Time flies when you're focused on absorbing knowledge. The young players had a great week filled with daily tasks and school district training.
Everyone's stats increased by more than 50 points, Yuuki even boosted her magic and Agility to 300 points each, reaching F-rank.
Shadow also logged in a few times,and to maintain his persona, he took over the potato ball business, which was selling like hotcakes in the warship's living area. As he put it, this was about reserving funds for future plans.
The black cat helped a great deal with the cooking; thankfully, fried potato balls are not a difficult dish to make.
In Swordsmith city, the Astraea Familia was rewarded for their role in the siege, with the title deed to a large estate.
Shaka took time to visit it; the location is remote and the grounds are somewhat old.
"Rebuilding this place will cost a fortune more than even a wealthy person could afford on their own..."
Unable to find a solution, he passed the responsibility to Blank.
Shaka first handed Shiro the estate design plans and price lists. "Calculate how much we'll need," he said.
"Around 320 million," Shiro concluded in just ten seconds.
Shaka looked at Sora expectantly. "Help me figure out how to get 320 million quickly."
You should know the answer to this well enough.
"Ah?"
Sora tossed over a copy of the clan's code of conduct. "All the ways to make money fast are written in the law, because they're illegal."
Shaka looked disappointed, as if to say, "Not even you have a way around this?"
He kept everyone waiting before continuing. "It's not entirely impossible..."
Shaka rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Boss, please tell us!"
Sora gave a peculiar look. "The real problem isn't making money, it's rebuilding the clan stronghold. So instead, we can subcontract the work to the players."
"Aren't most games about starting with a piece of land and letting players customize it themselves?"
Shaka was stunned. Thats right.
And so... earning money to hire workers and rebuilding the clan base became one of the new players' daily tasks. Building their home brick by brick gave Kanade and the others immense satisfaction.
In the real world, everything proceeded as usual. Sayu took Kotoko's place, handling trivial matters for Shaka, she also successfully infiltrated Beika High School, becoming Ran Mouri's classmate and joining the main group.
Notably, with the Slit-Mouthed Woman in custody, Kotoko Iwanaga became a detective. She effectively replaced the missing Shinichi Kudo, becoming the police force's go-to solver.
Coincidentally, the deceased Taisuke Sawanaga was found to have used the Slit-Mouthed Woman legend to commit crimes, murdering several women falsely accused of being involved in sex work. This finally put an end to the infamous case.
When Shaka saw the news on his phone, he exclaimed, "Wow, that's incredible!"
"The police in Sakura City might be in for a change. From now on, murder cases might start following Iwanaga's unique style."
Over those seven days, Shaka absorbed plenty of essential knowledge and began crafting his own magical items. With the school district's support, he used Lightning Keno's skull as material to build a magic gun for Shiro.
It works by compressing magic stone power to fire lightning blasts. Its strength isn't on par with a standard magic sword, but its effects are comparable and the replaceable magic stones ensure it can be used repeatedly.
Shaka also made a special prop for himself:
Flying Thunder God Kunai
- Reverse Summoning Anchor Point
- Five seconds after activating the device, the user is transported to the item's coordinates
- Shatters after 5 uses
This is a special cosplay-inspired prop developed for research on spirit particle transfer technology.
"While I can't teleport across the entire world yet, I can move freely within range and it saves me the time of casting full spells."
The kunai functions similarly to a magic sword inscribed with "Descent Magic," with limited uses. However, it's inexpensive to make; using leftover materials from the school district, Shaka can craft several at a time. This made him very pleased.
After seven days, the young players grew restless. The school district was no longer a secret to them, so they began thinking about exploring new areas.
One day, Dekomori rested her chin on her hands while sitting atop a giant warhammer, sighing. "How do you imbue a weapon with magic?"
Nathan, the tiny alchemist, adjusted his glasses and replied: "Generally, that's called a magic sword, not a 'demon sword'. These weapons can unleash magic, but most are less powerful than the original spells, have limited uses, and are extremely costly."
Dekomori looked dejected. "So that's how it is? I can't afford to replace one if it breaks."
Lefiya added, "There's another type of equipment that achieves a similar effect. Legend says weapons forged or blessed by fairies can unleash magic at will but fairies who make contracts with humans are rare now."
Nathan closed his book. "I remember your hometown, Lefiya, once worshipped a fairy."
Lefiya nodded. "Yes. After the gods descended to the mortal realm, those fairies became like mascots. Even when they appear occasionally, they return to the elven realm quickly."
The realm of celestial spirits is neither heaven nor earth, it exists in between. Most elemental fairies reside in the elemental realm, and all corresponding elements in the world originate from them.
Just then, Verdine rushed over excitedly. "Speaking of otherworldly beings I have great news!"
"What is it?"
Everyone perked up; even dekomori jumped down from her giant hammer, her face bright with excitement.
Verdine spoke mysteriously. "The students who went monster-hunting are back. They say there's a valley always shrouded in mist rumored to be where enhanced species first appeared!"
"Could that be the legendary fairy ruins?" Lefiya guessed.
Verdine threw his hands up. "The fairy must have an amazing figure, we have to check it out!"
Nathan's eyes sparkled. "See the fairy! See the fairy! See the fairy! This is definitely a subject worth studying!"
Lefiya quickly tried to stop them. "That place sounds dangerous."
"Don't worry I'll just sign up for an academy investigation mission later," Verdine chuckled.
Dekomori's face lit up. "Finally! I'll get to see the fairy Lord Mori told me about?!"
"Lord Mori?" Lefiya tilted her head in confusion.
Dekomori looked nostalgic. "She was a great magician who lived for 400 years. She said only those with boundless love can communicate with fairies, love is the strongest magic in the world!"
"400 years! That's amazing. She must be a kind elder, can I meet her?" Lefiya's eyes shone.
Dekomori held their forehead, looking regretful. "What a shame... All records of Lord Mori have vanished from the Cyber Sea. They must have been destroyed by an evil organization. But it's okay..."
Dekomori grinned mischievously. "I copied down all her teachings. I'll share them with you next time."
Lefiya's eyes were full of anticipation.
With these eager troublemakers leading the way, the young players quickly agreed to go. The "Misty Forest Exploration Group" was born.
That evening, Mikoto and Alisa two honest, kind-hearted students came to voice their concerns. Mikoto knew how dangerous the Misty Forest was and hoped Shaka would stop the group.
Alisa, the straightforward class representative, looked worried. "I hope you can rein in some of your clan members."
"Are you saying my people have led your students astray?" Shaka was completely confused.
Alisa pushed up her glasses, blushing slightly for once. "No, no, I'm worried your clan members will be led astray by Verdine..."
"Ah..." Shaka had thought they were there to confront him, but this was unexpected.
Arisa explained, "Lefiya got the nickname 'Magic Idiot' because of Verdine's constant antics. He drags her around causing trouble, then relies on her incredible magical talent to blast their way out of danger when things go wrong."
I see...
"Do your teachers know about this?"
"Professor Leon will definitely keep us safe. I just thought you should be informed." Alisa adopted the modest demeanor typical of top students, clearly, she trusted Leon deeply.