Making money I

Allen, knowing that getting hit by the dark orc's attack would be fatal, if not possibly ending him, used his wits to find one solution. With his right hand laid upon the soil, he quickly channeled Mana precisely and summoned his dragonic flames.

Upon coming in contact with the ground, the flames exploded, launching Allen out of harm's way. He desperately tried to hold onto his sword, but the aftereffects of the explosion were too great to handle.

Barely avoiding the dark orc's attack by using his own flames as propulsion, Allen couldn't help but feel dizzy at this moment. His worry was palpable as it seemed he was running out of options.

With his blade now out of his hands, his thoughts were directly channeled towards his dragonic transformation, a last resort he could finally use since he was facing one monster. But looking at his mana reserves, he wondered whether it would be sufficient.

The dark orc, now making its way towards Allen, walked slowly as it knew its target had been incapacitated and incapable of movement.

"Unleash infer—" However, just then, before he could speak, an echoing thunder resounded from the heavens, a golden bolt of electricity permeating through the clouds as it found its target.

The dark orc didn't even have time to react before its consciousness was erased from existence, its body scorched and burnt into a crisp.

Allen could only stare with wide eyes, unable to utter a single word. Glancing backwards, he suddenly caught sight of a woman advancing towards him in hurried steps as she put her sword, laced with golden material, back into its sheath.

"Is that Clarissa?" Allen seemed puzzled by her appearance. She wore a black battlesuit, differing from the traditional armors made by Magicrafters, essentially blacksmiths in this world.

Despite the technological advancement of this world, systemholders still went with the crude way and method of making armors, crafting from flames and pounding of metal. But now that researchers had discovered a way to incorporate Mana and technology together, a new era beckoned—an era of magitech.

"Mr. Are you ar—" "Allen! Just what do you think you are doing out here?" Clarissa suddenly yelled, realizing it was Allen she had rushed to save. "Do you want to get yourself killed?" she scolded as her teammates began to arrive soon after, panting as they failed to catch up to their captain, who lived up to the title of lightning princess by showcasing her unrestrained speed.

"Thanks, Ms. Clarissa, I really appreciate your help," Allen said, still seated on the ground, exhausted and strained from the long arduous battle.

Clarissa gritted her teeth internally as she sensed the hidden sarcasm behind his words. "By the way, you know you don't have to be so formal, right?" she complained before giving Allen a hand, pulling him up to his feet.

"Ha!" he exclaimed in pain, "I think I might have broken a few bones," Allen muttered loud enough for Clarissa to hear before allowing him to use her as support, barely able to stand up straight.

"Here, have this," she said, handing Allen a small glass bottle full of green glowing liquid. Without much thinking, it was easy to deduce that it was a healing potion, though unaware of the tier.

Allen, without having any second thoughts, immediately chugged down the small bottle of liquid, which had a fruity flavor flowing down his throat before a feeling of warmth overflowed through his body, traveling to every crevice and every part of his body.

The pain he had felt faded silently, like the tune of a piano, before it completely vanished, a feeling of invigoration flooding his body. "Clarissa, what grade of healing potion did you just give me?" he questioned, perplexed by the effect.

"Grade 3," she replied bluntly. Allen, hearing her say it nonchalantly, could only use all his efforts to keep his mouth from hanging. "I feel like being poor is a crime at this point," Allen thought, remembering that a grade three healing potion cost around one million or so star credits.

"You still have to pay me back," Clarissa suddenly added. Allen's face became grim as he realized he was now in a debt that he wouldn't be able to pay even if he sold his soul.

"You can pay me later, no need for the bewildered gaze," Clarissa suddenly interrupted, sighting Allen's tumultuous thoughts. But before she could continue, her squad members began to arrive, their faces pale and sweaty from exhaustion, though they began to recover quickly.

"What took you guys so long?" Clarissa questioned loudly, her gaze firm as if piercing through them.

"You know, this is why I always tell you to train harder," she recalled, remembering the days she would spend training her squad members, however, they were too lazy in her own standards, having to force herself to make them train.

"It's not our fault that we're not speedstars," a boy with red hair muttered as low as possible, but he still couldn't avoid the hypersensitive senses of their squad leader.

