Star Fire Store
As the army stopped on the forest, they realized other places that have signs of fights.
As chaos ensue due to curiosity, a shadow slowly crept up towards Niana.
"Good work today."
He said as he leaned his back towards the tree where Niana was recuperating.
"Thanks to you."
Niana opened her eyes and pulled out a bracelet on her hand. She was gonna take out the boots when he spoke.
"Use it. That's a gift from me. Although it is not as powerful as my boots, that will make our chances of success higher than the normal."
He said as he stood up and walked away.
"See you in the preliminaries then."
Niana smiled and tried to look at the figure that is going away.
"See you there."
He said as he vanished through the forest.
"Miss Niana, who was that?"
A soldier came up and saw that Niana was talking to someone. When he saw where she was looking, he was shocked and can't help but ask.
"Keep your mouth shut."
Niana said as she threw the ring in her hand towards the soldier.
"That's a ring that will help you soothe your mind. It can be used by magic enchanters or mages as a lifeline. You can use it or sell it. We are selling more of that in the Star Fire Store. At least that would keep your mouth shut, right?"
The soldier was stunned for a moment before nodding.
"Time to work."
Niana mumbled before stepping into the air. Her hair fluttered in the wind, and her godly aura looked like a god descending on the earth.
"Hey, that's Blue Goddess, right?"
"Yeah, why is she floating? Is she already at that level?"
"Fool, that level is only in legends. See those people in the kingdom? They can only rise up to Condensation Phase in Transformation Core. To be able to fly, you have to be in the Metamorphosis Phase."
"Is she already there?"
"Of course no, you idiot. I just don't know how she can fly."
"..."
Niana's actions startled the others, but as they look at her, a sense of awe and pride welled up inside of them.
"People of Alain, today, history will be proven as old stories and not a way we will walk."
"We, the people of this country, had made so many things for our world, and now, we are stepping into a new light, the light that will guide us throughout our new journey."
"I know that all of you are confused why I am able to fly, and be the one who stands here before you."
"But don't worry, everyone will be able to reach the skies, rend it open and see what's on the other side."
"We are not just mindless punks that fights, but we protect, we love and we grow. That's why we must be strong for the ones receiving the things we give."
"It is an absolute right of everyone to be able to love, be loved and have a good life, but we are limited by the things that are dictated to us."
"And now, those pressing words will be what we break today. We unshackle ourselves and be a better version of us, the ones we imagined when we were young."
"This time, we will surely be able to go out of this country, and discover more about this world."
"So take up your arms, be the best we can be, and go home to our families with heads held high!"
Niana can feel the tension in the air as she dropped the biggest bomb of this speech.
"We, the Celestial Guild, will be establishing our first shop in the Pentagon City, called the Star Fire Shop, and will support everyone in the advents of freedom."
"So now, go! Go and become the best you can be, and be able to fend off any calamities that befall us! We will emerge victorious!"
"HURRAH!"
The sound of change echoed on the forest. This time around, they know that Alain will change, and it will be the best change they know.
------------------------------------------
Pentagon City.
Pentagon City Academy has started the second week of classes.
The classes this year is bountiful. Almost tens of thousands enrolled and the people in the academy is overflowing that Edwina's head is hurting.
This year, a total of 42,896 enrolled in the first years, eight times larger than the past year. Also, the other cities had a sharp decline to their enrolment due to this.
The cause of these was:
First, the Hexagram is in the Pentagon City, and they wanted to curry the favour of the strong. Even if they are disowned, they still have the reputation to stand on their feet.
Secondly, is that many people are wanting to meet the "Blue Goddess" that Star Forest made. It was said that she is unparalleled in beauty and strength, and so, people decided to come and check.
Third, is the newly built Star Fire Store. The store was located in front of the academy gates. It was a minute walk away from the academy, and it piqued the attention of many.
Star Fire Shop.
Jonathan is busy checking the stocks and all the items that is inside the inventory.
The three-storey building is made of wood, and old in nature. It was built for almost sixty years, and the broker that sold it did so in meager amount due to the oldness of the building.
The land it also occupied was sold to Jonathan, and now, the capital they have is only 25,000 Myrrh, the currency used in the country.
"With this money, I will die first before this store flourish." He sighed as he looked at the place they have.
Niana hasn't told him anything, but being a professional in this field, without an input source of raw materials, they will be put out before they can hire someone.
And adventurer team will be hired for 40,000. They will have 1 week to collect materials, and 40% of that will be theirs.
Also, adventurer teams are known as cheaters. When they are given a commission, sometimes, they put something in their pockets and only give a small percentile of the whole harvest. That way, they can still sell some to the black market.
