The Trio

"So, you're saying that those potions can enhance potential, both upper limit and growth?"

"Yes. That's what I'm trying to make. If possible, monopolize the market with them, it could bring me profit in long term. So, I will ask you again, are you up to do that?"

Goose put his hand on his chin, considering whether he should accept my offer or outright refuse it because the risks are too high.

I understood where his worries coming from. Monopolizing the market was not an easy thing to do, especially if he started from the bottom. He needed to do everything to protect the brand from big companies such as Nova Corps, Mogul Adventure, and others.

If it was Goose the Specter, I was a hundred percent sure he would accept my offer despite the risks. But, right now, he was nothing more than a duckling in a large pond.

'What will you choose, Spec– no, Goose?'

I waited patiently as Goose pondered over my proposal. His yellow, snake-like eyes narrowed as he weighed the potential benefits against the risks.

I could tell he was cautious, but also intrigued by the idea of monopolizing the market using potions that could enhance one's potential.

The silence stretched on for a few moments, and I resisted the urge to prompt him for an answer.

Finally, Goose lowered his hand from his chin and gave me a shrug.

"I… don't think I could do it. But, if you give me time to consult this with my boss…"

"Boss?"

"Oh, I have not told you yet, right? I'm an advisor of a guild."

"Which guild?"

He extended his hand to me, with his palm facing upward. Meanwhile, his other hand was gesturing a coin sign.

"You know what I mean?" he said.

I watched him with a deadpan expression.

"Nevermind, then," I shrugged.

'I do not care which guild he belonged to. According to the story, he changed sides to the villain side because his guild was destroyed by big guilds.'

You could say that the reason he joined Utopia was because of revenge. The target of his revenge was clearly those guilds and heroes.

Because the guild was never mentioned, I had zero interest in his guild situation.

'Hmm. I doubt I can get much profit from doing business with him and his guild. Well, except if I could prevent his guild downfall, I might get something. But, it's too much work to do…'

After giving it a second thought, I changed the term of my proposal.

"Fine, take your time to consult with your 'boss'," I said, emphasizing my skepticism.

"But, I will only offer you the Horizon Elixir."

"Huh? Why?"

"My business mind telling me to be greedy," I said with a smirk.

He scoffed, but eventually accept my offer and reasoning.

The matter was settled, for now.

We walked further in the New Avian.

The cityscape of the New Avian was a visual feast for my eyes, with stunning buildings adorned with intricate carvings, colorful murals, and decorative motifs.

Artisans from various professions such as blacksmiths, carpenters, painters, and many others had their workshops and studios throughout the city, showcasing their craftsmanship and selling their unique products.

The streets were alive with the sounds of music, laughter, and the clatter of artisans at work, creating an atmosphere of creativity and innovation.

In addition, there were visitors from all over the world who came for trading, selling, and buying.

Do you think the products they sell are ordinary items? Hoho, you couldn't be more wrong!

No! None of them were ordinary. They were all useful tools, ranging from everyday items to specialized tools for Enhanced.

I noticed that some of them were man-made artifacts, from <E> rank artifacts to <A> rank artifacts.

"So, what do you want to do here?"

Goose's voice released me from the bustling city's scenery.

"Well, I'm looking for shops that can make me something."

"And what exactly is that?"

I took out a piece of paper–a blueprint from my storage cube and showed it to him.

When he looked at it, his eyes immediately widened, flashing with recognition of the blueprint and what item I would make.

"You are insane…"

…

After he looked at the item I wanted to create, he suggested to me a capable and trustworthy workshop he knew in the New Avian.

Because I had no idea where to go here, I followed his suggestion and we went there immediately.

Upon arriving in front of the workshop, it was rather a small workshop.

The storefront had no displays, only covered windows and a door with a rusty knob.

Creak…!

The door made a loud creaking sound when I opened it.

Stepping inside the shop, three people looked at us with surprise, but their expressions softened as Goose followed me inside.

"Oh, Goose!"

One of them, a woman with a delicate, well-muscled build and wearing a black crop tank top with cargo pants, finally spoke.

Her short, stylish hair appeared wild, and her red eyes seemed to glow in the dark.

She reached at Goose and rested her hand around Goose's shoulders, saying…

"Long time no see. How are you doing, cutie?"

Goose's face reddened a bit as he shook his head.

"Stop it, Aran. You don't act that way to your employer," said a cool-looking guy inside the shop approaching Goose and the woman named Aran.

He wore a cyber-looking mask, covering half of his face. He gently patted Aran's shoulder with his prosthetic right hand, signaling her to back away

"Tch. You're too stiff, Wilson."

At that moment, a loud screaming sound rang out behind them.

"AHH!! No way I'm gonna lose my money again!"

The man looked homeless, unshaven face, and disheveled long black hair. His dead fish eyes widened as he stared at the tablet in his hands.

"Fvck, Eru! Did you just bet with our money again?!" Aran yelled.

Surprised, Eru threw the tablet to the cushion he was sitting on, then immediately stood up.

"Hehe, sorry, sorry. I'll return it next week…" he said, then disappeared behind the door.

Aran shook her head, her hand massaging her forehead.

