“Something troubling you?” Lady Ami Janina asked me. It was two days before we would travel to take care of the fissure, and I was currently training my draconic skills with Lady Janina and Agunan.
Oh, also, you might remember from that time I ‘cheated’ my skills that Lady Janina had sent Agunan away on some mission. Apparently Lady Janina had asked Agunan to go get her some more fashionable clothing, as the closets in her room were now completely filled with clothing. I don’t know where they got the money or where Agunan shopped, but it also isn’t my problem.
When I asked Lady Janina why she would need something else, as the dragon avatars can materialize clothing, she explained that it can only materialize that one outfit, so if she wanted anything else, she would have to buy them and change her avatar doll into them.
But when I use avatar dolls they swap clothing based on the card in the doll. This part got explained by the fact that the clothing generated by the avatar depends on the soul. In short, the earlier explanation was an oversimplification, as it is possible for Lady Janina to change her clothes, but the clothes reflect her soul, so she would have to change the way she sees herself for her dragon avatar’s clothes to change.
I do find it interesting that I can swap my Factory clothes however I want. I always assumed the dragon avatars were similar to Factory avatars, but they really must not be. Well, I guess Different Dimension Factory is basically an imaginary place, so it doesn’t have to follow the rules of this world. Conservation of mass be damned.
… actually, because of magic, mana, miasma and all that BS, this world really doesn’t give a shit about conservation of mass anyway. So I can’t really use Earth logic in this world. Well, some of it does still work, but conservation of mass be damned. Same with conservation of energy.
“... I suppose there is a little something. A dimensional fissure to be exact.” I just admitted. I had full permission to talk about these things with Lady Janina, so I would.
“Dimensional Fissure? Weren’t those dealt with by the Hero? I believe he fixed the problem.” Lady Janina asked.
“Well yes, but also no. He basically redid the entire dimensional barrier, but it is deteriorating again, so dimensional fissures are beginning to pop up. The Goddess is sending me on missions to close them.”
“Can you do something like that?”
“No, I can’t. Exodia can.”
“Exodia was..?”
“The Golden Giant.” Agunan was the one to answer. He didn’t know many of my cards by name, but he did know the Divine monsters, as well as my strongest dragons. And while Exodia might not be a Divine-attribute, I do count it as a Divine monster.
“I see. Interesting… I’d like to see that. Maybe I should come as well.” Lady Janina said.
“Sadly I already submitted a flight plan and it is just for Alice and I. Also, Gradius can’t fit three people, only two.”
“Then you can just take my dragon avatar into your Storage, and bring it out when we are there. Then I’ll transfer myself into it.”
“... there is also a chance that your avatar will be destroyed. The Fissures usually poop out an SS-rank monster. Based on the two times I’ve dealt with a Dimensional Fissure.” I know the real Lady Janina could easily handle something like that, but the dragon avatar does limit her power a lot, so it really could get destroyed.
“I see. Well, I’m sure you can keep me safe.” Lady Janina said.
“... I’d prefer to not have to do that.”
“I can also bring my real body in, if that is better.”
“Please don’t. We will already cause mass panic. We don’t need a divine dragon adding to it.”
“A shame. I suppose humanoids are still not ready to gaze at my beauty.”
“I think the bigger problem is that you are massive and terrifying. They would only realize your beauty and grace afterwards.” I pointed out.
For me, Lady Janina was never really terrifying. Well, maybe a little as she was making my Sacred Beasts look like unclassed babies.
“But I think we can bring the dragon avatar with us. Even if it breaks, it won't really matter, right? I can just let you use another one I took from your storage cave.”
“So you agree to take me. That is good. Now, back to training. If you really plan to fight an SS-rank monster, you need to be ready.” Lady Janina said.
Other than my training, I also made sure to get my new workers used to HomeBase. It was something I think is important. And honestly, I think I should reveal Level Up! to at least Einar, Eline and Wilma. Then depending on how they react, maybe the new quartet as well.
But first, I needed to find out if my new workers needed anything, and for that, I had two ideas. One was a box, where they could drop anonymous notes about things we are missing. … the only problem being that only Karl, Molly and Maya knew how to write. Well, of course Alice, Lua and Ria know how to write. Agunan can, but his handwriting is… not that good, and Wilma actually was able to write fine. So I guess it would be faster to say that Einar, Eline and Cina cannot write. But still, a letter box might not be the best.
