Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

After naming the building, which followed the naming structure of his Union, Kieran moved on to the next step, which involved the menu and notifications that appeared before his eyes.

〈System: A registered «Union Leader Token» has been found. Would you like to link your «Union» to «The Godhand Bazaar»? [ Y | N ]〉

"Link," Kieran commanded.

〈System: …Commencing link between «Godhand Consortium» and «The Godhand Bazaar».〉

〈System: …Link has been established. Ownership of «The Godhand Bazaar» shall belong to the Union Leader of the «Godhand Consortium».〉

As Kieran read through the notifications, he had an indifferent expression throughout.

After all, attaching a property to a Union was like a person obtaining a business property through an LLC. 

While Kieran, in actuality, owned The Godhand Bazaar, it would appear differently to the masses. Even if they inspected the building's property information, it would merely reveal that it was owned by a Union.

A Union that Kieran possessed sole ownership of. 

Of course, considering that only one Union currently existed, it was easy to infer who truly owned this property.

〈System: Due to the nature of this announcement, you may delay the World Announcement until you're ready to open the shop to the public. However, opening the store to the public will automatically trigger a series of announcements.〉 

"Delay," Kieran decided. 

As it was right now, the only thing Kieran could sell through the store would be his immense collection of materials.

Unfortunately, he had zero intentions of squandering the materials he collected. Not unless he could employ scalper prices, which at this point wasn't too odd.

"!!" Aspaira covered her mouth as she jumped up and down like a giddy child. "No way! Did you buy an entire building? How much Gold… no… what kind of World Fame did that require?!"

As Hamon and Sorcia listened to Aspaira's question, their expression quickly changed.

"You must at least be a Lord… but even then you must possess several tens of thousands of Gold," Hamon remarked.

He was aware of such a matter because he had already attempted to purchase a property. His World Fame, while inferior to Kieran's, was shockingly high due to his attainments as a forger. 

Hamon was the first player to successfully forge a Unique Item. But because Kieran was inside the Immaterial Plane and was incapable of receiving any messages, he wasn't aware of this fact.

"No way… you can't be that rich! How is that possible? Not even the guilds have managed to amass this much Gold!" Sorcia exclaimed, fearing that her ears and mind were malfunctioning.

Though she understood that Kieran owned the first player-based Union, she didn't imagine that his wealth was so unimaginable that he could afford to purchase a property! 

With that, Kieran could not help but wonder what Sorcia's expression would be if she learned that purchasing this property only exhausted 30% of his current funds, some of which were replenished by his rewards.

"Didn't I say that I'd ensure the team is taken care of? When I make a promise, I see it through until the end," Kieran said. "Come, tour the place with me. This is also my first time coming here."

As the owner of the property, Kieran had sole control over the entry permission. 

Whenever someone approached the door, Kieran could decide whether to allow or reject their entry request. Of course, this feature wouldn't remain so nitpicky once the store became open to the public.

Instead, it would become more of a hidden menu that the owner could access when needed.

"May I have a tour of the place as well?" Sorcia asked, a light tinge of blush gracing her cheeks. Though she was embarrassed to request such a thing after blatantly rejecting Kieran's offer, she was just too curious.

Hamon similarly coughed and scratched his head, hoping he could portray his desire with his actions rather than his voice.

It was evident that he was too proud to beg.

Aspaira looked between Kieran and these two unfamiliar people before gesturing for Kieran to lower his head.

"Uh… who exactly are these people?" Aspaira whispered after Kieran drew close enough.

"Potential prospects and your possible partners," Kieran answered plainly.

"Hmm… but weren't they kind of rude? Should we… really seek people like them?"

Aspaira's open questioning made Hamon and Sorcia feel even more embarrassed.

Nevertheless, this was Kieran's intention. Otherwise, how could he successfully scam these two individuals of immense talent? 

"Don't be so harsh. We should at least hear them out because they don't owe me their initial respect. Trust and respect are things one must earn, after all. So, as I've said before, I don't require your immediate commitment. However… for you to enter, you must sign this."

Soon after, Kieran waved his hand and conjured a Zenith Covenant different from the one Aspaira and the others signed.

The wording of this Zenith Covenant designated it as a strict non-disclosure agreement. If either Hamon or Sorcia failed to abide by the terms of not disclosing this building's location to other people, they'd have their accounts deleted as a consequence.

"Kid, why are you so venomous?! Account deletion?!" Hamon complained with a distraught frown. 

"Venomous? Not at all… do you understand how many people will target me once this store is announced to the public? I feel like this is extremely necessary to give myself the needed time," Kieran retorted.

