"We need to talk". He said.

Then he gestured at me with his index finger.

** DING **

Contract offered by Henry Soejima.

Ownership of unit 2B for 1000 Creds.

50% shares of Jen's Boarding House for 3000 Creds.

Loan of 4000 Creds under Henry Soejima at an interest rate of 30% per annum. Repaid monthly over 3 years, at a rate of 245 Creds per month.

'Declined'. The blue box disappeared.

"What're you doing?" I ask him with an are-you-stupid look.

He stares at me with his poker face. "I'm serious about the offer, we need the Creds. I need it to make this place safe!"

"Yeah well, your offer SUCKS." At my yell, Jennifer approached to stand beside him, placing her hands on his shoulder. Taking a deep breath, I counter offered. "I want my unit for 2000 Creds, I expect it to be secure, safe as you so mentioned. Then, I'll pay 6000 for 10% ownership of the territory and a lifetime of free food at your kitchen, drinks too!

"By 10% I mean that's how much I get out of the profits this territory produces from now to forever. Hypothetically, if any or both of you ascend and the territory becomes a god's immortal domain or whatever, 10% is still mine.

"Oh, but I don't want to get involved in managing the place, just want the cash man! Investment." I told them with my serious face. Honestly, I have no idea about all this territory stuff. They need the money, we all need a safe place and I don't mind helping them out, nothing wrong with getting a little profit.

They stare at me for quite a while.

"Deal!" Jen yelled with a grin. "No backsies! Breakfast coming right up."

