Heading back to his own room as he had nothing else to deal with at the moment, everything going according to plan, he kept the Proteus status open in front of his eyes, hoping for the gate to simply disappear from the planet.
Staying quiet for two hours, simply a growing sense of anxiety in his stomach, he finally released a breath of relief as he saw the gate going from a level four gate to a level three gate.
"It has started." He muttered as he closed his eyes, as if he could see what was happening on the other side.
—
POV - Frank Butler
"Hit faster and harder!" Commanded the man in his late twenties as he hit the gate's slowly revolving energy as hard as he could, making some sort of ore from the portal fall from it onto the ground, any energy in it dispersing as the ore lost its connection to the portal.
A portal's energy always revolved around it, protecting it from the outside elements and attacks from others. Yet, when the attacks reached a certain threshold, the portal frame would start receiving damage, causing it to regress bit by bit until eventually nothing remained, the connection with the space wanderer broken.
"We're trying." Roared Bob, his neck bulging as veins popped everywhere on his body, a show of force like no other as he struck the portal relentlessly.
Hitting and hitting again, the portal continuously taking damage, not letting it repair itself, a large part of the frame soon toppled over before scattering in some mist.
"Alright, the gate went down from level four, continue like that!" He exclaimed with joy as the group redoubled their efforts, all to speed up the destruction process and prevent any chance for defenders to come through.
—
POV - Helen Slater
"One of my portals is getting attacked." Exclaimed the woman who looked like she had passed through her centenary birthday.
"Which one?" Asked a man, his brows furrowed as if ideas kept bumping in his mind. Bad news had constantly reached him recently and this one touched directly at the background of their guild.
"The gate in Proteus." She said with some relief in her eyes as it wasn't as bad as she had originally thought. This gate was one she didn't really mind losing since few resources remained on this planet and she had only kept it for new recruits of their guild.
"Even if we wanted to send some people to protect the gate, the gate would lower quite a few levels before we could send support. Abandon it." He directly said as while it wasn't his wish, the costs outweigh the benefits. After all, he didn't know who the attackers were nor their strength.
He had already plenty to care for with the war going on in between both kingdoms.
"Damn it. That damn war, we weren't even part of the conflict and they dragged us into it." Said the man with gritted teeth, as he was continuously receiving news of the death of many of his guild members. The war which they had been forcefully drafted into by the noble who ruled this territory was gradually eroding his forces.
"Keep searching for new coordinates. We have already lost too much. If it continues this way, you will transfer some coordinates to the noble's space wanderer in exchange for pulling out of this war." He said with gritted teeth as he knew that the noble would want at least a tier five planet with tier five ressources before even agreeing to the deal. Unfortunately, they only had two such planets and he wasn't willing to lose them.
"Alright." She nodded despite the growing sense of weakness that continued to eat at her. After all, she wasn't young anymore and despite the increase in her longevity after improving her professional level, she was still reaching her limit.
—
POV - Original
"Finally down to level two." Grinned Lux, a smile appearing on his face as he was getting closer and closer from the full destruction of the gate and full control over it.
Yet, as time passed, the growing sense of urgentness kept growing as he knew that the longer they took, the more chance they would have to send reinforcements.
With the hours going on, the destruction of the portal continued without stopping, the gate gradually lowered to level one and finally completely disappeared from the panel.
Releasing a sigh of relief he didn't know he had kept inside, all of his nerves finally calmed down as he crashed down on his bed, nervous sweat still present on his brows as he finally confirmed that he was the last gate owner on this celestial body.
"Now that this possible problem is solved, I'll make sure that the group is alright and then I'll continue growing stronger." He decided as he walked back down the stairs and accompanied the girls for a while, helping with the cashier work while thinking of new items he could add to his shop to improve it.
Browsing his system as he had a bit of loose cash which he would use to improve the basics of the shop, he finalized on four upgrades which would only cost him a total of 466 points or 466,000 Bym. Considering he still had 156 points remaining, it really wouldn't cost him much.
"How was the battle?" He asked as he saw his six guards coming back out of the portal.
"Pretty good. No reinforcement appeared and we managed to completely destroy the gate." He said with a smile as it was an easy but also extremely tense battle to have fought.
"Perfect." He nodded his head as he didn't intend to reward them as it was part of their job as the forces of the shop and they received a daily salary for any of their expenses and any cultivation resources necessary.
Going back upstairs as the group went back to their apartments to take a shower after the battle which while safe completely drenched them in sweat, Lux finally sat down in his room.
"Now, it's time to master that second profession." He decided as he had pushed it back long enough, now he would properly inscribe the druid professional pattern in order to have some fighting capacity outside of his space wanderer's profession.
With deep concentration, he started his training, continuing until finally, he was interrupted in the middle of the night.
[Do you wish to exchange Bym for Credits?]
"Yes, please exchange 4M Bym into credits." Said Lux as the system proceeded to make the exchange.
[Exchange completed. Current balance: 4156]
"Please change the ground floor's wood into a proper one." He started as he noticed fifty credits disappearing from his balance. He had already selected the proper colors beforehand.
"Next change the wall woods and add paint to the whole ground floor. Finally, add a soundproofing effect to the store." He commanded before turning to the next step.
"Change the counter, add tables and two information devices." Completed Lux as he finally looked at his remaining credits.
Credit balance: 3066
[Renovation will take three hours, please wait.]
With this notification, he stopped bothering about the system as he turned straight back at the work of engraving his pattern, he was almost done and perhaps a try or two would make it stick properly.
Starting his professional engraving process, he engraved one line after another, full of concentration and by the time the morning light shone in his bedroom, his second core had changed from a transparent color to a deep green which reminded him of nature.
"Yeah, that profession will do." He said with a grin as he already had plenty of skills he wanted to learn, master and use.
Walking downstairs into the hall, he looked at the change with a smile. The floor had changed into deep brown color laminates while the walls had changed into a lighter tone of the same type of wood. With pure black transition strips, the shop showed a slight air of elegance yet in a minimalistic style which went well with the type of shop he hoped to create.
With a nod, Lux could say that the day started well.
Looking at the new counter which was now of a proper pure white color which contrasted well with the floor and the tables spread across the side of the halls to allow the customers to sit for lunch or to wait for their teammates, he finally glanced at the two information devices.
The devices which really looked like an ATM, he saw that it was pretty easy to use. He only had to press on the touch screen, select the celestial body he desired and buy the information he wished by selecting it. The way to pay was easy as well, either place money in the slot or pay by card which was almost always used by the explorers. Finally, the machine had a hiding function in that only the buyer could see the information.
How did it work? Lux had no idea, he figured some profession, perhaps an alchemist of some kind or perhaps a mechanical profession had the ability to create such devices which were taken by the system.