City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Chapter 265: Underhand Dealings

Those who are confused about the last two chapters. Well, I have written them as the one. Copied the second half and pasted it on another document, but forgot to delete it from the first copy. It is a simple mistake of using a copy paste, instead of a cut paste.

Whore Lv. 15
 
Whore Lv. 16
 
{Skill Gained: …}
 
 
Prostitute Lv. 18
 
 
Trollop Lv. 17
 
{Skill Gained: …}
.
.
.
 
Bell
 
 
Prostitute Lv. 20 
 
{Conditions Met: Prostitute - Prostitute of Riveting Voice}
 
{Conditions Met: …}
 
{Conditions Met: …}
 
{Conditions Met: …}
 
{Skill Gained: …}
 
{Conditions Met: Prostitute of Riveting Voice + L}
 
{Consolidation Rejected}
 
I sighed with relief but also conflict as I looked at the texts. It is not the first time; I have rejected the consolidation. 
 
It is the second time since I came here and the fourth one since the first attempt, seven years ago.
 
Many times, I wanted to accept and get done with it. If I had accepted the first time, my level would have been much higher.
 
It is due to my primary class, that my level up is slow. The secondary class is more than ten levels higher than my primary class.
 
I pushed the thought and focused on the Prostitute Class, which I hate so much, but also love it.
 
It is the reason, I am alive.
 
Now that it had finally reached Lv. 20. I could finally have a private room and be a person, who I really am.
 
At least in its confines.
 
….
 
Witch of Luminescent Brothel Lv. 27
 
Witch of Luminescent Brothel Lv. 28
 
Witch of Luminescent Brothel Lv. 29
 
{Skill Gained: …}
 
{Skill Gained: …}
 
Madam Lv. 9
 
 
“Three levels,” I muttered and not a one bit surprised. I have performed a grand ritual; something that is extremely hard.
 
I gathered my craft, and a few seconds later, a smile appeared on my face.
 
I had leveled up, three times in my primary class, but was not able to breach the capstone. Though I have crossed more than half of the distance into my capstone. 
 
It won’t take me more than a few months to cross it.
 
As for the first capstone of the madam class, I am not worried about it. I won’t have much problem crossing it.
 
I am most interested in whether it will consolidate into my primary class, before it reaches the third capstone or after it. 
 
If it consolidates before, my main class breaches the third capstone, it will increase the difficulty of breaching the third capstone. 
 
I could reject its consolidation when it appears, but I will not.
 
Yes, Lv. 3o important, but not as important as it had been yesterday, before the grand ritual. 
 
I also want the elements of a madam class in my primary class before it breaches the capstone. It will increase the difficulty of advancement, but when it does, it will help me upgrade my primary class, which is more important to me.
 
…
 
Agent of Experience Lv. 24
 
Agent of Experience Lv.25
 
{Skill Gained: Underhand Dealings}
 
I woke up feeling the change and found the text in front of me. The texts were surprising, shocking even, but I didn’t focus on it.
 
Instead, focused on the thing that woke me up.
 
“Is that a dream?” I asked. Feeling the change in the establishment. It is too big to not notice, and it is strange.
 
The power of enchantment charms had increased, I could tell that quite precisely. 
 
In these past few months, I have learned to gauge that by focusing on the comfort type of enchantment charms; that had been imprinted on the establishment.
 
I could use the other types of charms, but found the comfort type most suitable.
 
I will look at the effect of other charms, to complete, but I am already nearly sure, that charm power had doubled overnight.
 
I have felt this change strange, not because of its sudden increase in charms powers, but also because of the feeling of establishment, which had decreased so much, that I had to concentrate to feel.
 
It was not the case before.
 
Usually, the feeling of the power and enchantment charms increased together.
 
“I will have to ask Caena what happened,” I said to myself, before focusing on another shocking thing. 
 
The texts in front of me.
 
I was hoping for a level, but chances seemed small; a debut isn’t enough to get a level, but I got two and even a skill. 
 
Seeing that, I couldn’t help, but think, the changes happening might be related to the sudden changes that happened to the establishment. I am nearly sure of it and could even feel, whatever happened is important enough, that I had gained two levels from it.
 
I looked at two levels and couldn’t help but feel happy, but when I looked at the skill, my expressions turned a little strange.
 
Underhand Dealings.
 
My father used to say, this is a skill, that one needs to be clever to use it. Of course, all skills, when used aptly, show their real power, but one needs to be clever enough to use it.
 
This is a skill that is informally known as grey skill or dark skill, depending on where you live.
 
Its working is simple, it lets you help to hide traces of not-so-legal dealings. It is why, needs one to be clever when using it, because some people get too dependent on it and end up getting caught by the authorities.
 
It is an unexpected skill; I had not thought I would get one, seeing these types of skills gained by Shady Merchants or Traffickers, but I am happy to get it.
 
I am not an honest merchant, barely anyone is. Sometimes, I make deals that are not completely legal.
 
Now, with this skill, I will be able to hide the traces of it better. However, if I depended too much on it; I would get caught like, so many people do.
 

 
I summoned the table and realized it was the first time I didn’t know where to spend the attribute points.
 
One side of my mind, telling me I should use it on charm and intelligence as it will help me with my business and job, but the other side is telling me, that I should use it on strength and vitality after, what I had experienced, recently.
 
I had nearly spent them before stopping myself.
 
