"Is it just me, or is the airs.h.i.+p coming more frequently, these days?" Remian asked.

"You only say that because we left late last time." Charlie snorted.

"Sorry. Did you get in trouble?"

"Not really, no. The amount of goods and profit we brought back more than made up for it." Charlie cleared his throat. "The more business the Frontier gives us, the more often we can justifiably come out here."

"Well, we don't expect a Beast Wave for another week yet, so…" Remian grimaced. He really didn't like the idea of depending on Beast Waves for the economy of Frontier Town.

"Actually, I brought you an opportunity. It's an old survey map, something left behind by a certain Deutero prospector…" Charlie slipped parchment into Remian's hands. "Apparently, there might, just might be… a mana crystal lode nearby."

Mana crystals! Remian's jaw dropped.

"Long ago, with the town overrun by gangsters and Beast Waves eating up the survivors, the company wrote it off as a lost cause. But I hear that somebody out here started an Adventurers Guild and managed to recruit some of the most experienced explorers still roaming around the Frontier. They also managed to clear out three of the five gangs." Charlie mused as if to himself.

"We only took down one with your help. The other two… those weren't…"

"Come now, there's no harm in a little exaggeration. It's for a good cause." Charlie mentioned.

"What, peace and the glory of mankind?"

"Better. It's for profit!"

"Talk about lost causes…"

Charlie barked a laugh. "You want it or not?"

"What's it going to cost me?" Remian asked straight out.

Charlie grinned wickedly. "Twenty percent."

"Holy…! You're not even going to lift a finger to dig out any of the crystals! All you're doing is providing a map! And you want twenty percent?!"

"Eighteen! This map came at a high cost to the company! There's a lot of blood, sweat and money involved! Don't you think the company wants its cut?" Charlie cleared his throat. "And of course, I want a little too!"

"Five percent! You and the company can figure out how to share it between you!"

"Fifteen! We'll be the ones taking it to market, after all!"

"Seven! We'll have to escort precious cargo all the way through Wild-infested territories!"

There was a short pause, then Charlie sighed. "Ten."

He held out his hand. Remian shook it.

"Wanna know a secret?" Charlie smirked. "I'd have settled for eight."

"And how much of a cut does Deutero actually get?" Remian asked.

"Nothing. It's all mine." Charlie snickered.

"No harm in a little exaggeration, huh? Or some 'harmless' suggestions and implications?" Remian scowled.

Charlie chuckled. "Dude, don't pretend you aren't happy. We're both going to make a killing with this! Here, I'll throw in this little special something to sweeten the pot."

He handed Remian a book. On the t.i.tle it said…

"Basic Combat Magic?" Remian stared.

"Magic Bolts." Charlie spelled out. "The raw, non-elemental, pure mana bolts that make up the basis of basic every elemental attack… and how to add those elements in effectively. That Fire Bolt your kids use? That's just one of the modifications of the Mana Bolt. Ice Shards, Stones, Wind Darts, Sonic Bolts… they're all just variants of the same thing. This here brings it all."

"All?" Remian's eyes widened. "Every variant?"

"No. Just the root. But from there, figuring out how to add in the rest is simply a matter of contemplation." Charlie hesitated. "And experimentation. It's not hard. You'll have to open the door yourself, but this here is the key. I even have another key for you, though this one will cost."

"What is it?" Remian asked.

Charlie took out another book. "Basic Earth Magic."

"Earth? Not water?" Remian was surprised. "I mean… coming from a Storm Mage…"

"I… don't want to sell you my old books." Charlie scowled. "There's… stuff scribbled in them from my student days. People won't ask many questions if a Storm Mage buys an earth elemental book, because maybe he wants to learn more and all… but to buy a basic water book? Of an element that I have already supposedly mastered? There will be questions. For wind and water, I'd rather just teach you myself."

"That works." Remian agreed. "Mindy's doing well enough. You should go check on her. Also, I think George might want to buy farming supplies…"

"Have him talk to Sandy. She's our new marketing agent." Charlie cleared his throat. "You want the book or not? 2000 Lir."

He did.

***

Ten more trainees of the Iron Legion got off the airs.h.i.+p, but at the same time, six got on. The six who boarded were missing limbs or were badly injured previously. This left the Iron Legion with twenty-four trainees and four officers on the Frontier. Hopefully, with the Guard Towers in place, they'd do better next Beast Wave.

Remian followed Mandy to look over the airs.h.i.+p's wares as Charlie checked on Mindy's progress. They spent a lot of time at the clothes section, bought shoes instead, and were pa.s.sing by the spa.r.s.e furniture corner when Remian suddenly saw something that lit a lightbulb in his head.

It was a lightbulb. An actual, two foot sphere equipped with a Light Orb Rune on the inside, and then kept it where it lit up in a magically treated gla.s.s...o...b.. Remian suddenly had a strange notion.

What if, instead of hanging that sphere from a ceiling, they hung it from an air balloon the night of the Beast Wave…?

Remian also thought of buying a set of ten Tier 3 knives using Guild funds. These were made of high quality steel and probably meant for some high quality kitchen, but he thought it shouldn't be too hard to stick them to strong poles and turn them into spears…

Max threw the idea out immediately. "No matter how hard you tie them, they won't be able to hold up against Tier 3 Wilds. You're going to get a lot of broken spears and a lot of hurt people. Forget it. Either fork out the money for proper weapons or stick to support-type scrolls!"

But the airs.h.i.+p only had four Tier 3 spears for sale. Each cost 450 lir. Remian bought them all, winced at the costs, and then decided to go over to the Burning Steel Forge to see if he could get some other spears.

They only had two Tier 3 spears without runes. Those cost 400 lir each. There were two more, but one had Durability and Lightening Runes on it and cost 1000 lir with discounts, the other one had Sharpness and Heavy Runes on it, offered no discount, and would cost 1200 lir.

The Burning Steel actually sold Tier 3 spears cheaper than the airs.h.i.+p, though they had less in stock. Remian actually liked the runic spears too. The discounted one was clearly meant for ease of use and travel; the full-priced one was designed for power though it would be a lot harder to use. Neither Tim nor George would be able to handle that last one, but Markus could totally wreak havoc with it.

"If you need more, you can just order them ahead." The sales guy said. He was a short, stubby chap with more hair in his beard than on his head. He was oddly fair; most of the other guys in the forge looked half-burned to deep brown.

"I need three more." Remian requested. "How soon can you have them ready?"

He scratched his head. "Come by next week?"

"That's too late! The next Beast Wave would have hit by then!" Remian objected.

"It's not that we don't want you guys armed for the Beast Wave, but it's not easy to get the materials out here! The airs.h.i.+p only comes by once a week!" he explained. "There's nowhere else for us to get Tier 3 wood! Unless…"

"Unless we get it for you." Remian concluded flatly. "Fine. Where do we get it, and how much would the spears cost if we got it for you? Better yet, how much are you willing to pay for the extra wood that isn't used in the spears?"

"We'll need Ironwood. You'll have to check the forest to the south." The stubby guy said. He stroked his chin. "Unless you're willing to try something crazy."

"How crazy?" Remian asked.

"A spear without wood."

There was a short, baffled silence. Then, "You mean… pure metal?"

"Pure high-quality steel. A single sharp haft, no head." He whispered in a low voice. "You don't need it for some fancy martial arts moves, right? You just want to stab Wilds with it. A solid steel haft with a sharp point instead of a head might be best… so long as you don't mind the weight."

Remian thought about it. Fighting from inside a bunker, no distance to travel, Tier 3 Wilds charging at them at full speed… a heavy steel spear like that might actually be brilliant.

"I'll take three of those."