Sunday, Day 23:
Zane sighed in relief as he walked out of the Arcane Guild. Today, he survived another gruesome 16 hours of dangerous, tedious work. Luckily, his time was not wasted; he finished a few books through audiobooks. The bad news is that he had ruined another shirt in a small accident involving an acidic slime. After sighing to himself, Zane decided to check his profile during the walk back to his dorm. He was supposed to do it yesterday, but forgot.
[Mana: 0.44]
[Mental Energy: 0.58]
[Life Energy: 0.053]
"The rate at which my mana and mental energy improved has dramatically reduced," Zane thought. Such a situation was normal; the closer a transcendent's stats are to ascending to the higher stage, the slower it grows. However, Zane couldn't stop himself from worrying. If he had enough resources, he could delay this drop in growth for a longer period.
Zane shook his head; he wouldn't focus on the resource issue since it's not a problem that can be solved anytime soon. His eyes shifted to the Life Energy section; it appeared after the [Orc Challenger Title]; it was a sign that his body was rapidly approaching the level of a knight, which could be considered excellent news.
After returning to his room, Zane didn't spend the night reading, studying, or doing any work, for that matter. He took a quick shower, packed a small bag, checked the tower's email about tomorrow, and went to bed immediately. The next day, after his early morning run and meditation, he took his packed bag and headed to the school entrance with all his roommates. However, the atmosphere was somewhat negative because James had been in a bad mood ever since the second tournament; the worst part was that he did not mind making it everybody else's problem.
However, there was one person whose attitude he could not affect: Devonte. The young knight has been looking forward to this day ever since he heard about the Hunting Guild. Zane understood his emotion. After all, who doesn't like making money? Regardless, he still warned the latter to hunt with somebody, and he only felt reassured after learning Ahmed would go with him.
At exactly nine am, each student watched as the barrier surrounding the school dissipated. Then, everybody acted: some immediately activated their soul crest and returned to earth, others went directly to the plaza. Zane was among the former.
As soon as the white light faded, he found himself in that small apartment and sighed to himself. As he glanced around, the idea of moving immediately popped into his mind, and he couldn't get rid of it for a good minute. Alas, he finally regained his bearing and began his work.
First, he called his mother, and they talked for a few minutes; he recounted everything he had experienced and learned; he didn't go into detail since the tower forbade the spread of knowledge, but Zane had verified that this restriction was for magical knowledge; things such as history and information about different races were not too restricted.
"It's truly scary how insignificant we are," Mama Sarfowa sighed.
"Indeed," Zane nodded. "But, Ma, you should tell if you're having any existential crisis, alright?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"A religious friend of mine began to doubt himself after learning these things. You…"
"You don't have to worry about me," she replied. "I've long known the world was more vast than it actually looks."
"You knew about other dimensions?"
"Not in that sense, but I know there is a Spirit Realm where all the abosoms reside, and I also know of the Ancestral Realm, where all our ancestors go to rest. I've told you about all of this."
"I forgot."
"Oh, that you forget," Mama Sardowa sighed to herself.
Zane chuckled to himself. Luckily, she didn't scold him. However, he was immediately interested in the Spirit and Ancestral Realm, wondering about their connection to the Astral Plane.
"By the way, did you meet your cousin?"
"No, I looked for him, but I couldn't find him anywhere," Zane replied.
"I'll give you his number; you can contact him."
"Alright," Zane nodded. "Ma, I think I should tell Ali about my situation."
"Are you sure?"
"I don't want to have to lie to her, and it may be a good idea for her to be prepared in case something happens to me."
"Peh," Mama Sarfowa made a spitting sound. "Don't bring these negative thoughts into the world. Your thoughts shaped your reality more than you think. So, think positively about your future."
"I am, but it's not a bad idea to be prepared."
Mama Sarfowa sighed deeply, "You have a point."
"So, what do you think?"
"It's your decision. Since you think it's the right thing to do, then do it."
Zane nodded. The two continued their conversation for another five minutes before hanging up. Zane immediately texted Alisha, asking her to come by to see him during her lunch break. He then called his cousin, Ziyad, but no one answered, so he left a text. Zane also checked on Myk and Aunt Rykov, hinting that magic might be a solution to their problems. Myk seemed to have come to the same conclusion and was in a good mood even before Zane brought it up. Finally, Zane hesitated about whether to call his dad, but after briefly pondering, he put the phone down.
Now that he was free, Zane realized he had a lot of work to do, so he fetched his laptop. Coding without internet access was much more challenging and tedious, so now that he was back on Earth, he needed to take full advantage of the situation. His internet came from hacking the New York Public Library server, so he first accessed it before proceeding with his work, which mostly involved testing and fixing the errors in his programs.
The entire process took less than an hour, and immediately afterward, Zane entered the dark web to send in his tasks. There is a two-hour verification window to confirm that Zane did decent work and wasn't trying to scheme anyone. Once that is verified, he'll receive 20% of the reward, and 3-5 days later, if the client is satisfied with the work, he'll receive the rest.
Zane's next task was about Kwame Dynamics' website. There is no way he could launch it before his sister acquired the license, but Zane still needed to do some preparatory work. The background he had created for the company was that they were a software company that primarily operated in China and had recently moved to the US. To make things look realistic, Zane decided to create a few fake Chinese LinkedIn profiles for former employees.
Everything was already prepared before, and Zane only needed to modify a few things before uploading the profile. The entire process took him a few minutes, and once he was free, he suddenly thought of Cindy. He logged into his fake Weibo account and checked his messages. His eyes shrank. She replied.
"Tonight at 7 PM? I'll be waiting," Zane muttered to himself. After replying to her, he immediately checked on his crime board. The magical world had distracted him from investigating the injustice done to him, but now that he was back on Earth, he began reconsidering everything.
The tower had opened new doors for him. With magic, his investigation will be much easier. Officer Martinez's move to New York will happen in the middle of the month, and with magic, Zane didn't believe that he could not force that bastard to spill the truth. But, there was another approach: money. With enough money, Zane could hire an investigator and a lawyer to sue the state of Massachusetts and everyone involved in his trial.
"No, it's better to do it myself," Zane concluded after mulling it over for a moment. His decision was due to a few factors. First, he didn't know how much his income would increase once hunting season began, nor how steady it would be. Suing a state requires a lot of money and time, neither of which Zane had. But more importantly, he did not trust the system to give him justice. And since he had the power to find the truth himself, why would he rely on others?
Zane closed his laptop and walked to his fridge. The leftovers from the feast he had cooked for his family before attending the academy were still there since only a day had passed. However, Zane was not in the mood. But, as he told Keesha and the others, he indeed wanted to cook something. So, he changed and went to buy some ingredients with the little money he had left on his account after the previous shopping spree.
Zane was in the mood for Italian food, so he searched for a recipe for Penne Alla Vodka and made it himself. The result was, as expected, superb. His nose — when used correctly — is indeed a cheat for cooking. And while eating, he finally received a transfer notification to his Swiss offshore bank account.