Dark Magus Returns

After the battle with the Behemoth Clan was over, the town of Flendon was going through a change. For one, they were more confident about themselves. Having survived against the strongest in the Behemoth Clan, they no longer felt like their lives were threatened.

Now, they were filled with energy even more so than before when the place was in a sorry state. On top of this, a lot of the town was destroyed due to the battle Raze had with one of the pillars and the fighting that had occurred on the edge of the town.

Yet, it didn't bother them too much anyway. For one, the houses were already a mess in the first place, and in a lot of cases, it was going to be easier to rebuild than repair.

With this newfound vigor, all they needed to get were supplies to work with and food. This wasn't too much of an issue either.

Due to the report that had come in about the Crimson Crane besting the Behemoth Clan, a lot of credit was put towards the Alchemist and his pills. Fixteen used this to his advantage to prop up the prices even higher.

Using these funds, they could purchase more supplies than before, and if anything, their finances might never have to be a worry at this rate. They would soon learn that although the pills had a great effect, the battle wasn't down to the pills.

What had also occurred were requests. Fixteen had received a number of messages from different clans asking for Raze to build them weapons as well. Some were paying quite a high amount.

In this case, Fixteen honestly thought the clans were undervaluing the weapons' strength with their offers. This might have been because they were unable to see the effects of the weapons themselves; most clans just wanted to test to see if they were of good quality.

So Fixteen rejected them all, and Raze had stated that he wouldn't be making weapons for them anyway. The weapons would be for his group and the Crimson Crane's trump card against the other clans, while the pills would be what they would make for income.

Another phenomenon that had occurred was clans in the area, as well as the local kingdoms, donating supplies to the town now as well.

Just now, Fixteen had returned to the Townhall that was getting an upgrade in materials and size, and he had found several items stationed in the front, including timber and food supplies.

"This is from the Rulga Kingdom, sir," one of the workers claimed.

"I see. We shall send them our thanks and tell the mayor to make a note of all of these gifts; I want to know who's paying the most attention to us," Fixteen replied.

The gifts from the kingdoms and empires were them trying to gain favor with the Clan. Knowing that a clan now had strength to go against the Behemoth Clan, who wouldn't want them on their good side?

As for the gifts from other clans, when heading inside, Fixteen had opened up a recent large crate; there were crafting materials as well as power stones inside, along with a little note.

"Good job in wearing the Behemoth Clan; someone had to put them in their place one day," the note read.

Most of the messages from the clans were along these lines. It appeared that many had a dislike for the clan and were just sending thanks for winning a battle against them. Typical response from those from the Demonic Clans.

Right now, the Crimson Crane was also spending time with the citizens themselves. There was an inflow of new citizens as well as old ones that had left the town before, thinking it was a safer place to be.

The Crimson Crane had also made sure to reward those that took part in the battle with coin and some of the treasures that they were all receiving. This just encouraged more to take up arms next time and wanderers like themselves to perhaps be hired in the future if need be for protecting the place.

Rather than training though, most efforts were going into rebuilding the city, making it more functional, sturdy, and easier to defend compared to before.

"Hey, I'm a little worried with all this work we're doing that Sha Mo is going to come and just destroy everything again," Kizer said. "Isn't he going to be extremely pissed now that this has happened?"

"Annoyed, yes," Reno replied as he applied some medical herbs and gave a red pill to one of the citizens who had a little accident during repairs. "However, Sha Mo won't be able to attack."

"Everyone in the Demonic Faction will now be concerned with one thing, and that's the upcoming tournament."

"You're right," the citizen said, bowing to thank Reno. "A member of the Behemoth Clan is even taking part, and no one dares to cause trouble within the faction while at any time we could have a war with the other factions at hand."

"Wait, if a war happens now that we're part of the Demonic Faction, will we get dragged into this as well?" Froma asked.

"Right, and if that does happen, then we need to be ready," Alba said. "We have seen what the Dark Magus's weapons can do, Faction, will we get dragged into this as well?" Froma asked.

"Right, and if that does happen, then we need to be ready," Alba but right now, we don't even have supplies ourselves for him to create the best weapons for ourselves."

"Once we're done helping the citizens out, we should try to gather all the materials that are needed to create a weapon for each of us. The upcoming tournament will be a good time as the town will be at its safest."

The others agreed; Alba, Froma, and Lily were the three left that didn't have weapons from the Dark Magus yet.

"Alba, didn't you say something about Raze taking part in the tournament?" Lily asked. "And where even is he right now?"

The town of Flendon had one portal; it was one of the reasons the Flesh Clan had stayed in such a place and one of the ways they still managed to survive. In that very dimension filled with deep jungle and greenery, Raze was currently inside.

He stayed there, sitting on the ground. In front of him, the body of a large beast with small limbs lay dead. In his hand, Raze had a crystal that was glowing; he was absorbing its power into his magic core.

'I have managed to advance my Pagna body to the middle stage, but now, of all things, the knowledge that I already knew my star level has been left behind. I need to increase my star level, while also increasing the different attributes I have.'

'Hopefully, if I come across different beasts, I'll also be able to increase my attributes and gain new affinities with different types of magic, such as earth and water. It will help the town out well.'

There was also another reason Raze was in here; flicking his hand, worn-out scrolls as well as books were placed in front of him.

'I will also use this time to learn as much Dark Magic as I can. I will be ready for anything that happens in this tournament, and I will make sure to bring back Safa and the others no matter what; that is the decision I have made.'