The next morning came, no goal in sight though - nothing at all.
He figured that he would find something to strive for as the day went on, so he stood up from bed, ready for whatever awaited him.
He got dressed, converted any bad bacteria from his mouth into mana, and began to slowly make his way towards the guild.
The streets were as quiet as every other morning that he woke up early in.
He decided to sit outside of the Inn Chris rests at, but after two hours she didn't come out. So he considered that she has left before he even got there.
Without another minute spent waiting he stood up and left, hoping to find connection at the guild.
And so he did, in the face of Luna. They talked for a bit, about whatever they thought was fitting, though her reactions weren't fully thought-out, because she was trying to keep conversation while dealing with paperwork.
He took that as a sign to take his leave, moving out of the guild to take a long walk to his properties and back to Axel, after all there was nothing to be done here.
And so this became a habit, for an entire week there was nothing to be done in town, so he walked, checking up on the sellers while at it, soon one by one they went away, except for their home... Svetislav looked at their homes and cried, so much memories, just for him to take it away... At least now the houses are empty, but still - it was difficult to get himself to destroy them. He couldn't... He wasn't cruel enough. Or he simply has too much respect for other's memories integrated in buildings.
He currently didn't need more land, the houses didn't bother him at all, so he decided to draw out an area of around hundred meters in length with forty meters in width. He planned to build something that looks like a metal box, but it wouldn't be such.
One of those days he decided to buy himself a quill and a small notebook, in the end he came up with this design.
{See design in the comments of this paragraph}
The week passed slowly, it was pretty unpleasant, though he got a few hours of rest from the break as he drew in his notebook. The ink he used was created from mana; he has begun integrating mana in every bit of his life almost, except eating.
As the seventh day ended, he decided to cash out with his reward, for doing absolutely nothing manually. This morning he came in early.
"Morning, Luna." - He said, slowly pacing towards the receptionist desk.
"Morning, Svetislav, is there anything i can help you with?"
"I have got a lot to sell, so could you do the math for me? Eight cabbages every minute times sixty times twenty-four times seven."
She blinked for a few seconds in shock. "Eight... a minute?"
"Yes."
For a moment she just stared at him, lips parted in disbelief. Then she reached out to take some parchment and a quill.
"Alright, let's see... Eight per minute." - She muttered under her breath as the quill scratched. "Times sixty... times twenty-four... times seven..."
She paused for a second, eyes widening as she saw the final number, before looking back up at him. "...Eighty thousand, six hundred and forty cabbages..."
"Good."
Luna laughed in disbelief, rubbing her temples. "Good?! That's - that's completely insane, Svet! No farmer in the kingdom produces this much in a year, let alone a week!" She leaned forward, lowering her voice. "Do you have them with you?"
He nodded once. "Yes, in my astral storage."
"I don't know what that is..."
"The thing that i usually use to hold stuff, it's infinite storage."
"Why don't you teach someone that skill?"
"It doesn't work this way, i tried."
...
"Doesn't matter, oh Gods..." She slowed down for a bit.
"So - how many can the guild handle?"
"The guild does buy in bulk from you, but... This is just a whole another level of absurd..."
She sighed with the kind of wariness reserved for accountants, tax collectors and overburdened guild receptionists.
"Svet," She said finally, giving him a look halfway between admiration and exasperation,"the guild will buy your cabbages, but there is a problem that we are running into."
"Storage." - He instantly replied, tilting his head knowingly.
"Exactly. Our cold rooms and cellars are good, but they're designed for monster meats, dried stuff and processed goods Not tens of thousands of fresh vegetables, though we do have the occasional veggie in there. But that's out of the question - cabbages don't last forever. For us to even fully utilize them we would need to bring carriages from other towns. Which would also take a while."
"Or... I can make them last forever."
"What?"
"They don't rot in an astral storage, they are information, and that information stays the same till it gets pulled out of this informative state. Not only that, but it is also practically infinite, are you following?"
She immediately froze. "So you are saying you can make an infinite box that has the properties to preserve the food? Doesn't that mean we can use it to store other foods also?"
"Yes and no. It would be too inefficient to redraw a pattern of what you want, so i will keep it simple, one input, one output."
The silence that followed was only broken by the occasional connection of tankards. A few adventurers had been eavesdropping and were now gawking openly.
Luna placed a hand on her forehead, unsure of what to do - cry, laugh or bow. "...Svet. Do you have any idea what kind of revolution you're casually talking about here? You'd save the guilds acroos the kingdom millions. Food supplies in wartime? Stable. Long-distance trade? Easy. Famines? Practically gone. And you're just-" She swung around her hands helplessly. "-just saying it like you're fixing a squeaky door."
"I am a revolutionary, after all."
She just stared at him for a long moment, before bursting out in laughter, her prior disbelief faded in an instance. - "Gods above... Svet, you are terrifying. You know that?"
