Meeting With Old Guildmates (1)

The entire meeting room was silent after Mr. Grimwright's outburst. However, it wasn't that they were being compassionate with him; rather, they were trying hard to prevent themselves from laughing.

Honestly, at that time, all the other ladies and gentlemen in the room planned to do the exact same thing, but only Mr. Grimwright managed to do it before them. In the end, his sacrifice ended up saving the others, which, of course, was something that they didn't publicize.

"And? Is that all you called me here to ask? If that's so, then I've wasted my time once again." Mr. Todoroki sighed.

The old woman from before harrumphed, denying his claim immediately. "Of course not. We're here to discuss something that your company is currently handling, the Blast Wand."

"..."

Mr. Todoroki quieted down immediately. After all, this time, it was really something that "their company" was handling. "You want to place orders or something, Mrs. Wang?" He asked, leaning forward as if preparing to negotiate.

"Why would we?" the woman, Mrs. Wang, scoffed. "We're here to negotiate the price for the blueprint, of course."

"Ahh, that?"

Mr. Todoroki heaved a sigh of relief. After all, he thought that they picked up that the crafter of the Blast Wand and the Staff of Destruction were one and the same.

'Still, the Blast Wand's manufacturing is completely impossible for other crafters,' he thought, placing his hand through his beard. 'I could sell the blueprint to them, but I could already imagine them asking for a refund for getting an impossible design.'

After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to come clean with it. "Actually, the manufacturing of the Blast Wand is extremely difficult. Even with our team, the success rate was less than 1%."

Of course, the ratio he gave was completely true. Counting the number of samples that Mahiro successfully created and the others that failed, it should be closer to a 0.1% success rate. He was already bumping it up when he claimed 1%, but even that was unbelievable to the sneaky foxes.

"One percent? Are you sure your team isn't full of useless idiots?" Mr. Grimwright laughed. "If you give me the blueprint, I can ensure at least a 10% success rate on the first batch!"

"What Mr. Grimwright said is true. Mr. Todoroki, are you sure your subordinates are working on that seriously? Maybe they're just wasting your money!" The bald man in a gray suit added with a cheeky grin.

"That's right, Mr. Todoroki. What do you say you give us all a copy, and for each wand we sell, you get 20% as royalty?"

When Mrs. Wang suggested this, Mr. Todoroki leaned back on his chair. His face was showing worry, but of course, it was nothing but a mask he created. "I don't know... Are you all sure? I can give you a copy each, all for a single payment of 100 million dollars for a copy. Deal?"

"""Deal!!!"""

The three in the room agreed immediately. After all, a lump sum was easier to handle than royalties. Furthermore, based on the performance of the wand, if they could maintain at least a 50% success rate in crafting, then they could regain the 100 million in a month or two. They all thought that Mr. Todoroki was crazy for letting them have a copy for such a "cheap" price.

After they all signed the agreements, making sure that all papers were ready, the transaction was complete. Mr. Todoroki walked away without looking back, but he was actually working hard to not let his chuckle escape.

---

"Finally! All done!"

I stared at the clock and noticed that it was only a little past two in the afternoon. It was still early, but what can I do? I already finished all the wands that were ordered and even made ten extra from the excess materials.

There were still a lot of excess materials I could use, but my stomach was already growling like an angry lion. I already called for room service, but it was taking a bit longer to arrive. Probably because it was already outside of normal eating time.

A few minutes later, the robot server finally arrived. I didn't waste a single second and wharfed down the food, finishing "lunch" in just a few minutes.

As I was waiting for digestion to kick in, I stood by the table and stared at the excess materials available. From the pile, only a few could be used for another wand, while the others couldn't even be used for anything else.

"Too bad the material's not enough to challenge another Staff of Destruction." I sighed lightly, lamenting the lack of materials.

I quickly assembled a custom blueprint in my head, making use of all the available materials, and quickly cleared the table right after. After that, I started focusing on crafting.

I was probably doing that for a few hours straight, as when I realized it, the time had already reached 7 p.m. before I completed the experimental wand I made.

