes. It would be a while before it went from trash to common.

The little fairy was zooming around, messing with a controller. She noticed him enter and pointed to a vial. "It's done," Vicky said.

"Sweet, thank you."

"Are you sure it's a good idea?"

"Well, buying the skill I need outright is 100m, so I think this might be the cheaper option," Red said.

"Are you sure you don't want me to add a few potions to increase suggestion?"

"No, I don't want to build a relationship on a weak foundation," Red said.

He purchased 10 72oz steaks and marinaded them with the potion. It was an intelligence-increasing potion for reptile pets. Red hoped that by slowly increasing Rexy's intelligence and showing that he was a friend, he could build rapport with her and become friends.

Viviane watched him open the screen door. Rexy happily opened her mouth and extended her tongue to accept his offer. A wall of dagger-like teeth curtained his view as he tossed her juicy steak after steak. She pulled her tongue back and swallowed them down. Her jaws shut, and the 30-tall, perfect killing machine stood to her full height and whistled at him.

"She's saying she appreciates the treat," Viviane said.

"You can understand her." Before Viviane could respond, the door opened, and a teen wearing Daoist robes stepped into his shop.

Two men stepped in behind the young man and took up defensive positions. A third, much older man stepped inside and smiled gently.

"Greetings to you, humble shopkeeper. My young master, Archeron Pluto, wants to offer your shop patronage." One of the guards reached into a bin and frowned. "I am a servant of the Pluto family Gan of the fourth stage foundation realm."

Old Lycandros (Uncommon)

Description: A servant of the Pluto clan who has dedicated himself to excellent service in exchange for learning the least of their clan techniques. He no longer has aspirations for his own cultivation and only wishes to further the path of his young master. It is empowered by the qi attribute.

"What do you have that will impress a young master of the Pluto Clan?"

Hey guys I hope you're enjoying the chapters I have more on my patreon. There are 6 up and I might get 4 up tomorrow. But 1 ahead is only $1, 3 ahead is $5, and 6 ahead is $10. Don't feel pressured I have a day job this just helps and its a little something for ya'll. Link