CHAPTER 68: FURNITURE BLITZKRIEG, THE GREEN-EYED USURPER, AND A MEETING OF TWO WORLDS

The crisp morning chill of Crossgard's Upper City carried the raw scent of fallen dew, polished wood, and pine needles drifting from behind the black wall of the ancient forest. The sun slowly rose above the horizon, casting golden, radiant reflections across the richly carved oak facades of the local aristocracy's manors. Walking down the cobbled avenue with my hands shoved deep into the pockets of my black leather coat, I felt a cool, pristine sense of recovery humming through my veins. The first night in our new basalt manor—though spent on trapper blankets directly on the oak floorboards—had granted my nervous system the perfect reset after rendering hundreds of tons of raw materials in 3D. The energy pathways of my soul purred with steady, mathematical stability.

Tucked comfortably beneath my high collar on my pauldron sat little Kaede. The spider's antennae twitched with pure excitement at every new scent of the bustling metropolis.

"Boss, the capital here is insane!" Kaede squeaked in our tactical Polish operational cipher directly into my ear. "No gutters like in Oakhaven. Look at these carriages and wealthy manors. It practically smells like free loot and fat promissory notes!"

"On pure logic, kid, supplies first," I replied with brazen chill, keeping my hands in my pockets. "The fortress stands, but the interior shines with sterile emptiness. Time to establish our own market rules."

I glided past carved fountains and polished marble pedestals with effortless poise. I stopped in front of the most exclusive guild carpentry salon in the Upper City. Above the heavy, brass-bound doors hung an intricately carved sign depicting a gilded oak tree and a saw. Through the large glass display windows, luxurious wardrobes, dressers, and beds gleamed with expensive wax. I pushed the door open with my boot, and the brass bell above the threshold chimed with a soft, ringing tone.

Inside smelled of fresh sawdust, imported oil, and heavy guild pride. Behind the carved mahogany counter stood the master of the carpenters' guild—a burly, moustached man in a velvet doublet who immediately narrowed his eyes in open disdain at the sight of my black coat.

"If you're looking for cheap firewood, youngster, you've got the wrong district," he grunted rudely, not bothering to lift his gaze from his ledgers. "Only the noble houses of the Upper City order here. The prices of our furniture start at several bright silver coins apiece."

I smiled broadly, that annoying, predatory nonchalance creeping onto my face. Instead of engaging in pointless bureaucratic discussions about margins and guild cartels, I reached into my pocket. I pulled out a single hard gold coin from Silas's stash—a heavy, pure coin from our reserve—and tossed it onto the mahogany counter without a word.

CLINK!

The gold struck the wood with a hard, metallic sound, spinning in place and casting bright reflections across the craftsman's notebooks.

A dead silence fell over the carpentry salon.

Standard trade in this world relied on copper and silver; a single pure gold coin represented the annual income of an entire artisan family. The moustached guild master froze mid-step. His analytical merchant mind suffered a monumental lag. His eyes bulged, and his velvet beret slid off his head onto the floor. With trembling fingers, he touched the cold gold, as if fearing the coin might evaporate into thin air.

"Taking this on pure logic, master," I evaluated coldly, leaning my elbow against the counter. "You're going to pack the finest oak beds for the girls, broad wardrobes with iron fittings, a massive dining table for ten, and a set of plush armchairs stuffed with goose down. Three wagons are to head toward the edge of the Upper City before noon, to the black basalt manor near the forest. If the furniture arrives intact, I won't ask for change. Understood?"

"Y-yes... of course, noble sir!" the carpenter stammered, bowing so low his nose nearly brushed the mahogany. "I will personally oversee the transport! The finest journeymen of the guild will load the wagons this very minute!"

"Before noon," I stated shortly, turning on my heel and exiting the salon, leaving the craftsman in a state of pure monetary shock.

The next two hours were dedicated to stocking our base. I passed through the bustling market stalls of the Upper City, purchasing rich supplies of bold, imported spices, sacks of herbal infusions, and large cuts of high-calorie beef and bacon. Mina's culinary hyperfixation required top-tier fuel so that our Master of the Cauldron could regenerate the Vessels of the entire Crew without hindrance.

With several leather bags slung over my shoulder, I finally felt a light hunger. I decided to stop at "The Cracked Horseshoe" tavern—a massive, two-story building at the intersection of the main trade routes. Inside, a dense crowd shouted over mugs of dark ale. I sat comfortably in a quiet, shadowed corner near the bar, ordered a steaming plate of roasted meat with onions, and began slowly chewing my food, scanning the room with my tactical Yomi radar.

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Suddenly, the tavern's ambient chatter was violently shattered by the deafening crash of breaking glass in the middle of the room.

"Look at this, you wretched, primitive trash!" an arrogant voice shrieked. "Kneel before my majesty!"

I shifted my gaze to the center of the hall. Standing there was a young man in a flashy silk doublet. His eyes didn't look quite normal—they glowed with an unnatural, neon-green sheen. My Battle IQ immediately issued a clear verdict: he was a Summoned Hero or an Organic Arrival from Earth who, upon landing in this world, deluded himself into thinking he was a god.

