Agnox flew over the building of Blue Oaks. Funny enough, he wasn’t the only one. He saw two other humans hovering through the air. They were both slower than he was, using magic to stay in the air.

Without having armor on to slow him down, he was faster than he ever was before. Agnox was thankful for the armor Zack gave him, but damn did he enjoy the freedom of not wearing it. Flying through the air, Agnox did a few loops and waved down to people walking below. A few returned with friendly waves of their own.

As Agnox landed next to The Workshop, he saw fewer people than he expected to be around the place. Not thinking much about it, he walked inside. He saw only a few people working at various stations. The room had a small buzz as the enchantments surrounding the crafting tables muffled the majority of the sounds.

He looked around and didn’t see Zack on the first floor. He went to walk up the stairs when a statue stuck out a hand and stopped him. “Woah little imp. Where do you think you are going?”

“Looking for Zack. Is he upstairs?”

“The wannabe giant crafter is. However, he has the entire floor emptied except for himself. He’s close to something fantastic!” Ragnork said with a big stone tooth grin. “Give him another day or three. He should be done by then.”

Agnox was curious. “What is he making? Is it that large to require the entire floor?”

“He isn’t making something. He’s about to get his first Inspiration.” The stone giant smiled.

“That explains nothing to me.” Agnox crossed his arms.

“Little Imp, an Inspiration is the greatest thing any crafter can accomplish. If I had to guess, he will finish his project, gain a smidge of enlightenment, and acquire a new Axiom or refine one he currently has. Whatever he is making will be magically enhanced to a higher level with whatever leftover magic there is from Inspiration as well. That boy has a crafter's heart.” Ragnork sniffed and wiped away a fake tear. “If I could, I would take the boy as my apprentice. I’d make a giant out of him!”

“Cool. So, nobody will repair my armor for a few days. Boss will be annoyed by that, but understanding.”

“How is the little enchanter?” Ragnork asked. “If you are here, that means you both survived The System's little game.”

“Dangerously close to death that place was. But, Mathew and I pulled through. The gains were fantastic. I think he will have some questions for you, both personal and about some things he found.”

“Ooo, I love looking at System goodies. Great way to find a new way to do things.” Ragnork wiggled his fingers. “He didn’t want to come and visit me first? The selfish little boy.”

“He’s busy, but I’m sure you are on his list,” Agnox assured the Rock Giant.

Ragnork stroked his beard. “Sure sure. Anyways, I’ll take your armor and anything else you need to be repaired. Once the floor opens up, I’ll have someone take care of it for you. Zack will probably be resting for a few days. Inspirations tire crafters out like you just got done fighting off a planet's worth of Lizard Eaters.”

Agnox was going to ask what those were but decided not to. He handed the spaciall-enhanced bag over to the giant. “Thanks, no clue if I will be with Mathew when he comes by. So until next time.” The imp gave a two fingers salute and flew out of the building.

Mathew walked along the road leading deeper into Blue Oaks. A truck rolled by with pallets of stone blocks, all of it to be used for a new building he assumed. The day was halfway over, so Mathew wanted to keep his next few tasks short. So he decided to stop by the only non-human owned store in the area.

Di’s shop looked pristine and perfect as the day it appeared in Blue Oaks. There was a lack of foot traffic, but Mathew assumed that was because of the time of day. Too many people would be working, training, crafting, or just relaxing.

He entered the store, noticing the layout was different on the inside. Many rows of shelves were in different spots. There seemed to be new products for sale, and things in the past were also gone. The store was very generalized. Armor, weapons, books, information crystals, medicine, everything anyone could want was out. However, because it was so generalized, Di didn’t sell specific or powerful items.

“Well if it isn’t Mr. McGoanald. My favorite patron in this establishment.” Di’s blank face poked from above a shelf. He was wearing a blue and yellow pinstripe suit. “I heard you were back from the World Dungeon, oh it is a relief to hear you are alive and well. You are well, aren't you? I was told you were in the hospital.”

“The final fight I had was a bit out of reach. If I didn’t have time to prepare, I wouldn’t have won it.” Mathew said honestly. “I hope you’ve been treated well while I was gone.”

“Business is always well. Slower as time has gone by, but consistent. As I always have said, constant business is good business.” Di walked over to the counter and stood behind it. “So, how can I help you? Unless you are here for a chat.”

“Both. Lots of different things when it comes to your area of specialization Di.” Mathew sat three bags down on the counter. All of it contained the armor and weapons he traded for from Tilido. “I have some things I want your opinion on quality-wise. Ensuring I got my money’s worth. Then I need to buy a few information packets. Lots of moving parts and things to do.” Mathew pointed to the bag on the left. “There are some more random things in here. Ores, monster bodies, a few random weapons, and armor from Dungeon inhabitants. So, a full check on all of this will be requested.”

Di waved a hand over the bags. “Oh, these are filled to the brim with goodies. I can do it. I’ll let you know the bill once I’m done.”

Mathew waved a hand, “I doubt it will be more than a few thousand, right?”

