The gentlemancer posted numerous times complaining about the new money system. And was begging the auction to not make everything in person in the most entitled way possible.

[Gentlemancer: I can't go to the capital in person. My car doesn't fit on the road anymore after it became a golem. I need to talk to an admin. I'm being ignored in the support tickets. I'm the number one buyer in my city and without my business, you'll face troubles.]

I'm pretty sure if the Sphynxwork Auction Company militarizes, it could threaten the main guilds. The ranker economy is almost entirely based on that one company, even with the government trying to change that fact.

They're one of the few companies that other races allow access to their territories.

They don't only do auctions. Although that's what Sphixwork is famous for. They give a safe environment for people to sell goods and make trades by using the auction house as a medium instead of having to do things in person.

Give it to the auction house, and it will sell.

I read through some of the messages and ignored the rants. This board is used for many things, including trading between users. The auction gets a small cut since they're the intermediaries, but that's a given.

I found a dated message.

[Gentlemancer: URGENT. This gentleman needs a few materials for a new core. Anything less than rare is not worth messaging. I have money, so feel free to message me. Poor people will be ignored.]

There are a few more messages just like that, but none after my cage match. Wait, I was wrong. There was one more posted a week ago that no one replied to. I guess the "Gentlemancer" has a reputation.

[Gentlemancer: Are there any healers willing to come to my home and service me? I need a healer that can use regenerative magic. Inquiries are welcomed.]

I was so close to completely ripping his jaw off. It's been a week, so I wonder how he is doing. I decide to privately message him.

[U: Hello, the gentlemancer. I recently saw your posting and wanted to know if you have found a healer.]

I pause before adding one more statement.

[U: I can do reconstruction work, including plastic surgery.]

I was prepared to doctor some fake documents, but I got a response back before I could find a free photo editing site.

[Gentlemancer: Wonderful news! I want to know your full qualifications before considering you an option.]

Hmmm. How should I scam this guy?

[U: My username comes from my unique rated healing skill. If you want confirmation, we can meet in a private location to discuss this further. May I see an image of the damage that needs healing?"

[Gentlemancer: The pain makes it so I can only go so far from my home. I'm taking healing potions constantly to numb the pain.]

He sends a picture of the golemancer, but he looks relatively fine now. There is a horrendous scar from where half of his jaw was ripped off, but whatever healing he got seemed to reattached it mostly.

Honestly, he looks more badass with that scar. It's even better that his wound is in constant pain.

[U: Doing reconstruction is no problem, when are you available to meet and where. We can discuss payment after I get a better look at the scarring.]

[Gentlemancer: I'm not thinking straight, but what makes you think I'll agree so readily. I'm not letting a stranger anywhere near my home.]

[U: If you have a confidant, you can send them to meet me in a public place where I can showcase my skills. You may come in person if you want.]

[Gentlemancer: No. A confidant is fine. For personal reasons, I'm staying inside for the foreseeable future.]

Yeah, you are, you terrorist.

I set a meeting with the gentlemancer's "minion" to meet this rejuvenator at the public park. First, I need a mask. I have more to my plan than just showing up with my face covered, but that's the first step.

The best thing about the new credit system is that it's way harder to trace a paper trail, meaning that as long as I buy something inconspicuous, no one will know.

So I buy a plague doctor's mask from a mask shop near the shopping center. The shopkeep talked me into buying a black costume that "finishes the look." Black leather that's vaguely fancy with a set of gloves, boots, and belt.

"Why do you have all of this?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Don't tell anyone about me. Or what you sold to me."

"Alright, but you gotta buy this hat."

"How much."

"Everything will run you 120 CCs."

"..."

~

Am I rushing things? I wanted to complete everything before I left for the capital, but haste may be the downfall of my plan. I can push back a few things, and it'll be more natural.

I'm just chilling in a nonpopulated section of the park, obscured by trees. This is the meeting place I selected after much consideration.

Khan has to sit this out, but I set everyone else up with their specific roles.

Flash Gordon is staying in my pocket for emergencies. His only job is to be on standby if I need him.

Rob and Duchess are going to be the stars of this plan. Rob's [Detect Life] will be handy for spotting fake bird golems that may accompany the goon to watch over him. Spotting birds coincidentally flying by the area won't be hard, and if those birds aren't detected on his radar, it should be a tell-tale sign that it's fake. I have Rob in stealth mode and on standby if I need those golems destroyed.

Dutchess's job is to do everything else I can't do. She is half buried next to a tree and is camouflaged with her surroundings. She hated getting dirt on her feathers, but it's a necessary sacrifice.

