The group below me begins to shift and talk amongst themselves.

A few speak up and ask specific questions about things from general city growth in the future, to the reason why I'm fighting Sector 1, and finally how I'll be able to train them and grant them power if they wish.

One by one, I explain in further detail our situation.

The majority of people already knew there was a war going on just from the way I conduct myself, and the demonstration of power against the gang leaders previously. Before they even agreed to serve me, many felt the mana shockwaves of my battle against the Colossal and already assumed the worst.

Considering this, not a single person decides to sever our link and take my offer to leave back to Sector 4.

That doesn't mean they all have combat abilities and wish to fight though.

Over two thirds of the crowd chooses to stay and not fight. They're hoping to become business owners, simple workers for those businesses, or even artists living a simple life in the city.

I direct all of them to consult Maurice's builder team, and work over the details in the guild hall with Abby once this meeting is over.

My words to the architect are heard by everyone as they disappear into the octagonal empty hall.

"That's right, I put in the order for your building materials and should have them delivered by tonight. Anyone that has special housing needs, or would like to establish a business, tonight will be the soft deadline to get these things submitted. A large construction project will begin tomorrow."

Once they all go inside, there are 37 individuals that stay standing in the square.

I do a scan through all of them, and find these are certainly the strongest ones here. Almost everyone in this group is over level 150, and a majority of them have useful basic combat skills like Dagger Arts, Swordsmanship, Body Hardening, and various stat buffing skills.

Of these brave recruits, 3 in particular stand out the most to me.

I point into the crowd.

"You three, step forward."

My gaze locks with each of theirs as I point to them individually and they step forward.

"State your names and abilities."

A short bulky blond-haired man steps forward first.

"The name is Francis, I wield earth magic."

Next, a thin dark-featured young man with a handsome face steps up next.

"I'm Andy. I have a wind magic skill awakened."

Then lastly, a woman with orange hair, freckles, athletic build, and sharp eyes speaks up.

"The name's Rachel. I control fire."

As they begin to realize why I singled them out, I use my body double skill to split into two parts.

There are some wide eyes from the crowd, but no one reacts too much as my copy steps forward and talks.

"If you would like to get stronger, I'll be providing you all with gear, resources, ability training, and power leveling indefinitely in the dungeons just outside town. Split into 3 groups behind one of these element users. These will be your team leaders. Of course, everything will be overseen by me, but we will begin training right away."

Everyone does as my double says, and gets into groups behind each element user and they all follow to a nearby warehouse for gear to be sorted out and for my double to change up the teams a bit.

My goal is to get them all up to level 250 to 300 using their own skills and abilities with my double giving guidance. Then, I will take over and train them myself allowing them to absorb mana control once they've built up a good enough base of fighting talent.

With my inspect and appraisal skill, I'll be able to give them all the perfect gear and match them up with opponents that will push them to their limits together.

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The reasoning behind having the only 3 element wielders be perceived as leaders early on is because they will naturally be able to gain mana control faster. In time they will become stronger than the hunters by their sides. It's best to put them in this position now rather than later.

Once I see them off, and my double takes them to the nearby warehouse, I'm left alone in the center of the square.

I let out a sigh and airstep high above the town to look down on it from the sky.

The sun will be setting soon, but I still have quite a bit of time to use up before that happens.

I could check on Ember and my doubles to see how their progress on element stone farming is going, but to be honest even if they were ready for another pod, I don't think it would be a good idea for me to go inside for isolated cultivation just yet.

There are still a lot of things to do that can only be done by me, and if any of the Dark Guards come by now, I'm certain my teammates aren't capable of stopping even the weakest of them in their current form.

Ember can fend for himself, but even in his current state, I question if he could have beaten the 2nd Ranked Dark Guard on his own. It would probably be possible, but it's not a risk I'm willing to leave up to chance.

I whisper under my breath, "That settles it. I'll stay on guard and protect this place myself until everyone is strong enough."

As these thoughts race through my mind, the slow-moving wind passes by high up in the sky and I decide to open up my item storage to see if I can craft any items worth filling my open item slots.

