FELIX

I paced myself up and down the room, thinking of the words I would say.

I mean, I knew that eventually, we were going to get to this stage where we would have enough Solum to do something great with it, but I didn't expect it to be so damn soon.

Lenin never seems to stop impressing me when it comes to that department of things.

How strong will you keep getting while we watch you in awe?

Soon, one by one, they all came gathering and taking a seat.

"I'm so glad you could all come." I cleared my throat, looking over at them as they waited patiently for the following words to come out of my mouth.

But they never did.

I couldn't say what I wanted; it was as if I couldn't grasp it.

I knew exactly the words, but I couldn't conjure them up.

They all looked at me, confused as to what was going on.

"Felix had the idea of expanding and modernising the village." Lenin stood up from his seat, gesturing over to me.

I felt relieved that Lenin was able to save me from my moment of embarrassment.

"As you know, with the Solum that we have obtained, it's clear that this is the best chance of doing something amazing. Isn't that right, Felix?" He smiled.

I nodded, clearing my throat. "Well, here are the places we've been thinking about trading with." I pulled out a map, letting everyone see my intentions.

Everyone nodded in agreement; there was a voice that disrupted that unison.

"Shouldn't we be focused on upgrading our village internally instead of expanding so soon?"

It was Zac who had questioned my plans.

"Well, it would be beneficial if we started contacting other villages that might want to trade."

"Still, that's not a solid enough reason; we don't know anything about them. They could be a threat." Zac added, looking at everyone, and soon enough, it seemed that he had a growing support who voiced the same concern.

I didn't know what to do; I had never experienced something like this.

I was lost for words.

"Simple, we do both."

We all directed our look at Lenin, taking the mantle once again, saving my ass once again.

"You're right; we don't know what will be in store for us." He answered clearly, "Which is why we'll only do recons, scout the area. Nothing more, nothing less."

I watched in awe as he continued speaking with such charm.

"We'll split out the efforts. A group that will be entirely devoted to scouting out the other villages, whilst the others stay here, focusing on the development of our one. Is that clear?"

Zac was the first to nod, even forming a smile, satisfied with the outcome.

"When do we start?" He questioned him.

There, Lenin smiled, looking at all of us, "As soon as we can."

LUSAN

Today was going to be busy, but within a couple of days, everyone was already at work with their intended goals.

Some were in the lab, while some were on the farms, contributing to making this Village a better place for all of us, like when I was younger.

Real change was in the air. As corny as it sounded, it was proper to me.

While Felix dealt with the Village, Lenin would deal with foreign affairs.

I was lucky to be selected to be a part of this little scout force.

We only had a few people in our Village, but there were enough to form that group.

"You ready?" I asked Tara who was currently putting on her armour plate.

She nodded, "I'm just happy to help the cause."

Woah.

That was strange to hear from Tara, out of all people.

Usually, she would have done the usual rolling of her eyes, thinking that doing something like this would be beneath her, but that wasn't the case.

"Okay, did you hit your head or something?" I joked.

She shook her head, "No, it's not that. But if Lenin says this is a good thing, then I'm excited."

I'll admit, I was excited too.

I couldn't remember the last time we ventured outside the Village beside the dungeon.

"She's right, you know."

We looked at Zac, who walked over to us with a grin.

"It seems that Lenin guy has some brain power." He tapped his head. "Unlike Felix." He spat on the ground.

One thing about Zac was that he had always disliked how Felix did things.

He never agreed with Felix's passive nature.

"With Lenin around, there might be some good change for once here."

Tara ever so slightly glared at Zac's smug face. "Don't you dare disrespect Felix like that?" Her confidence grew again, "He has done so much for us."

Zac chuckled, raising his hand in surrender. "Of course, there's no denying that. I'm just letting out my opinion, that's all."

"We should go now. I don't want to keep the others waiting," I whispered to Tara. She begrudgingly nodded, not looking away at Zac.

