Since the opening of the Wonder Emporium, Seya has spent most of her time there. She was managing the whole store, instructing the clerks, and dealing with strange requests from nobles and regular people altogether. The previous showcase between Ariana and Elinus was enough to deter noble families from acting haughty towards anybody inside or outside the Wonder Emporium. They were even waiting in line like everyone else. Balbeer was present every day for the store’s security, looking at it as an invaluable experience. For them, this was not just a chore they were assigned to but actual training.
For Seya, this was the only opportunity where she could constantly learn how to manage and operate something at this scale with this many daily variables and changes. The same was true for Balbeer, who was responsible for order inside and outside the store, and for Daryan, who was knee-deep in work; He was either back at the courtyard, learning how to manage the manufacturing side of artifacts and low-level pills or acting as a diplomat. Being the connection between the different merchants and the Spire of Ren.
“We are going to need more body-strengthening pills… a lot more!” Seya moaned, rubbing her forehead, sitting in the director’s office. She had been writing up lists since early morning. “Any time we put them out, they are gobbled up instantly!”
“We need to limit how many items one customer can buy,” Ina said, who was also present and one of the other directors appointed by the Nelvis family. By now, she looked much healthier, and some color had returned to her eyes and hair.
“Mmm… I also had the same thought.” Seya nodded, putting down her pen and stretching with a soft moan. “I’ll need to ask Miss Milly too about her opinion. We need to make a decision as a group!”
“I don’t think she is going to be against it.” Ina smiled at her. “But it may cause some ruckus when implemented. Most of our top spenders are nobles. They left so many gold coins here that it could fill my family’s courtyard to the brim!” She chuckled, still not believing what had been happening around her in the past weeks.
“They should’ve already hoarded enough pills for themselves!” Seya shrugged, standing up and opening the double-sided window, watching the bustling crowd below them. “Her Majesty said these pills are… trash anyway.” She explained with a wry smile. “Back in the Sect, these are for helping the youngsters kickstart their cultivation and…” she picked out a little bottle from her pocket, watching the pills inside it. “They are nowhere close in quality to the pills she gives us for our daily cultivation! I can’t even imagine how much this cost!”
“What the nobles here have is money! Especially long-standing families, they hoarded it since immemorial! It is time to give some back.” Ina replied, stating with a calm voice, “I am going to write up a draft of the new rules. After everyone agrees, we can post it.”
“Thank you.” Seya smiled, happy not to have to do everything by herself.
“I was appointed to be a director here. I won’t let my family down, you down, and especially not my son!” She answered with a bright, brilliant smile, “Not to mention you have a lot to do to organize the first auction, no?”
“Don’t even start on that!” Seya groaned, making Ina laugh. She saw her expression, “I already feel stage fright just from thinking that I am going to be the auctioneer! Ugh…”
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“Here is another batch.” Dermitos flung a new bag into the teleportation formation, and soon Ren caught it at the other side with a smile.
“Thanks! These are going to fetch a tremendous amount on the auction I am planning~.”
“Girl, you are not even here and are working me to death!” Dermitos smacked his lips but still wore a smile.
“Hey~ You are the pill-forging master, not me!” she shook her head with a laugh. “What about Elder Levictus? Did he find out something from the documents I sent over?”
“He has something, but I don’t know yet. I’ll tell you next time if something comes up. He locked himself away and barely came out in the past few days.
“Sure, but if he acts like this, then I am right. The city itself is a formation,” Ren murmured, crossing her arms with a thoughtful expression.
“Must be. So be careful. Okay?” he said with a genuinely caring voice. Dermitos had seen her as his own since Leinor told him he had fallen for her completely.
“I’ll try~” she winked before the formation went dormant once again.
“I’ll never get used to this!” Sentios moaned, once again, working as a human battery.
“Oh, come on, you are becoming more proficient in it! Stop acting like a little child!” Ren laughed loudly, patting his back. “Here, take this to the Wonder Emporium. It has the next batch they can sell; Seya almost cried because of the lack of pills!”
“They are the most wanted products, that is for sure!” Sentios nodded, still seeing a golden hue everywhere from when he first saw how much money they made on the first day alone. “It is no surprise that it is usually hard for someone without a master to get over a bottleneck or even start cultivating. Not everyone is a genius.”
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“This is why I am surprised my simplified cultivation manuals are at the back of the popularity list~” Ren sighed as, at the start, she expected people to go for those just as much as for the pills. Yet it seemed nobody was really interested in them.
“Not everyone can think that far. Most of those who now have a chance to start getting stronger with the help of pills are going for the short-term gains,” Sentios replied as they left the secret room, going up the staircase of the Spire. “On the other hand, those who are stuck and buy the pills to break through the wall that they have been banging their heads against for years have their own ideas on how to cultivate.”
“Oh well! It is not that it truly matters! I just prepared some spells for the auction, but if it is like this… I may change the order they are going to come up on stage!”
