Chương 97: Chapter 95: I need more Time

"Nice to see you again," Thalion said after appearing in the system shop.

"Greetings. What wares do you seek?" the voice of the system asked in a formal tone.

"First, what do you have on outsiders?" Thalion asked with interest. He had a hard time holding himself back from instantly asking more questions about outsiders.

"Outsiders are forbidden," the voice replied with a serious tone.

"What do you mean by forbidden? Like, in the system? Because I killed one who had something to do with them," Thalion wondered aloud. This was bad. If he had angered the system, could it take away his class?

"No, nothing is forbidden within the system itself. But it is forbidden within every faction, and when it comes to light that someone is using the power of outsiders, they will be eradicated," the voice explained in a serious tone.

"I got a summoning scroll and learned that they come from another existence," Thalion stated but the voice interupted him.

"Outsiders refer to beings born in another plane of existence. They can be anything—from ghosts to demons to beings like you, depending on which plane you reach. What's most important is that the moment you draw someone out of their dimension and use them for your cultivation, it becomes very hard to control their inherent will; killing them would mean that their power would be lost.

"Those who use the power of outsiders are often much stronger than normal cultivators, but the risk lies in losing oneself. It has happened many times that outsiders have completely possessed the bodies they entered, rampaging through the universe until they were finally subdued. There are also planes of existence like yours, and if you open a portal, it might be detected, allowing them to invade your dimension.

"The gods did not want to take that risk and have always worked together to eliminate anyone who used outsiders or became one."

"Are there no ways to keep an outsider contained?" Thalion asked. He didn't care if outsiders were banned by some faction. If they gave him power, why shouldn't he get on for himself?

"There are, in fact, many ways," the voice replied.

"One is to find an outsider willing to help you. Another is to annihilate their inherent will, turning them into something like your sanguine thorn. There are even more methods, but I don't have the time to explain every single one," the voice answerd quickly.

"This doesn't sound so hard. Why do so many fail, then?" Thalion wondered out loud.

"And how does it even work if the plane is like ours?"

"Then it doesn't truly work. You aren't opening a complete portal, but rather one for your soul. You could try to steal a soul, but that wouldn't really benefit you. They are technically outsiders, but not the type that would make others hunt you down."

"Okay, so which outsiders are the real threats no one wants me to have, because they're too powerful?" Thalion smirked.

"Outsiders from dimensions so twisted they wouldn't survive a second in your reality if their 'soulbody' also passed through," the voice explained.

"For such beings to exist in their dimension, they must have a deep connection to mana, for example. This connection is what you'd exploit, among other possibilities."

"Are there dimensions made entirely of blood or darkness?" Thalion asked while already making plans for the future.

"Yes, there are no limitations," the voice answered seriously.

"So I can already open a portal. Can you provide me with something that would allow me to control such an outsider?" Thalion asked. If this worked, he wouldn't fall behind that much.

"You can't afford it. The price for what you seek is 850, 000 credits," the voice sneered.

"And you should know that if you want stronger outsiders, you'll need to fuel the portal with incredible amounts of power to reach the more turbulent dimensions."

"What are the current prices for skyships, and do you have something like a signal beacon?" Thalion asked going for plan B. It seemed he would have to farm credits like never before, and the best way to do so would be to gather survivors. The ships could also help gather wind crystals. Signal Beacon Description: The Signal Beacon is a masterfully crafted structure designed to transmit a highly visible signal across vast distances.

Made from durable, arcane-infused stone, this beacon stands at 5 meters tall and is inscribed with glyphs of ancient origin, ensuring long-lasting durability and power efficiency. Upon activation, the beacon emits a bright pillar of light directly into the sky, visible for over 100 kilometers under most conditions. [35, 000 Credits] That would suit him perfectly and wasn't too expensive.