We went to where Lenin was waiting for us; he knew the first Village we would scout for today.

"Tell me about the Ustrin Village." He handed me the map.

"The Ustrin Village? Well, we don't know much about it." I commented.

Zac scoffed, folding his arm, "And Felix is trying to get us to trade with them."

"He wasn't necessarily wrong." Lenin examined the map, "He just didn't have any precaution first, which is what we're doing here. Shall we?"

We all nodded, following his lead.

While our expedition was quite long, it felt like we were getting closer and closer until we did.

Lenin stopped, mounting off his horse as we examined the similar Village.

Underdeveloped and needing something special.

It was to be expected, after all. The Kingdom of Juvo, while mighty, didn't care for little villages like ours.

Hell, we probably didn't exist to those folks there.

"Is there anything interesting?" Tara asked.

"They're rich in Solum." Lenin declared causally, "They have a farm located underground."

We all gave him a blank stare.

"And you just know that? Instantly." Zac questioned in awe.

Lenin nodded, "They might not be as modernised, but they have vital resources."

"So they're a farming village?"

Lenin nodded, "Correct." He paused momentarily, "We got what we came for. I'll report this to Felix." As he looked at us for a split second, he said, "I trust that you three can scout the other two villagers while I head back?"

I nodded, "Yes."

"Good." Lenin smiled as he raised his hand, emitting Purpura Solum at us.

Instantly, I felt a surge of power. That same feeling at the dungeon was intense, almost hard to take in.

Even the others were having difficulty taking it all in, but soon enough, we stood up from the ground.

"Just in case anything goes wrong." He smiled softly, "That'll last you guys for a whole day. . . But remember, you're not invincible when you have it."

Before we could say anything, he had already vanished.

"I heard that he cleared out that dungeon all by himself, but I didn't think he was this strong," Zac muttered, looking at his hands as they emitted Solum.

"So he was born with Solum, huh?"

I nodded, "It's scarce."

Zac's eyes lighten with delight. "He's a game changer; having him in our village means we can make a good change for our home."

I agreed with him that he could make such an impact on our home.

"Alright, enough with your fantasies. We still have a mission to do." Tara looked determined, ready for whatever was to come.

We followed her, ready for her to lead the way.

It didn't take long for us to arrive at the second last Village, the same as the other. The only difference is that children played around this Village, having the time of their lives.

It was lovely watching something like this; I wasn't used to seeing children have smiles on their faces.

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The others, especially Zac, shared the same expression as I did. These kids were also at school or something.

I know that sounded stupid, but why didn't we have a school, let alone a place where teachers could educate children?

We didn't have the infrastructure for that, but now, we genuinely could.

Education was always important, but it needed to be improved in our Village.

"So they have schools noted." Zac added, "Is there anything we're missing?"

"No." Tara shook her head, "We should head to the final village; it's getting late."

We nodded as we made our way forth to the final one.

Like all the other villagers, we arrived in only a few hours. With the Solum in us, we didn't even break a sweat.

But to our surprise, this Village was quieter than usual.

It was quiet even if we were on the outskirts of the Village.

"Well, that's a first; where are the people," Tara muttered. "There should be some signs of activity."

"Maybe we should get closer and see if there's anyone," I added.

"No." Zac declared, "Something isn't adding up here. No village should be this quiet."

I agreed with Zac; as I looked back at what Lenin did and how he used his Solum to his advantage, so did I tapping into the Solum I had.

I widened my eyes, "There, here."

"Wh-"

WHOOSH!

In a moment, I saw a spear flying through the air at full speed, directly approaching Tara. Zac immediately tackled her, protecting her from the spear that had just landed on the ground.

That spear looked terrific, almost as if it was crafted with elegance, but that wasn't the point of it all.

"Shit!"

"Charge!"

A voice came out of the bushes, and we instantly saw this was a trap.

