"And, that was the last meeting," Zolast said as we walked through the main forge, which was currently empty with our workers going through an existential crisis.

"Well, it was fun," I said with a chuckle as I caught Zolast's exasperated gaze.

"You have a very mean sense of humor," Zolast commented, but that didn't prevent the sides of his mouth from tugging.

"I take what I can get with all the work we have," I answered. "There's simply too much to do."

"So, what's next?" Zolast asked.

"For now, our biggest priority is security. The dungeon, the headquarters, the casino, the forge, and the outpost; they all need magical security measures, in that order," I explained. "Do you think you can handle that?"

"Had the curse still been plaguing me, it would have taken at least a week," he said, smiling widely. "But now, updating the defenses will take me less time, especially since we can't set up anything too big before the dungeon officially opens."

"Good to know, then I'm going to focus on leveling."

Zolast frowned. "I don't think the outpost could handle another intense flood," Zolast said.

"Oh, don't worry about it, I have other plans."

"And, do your plans have anything to do with the ridiculous gold-plated useless armor that you have asked Launara to forge?"

"You're quite sharp for an old man," I answered, happy to shoot back.

Zolast swatted my shoulder. "I don't want to hear that from you, oh ancient hero," he answered but didn't even bother to ask the exact details. "Just make sure not to push the outpost too much. Ideally, one monster wave every three days, at least until we can have some warriors that could handle a true disaster."

"It's a pity I can't enter the dungeon," I said.

"It's a pity indeed," Zolast said, but that was the extent of his comment. After all, the strategic advantages of the ability to absorb tainted destruction mana were simply too much to discard for a temporary advantage. "But I should be able to transfer you quite a bit of experience from the dungeon."

"Still, don't prioritize me too much. Our little team of blacksmiths will play an important role in the coming days."

"If you say so," Zolast said, more than happy to leave those minute logistical details to me. Even after months of exposure, I am fascinated by the attitude of Zolast's and every other noble's ease of dismissing operational issues.

It wasn't like high-quality magic weapons fell from the sky.

"I'll send Mahruss and three others to join you as well. Their loyalty is not in doubt anymore, and I want them to get stronger as soon as possible as well. We can't afford to neglect the casino, though. That's still our only actual moneymaker, with the outpost barely able to pay for itself."

"That's because you're putting enough ballistas to rival the number of archers."

"Not for nothing. It might be costly, but they will be incredibly effective once we start producing magical bolts for them," I countered.

"Assuming we get the approval from the duke. Magic ammunition for siege weapons is classified as strategic weapons. We can't just produce them."

I shrugged. "Oh, I'm not worrying about him. His enemies are pressuring him too much for him to care about the long-term implications. He will accept, and he'll be happy about our conditions. I'm more worried about your Junior Inquisitor."

The mention was enough to earn a frown from Zolast. "Oh, yes. Bertnam. I can't wait to have another talk with him. It'll be fun."

"Don't forget the plan. Just prime him as we discussed and send him my way. He's our only contact with the larger forces searching for me. We can't afford to just silence him."

"Alright," Zolast said, but for once, he had an expression that could be called petulant. Not that I could blame him. The sudden visit of his old colleague had rattled him back then, and now that his powers were back, he wanted to return the favor.

"Don't worry. His time will come," I consoled him.

"I'm not in a hurry," he said with a soft yet determined tone, showing just how badly his lengthy powerlessness had affected him. "Let's split. We both have a lot of work to do."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

I nodded and left. First, for a temporary visit to my casino , with the goal of making sure everything was in order. Then to the outpost to make sure there were no unsavory characters poking around … and getting a few hundred thousand points of Experience in the process.

Pity I couldn't just trigger another monster wave without pushing them to the limit. I wouldn't have said no to another one or two quick level-ups.

Instead, I visited the town once more to pick up the armor I had asked them to forge. After that, I dashed forward once again.

My destination, Town Maell. However, rather than my newly purchased residence, I was going toward the inner town.

One additional benefit of the Heroic Party; I could sense their location with pinpoint accuracy. And, right now, Limenta was rushing through the inner-city streets, being chased by several dangerous-looking people.

Rather than going down to save him, I watched from a distance, taking note of the way he moved, which made me frown. He was markedly more incompetent than the first time I had watched him escape. The reason was obvious.

His leveling.

