I left the Cilka's once again with a small fortune. Many times the size of the original. With more to come.

I had been quite forthcoming with all my meager alchemical knowledge from the future. The Grandmaster had continually gotten more excited as the day went on.

I changed how many of them looked at quite a few potions with a few simple words.

Of course, even that wasn't enough to get rid of my entourage, who would be reporting every move.

Now I at least didn't have to worry about it too much as long as I didn't act overboard. There would be a high chance of a partnership between whatever organization I create and the Cilka clan. That was a splendid fortune.

For now, I would have to focus on building up the foundation of my power. With these new resources, I would turn Sammy's Gang into a real local powerhouse.

The rewards also included deeds to various run-down or abandoned workshops in all parts of the city. I would start up my emporium very quickly with resources like that under my belt.

"Where to now, Ganley? We will still be helping you for the next few weeks, so you do not need to worry."

Ayda hadn't changed very much, at least. Kai and Ralph, on the other hand, seemed a lot more respectful.

I had no idea what had been said to my temporary subordinates. But they would be a lot more helpful over the next two weeks.

"Of course, we have to get all my new properties repaired. I want to visit each one today and get an idea of what we were dealing with."

Unsurprisingly the property they had given away was indeed not worth much. Each of them had quite a few issues. Luckily Ayda could begin with the basic repairs straight away.

Her powers came in handy with the wooden buildings. Of course, she was no help with the stone foundries and workshops. But the others were more than capable of cleaning that a little bit.

Now I would have to hire some professionals to clean them all up. Renovating them would not be cheap. But once I had people I could trust, working them along with the blueprints I had hidden in my head. It wouldn't be long before I was an economic titan as well.

I also bought a few body arts. Each a different rank but all in the same martial family. So it would be easy for a person to upgrade their technique when they proved valuable enough.

Sammy would, of course, be getting the best right off the bat. If he could improve enough to become a Warrior within the next two weeks, then the Orot's would have no choice but to take him seriously.

I didn't think he would be able to. But that was why I was going to be hiring a mercenary group for the next few months. In the short term, it would significantly bolster his forces. As long as Sammy didn't overtly try and undermine the Orots, with that level of power around him. He would have quite a few months of quiet to improve his strength and those loyal to him.

The Bloody Blades would never allow the streets to run red. That would enable the dukes to become very heavy-handed with their running of the city. That was the only reason the fragile peace remained. Sammy would be kept alone as long as he was perceived as some threat.

He would have to toe that dangerous line carefully. We would have several contingencies in place just in case, so it hopefully wouldn't go too wrong.

Seeing the state of the mercenary headquarters, I wasn't so sure. It was very well built, and the riches of the guild were plain to see. Yet, it seemed no one had been taking care of it for the past few years.

"Ah, this brings back memories. It's been a long time since I've been here."

"You were a mercenary, Ayda? That's surprising."

"Hey, don't be thinking that just because I am a Nature Mage, I have been stuck behind walls my entire life. I was once filled with adventure like the rest of yous."

The inside of the headquarters wasn't much different from the outside. Someone decided that it wasn't worth it to clean all that much.

Considering the number of broken chairs and tables that were littered around, I could understand why. The raucous noise around the headquarters made it clear that such things happened often. It would just be a money sink for the people in charge.

Interestingly that made the surviving chairs and tables precious, meaning only the best and the strongest would be able to sit there.

We were pretty much ignored as we made our way to the main desk. It was not worth harassing a Mage and two knights for no reason after all.

The clerk's eyes widened slightly as we walked up. She stared unabashedly at Ayda. A powerful Mage showing up in the mercenary guild must have been a treat.

"Hello, welcome to the Mercenary's Guild. How may we help you today?"

"Hello, lovely to meet you. I am interested in hiring a mercenary team for the next two months. Can you give me a list of the currently available teams?"

"Of course, Sir, would you prefer the list of people who are here today? or of our best teams that will be available within the next week?"

"Both should cover all my bases, thank you."

"Right away, sir, please give me a moment. You are more than welcome to talk to any of the mercenary teams while you wait."

I wasn't planning on that. I wanted to see the names to see if there were any I recognized. My knowledge of Mercenaries in this day and age wasn't great, but any of the big-name mercenaries in the future, I should at least remember somewhat.

That didn't stop many of the spokespeople of the groups attempting to approach in the few minutes the clerk allowed them to poach.

I did not doubt that the attendant had all the information on hand. But there was probably a system in place of first dibs that she wouldn't be able to interfere with.

"Hello there. You guys seem powerful. How can we the famous Raging Bull mercenary group be of service?"

The first member to approach us was surprisingly weak. He had only just stepped into the body refinement ranks. If he was the spokesperson of the group, who got the first shot at the customers. Then I wasn't too confident about the rest of them.

"We will keep you in mind. Thank you for offering. We want to take a look at other options first. To get the best crew for the job."

It didn't hurt to be cordial with all the members of the mercenary guild. I didn't want to create any hostility down the line with any team in the building. I couldn't trust my memory for who would become a threat. Any one of them could have a few future hidden dragons within.

"Suit yourself. Just know you are missing out on the greatest mercenary group in the world. We have a near one hundred percent completion rate. We would rather all die than let any of our employers get even one small injury."

It seemed he wanted to use this time to boast and take away the chances for any of the other teams to try and sweet talk our group.

It seemed to be working as two other people behind him were grinding their teeth as he went on about the Raging Bull group's great exploits.

The other two spokesmen were just as weak. Neither one of their teams rang a bell either. So I sent them off with a few quick pleasantries.

As if by magic, the clerk chose that time to come back with all the information. All the groups that would be available within the next week were laid out clearly—each with their star ranking and completion rate.

It was a handy little chart to have.

After asking for a few minutes to decide, we went to one of the headquarters' unoccupied areas. Ayda was very kind to make a table and chairs for us out of wood. They were surprisingly comfortable.

The knights sent out a few glares to the surrounding mercenaries who were approaching to plead their case.

None of them had the strength to stand up to that glare.

Allowing the group to look over the list of mercenaries at our leisure. I was interested in the other's opinions as well. None of the groups were jumping out at me. So I had to resort to their expertise to be sure.

We still didn't have many great choices. For whatever reason, the mercenaries were relatively overvalued at the moment.

Leaving us having to pay a considerable sum for even a basic mercenary group. It was quite the pickle