Chương 30: The Mystic Spirit Disassembly Art

"What's going on?" Far off at the city's Class-Change Plaza, a crowd of players stared in bewilderment at the giant mushroom cloud drifting over the distant sky, exchanging baffled looks.

"No idea. By the direction, it looks like the City Lord's Manor. A hidden quest, maybe?"

"Come on—let's go take a look! If we can land a hidden quest from the City Lord's Manor, we're set!" The players waiting to class-change surged out at once, rushing toward the manor. … In the courtyard before the manor's main hall, the thick smoke slowly cleared, and a burly figure gradually emerged. Owen's Gold gear was now shattered through, crack upon crack, while he himself knelt in a great pit in the ground, panting hard.

"Damn… that was close." A flicker of lingering fear crossed his face. Had he not lifted the seal on his power at the critical moment and crushed the Bronze Fire Seeds beneath him with all his might, the whole manor would have been reduced to rubble under Ryan's frankly insane, indiscriminate assault.

"My Lord, you didn't keep to the agreed one-tenth strength—you unsealed your full power. So… you've lost this bout." Ryan stepped into the deep pit, bent down, and helped the half-kneeling Owen to his feet with a smile.

"You—" Owen frowned, then said, somewhat indignant, "Aren't you a touch vicious, kid? If I hadn't gone all out to suppress it at the last second, that blast just now would've been enough to kill you dozens of times over!"

"But you were here, weren't you? So I wasn't the least bit worried."

"You counted on me stepping in?"

"Naturally. With your broad-mindedness and your care for your men's lives, you'd never take such a reckless line over one little shop and let the whole manor go up in ruins." Ryan said it with calm certainty. As the lord of a city, if Owen lacked even that much resolve, he'd just have to accept his fate.

"One little shop? Do you know—in all of Dragon Blood City, only two shops meet your specifications, and one's already in use, so just one's left to sell. Do you know what that means?" Owen's mouth twitched, his heart aching.

"It means a massive injection of capital! And now you've got me handing it over for free—I'm bleeding money on this one!"

"Don't worry, my Lord—the shop may be a gift, but I'll still pay the taxes in full," Ryan said soothingly.

"With my abilities, I'll have you recouped in no time!"

"It had better be as you say!" Owen said, the corner of his mouth curling.

"I'll set an assessment on your shop. If your monthly revenue falls short, I'll reclaim ownership!"

"How can you do that? You said the shop was a gift!" Ryan frowned, indignant.

"Who told me to be the Lord of Dragon Blood City? You get the shop—but the rules are mine to set!" Owen smirked. Seeing Ryan's slightly deflated expression, he finally felt the scales of his heart rebalance.

"You win," Ryan said helplessly. Still, snagging a prime, luxurious shop from empty hands was acceptable enough, assessment system and all.

"I'll lay it out plainly: the assessment cycle is one month. Since you hold a Mystic Spirit Token, I'll take only 5% of your revenue as tax." Owen said evenly.

"But don't celebrate too soon—if your monthly tax doesn't reach ten thousand gold, I'll take the shop back." The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Ten thousand gold in tax? At a 5% rate, that meant Ryan's monthly revenue had to hit two hundred thousand gold. And at the current gold rate—1 to 150, by Violet's intel—he'd need to earn thirty million Azure Coin a month through the shop to keep it from being shut. But pressure bred drive.

With his sky-high Luck, Ryan believed that if he was diligent enough, he'd pull no end of sellable gear—and two hundred thousand gold needn't be so daunting.

"Fine—deal!" His gaze sank as he agreed.

"Hmph, you're getting off cheap, kid." Owen snorted coldly. A shop on prime real estate, sold openly, would be worth its weight in gold; were it not for his daughter Lillian's sake, he'd never have handed it over for nothing. After all, no contract had bound the bout beforehand, so even if he welched afterward, the kid could do nothing—a small stain on a city lord's name, perhaps, but Owen didn't much care about such things, so long as he kept the shop.