I frowned, observing these people.

Among these three, the only one I knew was the guy named Eru. As far as I remember, that homeless-looking guy was a member of Utopia in the future along with Goose. He was known as the Phantom Thief because of his exceptional skills in stealing.

If Goose was called the man behind the scene with his network and information manipulation, Eru was the man who directly faced the heroes, stealing every valuable and opportunity the heroes had.

The other two though, Aran and Wilson, I had never heard of them. There might be a chance that the two were an extra whose going to die in the heroes' hands, a perfect villain backstory for Eru.

'Well, I'm not sure, but that might happen.'

Wilson whose attention was disrupted by the conflict immediately returned to me and Goose.

"Right. I'm guessing you have work for us?"

"That's right. But, it's not me this time who will do business with you guys. It's this person right here," Goose said, pointing at me.

Aran and Wilson exchanged curious glances as Goose pointed at me.

Aran spoke up first, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, who do we have here? A handsome man with such a drip has come to our shop."

Wilson rolled his eyes at Aran's comment.

He took a step forward, his cyber-mask giving him a stoic appearance as he said, "What brings you to our shop, dear 'customer'."

I took a moment to gather my thoughts, assessing their ability to see if they were really the right people for me to entrust to make the item I wanted.

"Before that, I want to look at your creation first. The item I want you guys to create needs someone with high-level craftsmanship, I hope you understand."

Wilson raised his chin confidently as Aran smirked, taking the items out of their storage cube. Around ten items were neatly lined up on the floor.

"Take your time to assess our abilities in craftsmanship," Wilson said with a confident tone.

Unlike other people who needed to carefully examine these items to determine their worth, I only need to use my Clairvoyance.

Once I activated my Clairvoyance, I felt ticklish in my eyes and a little throbbing pain in my head. Despite that, I was satisfied with their items.

Most of these were <A> rank, with two <S> rank. Though I did not know what each item do, knowing their ranks was enough for me to call them both a master of craftsmanship.

Satisfied, I smiled and gave them my inquiry.

"I'm in need of a tool for a certain venture, take this."

I gave Wilson a piece of paper containing a blueprint of what I wanted them to create.

As they slowly and carefully studied the blueprint, I waited patiently for their reactions. A moment later, their faces were painted with shock and disbelief, staring at me with awe mixed with a bit of confusion.

"Man, you are insane to even think about creating something like this…" Aran spoke first, her tone sounded in disbelief, but her smirk and determined eyes said otherwise.

"A vessel tube that is capable to create a dungeon by placing the dungeon boss core inside… Why did I never think of that?" Wilson said, sounding intrigued.

"Well, do you think you can do it?" I asked.

Wilson and Aran nodded at each other in acknowledgment, and at the same time said, "Certainly! This is a piece of cake for us."

I proceeded to explain the details of the additional part of the vessel tube, such as installing an anti-jamming system so that when the dungeon was created from it, the Omega couldn't detect the unusual magic energy from it.

After a thorough discussion, we reached an agreement on what the exchange would be like.

It was simple, I offered them valuable information for their group, especially for the homeless-looking guy.

"For example, I could give you the information about where the dwarf lives and a hidden ancient ruin, where the Coyote's Mirror is located"

There was no way an artisan like them wouldn't be intrigued by the dwarves, which held the epitome of craftsmanship, knowing where they live was like finding treasures for them.

Also, the Coyote's Mirror was the artifact that Eru, the homeless-looking guy was using as the Phantom Thief. Though I doubted he would know what that was right now.

But, betraying my expectation for him was a loud banging sound of the door coming from behind the counter.

"Coyote's Mirror?! Did you just say Coyote's Mirror?! Where is it? Tell me where is it?!" Eru shouted as he ran and begged me.

"What the hell, Eru? What's going on with you?" Aran said, trying to pull Eru from me.

"Aran! Wilson! Accept their offer! Please, accept their offer!"

Eru looked like someone who was desperate for something, which made his friends look uncomfortable, 'he was not usually like this' were what I read by observing Aran and Wilson's expression.

"Even without you doing this, we are going to accept his offer, Eru. So, calm down."

Wilson patted Eru's back and gently pulled him from me.

Looking at me again, Wilson extended his hand to me.

"I'm intrigued to know where the dwarves live, and just as you see, our friend Eru too seems bewitched by whatever that mirror you mentioned is. So, I think we're deal?"

"Of course."

I reached for his hand and we both shook hands, sealing the deal.

With the deal sealed, I gave them the information they wanted and thanked them for their assistance as I prepared to leave the workshop.

Goose said he wanted to stay with them for a while so I ventured to the New Avian by myself, just looking around the city, observing the artisans and people that lived there.

As I did so, I couldn't help but feel my body tense, knowing that I only had a half-year before the large events that happened in the story occurred in this very city.

After looking around, I prepared to return to Octagram Island by using the warp gate. The anticipation and nervousness engulfed me as I thought about what would happen in that event.

'6 months is more than enough to stop the event from happening the same way as in the story…'

Taking a breath, I stepped inside the warp gate and found myself back at the Octagram Transport Center.

"Huu… What should I do next?"