17: Aiming High

Mr. Melborn’s view

“Cancel the search for Mellanie, I found her myself.”

“Oh! Alright. How did you find her? We’ve not found any sign of her at all.” 

“She’s teaching at the Clear Sky sect. Reforming the entire sect, even. I don’t know how this is possible, but it’s clearly her, and she’s clearly doing it.” 

“Well, she is your daughter. I’m sure she was destined for greatness from the start.” 

“What about that medicine seller in the slums? Learn anything interesting?” 

“Nothing good. People he’s treated called him a sham, and insisted he only made things worse. Though he doesn’t seem to be having any trouble staying in business, when he’s the only one selling medicine cheaply, the poor don’t have much choice.”

“How about the smith a Clear Sky sect elder visited?”

“Not much information has been found. She’s barely staying in business. Only a few people visit and there’s constant complaints from neighbors. I’m not sure how she’s convinced the landlord not to kick her out. Rumor has it, she’s been possessed, as people hear her loudly cackling in the night as she continues to work. She’s got dark circles under her eyes, and we believe she’s not sleeping enough.”

“Shouldn’t a smith who’s doing poorly, not be working much?” 

“We suspect her few customers must be paying her well.”

“... is that all you have to say? You’re my spymaster! How can you have so little information on her?!” 

“Um… is she really so important? She’s just a smith. I’ve been focusing more on watching over Talanna Victoria’s activities. Just a month ago, she began purchasing lots of iron.” 

“You’re right. I don’t really have time to worry about a poor smith. Talanna’s buying iron… I assume you mean she’s buying more than makes sense as just preparation for the upcoming hunt.”

“Of course.”

...

Medea’s view

As frustrating as it is, to know that I am now outclassed by a nobody pill maker in the slums, it is at least somewhat gratifying to realize he’s still a nobody in the slums. Bradford may have become the best medicine maker I’ve ever had the fortune to meet, yet it seems I’m the only one who knows. That poor fool even helps me out whenever I need something better than I can make. He doesn’t even charge much as long as I provide materials. 

Thanks to him, supplying me with whatever medicines I ask for in exchange for a modest fee, I’ve become even more famous. I’ve even been able to obtain great assistance in my cultivation because of him. He’s made pills for me that help me greatly. Though I do wonder why it is that he seems to be catching up to me in cultivation anyway. Just what is his teacher teaching, that he is able to advance so fast? In just five years, he’s gone from not even being a one star alchemist to having power and ability beyond that of a three star alchemist. I was considered a prodigy getting to three stars by the age of thirty, and I was raised to be an alchemist with lots of help from a very young age. Why is HE the one to end up with such a great teacher? What he learns is wasted on him.

…

Mellanie’s view

After much study, I have learned why the major level breakthroughs are so violently explosive. It’s related to this world having so many different types of ki. We had six types in the previous world. Life ki: Water, wind, wood; change ki: fire, frost; death ki: stone. This world appears to have eleven! They didn’t even get it categorized well. They just categorize them by how common the affinities are. Common are water, air, earth, and fire. Uncommon are ice, lightning, wood, and metal. Then rare are life and death.

With so many ki types, the fact that they don’t know the universal cultivation methods I do, must be a severe hindrance. Purifying ki to its unaligned state eliminates all the difficulties of trying to cultivate specific ki types. Without that, all these ki types just complicate everything. With the wrong balance a person would only end up causing themselves harm in the long run, and a small error might not be noticed right away. 

I may need to learn more about the current balance of the world before I decide how to use this information. If I carelessly teach my pure ki methods to people, it could start a new age of war. I need to either be careful with whom I teach, or make sure I spread it far and wide enough that no one is able to gain advantage. Or maybe find a way to do both at once.

Obviously, I’m not going to settle for less than perfect. I’m a former supreme immortal! I’ll spread the teachings far and wide, and do so carefully at the same time! I just need to inscribe some illusions into the books… add a bit of soul… enchant the cover…

…

Elder Smitt’s view

My daughter came to see me, as I was watching Lane work.

“Is she making books?” 

“Yup. Didn’t take her long to start a new project after getting her meridians fixed.”

“She’s using your forge for it?”

“Actually, she first crafted a better forge with my forge, and is now using the one she made. Mine wasn’t good enough for her.” 

“Wow… and the hammer?” 

“I can’t explain how pounding a book forms words on the page. Her methods are beyond me.” 

“How long has she been doing this?” 

“A few days.”

“Just how many books does she plan to make?”

“Oh, this isn’t the mass manufacturing stage yet. She’s just practicing to figure out what exactly she wants the end result to look like. Once she’s satisfied with the design, she’s going to make a manufacturing golem to build them for her.” 

“So… this is just the beginning of a gigantic project then.”

“Yup.”

“Does she ever do something that doesn’t shake the sect?” 

“Well, in this case, I think she’s aiming for something bigger.” 

“Are the books not for the sect?” 

“If it was for the sect, she’d not need mass manufacture methods. We only have around a thousand disciples.” 

“What could she possibly need all this for?” 

“Maybe she wants to change the world?”

“With books? How is that possible?”

“Did you think lectures could change our sect?”

“I suppose I didn’t, and yet she did change the sect with just lectures.”

“If it were someone else, I’d not be so sure, but because it’s her, I suspect she’ll end up changing the world even if that wasn’t her intent.” 

“I miss being the most important young lady on this mountain.”

“The boys haven’t stopped fawning over you, have they?”

“Not all of them, but a lot of them have turned their attention elsewhere now.”

I could swear she was glaring at Lane during that statement.

“It’s done! It’s perfect! Look!”

Lane ran over carrying a rather plain looking book.

“What are you talking about? There’s nothing there.”

“She’s holding a book.” 

“What book? Her hands are empty!”

“Oh, I guess your daughter doesn’t meet the requirements. Sorry, Smitt.” 

***Author Note***

Rolled to see how well Mr. Melborn’s men do investigating Bradford… 2. Seriously? Pretty much every roll to see how famous he is or well known he is, resulted in him remaining a total unknown. How? Only one person has figured out how capable he’s become, and they don’t want anyone else to know.

Hmmm… okay, how much of a miracle worker has he been? 14. How famous does this make him in the slums? 4… uh… how thankful are the people he helped? 2… wtf? Well, I guess that explains why he’s not famous, even in the slums, they’re a bunch of ungrateful bastards! Clearly he’s not helping the right people, since they end up complaining about him afterwards. Maybe Lanie should’ve taught him some people skills instead of just focusing on medicine. He’s clearly lacking in that area.

How about the poor smith? Investigations rolled a 7. Smith herself for how well she’s been doing? 7. Is she at least still in business? 13. Hmm…

Back to Mellanie! Um… imagination… she’s not gonna just pick one of two options. Oh dear… just where is this going? I was supposed to set up an excursion or something, not new world changing plots! My imagination doesn’t seem to like my plans whenever they involve copying cultivation novels I read. Maybe I’ll get to use the idea later.