I laughed. Looked at Henry's bewildered face, fell off my chair and started rolling on the floor to curb the pain. Jennifer probably understands that I meant to help them somehow, not make profits. Well, more like not profit at their expense.

~~~

Did you know the system has a built in feature for making deals, well I didn't, but Henry apparently did. After breakfast, he did another gesture and another blue box popped up. Terms are as mentioned above, to the minute detail. I shrugged and agreed, now down 8k Creds.

"How did you know they have a foundation skill for contracts?" I inquired. To that he told me, "they have an introduction package for free in the shop. Found it after you left. It's called Knowledge Pack 0000000, seven zeros." Being all stiff and poker face-y, as he counts the zero with his fingers.

Whaaaat. At the blank look on my face, Henry chuckled.

Geez, about time, been kinda awkward. "Anyway," he continued, "I tried to recreate your disk spell, but it didn't work as you told me. Shaping the mana into a flat circular saw was complicated enough, but it took a lot of mana to spin it. Believe me, I tried. Try wind, but the disk is too thin. Pure force, too mana expensive. Just spinning it through intent, the rotation is too slow to deal decent damage. Giving it a ManaScript also didn't work as there is nothing to lead to the spinning. Though just making something fly in a straight line is pretty easy."

"That's weird." I said, manually casting the spell. Following the process as I remember it, step by step. Summon mana and shape two disks, then give it a little mana and will it to spin, fast. "See its spinning."

"How?" His face curious.

"I give it a little mana and just tell it to spin." I dismissed the two and cast another. He has his thinking face on, so I took the chance to examine the disk. How can I improve this? Maybe its size, but the mana cost. How about accuracy, hmm, maybe I can involve Mana Sense.

"I think," he said all of a sudden, "your trait might have been how you managed to make it spin. It's all about your mana following your designs right. Which begs the question, how does everyone else who bought the spell use it?"

I opened my merchant's interface, noticed another 18 sales which I ignored for now and tried to gift it to him. The surprised look on his face told me it worked, so I sent another one to Jennifer. Then claimed the new sales of 630 Creds.

I then called Jennifer over and told the two of them about the hospital's situation. Further discussion followed, but it didn't take long for us to decide.

That is, we'll make our way there and get inside to check out the situation. They're coming with me this time, though Jennifer is to stay out of danger, she's only to get involved in an emergency.

Once again, preparations are made and we're ready to be on our way before noon. Of course we still had a quick early lunch before going on our way.

There's no point in sneaking around when the majority doesn't have the skill, not to mention Jennifer refused to learn it, opting instead, to stomp around brandishing her awesome katana at every corner. Items like that cost upwards of billions, I checked earlier. Made me choke on breakfast.

So the three of us march along the road, left of our territory while defending ourselves from the occasional Rat attacks along the way. This time, I take vanguard, then Jennifer, then the worrywart. Maybe I should check the store for some kinda detection skill, or spell. Hmmm~. I am pretty loaded.

They probably have something like enhanced hearing, or a mana pulse spell, or maybe mana sens……. Damnit. All these skills and spells and traits and titles, there's too much to keep up. Some kinda memory assisting skill would be awesome.

I once again feel like I'm forgetting something, but no time for that now. So, I quickly nudge my Mana Sense online before another distraction can kick it flying off my mind.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Almost instantly, my steps faltered to a stop, the sudden sensation almost sent me tumbling. "Guys, wa..", something bumped me from behind, then a second harder bump pushed off my feet, tumbling onto the floor.

"You want some salt with your concrete Zen?" Someone said, then someone else giggled. It's been nice knowing you my dignity.

"What happened?" Jennifer asked, a slight concern mar her calm voice. I just stopped with no warning and since we're mostly keeping our eyes on everything outside our personal spaces, they didn't notice until it's too late. So Jen bumped me, then Henry bumped us, then this.

I replied hastily, "nothing, just a new skill. Give me a moment please".

I stay sitting on the ground, having picked myself up into a sitting position. The Mana Sense skill feels like a combination of touch and smell. I can feel the mana in the air on my skin, like the feeling of being in a foggy area. Yet, at the same time, I can pinpoint two points near me with a stronger stench, each familiar but slightly different, like how we can follow the general smell of freshly baked goods. Just, enormously disorienting.

I suddenly felt-smell several mana signatures approaching us, three from the skies, and two groups on land. "Approaching! Three loners from above and two groups on land, from there and there." I told the couple pointing at an alley on my left and to the front, which is the direction we were moving towards. I hastily nudged Mana Sense off and stood up.

"Hen you take the front, stall them. Zen can you cover the skies? I'll handle the alley." Jennifer took the lead, her hobby for the sword and bow made her read historical articles about combat and theories of war, not to mention her kendo and archery competitions. I believe she knows what she's talking about. We also know enough not to argue, every second counts.

I set my eyes up to the skies, spotting three Huge Mosquitoes flying in a loose formation straight at us, maybe say 4 houses away. Magico Disk, I'm going for overkill this time. 9 spinning disks manifest above my hands, but nothing good came out of it. The spell might cause them significant damage, but aiming it manually is taking its toll on my concentration.

I could barely aim at two of the approaching hostile with five of the disk. Lucky they're flying straight this way, I'd be a coincidence to hit one if my aims need to take their course and speed into calculation. The other four disks I randomly point at the last, then let loose.

Tsk. Incomplete spell alright.

The two I managed to target swerved out of the way easily, all the disks too focused on them, providing plenty of space to maneuver to the sides. The last one managed to dodge two before flying into the paths of another, and falling out of the skies from the injury. 45 mana to hit one, more like overdumb. I need to be able to aim these disks better.

The last two is now easily within rock throwing distance, however many meters that is. I once again cast Magico Disk, investing slightly more mana in the miniscule amount that controls it to spin and fly in one direction. The extra mana creates four points of focus near the edge of the disks. This will hopefully allow me to steer them with little nudges. Like, nudging the front up to tilt up, or nudging down on the right to rotate the disk and push down on the front to make it turn left, etcetera. Imagining each disk controlled by each hand, the disks zoom off.

The results are quite more pleasant.

With little gestures of my hands, the two disks flies accurately for the closer enemy, piercing through it in an X shape. One of the disks was close enough to the last Mosquito, so I managed to nudge it into course. Disabling or killing all three flying enemies. That moment of thinking I'll fail to hold back the mosquitoes made time feel so slow, the few minutes it really was extended to what felt like ten.

Situation check, Jennifer seems to be doing fine against the two in the alley, so I drew my dagger along with hearing a faint ding and approached Henry who's having trouble kiting and misleading the 3 nipping at him.

