Ep. 1022 Arrival of the Elves Part 2 (Patreon)

Zachariah says "Welcome, Ash. The weapon sales are doing great! We are making even more profit than I expected!"

"Hello, Zachariah. It is good that the weapons are selling well."

Zachariah says "It is! Soon I will have even more weapons for you to enchant. Also, I have a line on a property that is big enough for you. However, it is an old warehouse near the docks, is that a problem?"

"No, that would be fine."

Zachariah says "Alright, I will purchase it right away. So, what did you want to see me about?"

"In the morning, the day after tomorrow, my ship will be arriving."

Zachariah says "Oh, great! I can't wait to see it! So, how can I help?"

"Well, Almort is going to post a quest for me to have adventurers serve as escorts and guides. The only problem left is that the elves don't have much human currency. I was hoping you could spare some of your people to accompany the groups of elves. I want to cover their spendings and take it out of my share, can we do that?"

Zachariah says "That's easy! I will have fifty people ready and waiting that morning. They will also double as guards for your elves and keep the adventurers honest. They will also make sure that no one cheats your people."

"That would be perfect! Thank you."

Zachariah says "Please, stop thanking me. This is just a simple matter. It is nothing compared to what you have done for me. With the profits we are already making, chances are I am going to be promoted."

"In that case, congratulations."

Zachariah says "In fact, it is entirely possible that the grade of this entire branch might be increased. That would be a huge deal and would even put us on even footing with the branches in the empires."

"I'm guessing that's a really big deal."

Zachariah says "Oh, it is. It has been more than twenty years since the last time a branch was upgraded. Within the merchant group it is a huge deal."

"Well, it really has nothing to do with me, but I wish you the best of luck."

Zachariah says "Thank you. Anyway I will make the arrangements for your people. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Nope, that was all I needed."

Zachariah says "Alright. I will notify you as soon as the purchase of the warehouse goes through. It shouldn't take long."

"Thanks. I will let you get back to work."

So, I leave and return to the association's library where Lin doesn't look like she has moved. Since she is still working on the spell I move back to the table next to her and go back to working on the world spell. I quickly lose myself in my work and hours pass without me even noticing.

In fact, I get so lost in my work that I don't notice anything until Lin pokes my cheek. The sad part is, I probably only needed an hour or so more to completely finish the spell. Not counting the time needed to go back and fix the errors that is.

Lin says "Sorry to bother you, but I am hungry. Can we have dinner now, please?"

"Oh, yeah, of course. Sorry, I got lost in the spell."

Lin says "It's fine, I completely understand. I have done that more times than I can count. Did you at least make good progress?"

"Yeah. Surprisingly the spell is almost finished."

Lin says "Really? You figured out how to make a miniature world?"

"It would be more accurate to call it a pocket world, but yes, I figured it out. So, what would you like for dinner?"

Lin says "Can we go to the restaurant again?"

"Of course. Let's go."

Lin smiles happily and hugs my arm as we leave the library. We walk across the square and enter the restaurant. We are greeted just like last time and taken to a private VIP booth. Both the service and the food are just as excellent as the last time.

However, Lin has learned her lesson, she eats with more moderation this time. At the end of dinner, while she is completely full, I don't need to carry her this time. Once again, the meal is covered and we don't have to spend any money.

After dinner we return to our suite and as usual I open a soulscape, then invite everyone. However, this time I don't create any special areas for the kids and gather everyone together. Then I teach everyone what I have learned about core and the new techniques.

Not everyone has a core or needs to work on it, but it is still valuable knowledge. Besides, it is kind of nice to have everyone sit down together instead of doing separate things. Luckily, because we are in the soulscape, teaching is much easier since I can show images at will.

As it turns out, Kechara and Asuna had run into the same problem with their cores as I did. So, this information ends up being especially important to the two of them. In fact, as soon as I am done explaining everything, the two of them thank me and leave the soulscape.

The rest of my kids learn the information, but they aren't in as much of a rush. It doesn't really apply to Ekard, Mulan, or Mushu since their cores upgrade automatically. In fact, I am not entirely sure how their cores work, but that is because they are something above beasts.

Once the lesson is done, I create a play area and we all play together in it. When the kids have had enough, I end the soulscape and take Lin to bed for some fun. After she falls asleep I go back to working on my core until morning.

Core Upgrade Progress: 87%

I am so close to ranking up, I probably only need to work on it one more night. However, for now I have to stop since Lin is waking up and I want to spend time with her. After some early morning fun, we have breakfast together and then Lin heads to the library.

After she leaves I spend some time disenchanting and re-enchanting the weapons that were delivered. It takes me a bit longer this time since there are eighty low quality weapons. There are also two high quality weapons that I enchant with the higher enchantment.

Once the weapons are enchanted and crated up, I head down to the library. When I get there, Lin is skimming books so I sit next to her and start working on my spell. I pick up where I left off yesterday and soon lose myself in my work.

This time I actually manage to complete the spell just before Lin asks to have lunch. After I am done eating with Lin, I start working on fixing the errors in the spell. Unfortunately, fixing the errors without creating more ends up being extremely complicated.