Isaiah soon arrived home, taking off his clothes he took a quick shower. He didn't bother having dinner as he had just devoured 2 Amethyst Breads. Instead, he decided to brew himself a nice cup of tea as he worked to improve the theoretical aspect of the "Piercing Desperation Method", which he promptly renamed to "Mana Boost Method". He was trying to remove all the areas of risk and streamline the process.
The tea tasted interesting. It was spicy, especially when consumed while hot, as all tea should be. It burned the throat, leaving a lasting sensation. He had bought this tea on his way home from a shop that specialized in tea.
He tapped his hand on the table while he studied. It was past midnight when he decided to go to bed. He watched the outside through his window as he brushed his teeth. The city's lights were on, lighting up the night sky. Life was still bustling outside; if anything, it was more energetic compared to early morning - teenagers talking, couples holding hands, customers haggling with the shop owners. This was something Isaiah noticed soon after his transmigration. People here, due to their superior constitution, needed less sleep which resulted in longer days.
He looked at his shop, which was closed at an early hour due to his busy schedule. "I need to hire someone to look after the shop," Isaiah made a mental note and got into bed, calling it a day.
"Knock, knock," he woke up to the sound of door knocks. He got up and opened the door to see his uncle and a woman with hazel eyes, black hair, and a body that would make one take a second peek, stood next to him. "We decided to visit you for breakfast with your aunt."
Isaiah hugged both of them. "You've grown so much since the last time I saw you," his auntie, Aten, told him while they hugged.
Isaiah chuckled and replied, "And you look even more beautiful. Seems like uncle takes good care of you." This caused Aten to laugh while covering her mouth with one of her hands.
As the host, he gestured inside. "Please come in, consider it your own." He gave them sandals to wear inside the house so their feet wouldn't feel cold on the ceramic floor.
After they got seated, his uncle told Aten while holding her hand with a gentle smile, "Honey, how about you go and brew us some tea?"
Aten nodded understandingly. "Of course babe, I will leave you two to each other." She got up and proceeded towards the kitchen.
After she was gone, Louie took out a piece of paper that had the government signature on it. The signature was silver in color and surprisingly looked quite well and apparent on the white sheet of paper. "I got the permission."
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Isaiah took the paper from his hands and examined it. "This is great, how about the subjects?" he asked while peeking his head from the paper.
"They only agreed to give us 4 because of the recent murder of a potential political opposition. They seem to not want to push their luck too much," He told him, waiting for his reaction. He didn't think 4 would be enough.
"A shame, but regardless 4 should also suffice." His expression didn't shift at all, which surprised Louie and prompted him to ask, "Are you sure you can make do with just 4?"
"Don't worry about the experimentation part of the deal, uncle. You can leave that part to me with a relieved heart." Just as he said that, Atena came back to the room holding a tea tray and served the teas. "Here are your teas, Gentlemen," she said in a cheeky tone.
"Thank you," Isaiah grabbed the tea cup from Atena and took a sip. "Let's enjoy some tea as a family," he added with a calm smile.
They sipped their teas as they talked about mostly business and a bit about their life. "Uncle, can you show me the power of a Rank 1?" Isaiah inquired.
Louie chuckled and suddenly a huge pressure weighed on Isaiah. It felt like the entire planet focused its gravity on solely him. The teacup in his hand shattered as it smashed the ground. Isaiah found it hard to stand up himself as well. Despite the state he was in, Isaiah's eyes burned with desire for this kind of power and a deep greed. Seeing the maniac look in his nephew's eyes, Louie felt a chill on his back and pulled back his aura.
"You held well..." Louie told him. "Most would have collapsed." Isaiah's gaze turned normal after the aura went away and he laughed while looking him in the eyes, which caused Louie to also burst into laughter. Atena looked at the two men laughing, confused as to what had transpired.
Just as Atena leaned to pick up the glass shards from the broken cup, Isaiah stopped her by gently holding her hand. He looked into her eyes and said with a gentle smile, "I can handle it later, Auntie."
"Later huh? Does that mean you are kicking us out?" his aunt chuckled and asked.
"Time waits for no man, Auntie. I have a business to operate." He got up and led them outside his apartment. Before they left, Isaiah asked his uncle, "When would the 'deliveries' arrive?"
"Probably a few days. They didn't specify the time yet," Louie responded. Hearing this, Isaiah nodded and saw them off. Going back into his apartment, he picked up the pieces of the broken cup and threw them in the trash.
He took a nice cold shower, thinking back to the power of the aura he felt and the desire to reach Rank 1 himself. The unspecified delivery time of the subjects made him a little impatient, but being impatient would solve no problems. So he went down, bought some stuff that caught his eye, and dined. He had bought various specialty items imported from the other two empires. He had to say, he found the cuisine of the Silver Empire a little lacking compared to its counterparts.
He spread Honeyed Crimson Butter on top of bread made from Windsought Wheat from the Notus Empire. He was at first surprised at the price of Honeyed Crimson Butter, which was 100 whole GC, but he decided to buy it after learning it could only be made with manual magic guidance.