They emerged from the bushes with weapons, rushing to us at full speed.

"Run!" Zac shouted.

Thankfully, the Solum that Lenin emitted did wonders for us, increasing our running pace. Soon enough, we had lost sight of those people.

I caught my breath, exhausted. "That was an ambush."

"No kidding." Zac grumbled, "If it weren't for Lenin giving us his powers, we'd be fucking dead." He looked at the two of us.

"We got what we wanted. Satisfied?" Zac declared.

"Yeah." I muttered, "We'll report this back to Felix."

Zac waved his hand in dismissal, "What will he do with that information? Fumble under the pressure?"

"Well, it doesn't matter who you tell it to; it's still going to end up with the same person," Tara snapped back.

Zac muttered to himself, his back facing against us, "Let's just head back to our Village. It's been a long day."

That we could all agree on.

LENIN

Sometimes, it was a blast just watching Felix do his magic; it reminded me a lot of what it was like when we were younger.

Of the two of us, he is always more of an innovator, highly educated and creative when designing things.

"Here we go." He carefully examined the test tube filled with Solum. "With this, we can make much-needed medicine."

"How much can you make?" I curiously asked.

"With the Solum that you brought back here. . . Batches on batches." He smiled brightly, "But we should also sell it in the local market. . . Which is pretty far from here." Felix muttered jokingly.

The closest market was a couple of hours away, and it would take us forever to get it, but I knew we would have to sell it.

"Well, when we get information on how the scouting went, we should find out."

Felix tapped his chin, "Still, we do need builders. That's something that we don't have."

At this moment, I had a lightbulb moment. "Well, there is someone."

"Wh-" Felix stopped his sentence, realising the person we were both thinking of. "You're not thinking of who I'm thinking, right?"

I chuckled, leaning against the table, "I'm exactly thinking of who you're thinking of."

"When was the last time you spoke to him."

I shrugged, "In years." I smiled lightly, "About time I caught up with him."

"His crazy, you know? That's the whole reason he went off the grid."

I clicked my finger. " That's why we need him. Besides, Rickston is off the grid, and no one knows him anymore, at least."

"If you say so, but you know this can go wrong, right?"

I nodded, "He may be crazy, but he's a visionist." I paused momentarily, considering the following words: "There's another as well."

"Mind telling me?"

I smiled, smiling, "This was a bit more personal."

Felix knew that was all he needed to ask.

WHOOSH

Suddenly, Tara and the others arrived, and from the looks of it, they did more than just scout.

"You guys okay?"

Tara nodded, "Yeah, we just ran into trouble."

"Like what?" I commented.

"The villagers at Fane got the jump on us." It was Zac who spoke up.

"Did they track you?"

He shook his head. " Thanks to you, we managed to get out of there."

I was right about sharing some Solum with them. "Alright, that's not important now; just tell us everything you have on these villages."

It didn't take long for them to give me all the knowledge they had from their scouts.

It was interesting. Each Village had a unique trait, which our Village needed to have, but that was different; the point now was that I had to find some people.

Which was why I was packing my things up for this little expedition.

"To think you're trying to find Rickston." Kassie smiled softly, holding Maro in her arms. "I would never have thought I would be hearing that name out of your mouth."

"Yeah," I chuckled. I didn't think I would either." I paused briefly. But he has something that even Felix and I don't have."

Kassie tilted her head with an all-knowing smile, "His taste for architecture?"

"Exactly that." I smiled, "The way he thinks is something we could never fathom."

"Do you have any ideas as to where he might be?"

"I have a feeling or two." A smirk grew on my face.

Kassie returned that smirk, "Have fun, but not too much fun, alright?"

I nodded, "I'll try my best. . . See you soon."

I exited the house, ready for a little fun expedition.

———

Now, this was a place where Rickston would be.

It was among the wealthiest places the Kingdom of Juvo had to offer.

It wasn't close to the Kingdom itself, but this place was arguably grander.

