Chapter 312 - 307: The Advent of the Child of Destiny (2)

Chapter 312: Chapter 307: The Advent of the Child of Destiny (2)

The first thing he saw was a hand, then a body, a head, and finally the man’s entire form.

Hama Pi stepped out of the mirror.

He came face-to-face with a pair of murky eyes.

He froze for a moment, then glanced back at the mirror, which had now transformed into the Magic Mirror. He picked it up, pulled aside his silk lining and velvet outer coat, and tucked it into an inside pocket of his Chamber of Commerce vest.

"No, please, sir! That’s the only thing I have of any value! I’m begging you, don’t take it!"

The shrill sound of the native Akenis language rang out, a tongue Hama Pi hadn’t heard in a long time.

Stone houses like this were a common sight in some Akenis villages, and it partly overlapped with the vague memories of his own childhood.

"I will pay you with something of equal value. What do you need? Food? Gemstones?"

"Food!! I need food!!"

The old Akenis woman immediately changed her tune.

His vest pocket had limited space, so he didn’t keep much food—an easily obtainable resource—inside. Hama Pi took out the few packets of compressed biscuits he had stored there.

The Akenis woman was no stranger to the concept of a wrapper. She immediately tore it open and began to chew and swallow frantically.

This was a female. Despite her aged appearance, she wasn’t necessarily older than Hama Pi.

Having returned to Lobelica, the anxiety in his heart gradually faded. He walked out of the stone house, leaped onto the roof in a few bounds, and then jumped again to the highest point in the village.

The entire village unfolded before his eyes. It was vast, but dilapidated, backward, and filthy, with few people and little sign of life.

Occasionally, a bit of laughter could be heard. It meant a family in the village had a child who might possess an aptitude for Magic Power.

But Hama Pi knew that once such children left, even if they survived the brutal competition, they would never return. He himself was one such example.

Even the laughter from those families was rarely out of happiness for the child. Sending such a child to a Chamber of Commerce school could be exchanged for a great deal of wealth.

Hama Pi had never thought about these things before, but now, he found it more and more grotesque.

From this, Hama Pi caught a glimpse of just how miserable the Akenis were—both those who failed to awaken their Magic Power and become merchants, and those who succeeded and became pathetic in their own right.

After a brief moment of reflection and confirming his surroundings were safe, he began the most important test since his return.

The Magic Mirror was by his side, a faint, almost imperceptible thread of power connecting it to him. In his spiritual world, the Floating Dream Worms created a hazy dreamscape.

After concentrating with all his might, Hama Pi finally saw the smiling figure of his Mentor in the dream.

He instantly let out a huge sigh of relief!

This special pair of twin Dream Lizards were not only countless times larger than others of their kind, but their miraculous dream-linking ability was also likely unprecedented.

As long as the Magic Mirror didn’t shatter, sustained by the power of his Demon Eye, Hama Pi’s connection to Earth would not be completely severed by the Power of the World. With his Mentor’s wisdom available for support from time to time, Hama Pi was full of confidence.

For an ordinary Akenis, two high-calorie compressed biscuits were enough to feel full. When she lifted her head, the merchant who had appeared so suddenly was gone, leaving only an exquisite Gemstone ring on the ground.

「...」

Capital of Commerce, Wealth City. The Business Achievement Conference would soon begin.

An Akenis dressed in magnificent, exquisite clothes walked into the Chamber of Commerce Center.

His inner lining was custom-tailored celestial silk, its crystalline luster a product of silkworms fed on magical mulberry trees. His velvet outer coat, interwoven with shimmering gold thread, was the very picture of ostentatious luxury, where a master tailor had fused elegance and extravagance.

Pinned to his chest were multiple brooches encrusted with various Gemstones. His hands were covered in exquisite rings, many of which radiated faint fluctuations of Magic Power.

’Step one: establish your presence. Among your people, the best way to show who you are is to wear your power on your sleeve!’

The lesson from his Mentor’s recent instruction still echoed in his mind.

On Earth, such an outfit could only be described as "blindingly gaudy," but the Akenis ate this stuff up.

At the registration desk of the Chamber of Commerce Center, one could occasionally see merchants rushing back. In a snobbish organization like the Chamber, discordant scenes were inevitable, and Hama Pi heard shouting from inside as soon as he got close.

