Inside the Loki Familia mansion, muffled sobs filled the air. Lyra clung to Riveria, her face buried in the elf's robes, shoulders trembling as she cried.
Riveria's emerald eyes burned with disapproval as she glared at Loki, her usually composed expression tight with irritation.
Loki, rubbing her head where Riveria had just struck her with her staff, groaned. "Oh, come on! I'm just giving her some extra knowledge," she huffed.
Riveria's gaze sharpened as she picked up her staff again. "That's enough, or I don't mind giving you a few more bumps."
Loki blinked, then waved a hand dismissively.
The high elf sighed, gently rubbing Lyra's back for comfort. "You're the head of this Familia. Act like it," Riveria scolded. "Don't forget what happened when you pulled this with Aiz."
Loki smirked, undeterred. "Yeah, yeah. But she's here because of me, you know. I invited her."
"No need to lie to my face," Riveria snapped.
Then, softening again, she gently urged, "Come, Lyra. Let me show you your room."
Loki watched as the elf guided the sniffling girl away. Once they were out of sight, her smirk returned. "Tch. No fun at all."
While Riveria was settling Lyra in, Luthar was wandering around the vibrant streets of Orario. His steps carried him through market squares. Among the smithies and workshops, he found a shop labeled Daedalus Materials & Custom Orders.
Inside, he approached the counter, where a heavyset dwarf with soot in his beard looked up. "Eh? Never seen robes like that before. What can I get ya?"
Luthar placed a sheet of parchment on the counter—neatly drawn with material specs and notes.
The dwarf squinted as he scanned the list. "That's weird. I know some of these materials, but most of 'em… I don't think they even exist."
"Just point out what you can sell," Luthar said flatly, taking out the remaining one million valis. "This should cover the down payment."
"Well, I can get you raw iron. Steel's a little expensive—most smiths don't part with it easily. As for mithril or adamantite… you won't find those on the market. Rare stuff, hard to come by."
"Just deliver the materials to this location." Luthar scribbled down the address of the abandoned church.
The dwarf nodded slowly. "Alright. Gimme two days."
Luthar left the workshop and visited several alchemy shops. He examined herbs, enchanted reagents, and rare powders, noting down anything useful for future research. By the end of the day, he had multiple delivery orders arranged.
At a jewelry shop, he sold a pouch of synthetic diamonds and colored gems, covering most of his research expenses for the month.
As he stepped out into the street, he muttered under his breath, "Now, let's see what my future lab looks like."
Luthar stepped through the creaking wooden doors without hesitation. Dust hung heavy in the air. Shattered pews lay scattered across cracked tile flooring. Moonlight pierced through holes in the ceiling.
He tapped his fingers against his palm, activating his schematics. With a flicker of light, his HUD scanned the building—marking dimensions, structural weaknesses, and potential energy flow.
Standing in the center of the church, he raised his hand, projecting a glowing holographic blueprint above the altar. Lines shifted and adjusted as he muttered, "This much transformation should be enough for now."
After finding a usable room to sit in, he began to examine his Goldfinger for any changes . With a faint click of thought, he opened the interface only he could see.
Six core functions lit up across the display, each waiting for input. He skimmed through them one by one, mentally checking if anything had changed after coming to a new world.
[System Store] – Expensive, but invaluable. It offered blueprints and Standard Template Constructs. Occasionally, rare, high-tech items appeared in limited stock.
[Memory Suppression & Restoration] – A mental safeguard. It allowed him to suppress dangerous knowledge to avoid corruption.
[Point Generator] – No killing for points. Every blueprint he decoded, every invention he mastered, would grant him points which can be used in system Store to buy stuff .
[Subspace Storage] – A personal dimensional vault linked directly to him, capable of holding objects as large as one or two battleships. Ideal for storing materials and equipment. However, it has one major drawback: a noticeable delay when retrieving items, making it impractical for quick weapon swaps.
[Energy] – the system, supplying a energy required for dimensional travel.
[Research Module] – With it, he could scan and understand most technology he encountered. Simple devices were analyzed instantly. Advanced or alien tech required real-life experiments.
He closed the interface and began taking out equipment for his lab, Luthar's gaze drifting to the blueprint. "Time to build," he said quietly.
The soft motion of servo-motors echoed through the air as servitors sprang into action and began cleaning the church.