Looking at the young lady standing over the man who was one and a half times her size, this was the moment he knew he was no match for the pink blossom and that they didn't require his help in protection one bit, which made him confused as to why Aiya asked him to take care of them.
“Don't worry about it; he didn't disrupt anything important.”
“That's good. Again, I'm sorry for being late to my post. It's my fault; I was unaware we had other people here today.I'll get rid of this man promptly,” she said as she lifted the man's legs over her shoulders and dragged him out of sight, his head bouncing along the ground as she went.
“I wonder if they're all that strong?”
“No, not all of us. Actually, most of us, me included, haven't even been able to begin our cultivation journey. We're not like little Nicky. Instead, we are stuck playing by the system's rules, and due to that fact, we don’t want to give him any more than he gets from basic skill advancements.”
“Did you hear back from your supervisor yet?”
“Yes, I even have permission to take some people with me. Little Nicky will be one of them. I would just like to know what it is like; will there be enough business for us there?”
“There should be. The last time I was there, it was beginning to have a thriving community, but I have heard there is a planet in a neighbouring solar system that might be an interesting location in the future.”
“I hope you're right because I'm taking quite the gamble with this. I had to call in a lot of favours to get the personnel required for this move.”
“To alleviate some of your concerns, I will talk to my people and get this move subsidised. You and your people will not need to worry about your financial needs until your new location is set up and bringing in profits.” Jake tried to contact Alric, but he couldn't reach him. So he wrote a letter of introduction and within it stated his requests. He then asked the young lady, of which he still didn't know her name, to get it to whoever was in charge of Freedom City. He did warn her that the people might not believe her and to try to find Alric, but if she couldn't, not to worry, as he would take care of it once he was done here.
This might have been Jake trying to be nice, but he knew the chances of him remembering to do that were slim. If he didn't get things done while he thought of them, they would never get done. This was one of Jake's known flaws; he just couldn't keep track in the past, and it had only gotten worse since he was introduced to this world.
Jake returned to his room to begin the next stage when, out of nowhere, the man he wanted to talk to appeared.
“Sir, we are having issues with the space near the Moon. It seems the location of the base has been leaked to the enemy. The humans from this would have allied with the remaining invaders stationed somewhere in the outer solar system. They have begun raiding our exploration fleets, and Emma is unsure of what actions to take. Do we stay in a passive stance or begin open hostilities towards the groups?”
“I would like to stay passive for now, but if things look bad and there are no other options, blow them to bits and don't hold back.”
“Thank you, sir. On that note, I received a report from Erica. They have stabilised the border regions and begun mass production of defence platforms in the border regions. Thanks to Harry's hard work before he left, we managed to reduce the power requirements so the system could fit on an average-sized asteroid. Other than that, we have space mines in areas of importance. The shipbuilding, on the other hand, has been slow work; we've only been able to produce four corvettes and ten gunships. We do have a large fleet of transport vessels and construction ships, but they are currently working on the solar system's defensive line. As for here on Earth, things are going relatively calm. We've had a few cross-border incursions, but nothing for you to worry about. We've got things well in hand. The only thing I would like to say is that with Jayne gone, we don't have someone to take over her role.”
“Her role will stay unfilled. As for any promotions or tasks that need doing, you do it until I find someone to do it for you.”
“If that's all, sir, I will be going.”
“Wait, there's a young lady heading for the city to hand you a letter. Go take care of it. And if you find a way to transport them to the other world, do it. Then there is a business in the city I own part of—give the man there a location he can deposit dividends into. That's all, Mr. Alric. I would like it if you could periodically bring me information on the current state of affairs. This might get difficult when I leave the territory, but you should be able to find a way. After all, I have faith in your ability.”
“I will do what I can, sir.” Alric left shortly after talking with Jake, promising to take care of everything, including travel for the pink blossoms’ people. That left Jake with completing his tasks on Earth and leaving everything behind. This was something he was looking forward to, but it did leave him with a sense of dread.
Ten hours after Alric had left, Jake was deep in a trance as he began piecing his skills together. After two days, Jake was ready for the testing phase. He had conducted tests on the insertion of powder into the fireball, and this could only be done through trial and error. So he got up and left the room. He stopped when he noticed little Nicky standing near the door.
“Nicky, is it?” Jake asked.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Yes, sir, that is me. Is there something I can do for you?”
Jake thought for a second, wondering why he even asked the lady.
“Sir, did you need something?”
“Ah, yes. Do you know of a place I can test skills without being seen?”
“Is the skill dangerous?”
“It could be.” Jake said, knowing damn well the skill had the potential to go catastrophic.
“Follow me, I will take you to my personal training area. It's not too far away, and the protections are pretty high. You should be able to do as much damage as you want.”
Jake followed the little lady deep into the forest until she stopped and pointed at what looked to be a haze rising from the ground and extending into the sky.
