Chapter 193 - Pandora

The two days passed without much thought. From training Eira in the ways of the sword to preparing the shop for the grand opening. One that only a few adventurers wanted to visit – took most of Staxius's time. It went smoothly, using the money acquired from the delivery of the god's ale – the amount totaled at 10,000 gold, 500 silver, and 125 copper. All the cash was delivered via a card. One that Renaud sent with a personal note saying, "Impressive job on the new product. The effect lasts longer and the risk of mindless hosts is out of the way. Shadow, the talent showed in the ways of Alchemy and man-slaying has place thy name farther up in the hierarchy. There's more to do before becoming essential. Expect great things to come. Rather than giving you the payment by cash-carrying that amount of gold would be an unnecessary pain. I'm sending you this card instead, one that is official and recognized by the bank. Don't worry about that side of things – each delivery and another card will be sent. "

Hence, income from the underground arrived. The card worked just fine at almost any shop. The card's inventory was located in the main-continent, using teleportation, the bank was able to transfer it over to Hidros, though it took a few hours. No questions nothing, he was able to withdraw coins without hassle.

Thus, with the newfound fortune, one kept hidden from the others – Staxius went ahead and purchased various armor, weapons, and material for blending potions. He teleported back and forth from Dorchester. The craftsmen were happy to custom-build some items, one made of special ore – mainly, adamantite. Rare and expensive, one that was abundant in Arda. This would be the shop's most prized possession. Heavy armor worthy of the next hero – from silvery, the color changed to one white and gold. It would be infused by colored minerals to make it stronger and better. Two days seemed to little of time, to which the decision was made to scatter the process around. Chest piece and leggings were forged in Arda, gauntlets, and helmets made in Dorchester.

All and all, the price paid for said armor to be built was 2950 gold and 500 silver. For the item in question, that price was cheap. The usual selling price of anything related to adamantite reached into the 1000+ realm, a place only nobles and accomplished warriors could bother to think. To put in perspective, the average wage of a normal worker was 3 gold per week – now imagine how much 1000 would feel. With that in mind, the white and golden armor an unknown collaboration between the two provinces was accomplished. The process didn't end there for Staxius personally enchanted the leggings with Tier-Three haste. Chest piece with Tier-Two Reinforcement, and helmet with Tier-Four regeneration. The level of enchantment had only five tiers starting from the weakest, Tier-Five and up to Tier-One.

Locked inside a display case, the armor stood with a dignified stance on the left side. A place devoted to armor and protection. The right side, a wall filled with weapons of various kinds. The masterpiece in that category was a sword named: Dragonrend – one that came from the East. Long with a curved blade, sharp and deadly, the same to what Eira had but longer and stronger. The material was Obsidian, the second strongest material known to man. This particular sword was bought in Arda – an adventuring party got it as loot from defeating a monster. At first, it looked burnt and blunt – the sheathed was nowhere to be found. It took a few hours – but the expertise from the dwarves helped in saving said item. It cost around 100 gold to fix, then again, Tier-One Sharpness was the enchantment.  

The price of the Armor was 12500 gold and the Sword 1250 gold. 'Good luck,' he thought whilst polishing each item and securing the lock. There were also unnamed items, one of common and uncommon rarity laying around. Once ready, Isorin was called to give an appraisal of the magical items. Rarity assigned was Legendary for the armor and Epic for the sword.

Filled with questions, Isorin demanded answers to where he acquired such precious commodities. The response he got was, "-I've got connections and talented craftsmen," a wink later, the wizard was locked out the shop.

That was the first day; the shop had a bunch of stuff adventurers might need for a good price. Staxius wasn't going to rip off anyone – money wasn't an issue anymore. Needless to say, more meant better. For the second day, the focus changed to potions and scrolls. 300 common, 100 uncommon and 50 Rare healing potions. A process that didn't take long with the help of the lab. Price would be set to: 500 copper for Common, 10 silver for Uncommon and 500 silver for Rare. The conversion rate translated into 1000 Copper meant 1 silver, and 1000 Silver meant 1 gold. 1000 silver might have seemed a tremendous amount but tis was what the merchant guilds decided.

When it came to scrolls, more effective than healing potions. Inventory held 10 Common, 5 Uncommon and 2 Rare. The price set by Staxius himself was 500 Silver for common. 1 Gold for Uncommon and 10 Gold for Rare. More expensive, a Common scroll worked better than an Uncommon potion, closer to Rare quality when it came to the blend. The magical shop had held a good number of items. The potions and scrolls were laid behind the main counter in the front of the shop. Right side weapons, left side armor, center and front for potions and scrolls. Proud and accomplishment filled his chest, the shop was now in working order.

The name chosen in the end was – Pandora. The empty sign outside could finally be filled by something other than emptiness. The second day came to an end, to which all the preparations were complete. Construction of the office now final and ready, the result would be revealed tomorrow.

'Today mark's the day of our opening,' quickly, Staxius rushed through the portal and inside the office. Skokdrag's party had already left. The emptiness filled with elegance and the feeling of nobility and prestige. Warm colors filled the hall, paintings, and work of arts. The first room with, Reception wrote atop had a desk. Cabinets, a lovely interior that gave a feeling of comfort and ease. In that manner, the rest of the rooms were filled with what was required. Armor stands for the armory, so on and so forth.

"Good morning, guild leader," the elevator arrived, Kniq came.