"Sigh—a real shame about my gear. A full Gold set, and you ruined it like this." Owen looked down at his tattered armor, its golden glow nine parts faded and dull. A city lord risen from the saddle held a special attachment to his gear, and seeing a set ruined in his hands stung.

"Ah, my Lord—I have one small request…"

"Hmph. If it's to have me throw in clerks to run your shop for free, save your breath." Owen arched a brow, his face unfriendly.

"…" An awkward look crossed Ryan's face, quickly hidden. Since asking for clerks was off the table, he set his sights on Owen's ruined Gold gear instead.

"My Lord, your gear's badly damaged anyway—why not give it to me? I do so admire Gold equipment; to keep a set as a treasure…"

"Take it, take it! And here's the deed too! Now get lost—I don't want to look at you right now!" Owen waved a hand impatiently, flung the deed and his broken gear at Ryan, then with another sweep sent a mighty aura wrapping the youth and ferrying him straight out the manor gate.

"Infuriating!" Owen frowned and snorted. The thought of that kid's grinning face made his blood boil.

"Pfft—" Lillian, beside him, couldn't hold back her laughter.

"Daddy, who knew you were so adorable!"

"Adorable?"

"Yes! The way you were just fuming—it was too adorable!"

"…" Owen nearly passed out. A general famed for charging savagely across battlefields, described as *adorable*—surely worse than taking a blade to the body.

"Anyway, I'm off to help at the Class-Change Plaza! Hee!" Seeing Owen about to lose his temper again, Lillian trotted off, leaving behind a string of silver-bell laughter. …

"My Lord! Is there anything we can help with?"

"We're adventurers newly arrived in Dragon Blood City—command us as you please!" Moments after Ryan left, the crowd from the Class-Change Plaza finally reached the manor gate, craning their necks at the silent Owen in the courtyard, jabbering and winking nonstop.

"…" Owen had wanted a quiet moment alone; this sudden mob shattering the mood made his already irritable mood erupt.

"Want quests, do you? Then I'll oblige!" His gaze sank; a sweep of his hand sent golden light falling over the players ringing the gate. System: [Ding! You have received a forced quest: Repair the City Lord's Manor! Time limit: 3 hours. Reward: None. Failure penalty: City Lord favorability -100, Dragon Blood City prices +50%!]"Hell—what kind of quest is this?!"

"Screwed! Hosed by the System this time!"

"What are you standing around for? Get to it! If we can't finish in time, we're done in Dragon Blood City!"

"Damn it, my luck's rotten! Hosed the moment I show up! I @%#¥7…" One player, livid at his misfortune, spat a stream of foul language and shot Owen a hostile glare. System: [Ding! Your verbal abuse has enraged City Lord Garron Owen. Quest forcibly failed. Owen favorability -100. Dragon Blood City prices +50!]"I…" The cursing player, hearing the prompt in his ears, slumped to the ground, all will to live gone. The crowd around him promptly shut their mouths and set to work, not daring another word. …

But while the players were press-ganged into free labor by Owen, the instigator of it all had already arrived, all smiles, at his own shop. He set the broken gear he'd wheedled from Owen on a table, anticipation thick on his face. [Mystic Spirit Disassembly Art: Can break down all manner of gear and items into precious materials for recycling—turning waste into treasure.] He'd only gotten the skill a short while ago—now was the perfect time to test it. Ryan laid a hand on the most badly damaged cuirass.

System: [Ding! Use the Mystic Spirit Disassembly Art?] Yes! Whoosh— As he cast the skill, a dazzling golden light rose from the cuirass beneath his hand. System: [Ding! Disassembly successful! Please review!] The whole process took a dozen-odd seconds before the prompt sounded again.

"This…" Ryan stared in disbelief at what the disassembly had yielded, shock thick on his face. This skill is downright filthy. It can do this*? *