Aetherwind Corsair Type: Fast attack & scouting vessel Size: Medium Purpose: Hit-and-run tactics, reconnaissance Offense: Lightning cannons, targeting multiple enemies at once. Defense: Aetheric shields, agile evasive maneuvering. Capacity: 30 crew members. Description: The Aetherwind Corsair is a sleek, agile sky ship built for speed and maneuverability. With its sharp hull and reinforced silverwood frame, the ship glides effortlessly through the skies, propelled by enchanted sails that harness aetheric winds.

Its offensive capabilities come from an array of lightning cannons mounted on its sides, capable of firing short, concentrated bursts of arcane energy to disable enemy ships. At its core, the Corsair has a highly mobile magic circle that generates speed-boosting arrays, allowing it to outrun larger ships or quickly escape from dangerous situations. Its defensive shielding is light but regenerative, making it ideal for hit-and-run raids.

[35, 000 Credits] The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Skywarden Bastion Type: Heavy defense & support Size: Large Purpose: Siege defense, city protection Offense: Mana-flux cannons, arcane ballistae. Defense: Magic circle with fleet-wide shielding capabilities. Capacity: 100 crew members, 50 passengers. Description: The Skywarden Bastion is a massive, heavily armored sky ship designed to serve as a floating fortress.

Built from ironbark and reinforced with magical wards, it can absorb immense damage while holding a strategic position in the skies. At its heart lies a defensive magic circle, creating an invulnerable shield that protects the ship and any nearby allied vessels. The Bastion is equipped with arcane ballistae and mana-flux cannons, designed to bombard enemy ships and land-based fortifications from a great distance.

Its offensive arrays are capable of launching volleys of arcane energy bolts, while its defensive spells can protect entire fleets. The ship is slow but nearly impossible to destroy, making it perfect for guarding cities or key military assets. [75, 000 Credits] Sunfire Dreadnought Type: Frontline combat & siege vessel Size: Medium-Large Purpose: Heavy artillery and direct assault Offense: Sunfire Cannon, fireball arrays, arcane turrets. Defense: Heavy armor plating, solar shielding. Capacity: 60 crew members.

Description: The Sunfire Dreadnought is a fearsome sky ship equipped with massive solar cannons capable of devastating attacks. Its sails are infused with solar runes, absorbing sunlight and converting it into raw mana to power its weaponry. This ship's design includes heavy armor plating on the hull and multiple layers of fire-resistant enchantments to defend against magical and elemental attacks.

The Dreadnought's main offensive array is its Sunfire Cannon, a powerful front-mounted weapon capable of unleashing a concentrated beam of solar energy that can melt through enemy ships and fortifications. Smaller, rapid-firing arcane turrets provide covering fire, while fireball arrays bombard the battlefield from above. Its purpose is to break through enemy lines and cause maximum destruction.

[65, 000 Credits] Tempest Gale Type: Tactical support and healing vessel Size: Small-Medium Purpose: Healing, magical support, and crowd control Offense: Wind and storm spells, crowd control magic. Defense: Magic barriers, mana shields. Capacity: 40 crew members, 10 healers or mages. Description: The Tempest Gale is a specialized sky ship that excels in support magic and battlefield control. Its design features rune-etched sails and a hull of light, mana-infused wood, making it both quick and magically potent.

The ship's arcane arrays focus on casting powerful healing spells, defensive barriers, and large-scale wind manipulation. Rather than artillery, the Tempest Gale features a magic circle at its core that amplifies support magic, allowing its crew of mages to heal allies, fortify defenses, and disrupt enemy spells. It also controls the battlefield by summoning tempests and wind blasts, pushing back enemies or disrupting their formations.

[45, 000 Credits] The ships were all very expensive, but since Thalion mainly needed a vessel to harvest as many crystals as possible, he would most likely choose the Skywarden Bastion to maximize his gathering efforts.

"I'll go with one beacon and one Skywarden Bastion," he decided, calculating that he'd still have around 100, 000 Credits remaining.

