Within the young man’s body, Simon could sense a familiar cloudy black mass, as well as... a strange energy, reminiscent of eternity... And yet, its presence, despite being quite miniscule in quantity, was rather pronounced.

‘Why is the energy of an Immortal within this kid’s body?’ he mused, bewildered.

It has to be known that Immortal energy was a very rare and desired form of energy. With Immortal energy, one would be able to strengthen the physiology of one’s body - namely, increasing one’s lifespan, and one’s vitality.

In his previous world, even a drop of this stuff was priceless! And yet, this young man possessed a fair amount of it within his body… Still, it did explain his pronounced awakening somewhat.

‘Whatever. I’ll treat him first, then find out.’ Simon decided offhandedly as he held up his wand.

Now that he had an entire week of studying in the Veracity World under his belt, Simon’s knowledge in anatomy was practically flawless. This had also helped him when he cured Sigurd.

As a result, with the help of a few essence crystals, the operation to cure corrupted essence - which had once exhausted him - was completed with ease. In doing so, Simon had not only cured the man’s affliction of corrupted mana, but also the various wounds that he faced in the battle.

After making sure that the young man’s situation was stable, he then turned his attention to the maiden, who was still staring numbly at him.

“Hey you, mind giving me a little explanation?” he asked lightly as he picked up the young man, hoisting him onto his shoulder.

After getting over her shock, the lady could only resignedly sigh, before reluctantly speaking. After all, she could tell that Simon easily had the strength of a master mage; there was no way to keep such well known information from him for long.

“Let me start off by introducing my father. His name is Toxilis, and…”

…

After the maiden - who was named Tertinia - finished revealing their circumstances, Simon nodded inwardly

‘Interesting. This could be a great opportunity.’ he thought with a sparkle hidden within his eyes.

Someone like merchant Toxilis was exactly what he was looking for - someone powerful and influential, but in desperate need of strength!

If Simon could save him and offer his protection… he would not only gain the favor of this merchant, but also his talented son.

In doing so, he would also have a means of amassing rare resources, hidden information, and a new talented disciple. Saving the merchant would be akin to hitting three birds with stone!

‘Very well then. To drag yet another genius to my side, it certainly worth it!’

Simon’s ultimate game plan was to create an army of geniuses, accrued from both reality and ingame. Then, combined with his otherworldly knowledge, he could cultivate these geniuses into a horrifyingly powerful fighting force!

But to have an army, one first had to get an army… how was that done?

Of course it would be through reputation! Simon would target the most dazzling geniuses to take as disciples, and through their success, other similarly dazzling geniuses would be drawn in. In doing so, he could eventually form a school of his own that rivaled even the best institutions of his past life.

Upon the completion of the story, Simon seemed to gaze outwards in deep contemplation and he slowly nodded. “I see…”

The edges of his mouth suddenly curled slightly upwards as he said, “Say, if I save your father... would I be able to use that goblet of yours for ten years?”

“What?! T-The artifact?” Tertinia half-exclaimed, caught off guard. She was undoubtedly flabbergasted upon hearing this!

After all, this wine goblet of hers… was actually the legendary treasure that everyone so desperately desired - the Chalice of Eternity!

According to what Toxilis had found, it was capable of generating drops of “Immortal Energy”, which were incomparably valuable. She had never mentioned it once in their conversation, and yet... Simon knew of it.

But, in truth, how could Simon not notice the energy emanating from the chalice? Other mages may not have, but as an ex-6 star core mage, such energies were as natural to him as the back of his hand; he had long since connected the dots.

After all, to progress any further in the late stages of magic, one had to study various mysterious and profound energies to gain insights. Of course he recognized any one of these energies at first sight!

Tertinia let out a resigned sigh, not trying to deny it in the slightest. After all, if Simon already knew of it, there was not much that she could do.

“Fine, but I can’t simply take your word for it. But just so you know, the goblet has a self-destruct system implemented.” she glanced at him warily and solemnly. “And I will activate it if I must.”