"Let's see."

I tapped on it, opening the status window. However, I was immediately disappointed. I was hoping for another miracle or another Legendary to pop up, but I guess it was really just pure luck last time. This time, the result was even subpar compared to the blast wands.

"This is basically a failure, I guess." I sighed lightly, throwing it to the table along with the completed wands.

After that, I left the workshop and walked back to the hotel leisurely. I didn't take the underground path since there was nobody waiting around the facility anymore. The cold night breeze was a nice change of pace, letting me unwind for a little while.

After reaching the hotel, I immediately headed for the elevator and went straight to my room. Of course, nothing was wrong with the nametags this time; I even made sure to count that it was the sixth room before entering.

After taking a short bath, I turned on the TV and watched some news.

Apparently, other than ours and the surrounding cities, other parts of the world were still struggling against the monster invasion. Fortunately, the number of casualties around the world in total could still be summed up within four digits. It was small when considering the scale of the enemy's power.

While watching the slideshow of the destroyed cities and facilities, a certain worry crossed my mind.

'Are there any from our guild there?'

The chat group had been quiet for a while already. I check it with my phone regularly, but the last message was still the one that I sent the last time. Due to this, my worry for others' well-being started growing.

"Well, I bet they're all powerful, so they should be safe." I tried muttering out loud, appeasing my worried mind.

When I looked at the clock, it was already past midnight. I was probably too absorbed in watching the news, making me miss dinner and all that. I wasn't that hungry anyway, so just sleeping it off was the best choice.

Of course, nothing much happened, and the moment I opened my eyes, it was already bright outside. I guess the fatigue of yesterday got the best of me.

"Wait, bright?"

I turned to look at the window and belatedly realized that it wasn't closed with a shutter anymore. Did they fix it while I was in the workshop?

*Knock* *Knock*

Just as I was wondering what to do today, a knock came from the door. Going down the bed, I unhurriedly walked toward the door. "Yes, yes. Wait a minute."

After reaching the door, I peeked through the viewing hole and saw Toki standing beyond it, all dressed up in her usual frilly outfit, as if ready to head off somewhere. As soon as I opened the door, Toki glanced at me from head to toe, a frown adorning her face.

"Did you just wake up? You look like a rag," she said without a hint of reservation.

I just scratched my head at her words. After all, there was no change of clothes prepared for me yesterday, so I could only run my clothes on the washer-dryer and hope for the best. No ironing, no fabric conditioner, nothing.

"I can't let the girls see you looking like that," Toki muttered under her breath. "Come, let's go to the tenth floor. There are shops for men's clothes there."

Without even waiting for my confirmation, she just dragged me away. While walking, I could smell a flowery fragrance coming from her. I wonder why she smells so nice today. Did she put some perfume on?

Heading straight for the elevator, we went down to the ground floor first before moving to a different elevator and going up to the tenth floor. Maybe because it was already around eight in the morning, but we didn't meet anyone along the way.

After reaching the tenth floor, Toki dragged me around shops, pulling clothes here and there and asking me to test them on.

"No, not this... Too bland."

However, even with the choices that I was cool with, that was her response. What's wrong with a plain shirt and pants? Also, the jersey and jogging pants! That's like the most basic casual wear I have, and you dismissed it as "bland"?

Of course, I didn't say it to her face. I just followed her around, choosing clothes for me and test-fitting them one after another. That happened for two whole hours before she was finally satisfied with my attire.

"Yep. This looks the best on you," she nodded while giving a thumbs-up.

I fixed my collar once more, looking at myself through the full-body mirror. It was rare for me to wear long sleeves, but I guess it does look appropriate. The set she chose in the end was a low-collar white long-sleeve polo paired with black pants and shoes. It looks more like I'm applying for a job with this attire, but I guess it IS better than my usual jersey look.

"Right, then let's go."

After confirming that I was done checking my attire, she pulled me along once more. "Where are we going now?" I asked lightly, not expecting her to answer.

Her reply made me beam with expectation, however. "Where else? To the other guild members, of course!"