"Good morning everyone," he turned.

"Holy…" Deadeyes' mouth opened in awe. The reaction similar to all who first laid eyes on the place. From empty to now this, "-how much did it cost?" they asked to which Staxius dodged the question.  

"Since our guild is now operating, you'll be handing over loot in room four. That includes everything, from junk to good items. Qaisars dropped and quest reward can be discussed amongst yourselves. Just know that the guild will be taking five-percent of everything you get. Normally people take twenty and even forty, but I don't care," they sat in his office, the tone formal and polite. "The five percent will be from monster drops only; the quest rewards are to be divided however is deemed fair amidst yourself. Viola will be in charge as usual."

"What about you?" Achilles asked.

"Remember what I said a few days ago?" he asked to which her eyes wandered around.

"Kniq will be divided into two groups, one in charge of the magical shop and one for fighting. I'll be at the shop most of the time, Viola will supervise the fighting aspect."

"Does that mean you won't be doing any fighting?" Deadeye asked.

"No, I'll be fighting," he replied with haste, "-but only on quests that require my intervention. I don't want a repeat of what happened earlier this week," the eyes serious.

"Also, Viola from today forth will be the co-leader." The meeting ended.

"Avon," he called before the rest left.

"How may I be of service?" the eyes sparkly, nothing changed.

"I'll need a favor," Staxius stood, the tone casual, "-since I won't stay here much," he walked over to the spirit. "I need a secretary."

"Do you wish for me to take that post then?" the voice joyful.

"No, you're with Viola's party – I need Auic to take that place."

"Oh…" the sparkles died-down, "-does it have to be her?" he asked in a serious voice.

"Listen," unimpressed, Staxius continued, "-I know you want to help the girl and all. But freeloading isn't something I deem noble. The reason I brought her here in the first place was to work as a shop assistant. Therefore, either she gets sent back to Arda or tries to fight against her past and move on. It's hard but if left as she is, the girl might grow even more dependent," a quick pat on his head later, "-do you wish for the girl to end up defenseless. What happens if one day our adventuring party is wiped out, she'll be left alone in the wild without anyone nor anything to her name."

"Fine," he gave in, "-won't she require some training first?"

"I've got someone in mind, don't worry about it," the reply firm and confident, Avon left without worry.

A phone call later,

"Central guild, how may I be of help?" Diane answered.

"Hey, it's Staxius,"

"Oh…" the voice felt distant, "-what do you want?"

"Show some enthusiasm," he tried to cheer her up.

"No thank you, be fast or else I'm hanging up," the reply cold and fast.

"Fine," a sigh later, "-I've got a job proposal," the tone serious.

"Go on, I'm listening," curiosity piqued.

"I need you to train someone in the ways of a secretary who can do everything from the receptionist to accountant,"

"That's a tall order, those subjects are hard and not that easy to master even for someone talented," a quick pause later, "-how much are you paying."

"Five gold coins per week."

"Not interested."

"Ten gold coins per week, no more no less, you decide what time. The location will be Kniq's headquarters."

"Deal," the phone hung.   

'Melisa would have been the better choice but I need Diane's feisty personality to bring some life into that fox girl.'

"Time to open shop," a single step through the portal later, he stood inside Pandora.

The sign on the door changed from closed to open, the business would be slow at the start. A blessing in disguise for it gave more time to research and brainstorm the prospect of making Relic Class scrolls.

"This place sure is nice," a girl commented, the door opened followed by bells ringing, it took a few hours but an adventuring party came.

"Yo, check this out," a boy called. "-What is it?" the girl rushed. "Adamantite armor," their eyes sparkled.

"Keep the chatter to a minimum," the leader spoke, a middle-aged man who admired weapons. The party consisted of four individuals.

"Excuse me," the leader called.

"How may I be of service?" from the counter, he teleported.

"-how d-did you," that sudden drop in pressure caused them to shudder.

"What was that?" the boy asked.

"Sorry about that," Staxius apologized, "-a force of habit, don't mind me," the voice gentle and approachable, the charisma shone.

"Could I please view this dagger?" he pointed at the wall.

"Sure," the weapon got handed over.

"Care to explain the specifics and rarity?" the man asked intrigued by the make.

"The weapon you hold is a common-ranked steel dagger. Nothing extravagant, the durability is good, I vouch for its efficiency."

"I see," the eyes doubtful, "-do you have any way of proving the durability you speak of, I don't wish to be ripped off…" a fair assessment.

"Care to join me outside?" Staxius asked.

"Okay…?" each one stared with confusion.

"Hey," the girl whispered, "-don't you think he's hot?"

"Shut up you idiot," the boy fired back quickly.

"I'm guessing you're training those two to become adventurers?" he pointed at the boy and girl.

"You assumed right," the leader confirmed.

"Well," he smiled, "-keep your eyes on this," a beautiful and gentle motion later, the weapon was thrown at immense speed. The air pressure rattled the ground around, the customer who stood were scared, the amount of wind-generated was unbelievable.

*Dark-Arts, Magical Barrier,* a snap later, the shop keeper appeared on the other side of the road and stopped said weapon. It didn't even take a second.

"As you can see," he reappeared before the leader, "-the weapon is completely fine," steam came off the blade.

"Okay…." The man stood in shock, "w-we'll take it," he stuttered.

"Good choice," the blade was handed over. "Ouch," he yelped for it was boiling hot.