Chương 44: Chapter 43

The building itself was nothing to write home about. Built in the same style as the rest of the city, it was somewhat dark and severe. But so was the entire city, so it didn't really look out of place. It was one of the taller buildings but not the tallest. Five floors made especially for the purpose he wanted.

Apparently, not so long ago a new company decided to base the headquarters in the building, but the leader of the company wasn't competent enough to keep up with the business world, so the company folded within months. Thankfully, the city kept up with the maintenance of the building as it was in a prominent location, but because of its unfortunate history, he managed to get it for a rather good price. The top floor was divided into two apartments and one office, used by the head of the company in the past.

Now, the smaller apartment, which according to Julia belonged to the man's mistress, would be his to use when he was in the city while the bigger one would go to Lucy, who would use that and the office to rule over their financial empire with an iron fist. They walked up to the door and Sam opened it and held it for Lucy, then entered, following her. For a moment they stood in the empty lobby with only a simple counter in the middle of the room and behind it several staircases.

"It's not in the best, I know. But it has a future…" Sam said with a small smile as he watched Lucy look around with a queer look on her face. Finally, she had seen enough and turned to him.

"How the hell did you afford this? It's practically perfect for a company headquarters. Especially after some renovations."

"Good luck and a handsome face!" he answered cheekily. Lucy just snorted and began to head toward one of the staircases. They systematically went over the entire building, including the limited basement, and made some plans for it. The basement would be extended and converted into a warehouse, the courtyard would receive the products, and they would distribute them from there to the other businesses.

The ground floor would be the reception area, while the first floor would be used by other office workers to deal with the deluge of paperwork in the endless battle against bureaucracy. The second, third, and fourth floors would be meeting rooms and apartments for the workers. Sam planned to provide meals and living arrangements to win their loyalty, and Lucy was in full agreement. Plus, with them living so close, they could keep a better eye on them.

Finally, they reached the top floor and with it, their last stop. They stood side by side in front of the giant windows that allowed light to reach the office and looked out at the city.

"So, what do you think?" he asked, not looking at Lucy. For a moment there was only silence, then she began to speak, hesitantly at first.

"This all… seems to be perfect. As if…"

"As if?"

"As if it was made for me. The building, the contract, your ideas…" Sam raised a hand and shook it a little.

"Kinda. When I heard you were looking for a job and did a little research about your experience, I decided to tailor the entire thing to you."

"Ah…" Sam took one last look at the city as the lights began to shine with the advent of twilight and turned to Lucy.

"Any questions?" Lucy just shook her head and kept looking over the city, her eyes shining with unshed emotions. Sam nodded and turned around to leave the room.

"Send me a message when the renovations are done and we can begin." Not even waiting for the reply, he simply swept out of the room. With the company in good hands, he would be free to go out and do a little farming. Before starting with farming, it was time to open the Grimoire he received from Lady Silvercrest for saving her life. Sam carefully closed the curtains in his room, made sure that nobody was close, and with Lucky watching eagerly, he carefully retrieved the book from his inventory.

He took a few moments to observe the outside of the book, but it was rather plain, so he couldn't really tell what kind of Grimoire it was. In the end, he could do nothing and trust that the system of the game would give him a skill or spell that would synergize well with his build. Or something funny… Slowly, he placed his hand on the book and channeled a little mana inside it.

For a moment, he feared he received a dud, but then the room darkened as if the very light was being sucked into the book, then the Grimoire turned fully black and instantly shattered into motes of dark energy, which in turn were sucked into his chest. The notification screen followed immediately. [Congratulations, you have read the Grimoire of Transubtitution of Shadows. A new spell has been inscribed into your own Grimoire!] [You have learned the spell, Shadow Transformation!] [Shadow Transformation: Level 0/25 (0%) (Active/Passive) The spell allows you to turn your body, or parts of your body, into shadows granting you immunity from physical attacks. You can turn into shadows for 1 second for each skill level. While transformed spells and skills connected to the shadows are enhanced by 1% for each skill level.] Sam stared at the spell and let out a chuckle. Apparently, the lady of the manor knew what she was about.