"I have heard that before." - His tone remained indifferent. - "Usually when i stop a knife without even touching it."
"Alright, fine. If you can really make this 'infinite box', the guild will fund it. Supplies, materials, whatever you need. I'll even put it in the books as a priority request."
Svetislav raised the hand that didn't grip his cane. - "No need, it's a gift from me to this guild. I will go test it out and return with the results."
"Oh, alright then, see you later, Svet." - She replied, confused as to why he backed up so early.
With that he depart from the guild and went to the river, where he picked up a stone and created a new tube system, one which holds information and not mana, because mana took too much space. After shoving a few cabbages down this remote astral storage, the rock began cracking under the pressure, hundred cabbages in and it cracked, five more and in exploded, luckily Svetislav managed to stop the shards from hitting him, but his hand did get many shards stuck in it.
He didn't hesitate to transform them into information for his own storage, while explaining to himself. - "It seems materials are finite, what holds a soul has infinity in them... Thank you, Father."
He walked back to the guild, and directly went to Luna. - "The test was not successful, even though it can store more than it's supposed to, no material would be able to hold the amount of cabbages i have set for you..."
"So you are saying it's impossible?" - She asked.
"Not impossible. Simply... Not meant to be. The soul is infinite. Mine can hold such a store." He waved his hand around gesturing as he explained, blood dripping down occasionally. "Using another vessel would be suicidal. It cracks, fails, and burns while also exploding. Because the materials you see around you, are finite."
"Svet!" - She pointed to his hand as he kept explaining.
"Yo, Svetislav." Kazuma strolled up, hands in his pockets, curious as ever. "What are you lecturing Luna about? Infinite souls? Storage? Sounds like one of your big brain magic things."
"Chris was right that word spreads fast..."
Svetislav turned slightly, meeting his gaze with serene clarity. - "Not just magic. Truth. Value your piece of heaven, Kazuma. It's not a part of their limited heaven, but of His. Infinite, unlimited."
"Alright?" - Kazuma replied, clearly not understanding what Svetislav is trying to say to him, but trying to pretend like he understands.
"Just look at Aqua. She calls herself a goddess, does she not? Yet she is not infinite. She hungers, she tires, she drinks to excess, she fails. That's not divine."
Kazuma scratched the back of neck, not knowing what to say. - "Yeah... Uh, imma go get a drink before i process this."
Svetislav inclined his head, knowing he understood none of this. He sounded like a lunatic, but it didn't bother him, he was stating truth.
Luckily, Aqua didn't hear him say anything, because she was too busy yelling for more bubbly...
"Why am i even trying to teach them..."
"Anyways!" - Svetislav immediately turns to Luna, who was slightly frightened by his quick movement.
"Do you... Have another idea?"
"Yes." - His tone lit with the faintest spark of excitement. "We could, in theory, attempt sturdier materials for external storage - but the risk of collapse grows with every cabbage. Dangerous for anyone involved. So instead... I'll bind the system to my own astral storage. But with a limiter. A gate."
She raised an eyebrow. "Limiter?"
"Yes Imagine this: an automatic dispenser, if you don't know what a dispenser is - it is automatic giver. So - the guild places ten thousand in the money input, then a cabbage comes down a funnel. Ready for the taking. Instant, clean, no waste. My storage provides the supply; the machine enforces the payment."
He gestured with his hands, tracing invisible lines as though laying out a blueprint in air.
"But it gets better. The dispenser will count. Every time ten thousand eris is inserted, a score will rise by one. This score is the number of cabbages you can take out before having to pay again. For example, you put one hundred thousand, you get ten score, therefore you can pull out ten cabbages without the need to pay again."
Luna processed all that he was saying to her. "...So it's like a prepaid system?"
Svetislav nodded once. "Exactly. Order. Fairness. No cabbages rot in storage, no need for carriages, no risk of theft. Just a machine and a trust in my soul's infinity."
"That.. actually solves most of the storage issue."
"So it's either the dispenser or the guild can prepays me and asks me occasionally for cabbage without having to pay until the value is taken... Though i'd prefer setting up the dispenser. It will just be easier, and besides, i wouldn't need to always be here... Though i guess i'm the initiator, so i just come and say how much you can pay for and all will be fine. So in term, the guild is also paying for the storage."
"Well, when you put it like that it is indeed more profitable to just use the dispenser... If you want to set it up, i can contact my higher-ups on that matter."
"That's fine by me, i can wait." - Svetislav said.
And with that the talk suddenly grew cold, there was nothing more to be said.
"Thanks for the help, Luna. For the trouble..." - He placed a mithril coin on the desk. - "You should treat yourself, NOW!"
"But... I-I-I can't accep~"
"Of course you can, just take it. Go on a vacation or something. Actually make it two!" - He placed another mithril coin in front of her, before walking away.
"But~" - before she could argue any further he had already moved a significant distance away from the desk.
He moved to his friends table ready to enjoy the company, like usual.