All I had to do was blend in and ensure that no one here noticed me; that's precisely why I wore a mask.

Masks were standard, usually for adventurers and all that.

"Excuse me, is there any way I could find a Rickston?" I asked a merchant who was minding his own busy.

"Rickston Flag?" He raised an eyebrow, "He lives over there."

Okay. . . I was not entirely expecting that at all.

The man pointed his finger, and there was only one possible house he was pointing at because it was the most prominent one.

It practically towered over everything else that way here.

To be off the grid, you had to be so rich and famous that you could make yourself off the grid. How the hell did Rickston manage to pull that off?

I thanked the man and went to his house, only to see guards there.

"Your name." One of them spoke up.

"Oh, it's Le-"

"No, your nickname."

I titled my head, "My nickname?"

He nodded, "Lord Rickston only cares for nicknames, not first or last names." Then he pulled out a scroll.

I assumed that was the list of people that could be accepted into his household.

Also, since when did Rickston become a lord?

"Mind if I ask how many people are on that scroll."

"One."

One?

"Look, is there any other way I can get his attention."

"Hold on a second." The other guard whispered to him, and he paused.

He then looked over at me, nodding as the grand doors opened, beckoning me to come inside.

As I entered the mansion, it was clear that Rickston had built it.

Only he could make something so beautiful and elegant like this.

He even painted the interior walls; everything was his.

Despite this massive house, I found him in the zone, already painting another artwork.

Thought from afar, he looked tired from continuing. His strokes are lazier than the last.

His passion slowly faded away like a candle would.

I watched, examining his every move, until he stopped.

He slowly looked over his shoulder, "Long time no see. . . Lenin."

I smirked and said, "You know, I thought you'd be living in a small hut instead of a massive mansion like this."

He stood from his seat, shrugging his shoulder, "Can't a man change?"

I chuckled, "I suppose they can."

How stared at me for a good second, "What are you doing here?"

"Straight to the point, huh?" I smiled, "Well. . . , I need your talents."

"Is that so?" he scoffs. They call me a mad artist, so why would you need my services?"

I couldn't help but smile as I moved closer to him, "Hell, I'd be a mad artist if I was slaving away."

"I have no idea what you mean by that." He scoffed, looking away, "I quite enjoy working on my paintings here."

"Yeah, cut the bullshit." I chuckled, "Anyone can tell from a mile away that your passion for the arts is gone."

"So what if it is? My answer remains the same." He declared, but something told me I could easily sway his mind to think otherwise if I needed to.

"What if I told you I could reignite your passion?" I suggested to him, and there it was—enough for him to at least understand where I would stay.

"I'm listening."

"You remember the Village of Facia."

"The one you used to always talk about? What about it?"

I smiled, "Well, it's currently getting a whole revamp, and I want you to have full control to design the village to the best of your abilities." I paused, looking at him. "Now, isn't that something interesting?"

"Say if I am interested, what's the end game here?"

"If I'm being honest, I don't know that myself."

He looked at me, thinking over the offer. "Fine, I'll take it, but on one condition."

"I'll give you all the Solum you want; name the price."

He scoffed, waving his hand in dismissal, "That's the last thing that I want." Rickston looked at me with a slight smirk.

Something told me I wouldn't like this so-called condition he would hand me.

"I want Lylia to be the one that funds me the Solum. Not just any sort of Solum, Purpura Solum."

"You being serious." I chuckled, but his suggestion threw me off guard.

"What?" He shrugged. "If you want me to consider joining you on whatever the hell this is, I need Lylia to fund me."

"How much?" I sighed.

"30 bags of it."

If my jaw could drop to the ground, it would; even I knew that his request was a little bit insane.

This man, Rickston here, was scamming me.

"You do know that's almost impossible for me."

He nodded, "I know, for you, it is, but for Lylia, it's quite the contrary."

He wasn't wrong about that in the slightest.