I spot some guy walking towards the tree line, looking around nervously. He gives the same vibe as those guys who broke into my house. I wonder where the gentlemancer finds these people to do his bidding but can't find a decent healer.

He wears inconspicuous clothing with a watch and sunglasses perched on his forehead.

I make myself slightly visible before slowly motioning for the guy to approach me.

Once he gets within twenty feet of me, I scan him up and down using [Scientific Insight+]

[Some guy lv.50]

[Sunglasses Golem E]

[Watch Golem D]

[Shoelace Golem E]

[Etc.]

"Stop."

My voice is slightly muffled and distorted from my mask. I feel like a massive nerd, but this guy seems intimidated. I activate [Prey on the Weak], so he won't notice that I'm just a dude in a mask and instead something to be feared... In a mask.

He stopped on a dime. He was going to say something, but I interrupted him.

"I thought this was going to be a one-on-one meeting. What's with the extras?"

"Pardon, sir? I don't know what you mean."

I tap my wrist for the universal sign for a watch. "You don't expect me to be some naive simpleton who couldn't recognize a golem at first glance."

He breaks out in a cold sweat. "I'm sorry, but my master forced me to come here with these golems as a safety precaution."

"Leave them here and make sure they don't follow after. Every single one."

I don't know if "normal" golems can spy on me, but I'm not leaving it to chance. I walk into the trees and wait for the minion deeper inside.

I spot him stumbling over, and a stray thought crosses my mind. How did the gentlemancer almost take Flash Gordon with goons like this? Maybe this is a trick to lower my guard.

I snatch the sunglasses on his head before scanning him up and down again. I spot no other golems, so I apply pressure between my fingers.

The [Sunglasses Golem] starts squirming in my hands before breaking in two. I checked it one last time.

[Broken Sunglasses.]

Good.

"I didn't know that was a golem too. I'm sorry, honestly."

I couldn't care less if he's speaking the truth.

"How do you want confirmation on my abilities. I left that up to your boss, so what's the consensus."

"You have to heal this."

He lifts his shirt, and there is a horrendous burn scar, probably from a bomb. I touch the wound with my hand and hope that the "anything" in [Heal Anything] isn't just there to look pretty.

Holy shit is my mana draining way faster than I thought. Around a hundred mana is consumed before the scar "heals," and fresh skin is underneath. That could heal 500 health, but it only fixed some terrible scarring. It wasn't that bad either, just ugly.

I bet this guy has less than 500 health total.

"Is that proof enough?"

I break this guy out of a stupor. "Yes, that's great! One last thing, and please don't take this the wrong way. I need to see your face."

"Why?"

"It's a necessary precaution."

I reach for my mask, and that's when Duchess does her thing. One of the first skills she used on me, [Mental Illusion], takes over inside this goon's mind.

It lasts for a minute before it ends.

"I see, I see. No wonder you must keep the mask on. I'll take my leave, sir. Sorry for any transgressions."

When he walks away, I approach Duchess. I told her to make it seem like I'm some random older gentleman that seems refined, but that reaction was strange.

"So, what did you do."

She shakes herself free from the dirt and starts to clean her feathers.

[Thisss one made you look similar to Saint Valentine, the healer of the Undying Party, the first established party of rankers that came about thanks to the Collision.]

So he probably thought that I was a child of his. There are rumors of his prolific "love" life.

I "made" a door, and we headed back inside the mansion. I want to start working on the electricity setup before heading out to the internet cafe.

"Duchess, where did you put the stuff."

[In the warehouse.]

"Oh shit!"

I rush to the warehouse, excited that a new building/room has opened. I walk inside and am met with a bog standard warehouse and all the junk I bought sitting inside.

"..."

Maybe it'll get bigger.

I hide my disappointment and drag what I need outside. I find a suitable location on the manor grounds, without vegetation, and with open skies.

I found a corner that wasn't being used and set my doodads up. It's a lightning rod that channels lightning into a pressurized chamber. That chamber is connected to a system of capacitors and batteries that I set up to see what'll work.

I get Khan to do some light zaps before adjusting a few things. A lightning bolt would completely wreck this system, but Khan isn't at that level. Technically he is just biting the rod but using lightning damage instead of his teeth.

It works but in a janky way. If I didn't have such a great resistance against lightning damage, I wouldn't even attempt to do something like this. I also set up the pedal generator, so Rob has something to do with his legs when bored.

I can now bring a fridge and a microwave in here and charge my electronics without worry.