City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Proofread by Thomas F

[Legacy Skill: Ledger of Records]

When I opened my eyes, there was a text in front of me. The text was unexpected.

Yes, I had consumed the core essence of Hayward Emporium, which is 12%. Over 10% gives some chance of gaining the skill, but it is a minimal chance.

Still, it happened. I had gotten the legacy skill of Hayward Emporium.

It had three special legacy skills; the other two were much better than this, but I am not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

This is a beneficial skill. A ledger-type skill that keeps a record of everything.

From transactions to inventory.

It is one of the most common skills for the throne legacies. It’s useful, especially in detecting fraud, since it holds all the records, but it’s not omnipotent.

It can be gamed.

There are many employees of other legacies who created big fraud, manipulating the dependency of the master on this skill.

It happened twice, even in the Hayward Emporium itself.

I am excited about this skill. Not only will it keep track of inventory and transactions, but it will also let me see clearly what works and what doesn’t.

Currently, the process I follow takes a lot of time, but this skill will make it much more straightforward.

I activated the skill, and immediately, a brown ledger book appeared in front of me. I opened it and saw the records appear before me.

It is genuinely a fantastic skill that provides the master with detailed knowledge. If used well, it helps the masters tremendously.

I flipped through page after page. I didn’t have to, as long as I willed it. It will show me the data I want, but I want it to feel like a real ledger.

A few minutes passed before I had finally stopped and deactivated the skill.

It’s my ninth legacy skill. It’s a limit; I won’t be able to take any more skills. Nine legacy skills would shock everyone; most thrones didn’t have nine skills.

I got the six skills on my own.

The other three Patrons Heaven, Vital Bath, and Ledger of Records, were obtained from Onyx Halcyon, Tranquill Bathhouse, and Hayward Emporium.

I looked at skills before focusing on the core. The Grade IV core essence of the throne had been entirely consumed.

It happened a few minutes before I woke up.

I closed my eyes and could feel the change in my legacy. The new aspects and one new emotion in this emotion slate are going to help me tremendously.

It’s already helping me.

I got up out of bed and freshened up before walking out of my room. I returned two and a half hours later, feeling tired, but good.

After I showered, I didn’t immediately leave my room. Instead, I summoned my core.

It had become huge and dense after absorbing 12% of the Hayward Emporium’s core. Most Grade III masters couldn’t even achieve 5% of the core.

I looked at the emotion it is harvesting from the legacy, and it is massive. Over 20% more than when I had before consuming a piece of the throne.

I was not joking when I said it would help me tremendously.

Store floors are my most visited floors. Thousands of people visit them every day, and now, with the aspects and emotions slate, the core is absorbing more emotions from them.

It is more than yesterday. The piece of core hadn’t been fully absorbed yesterday, but it has today.

The amount of emotion is enormous. Every moment, a surge of them is coming into the core, where it will be purified and become emotional essence and core essence.

A minute later, the core disappeared, and I walked out of the room.

I usually stay till twelve in the tower, but not today. There are only four days left until the undead come. There is a lot of work to be done.

Including making preparations to seal the city tomorrow.

It is the last day for the people to leave. If they do not leave today, they will have to stay in the city. I had made that very clear in the past week.

I stepped into the elevator, and it stopped. I got out onto a crowded floor.

I am leaving for the city hall, but before that, I had to check out the store floors and notice the change that was apparent. The aspect is doing magic here.

The feeling of legacy has improved, and now, like Velvet Red, Velvet Blue, and Theatre, the store floors have also acquired their unique characteristics as a result of this aspect.

Unlike what is happening in Vanis’s Tavern. Here, the aspects are not jumbled together.

In every section, there are different aspects.

Here on the store floors, there are only two types of aspects—the aspect of Velvet Garden, the most dominant aspect of my legacy, and the first aspect that materialized.

The second type is an aspect of store and craft, which I got from Hayward Emporium. They are seamlessly working under the aspect of Velvet Garden.

Other aspects are also present here, but they are barely noticeable. Their subtle influence enhances the meal, much like the spices in a dish.

There are a lot of people here, more than on any other day of the week.