Bright green magnetic sparks crackled around his raised hands, the vibrating air thick with the sharp stench of ozone. Glass goblets along the counter rattled with a high-pitched resonance. Green magnetic sparks crackled around his raised hands, and over a dozen steel forks, knives, and iron mugs floated in the air, spinning in a chaotic magnetic dance. Two tavern guards lay against the wall, clutching their broken arms—their heavy swords had been ripped from their hands and bent into unnatural arcs at the green-eyed boy's feet.

"I am fucking Magneto!" the usurper bellowed, grinning maniacally. "Do you hear me?! Ferrokinesis is divine telekinesis! I can do whatever I want with you!"

A young waitress, terrified by the display, dropped her tray and fled toward the back room.

"Nobody runs from me!" the green-eyed boy screamed, shoving his hand forward.

From the kitchen, a massive steel butcher's cleaver shot out with a fierce whistle—the heavy blade hurtled with murderous momentum straight toward the fleeing girl's back.

At the other end of the bar, a stooped old man in a worn grey coat slowly began to rise from his stool. His rough hand discreetly tightened around a gnarled bamboo staff, and dense, condensed Soul Power flickered within him. The old man prepared to intervene violently.

But I was faster.

I didn't even pull my hands from my coat pockets. My brazen chill didn't flicker for a single heartbeat. I swallowed a piece of roast and focused a microscopic fraction of my telekinetic will on the hurtling metal.

STOP.

The butcher's cleaver, flying at lethal speed, froze in mid-air exactly one millimeter from the fabric of the waitress's dress. The blade vibrated in place, striking my passive pressure wall. The girl collapsed to the floor crying, escaping death by a hair.

"What the...?!" the green-eyed usurper stammered, freezing with his mouth open.

I reversed the momentum with a single command of will.

WHISH!

The steel cleaver shot backward at triple speed, hurtling straight toward the magnetkinetic's face. The boy let out a pitiful squeak, trying to raise a shield of floating forks, but my kinetic force blew his cutlery away like dry leaves. The blade embedded itself deep into an oak pillar right next to his ear, shearing off a lock of his hair and grazing his skin.

The green-eyed boy turned pale as a sheet, collapsed onto the floor with a loud whimper, tripped over his own boots, and bolted out of the tavern in wild panic, slamming through the entrance doors.

I picked up my glass of water, took a slow sip, adjusted my collar, and tossed out coldly:

"You've got a defective version of my power, punk. Plain, cheap magnetism without a physical foundation."

The stooped old man in the grey coat slowly lowered himself back onto his stool. He stared at the cleaver embedded in the pillar, then with a quiet grunt moved over several seats, sitting directly next to me at the bar. He had a deeply lined face, and his cloudy eyes, the color of clouded Tiger's Eye, measured my silhouette with uncanny precision.

"Clean stop, kid," the old man spoke in a rough voice. "But you're stiffening your shoulders when you focus your will. Your energy hits like a coal cart, wasting half its tonnage on friction in your weaves."

I rested my chin on my hands, narrowing my sapphire eyes.

"Taking this on pure logic, old man," I replied calmly. "My Vessel handles the load without cracking."

"Because you have a furnace fit for gods in your chest," the old man cut in, lighting a small wooden pipe. "But a furnace without smooth piping is just a matter of time before it tears its own conduits apart. I see the drive in your eyes, but you move stiffly. Want to learn how to flow with the current so you don't have to wrestle every fool on the road?"

I analyzed his words coldly. The old man radiated an inhuman level of KAI, and his anatomy betrayed decades of grueling sparring.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"They call me the Master," the old man spoke in Polish, smoothly switching to our native tongue, which elicited a small squeak of delight from Kaede. "I've been watching you. You're from Earth, just as I was centuries ago. A year of katorga in the wilderness outside the city. No comforts, zero luxury. I'll teach you laminar flow and strip the friction from your weaves. What do you say, kid?"

A predatory, satisfied hunger zapped through my chest. My war machine needed a new technique for the conquest of Crossgard.

"Taking this on pure logic, Sensei," I answered, extending my hand to the old man. "I'm in. When do we start?"

"At dawn tomorrow by the northern gate," the old man replied, gripping my hand with titanic strength. "Don't be late. The forest doesn't wait."

When I stepped out of the tavern, the sun stood high above the basalt spires of Crossgard. I glided through the Artisan District, feeling the sapphire furnace in my chest purring with quiet, steady precision under my skin. The purchased spices and fresh beef weighed satisfyingly in my bags, and my will was perfectly calmed. In a few hours, three massive guild wagons loaded with oak furniture would arrive at our new manor, and Elena, with the logistical composure of a former commander, would coordinate the unload.

The wheels of our war and economic machine were turning without the slightest resistance. Tomorrow's dawn would bring the beginning of a year-long katorga in the wilderness, but deep within my soul, I knew that this grueling training ground would forge my Vessel into an indestructible monolith.