This won’t do. I will have to decide soon. In a few hours, before I leave the city tonight.
 
I thought for a while before getting off the bed and going into the bathroom.
 
I got out ten minutes later and stepped out of the room, wearing practice clothes.
 
“The new skill. It feels pretty powerful,” said Jon from behind. 
 
I nearly stopped and stumbled, not by his sudden voice. No, I had got used to that months ago, but on what he said.
 
People sense the effects of the charms; they are not idiots, but we always implied it to the skills. We cannot tell people that we had imprinted hundreds of charms on the establishment.
 
That would be a sure way to get behind the bars.
 
Even knowledge of Caena’s primary class will put me in deep trouble. Thankfully, she had said that one would need to be pretty high level to see through her class, without her permission.
 
“It is,” I replied and continued walking without looking back.
 
Soon, I walked out of the establishment. It is feeling slightly chilly, despite the winter being over.
 
It is still dark, with the moon hanging in the sky. Not for long, in nearly an hour, the sun would come out and the moon would disappear.
 
I reached the practice ring and started with yoga, while Jon watched. 
 
An hour later, I was finished, and we started with my training. 
 
I usually don’t train in the establishment. I had created a nice space behind my manor. It had all kinds of practice weapons and instructor David used them to help me get used to fighting them.
 
Still, I sometimes sleep in the establishment and maintain a practice ring here; it is useful in times like this.
 
Two hours later, we stopped. 
 
I took my bruised body to my room and applied numbing cream, before showering. 
 
Click!
 
It was eight when I walked into the office, and as usual, Caena was there, and she seemed to be deep in her thoughts.
 
“Good morning, Caena,” I said, which seemed to startle her before she calmed herself and looked at me.
 
“Good morning, Master Silver,” she replied with flushed cheeks.
 
I sat down and touched runes below my table activating the privacy enchantment, while at the same time activating the Privacy Sphere, and turned to her.
 
“So, what happened?” I asked.
 
There was no surprise in her face at my question; she seemed to expect that I would ask her that.
 
Still, she didn’t answer immediately and seemed to be thinking, collecting her words.
 
“Last night, after I handed the charge, I went to my suit and began imprinting the charms.” 
 
“The first and second ones are imprinted as usual, but I had imprinted the third charm, and all hell broke loose. I thought they would destroy the establishment,” she said, with her eyes widening as if she were remembering what she had experienced.
 
“Does that charm was any special?” I asked with a frown. “No, it was one of the psychological charms to lower the aggression,” she replied, shaking her head.
 
“What do you think had happened?” I asked after a few seconds of silence.
 
“As far as I could tell; the charm seemed to have triggered something and all the charms started to absorb the power from the establishment, at a rate of hundreds of times faster than they normally do,” she replied.
 
In my dream, I saw that sun again and hundreds of twinkling stars on the thin strings.
 
Suddenly, one block of stars blazed and started to absorb the power from the sun, and it seemed to have done that for quite a while, as when it finished, its size seemed to have reduced by less than half. 
 
After it was done, I saw that cluster of twinkling dots begin moving toward the single point and that point transformed into the twelve-pointed star.
 
I don’t know if it was true, but it brought a lot of questions.
 
“Is that all?” I asked, and she nodded after a moment of hesitation.
 
“To be safe, I won’t be imprinting new enchantments till I am sure, it is safe.” She said. 
 
“Do that,” I affirmed.
 
I had my doubts about whether this was everything she knew or even the dream I had seen was true, but I had kept them to myself. However, I will be focusing more on the feeling from now on and the changes it brought.
 
“It might be unexpected, but it has brought a huge change,” I said, and she nodded, with a small smile.
 
“The power of charms has doubled; it happened so suddenly, the girls had been asking me if this was the skill I received after breaching the capstone,” she said.
 
Nobody should know the real reason, or we will be destroyed.
 
“Let them think it is,” I replied, and she smiled. “Then I should congratulate myself for breaching the third capstone and getting this amazing skill,” she said, and the smile on my face turned bright.
 
The effects of the charms had become powerful enough that the host should be at Lv. 30 and skill be a capstone skill.
 
Click!
 
We talked for a few minutes and the girls came, bringing the file, of the night's business.
 
“We did well; the sales of sample liquor also seemed to have gone well,” I said, looking at the figures in front of me.
 
The numbers are great, and rising in categories, I want them to.
 
“It is. I didn’t think these no-name brands would sell so much,” said Caena and turned to Barb, who smiled with a hint of pride.
 
I had asked her and our bartending staff to find the hidden gems. 
 
Not all good liquors are famous, there are many good things hidden in the rubble. 
 
If we want to provide our patrons with the best experience, we will have to find them; not to mention, these gems are quite cheap, and we make massive margins through them.
 
Barb is quite good at finding them and till now, she had found fourteen of such.
 
We have been bringing one or two new ones, every week, but yesterday. We have brought all out; it was a risk to introduce so many unfamiliar liquors at once.
 
Especially when liquor and food are responsible for most of our revenue, but seeing the result, the risk seemed to be worth it.
 
It is only a day; we will be able to say for sure, when after a week or two of data.
 
“Keep an eye on it and if it seems to be working, give the big order,” I said to them.
 
A few minutes later, the meeting ended, and the girls left; an hour later, I walked out of the establishment. 
 
There are a few things I have to do before I leave the city tonight.

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