Lylia was a noble in the Kingdom of Juvo; like Rickston, he was a noble.

I could call myself a noble, but not anymore, at least. Those days were long gone for me now.

Not only that, her family, to be frank, was extremely rich with Solum.

If I remember correctly, her parents owned several banks that stored all types of Solum within Juvo, which is precisely why I didn't want to go there in the first place.

It was too risky for me to even step into that Kingdom.

After all, I moved to the Village of Facia to avoid encountering any of those people.

But if it meant getting Rickston, then I had to choose.

"You have a deal." I extended my hand as he shook it.

"I need you to transfer the Solum into my bank details."

"Uh. . .I don't have a bank account."

He stared at me blankly, "You've got to be kidding me; where have you been living this whole time." Rickston rubbed his temple, "Doesn't the village have some sort of mass communication there?"

"No, not really."

Rickston grieved, "I have a lot of work, don't I." He muttered, "Alright, you're temporarily kicked out of my mansion. Don't return until you give me 30 bags of Purpura Solum from Lylia."

I chuckled, knowing the heavy task ahead of me.

How the hell was I going to get that many Purpura Solum?

"Wait."

I looked over my shoulder, "What is it?"

"I have an idea of how you can get it." Rickston's grin grew more significant than ever before.

Knowing this would be my demise, I sighed, "Do you Want to tell me what it is?"

RICKSTON

After debriefing everything on him, I was surprised at how well he took everything.

The average person would be shitting themselves with the task ahead of them, hell I'm almost shitting myself just thinking about it.

But Lenin wasn't normal.

I should have expected this casual reaction from a guy like him; as far as I remember, he is always like this.

"Lylia, seriously, still hold those events?" Lenin chuckled, looking at the pamphlet that I had given him.

I nodded, "Family traditions. . . Lucky for you, it won't be hosted in the centre of the Kingdom of Juvo this year."

Lenin sighed in relief, "I got lucky with that one. So all I need to do is outlast everyone who's attending."

"Precisely." I gave him a thumbs-up. "You represent me, and we go all the way. It's a win-win."

Lenin sighed with a flicker of a light smile work on his face, "Or this could blow my damn cover."

"You have that stupid mask of yours for a reason." I patted his shoulder, looking at him a bit more.

"Hey, what's wrong with my mask?" Lenin chuckled, a bit disappointed with that comment of mine.

"Trust me, the last thing you want to wear at something Lylia hosts is a mask like that," I grumbled, looking at my table as I found exactly what I needed.

"Here, use this." I grabbed him a mask and handed it over to him.

"Thanks, I guess." He wore it on his face but stood still momentarily, "Holy shit, th-"

"A voice modifier, a built-in analysis of opponents, and it's a lot cooler. Yeah, tell me about it. I was the one who designed the first place."

Lenin chuckled, "Alright, you artist. Shall we?"

I nodded.

We travelled by chariot; there was no train system to Lylia's estate. She was old-fashioned.

Mind you, I also designed parts of her estate.

"So, how have you and Kassie been?"

Lenin removed his mask and gave me a thumbs-up, "We just had a kid, Maro."

Okay, if that wasn't earth-shattering news, I didn't know what was. "You're joking, right?" I nervously chuckled. "You have a kid now?"

He nodded, "Yeah, we do."

I rubbed my temple, "Things change, huh? I can't believe you managed to be with Kassie."

"Hey!" Lenin grinned. What was that supposed to mean?"

I gave him an all-knowing look, "If I do remember correctly, we used to be the biggest douchebags."

His mind suddenly stopped before he could say another word, "Fair point." He muttered. "But hey, everything happens for a reason, right?"

That couldn't be any more true.

Our chariot stopped as I looked outside.

"Are we here?" Lenin asked curiously.

Looking at the outside world, I knew we were here. There were no questions asked.

One thing for sure. . . This was going to be one heck of an experience.