Chapter 709 - High Grade residence

We are joined by a thylarin woman in professional-looking clothes. The kind you would see on a Japanese businesswoman. She has four arms, yellow eyes, and yellow hair that is striking against her blue skin. As we walk through the streets, she keeps talking quickly while pointing at the houses.

“A High Grade residence permit can be considered the highest type. The only ones better are the Ten Named Residences. But there are only two currently available, and I do not think I will meet anyone in my life who will take one of them.” She laughs shortly.

My Handler walks at my side with her hands behind her back, listening while also looking around.

“You said you would prefer an entire house over a rooftop apartment?” the thylarin turns to me.

“Something without people around. In the best case, a building further away in case of explosions,” I answer.

“I understand. So you enjoy experimenting or creating items. If you are not aware, or if your Handler did not mention it, there are designated workshops available for rent, as well as facilities equipped with safety measures for situations that carry a risk of explosion,” she says.

“Oh, I was talking about my body exploding.”

“…excuse me?”

“You heard what I said.”

My Handler steps in with a smile and puts her hand on the thylarin’s shoulder. “Please ignore my attendee, he likes to joke around.” She lowers her voice closer to the other woman. “I have heard of a few High Grade residences being available on Aurelite Heights.”

That makes the woman’s heart skip a beat, and I notice nervousness in her movement. Only thanks to my senses, because outwardly there is not a single sign of it.

“I was not aware that such information is so freely available,” the thylarin says. She is not even trying to lie. I suppose Handlers are people you should take seriously.

“I have my sources,” my Handler smiles. “His residence permit should be enough for a property slightly aside with a decent view, an Adaptive Training Hall, Shielded or blast-resistant room, Regeneration Zone, and Variable Gravity Chamber.”

The thylarin gulps. “Lady Handler, do you maybe mean that residence? Only one fits exactly into all of your requirements,” She asks in a tone like it is something my Handler should not know at all.

It makes my Handler only smile at her without answering.

The thylarin tries to fight back, “I am worried that residence is the one a certain Ruler showed interest in for their attendee if they reach the fourth floor. I hope you understand and will drop...”

Greed waves her hand, interrupting her. “Do not bullshit me. We are here now, and there is no such thing as residence reservations, no matter how much some people might wish there were.”

The blue woman turns to look at me with desperation, as if I might help, and I just shrug. “My Handler is a greedy person, isn’t she?”

She does not pick up on it, but Greed pokes my side. I do not see the movement at all, but the feel on my ribs and pain tells me enough.

So petty.

Trying again, the woman opens her mouth. “I am sure you are aware of…” She stops mid-sentence when she sees my Handler’s expression, then sighs. “Fine. I can see you are determined, and I gave a warning, so it is up to you to deal with the consequences. With a high-end residence permit, that place can be allocated to your attendee for the rest of his tutorial.”

She starts walking, and we follow behind her.

“Is it some fancy place?” I ask.

My Handler nods and answers in a quieter voice, talking just between the two of us, “Yes. It belonged to an S-rank who ended his tutorial two months ago. Since then, some Handlers kept trying to hide it and save it for their attendees. It is likely one of the best residences in the city outside of the Named Ten.”

“What are you playing at with this?” I lower my voice and squint at her.

“Can’t a girl be just a little greedy, get a distraction from all these big events, and have some fun with something of lower stakes?”

“You know what would make it even lower stakes?”

“I am not giving you shards, fragments, pristine passives, or any other bullshit you might try to ask for.”

I shrug, knowing it would not have worked anyway. “To the important stuff. The quest on my minion’s planet?”

We stop as the thylarin stops too, opening her mouth to ask something. But catching my Handler’s gesture to keep moving, she closes it and continues to walk.

Greed once again hangs on my arm. “It is a simple quest. You and another attendee go there as bodyguards for a third. It all takes place in the area where your cute disciple wreaks havoc.”

“Wreaks havoc? Must be someone else’s minion.”

“She is gathering a... a gang she calls her minions and goes on adventures with them while spreading gospel about her all-powerful master.”

“I... I see. It could still be someone else.”

“She is also searching for ways to stop herself from growing up.”

“Because she wants me to continue carrying her so she can listen to my heart?”

“Because she wants you to keep carrying her so she can listen to your heartbeat and keep hugging you. Get a grip and start noticing social cues.”

I let out a groan. This is going to earn my minion at least a thousand horn pokes. Why is she like Biscuit at times? And what the hell is it with her gathering a gang of delinquents? I will have to look into that. Into the hugs as well.

When we stop minutes later, it is in front of a copper-colored gate with a panel next to it. The thylarin touches it, and it lights up, along with the identification emblem on the back of her hand, unlike any I have seen. She gestures at me, and I activate mine too, depicting a silver letter A. When I touch the panel, a notification appears.

Would you like to claim the High Grade residence using your available residence token?

This residence will remain accessible to you until the conclusion of your tutorial, allowing you to appear inside it rather than in another location on the 4th floor.

Please note that neither the residence nor the city are designated as a safe zone.

I confirm, and the token disappears from my status. I know it is possible to set my “save point” at the guild headquarters, but appearing in my residence instead will work better. I just need to check the facilities to see if they are better than the guild’s.

Left alone, we head inside, opening the copper gate to pass through a smaller garden and enter the two-story house. The land is not that wide, but I have neighbors on two sides. One across, another on the right. To the left of the house, there is a huge rock that the house is pressed against, and on the opposite side of that rock, more residences appear.

