The Tavera Estate’s logistics warlock easily cracked the two spatial storages we brought him, revealing quite the haul. 

For one, there was a large amount of gold totaling around 250,000, already enough to make everything worth it. Then, there were some books for warlocks and documentation of Clockwork Association activities. Finally, an assortment of miscellaneous things, ranging from clothing and gear to magic consumables, medicine, and what seemed like alchemical materials. 

There were also tons of drugs. Thankfully, the warlock was also someone who bought spoils like these, so after going through everything with Umara we decided to sell most of it. 

We received another 180,000 with that. Umara decided to keep some of the gear and consumables since she could use them, and the documents from the Association — enemy intelligence, in other words — fetched a decent price. Finally, we were left with the two storage items. 

They were bigger than my own, no doubt about that. I had wanted to make an upgrade, but with the amount of money we were receiving, I eventually decided to sell them both off. 

The two bands sold for another 340 thousand, putting our grand total at 770,000 coin. Turner Bremman was spoiled rotten by his father. No wonder the man was after us. 

I deposited it all into my bank card, taking a look at the total as we left the Tavera Headquarters. 

“1,941,330 coin. That’s quite the sum.”

“You’ve been saving up.”

“Mm. Time to spend it though. Let’s head to Polaris.”

We left the markets, thankfully not running into anybody as we made our way to the Polaris Bank. 

There was a little kiosk beside the main building. There, we were able to find all the different kinds of storage devices they sold. 

Normal storage devices would simply bind to the crest of the owner and usually couldn’t be removed unless the owner wanted it to be. Otherwise you’d have to carve it off their body, so it couldn’t be stolen by normal means. 

There were several other types though, such as ones that were designed to hide within clothing. There were even ones built into certain pieces of clothing, such as earrings, belts, even shoes. 

The ones I wanted though were the really expensive ones. Ones that carried a ton of storage space and also couldn’t be taken by any means. 

Those were the implants, storages designed to reside within the body, completely undetectable under normal circumstances. One model was a tooth implant, while another model would be implanted underneath the skin on some part of the body. 

The only issue with them was the fact that the amount of space I wanted would place my cost around 1.2 million. More than that, I also wanted to get Umara one. 

Of course, I couldn’t afford 2.4 million coin on my own, but she also had money and didn’t want me paying for her stuff anyway. 

In the end, we agreed to get one for each of us, and I would give her 400,000. 

After making the sale and transferring her payment, I was left with a measly 300k in my account. It was definitely worth it though. I would probably never need another upgrade. 

I didn’t actually need that much space for my private stash. Only the most valuable items would go in there while everything I could lose would sit in my normal storage. I wouldn’t be hurt in the event that I got screwed somehow and lost access to it. Still, this hidden stash would be multiple times larger than my previous stash. 

After our purchase, Umara and I were brought to another room where they implanted the storages. It was a simple affair. They numbed the skin, made a small incision, and slipped the small pill-shaped storage inside. That also contributed greatly to its cost. Smaller sizes required a smaller White Crystal, and to compensate for the reduced space available, they had to use a much stronger one. After running some healing magic over it and sealing the skin, they were done. 

Just like that, in no more than half an hour, we had both received concealed storage devices with space equivalent to a large room. That didn’t stop me from walking out with a sad face. 

“I’m poor again.”

“Yeah right. You could make that money back up in a week if you really wanted to.”

“With bounties maybe. I’m not trying to stir the pot more though. There’s already enough people that want me dead.”

“What’s one more?”

“You little demon. I’m trying to keep both of us out of trouble. You walking around with me like this isn’t very safe.”

“Hm, I like a little danger.”

She smiled mischievously, making me grin.

Right then though, her eyes widened. 

“Wait! We should go see Luna.”

“Huh, I guess she did say to go visit her. Let’s go then. We’re already here.”

We linked arms before turning around and heading to the Polaris Headquarters. 

I only got stopped when trying to enter the core areas, to which I flashed the badge Luna had given me last time. I was an honored guest of the Polaris Family. 