"What was that I heard?" Clarissa questioned, her fist crackling with bright golden lightning. From sight alone, Allen could sense the enormous power radiating from the clenched fist. At that moment, he knew he had to save the poor red-haired boy before he lost his life.

"Hey, Clarissa, do you think you have any way to store these monster corpses? I don't exactly have the storage space, and I can't let my hard work go to waste," Allen interrupted, stopping Clarissa, who was about to send the red-haired boy to heaven.

With her attention diverted from him, the red-haired boy could only give Allen a thankful gaze. Allen internally nodded, almost as if they understood one another, while he glanced at the others with anger, angry they had not helped him.

"Well, it would indeed be a waste," Clarissa pondered out loud, reasoning with Allen's plight. Without further thoughts, she stretched out her left hand, equipped with the storage watch; however, hers was way different from Allen's. Specifically, Allen's watch was a grade one storage watch; hers was of the highest grade, a grade five storage watch.

In a matter of seconds, the corpses of monsters that lay sprawled on the ground, either burnt or not, were sucked in, leaving only the disgusting sight of different colored blood.

"Done and dusted," Allen, shocked by her feats, glared at her watch, wondering if he should steal it, but remembering Clarissa's strength, he quickly shrugged off his sudden intrusive thoughts.

"Squad leader, I think it's best if we move now," a girl with quite a small stature advised, gazing through the binocular-type thingy in her hands.

From miles away, she could see the hoard of monsters heading in their direction. With the amount of blood Allen had spilled, it was safe to say he had sent an invitation for an army of monsters.

"Okay, let's head back," Clarissa decided, before they all began to run back towards the city, Clarissa leaving them in the dust as she left behind a trail of golden lightning, swiftly defeating any monster that stood in the way.

In about thirty minutes, they finally arrived back at the city gates, though they could have arrived sooner they had to slow down for Allen, much to his displeasure. Standing at the front of the gate, a facial recognition protocol was initiated, with the machine studying each of their mana signatures to ensure no shapeshifting monsters were let in.

When they arrived, Clarissa quickly dismissed the other members before ordering a guard to give Allen a change of clothes after a warm and soothing shower. Doing the same, the two walked out of the gate walls, heading towards the monster-selling branch of the Systemholders Association.

In a tense silence, neither seemed to want to initiate the conversation. Clarissa's memory flashed back to about an hour ago, recalling how she had seen Allen, whom she did not immediately recognize. She remembered the lack of fear in his eyes, even in the face of death, almost as if he had a last plan, like he was certain he wasn't going to lose.

After her Thunder Call skill had decimated the dark orc, she noticed the hundreds of monsters lying dead on the ground, and had came in contact with them, and just from the wounds they suffered, she could tell they were done with ease.

Arriving at the inner wall, she had quickly done a background research on him, finding out about his parents' identity and the mediocre system he had awakened. Even after all that, she couldn't find one clue that pointed towards Allen's surprising combat power.

"Allen Barthon, just what are you?" Stealing a glance at him, she could tell his mind was in another dimension.

Making a mental list of what he would need after he struck it somewhat rich, Allen thought about changing to a new apartment, a mission of utmost importance. Some new clothes, as the old ones were too tight. A new phone, he thought, considering the embarrassment he would face if anyone discovered his pitiful piece of tech.

Just then, he received a notification, his phone vibrating with intensity. Hesitant to bring it out, he glanced at Clarissa, who feigned ignorance.

Planning on rejecting the messages, the intensity increased, forcing him to take it out, thinking it might be an emergency. And then, to his surprise, it was Eisha asking if he was coming, whether she should make something to eat, asking where he was. The line of texts was so long that even his fast perception couldn't keep up.

"What the heck?" he thought inwardly, wondering why she had suddenly bombarded his phone with texts.

"We have arrived," the driver declared to the two, snapping Allen out of his questioning thoughts. Stepping down from the vehicle, he stood there amazed by the massive size of the building before him.

"Time to make some money," he grinned inwardly, happy that his supposed misfortune had set him on the path to salvation. "Wait a minute, didn't I see the corpse of a Batsnake?"