82 Jumpstart Community

"So I have some news, I think you'll find amusing." Terra said through a mouth full of sweet oat cookie.

They were already done with the meat and ham Terra brought over and were now delving into the red wine with some of the cookies Galahad kept in the pantry.

Galahad swallowed nearly half a cookie in one heavy gulp before responding. "Didn't you already tell me last week you got the overweight ass suspended? I still remember very vividly you made me try the Sun shots for the first with you at the Chained-Sun in celebration, and then you nearly drowned yourself in a pitcher of water to get rid of the heat."

"Oh shut up," she said after washing the sweet oats down with the wine. "I didn't know they added Fire Puffer dust to the shots. Anyway, I proposed a new real estate project to the board today."

Galahad froze for a moment. 'Oh no, please tell me she isn't about to suggest what I think she's about to say.'

"Oh yeah, what are you thinking?" Was what he actually said, being the nice friend that he tried to be for Terra.

"Well . . . I started thinking about reconstructing this neighborhood since my office still owns the land, and mentioned it to a few of the higher-ups after I got Heilbronn's old job."

Terra started shivering in excitement to reveal the next part.

"And they agreed to fund the project!" She squealed.

Galahad felt his future of living peacefully outside the city limits came crashing down on him. His luck was certainly full of piss this week.

"Well congratulations, I'm glad you're making some changes you wanted to see in your life. Now don't you feel glad you're not trying to fight for your life in a dark tunnel with carnivorous monsters?"

"Yeah, I just didn't know how else to get rid of that static feeling in my heart. It's hard trying to figure if what you're doing is for the right reasons, or just because the options are limited."

"Well cheers to that." Galahad downed his glass to hide the way he felt about that statement. It hit closer to home than he initially thought.

"Yeah I'm glad everything worked out." Terra said, her words started to slow a little and that made Galahad think there was going to be a follow up problem.

". . . There's just one issue." She finished from her trailing of words.

'Ugh, I should've known this would happen. There's no such things as a free meal, not unless you skip out on the bill.' Galahad shook his head and put his utensils in the washing bin.

"You need my help with something?" He asked, trying not to look in her doe eyes. He'd seen Mydia use them all the time on Victor, and for some reason it worked just the same on him with Terra.

"I have to make a professional quota by the end of this week and the contractors I hired don't have enough people to start moving lumber and concrete all the way out here."

"Wait, hold on. You managed to get your boss fired after three months of careful planning and evidence gathering, but you didn't plan any farther than talking to me about starting up another neighborhood construction project?"

"Well . . . I did think to ask for your help on moving the heavy stuff."

"Ugh, you're lucky I have the night off." Galahad rose from the chair he had just sat in and grabbed his jacket. Sighing as he realized his day was going to be more exhausting than just over sleeping in his living room.

"Yay!" Terra clapped her hands together and followed with a list of materials already out, displayed on her Company issued Karmic tablet.

Seemed it was all an unlucky string of events that led to Galahad eating food and now working his ass off carrying lumber down a mile long road.

*****

The sun was long past setting and Galahad eventually separated himself from all the work Terra gave him. He did what he could, but he wasn't a handyman. Galahad only moved the resources to the old houses while a few hired creation classes were putting up new homes on old foundations.

Galahad couldn't believe they'd just start working in the late afternoon. Seemed getting the hours done and over with were their biggest priority, seeing that they tossed a few light crystals in the air to keep light sources on their projects.

What he didn't know was most of the men hired for the remodeling were going to either live in the neighborhood when it was finished, or bring their extended families out to take a took at renting.

Diagon maybe have been one of the largest cities in the Etherite kingdom, but every district was on the verge of overpopulation.

These guys were never willing to live out in the outskirts since the incidents that happened years ago; but now that Galahad was living there safely for an entire winter alone, they figured it was time to find better living arrangements.

Three of the ruined houses became sturdy new wooden frames, looming in Galahad's mind. It was a sign that his peaceful life on the outskirts we're soon coming to an end.

This meant he needed to be careful on how he acted around his house, not accidentally reveal who he truly was. He especially couldn't let entire see his basement cellar.

After first moving in, Galahad found his home had a rather strange layout. It had a living room, kitchen, and carriage storeroom on the first-floor; then a staircase that led to the bedroom and bathroom on the much smaller size second-floor. Nothing was wrong with that, but it was the basement that confused him.

There was no staircase, door, or even hatch that lead to it. The only way in and out was through the heavy cellar doors on the outside of the structure.

When first entering the basement, he assumed it was some kind of store room or wine cellar. The chilly air inside was the perfect place for it, but that idea died when Galahad shined a light crystal inside.

The first thing he noticed was the assortment of graffiti made by the kids in the city when they used to come by and vandalize, and then he noticed less human markings.

Long, four-finger claw marks were etched deeply in the ceiling and dirt wall. When he turned around, he saw many more against the reinforced doors, all clear signs of trying to escape.

'Good lord! Was someone keeping a magical beast in here? This might explain why nobody wants to live around here.' Galahad thought at the time.

In the present day, he managed to fix up the door and it's locks the best he could and started putting a few valuables inside. Currently it held four months worth of mana orbs he couldn't consume yet, because his level wasn't high enough for the range of lvl. 30 to 40 monsters he was capable of killing.

He might not have been the strongest of battle classes at the moment, but healing and killing at the same time made for a decent combo of taking down bigger demons.

'Maybe I should add some extra locks and hinges. I could always dig out a hole in the side wall and put a wine rack in front of it. Boom! Secret compartment.' Galahad was all done in the market district and started daydreaming about his next home improvement project.

He somewhat felt he had wasted his afternoon helping build his future neighbor's home when he saw the sun was long gone and he was only a few hours away from going to Regin's workshop in the early hours.

'Damn it, I have to work in the morning. All the time I was supposed to spend researching is now down the drain.' Galahad kicked a rock off the curb and listened to it skip off and clang loudly against a trashbin.

'Bullseye.' Galahad smirked as his intended target was hit.

He kept going, but for some reason the ringing of the bin was still running faintly in his ears. He had to stop and actually check to see if it was still the bin.

Turns out it was the soft ringing of a bell in the distance. When he stopped walking, he could barely hear its frantic banging against the wind in his ears.

Suddenly a message appeared in front of his eyes that he'd never seen before.

[ Diagon Emergency Message ]

[ The Dungeon Gate is currently experiencing a minor level breach. Please remain indoors as the Guild office is dispatching reinforcements. Do not leave the safety of your residence at this time. More information will be provided in the meantime. ]

Galahad glanced over the message three times, making him think about something Sladdus mentioned twice before dying to his more angrier side.

'Didn't that squishy-squid ass say something on how I was Soul Bound? Oh for the love of- I swear this better not get traced back to me.' Galahad furrowed his brow and immediately ran towards the Gate, wondering if his life would ever be normal.