So instead, I asked them to speak about any problems with Sheou or Tinkhec. Those two would then forward the message to me. That way, they don’t have to directly ask me. But they can, if they feel up to it.
The second thing I tried was having open discussion situations, where any of them could come and talk to me about their problems, but that didn’t work out, as I got nothing during that attempt. That was what lead me to implement the first idea. Wait, how did the first idea come before the second? This makes no sense.
Anyway, I learned of a few problems that way. One, I pay my workers. … really? Of course I pay them. They actually get quite a good salary, as I based it on the salary maids at the Sawyer family home get, and added about 20% extra to it. But the problem wasn’t about the money. Well it is, but in a different way. It was that they had nothing to use it on. There are no stores on HomeBase, and unlike most of us, the workers can’t just leave and go shopping somewhere.
Now there were a few solutions for this problem. The easiest was giving Ria a B.E.S. monster, that she could use to take the workers shopping about once a week. But it did come with the problem that Ria has no System Support, so no mapping. Because of that, developing a map that can be integrated with B.E.S. monsters, as well as Gradius and Victory Viper and all of them became necessary.
At first I thought I could make some sort of compass that always points to HomeBase. That way, you would always get back, no matter how lost you were. But that doesn’t solve the issue of getting to a city, so full mapping would still be necessary. But for that, I’d need some sort of a GPS or other positioning tool, and that wasn’t going to be easy to make. I mean, GPS uses satellites, and I don’t exactly have those. I won’t say I couldn’t make any, because I probably could, but still, too much work for not enough payoff. Well, maybe eventually.
Instead, as a temporary solution, I bought HomeBase above land. … okay, it already was, but it was still hovering over the Ever forest, so basically in no man's land. Now it was quite close to Sawyer city, with permission of course. Even though I feel like Thomas [Earl Sawyer] didn’t really understand what I was asking the permission for.
From here, my workers could use the newly finished teleportation beams to get to the ground, walk for a bit to reach the town, go shopping and return. I did have to make everyone an access ring, which allowed them to return, but other than that, this plan worked out quite well. And the only real problem with the rings was that they could get stolen, and as they don’t have an owner identifying feature, anyone could actually use them. And no, they cannot bring anyone but the owner to HomeBase. I made sure of that. The ones Alice, Lua and Ria have can though. They have the strength to fight off any would be invaders.
But still. Maybe I should look into getting a store to open at HomeBase. With my cards, I can give someone a skill like Inventory, then give them a ship like Gradius or one of the B.E.S. ships, have them go around places purchasing stuff, and bringing it back here and selling it to my workers. Sure at the moment it would be a lot of work for not a lot of pay, but if we can really make HomeBase as large as it can be, we might eventually have hundreds of people living here. And at that point, the store might actually turn a good profit. And until HomeBase reaches that point, I can just pay a salary to the person running the store. Actually, that might be better. That way, I ‘own’ the store, but someone else just runs the day-to-day operations. Just have to find someone willing to do that.
Maybe I should also look into opening up services. Like a tailor, a barber/hair salon, maybe even a full beauty salon, a massage service and so on. I have the space for a lot of those already, like the spa area has massage tables and things like that, but those area’s don’t have workers yet.
… but then again, I feel like those services should be advantages of the job, not paid services. Well, maybe like once a week free massage, but the others they’d have to pay for. That might work out for the best. I do want my employees to look their best after all.
Yeah. That is what I’ll do. At least that is the plan.
“Wilma, could you show me your status?” I asked. “This isn’t an order or anything, and you can refuse.” I added. “I would just like you to do so, if that is fine.”
I had requested that Wilma visit me in my ‘office’, aka. the Citadel core room. I had turned it into somewhat of an office, while it really was still the main control room for everything that happened above ground on HomeBase. Everything in the dungeon part was mostly controlled through the True Core at the bottom of it, though I could do it remotely as well.
Anyway, back to Wilma. I asked her here, because out of everyone, she is the one I’d trust to keep Level Up! a secret the most. She is the one I’ve had for the longest, and unlike Einar and Eline, she isn’t a child.
