Chapter 57 – The Weight of Sugar and the Trail of Silver.

Morning at the Bastion of Arcane Greed didn't begin with the sound of blades being polished or firm footsteps on the training courtyard.

It began with a pitiful symphony of groans of pain echoing from the second-floor bedrooms.

Diana walked up the stairs with a cup of black coffee in hand, opening the first bedroom door to investigate the cause of that strange silence.

Kael was sprawled face-down on the linen bed, arms dangling off the side, face buried in the pillow, clutching his stomach with Strength 38 hands. The warrior who had tanked the devastating blow of a Level 40 Ancestral Colossus was completely defeated by eating six kilos of fried meat pie and honey breads the previous day.

“Commander…” Kael groaned in a thin thread of a voice, unable to raise his head. “My stomach… feels like a magma golem is dancing inside there…”

Diana rolled her dark eyes, moving on to the adjacent room.

Aurelia-Elysia was curled in a fetal position among the sheets, surrounded by three empty boxes of flaky puff pastries, her face pale and her hands on her waist. “Commander… Gluttony is a deadly sin for a reason… I swear I'm never eating sugar again in my life…”

In the master bedroom, Rhea lay on her side, her silver ears drooping over her eyes in pure culinary misery, letting out small, muffled grunts.

“Diana…” Rhea whimpered softly when she saw her friend enter. “My tummy is making arcane storm noises…”

Diana crossed her arms, taking in the scene with a mix of mockery and resignation.

“You can withstand impacts from Level 30 monsters, yet you get defeated by flaky pastry and candied fruits.” Diana said, her voice stern. “Pathetic.”

***

Despite the scolding, the Commander immediately headed down to the basement laboratory.

With her Alchemy Level 20 proficiency, preparing a highly effective remedy was a three-minute task.

Diana mixed dried leaves of Moonlight Herb, roots of purified infernal ginger, and thermal water, synthesizing four vials of a 95% Purity Transmutational Digestive Tea.

She climbed back up and forced each of the three to swallow a steaming mug of the infusion.

Relief was almost instant. The tea dissolved the stomach burn and eased the cramps in a matter of minutes, but the three remained in an absolute state of food coma and physical exhaustion.

“Stay in bed and sleep.” Diana ordered, adjusting the blanket over Rhea's shoulders and leaving a pitcher of fresh water on the nightstand. “I am going out to walk around the citadel.”

Rhea raised her sleepy head, grabbing the edge of Diana's sleeve. “You're going alone…?”

“I can take care of myself, wolf girl.” Diana gave two light pats to Rhea's head with a subtle smile. “Rest up. I'll be back before nightfall.”

***

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The Sovereign's Walk - Forge District

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Diana stepped out through the Bastion's iron gates wearing her long jacket of dark leather over her Dragon Crystal Chestplate, black steel dagger strapped to her belt.

Morning in the Ivory Citadel was crisp. Diana walked at a peaceful pace toward the Forge District.

With her advanced crafting proficiencies, Metallurgy Level 12 and Leatherworking Level 9, Diana's eyes evaluated the surroundings with a perception entirely different from when she first arrived in this Circle.

She looked at the blacksmiths' display windows and identified, in a millisecond, tempering defects in common iron daggers, stitching flaws in monster leather chestplates, and the inferior purity of ores sold at stalls.

Passing in front of Master Volkan's workshop, the four-armed old smith waved from afar with a glowing hammer raised, shouting through the smoke:

“Hey, Diana! Two generals from the northern guild came asking where I got that dragon silver alloy I used on your chestplate! Your faction's name is on the lips of every master in the sector!”

Diana waved back with a calm smile. The reputation of Arcane Greed as synonymous with elite armaments was firmly consolidated.

***

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Central Plaza - The Commercial Domain

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Upon reaching the grand Central Plaza of the Second Circle, Diana paused near the magic water fountain to observe the bustle.

Commercial Stall No. 14, under the official banner of the Arcane Greed Faction, had a continuous line of elite hunters waiting to purchase 85% purity healing potions and anti-rust oils.

At neighboring stalls, small independent alchemy shops forming the alliance with Diana proudly displayed the reinforced glass vials bought from her exclusive distribution. The once-arrogant Mercury Guild had been reduced to an insignificant presence in the commercial sector.

And the most striking detail: soldiers bearing the insignia of Lord Cassius's Silver Legion were purchasing supplies at Diana's stall in perfect order, honoring the non-aggression pact sealed between the two leaders.

Diana approached the stall's automated vault and retrieved the accumulated revenue from recent days: 12 Pure Silver Coins.

At a rare herb stall belonging to a nomadic merchant in the plaza, Diana purchased a batch of mana lotus flower roots for new transmutation experiments, paying 2 Silver Coins.

***

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[FULL FINANCIAL AUDIT]

Previous Balance: 168 Silver Coins (16.8 Gold Coins).

Arcane Greed Workshop Sales Revenue: +12 Silver Coins!

Purchase of Rare Mana Herbs: -2 Silver Coins.

[NEW ABSOLUTE NET WORTH: 178 SILVER COINS (17,800 Bronze! / 17.8 PURE GOLD COINS!)]

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One hundred seventy-eight silver coins stashed in the faction vault. Nearly eighteen pure gold coins.

***

Diana walked up the stairs of the Central Plaza's west terrace, leaning her elbows on the white marble balustrade overlooking a panoramic view of the Ivory Citadel's illuminated towers.

The cold afternoon wind ruffled her black hair.

—Look at all of this…

The System's voice echoed in Diana's mind, the interface floating in gentle black gold beside her face.

—Two months ago, you were a frail soul with four points of Strength lying in the mud of a filthy alley. And today, you own a stone property, command an unbeatable squad, have eighteen gold coins in the vault, and this entire Circle's trade revolves around your decisions.

Diana looked at the crowd moving through the plaza down below.

She felt the calm, monumental pulse of her Intelligence 115, her pool of 620 mana points, and the dormant authority of her Candidate for the Sin of Greed title.

Diana smiled. A calm, mature, elegant, infinitely self-assured smile.

She was no longer the scared girl who feared tomorrow. She was the Commander of Greed.

Before returning home, Diana stopped at a light sweets stall and bought three jars of digestive fruit preserve to bring back as gifts for the three recovering stomachs at the Bastion.

Walking back beneath the Second Circle's purple sky with jars of preserve in her arms, Diana felt the sweet weight of the routine she had built. Rest would end tomorrow. And the march toward Level 35 would begin in full force.

Final Notes:

The enemy of every great squad... SUGAR!!!

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