“If you head in there, no one will bother you while you're training. The master set it up for me as a training ground, but that's a ruse. Once the others reach late E grade, they can use this area for their final chance to break free of the system's interference. I'll take you inside, but then I will need to leave. So don't leave the area till you're done; otherwise, you won't be able to get back in.”
“It's amazing how places like this can be within the territory I've claimed but go completely unnoticed.”
“The master was a strong lady.”
“Was? Is she not now?”
“She had to go through her sect's punishment. By the time she is released, I might be as strong as her. She might even die before then; she made quite a few enemies here, after all.”
“I'm sorry to hear that. If there was anything I could do, I would be willing.”
“Nothing can be done; she broke the rules. So it's only natural to pay for that.”
Jake and Nicky entered through the barrier. As Jake went through,the barrier tried to push back, but Nicky grabbed his hand and pulled him through. Jake felt his internal organs being crushed for a second, then he reached the other side. It opened into a large valley with a small stream running through the centre, and on the far side, log houses filled the hillside. The side Jake was on had no trees, and the ground was made of a very hard black stone. Then there was the density of energies within the zone.
“This area has an energy amplification ritual in place. It is currently operating at 10% of its maximum output. Once the others are ready, I will turn it up to 50% so they will be able to draw in the energies during their D grade evaluation.”
“What would happen if it was at 100%?”
“The system will notice anything above 50%, and the ritual will only last a day at that level. Don't worry; 50% will be enough for the others.”
Jake wasn't even thinking about the others when he asked the question, but he went with it.
“That's good. I do hope they all can free themselves from the system.”
“Feel free to use one of the houses. This area here is the only place you will be able to train at your full strength. Well, I have things to get on with, so I will leave you here, and good luck with the skill.”
The lady left a moment later and left Jake alone.
“It's time to get started.”
Let's just say Jake's first attempt didn't go well. He began by forming the flame that activated the other skill, turning the powder he had into gunpowder. It was then he realised his biggest mistake as of yet. In one hand, he had a pile of gunpowder, and in the other, an ignition source. He didn't have a way to combine them; it was an oversight Jake was now paying the price for. As a slight breeze lifted the gunpowder off his hand, the flame in his hand erupted, turning Jake into the burning man for a full minute until the flame subsided, allowing Jake a moment of peace before the pain hit. His body went from white to red with patches of black where the flames were a little bit too hot.
“That hurt,” Jake groaned.
But it wasn't all bad news; he did receive a notification for a new skill.
Skill
Burning Man (unranked)
Combines the skill effects of Fireball and Transmute Powder to form the skill Burning Man. Set your body on fire to scare your enemies; the flame will harm the user as much as it scares the enemy. This is a seek mental help skill.
“I can't believe it! I thought it was just the system making up crap, but even this skill has a bit of that mental health stuff.”
Jake rested for a while as he began going over his new skill, trying to figure out how it worked. He started by setting his hand on fire, watching as the flames ignited. It was actually pretty simple: as long as there was powder in the air, it was drawn into his hand before transforming into gunpowder. It wasn't a lot of powder, but it was enough to do the job. The flame formed around the powder, encapsulating it until it was time for ignition; then the flame blew out on all sides. This skill gave Jake a good idea: if he could add this skill inside the Fireball skill, he should, with practice, be able to use the explosion that propelled the fireball forward. At least that was his plan, and so far, his plans hadn't been the best.
It was five days later when Jake finally got his skills working together in a stable form. He could now embed the Burning Man skill inside the Fireball. He started by placing it in the centre of the fireball, but all that did was burn the crap out of his body. Jake was looking very crispy by now, but he didn't give up. He slowly changed the location in the fireball until it reached a spot where the explosion would propel the fireball forward. It was nowhere near the speed Jake was hoping for, but it was a start.
His next step was to increase the speed, and to do this, Jake had an idea. He was going to use the ritualist's skill to help make the Transmute Powder skill work. This was a long shot, but Jake didn't have any other options. Jake wrote his first ritual on the ground to test what would happen. He used his Transmute Powder skill, and an instant later, it was summoned to the centre of the ritual. “Nice. Now, what happens if I pull out premade powder?” Jake pulled out a stack of gunpowder, but nothing happened. He then began writing the ritual onto his hand and activated the Transmute Powder skill. The powder instantly formed in his hand, stacking up like a condensed rocket engine. This could work. He next expanded the Burning Man skill over the condensed gunpowder and ignited the skill. The fireball shot forward faster than any bullet Jake had seen before. There was a tail of flame trailing the fireball as it rocketed into the sky.
Notification
Skill upgrade
Fireball - Fire Shot (Common)
Taming fire is the only true path forward. Shoot dragon's fire from your hands; the fire will explode on impact. Mana-infused fire will be used to activate an ancient form of space travel that was once used for space travel, but now is the catalyst for death and destruction.
Jake could have stopped at this point, and anyone else would have, but this wasn't good enough for Jake.