“... My Lord, have I done something to disappoint you?” Wilma asked.
“No, you have not.” I told Wilma. “Your work has been great and I wish for it to be better. And I could help you in that, but only if I can see your status.”
“... so you aren’t planning on getting rid of me, even though I only work in the workshop? And even though Karl is more experienced than I am?” Wilma asked.
“Why would I? Just because Karl came in, I have no reason to kick you out. You two should work together. That way I get the best results. There are things just one smith can’t make, right?”
“... so my performance has been satisfactory?”
“Yes, it has.”
“Even though you barely send any work to me?”
“Well, I don’t have any jobs for the workshop at this moment, so sadly yes. But everything you have made, like the letter boxes, have been wonderful.” I told her my honest opinion of her work. “But I can help you make something even better. If you show me your status.”
“... but how? I don’t really get what my status has to do with what I make.”
“I can’t explain it to you, unless you agree to show me your status.” I told her. “But if you are willing to share it with me, I can make anything you want come true. Whatever dreams you have, whatever ambitions you hold. All of them can be within your grasp, if you trust me.”
“So what is it that you want to do?” I asked. “Do you want to work by yourself to accomplish your dreams? Or will you let others help you accomplish them?”
“... I … I … ” Wilma struggled to answer.
“You don’t know, do you?” I asked. “I can understand that. There is a lot you won’t understand. You don’t have to understand. I don't even understand a ton of things.”
I waited a while, but Wilma still didn’t seem to get her thoughts straight, so instead I decided to give her more time.
“It doesn’t have to be today. The offer is open. But if you do want to explore your full potential, just ask me. This isn’t just a one time offer. Take your time, and think it over. You may leave when you want.” I told her, to designate that the conversation was both still open if she wanted to keep going, or she could leave if she needed more time to think.
“... thank you. I will... think about it.” Wilma said quietly, before she left the room.
Well, it didn’t go quite as planned, but at least I gave the offer to Wilma. Not everyone can just jump into things, like I often do.
And even if she never agrees, I can always offer this service to the others. I feel like at least Einar and Eline will agree. But they will have to wait until I deal with the upcoming dimensional fissure.
“Something troubling you?” Lady Ami Janina asked me. It was two days before we would travel to take care of the fissure, and I was currently training my draconic skills with Lady Janina and Agunan.
Oh, also, you might remember from that time I ‘cheated’ my skills that Lady Janina had sent Agunan away on some mission. Apparently Lady Janina had asked Agunan to go get her some more fashionable clothing, as the closets in her room were now completely filled with clothing. I don’t know where they got the money or where Agunan shopped, but it also isn’t my problem.
When I asked Lady Janina why she would need something else, as the dragon avatars can materialize clothing, she explained that it can only materialize that one outfit, so if she wanted anything else, she would have to buy them and change her avatar doll into them.
But when I use avatar dolls they swap clothing based on the card in the doll. This part got explained by the fact that the clothing generated by the avatar depends on the soul. In short, the earlier explanation was an oversimplification, as it is possible for Lady Janina to change her clothes, but the clothes reflect her soul, so she would have to change the way she sees herself for her dragon avatar’s clothes to change.
I do find it interesting that I can swap my Factory clothes however I want. I always assumed the dragon avatars were similar to Factory avatars, but they really must not be. Well, I guess Different Dimension Factory is basically an imaginary place, so it doesn’t have to follow the rules of this world. Conservation of mass be damned.
… actually, because of magic, mana, miasma and all that BS, this world really doesn’t give a shit about conservation of mass anyway. So I can’t really use Earth logic in this world. Well, some of it does still work, but conservation of mass be damned. Same with conservation of energy.
“... I suppose there is a little something. A dimensional fissure to be exact.” I just admitted. I had full permission to talk about these things with Lady Janina, so I would.
“Dimensional Fissure? Weren’t those dealt with by the Hero? I believe he fixed the problem.” Lady Janina asked.
“Well yes, but also no. He basically redid the entire dimensional barrier, but it is deteriorating again, so dimensional fissures are beginning to pop up. The Goddess is sending me on missions to close them.”
“Can you do something like that?”
“No, I can’t. Exodia can.”
“Exodia was..?”
