Chapter 235: The Plan Ahead, and an Idea for a New Special Job Class
By: Amnesty L
Inside the inn room.
Imina's small lips moved as she expressionlessly tore at a piece of white bread. Hearing Tang Zheng guess that she had bought the inn, her expression still didn't change much.
Drip, drop, drip, drop!
The rain outside fell on the windowsill, making a pattering sound.
Seeing that Imina didn't speak, Tang Zheng smiled gently, picked up his spoon, and started sipping the vegetable soup on the table. The room fell silent again.
The atmosphere wasn't tense, but rather peaceful.
Imina stuffed the last bite of white bread into her mouth. The purple hair on her forehead shifted slightly as she said with a hint of disdain, "You've caused quite a stir on your way here, Lord."
"I hear you were attacked by quite a few adventurers and mercenaries?"
At this point.
Imina crossed her arms. Her amber eyes quickly sized up Tang Zheng, and only after seeing that he had no injuries did she raise her chin.
"Has the news reached the Royal Capital? What are the specifics?" Tang Zheng's eyes flashed, and he ignored the subtle antagonism in Imina's tone.
After all, having her stay in the Royal Capital for so long, and dealing with an organization like Eight Fingers at that, it was normal for her to be a little annoyed and resentful.
Imina shot Tang Zheng a look, but her sharp, fierce gaze held a trace of worry. "You didn't hide your route, and you've caused such a huge commotion."
"Seven Gold-rank Adventurer Teams, five Platinum-rank Adventurer Teams, and one Mithril-rank Adventurer Team."
"The infamous seventy-man Death Spreading Sword Corps mercenary organization, and also a mysterious Assassin Unit."
"So many people, all dead at your hands. Currently, aside from that 'Swordsmanship Genius' Brain who escaped from you, there are no survivors."
Imina leaned forward, her beautiful eyes fixed on Tang Zheng. "Lord, you tell me, is that a big commotion or not? The moment you entered the Royal Capital, all the factions here already knew."
Tang Zheng was a little dumbfounded. "So many people died?"
It was true that they had encountered many attacks along the way, but they were all rather scattered. The Green Leaf Witch could handle them easily by herself, so Tang Zheng hadn't really paid much attention.
He had only paid some attention during the encounter with the Death Spreading Sword Corps, and that was because of Brain.
Thinking about it carefully.
The number of people targeting the Empire's bounty was probably much higher. However, none of the people Tang Zheng had dealt with were weak. The rest were simply too scared to make a move.
"I've already found Brain's location. Should I send someone to kill him?" A cold glint flashed across Imina's face as she spoke softly.
Brain's reputation was considerable, and it was said he had a good relationship with Warrior Captain Gazef. She was worried that the escaped Brain would cause trouble for Tang Zheng.
Tang Zheng looked at Imina with some surprise, astonished that she was able to find Brain's location.
From this, it was clear that Imina could now mobilize the power of Eight Fingers.
Tang Zheng shook his head. "No need. He's much more valuable alive than dead."
"How are things with Eight Fingers?"
"With the power you previously displayed, Illusion Demon Succulent has been very obedient and cooperative. The entire Security Department is completely under control."
Confidence showed on Imina's face. Her own power wasn't weak, and with a hidden powerhouse like Tang Zheng backing her, suppressing the others wasn't difficult:
"I have also made contact with the department heads of the other divisions. Because of the Fighting Ogre's death, Eight Fingers held a collective meeting."
At this,
Imina's tone grew solemn. "Attending the meeting, besides the eight department heads, there was also a mysterious person presiding over it."
"Their specific identity is unknown; likely only a few of the department heads know. Also, the divisions are almost independent of each other. Controlling the other divisions is more troublesome than I anticipated."
After hearing Imina's more detailed information about Eight Fingers, Tang Zheng's expression showed no surprise.
He already had some understanding of Eight Fingers' situation. Moreover, for such a large organization, it would be impossible if there weren't other factions supporting it from the shadows.
