Bart, bored by the technical conversation between Rei and Aria, wandered around the shop, looking for fighting scrolls. Eugene, however, listened intently to every word. Aria, now convinced of Rei's genius, still believed there was a flaw in his logic.
"I am going to create a scale that will help in measuring everything," Rei announced.
"Even if you measure it, you still have a flaw in your plan," Aria countered. "Measuring does not mean you could make the same picture with your hand."
"Just wait," Rei said, his tone unwavering. Aria, believing it was Rei's pride talking, returned her focus to creating the magic circle.
As Aria completed the formation, she said, "Here, your magic formation is created. However, it will need a new bottle of magica every six hours to keep it going." She then instructed him on how to add the magica. "Look at this small circle," she said, pointing to a small circle within the larger formation. "You have to put the magica in here to make it circulate. All right, your total is 800 silvers."
Rei was surprised by the high price. Hearing it, Bart instantly abandoned the idea of buying an attack magic scroll. Rei paid the money, then said, "Okay, now can I ask you one more thing?"
"What is it?" Aria asked.
"I want you to teach me how to make a magic formation," Rei said.
"What? Magic formation?" Aria asked, her professional demeanor cracking. "Let me guess: since you don't have magic, you're thinking you can use it to fight, right?" Eugene and Bart were surprised by her assumption. They knew very well that Rei didn't need a magic formation to defend himself, but Rei understood why an outsider would think that.
"I don't want a magic formation to fight, but to build something," Rei said. "Something that could change the entire world."
"I have seen a lot of people like you who said that," Aria said, a hint of bitterness in her voice. She remembered her brother, Arizona, saying the same thing, yet whatever impact he made didn't change the world one bit. "Look, brat, a single person can't change the world."
"I know a single person can't change the world," Rei said calmly. "However, he can still take the first step to change it."
Aria sighed, clearly annoyed by Rei's attitude. He reminded her so much of Arizona, with his unwavering confidence. She handed him a book on magic formations. "Fine. When you are able to remember every inscription in this book, then I will teach you."
"Fine," Rei agreed.
"Thanks for helping us, Aria," Eugene said, and with that, they left. "Now, we just have to report about the dungeon incident," Rei said. They went to the Hunters' Tower and reported seeing a Terra Rhino on the early floors. The receptionist immediately reported it to the management. As if remembering something, he said, "Oh yeah, I forgot about giving this to you when you last came." He handed Rei a letter and went to report to the management.
Rei took the letter. "Who sent this letter?" Bart asked.
"It's one of my best friends, Kaiser," Rei said. "I wonder what he wrote."
"I am very hungry," Eugene said.
"There's a restaurant nearby. Want to eat?" Bart offered.
"Only if they have Qi food in their menu," Rei said.
"And food for magic users too!" Eugene added.
"They sure have those. Let me show you," Bart said, leading the way.
As they entered the restaurant, someone said, "Bart, I thought you ended your shift early yesterday night?"
"I just came to eat something with my friends," Bart replied. A middle-aged man came out from the kitchen. "Are these the same friends you mentioned?" he asked. Bart, with a wide smile, said, "Yes."
The man walked over to them. "I am Santiago. Nice to meet you. Call me Sans," he said.
"Nice to meet you, Sans," Rei and Eugene replied.
"Come on, sit here," Sans said. As Rei, Eugene, and Bart sat down, Sans continued, "Ever since you started training him Bart talks about you only, and I am glad that he is making some good friends. Today's my treat."
"Thank you," Rei and Eugene said.
"You don't have to do that," Bart insisted.
"Come on, Bart, I can do at least this," Sans said. "So what are your orders?" Rei, Bart, and Eugene all gave their orders, and Sans went to make their food. After a while, Sans came with their dishes. "Eat up," he said.
Rei tasted the food. "It's tasty. You are quite the chef," he complimented.
Sans laughed. "Oh, come on, I'm not that good."
On the other side of town, in the Hunters' Guild, the management was gathered around a round table, looking at the reports. An anxious voice said, "These reports are distressing."
Another said, "What should we do? The dungeon beasts are becoming more and more powerful."
"If we do nothing, there would be a dungeon outbreak!" a third person added.
"We have requested a high-ranking hunter to come here," another said, "however, it would still take a month. We are now living on luck."
As the day passed, Rei returned to his Midgard and began studying the book on inscriptions. As he looked at the inscriptions with Tenko sleeping on his lap, he could see that each one was like a code. Rei had never been great at coding in his past life; he'd taken an engineering course but had been unable to code programs, leading to poor marks and eventually giving up. However, he knew that in this life, he couldn't just refuse. This world was far more cruel and unforgiving, and he needed every bit of strength he could get. After studying about five inscriptions, he stopped and opened Kaiser's letter.
Kaiser had written: "Hey Rei, I know you are a busy man, but I gave Lyla her scepter and she was very happy to get it. By the way, my teacher sent you a letter. Check it."
Rei saw another note in the letter and began reading it. It said: "Hello, young man. I have heard from my disciple Kaiser and my investigator that your knowledge is comparable to a sage. Due to you teaching Kaiser sorcery, the sword techniques in our city of Nandaka are evolving, and we thank you for it. I want you to visit Nandaka someday so I can check you out. Here, I wrote a map of Nandaka and put a token in the letter so you could use it for entering Nandaka."
Rei was annoyed by all these people investigating him. He took out the token and put it in his pocket before going to sleep.
The next day, Rei and Tenko woke up and got ready to practice with Bart and Eugene. Soon, Bart and Eugene came to their spot. "What should we train now?" Bart asked. But suddenly, they saw several carts leaving the city. "What was that just now?" Bart asked, confused.
Rei, his suspicion growing, said, "No classes today. Practice on your own. I have to check something."
Rei went to the Hunters' Tower and used his wind bomb to jump discreetly to the very top floor. Since it was early morning, no one was there to see him. He went through an open door and looked around. The place was neat and tidy. As Rei looked through the reports, he found many files showing a beast outbreak.
"It's my fault," Rei muttered to himself. "I should have checked if the Hunters' Tower was corrupted or not. I still have time to leave; however, I might be able to use this situation to my advantage. I just need to delay the outbreak by some weeks until Arizona, Alya, and Levi come. Until then, I should report to others to get out of the city."
Rei then saw a note on top of a desk and read it. The note said that the Tower Master was going out to investigate the recent ruins report he had received. Rei scoffed, watching the note. "He is so full of himself," Rei said to himself. Rei used the note to copy the handwriting and wrote his own note, which said that he was investigating irregularities in the town and that his assistant should make as many magic barriers as they could on the dungeon's entrance. They should also make as many traps as they could in front of the dungeon. In addition, they should invite as many hunters as they could from the nearby towns by using rewards and invitations. After writing the note, Rei knew he now had control over the Hunters' Tower. He then jumped from the top of the tower and headed in the direction of Business Street.