“The Golden Giant.” Agunan was the one to answer. He didn’t know many of my cards by name, but he did know the Divine monsters, as well as my strongest dragons. And while Exodia might not be a Divine-attribute, I do count it as a Divine monster.
“I see. Interesting… I’d like to see that. Maybe I should come as well.” Lady Janina said.
“Sadly I already submitted a flight plan and it is just for Alice and I. Also, Gradius can’t fit three people, only two.”
“Then you can just take my dragon avatar into your Storage, and bring it out when we are there. Then I’ll transfer myself into it.”
“... there is also a chance that your avatar will be destroyed. The Fissures usually poop out an SS-rank monster. Based on the two times I’ve dealt with a Dimensional Fissure.” I know the real Lady Janina could easily handle something like that, but the dragon avatar does limit her power a lot, so it really could get destroyed.
“I see. Well, I’m sure you can keep me safe.” Lady Janina said.
“... I’d prefer to not have to do that.”
“I can also bring my real body in, if that is better.”
“Please don’t. We will already cause mass panic. We don’t need a divine dragon adding to it.”
“A shame. I suppose humanoids are still not ready to gaze at my beauty.”
“I think the bigger problem is that you are massive and terrifying. They would only realize your beauty and grace afterwards.” I pointed out.
For me, Lady Janina was never really terrifying. Well, maybe a little as she was making my Sacred Beasts look like unclassed babies.
“But I think we can bring the dragon avatar with us. Even if it breaks, it won't really matter, right? I can just let you use another one I took from your storage cave.”
“So you agree to take me. That is good. Now, back to training. If you really plan to fight an SS-rank monster, you need to be ready.” Lady Janina said.
Other than my training, I also made sure to get my new workers used to HomeBase. It was something I think is important. And honestly, I think I should reveal Level Up! to at least Einar, Eline and Wilma. Then depending on how they react, maybe the new quartet as well.
But first, I needed to find out if my new workers needed anything, and for that, I had two ideas. One was a box, where they could drop anonymous notes about things we are missing. … the only problem being that only Karl, Molly and Maya knew how to write. Well, of course Alice, Lua and Ria know how to write. Agunan can, but his handwriting is… not that good, and Wilma actually was able to write fine. So I guess it would be faster to say that Einar, Eline and Cina cannot write. But still, a letter box might not be the best.
So instead, I asked them to speak about any problems with Sheou or Tinkhec. Those two would then forward the message to me. That way, they don’t have to directly ask me. But they can, if they feel up to it.
The second thing I tried was having open discussion situations, where any of them could come and talk to me about their problems, but that didn’t work out, as I got nothing during that attempt. That was what lead me to implement the first idea. Wait, how did the first idea come before the second? This makes no sense.
Anyway, I learned of a few problems that way. One, I pay my workers. … really? Of course I pay them. They actually get quite a good salary, as I based it on the salary maids at the Sawyer family home get, and added about 20% extra to it. But the problem wasn’t about the money. Well it is, but in a different way. It was that they had nothing to use it on. There are no stores on HomeBase, and unlike most of us, the workers can’t just leave and go shopping somewhere.
Now there were a few solutions for this problem. The easiest was giving Ria a B.E.S. monster, that she could use to take the workers shopping about once a week. But it did come with the problem that Ria has no System Support, so no mapping. Because of that, developing a map that can be integrated with B.E.S. monsters, as well as Gradius and Victory Viper and all of them became necessary.
At first I thought I could make some sort of compass that always points to HomeBase. That way, you would always get back, no matter how lost you were. But that doesn’t solve the issue of getting to a city, so full mapping would still be necessary. But for that, I’d need some sort of a GPS or other positioning tool, and that wasn’t going to be easy to make. I mean, GPS uses satellites, and I don’t exactly have those. I won’t say I couldn’t make any, because I probably could, but still, too much work for not enough payoff. Well, maybe eventually.
Instead, as a temporary solution, I bought HomeBase above land. … okay, it already was, but it was still hovering over the Ever forest, so basically in no man's land. Now it was quite close to Sawyer city, with permission of course. Even though I feel like Thomas [Earl Sawyer] didn’t really understand what I was asking the permission for.