So I was let straight in where we went for the study. Sure enough, Luna was there, smiling from her chair as if expecting us.

“I was wondering when you guys would show. I’ve been lonely.”

“Apologies, Lady Luna.”

“Oh, don’t be silly. I know more than anyone what’s happened recently. I’m just glad you two are safe.”

She jumped over her desk and landed on a couch. Another appeared right in front of her, which Umara and I sat down in. 

Luna beamed as we got comfortable, prompting me to remember her last gift. 

“Your Warm Socks have been very nice. Thanks for the gift again.”

“Oh, I’m glad! Do you have them on now?”

“You already know.”

“Hehe.”

She laughed when I lifted my leg and exposed the hot pink socks. They were way too comfortable to care about the color, so I almost always wore them. 

After that, Luna leaned forward, smiling while looking between both of us. 

“So? What have you two lovebirds been up to? I don’t sense inception, but bite marks like those don’t come from kissing.”

“W-We…”

Umara suddenly flushed a bit, looking toward me for help. I just laughed. 

“Haha, well, we can’t quite get married yet, but yes, you could say our ‘intimacy’ took another step forward.”

She let loose an uncharacteristic but wholly appropriate giggle. 

“Worried about Inception?”

“Mm. Our situation still doesn’t allow us to do as we please.”

“I understand. My husband and I were like that at first. Our love was an affair that my family wouldn’t stand for. Until he became so powerful that they begged me to marry him.”

She sighed with nostalgia. Umara perked up with curiosity.

“You have a husband? Was he a commoner?”

“No. He was from the Church. The Anderson Peerage.”

“Ah.”

Umara nodded while I suddenly narrowed my eyes at Luna.

She looked at me and giggled. 

“Yes John? You look inquisitive.”

“... Your husband-”

“Is him, yes. I believe you two have met.”

“...”

I went silent, eventually sighing.

“Then thank him for me, for saving Tana.”

“Haha, don’t let him worry you so much about that. If I learned that he let one of you die, Anarchy would be the least of his worries.”

“Maybe. Still, I’m thankful. I was desperate.”

“It was a desperate time. And not nearly as bad as what’s coming. With Anarchy having emerged for the first time in three decades, everyone is preparing for another grand war. Millions of beasts are flooding in, and millions of soldiers are being drafted and sent to the front lines. You’ll be one of many, John. Unfortunately, you’re going into this at the worst possible time.”

“Or maybe the best.”

“Depends on your goals.”

I nodded at her conjecture. 

Millions of Scourge beasts were flooding over and attacking the Kingdom, which meant trouble. But it also meant money. White Crystals could only be created when Black Crystals were being harvested. This war would bring riches and provide opportunities. 

I needed to be more focused than ever on increasing my Authority. Thankfully, I had Maxwell covering a good portion of that for me, from the formations themselves to crystals. 

But my secondary concern was regarding the Invocations that Aki had told me about. It seemed like Scourge beasts were the same here as they were over there when the Pillars of Creation fell. That meant that, more likely than not, the Invocations that gave them power were made from White Crystals. 

More crystals meant we could make more soldiers, so long as the Church actually moved forward with it. Lord knows we’d need it for the coming storm. I didn’t believe that Anarchy appearing out of nowhere was for no reason. Luna was right. Another war was coming, and nothing like the idle battles that they’ve been fighting for decades if not centuries..

I just hoped that the Church and Kingdom would take advantage of it. They definitely knew better than I did how desperate the situation was. But that didn’t always mean they would act accordingly. 

Still, a war was good for whipping people into shape, as horrible as that sounded. Hopefully the urgency would spur the higher-ups into action. 

Besides that though, there wasn’t anything else that I found beneficial about the situation. This was, in fact, the worst time for me to enter when considering my survival. Perhaps the only thing I’d get out of it was the combat that would keep me on my toes and motivate me to get stronger. If I just sat around at home for the next two years, I might eventually start wasting away, even though I didn’t need training or combat to make me better. All I needed was my brain and time. 