Seeing that it is the last day, and they might not be able to revisit it, as it might fall into the hands of the undead, I increased the number of people allowed.

My crowd skill is good, but in front of such a crowd, even it began to creak. Still, it is working, and if not for it, there wouldn’t have been a space even to move a foot.

People parted as I moved.

I didn’t use any aura or the skill. Most of these people don’t even know who I am. It is just using the power of legacy. I’ve become quite skilled at it.

Finally, I reached the store and walked toward the big man working on the pan.

He was so busy that he didn’t notice me. I didn’t disturb him and just watched as he infuses the mist with every strike of the hammer.

It is a pure skill that he developed through daily work.

He is the second-best blacksmith in the whole city; the first one being the man who works for him.

He finally noticed me, and a surprise appeared in his eyes as he hastily tried to get up, but I waved it away.

“How are things?” I asked, and the man didn’t answer immediately.

“Much better than before, there are not as many mistakes as before. The hammer always struck true, the focus remains clearer as does the inspiration, there is no doubt about it,” replied Gagrin.

Hearing that, a smile couldn’t help but appear on my face. The aspect didn’t just make the legacy more pleasurable, but actually helped with the crafting of things.

The aspects are not only helping to improve their craft, but also selling more goods, while providing a great experience to patrons.

I spoke with him for a few minutes, then walked out and went to the other stores, where I talked to other store owners and artisans.

All the stores are open, but a few store owners have left the city, leaving their staff in charge. Though when they return, there won’t be any stores waiting for them.

Having a store in the legacy is a great privilege.

These individuals earned a substantial amount of money, but when things became difficult, they abandoned it. I will not accept that.

“It’s so pretty, Mommy,” said the child to her mother, looking at the beautiful ivory rose pin inlaid with gems.

The girl is about Josie’s age, accompanied by her parents and an older brother, who looked to be eight or nine.

“It’s too expensive, Cherry,” replied the girl’s mother. The disappointment clouded her face, but the child nodded understandingly.

Her family appears to be a typical working-class one. Even if it was not mist-crafted, it is expensive.

Like all things, in this ivory shop. It’s made from the best quality ivory, and those red rubies, which are laid on it, are not cheap either.

“Do you want it?” I asked her as I stopped, surprising her and her parents.

They are less surprised by my question than by seeing me. I had lessened my presence. To most, I had become invisible.

Bell could do this with aura, which is extremely hard.

“We cannot afford it,” replied the child’s mother cautiously and pulled the girl closer to her. I smiled at that and picked up the beautiful ivory gem pin, without triggering any alarm.

I was about to give it to her when I stopped. A moment later, a big swirl of mist formed, and it began to enter the pin.

Mist Infusion.

A few seconds later, the ivory-gem pin became even more beautiful than it had been before. The mist brings out the beautiful changes.

I looked at the pin before attaching it to her hair. Making the girl look cuter, while she watched with her mouth open.

“Consider this a small token of appreciation for visiting my beautiful city,” I said to her and her parents before walking away.

I am very grateful for these tourists; their arrival in droves is bringing a large amount of money to the city, not to mention the emotional essence that will help tremendously after we deal with the undead.

Because of them, many people stayed in the city.

Most importantly, their presence on the streets had boosted the city’s morale. If it weren’t necessary, I wouldn’t have sealed the city until the last day, but I had to.

I stepped into the elevator, and a few seconds later, it stopped, and I walked out.

Soon, I was out of the gates of the tower, but there was no carriage waiting for me outside. Instead, it is I who waited till I saw the horse.

It’s coming toward me with the lightning crackling across its legs.

Two days ago, when I came to the tower in a hurry. I sent it to a secluded part of the garden, and it went there and remained there without creating any trouble.

The only trouble it had caused was eating a few plants and flowers.

So, when I returned to the legacy that day, I once more left it with the command to stay in a secluded area, and it did, this time, overnight.

The same thing happened last night.

This made me happy, as I didn’t have to put it in a cage, but I am still careful. There is a mark on it. If it crossed a marked area, I would know immediately.

I need to be very careful till I am one hundred percent sure. This is an extremely dangerous monster that few people in the city can handle.

It stopped in front of me, and I mounted it before riding it toward the city hall.

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