Wrent fiddled with a Stamina Recovery Potion in his hand, sitting at the end of a long table in a well-furnished room. “Have any of the alchemists replied? I want to know if the potions they are providing are complete knock-offs. I haven’t heard of anyone being able to produce five hundred a day.”

It’s been less than two days since they signed the contract, but Wrent has yet to distribute the Stamina Recovery Potions to his gang members for fear of them being poisoned.

“Boss, our in-house alchemists are all currently busy, and will only respond in two weeks’ time.” The Red Lions’ main headquarters were still embroiled in a violent conflict with the Ilysian Punks and the Wretches. Wrent had not yet been requested to join the conflict, his controlled district was not adjacent to any of the fighting zones.

“How about Haui? Has he replied?”

“We provided him with a few samples, and he has verified that they are legitimate stamina recovery potions, albeit with a lower efficiency than his.”

So the Seven Snakes are mass producing it but with a much lower quality than if done by a certified alchemist… “If Haui says it’s okay, then we can use it. Priority is to distribute them to our gang members first for enhanced training and preparation. We need everyone ready to assault the Seven Snakes at the end of the non-aggression pact.”

If everything goes to plan, the initial samples their alchemist will receive will not be the Euria-infused ones, seeing as the first three crates are completely clean. If it’s Haui who is testing, even better. Kyle tapped the table, thinking. It’s been two days since the start of the contract.

A Seven Snakes’ associate entered, passing Kyle a few message tubes: replies from the other gangs. He opened them, reading the contents before calling Keith into the room.

“The new recruits won’t have time to train in preparation for the battle. The other gangs have agreed to purchase Strength Potions from us at a fixed rate for the next month. Get the new recruits to begin production on a separate line. Follow the exact method I did for the Stamina Recovery Potions, but no Euria this time.”

Kyle had sent a contract proposal, undercutting the market price of the Strength Potions with a discount of ten percent, selling them for nine hundred rakels each. This should not rock the market too much.

“Sir, are we not planning to get the other gangs addicted?”

“Not yet, no Euria infusions. Let’s not burn bridges yet this early. Focus on earning money first – the faster we deliver the batch of Strength Potions, the more cash we will have on hand to make more and fight better.”

Keith bowed, heading to the common area to set up the production, while Kyle considered his war plan. With the potions secured and a revenue source established, the supply contracts with the other gangs as well as the brothel’s incoming expansion would cause his current pile of cash to skyrocket.

However, he had to consider the method by which he defeated the Red Lions. Showing off too much would be a big disaster, as it would prompt the top leader of the Red Lions to intervene and most likely crush them.

He knew that the Red Lions overall were engaged in an open conflict with the Ilysian Punks and Wretches, which gave him more wriggle room to move around. However, there were also the local enforcers and maybe even the Ardent Cretins watching him.

Either way, he needed to ensure a clear combat advantage if he wanted to be able to control the flow of the fight. Time to source for new advantages I can get.

Kyle got Damian to bring him to the nearest arctech dealer he could find. The dealer was situated in the corner of the food market, with multiple types of armour and household appliances on display. This was where Keith bought the arcite stoves from.

The dealer wore a simple cloak, though Kyle could tell he was wearing armour underneath by the glint of cold steel underneath.

Let’s not pick a fight. Kyle picked up a few items, reading the description.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Item

Slow those who would stop you.

+2 STR, +2 VIT

Active Skill: Glacial Defence – Imparts a slowing effect onto enemies who hit any part of the wielder’s body

MP Cost per Activation: 2 MP

Duration: Two seconds

Cooldown per Target: 10 seconds

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Item

For swift feet.

+4 AGI, +1 CHA

Active Skill: Sprint – Allows the wielder to move slightly faster

MP Cost per Activation: 2 MP

Duration: Fifteen seconds

Cooldown: One minute

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Item

A generic plate engraved with a strengthening mechanism.