“Master!” Two male voices came from above as 01 and 02 greeted Ren. They were just coming down, cupping their hands as they met. They arrived with Kai in tow not long ago; since then, they had acted as advisors for the youngsters. They once were part of the main family and knew some of the ins and outs of how the family worked, so their experience came in handy most of the time.
“Back already? What, Seya can’t take it anymore?” Ren laughed, seeing the duo at the top of the stairs.
“No, she can handle it!” 01 laughed. “We were sent to pick up some errands for her as she can’t come back yet.”
“Her confidence grows by the day.” 02 nodded in agreement. “So does her strength! Soon, she is going to be at the 3rd stage, no?” 02 asked as 01 nodded in agreement.
“Most of them are talented. Their biggest hindrance is their own confidence. Or the lack of it, to be more precise. The more they get used to some pressure, the more they are going to improve.” Ren waved her hand. “Is Kai inside?” she nodded toward her study.
“Yes. He is waiting for you.” 01 answered.
“Mhm. I’m going to meet with him. Sentios, go with them. You also need to make a delivery!”
“Yes!” He cupped his hand, finally leaving with 01 and 02 as Ren stepped into the study. She was watching Kai’s back, who was standing at the window, enjoying the scenery and the bustling city of Rozex.
“I helped him as much as I could,” Kai said after a minute of silence while Ren was making coffee for themselves.
“Meaning, he is still dying…” she sighed with a soft voice, but she was expecting a result like this deep inside her heart.
“I slowed it down, and now his life is not flowing out like water from a leaking bucket. It’s only trickling down slowly.” he turned towards her, sitting down, wearing a constantly calm and relaxed smile. “Inside this realm, he can’t be cured.”
“Inside… So, he needs to go out?” Ren raised her eyebrows, sipping on her cup of coffee.
“Yes. It is damage caused by energy from outside. The wound on him can’t be patched up otherwise. If he were in the Demigod realm, this would not be a problem, but he is not.”
“And by now, he won’t reach it.”
“Yes. He has time with my help. If you can reopen the Wound in the next 200 years, he can survive.”
“Oh, then good! I can do that!” Ren let out a loud breath, feeling relaxed by what she was hearing.
“Only, don’t let him fight. Forcing his energy and life force to get violent can undo my work.”
“Noted. What do you think of the thing he created?” She asked, with genuine curiosity in her eyes.
“Interesting. But for now, it is useless.”
“Why?” She raised her eyebrows, not expecting such harsh words.
“The realm is still sealed. Something like that can’t be used, or it will draw down a destructive tribulation. Energy has to fight itself through the Tear to get in. It can’t draw down mellow and natural energy, only violent forces. Cultivating with that? Not many can handle such force. Just think about your husband’s fate.”
“I see…” She fell silent for a moment, letting out another sigh. “Well, then I’ll need to pick up some speed to reopen the sky!”
“How far are you from the Demigod realm?” Kai asked, watching her body, trying to see through her.
“I already merged three out of the nine energy points, so ⅓ is ready.”
“Which ones?”
“I am focusing on here.” She tapped onto her own head. “I merged the one in my neck and the one on the left side of my chest with the one inside my head. Now I am going towards the left side and the one in the abdomen; I still need time to slowly bring them up and merge them.”
“Do you have an estimate of how much time you need to form your demigod core?”
“A year,” she answered with a smile. “I already did once. Back then I had to spend decades figuring out how to do it. Now it is like I am cheating~” she flashed her white teeth with a cheeky grin.
“Well… you do cheat!” Kai chuckled, agreeing with her words. “One more thing… I was also hesitant to tell you as you have a lot of things on your plate already, but you should know this.”
“Hm? What happened?” She leaned forward, turning dead serious, hearing his voice and seeing the change in his eyes.
“I was scouting the mountains to the west. I was touring and checking the changes in the realm since I was put to sleep. I stumbled upon a few other demigods.”
“...” Ren just silently listened, her fingers intertwined, resting her chin on them, waiting for Kai to continue.
“They smelled like Nilier.” He said after a brief pause, “They did not discover me. They seemed annoyed, searching for something inside the massive mountain range. I don’t know what they are searching for, but they slowly etch towards us.”
“Great…” Ren whispered, closing her eyes. “Then I need to hurry up even more….”
“Don’t worry about it for now.” Kai shook his head, patting hers. “I’ll go back and monitor the situation in the forest until you are ready. You just focus on the things here. Allfather and I can hold them back if they arrive prematurely.”
“Thanks,” Ren said, reopening her eyes, already calmed down from the sudden news.
“No need for it. It is natural. If you had said you are still far away from that realm, I would have stayed silent about it.” he laughed, standing up and fixing his clothing. “But now it should not be a problem for you~.”
Ren, in the end, just stood up and opened her windows, taking a deep breath from the air that hit her in the face as she did so.
“Demigods, huh…? Well… this city and Zelig are going to be a perfect whetstone for me before they arrive!”