"There's no rush to control these divisions. As long as we hold the important Security Division in our hands, we'll have a certain degree of control over all of Eight Fingers."
Tang Zheng placed the spoon in his hand into the bowl, smiled softly, and continued:
"Next, there are a few things I need you to do."
"Go on, I was born to suffer," Imina pouted, but a hint of a smile appeared in her eyes.
"First, in the name of your Security Division, secretly recruit magic casters to fill out the incomplete Six Arms."
"Specifically, I need you to find magic casters whose jobs fall under the Faith-based, Spirit, and Other systems."
Imina was a little bewildered, not understanding why Tang Zheng was doing this, but she nodded nonetheless.
Speaking of which.
Magic casters are actually divided into so many different systems?
"Second, through the Slave Trading Department, purchase a few slaves who have mastered the 'Wild Transformation' ability. There shouldn't be many humans who can master this skill."
"Demi-humans master it more easily, especially those from the demi-human tribes destroyed by the Slane Theocracy. The slave department should have channels for the slaves captured from there."
Tang Zheng paused here and glanced at Imina.
He had actually meant to say that the elf slaves captured by the Slane Theocracy from the Elven Kingdom would master the skill more easily. However, since Imina was a half-elf, he changed the word to 'demi-human' just as it was leaving his lips.
Imina's expression didn't change as she nodded.
"Third, I need to buy several large warehouses in the territories of each of the Six Great Nobles. Contact the grain merchants in each region and have them transport all the moldy grain that won't sell, as well as any rotten food, to these warehouses."
"You can have people from the Smuggling Unit handle this."
Imina continued to nod, though she grew more and more puzzled. There was no connection between these three tasks at all, but from the look on Tang Zheng's face.
Each one was clearly a major undertaking.
At the same time, Imina felt a little excited and happy inside.
She and Leinas had both stayed behind in the Royal Capital, but their situations were completely different. Leinas clearly had various arrangements and plans from Tang Zheng.
But her, aside from controlling a security department, seemed to have been completely forgotten by Tang Zheng until now, with no new instructions for several months.
Now.
Imina finally knew what she was supposed to do.
"I'll be troubling you, Imina," said Tang Zheng.
"These tasks are one more troublesome than the next," Imina muttered. Her slender figure was already on its feet, her two long, curved, purple pigtails swaying gently.
"Oh, right. This is for you."
"These things will cost a lot of money. Except for the first task, don't use Eight Fingers' money for the other two."
Tang Zheng took a magic leather pouch from his waist and tossed it to Imina. "There are gems inside. You can pick a few if you see any you like."
Imina reached out and caught the magic leather pouch. Her fair fingers pulled open the pouch's drawstring, and a faint red glow emerged from within.
"This is..."
Imina's eyes couldn't help but widen.
The magic leather pouch was stuffed full of various colored gems, mostly red ones. Among them, several gems were even shimmering with the light of magic power.
They were clearly precious magical gems.
Seeing Imina's astonished expression, unable to look away, Tang Zheng chuckled softly.
Indeed, women have always liked shiny things. In that respect, they were just like the Dragon Race.
These gems were, of course, the relics of an ancient red dragon.
During his journey to the Royal Capital, Tang Zheng would return to the lava zone at night. It had taken him a great deal of time to finally find the ancient red dragon's lair.
Inside was a huge pile of treasure. As for its specific value...
Tang Zheng had no way of calculating it. The cave was mainly filled with various gems, special red ore, and gold coins. Unfortunately, there wasn't a single magic item, which disappointed him somewhat.
The value of the various gems and ores was difficult to estimate, and the same was true for the vast amount of gold coins.
Because the ancient red dragon seemed to enjoy sleeping on the gold coins and gems, almost all the gold coins had been melted by the high temperature, forming small, piled-up mountains of gold.
"You said it," a smile appeared on Imina's face. She put away the magic leather pouch and had just taken a step forward when she suddenly remembered something. She turned her head, her eyes half-lidded.
"By the way, who are those two girls with you? According to the rumors, they've joined your Adventurer Team?"