From here, my workers could use the newly finished teleportation beams to get to the ground, walk for a bit to reach the town, go shopping and return. I did have to make everyone an access ring, which allowed them to return, but other than that, this plan worked out quite well. And the only real problem with the rings was that they could get stolen, and as they don’t have an owner identifying feature, anyone could actually use them. And no, they cannot bring anyone but the owner to HomeBase. I made sure of that. The ones Alice, Lua and Ria have can though. They have the strength to fight off any would be invaders.
But still. Maybe I should look into getting a store to open at HomeBase. With my cards, I can give someone a skill like Inventory, then give them a ship like Gradius or one of the B.E.S. ships, have them go around places purchasing stuff, and bringing it back here and selling it to my workers. Sure at the moment it would be a lot of work for not a lot of pay, but if we can really make HomeBase as large as it can be, we might eventually have hundreds of people living here. And at that point, the store might actually turn a good profit. And until HomeBase reaches that point, I can just pay a salary to the person running the store. Actually, that might be better. That way, I ‘own’ the store, but someone else just runs the day-to-day operations. Just have to find someone willing to do that.
Maybe I should also look into opening up services. Like a tailor, a barber/hair salon, maybe even a full beauty salon, a massage service and so on. I have the space for a lot of those already, like the spa area has massage tables and things like that, but those area’s don’t have workers yet.
… but then again, I feel like those services should be advantages of the job, not paid services. Well, maybe like once a week free massage, but the others they’d have to pay for. That might work out for the best. I do want my employees to look their best after all.
Yeah. That is what I’ll do. At least that is the plan.
“Wilma, could you show me your status?” I asked. “This isn’t an order or anything, and you can refuse.” I added. “I would just like you to do so, if that is fine.”
I had requested that Wilma visit me in my ‘office’, aka. the Citadel core room. I had turned it into somewhat of an office, while it really was still the main control room for everything that happened above ground on HomeBase. Everything in the dungeon part was mostly controlled through the True Core at the bottom of it, though I could do it remotely as well.
Anyway, back to Wilma. I asked her here, because out of everyone, she is the one I’d trust to keep Level Up! a secret the most. She is the one I’ve had for the longest, and unlike Einar and Eline, she isn’t a child.
“... My Lord, have I done something to disappoint you?” Wilma asked.
“No, you have not.” I told Wilma. “Your work has been great and I wish for it to be better. And I could help you in that, but only if I can see your status.”
“... so you aren’t planning on getting rid of me, even though I only work in the workshop? And even though Karl is more experienced than I am?” Wilma asked.
“Why would I? Just because Karl came in, I have no reason to kick you out. You two should work together. That way I get the best results. There are things just one smith can’t make, right?”
“... so my performance has been satisfactory?”
“Yes, it has.”
“Even though you barely send any work to me?”
“Well, I don’t have any jobs for the workshop at this moment, so sadly yes. But everything you have made, like the letter boxes, have been wonderful.” I told her my honest opinion of her work. “But I can help you make something even better. If you show me your status.”
“... but how? I don’t really get what my status has to do with what I make.”
“I can’t explain it to you, unless you agree to show me your status.” I told her. “But if you are willing to share it with me, I can make anything you want come true. Whatever dreams you have, whatever ambitions you hold. All of them can be within your grasp, if you trust me.”
“So what is it that you want to do?” I asked. “Do you want to work by yourself to accomplish your dreams? Or will you let others help you accomplish them?”
“... I … I … ” Wilma struggled to answer.
“You don’t know, do you?” I asked. “I can understand that. There is a lot you won’t understand. You don’t have to understand. I don't even understand a ton of things.”
I waited a while, but Wilma still didn’t seem to get her thoughts straight, so instead I decided to give her more time.
“It doesn’t have to be today. The offer is open. But if you do want to explore your full potential, just ask me. This isn’t just a one time offer. Take your time, and think it over. You may leave when you want.” I told her, to designate that the conversation was both still open if she wanted to keep going, or she could leave if she needed more time to think.
“... thank you. I will... think about it.” Wilma said quietly, before she left the room.
Well, it didn’t go quite as planned, but at least I gave the offer to Wilma. Not everyone can just jump into things, like I often do.
And even if she never agrees, I can always offer this service to the others. I feel like at least Einar and Eline will agree. But they will have to wait until I deal with the upcoming dimensional fissure.