+5 STR, +5 VIT

Active Skill: Strength – Allows the wielder to increase strength for as long as Arcia is provided

MP Cost per Minute: 10 MP

Warning – arcite fuel is suggested

Kyle inspected the Chest Plate, noticing it was fairly intricate. Engravings similar to the metal pipe he had ran all over the surface and interior, along with what seemed like two electrical terminals that powered the entire thing.

“Ah, you’ll need an arcite fuel pack for that.” The dealer pointed to another device that was a basic waist belt, filled with canisters of a mild cobalt blue liquid that pulsated slowly. Kyle recognized it to be the same fuel that currently powered his potion stoves, albeit clearly more powerful and efficient. Seems like there are different grades of arcite fuel.

“How much for it?”

“Well, normal civilians are not supposed to have their own combat fuel packs without a license, but we’re far past that, aren’t we? Sixty thousand.”

Kyle’s face didn’t show any reaction, but he internally winced at the price.

The dealer noted Kyle’s reluctance. “You can run the other two items without the need for arcite fuel, but that’s all dependent on how much… natural energy your body has.”

Seems like he’s referring to the MP stat I’ve been seeing. I have zero right now, however. How do I increase it? Kyle nodded before leaving. The prices of the other two items were also in the tens of thousands, representing an important investment that Kyle wanted to mull over first.

Kyle continued to browse the other items before spotting something that took him by surprise. Huh, did not expect to find this here.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Item

A arcia-gorging device that shoots pellets at high speeds

Active Skill: Buckshot – Accelerates muzzle-loaded pellets at high speeds, causing damage on impact

MP cost per activation: 25 MP

“Bah, I’ve been trying to get rid of that pistol for ages now. Nobody around can even use it, and it cost me far too much to even acquire in the first place.” The dealer scoffed at the gun as Kyle examined it.

“Nobody uses guns around here?”

“There aren’t any laws against wielding pistols out here. But seeing as you’re too poor to buy a fuel pack in the first place, you might as well forget about it.” The dealer shooed him off.

Kyle mulled as he walked back to the base. “Damian, how much is the gun? Doesn’t anyone else use the guns?”

“Only the top of the enforcers, sir. Even the enforcers themselves don’t have the energy to arm themselves with pistols and use them; it simply draws too much arcia energy and takes time to reload as well. The design and manufacture of such arctech is still far too complicated for factories to do. I’ve heard the military has made some headway into improving the guns so far, but for now, we’re stuck with this.”

So essentially, a flintlock pistol, but instead of gunpowder, they use arcia. Kyle noted that the guns were basically expensive to make and difficult to mass produce. Naturally, with his knowledge from the Galactic Era, it would be a cinch to dominate the market with high technology.

However, until he figured out what was the current military technology, he would not attempt any manufacture of guns. Too big of a jump would open a whole another can of worms, and he already had his hands full dealing with the Red Lions. None of the technology here is combustion-based, so showing up with gunpowder will draw too many eyes.

Returning to the base, Kyle laid out the three arctech items he had in front of him.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Item

Calms the nerves, especially when sore.

+2 STR, +4 VIT

Active Skill: Pain Nullification – Reduce the pain experienced by the wearer by 50%

MP Cost Per Activation: 5 MP

Duration: Thirty Seconds

Cooldown: Ten seconds

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Item

A good ol’ one-two, except its only one punch.

Active Skill: Delayed Assault – Target hit will experience searing pain after five seconds, lasting for ten seconds

MP cost per activation: 2 MP

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Item

A pipe to bend the rules

Active Skill: Reinforcement – Increased force when hitting

MP Cost Per Activation: 2 MP

Duration: Thirty Seconds

Cooldown: Two minutes

All the items in front of Kyle now required MP to activate their skills. Kyle had witnessed Lionel activating the hammer, and Wrent wearing an armour suit that clearly had arctech capabilities. Even with the Strength Potion, I’m at a disadvantage. I can’t use the system interface to determine what their effects are beforehand when fighting without touching.

