Will of chaos

I was lying on the floor resting with Diana, Ibuki, Karina, Sophia, and Hela lying on the floor covered in sweat just like me.

We were all training in Martial Arts without using any skills, so it was no surprise that in the end, it was just Karina and Diana in the end, Sophia lasted a long time, but the difference in status was too big for her to keep up.

We were training in Lilian's backyard, I thought of that to bring a higher level of difficulty as we were careful not to destroy Lilian's backyard or garden.

The combat was all against all, this helps to train area perception, martial arts, and strategy.

Sophia had an excellent strategy of being on the edge but the status difference left her behind, Ibuki had almost the same problem but Ibuki's biggest problem is that she has no strategy, she fights using only instinct as you would expect of a monster.

"Master, I can't move." (Ibuki)

"Then get some rest, in a few minutes you'll feel better." (I)

"But I'm hungry." (Ibuki)

"I'm getting hungry too." (Sophia)

"I'd like a big piece of meat." (Karina)

"I want a beer..." (Diana)

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In the middle of the afternoon, I was reading a book on Demon magic in the living room of Lilian's mansion when Nira came to see me.

"How are they doing?" (I)

"In three days, they tripled the amount I spent to organize all this." (Nira)

"How are the other traders handling this?" (I)

"They're complaining to the Trading Guild, but there's nothing they can do, Kira and Elsaris are watching from the shadows." (Nira)

"I knew that everyone is very talented in their respective fields, but I didn't expect something like this." (I)

"Their talent is not the only factor, within the Dungeon you provide all kinds of materials, a lot of books from their work areas, and a comfortable environment to do their jobs." (Nira)

"What does this have to do?" (I)

"Normal people would advance their skills in such a dreamy environment, but for the kind of talent these 6 have it's like giving wings to a monster, their skills have been improving over time and that's why I've been selling their products every time for higher values." (Nira)

I think I can understand what she's saying, having someone provide everything you need to do what you love should encourage talented people to go to greater heights in their abilities.

"Any idea who's in front?" (I)

"For now, Leonardo." (Nira)

"Really? I thought Tanya would be in front." (I)

"It seems that some nobles liked Leonardo's art, he sold everything he had, had to close shop early." (Nira)

"I know the rule was to open and close all 6 stores together, but there's no reason to stay in a store without products." (Nira)

"I can make an exception, but he has to have more stuff to sell tomorrow morning or he'll be disqualified." (I)

"He said he has nothing left inside the Dungeon and I think it's almost impossible for him to be able to create more artwork in just one day." (Nira)

"So I think Caryna can get a store to sell her food, but she won't be participating in the competition yet." (I)

"You know this is going to get in trouble, don't you?" (Nira)

"Come on, fame is something every merchant dreams of, right?" (I)

"When you gradually gain fame, you build respect and a strong name." (Nira)

"But an explosion of fame like this only generates distrust and anger from those really influential." (Nira)

"But it will be interesting." (I)

"..." (Nira)

Nira had a worried look before, she knows that even the most honest traders can do shady things out of people's sight when their business is being affected, let alone by people who came out of nowhere.

But my last words seem to have revealed some of what I'm thinking, as her gaze turned sharp as she tried to wrest the truth from my expression.

"What madness are you trying to do, master Zenos?" (Nira)

"I'm not doing anything crazy… I think." (I)

"Let's just say fishing." (I)

"Fishing?" (Nira)

"That's all you're going to get out of me, now if you'll excuse me, I still have a book to finish reading." (I)

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Pov a merchant's:

I am a merchant for 71 years, I made a name for myself and my store, and with time and a lot of effort I built up my store by making deals with many suppliers.

Today I have 8 stores, 5 of which are in this city, each of the 5 stores is something of a different business that are Alchemy, weapons, armor, clothes, food, and jewelry.

I was thinking of moving one of my stores from the mall to the Commerce Guild where the clientele would be more selected, this would increase my profit, I had already closed a store lease deal when the Guild came to me.

I was presented with a proposal to allow another company to use the store I just purchased, I thought about turning it down, but the value they offered was tempting for the short time they asked, so I thought I'd try to negotiate a better proposal like a share of the store's profits during that time, but it didn't work.

I decided to accept the proposal anyway, it was only 7 days and I still had 5 other stores since I hadn't closed the store that I would transfer to the Guild.

Unfortunately, I had made a terrible mistake, during the next 5 days, my top financial clientele disappeared causing my daily income to drop to less than half.

"Did you find out anything about those DAMN stores!?" (I)

"Yes, they all belong to the same company, Merchants of Eclipse." (Secretary)

"I didn't know they were making deals with others, they stole 80% of my business." (I)

"From my research, it appears that all stores are temporary and will be closed in another 2 days." (Secretary)

"2 days is a long time for a merchant, during those 5 days I lost hundreds of gold coins, what I lost cannot be compensated with the amount I gained from lending my store." (I)

I had already tried to send bandits to rob their stores, of course, I knew about the security inside the Guild, but I just needed a quick attack to watch the customers of those stores.

Unfortunately, it seems that they are protected beyond expectation, all the crooks I sent have disappeared since then others do not want to accept the service.