Umara and I spent the next little while talking with Luna. She seemed to enjoy the company… well, more Umara’s company. They discussed things regarding spellcasting and magic. Umara spilled some of my scientific knowledge without saying it was from me. While she couldn’t compare to Luna’s breadth of expertise, I brought a unique perspective that even she found interesting. Because of that, Umara was able to keep Luna’s interest, giving her a leg up in the conversation. It certainly didn’t make them equals, but it showed that Umara was more talented and knowledgeable than one might initially think. 

I had no issue sitting to the side and letting them go back and forth. And it was only when one of Luna’s trusted aides came in with a report that the conversation finally had to stop. 

With a quick promise meet again and chat sometime in the future, Umara and I left the Polaris Headquarters. 

……

“So the Church has a hold on the black market.”

“That… seems to be the conclusion.”

Umara looked up from her book across the kitchen island as I cooked dinner. 

“The Head of the Polaris family is married to the Church’s strongest Knight. The Tavera family had to have gotten their Crown from somewhere, and chances are that they went to the Church, or maybe Polaris, to do so. Which means that the Church has the two controlling organizations within their pocket, with the others either being thoroughly suppressed or a non-factor.”

“Not to mention the control they have over the Invocation legacies from the Pillars of Creation, as well as the production method for perfect White Crystals. And when factoring in the corruption of the nobles of the Kingdom…”

“The Church holds all the cards.”

I concluded, stirring up the last of the meat within the frying pan before taking it out and plating it. 

After setting the table and sitting to eat, I mumbled my thoughts. 

“Shouldn’t we just join the Church at this point…?”

“Can we even do that?”

“I don’t know. I’d say we should call Vetsmon but I’m sure he’s busy. Either way, they seem to be the best place to go.”

“Well… unless we intend to run and throw away all our connections with everyone here, I’d say that’s a bad idea. I think it would be better to just spend some time in the military. At the very least, this war is going to last many years. There’s no rush.”

“Mm.”

I nodded and chomped down on some savory lemon chicken. Or, at least that’s what this meat felt like. I had to play around with the seasonings and fruit to try and resemble a lemon pepper mix. 

The Church seemed to be accumulating a massive amount of power and potential, a necessity to ensure humanity’s continued survival.

After sending a quick message to Aki on my Aerial earlier, I also learned that the Pillars of Creation had fought a total war with the Scourge for 16 cumulative years. She only arrived after a decade of war had already passed, and the Pillars fell 6 years later, 2 years after the Kings stepped in. 

“I think it’s safe to say that we have some time, like you said. Aki said they fought for 16 years. We may not get that long since the Kings have already stepped in, but hopefully we get at least 10 before the war concludes. That means we have another decade to make ourselves as powerful as possible.”

“... I’m already progressing much faster than I normally would thanks to you. But 10 years isn’t a long time.”

“How long does it normally take to reach the highest Authorities?”

“My mother reached Authority 11 when she was 53, so it took her 37 years. I’ve heard that Authority 12’s have taken anywhere between 30 years and 80 years, placing them between 40 and 100 years old.”

“... So we would certainly have to be abnormal to pull this off before we hit 30.”

“You’ve certainly proven that you’re talented enough. I just don’t know about myself.”

Umara looked down at her plate. Her fork trailed to a stop as I lifted my head to look at her. 

The month was May, and we would be graduating right at the start of June. Umara would be turning 21 only a month later in July, while I had turned 23 back in January. 

That meant that in 10 years, we would be in our early 30s. Under normal circumstances, the talented Magi who could hit Authority 11 and 12 would need at least another decade on top of that, if not two, to hit their full potential. 

It simply took longer to grind through those later authorities. It didn’t take them long to hit Authority 8 or 9. But getting through 10 and 11 took years by themselves. The difficulty rose exponentially. 

But if we planned to do this in 10 years, we would have to spend a measly 1.5 years on each Authority from now on. That would place us around Authority 11 by the end of the decade. 