“Statistics”

WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN

Level 9

Max HP: 34(+0)(+0)

Max MP: 0(+0)(+0)

Max STA: 34(+0)(+0)

[Status Effects]

NONE

[STATS]

[Necklace of Healing (Basic)]

+3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) – Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.

A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh?

+10 INT, +10 CHA

The best things between you and death are your fists

+10 STR, +10 DEX

Everyone has to start somewhere

+2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans

So, climbing the ranks huh?

+5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority

It seems that you are somewhat of a scientist yourself.

+10 INT, Increased description of potions examined.

This title was supposed to be handed on successful potions, but the failures are pretty hard to watch.

+10 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +10% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials. 5% increased chance of discovering basic potion recipes per attempt, stacking. Resets on discovery.

This doesn’t seem like the right way to use healing…

+5 INT, +10% healing effectiveness

With great power comes great muscular bodies.

+5 STR, +3 DEX, +10% teaching effectiveness

He did not have MP and had no concrete idea how to gain it either. However, based on his understanding of how ‘Titles’ worked, he might have a rough guess.

“Are there any items that boost the… natural energy of someone?” Kyle asked Damian and Keith.

Damian and Keith were a bit shaken before glancing at each other with a knowing expression. “Sir, Slavin at the brothel has a few types of erm… artefacts of a certain nature that might boost your lifestyle,” Damian replied with a hint of understanding.

“What the hell are you two thinking about? I’m talking about using arctech.”

“Oh. Right. Sorry. It might be worth a shot trying to find Ulon’s private stash then; it’s where your current necklace came from.”

“Haven’t we already auctioned or trashed most of it?” Kyle recalled disliking the useless trinkets and ornaments, and when he touched them, he didn’t see any interface pop up.

“No, those are just the public ones. I don’t know too much about it, but I do know it’s somewhere in the room. Though it is just a rumour I heard through the gang members, it may not be true.”

The three of them scoured the private room where Kyle was sleeping, eventually finding a secret wooden box in a bookcase embedded into the wall “Oh, this is exciting.” Keith had stars in his eyes, no doubt waiting to see what valuable items there were in so he could sell them for the gang.

Damian noticed the box was neither secured nor locked in any way. “He probably thought no one would steal anything.”

The box was opened to reveal a huge pile of junk, all useless trinkets. Kyle methodically went through them one by one, slightly irked at the mouldy condition of many of the statues. Soon he held a statue of a penis with stains on it, slightly used. He quickly handed it over to Keith, who had long lost the stars in his eyes and nearly gagged when he held it.

After sorting through more than a hundred objects, Kyle soon found a sapphire ring, the band golden. It seemed like there used to be an engraving on it, but it somehow has been worn off over time.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Item

A ring from a former wielder of Arcia.

+5 MAX MP, +25% Increased MP Recovery Rate

That’s a very small amount… Kyle immediately put the ring on his right hand, feeling a surge of ‘arcia energy’ rush through his veins like a hit of an exotic stimulant. It was minuscule in effect, but he could already tell his body had improved slightly.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Equipment Equipped

A ring from a former wielder of Arcia.

+5 MAX MP, +25% Increased MP Recovery Rate

Kyle sorted through the rest of the stash, only finding one book of interest. It was an intricately bound tome, complete with a metal binder and leather covers filled with engravings.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Item

A incomplete guide on how to wield internal Arcia

The theories are outdated, but still provide a good baseline understanding

“My god, I didn’t know this still existed!” Damian exclaimed as he patted the dust off the old tome. “Theorin was the first gang leader of the Seven Snakes, more than twenty years ago. He was a natural-born wielder of Arcia, allowing him to dominate the districts before arcite fuel became popularized. Did not expect Ulon to hold on to it.”

Kyle opened the tome, noting the density of the words, as well as some of the more complicated words. He would need Keith’s assistance to translate it.

However, with this book and the new ring, he could potentially begin to utilize more arctech in the future. Even he understood the limitation of his fighting skills against items that could impart special effects. With this, it’ll be an easy win.