Whoosh!
"Welcome to Algerie City." Standing in the middle of a magic circle, Valyr took a while to reorient himself, feeling a hint of dizziness from the teleportation back to the city. After that, he took a look at his surroundings, recognizing that he had appeared back in the Underground Transport Network, noticing that only a few dark-robed people were attending to the others at the moment.
'Well, it is quite late in the night.' Thanking the dark-robed man that had greeted him, Valyr gave the medallion he had brought along with him for the journey to the dark-robed man, eliciting the latter to nod in response before giving him the go ahead to leave the place and return to the city.
Taking in a deep breath of the air within the city streets after heading through the path that led him out of the place, the young man went ahead and made his way back to the inn where he and a friend of his were staying at, deciding to take a leisurely pace in doing so as there was not much of a reason for him to rush anymore.
With that, while his eyes were darting here and there, admiring the sight the city gave him under the dim moonlight, Valyr engrossed himself in his own thoughts, specifically thoughts that were related to the Mark of the Alltide and the experiments he had done to further his understanding of it.
'It's quite a shame that the Lesser Tidespawn scales off of my level instead of my stats.' Recalling the interactions he had with players back then that took on a combat style that involved summoning monsters, Valyr remembered that the skills they had allowed the strength of the monsters they summoned to scale off their stats instead of their levels. 'If it scaled off my stats, even if it only like 10% of my stats, it would still become a force to be reckoned with due to my Mythic class.'
'However, since it scales off my level, even if I reach the maximum level of a Rank 5 class holder, the Lesser Tidespawn I summon would only be able to fight against monsters barely above Rank 1. Plus it has next to no use for me since I can only spawn one of it at most.' At this thought, a bitter smile gradually crept up onto Valyr's lips. 'Then again, the skill did say it would improve with prolonged usage, so I guess that'll improve later on?'
'Either way, I'm surprised I could actually utilize the curse in that way.' Recalling the experiments he had done in the outskirts of Astarto Village before returning to Algerie City, a grin replaced the bitter smile that graced Valyr's face earlier, a hint of excitement evident in his expression as multiple thoughts and possibilities popped up in his mind once more.
"Within a hundred meter radius, any wild monster shall charge at me without hesitation and aim to kill me no matter what. Aside from that, all monsters within that radius shall have their strength augmented to one tier above their usual level of strength." Muttering the effects of the curse he had gained, the grin on Valyr's face became wider as he let out a chuckle. "However, the Lesser Tidespawn is a monster I summoned, which means it's not considered as a wild monster. Therefore, it won't attack me for no reason."
"Yet the second effect still applies."
"I should really get my hands on some monster summoning skills." Thinking about how he could engage in close combat alongside the monsters he summoned, all of which were buffed under the effects of the Mark of the Alltide, the pace at which he walked to the inn sped up considerably, with him appearing to be jogging more than walking. "Though, I have to make a stop at the city library first and obtain the answers to my questions there."
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
"…and kill these rats chasing me."
"[Crimson Ring of Rat Extermination]."
Whoosh!
…
The next day.
"How was it using the Underground Transport Network?" As Valyr gave Braum the spatial bracelet he had borrowed from the latter back as both stood at the entrance of the Imperial Production Guild, the latter went ahead and posed a question to the young man with a faint smile.
"I can definitely find myself using it more and more often. Though, I do have to save up a lot of money for it." Responding to the question with a brief chuckle, Valyr then thanked Braum for allowing him to borrow a spatial bracelet on such short notice, to which the latter did not mind, telling him that he was helping out someone important.
"Why not sell equipment, then?" Listening to Valyr's words, Braum gave the young man a proposal. "Just the fact that you could craft an Epic grade armor set is more than enough for you to get customers from tons of places waiting right before your feet."
"I know that." In response, Valyr flashed a bitter smile. "However, I would need to establish a smithy first and get a supply chain going. I've already gone through it before so I know how much it would cost me."
"You could always sell it through the Blacksmith Guild's channels, you know?"
As these words left Braum's mouth, Valyr was quickly reminded of the method Braum had just mentioned, a slight frown adorning his face as he looked through his memories. From what he could remember, considering he had used it in the past, the amount of money he would earn from it was a far cry to what he could earn from selling it through his own smithy, with only those that have a high profile in the Blacksmith Guild being able to earn more money through it.
"Would I even earn enough there?" Feeling that Braum would not mention the idea for no reason, Valyr went ahead and asked.
"I'd say you'd lose out in the short term, considering that they take a commission fee for putting the equipment up for sale," said Braum in response. "However, with the grade of equipment you craft and how you're a candidate for the Four Pillars' Inheritance, I feel like it wouldn't take long for you to earn far more money than what owning your own smithy would make."
"Is that so?" Pondering over it for a bit, Valyr decided that he would try it out with a couple pieces of test equipment first, prompting Braum to nod in approval. After that, they talked a bit more, with Valyr eventually telling the man that he would be heading to the library for the meantime.
"Now that I think about it… why have you been so helpful to me ever since I arrived here?" Though, just as he was about to bid farewell to the man, Valyr stopped in his tracks and turned around, posing a question to Braum.
"I don't know." In response, Braum softly smiled. "At first, it was out of obligation as the leader of the group that had brought you to this place, but right now… I really don't know. In any case, I do appreciate the friendship that we've built up thus far and I hope it continues to last."
"Same goes here." Hearing Braum's words, Valyr smiled as well. Bidding farewell, Valyr waved at the man goodbye, only to stop in his tracks and turn around once more, this time a knowing smile adorning his face.
"You want me to craft something for you, don't you?"
"How could I ever ask for something like that? As the leader of the Imperial Production Guild's 3rd Reconnaissance Team, it would be disrespectful to request such a favor."
"Heh… is that so? Forgot I ever said anything, then."
"…"
"…"
"…can I get a new armor set?"
"Called it."
