Captain Lews looked at the human in front of her with a glint of annoyance.

“ So, let me get this straight. The first thought about hearing about tier zero spells and about grimoires is to come to me and purchase a bunch of them. Are you trying to stress me out? And here I thought you were a half-decent otherworlder.”

Jeff scratched his chin a little ashamed.

“ I, well, I know my big purchase expenses are suppose to go through you and while I am at it I thought I could ask if you knew what are the best tier zero spells to get.”

Captain Lews sighs annoyed as she puts a hand to her forehead.

“ Look, I get the logic of what you are asking. I spent over a hundred years in one war or another and not a day goes by that I am glad I knew [kindle] through it but I have not been on the front lines in over a decade. Not to mention there are no tier zero grimoires. They are just not worth the money to make them.”

Jeff nods to this in acknowledgment.

“ Recruitment bonus.”

Those two words made Captain Lews pause. Every day she was thankful that she was able to quickly pick up [kindle] from her first commanding senior soldier, who did not know more than that but was happy to try to teach it to everyone he could over their first month of training. Since [kindle] is a water-down and degraded version of the proper tier zero [ignite] she started to consider his request in a new light.

First, the choice of one of six practical spells would be a huge boon to any soldier. [Groom] will make living in your armor for weeks on end more bearable. [Ignite] would make starting a fire one of the simplest tasks to do, even in the rain. [Hydrate] would stretch water supplies out and allow washing so much easier. [Quick stitch] would make clothing last a little longer. Not to mention [Temperature Megation] would make more extreme climates more bearable. She now has all six of those and more, but back when she was just a person holding a sword and a pair of boots to take later if she died. She dreamed of having any one of them to make her life so much more bearable.

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“ [Groom], [Ignite], [Hydrate], [Quick stitch], and [Temperature Megation]. There are a few others I might recommend, but it would be better to just get them for yourself with a scroll. Such as [Preserve] or [Relax]. If you can not figure out what those do just by the name alone. Well, perhaps we need to start favoring a different otherworlder.”

In response to the comment, Jeff brought out a notebook and wrote down all eight of the tier zero spells.

“ Something else, I did not want to leave a record of this for someone to copy, but I also want to try to see if my constructs will learn other evolutions. Blacksmithing, cooking, woodwork, engineering and so on. If my guess is right, it should take between three weeks to three months for them to go from beginners to novice or apprentice level of skill. In addition I need to hire a quartermaster. So I can go to them with my supply needs. I need someone who can look after my support constructs and understand if they screw up it is their fault for misusing the tools he been given.”

Captain Lews hummed to herself.

“ A few that qualify comes to mind, but the best for the job I can think of is a dwarf I use to serve with. They kicked him out of service seventy years ago when he broke a prince’s jaw when they tried to pass their own mistakes onto him. He been sitting around getting drunk ever since. If you can convince him to take the job, you will find noone better.”

Jeff nods and takes the information she is giving him in his notebook. After a few more details they come to the heart of the reason he is there.

“ With the debacle with the mithril, your thousand gold crowns promise to the guild, the absurd amount for the grimoires to be made, and your eight hundred gold crown reserve for expenses a year for the next ten years. That leaves you with just under one hundred gold crowns to last you till the end of your stay here. The good news is, unless you discover yet another money drain, you should be able to last the duration with ease. Bad news is if there is a complication... well you will have to dip into your planned reserves.”

Jeff puts his notebook back into his coat pocket.

“ Well, there is one other matter. Training is all well and good...”

The elfs shoulders slump hearing that.

“ But levels are important. So you want to power level. Before the grimoire request, I would have recommended an A rank team. They would have got you to thirty quick enough. But with what you got left...”

“ Yea, at best a bad or desperate B rank individual or a C rank team.”

The elf nods to this as their meeting stalls out with less than ideal solutions available.