Reborn With A Technology System In A Fantasy World-Chapter 247: Meeting Mex (2)

Adrian’s question made Mex pause, a look of genuine surprise on his face. He was now more sure than ever that something was fundamentally different, almost wrong, with Adrian and his people. "You... you don’t know what Ascension is?"

He still decided to explain the most basic fact of life in the Nexus. "Most races are able to use their own unique powers and abilities. But that’s not what’s special. The ability to improve that power, to grow stronger beyond your natural limits... that is Ascension. It’s the one thing most races in the Slums is chasing."

He used his own people as an example. "We Normat are known to be very fast by nature. It’s our racial trait. The Douts are known for their incredible vision. The Jirads, for their brute strength. But these abilities are all natural to us, meaning we can’t improve them past what we’re born with. We’re... stuck. Because we don’t know how to Ascend." He gestured vaguely to the other platforms. "The other races have similar problems."

Everything made sense to Adrian. He had been looking at the problem all wrong. He had been comparing his people’s power to the galactic scale, where they were weak.

But here, their ability to cultivate was the very definition of a higher state of being. It made him wonder if that meant the Sparkborns were, by the standards of this place, already Ascended.

Most of them were all able to cultivate mana and get stronger, after all. Unfortunately, he could already tell that the ambient mana here was almost the same as it was on Thanad, so his existing Transcendents wouldn’t be able to elevate their abilities like before.

"Uh..." Mex’s voice cut through his thoughts. "Now that I’ve told you everything you wanted to know... it’s your turn. What’s the deal with you Sparkborns?"

Adrian gave a slight, almost imperceptible nod. A deal was a deal. "There is nothing too special about us," he began, crafting his narrative carefully. "The Sparkborns are made up of three distinct races: the Dwarves, the Elves, and the Humans, which I belong to. We all share a common ancestry, so we are like a scattered family, now reunited."

"And your abilities?" Mex pressed.

"As for our abilities, some of us are able to use the world’s energy, what we call mana, for either strengthening our bodies/weapons or for casting magic."

A soft gasp escaped Mex’s lips. "Wow," he breathed. "You’re able to use mana? To grow stronger? Then... your race is an Ascended race?"

Adrian was surprised by his reaction. "Is that so rare? Are we among the few?"

Mex let out a short, nervous laugh. "Nah. It’s a pretty common ability to use mana in the Galaxy. Even in the Slums, there’s a race that lives in Slum I that is capable of it. But to have a newly arrived race already possess the ability... that’s unheard of."

"Oh, okay." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"You’re not done yet," Mex insisted. "Where did you come from? How did you get here?"

Adrian looked at his eager face. A familiar paranoia told him to hold back the full truth. He kept it vague. "About that... we come from a very distant, isolated place called Thanad. Our case for being brought to the Nexus is a special one. We were... assigned to live here."

"Hmm," Mex hummed, clearly not convinced by Adrian’s evasive answer. He opened his mouth to probe for more, to ask what could be so "special" about their case.

"You have more questions for me," Adrian interrupted smoothly, turning the tables. "But I still have questions for you. You said the Grak evolve by consuming beasts, but there are none here... I need to know the power dynamics of this sector."

Mex was about to protest, but Adrian continued. "You want to know my story. I want to know yours. How about we trade, question for question?"

Mex thought about it with a shrewd look in his eyes. He had never met anyone so... interesting. He wanted to know more. "Deal," he finally agreed.

For the next several minutes, Adrian and Mex shared knowledge in the empty Mall.

Adrian learned the basics of their lifestyle: the daily routines, the communal sharing of resources, the simple forms of entertainment they had developed over generations of living in the Slums.

He, in turn, shared a carefully curated version of their own story, speaking of the three great races of Thanad and their long, separate histories, making sure to withhold any sensitive information like the Quarantine or the Ven Key.

One detail that stood out to Adrian was their absolute dependence on food for sustenance.