At first, he was a little disappointed that he would only get one spell, but now that he saw what he got, he was supremely satisfied. Shadow Transformation was called a god-tier skill by some, though that was years later, after the spell was upgraded several times. Now it was just a good lifesaver in a pinch… He tried out the spell a few times, trying to get used to the strange feeling as his body turned slightly translucent.

Then, after being satisfied that the spell worked just as he remembered from his inherited memories, he turned his attention towards preparing for the coming farming. And that's what he did for the next week. He went out to the forest near Ironwood and did quests, ranging from the simple collection quests to the investigation quest that required him to find certain places and to see if the animals were all right, or the local natural phenomenon, like waterfalls or beautiful glades were still in one piece.

They were inconsequential as they gave out too little gold and experience points or any other meaningful reward aside from the increase of his reputation in the city. But Sam only used them for the fact that it allowed him to refine some of his skills in relative peace while also generating some income. After investing almost all his money, aside from a small emergency stash, into the soon-to-be world-famous AFK company, he would need to shore up his finances a little.

He spent a day or two just slashing at monsters with his blade skills, trying to perfect his Spell Layering and integrate his newest skills into his repertoire. He also spent a little time getting used to his new sword. It was leagues ahead of the old mass-produced inferior quality steel swords he used so far. Sadly, he didn't have access to a shadow spell that he could channel through it, but the wind spells were much easier to cast with the sword so he took it as a win.

With Lucky's help, he hunted wolves in the local forest, helped to get rid of marsh gremlins plaguing several local farmers, he made sure that several vicious trolls (quest mobs) didn't get too close to a mountain path. It was rather ironic that the quest rewarded him with the Life of Blood skill book. He simply threw it into the Auction House, while sending a reminder to Lucy not to pick up the skill and a general warning about blood magic. The reply Sam got back was somewhat incomprehensible.

Something about construction workers and local legislations. Although, somewhere in the tirade he received, there was an acknowledgment of his advice. So he decided to ignore the rest. Lucy was a smart girl. She could handle those people… On his breaks, when he got tired both in body and mind, he spent hours just simply meditating and playing with his mana, trying to move it every which way.

One afternoon, he simply climbed the nearest mountain and spent a few hours meditating there, simply trying to become one with the end. He simply expelled the mana in his body. Rather than letting it disperse, he maintained his hold on it while letting the winds blowing around him carry it around. It was a fascinating experience. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

It allowed him to simply focus on himself, and examine his emotion and feelings while practicing his magic. The fact was that he still wasn't sure what he wanted to do with himself. The game, Magic Unbound, currently was just that, a game. But soon, maybe even in a year, it would be so integrated into the lives of the people that it would truly become a second life for the players.

If one could confidently declare that they were great at the game, or had some manner of success in it, like gathering enormous riches, influence, or power, then that would directly translate into the real world as riches, influence and, of course, power. Sam didn't really crave power, but he definitely wasn't willing to live under someone's shadow. To be at their beck and call. Altogether, it was a rather complicated issue. Most importantly, he just wanted to enjoy the game.

It was so amazing that even after more than a month of playing, he could hardly believe how real it felt to exist in this new world. He wanted to enjoy it as long as possible, and for that, he would have to do enough that nobody could hinder him. As he thought over the idea and looked over the view visible from his spot, he couldn't help but let out a sigh. It would be a lot of work, but it would be oh-so worth it… Closing his eyes, he returned to his meditation, trying to feel the next step in Mana Control.

From Basic to Advanced, Mana Control was only the beginning. It allowed the players to get used to the idea and concept of controlling this new phantom appendage. However, stepping over that last hurdle on their own, without the help of any teacher, was what stopped most people from becoming great magicians. After Advanced, the Mana Control turned from general mana control into something personal. Those who broke through this barrier with the help of teachers, either human or NPC, would never achieve this.

They would be, at least partially, copying their teacher's mana control technique. Thus, in the future from his memories, those who could boast of a fully personal mana control technique were in rather high demand. This was also what he planned to achieve. He had the inherited memories of the other Sam watching lectures by famous mages and the information he gathered. Sam was pretty sure he could manage. But not today…

He slowly let the sped-up mana slow down in his body, then stretching lightly, stood up and shook his head gently. Sam felt he was close, but he was still missing something… He sat in his room at the Cloudy Day inn, his head resting on Lucky's side as his loyal wolf slept on the bed while he slowly went over the gains to his status over the last week.