The Adveturer's Guild, who was in charge of it, had then made a notice board and a minimum quota to be made, but adventurers seldom took those quests, resulting in a low yield, and the guild having a low rating.
Another of Jonathan's worries is the limited number of supplies. With the workers he have at the store, it is impossible for him to hire others, and also, the creation of the unique items are not his.
The sets or armors Niana gave him is only two hundred and fifty sets, ranging from 30,000 to 50,000, depending on the uses and specs of the armors.
There are also spare parts that will sell at 300,000 at most.
He may sell it all, but production will fall, and eventually, all the money will be gone too.
There is also the Guild and shop registration procedures, and also getting a license.
Niana said that there are also four other shops that will open, and the others will have different names but under one company. Although it is a bit unrealistic, Jonathan believed in his liege, and he will do anything to give her the best.
After summing all the credits and debits together, the store will have almost 700,000 profit, but the mere thought of that 700,000 not growing will be quite scary. It may support one person for a year, but opening a new store will be out of the question.
Jonathan decided to open the store rather than worry about the trivial things. After all, Niana made this store from scratch, so she may have a way to make it bloom.
On the store were many students, also their parents who came to buy things.
"Welcome to Star Fire Store, how may we help you?" After going down the stairs, two girls are managing the store.
There are counters of weapons, armors and some other equipments such as bombs and spikes.
These two are Aria and Mina, who decided to help out at the store. It was their idea to ease Niana's worry about being unable to get store managers.
The one who came into the store is a brawny man with a large axe on his back. From the looks of it, he was not here to buy but cause some trouble.
He looked around as he walked, and saw a very much delicate axe.
On the axe were lines that form a head of a lion, with and the handle has lines forming a bull. In terms of strength, this weapon will be graded as 100.
These kind of magic weapons are super rare, for it can be ranked as city breakers: weapons that can make an individual powerful enough to topple a whole city.
"Hi Miss, may I buy that axe?"
Suddenly, a voice was heard on the counter. As people stared at the owner, their eyes mocked and they laughed at him.
The kid has a scrawny build, his body so thin that he may not be able to handle the axe. His demeanor looked like he has no money too.
"Aye. It costs 50,000 myrrh. Do you want to pay it in full or installments?"
"Installments please." The guy said as he hurriedly took his wallet and pulled twenty 1000 bills.
He then reached out the hand holding the money to Aria, which made the latter surprised.
"This way please." She was startled, but she still had her demeanor and recovered quickly.
She was leading the boy to a room, and Jonathan was also walking towards it when the brawny man spoke up.
"Sorry, kid. The axe is already reserved to me, so you can't buy it." He said while chuckling.
"Huh? Reserved? Then why did she led me to--"
"She led you there to discuss about getting something else rather than the axe because it is already mine." The brawny man explained.
"Is that so?" The thin kid said solemnly and a visible sadness can be seen on his face. Throughout the ordeal, Aria's face only smiled and did not speak up.
The commotion already garnered the attention of other customers that gained their curiosity and opinions.
"Isn't that Big Axe Mike that single-handedly defeated three people from the Mage Guild?"
"He is a bandit, right?"
"Hey, shut your mouths, he will hear you."
"Such a misfortune. Even three Medium Phase mages cannot stand up against him. The Star Fire Store the Blue Goddess built will fall at the first day."
"Hey, are you saying that the Blue Goddess is weak and cannot deal with a bandit?"
"We will see."
"..."
The thin kid looked at Aria, and when he saw her smile, his face darkened and a look of loss appeared on his face. What made the frown deeper was the whispers around.
"Oh? I didn't knew that the axe was already reserved. Nia- Blue Goddess said that the things that were reserved are all in the second floor and not displayed."
The tension solidified when Aria's soft voice sounded. Her eyes and the movements of her hands also dictated that this woman cannot read the atmosphere.
Mike, who was smiling, suddenly froze on his spot.
"Really?" The thin kid smiled and beamed with joy.
Aria nodded and smiled. Seeing this, Mike pulled Aria to his side.
"This lady must be new. The Blue Goddess told me that she displayed my axe for advertising." He laughed as he explained, but a different expression appeared on his face after.
"Get on my side. I will pay more and I promise that I will also make you happy tonight, also, invite the Blue Goddess and she will also enjoy serving me. If you don't, I may have to destroy this whole store." He whispered to Aria.
When this words were whispered to her, Aria, who was smiling, suddenly frowned.
Jonathan, who saw this and heard everything, could only sigh and shake his head. He then pointed at the entrance door.
After that, he lead the boy to the room. What happened next made a mark in the hearts of the people.