She and Leinas had both wanted to join Tang Zheng's Adventurer Team back then, but they had been rejected by this guy.
"Do you want to meet them?" Tang Zheng shrugged, then added, "I told you, my Adventurer Team isn't recruiting."
Hearing this answer.
A satisfied look flashed in Imina's eyes. She raised an arm and waved it. "Never mind then."
"Give me your hand," Tang Zheng said suddenly.
"Huh?" Imina froze.
Tang Zheng reached out directly and grasped Imina's hand.
A little soft, and a little cold.
The thought flashed through Tang Zheng's mind. A faint white light appeared in his palm, leaving a magical mark on Imina's body before he let go of her hand.
"Wh-what are you doing?"
Imina's delicate cheeks flushed red. She subconsciously took a step back, her voice a little nervous and stuttering as she spoke.
"It's nothing, just a little magic. This will make it easier for me to find you if something comes up," Tang Zheng said calmly.
"Hmph."
Imina snorted softly. Her figure was already at the window. She picked up her raincoat again, threw it on, and leaped out the window, disappearing into the rainy mist.
"Seriously, why use the window?"
Tang Zheng grumbled to himself, then a thoughtful expression appeared on his face as he considered what to do next.
The three tasks he had given Imina were all very important. Since he had money and the controllable faction of Eight Fingers at his disposal...
...there was no reason not to use them!
Even if someone with ulterior motives noticed, they would only trace it back to Eight Fingers. Even if factions within Eight Fingers investigated...
...they would never be able to connect these three unrelated tasks. At most, they would suspect Imina's backer—that powerful magic caster who controlled corpses and bone dragons.
As for him, the genius alchemist who could summon an angel, he was of course completely unrelated.
If these three tasks were to be prioritized, the first was the most important.
The purpose of the second task was mainly for Tang Zheng to experiment with the magic ritual he had obtained from Duogan of the Forest Gnomes.
The purpose of the third task was to provide food for the goblins being raised in the Touv Great Forest. After all, the more goblins there were, the greater the impact on the Touv Great Forest.
Tang Zheng had no intention of letting anyone notice the situation in the Touv Great Forest, so he could only obtain food from the outside to provide for the farmed goblins.
And the first task was the one he was currently most concerned about!
...
Mana-based System: Potion Master, Alchemist, Magic Caster, Necromancer, Warlock
Faith Caster: Priestess, Priest, Forest Priest, Cleric
Spirit System: Wizard, Witch
Other System: Shaman, Summoner
...
This was the number of jobs he currently possessed in each magic system.
Back then, he had obtained the [Mad Mage] class by meeting the prerequisites of the basic job classes in each system:
Mana-based System · 15 Lv
Faith-based System · 15 Lv
Spirit System · 15 Lv
Other System · 15 Lv
A total job level requirement of 60.
Tang Zheng had previously speculated that if the classes in each magic system reached Level 20, for a total job level of 80, it might trigger a new high-tier job class.
He deduced this because if a second, related high-tier job class existed, then [Unknown High-Tier Job Class] + [Mad Mage] would occupy ten job levels.
The remaining 90 levels, spread across the four magic class systems, would only be 22.5 levels each.
Clearly, Level 20 was the most reasonable assumption, at least by the game's logic.
As it turned out.
The combination of his current four magic class systems already met the Level 20 condition, yet he hadn't obtained a new class.
While Tang Zheng was disappointed, a crazy idea suddenly popped into his head. Just because it was impossible in the game didn't mean it was impossible in this otherworld.
If he raised all four class systems to the level of the Tenth Tier, "64~70 Lv," would he be able to obtain a new class?
This was a situation that was absolutely impossible in the game!
If not for the [Genius] class, unique to this otherworld, it would be impossible for anyone, whether in the game or this world, to raise four magic class systems to the level of tenth-tier magic!
"I have to try it at least once. Even if I don't get a new class, raising all four class systems to the Tenth Tier is part of the plan anyway."
Tang Zheng's fingers tapped lightly on the table, his eyes shimmering.
(end of chapter)