"Get lost, you bum! Your dues are overdue! Hand over your merchant vest—you’re expelled from the Chamber!"

In a clash of Magic Power, an Akenis Merchant was knocked to the ground by the Chamber’s receptionist.

"Bastard! I already paid my membership fee, and now you’re telling me I’m expelled?!"

"Because you probably won’t be able to afford it next time!"

Two Beast Slave guards, both over two meters tall, stepped forward and forcibly stripped the man of his vest.

Just then, the receptionist spotted Hama Pi. A golden glint flashed in his eyes, and his expression immediately switched to a welcoming smile.

"You must be a distinguished merchant! Welcome back!"

"Heh, I wouldn’t say distinguished, but I have earned a fair bit of wealth. Oh, right. Because of my last business deal, I believe my membership fee is overdue."

"Hahaha, why would you trouble yourself with such a trivial matter? We can’t let something like this get in the way of you making money!"

Upon seeing Hama Pi take out a Magic Energy Crystal, the receptionist’s smile grew so wide he could barely maintain it.

"I think you have a point. In that case, I’ll just pay all my future dues at once. It’ll save me the trouble of forgetting again."

It wasn’t just the receptionist; even the clerk behind the desk was breathing heavily. That one Magic Energy Crystal was enough to pay for ten lifetimes of membership fees.

Such a treasure was immensely useful. No one was ever willing to trade one away, so they were a rare sight even for the Akenis.

"There’s no need for so much, ah, this is too..."

The manager, who practically snatched the Crystal while feigning reluctance, and the pathetic loser on the floor, now reduced to an unaffiliated merchant—both reminded Hama Pi of his former self.

"It’s fine. One of my many business partners owns their own Crystal Ore mine. Things like this aren’t that hard for me to come by. This Crystal should be more than enough to cover this gentleman’s dues as well, right?"

"You are truly generous!"

The receptionist smiled so hard his heart felt like it was spasming. It wasn’t just because of the hefty commission he’d get from this transaction, but also the immense amount of information implied in Hama Pi’s words.

Tossing out a Magic Energy Crystal in one go instantly shot his level and ranking on the roster to the very top. From his attire and demeanor to his vast knowledge and unfathomable wealth, he was without a doubt another rising legend in the world of commerce.

According to the Akenis calendar, he had only been a merchant for just over twenty years, yet he had already achieved extraordinary success.

In his temporary room at the Chamber, a constant stream of Chamber members, drawn by his reputation, came to visit.

Hama Pi received every visiting merchant, regardless of their status or wealth, for a considerable length of time. Those who left often felt they had benefited greatly.

Likewise, Hama Pi never refused a single request for a "donation" made in the Chamber’s name.

For such a big spender, the Chamber naturally wanted to tie him down with shared interests. After he passed all the checks—mind control inspections, racial bloodline verifications, and so on—Hama Pi’s status within the Chamber rose again and again in a short period. Among the Akenis, who equated everything with money, this was perfectly normal.

In the eyes of certain veteran merchants, this too was a transaction—an exchange of money for status. A successful merchant never makes a losing deal.

Honorary Member, Chamber Councilman, Economic Arbitration Adjudicator, Outstanding Merchant of the Century... The accolades piled on one by one. The process of establishing his presence was smooth and easy, yet so pathetic.

In his dreams late at night, his Mentor was still sitting by that same old fireplace. The dim, warm glow of the firewood cast his silhouette, making it seem incomparably tall and grand.

Hama Pi sat across from him, just as he had every time he listened to his teachings.

’Step two: subvert their concepts. The deep-rooted, unhealthy mindset is the crux of the problem. It won’t be easy to break, but you must understand that this sickness of the mind is governed by desire. And desire is a sublimation of emotion. Therefore, the only thing that can counter emotion... is emotion.’

The Mentor’s fingers tapped lightly on the armrest of the sofa.

’The Akenis social system dictates that those at the bottom are weak and short-sighted, while those at the top are irredeemably greedy and rotten to the core. To leverage emotion, your point of entry must be the younger, middle-tier who have awakened their Magic Power.’

"Mentor, which emotion should I leverage?"

"Heh, the easiest emotion to ignite in the young is, of course, ’anger’."

PS: Thursday’s first Chapter.