When Lucius woke up, two days had passed.

His body was still sore, but he had a strange fruity scent on him.

’Potions?’ he realized.

He was covered in potions and seemed to have swallowed some of them.

He was lying in his bed. There was food and other things on the side, but he wasn’t hungry.

He had a slight headache, but he was able to get up without too much trouble. He pushed the food aside and walked downstairs.

Both old men looked at him. "Can you walk?" the innkeeper asked, while old Garen simply went back to focusing on his tools.

Lucius nodded. "It’s not that bad; I could have recovered in a week. But those potions were a big help. Who should I pay?" he asked.

"About that..." The innkeeper began to speak, but old Garen suddenly interrupted him.

"They came by and left this for you, kid. You should take a look at it," he said as he handed him a storage ring.

Lucius nodded. ’Looks like it was old man Garen. I’ll have to pay him back,’ he thought, but since he didn’t know what potions he’d used, he’d leave that for later.

He grabbed the storage ring, which bore the emblem of an upside-down eagle with a sword piercing its neck, where the predominant colors were sky blue and dark gray. It was the emblem of the New Creation Academy.

’It must be the only organization on the entire Island of Civilization that could supply storage rings to every single one of its students, just for enrolling.’

He scanned the inside with his mind and found several items. The uniform, books he would need, and also some badges that would now accompany him during his time there.

’No written exam, just a practical test—as it should be.’ Lucius smiled, knowing he would be admitted with honors, though he didn’t really care.

He just wanted to achieve his goals.

After carefully examining what was inside, he looked at old Garen.

"I’ll need your help from now on. You’ll have a lot of work ahead of you," he said.

Old Garen raised his eyebrows and gave him a sidelong glance. Then he looked away with a faint smile on his lips.

"You’ll have to find a suitable place. I don’t intend to work for someone who can’t provide the basics."

Lucius laughed. "Haha, who do you think I am? Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. If I could have a swordsman to train our men, that would be ideal, but... where could I find one?" He acted strangely, shaking his head.

The innkeeper looked up from his work cleaning glasses. Those words were clearly directed at him.

If anyone asked, it wasn’t a bad idea to work for a man who had just been named a Rising Star by the System. Over the past two days, The Wall had been turned upside down because of him.

Even the major guilds were talking about him!

A new Rising Star who inherits the name of the previous one!

There’s a section of the system where his name appears exclusively!

No matter how foolish someone might be, everyone knows that working for someone like that is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—one that might never come again.

Even working for free could be a good option, because his future connections would surely be valuable. Despite Lucius Asturias’s bad reputation, that title alone could practically reverse it.

He was someone worth betting on.

"I don’t mind working for a Rising Star, even if I don’t get paid right away. However, you’ll have to help me sell this place," replied the innkeeper.

"Sell it?" Lucius stared at him. "Why would you want to sell it?"

The innkeeper shrugged. "Even though it’s a valuable place to me, maintaining it isn’t cheap, and as you can see, it’s tucked away in hidden alleys. No customers come here; nobody even knows this street exists. I can’t get bogged down in something with no future."

Lucius nodded. Although betting on himself isn’t exactly a sure thing, if you look at it from a certain perspective.

He belongs to a powerful family that wants to eliminate him. He knows they won’t sit idly by, knowing that he’s now part of the Academy and that he’s entered with honors. They’ll try to kill him.

That’s why even his own future is uncertain.

’I think he knows. It seems like he’s just looking for an excuse to stop running a ghost inn. Or maybe he just has a lot of faith in me.’ Lucius smiled.

"Well, we can work that out. But you don’t need to sell it," he said.

"Well, I can run both businesses at the same time if the other one doesn’t drain my funds, but..."

"That’s not what I mean," Lucius interrupted, knowing what he was about to say. "I mean we can turn this place into what I have planned. We just need to restructure the building a bit, since the rest is already done. It’s close to the Academy, after all."

The innkeeper frowned slightly. "Do you want to build some kind of business here?" he asked, puzzled.

"Although you could call it that, it’s not entirely accurate. However, the building we’ll leave you with the investment will serve you much better in the future than a small inn tucked away in the far reaches of the Iron Suburbs." Lucius smiled.

The innkeeper nodded. "All right, then. What exactly do you want to do, so I can make sure it doesn’t violate any rules?" he asked cautiously.

"A workshop."

"A workshop?"

"Yes. A workshop." Lucius nodded. "For magical tools."

"!"

"!"

The two older men’s eyes lit up.

A workshop for magical tools!

With Lucius’s ability to recover tools and Old Garen’s newly acquired skill, wouldn’t that be one of the most profitable businesses?

Add to that the fact that the innkeeper can train the recovered tools in the art of the sword, and they can sell them at high prices on the market. Trained and well-maintained tools command sky-high prices.

The innkeeper got excited just thinking about it and nodded quickly. Even old Garen stood up instantly.

"He’ll say yes. When do we start renovating it? Although it’ll probably cost a lot to turn it into a workshop, do you have what it takes?" Old Garen asked enthusiastically. "I’ve got plenty of scrap metal, so I’m sure we’ll have materials to spare."

The innkeeper sighed helplessly, though he agreed. "You have my support. You can call me Kevin." He smiled.

Lucius nodded gratefully. "All right, Kevin. We’ll start once I’ve settled into the Academy. I’ll keep you posted. As for the investment, don’t worry about it—I’ll take care of it."

If he could establish a Tool Workshop with his knowledge, he would not only be able to finance his own growth, but he could also gather contacts and a wealth of information.

It was through a Tool Workshop that Lucius, nicknamed "The Mage," reached the greatest heights.

Now that he can finally start building one, he begins to feel that he is back on the right path.

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