Simon laughed. “Of course, of course! Let me swear to the system right now, let's see…”

“Assuming that the information provided was correct, I, Pro Farmer 69, shall attempt to save Merchant Toxilis within three years, given that Tertinia agrees to swear to the system that I will be allowed to use the Chalice of Eternity for ten years following the agreement if I succeed in doing so. If I renege on my oath, then the system itself shall strike me down!” he quickly swore.

Ding!

[Your oath has been acknowledged. Failure to comply to a reasonable degree will result in being struck down.]

Ternia sighed in relief hearing him swear such an oath. After all, the difference between saying something verbally and swearing it to the system was immense. Now that Simon’s intent was clear, she had no need to worry as much.

“If Pro Farmer 69 manages to save my father, he will be allowed to use the Eternal Golet for ten years. If I renege on my oath, then the system itself shall strike me down.” She followed suit, sealing the deal.

And just like that, the two were now bound by their words.

“Alright, now that that’s settled, we’re on the same side.” Simon nodded. “For now, I’ll take care of you and your brother. Let’s clear up this mess” he said offhandedly, gesturing to the bloodied airships.

-----

A couple minutes later…

By now the battered ships were cleaned up and ready for operation. Outside these airships, the sun was finally beginning to set in the endless skies.

“You should return to the island with the two airships and your brother. I won’t force you to divulge your treasure, and can even swear secrecy regarding its location. However, you have to swear an oath of secrecy as well. After all, I don’t wish to have the Salvation Federation after my head.” said Simon with a glance, after patching a hole atop the ship made of black metal.

“Of course.” Ternia nodded, now considerably more composed than before.

Now that the future of her and her brother were secure, and now that there was hope for her father, she regained the dignity and aura of the daughter of an affluent merchant.

As for the death of the butler? She was indeed shaken, but so long as her brother was safe, she wouldn’t fall into the depths of despair.

…

A few moments later...

Two battered, yet functional airships flew in one direction, whilst another - headed by a golden lion head - flew in the opposite direction.

Atop the ship that was once again heading to the ruin, Simon couldn’t suppress his chuckle as he recalled the spoils of war.

Cannons, essence crystals, armor, weapons, crossbows, and even laser cannons… Combined with the airships themselves, he had undoubtedly made a profit of at least 25,000 gold from this little event!

After all, the Salvation Federation was a bonafide silver tier organization that resided in the middle zone. How could their airships and equipment compare to ones commonly found at the lowest zone? The organization was at least as strong as twenty Flamelight Organizations combined, after all.

As for the other unassuming airship? It was... even more impressive. Packed with covert defences, and deceivingly powerful arrays and defences, it was the perfect airship for fleeing and bound to be highly valuable. Still, it was only to be expected of merchant Toxilis's escape ship.

Of course, he did not take direct ownership of most of these items, but the descendants of Merchant Toxilis - who received these spoils - had nonetheless joined his island. As a result, they could still be counted as additions to his overall power.

‘Hmm, I should do this a bit more… the harvests are truly generous.’ Simon thought amusedly. But then he shook his head regretfully. ‘Unfortunately, now isn’t the time.’’

In truth, he was not yet a match for the Flamelight organization, let alone an organization like the Salvation Federation.

Ultimately, though he had the strength of a Grandmaster Mage - or a fourth star core mage, the headquarters of the Flamelight organization was bound to have trump cards of some sort. After all, though horrifyingly talented mages were rare, they were not non-existent. Then if that were the case… Why did organizations still exist?

The answer is actually simple. Of course they had means of dealing with powerful mages! Otherwise, the lowest zone would have long since become the playground for some supremely powerful mage.

With that being said, he didn’t dare to act rashly. Though this world was unruly, it wasn’t nearly that unruly…

‘Whatever. Dealing with flamelight and rescuing Toxilis… These are all tasks for later. What I need to focus on is the ruin!’ he thought solemnly, whilst standing silently at the front of the ship, with Jake standing behind him vigilantly.

And in the blink of an eye, another day and a half passed. By now, the ruin was already in Simon’s sights, and the blazing sun was high in the sky.