Unlike him and the other Transcendents, who could subsist on pure mana for extended periods, the other races of the Nexus seemed to rely entirely on caloric intake.

This made him remember the taste of the nutritional pack he had purchased. It was one of the worst thing he had consumed, yet they all enjoyed it because it was all they could afford.

By the time they were both done with their exchange, Adrian was satisfied with all the invaluable ground-level intelligence he had obtained.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Adrian," Mex said with a friendly smile. "It’s... nice to talk to someone new. I’ll be going now. Duty calls!"

"Likewise, Mex," Adrian replied with a nod. "Until next time."

As Mex ran off, , Adrian remained in the silent mall, his mind already racing, processing the new information and formulating a plan.

It was about time he carried on with Mara’s brilliant idea. Their plan was simple, but its potential was enormous. They would cultivate the natural foods of their homeworld and sell them to the inhabitants of the Slums at prices cheaper than the "real food" offered by the Council.

But what made the plan even better was the second phase. He knew that most of the slum-dwellers, having subsisted on ready-to-eat nutritional packs for generations, had no concept of preparing their own food.

He would introduce them to the art of cooking. This would, in turn, create a massive, untapped demand for his Heaters and Coolers.

He’d be killing two birds with one stone: solving the trap of the nutritional packs while simultaneously creating a new market for his Magi-Tech.

There were, of course, two immediate problems. His stockpile of magic crystals was severely limited, so sooner or later, he’d have to develop a new, more efficient variant of the two inventions that didn’t rely on that resource. But for now, he decided he would rely on what he had.

’Food production is the major goal,’ he thought with clear priority.

He first approached the Council Commissary interface, the same one he had purchased the packs from. Opening his PAD, Adrian navigated to his balance.

<Credits: 63,490 GC>

’It’s quite the sum,’ Adrian thought. ’Unfortunately, it’s not mine.’

Approaching the console, he began a bulk order. Following a promise he had made to the people, he ordered 6,342 brand-new PADs, enough to give one to every single citizen of his nation.

Accepting the receipt for the massive order, Adrian placed it in his pocket. He could have easily decided to tax everyone their starting 100 credits.

Even five percent of each person’s balance would have given him a significant amount of starting capital.

But Adrian wasn’t that petty. It was their money, their one small piece of agency in this new world, and they deserved to use it themselves.

All hope wasn’t lost for him, however. He remembered a key piece of information he had learned from the info-packet.

As the registered leader of a new civilization, he had the right to apply for a one-time "Civilization Development Loan."

He found the application in his PAD’s financial section and began to fill it out. The terms and conditions were laid out plainly.

<Galactic Concordat - Civilization Development Loan>

<Applicant: Sparkborns (Designation: Slums II)

<Maximum Allotment for Tier-0 Civilization: 100,000 GC>

<Interest Rate: 20% per month (Compounded)>

<Repayment Duration: 3 months>

<Collateral & Enforcement: In the event of default, all registered assets of the ’Sparkborn’ civilization, including but not limited to intellectual property, physical goods, and personnel, will be subject to immediate seizure by the Galactic Concordat. The civilization’s registered leader will be held personally liable and subject to punitive reassignment to a high-risk labor sector.>

The terms were predatory, a loan shark’s contract on a cosmic scale. Failure didn’t just mean bankruptcy; it meant the enslavement of his entire people.

But Adrian didn’t hesitate. He saw not the risk, but the opportunity. He was absolutely confident that his plans would generate far more than the 172,800 credits he would need to repay.

He requested the maximum amount.

[Confirm Loan Request: 100,000 GC]

[Yes/No]

[Yes]

[Loan Approved. 100,000 GC has been transferred to your account.]

He checked the balance again.

<Credits: 100,070 GC>.

It was a fortune.

A grim smile touched Adrian’s lips as he turned and walked back towards the Transit Hub.

"Let’s see what this can do about our food problem."