He had jumped from level eight to twenty-four, tripling his stats across the board, which represented an incredible boost in his general performance.

Enough to make him forget the tricks that kept him alive in the streets and impressed me in the first place. He jumped from roof to roof in a desperate dash, only taking turns when it became absolutely necessary.

Three times, I had noticed him using his hiding ability to empower his capability to stay concealed, yet that only allowed him to momentarily ditch his followers. Eventually, one of them with high perception noticed his presence and directed the faster ones accordingly.

He was lucky that none of his followers had Speed and Perception at the same time, or he would have been long caught.

He eventually managed to get away, but it was far more challenging than it should have been. I sneaked behind him, and spoke. "What was that?" I asked in a sharp tone.

With a quick twirl, he turned toward me, his dagger already in hand, ready to attack. Then, he registered my identity, and put his dagger down. "M-my lord," he gasped.

"Just call me boss," I told, not liking the noble title. Not to mention, it was not a good habit, increasing the risk of being caught. "Now, do you want to explain what the hell that disgraceful, shameful display was about?"

He froze. "I … I'm sorry m — boss," he muttered as he looked down. "I know it's wrong, but when I came across a deal for rare stat stones, I couldn't help myself. I won't steal again."

I sighed. "For the sake of all the damned," I murmured, suddenly feeling frustrated. "Do you think I'm angry because you stole a few trinkets," I said.

"You're not?" he asked, his confusion palpable.

"Of course not. Think, boy. That was exactly what you were doing when I decided to recruit you. I would have said something if I was against it."

"But … it's not exactly heroic," he whispered.

That made me chuckle. "Anything I approve of counts as heroic. Don't worry about it."

He paused for a moment. "Then, why are you angry?"

"For your pathetic display while you were escaping of course," I said. "Come here," I said as I moved toward a more secluded corner, and passed him a small stick. "Now, explain to me exactly what was your plan during the initial heist."

He blushed. "There wasn't too much of a plan. I heard one of the black-market workers talking about a sale, I followed them, and when the opportunity presented itself, I stole them and left," he said, raising his hand.

I was barely able to keep myself from sighing loudly in disappointment.

"What was your primary escape route, and what were the greatest obstacles?" I said. He stayed silent. "How about your secondary route? What would you have done if they had a mage with them? How about if they had someone with both Speed and Perception?"

With every question, his shoulders slouched a bit more. "I … don't know," he whispered.

I sighed, and continued with a calm tone. "Do you know why I'm angry?" He shook his head. "I'm angry because I have already seen you using those abilities very efficiently. But, now that you have leveled up, you have become overconfident."

"I'm sorry," he murmured again.

"Don't be. Let's go over your mistakes so you won't experience such a problem again. Draw me the initial heist area," I said. He quickly did. "Now, do your best to assign your general impressions to each participant of the deal."

That made him freeze. "I … I didn't pay much attention," he admitted.

"Because you were confident your abilities would save you. Don't do that again," I warned. "Don't forget, any heist, no matter how trivial, requires proper recon and research beforehand. Even if you don't have days to carefully plan, you'll have a few minutes, which should be enough to identify at least three viable escape routes, as well as the potential primary targets."

"I understand the escape routes, but how can I identify the biggest threats?"

"Simple, you start by following their gazes and body language. First, watch people immediately before and after they act. They have a tendency to look at their superiors to check for their approval, which will give you a good understanding of the command structure. Then, focus on the leader, and who he orders around for important issues, and for trivial tasks. By that way…" I started, giving him a quick yet efficient explanation about the basics of a heist.

However, even as I explained, I dragged him back to the outer town, making him plan and pull several operations in quick succession; and even moving to the inner town for a little reprise for the end, netting us quite a bit of skill stones and a bunch of stat stones in the process.

I have always been a believer in hands-on learning.

That impromptu teaching session cost me a couple hours, but it was a necessity. I couldn't let Limenta act like a total amateur.

After the training session — which netted us far more material benefits than I expected, including some vitality stones and about a dozen advanced skills — I left Limenta alone, but not before asking him to stay at the house unless there was an emergency and focus on learning to control his Concealment skill — and sharing some of the conjectures I had developed with awakening Stats.

With that done, I rushed through the forest, curious about the state of the little groups of peasants I had supported with the skills, wondering if my help had been enough to allow them to surpass their challenge.