Preparation

Today was the fifth day since i had arrived in this shitty fake game world. It was finally time to begin preparing for the invasion.

I left the sweaty training room and went to shower.

The cold water slowly heated up using a heating aether crystal. They really did replace everything tech they could with magic. I wonder what would happen if they could combine the two.

I wasn't able to make any more progress today, but my new skill [Aether weaving] was truly great. It completely made my aether manipulation easier, and I was able to lower my casting time to just one second.

I'm glad to be done training. I was starting to burn out slowly, but it was definitely happening.

I finished showering and got ready in my exquisite noble wear. Amit's closet didn't have anything practical, so the best thing I had to make do with was a gray suit.

After finishing dressing, I thought about using my aethercycle but decided against it. I grinned. Today, I was going to use [Flight].

I can't just completely fly there, but I was going to use the skill in bursts and use the momentum to carry myself.

****

It was a normal day at the orphanage. Kids were playing while their caretaker, Leah, watched on.

"I'm the great hero, Orodan, a sovereign-ranked swordsman!" A black-haired boy named Orodan exclaimed while holding a toy sword.

"And I challenge you, Emira, the sovereign-ranked mage, to a battle!" He pointed his sword toward a blue-haired girl who was holding a toy staff.

"I accept!"

They began play-fighting with each other but stopped when they heard another girl named Minne scream in excitement.

"Is that a shooting star coming towards us?" She didn't even realize the danger; the poor girl thought it was time to make a wish.

Leah, their caretaker, looked on in horror as she realized that the 'shooting star' was heading straight for the orphanage. Although the children were all outside and wouldn't be hurt, they would be homeless.

But Leah was an unawakened human and couldn't do a thing to stop it.

BOOM!

The 'shooting star' crashed into the orphanage. The building was completely destroyed, and in the debris was a black-haired young man in a gray suit, who seemed mostly fine.

"Fuck, I couldn't stop myself!" the mysterious young man said.

Then he noticed all the children staring at him and the lone red-haired woman who took care of them.

*******

FUCK.

I destroyed an orphanage?! Everything was going well during my flight until it came to a stop. I tried using the spell to slow myself, but it didn't reduce all of my momentum, and I didn't have enough time to try again. So, I cast [Shield] and braced myself. And, of course with my shitty luck managed to crash into an orphanage of all things.

I kind of felt bad about destroying an orphanage even if they were just NPC's they were still just kids

I spoke, "Um, I'm sorry. Here's some money."

Money fixes all problems. I handed the red-haired woman five gold coins and started to walk off—until I realized something.i could use these kids!

I didn't think about how i would place the aether bombs once i got them and i crashed into the perfect way. I turned around and spoke.

"Hire a carriage to the Neant family vacation manor and here's the key. Stay there until I come back and can repay you."

The red-haired woman didn't look happy about the money or my invitation to stay at my manor. She looked furious.

I quickly walked away before she could say anything.

*********

I walked back into Wynn's Artificing and made my way to the front desk. Wynn noticed me immediately, bowed, and went into the back of the shop.

When he came back, he was holding two bags full of what I presumed were bombs.

"Here, there are around 95. I couldn't hit the 100 mark, but I hope this is close enough. And here's the detonation wand. As long as you input aether into the inscription, it will detonate all the bombs. Forgive my insolence, but please be careful."

I nodded. "Keep the money for the extra five you weren't able to make," I said, and then left.

Now, I had to hand these things back to the kids and tell them where to place them. Hopefully, I wouldn't destroy my own house on the way back.

The last thing I needed to prepare were people and he place I could do that was the Adventurers' Guild.

I didn't do this last time I was in town because I was too embarrassed after an incident caused by a certain crown hovering above my head.

Kyle was bored. It wasn't anything new as a clerk in the Adventurers' Guild, especially in a town as small as Tintor.

The only things people did here were drink, grab a job or two, or commission a job.

And that was the case with the young man standing in front of him right now. No taller than six feet, his frame was on the skinnier side.

His black hair was swept back, and his gray eyes matched the gray suit he was wearing.

He was clearly a noble of some kind, probably a young third son or something, because of what he was asking for.

The young man wanted bodyguards—and a lot of them. In fact, he wanted 50 adventurers to protect him until the week's end and was willing to pay them two gold each!

Kyle wondered if this boy was going to fight a war or something due to how many adventurers he wanted.

In Tintor, there wasn't anybody really powerful, as they all had moved on to bigger and better things. so there would only be solider ranked adventures to fill his request. 

Kyle was going to try keep quiet but in the end, Kyle's curiosity won out, and he asked.

"If I may, sir, why do you need all these guards?"

The young man smiled, and something in the smile was unhinged. 

"Why? I need meatshields, of course!" his smile growing even wider as he spoke those words.