“The adaptive training hall is in the basement and takes up all of it. To a lesser extent, you can challenge stored Avatars there. You likely have experience with that from your guild.”

I nod. “I never found them too useful.”

“Because the Avatar cannot kill you?”

“That, and because it just cannot compare to Avatars of the tutorial events.”

“Of course it cannot. Adaptive training halls are an attempt to copy the system, and still far from reaching that level even after all these years. Though the Corporation has some really good ones. They invested a shitload of resources into that.”

“Tell me about the Corporation.”

“No.”

“One hundred shards.”

“Two hundred.”

“I will give you three hundred,” I say graciously.

It makes her snicker, but she accepts anyway. “Aren’t you too nice today?”

“I have decided to put all my prejudices to the side for today. You promised me a quest where I might be able to check on Vega, and I am not such an ass as to not appreciate that.”

"How little is enough," she says in a somewhat soft tone.

“It is not little to me. Now give me the information I have overpaid for.”

She laughs. “Aurate Consortium is their actual name, but everyone calls them the Corporation. They are one of the biggest, the most influential, and the richest groups out there. They do not fuck with us Rulers, but there are a few of us who owe them a thing or two, and those bastards have been holding on to those favors, some for thousands of years.”

“You as well?”

“Not at all. Actually, they do not like me that much. Their High Director used to be the disciple of the previous Ruler of Greed and now happens to be one of my masters, amusingly enough.”

“Let me guess, the previous Ruler of Greed did not die of natural causes.”

“I killed the fucker.”

“Thought so.”

“But that much should be enough for now. Do not worry, you will learn a lot about them in the future outside of the tutorial. But to tease you, I can tell you one more thing.”

She lowers her voice to a whisper, and from where she stands a few steps away, she says, “They have a place called Black Hole Forge.” As she speaks, her face changes. Her hair turns red, and her eyes become yellow with patterns covering them. Her original look, just the slightly older version of Ruby I met on the second floor.

Taking a breath to stop myself, I say, “I could probably say something very rude, and I am sure it is deserved, because it makes me very angry and annoyed that you give me such a damn fucking cool name for the place and nothing else. BUT. I will be nice today.”

“Good,” she starts walking again and gestures to the right, where a metal wall is. “If you touch this wall, you will get a menu that lets you open the entrance to the blast-resistant room. It is not that big, but quite durable, even with your tendency to blow up everything in the area. Just don't repeat your last spectacle in there or anything close to it.”

Passing by it, I follow her toward two huge ceiling-to-floor windows that cover the entire side. One of them slides to the right, opening the entrance to a terrace with couch-like seating, a fireplace, and a few smaller trees placed for shade without taking too much space. The view opens on the megacity below and the canyon with its huge walls in the distance. I think the view from Greed’s residence is better, but I hold myself back and do not complain.

Moving a few steps, I stop by her, resting against the railing and looking down at the busy city.

“The regeneration zone is on the upper floor. It connects to the city pathways and is maintained by Thane’s healers. Normally, you would have to pay monthly to install and keep it available, but High Grade residences do not have to. As with most others, it is usually usable for only one hour per day to not overwhelm them. It is probably slower than you healing yourself by burning alive, but it avoids all that pain. These smart healers made a few clever modifications, so the process feels pleasant. It is like a sauna mixed with a bath.”

“No one has time for such slow healing.”

“Just relax once in a while,” she answers, looking down at the city. “Lastly, the Variable Gravity Chamber is the standard type you find in your guild. It should be placed to the left, likely in the house extension carved into that stone.”

I watch her walk away from the railing and move toward the seating. She takes a small pouch from one of her pockets and pulls out a beautifully crafted crystal bottle filled with red liquid, two glasses, and a small box. She opens it, revealing some sort of snacks.

At any other moment, I would ask for a spatial cache for myself, but right now it does not fit.

Something in her expression stops me. Instead, both of us stay quiet for the rest of the night, sipping a drink that is probably more expensive than the residence I just got and slowly eating cookies with dried pieces of some fruit that might not even exist anymore.

***

The next day, I stand in the bedroom upstairs in my residence as the night begins to fall. I wear clothes that have been tailored to me. A well-fitting gray suit, a white shirt, and a pale blue tie. It is different from Earth’s version, and even now, I have not come up with a better description than that it feels medieval age-ish.

My hair is freshly cut, shortened slightly, and styled from visiting the beyond version of a barber. Considering the prices, he could have been a thief. So, actually not that different from Earth barbers.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I reread the notification I got not long ago when I turned thermal energy into mana.

Congratulations. You have been deemed capable of attaining the status of Absolute through your own efforts, and you have been offered a system quest.

If you choose to accept, no other party will be able to designate you as an Absolute Candidate anymore. This will not affect your eligibility to become an Absolute, even in the event that you fail the quest.

Upon acceptance, you will receive a personalized quest. Rewards will include the title of Absolute Candidate, granted directly by the system, as well as an additional reward determined by your progression and performance.

It is obvious what I picked.

My reflection in the mirror grows more serious. Golden circles appear in my irises, and mana floods the space above my head, forming a halo that starts shifting into the shape of a crown not unlike the one I had been using before.

[Mana Manipulation - lvl 71 > Mana Manipulation - lvl 72]

The crown over my head slowly seeps black mana, turning a pitch black that contrasts strikingly with the golden light in my eyes.

[Manifestation - lvl 18 > Manifestation - lvl 19]

I am walking in the right direction, but it is still not enough.

I know there’s more I can give.

***

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