~~~

We're currently resting in an empty restaurant. The battle ended soon after the deaths of the flying enemies. Jennifer was unscathed, as expected. Henry needed several casts of disinfect and lesser heal. The plan is to set back out after our resources regenerate.

'Updates'. We have time.

All in all, I killed 2 Giant Rats alone and 4 shared 2 ways with one or the other during our walk. Then 3 mosquitoes and another 2 shared rats with Henry during the ambush, though it's probably more like we were too noisy, drawing the attention of multiple enemies rather than some ambush. That makes 188 exp and 19 Creds. Dagger proficiency rose to 3, Magico Disk also rose up to basic mastery, 'Inspect, thanks'.

** DING **

Magico Disk - Basic. Apprentice spell. 12 mp. Incomplete spell, only available upto Basic mastery. Create two circular saws, 3cm in diameter and 1mm thick, more discs may be summoned for half the spell's mana cost each. The disks spin and fly at high speed in a straight line and slowly dissolves to ambient mana after impact, each disk may have different targets. Alternatively, the disks may be directed through intent, limited only by your ability to juggle your control among them.

Well then, I cast the upgraded Magico Disk, which cost 12 mp now instead of the previous 10. The two disks only needed barely a second to form, hovering in the air looking sharp and steady.

Staring blankly at them, I ponder how best to apply Mana Sense into the spell. How do everyone else create homing spells anyway? Hmm~

I mentaly flicked the switch to activate Mana Sense. Breathe in, breathe out… my mind slowly eases into meditation.

Gradually, I can feel the flavor of my own mana through Mana Sense, the feeling hard to describe into words. A few moments pass until I'm done inspecting my internal flow. Curiosity sated, I gently expand my awareness outwards. Where I can sense my friends in the room each with their own shape and flavor. Then the fog-like ambient mana in the room, the manaless spaces taking the shape of tables and chairs, and the large emptiness encapsulating the ambient mana, maybe the walls?

Undeterred, I push further, through the emptiness, and further still. Then, it felt like a whole new world unraveled before me. Though it is actually, probably about 25 meters or so in a radius centered around me. I sense the buildings next to the one we occupy, the manaless objects scattered about, and the living moving creatures each oozing with their own flavor of foreign mana.

I stand corrected, Mana Sense is more of a touch-hear-taste kinda feel not the touch-smell I initially thought it was. Now to see if these unique flavors may be used on a spell. Targeting a lone isolated creature.

Magico Disk.

In my current state, under the effects of the two skills, Meditation and Mana Sense. The imperfections of the disks really stood out. Upon which I spent a moment to optimize its shape. Starting with thinning the sharp edges towards a slightly thicker center for better aerodynamics, carving fine spiral fullers along both flat sides for better windflow and durability, creating symmetric saw blades, and giving it a dark metallic hue for style. Finally, I copy the flavor of the creature I can sense in the building to our right, imprinting it upon the two disks before exiting meditation.

"I'll be back in a sec," I muttered, half a step out the door, a mental nudge made me slightly less noticeable. Sneaking along the way to the occupied building, I took a peek through a side window where I know the creature is, just to be sure it's there.

Inside, I see a Parakeet feeding on a corpse. 'Inspect'. X3.

** DING **

Parasonic Skullaerie Parakeet, Elite level 5. Beware of its mating-paralyzing screech. Which would devolve into the ritual of eating its paralyzed victim before nesting amongst the remains to lay their eggs.

Human corpse. The corpse of a dead human, too mutilated for identification.

Oh, that's nasty!

With a clear conscience, I fired the disks.