“Hmmm, no more than ten for sure. If all you want is for me to check the items, and list their properties and quality. No cleaning, no repairing, just as they come right?” Di asked, looking at the bags as if he could see into them.

“And prices for the raw materials and beast bodies. I have some more goodies I want to be checked, but I can do that myself or buy information packets on them specifically. Speaking of, have you heard of a race called Lost Souls who belong to a faction called Black Snow?”

Di thought for a moment, “Black Snow…no I don’t think I’ve heard of them before personally. I do have a small information pack on them, but it is general information along with a few other factions that are meant for those interested in learning about various factions around the universe. I feel that you are looking for something more specific here.”

Mathew nodded, “I am. What about a group called the Cosmic Temple? Anything on those guys?”

“I personally know of them and have two packets on them. They are a far larger entity. I can’t say more than that, obviously.”

“Obviously.” Mathew sent Di 25,000 UC. “That’s to cover the items, information on both those groups. And a little extra to set aside for a rainy day. If there is an emergency and payments need to be taken care of when those who should pay are not around.”

Di accepted the payment with a slight grin on his mouth. “Of course. A good leader knows where to invest his money and how to prepare for the worst. It will take a few days to sort through the items.” Di then waved a hand over the counter and two crystal shards appeared on the counter. One was far larger than the other, almost twice as thick. “Smaller one is specifically on the Cosmic Temple. The larger one covers all publicly listed factions, clans, and families that function more as one or the other.”

Mathew slid them into his own personal magical storage. “Thank you, Di. My next question for you is, do you need anything from me?”

“Not at all as things are currently. I’m enjoying business from you and everyone, especially all the lovely human media. My top seller is movies.”

“Hollywood has some shiny golden products. I’ll need your expert opinion on a few purchases I’m planning on in the future, right now though I think you have enough to stay busy.”

“The pleasure is all mine Mr. McGonald. Do visit to actually visit one day instead of business. You bring the best, but I want to hear more of your own personal stories.”

“If I have time Di. I’ll bring some tea as well.” Mathew promised as he walked out.

Mathew right now was going to focus on walking as much as he could for his Level 50 quest. He knew that part would be the hardest to make progress on, even if he had no clue which reward option he wanted.

He wanted to find Lindsey or Zack. Both would be able to answer his question, but he realized there was no way to contact them. With cell phones no longer working, it was impossible to just call someone.

Mathew wondered if magic had an answer. Then he thought of Hugh, the technomancer. Both were good options to check out. First, he needed to talk to Zack. There was one place he knew the tank would be at the most often, and that was The Workshop.

The large three story building that stood in place of an old air hanger was light in foot traffic. Mathew walked inside to see only seven stations were being used. Confused at how few people were present, a giant statue walked over.

“Kid, you need to do better about checking in with important figures in your growing clan. I should have been your top priority!”

“Ragnork, I came as soon as I can,” Mathew said, already getting a little annoyed with the stone giant. “I’m here to check on things and look for Zack. Is he here?”

“I just explained it to your imp. Did he not tell you yet?”

“Haven't bumped into him today.” Mathew checked mentally where his summons was. Cherry was in the direction of the Hospital. Agnox was in the direction of what could be either the kitchen or possibly the training area.

“Bah, the short answer is the young man is close to something great and won’t be available for a couple of days.”

Mathew clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Okay. Thanks. I’ll be back in a few days to use my private office here. We can talk more then, okay?”

Ragnork rolled his eyes and huffed, “Sure. I’m sure you have more important things. Don’t go and craft, use your rituals, or do fun things. Just work work work.”

“Sucks to be in charge.” Mathew had a quick thought and pulled out the core from the Golem Dungeon Boss he acquired. “Actually, I wanted to show you this. What do you think of it?”

Ragnork picked it up between two fingers. Mathew had to hold it with both hands. “Oooooo so you did bring me something fun! The imp wasn’t lying! Whatever you do d-” A black lightning bolt struck Ragnork in the face from nowhere. Mathew was so surprised and instantly conjured [Doozkora’s Rod] and took up a pose to throw a [Mana Bolt] at whoever just attacked Ragnork.

Yet, nobody was there. A few crafters who were there had ducked down in fear. One of them seemed so deeply focused they didn’t notice at all.

“Ouch. My fuck up almost spoke out of line.” Ragnork stood up, his stony face had a large blackened mark over his lower jaw.

“What do you mean?” Mathew’s mind raced to think, but only one possible answer came to mind. “Was that The System?”

“Yup. Word of advice, don’t piss off The System.” Ragnork stuck out this thumb into the sky pointing downward. “Right. So, uh yea can’t say anything, sorry kid.”

However, Mathew wasn’t an idiot. Ragnork was about to suggest something and The System saw it as him interfering. So badly it stopped it from happening directly. The question was, what was the guardian of The Workshop going to say?

“Tell you what kid, how about you come back when you can? You can show me what kind of new rituals you’ve come across.” Ragnork was stretching his jaw around.

Mathew slowly nodded, “Sure. Are you going to be okay? I don’t need you getting killed because of your own poor mistakes.”

Ragnork waved a hand, “Got too excited is all. Don’t stress about it.”