Tomorrow the new office building would be done, and after that, he wouldn't have much time to laze around or grind without aim, as he had to be ready for the announcement. And after a week of mind-numbing standard MMO experience, he was ready for a change. There was only so much grinding a person could take… [Mana Shield is now Level 38!] [Mana Synergy is now Level 9!] [Mana Body is now Level 4!] [Light Ball II is now Level 4!] [Fire Spark is now Level 10!] [Condense Water is now Level 10!] [Clean II is now Level 3!] [Earth Wall II is now Level 5!] [Electric Spark is now Level 10!] [Water Bullet is now Level 10!] [Thanks to making proper use of the spell, you learned Fire Spark II!] [Thanks to making proper use of the spell, you learned Electric Spark II!] [Thanks to making proper use of the spell, you learned Water Bullet II!] [Fire Spark II: Level 0/10 (0%) (Active) A spell that allows you to conjure sparks of fire. You can control the direction and intensity of these sparks.] [Electric Spark II: Level 0/10 (0%) (Active) A spell that allows you to conjure sparks of electricity around your hand or other body parts. You can fire this spark, which will go in a random direction. You can fire multiple sparks at the same time.] [Water Bullet II: Level 0/10 (0%) (Active) A spell that allows you to launch a ball made of concentrated water from your hand. You can control its speed and temperature.] Sam made sure to level all of his basic elemental skills.

While it was tedious, he hated seeing them not at 10%. Interestingly, when he leveled up Water Bullet, he didn't get a Barrage skill but instead a stronger Water Bullet.

'Probably, from how I used it…' [Phasing Strike is now Level 2!] [Extended Mana Strike is now Level 6!] [Double Mana Slash is now Level 6!] [Mana Body Enhancement is now Level 25!] [Mana Influenced Body is now Level 2!] [Spell Layering is now Level 7!] Honestly, Sam couldn't get enough of the Extended Mana Strike skill. It was so funny to watch whenever his enemy, usually some annoying mob thought that they dodged their strike yet they would still be wounded. It just never got old.

[Wind Blade II is now Level 4!] [Wind Flurry is now Level 3!] [Wind Bullet is now Level 10!] [Wind Bullet Barrage is now Level 3!] [Healing Wind is now Level 6!] [Wind Jump is now Level 3!] [Wind Edge is now Level 10!] [Wind Drill is now Level 4!] [Wind Affinity is now Level 13!] [Thanks to making proper use of the spell, you learned Wind Bullet II!] [Wind Bullet II: Level 0/10 (0%) (Active) A spell that allows you to launch a bullet made of concentrated wind. You can control its speed, size, and direction much better.] [Thanks to making proper use of the spell, you learned Wind Edge II!] [Wind Edge II: Level 0/10 (0%) A spell that allows you to enhance the edge of any bladed weapon you wield with the wind. Thanks to the spell, the speed of your strikes will also increase. The power and reach of the blade will be increased further.] Practicing his Wind magic at this point was almost like second nature. He would use it in every strike, every cut every attack.

And the level of skills showed this. [Meditation is now Level 24!] [Discernment is now Level 5!] While it felt a little annoying to be stuck at the edge of advancing the Meditation skill, in his sessions where he meditated in different places, he realized that probably the skill would level up when he solved the issue of the Mana Control. Sam also made sure to continue to level up his shadow-natured skill. Sadly, his hunt for other shadow skills in the Auction House resulted in nothing.

'Probably a lot of people realized that they were powerful… Or somebody is hoarding…' [Shadow Cloak is now Level 15!] [Shadow Footwork is now Level 21!] [Shadow Cover is now Level 2!] [Shadow Burst is now Level 7!] [Shadow Mirage is now Level 9!] [Shadow Transformation is now Level 3!] He was looking forward to being able to leave the city and head for areas where he could acquire more potent shadow-natured skills. [Intermediate Sword Mastery is now Level 14!] [Freeform Defense is now Level 3!] [Intermediate Breathing Technique is now Level 7!] [Calm Heart is now Level 22!] [Flow is now Level 21!] [Multitasking is now level 51!] [Efficiency is now Level 8!] [You gained the sub-skill, Parallel Processing!] [Parallel Processing: Level 0/10 (0%) (Active) Whenever you use two or more skills or spells, they cost less. The cost decreases by 1% for each skill level.] Sadly, he was also approaching a barrier with his sword skills.