It didn't take long for Hamon and Sorcia to understand the logic in Kieran's words. Many foreign presences had already flocked to Aeredale, after all.

With that said, this store would naturally cause an unfathomable disruption.

Although reluctantly and begrudgingly, Hamon and Sorcia eventually signed the Zenith Covenant. The Absolutes of Impartiality affected all three of them, ensuring that they'd uphold their side of the deal.

Afterward, Kieran granted them access to come inside. Agatha similarly sauntered past Kieran, sparing him a brief side-eye.

Once inside, Kieran was immediately satisfied by what he saw. The first floor, which was the floor dedicated to sales, possessed numerous glass showcase displays. There were also several counters that could be manned by a handful of attendants.

The floor's layout could accommodate at least 1,000 people at once, which meant that sales could be remarkable, provided Kieran could stock the shelves with enough merchandise.

Upon exploring the floor in depth, noting the thick curtains usually found in theatres or auction halls, Kieran followed a large winding staircase upstairs.

Soon, the second floor came into view, which was unsurprisingly similar to the first one except it gave off a truly luxurious aura due to its extravagant interior decor.

"This is absolutely stunning! But… from what I've seen thus far, this couldn't be purchased with only a few tens of thousands of Gold," Sorcia commented, looking around in awe.

Kieran didn't provide a concrete answer, simply smiling faintly in response.

After allowing them to take in the view on the second floor, Kieran moved on to exploring the third floor, and this was where Hamon's jaw dropped and his mind was immediately blown.

"F-forge! FORGE! Anvil!" Hamon screamed out loud with sparkling eyes. 

After his shout, he struggled to speak, inhaling deeper and deeper. Those deep inhales were then replaced by a string of gasps.

The forge before him was simply pristine, much better than the one he currently visited. If he could use this facility, the odds were that his success rate would increase substantially.

While watching Hamon's reaction, Kieran revealed a faint smile. 'Unlike the original timeline, where guilds couldn't afford proper facilities for quite some time, I have something that can truly sweeten the deal and lure Hamon into my clutches.'

Agatha noticed Kieran's devilish smirk and shook her head, thinking, 'He's concocting something terrible. These people will most likely fall victim to some scheme based on his expression.'

Meanwhile, Aspaira walked up to Sorcia and inspected her as if she had committed a crime. "Are you… a True Alchemist?"

"I am." Sorcia nodded, not hiding her attainments with her Profession.

"Mmm." Aspaira skeptically groaned, backing away from Sorcia a moment later. 

"I want to use this forge!" Hamon suddenly exclaimed, snapping his head toward Kieran with a pleading and iron-willed expression.

"Does that mean you'll agree to my offer?"

"Eh… I'm willing to conduct a trial run. I'll determine whether or not I'll stay once I decide if I like you."

"If that's how you'd like to do it, then sure," Kieran nonchalantly replied.

Afterward, Kieran analyzed the rest of the room, quickly understanding what needed to be changed.

'This floor is humongous, so much so that the smithing area occupies less than one-fourth of the space. I'll have to apply for modifications and have this place outfitted to accommodate Alchemists, Lapidarists, and Tailors.'

Once Kieran confirmed what work needed to be done, Kieran briefly visited the top floor, which consisted of six rooms and a master space leading to a large conference space.

Overall, Kieran was incredibly pleased by the building's layout, being well worth the large price tag.

By the time he came back down, he saw Hamon already familiarizing himself with the smithing area, aligning the anvil, tweaking the forge, and preparing the water bath.

If Kieran wasn't the wiser, he would have assumed Hamon owned the place!

'Truly a straightforward and borderline shameless fellow. Then again, I can't say I dislike him. He wears his emotions on his sleeves and it's easy to discern his mental state,' Kieran thought.

Kieran turned toward Aspaira and Sorcia a moment later. "I'll conduct renovations soon and make an area to accommodate your research. Unless it's to perform your Profession Evaluation, you'll soon have no reason to visit the Alchemist's Circle."

"Great!" Aspaira giggled, but then she pouted. "However, I still haven't met you. When are you going to log out?"

"Hmm… when it's all said and done, I guess. Unfortunately, I have other matters to attend to before I can log out. But when I do, we'll sit down and at least enjoy a meal."

"Okay, that's agreeable," Aspaira thoughtfully relented. She understood how much Kieran juggled on his plate, so she wouldn't contribute to a needless headache.

Eventually, Kieran turned toward Agatha who returned a strange expression.