The four of us casually entered after being welcomed by the security guard. Alexa went straight to the counter to notify the realtor of our arrival. They seated us on some couches in the lobby as Alexa came back letting us know we would be seen shortly.

“Welcome Volatis! A pleasure to meet you. Marcus told me about your circumstances, though may I hear from you directly?” Her soft hands placed a business card in mine.

[Avalon Real Estate Senior Rep.] - Alyssa Turner.

If I had to describe first impressions, it would be very businesslike and professional.

“I’m looking for a place with a dojo or spacious enough to train lots of people.” I paid attention to every detail of her gestures as she sat with one leg over the other in a dark blue skirt.

She laid out a prepared list of locations on the table to purview. “These are all the ones that fit your criteria.” Listed with the details of size and cost. The prices looked reasonable so my worries from earlier eased up.

I selected a couple that caught my interest, so we could go on-site to check them out.

The first one we went to was the most expensive with a great location in the center of the city. The mansion-like building had a grand hall with tall marble pillars along the interior path. Past the hall held an open area large enough to turn it into a training ground. Several floors up in the elevator brought us to the living quarters. Rooms upon rooms for those living here and guests that would be visiting.

All the furnishing was brand new, but Alyssa told me not to mind them since they could be replaced to suit my tastes. I honestly didn’t mind, why would I want to replace anything. This was better than anything I could ever imagine. It brought up memories of our old two-room apartment my uncle and I shared. What an upgrade this would be from back then.

“Do you like it?” Alyssa could tell I was very interested.

“I do, it’s perfect!” I turned to her and wanted to fill out the paperwork immediately.

“Marcus told me about your preferred means of payment. Let’s see, the minimum for a one-year lease sets this place at fifty emerald coins for a year, or one hundred twenty ruby coins to purchase.” Alyssa uttered words that left me speechless as sweat formed across my forehead.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I made a huge mistake without realizing the price listed on the paper from before was actually the monthly fee and not the yearly. Knowing this and thinking back on the prices of the cheapest listing, they were barely within my affordable budget.

“Umm, is there a place on the outskirts of the city, maybe even near the outpost that has the space we need?” I stuttered wanting to know why this kept happening.

“Hmm..., I heard from Marcus that you hunt monsters for an income. So that makes sense.” Alyssa smoothly transitioned the conversation handing me what seemed to be a prepared file to browse through as a backup.

This time taking a good look at the price before anything else. After calculating a year lease, it came down to a nice rounded emerald coin. We headed to the place to take a look as if I had other options available.

The place was definitely less futuristic, and older than the previous building, but you could tell that the previous owner took good care of it. Everything was clean and well kept, passing off a neat homely vibe.

“I like this place more.” Eris voiced her opinion, and I asked why. “I hate the city, this is the furthest we can get from it.” Eris went to look around with Tessa as I contemplated Eris’s hatred for the city.

I had to agree with the location though. This would be ideal during our trips to hunt monsters, plus we could easily store anything we weren’t selling here. This also eliminated the need to pay for a place to stay while at the outpost in-between hunts.

Since it was along the outskirts, it looked more like a warehouse instead of a living quarter. Actually, now that I gazed around, it really was used as a warehouse. All we needed was to buy furniture, a working kitchen, and bathrooms with showers. The open space was perfect for teaching others and storage.

“What do you think? This used to be a transport facility. I can also help with any arrangements or changes that you may require.” Alyssa eased my mind, letting me know they could change the interior as deemed fit.

I stood in the center envisioning a large training area for my students and saw the eventual process of what I would change things into. The flooring was made up of wood and concrete in sections. There were very few windows acting as outside lighting along the first floor. I liked that the ceiling reached several stories high, enough space to add and remove things with ease.

My only concern was the second to fourth floor, they consisted of many office rooms we needed to convert into living quarters. There were more windows starting from the second floor up and it looked like the fourth floor had the bigger and more important rooms, possibly for those in charge.

We needed beds or we would be sleeping on the floor tonight. It was still bright and early enough to be able to take care of matters. As to not waste any more time we headed back down to the first floor to sign the forms and settled on our to-do-list.