One could only learn so much from memories, and apparently, he didn't have the same talent for it as he had for controlling mana. Still, he had a few ideas for that and if those didn't pan out, then he knew where he could find the best teachers. Thanks to his breaks in the library, he also leveled up his Cryptography and Runecarver skills. He would also need a proper workshop to improve them further and for that, he would have to wait until his plan for the company came to fruition.

Finally, he took a look at his personal levels. He managed to level up three times while Lucky almost caught up to him with four level-ups. His mana and health rose a little, but he managed to get all of his status points (except for Luck) above 15 which would mean that several very specific quests would be open to him. Letting out a small smile, he closed the windows and relaxed back into the bed, while enjoying the smooth feeling of Lucky's fur.

After a few minutes of enjoyment, he finally clicked on the logout button and left the game. Sam stood across from the newly renovated building that housed the headquarters of his company, and he couldn't help but feel happy. The dust and cobwebs were knocked off the building; it was repainted and the metal parts of the façade were freshly shined. He could even see a few places where the wooden parts were changed. It seems if one had money, things moved much faster than usual.

Stepping into the building, he wasn't met with an empty hall. It had become a hall cleaned and tastefully decorated with the characters AFK on the wall. Opposite the door, behind the counter that seated two people, a beautiful man and woman were the receptionists. Apparently, Lucy knew what she was doing. The rest of the space was filled out with neutral artwork, plants, and sofas for people to sit on. He made a note to have someone enchant up a water dispenser and then approached the counter.

Both the man and woman looked at him, and he was glad that both had the light of recognition flash through their eyes. Ultimately, it was the woman who greeted him, while the man just simply nodded at him respectfully, then went back to reading some documents. Sam was pretty happy that the company paid enough that he wasn't reading a trashy romance novel.

"Welcome, sir! How may I help you today?" said the woman with a level voice, but Sam could still hear a little hesitation in her voice.

"I'm here to meet Director Lucy. Is she in?" She nodded.

"Yes, sir. Do you need an escort?"

"No, thank you."

"Then have a nice day!" Sam returned the greeting and then headed for one of the staircases protected by a simple glass door, very aware that both receptionists were staring at his back. On the way up, he checked all the floors and saw that everything was cleaned and repaired, the meeting rooms held simple but good-quality furniture while the living space was a bustle of activity as several people dressed in unfamiliar uniforms were completing their move-in procedures.

He even saw a few children running around happily.

'Good. Happy employees are loyal employees…' Most people ignored him as they had much more important things to do, but several people stared at him curiously. Some even pointed out that he wasn't wearing a uniform, so maybe he was a new hire. Some just backed away when they saw his sword. Eventually, he reached the final floor. First, he checked his own room and saw it was also filled with basic furniture, a few empty shelves, and several boxes for storage.

Nodding in appreciation, Sam ignored Lucy's apartment and headed directly to her office. Outside of the office sat an older woman, with a severe expression. Dressed sharply in what looked like clothing that was patterned after a two-piece business suit, just with a little medieval flare. The moment she saw him, she sat up straighter and when he stood in front of her desk. She simply stood up and bowed her head a little.

"Welcome back, sir. The Director is waiting for you."

"Thank you," Sam answered with a small smile. Lucy really managed to find some competent help. The woman stepped forward and opened the double doors (of course made from ironwood) leading towards the office after a small knock. Sam stepped into the office, and the doors were closed behind him. The office was the same as the rest of the building, minimalist but very inviting. In the middle of the room was a giant desk. It was filled with papers and other assorted products of bureaucracy.

The chair behind the desk was turned towards the giant windows and as he began walking towards one of the available chairs set out for guests, the chair behind the desk turned around and he was met with the grinning face of Lucy. She was in similar clothing to her secretary, but instead of black and white, it was dark blue, matching well to her eyes. Her grin increased, and he could see the enjoyment in her eyes. Hell, he would even swear that she looked years younger.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked, with a rather smug voice.