I sift through everything and examine their stats very carefully, seeing what options my craftsmanship dashboard gives me when I set certain items next to each other.

"This is it... My old daggers didn't hold up too well against a double ranked up monster, so I think it's about time I make an upgraded set."

A smile shows across my face as I decide on what Item I'll make first by merging 3 items from A-Ranked Monsters together into 1, along with enough blood to bond with the creation and tens of thousands of MP in crystals to be the energy for the craft.

______________________

[Extreme Grade][Lightning Stone]

[Wolf Guardian's Fang][+265% Mental Strength][+258 Speed][Lightning Attribute]

[Desert Hawk's Beak][+281% Speed][+222% Agility][Wind Attribute]

->

[Storm King's Dagger Set][Blood Bonded][+312% Speed][+299% Mental Strength][+276% Agility][+250% Strength][+250% Defense][Lightning Attribute][Wind Attribute]

______________________

After an intense burst of light, a pair of long curved white blades with yellow static rippling from them emerge from the craft. They have the same merging perk as my other daggers, allowing me to use them as a single blade or a pair as I wish.

As soon as I hold them, a rush of buffs flows through me, and I test them out in the sky, throwing enormous blades of sharp wind charged with intense waves of electricity through the air.

Satisfied with this craft, I place them into my storage after a few more slashes.

I'll have to test them out on a real opponent to see their true capabilities later. While they don't have the destructive power that fire magic brings, the deadliness of the wind blades and usefulness of the lightning's stun may put these daggers on par with my Flame Emperor's Sword.

It makes me excited to upgrade my main weapon in the future too once I find a genuine A-Ranked Fire material to merge with it or replace its base.

With my weapons now upgraded, I turn to try to make something a bit unique, and soon discover the possibilities of a very unique crafting option for a defensive item.

"Now this... is what I was looking for."

______________________

[Shard of The Colossal] [+266% Strength][+210% Defense][+200% Mental Strength]

[Metal Fragment of Infinite Regeneration][+338% Strength][+290% Mental Strength][+277% Defense][Hidden Ability]

->

[Infinite Essence of Regeneration][Blood Bonded][+365% Strength][+329% Defense][+312% Mental Strength][+300% Speed][+300% Agility][Hidden Ability]

______________________

I use another 8 ounces of blood, and this craft takes over double the mana crystals that the last one did. Once the flash of crafting light is finished, a tiny orb of liquid silver-colored metal is left in its place.

I look at it closely; seeing the appraisal reading on it and wondering how exactly I'll be able to equip this item.

The moment I picture it as a ring in my mind and push my finger forward, the silver ball shape shifts into a ring and floats onto my finger.

Out of pure reflex from touching this silver material in the past, I get ready to cut my own hand off if it begins to freeze and turn to metal. However, seeing as it's blood bonded and my own item now, thankfully it doesn't.

I still raise an eyebrow at the fact that it didn't turn into a ring the moment after the craft was finished. The slow rate of transformation is quite odd.

"With a name like that, I'd assume it'd be a crystal consumable, or maybe a necklace or something..."

As I speak these words aloud to myself, and picture what it would have been in my mind, the silver ring around my finger shifts and grows, forming into a large silver crystal. Then, moments later into a necklace with a shimmering string with a pendant on the end.

As it floats above the palm of my hand, I begin to understand what this item really is...

I picture the silver liquid transforming into a shield, then a spear, then a sword, and finally an enormous wall that mimics my mana shielding.

I'm even able to expand the silver moldable liquid into a dome that completely covers my entire body and expands outward tens of meters to grow larger and larger.

It can instantly transform into whatever I desire. My guess is that it will have very adverse effects if an enemy touches this liquid silver material, just like when I was fighting the being it came from... The infinite possibilities run through my mind as I continue to shape shift the material into whatever I wish, but won't have any clear data until I test it out against an actual opponent.

The only downside I'm able to find now is that it uses up a lot of mana to expand and regenerate.

Once the sun begins to actually set, I revert the silver back into its ring form and place it on an empty finger.

"Alright, that's enough fun. It's almost time for me to get back to The Vice Region and pick up those building supplies."