"Do you have blood vials?" Thalion continued, and a red bottle materialized in front of him. Bloodsiphon Flask Description: The Bloodsiphon Flask is a specialized magical vessel designed to extract and store the blood essence of slain beasts, capable of holding up to 200 liters of fluid. Forged from darkglass crystal and reinforced with arcane runes, the flask has an eerie, translucent quality, allowing one to see the swirling essence-infused blood within.

[1, 000 Credits] He bought twenty flasks to distribute to the hunting parties so they could collect more blood for him.

"There's one more question I'm curious about—it feels like I get less experience by the day. Is the title getting stronger with time?" Thalion asked. If that was the case, his journey in this new world would end soon.

"No, it's simply that the introduction phase of the tutorial is ending," the voice replied, sounding bored.

"What introduction phase?" Thalion exclaimed. He never heard of it before.

"You received more experience in the beginning as part of the tutorial, with lower prices for items. That phase ended a few days ago," the voice explained. It was clear now that choosing body-tempering before leveling had been a poor decision.

"Thank you. Maybe I'll have enough credits next week," Thalion said, waving his hand. He reappeared in his room and sent a message to everyone who held one of his tokens, telling them they would meet that afternoon, roughly in an hour. Moving to the gathering spot in the center of his base, Thalion placed the five-meter-tall beacon and activated it. A blue beam shot into the sky, visible for kilometers.

With the current citizens, he could earn up to 300, 000 credits per week, which was a substantial amount, but still not enough. Thalion sat down in the open and began cultivating his soul. The voice had mentioned that soul cultivation was crucial if he planned to use an outsider, so he needed to reach a high level quickly. He also needed a significant quantity of wind crystals, both for the armor he planned to build and for the ritual that would allow him to harness an outsider's power.

He envisioned creating a soul core—an organ within his spiritual form that would function like his heart, pumping energy through his veins. Currently, he was working on forming these "spirit veins." It was time-consuming and tedious, but worth it. Just as he was about to complete the fourth spirit vein, his citizens returned and waited for him to acknowledge them. Thalion stood up, noting that a few groups were still out hunting, but this turnout would suffice.

He levitated slightly with the aid of the blood beneath his feet.

"Listen up—these are our goals for this week," Thalion announced with a strong voice.

"First, we need new citizens. The beacon will help attract them, but I want you to travel far while hunting and keep an eye out for survivors. Secondly, everyone should aim to reach level 50 within five days. After that, we'll head to the mountains to hunt flying beasts. I've purchased a ship specifically for this purpose. Third, these are blood flasks. Gather the blood of every fallen beast and any useful plants. Everyone should be out there; the only exception is for the craftsmen. That's all for today.

Garrick, Michael, follow me," Thalion finished his first gathering. He had considered wishing them good luck, but he had to maintain his intimidating persona. Thalion then addressed the matter he'd been pondering all day—what to do with Garrick and Michael.

"We have an issue here. We all know both of you want my position," Thalion began.

"No, I would never—" Garrick and Michael stammered.

"Silence. Spare me your lies," Thalion hissed, slowly circling them.

"I want no casualties, understand? I've already said it once, but I want to ensure you grasp it fully," he continued, not leaving room for arguments.

"Yes, no casualties," they both muttered, looking at the ground.

"I don't intend to stay here long. In two, maybe three—four weeks at the most—I'll leave. And the one who has contributed the most will inherit the base," Thalion said, watching as both of their heads snapped up in surprise.

"You'll just... give one of us the camp?" Garrick asked, wide-eyed.

"Yes, to the one who proves the most useful," Thalion nodded along.

"I won't disappoint you," Garrick said, quickly darting away to get started. Michael looked as though he wanted to say something, but upon seeing his rival already on the move, he too left quickly. This plan had worked perfectly. Hopefully, both would become significant contributors to his cultivation. Thalion didn't truly intend to give either of them the base, but he needed to keep them motivated for now. Perhaps he could even use them as experiments to see which outsiders he could attract.

It might be possible to activate the ritual and place someone else in the center of the pentagram.