Just saying such a thing was asinine. Although I had blazed through my first 5 Authorities in around a year, that didn’t mean I could keep it up. I had the benefit of age on my side. I wasn’t trying to figure everything out at 16 years old like everyone else in this world did. 

And I was already stumped by my next advancement formation. It would take weeks just to figure out how to start the first formation of the first cluster, let alone link the four formations within one cluster, do the same for all the other clusters, and then link all the clusters together. Only then could I actually start using the entire formation to cultivate power for my advancement, which would take another chunk of time.

Was one year even enough? I wasn’t sure. 

And Umara hadn’t been going at the same speed I was. She only advanced to Authority 5 last year. She had been working toward Authority 6 for around 6 months now. She was ahead of me, but I didn’t know by how much. And that wasn’t considering how I was piling all my scientific knowledge on top of her regular studies. 

It was certainly daunting to think about. 

I looked up right as she resumed eating. 

“How close are you to Authority 6?”

“Pretty close. Maybe… 3 months?”

“Wow. So you’ll go up an Authority in less than a year.”

“Yes. Thanks to your knowledge.”

“... Unfortunately my knowledge isn’t endless. There are a lot of details left, but we’ve gone over many of the general conceptual ideas. You’re beginning to truly understand how the world works. I don’t know how much more I’ll be able to help.”

I sighed, thinking how regretful it was that I couldn’t yet recall more knowledge. The more perfect my mind became, the more I could remember. My memories were becoming more like files in a computer rather than a jumbled mess of glimpses and random thoughts. At some point, I would remember everything I had ever seen, heard, tasted, smelled, and felt. I would be able to call upon every article and page of information I had ever seen, even if I didn’t understand the information it held. 

But I hadn’t reached that point yet, so what I could give Umara was limited. Even if I could, it wasn’t like I knew or had seen everything. There were people far smarter than me on Earth. I had just been a curious college student. Those scientists were masters of their craft. 

Umara suddenly flicked a little bit of sauce at me, catching my eye. 

“Dear, how many times do I have to tell you how priceless your knowledge is? You’ve frankly given me far more than I can use right now. I have enough for years as it is, let alone all the finer details you could give me. Get that disappointed look off your face. I might need help if I want to advance to the top within a decade and keep up with you, but I also don’t need you to hold my hand at every step. Your future wife can stand for herself.”

“... Still, I’ll make sure you have everything I can think of between now and when we ship off. We should buy some books so I can fill them.”

“God, you’re so stubborn. And then you get bitchy at me when I try to buy you something.”

“I fail to see how that’s relevant.”

“Pfft, uh huh.”

She snorted and continued eating. Thinking too far into the future was going to be a headache at best and halt progress at worst. Umara’s little verbal joust had lightened the mood, and I felt a smile spreading on my face. 

Well, we certainly had our long term goal now. 10 years was an assumption, but it wasn’t like we could really hope for anything better. In 10 years, the war might be reaching its climax, all the biggest players duking it out in a fight that would decide the fate of both humanity and the Scourge. If we were just barely reaching Authority 11 by then, we still wouldn’t have the power to truly make an impact. Not to mention how I still wasn’t sure if I could make it that far yet. I was blazing a new trail so my future was uncertain.

So we either had to hope that we had more time, or hope that something changed within that time. Perhaps if the Church figured out the Invocation technology, Umara could get something that would strengthen her mind. That would speed up her comprehension, and then this goal wouldn’t look so daunting. And if that didn’t happen, we could try and get her a Crown that did the same thing. Anything to speed up her progress. Unlike me, she was practically guaranteed to hit Authority 11, if not 12. 

And knowing the kind of power my knowledge gave her even beyond the advancements, I was anxious to give her as much as I could. 

I made my plans. We had over a month before we shipped off. I would have to thoroughly prepare, because I wouldn’t have the freedom I did now. If there were loose ends, I wouldn’t have the time to tie them up. 

So that night, Umara and I went to bed with convictions. As well as no clothes.