Chapter 34: Preparation

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Preparation

Before locking himself away for a month of closed-door training, Eric sat down with Emily at the worn pine table in the kitchen and pulled out his smartphone.

With a few deliberate taps across the glowing screen, he initiated a direct bank transfer.

*BEEP.*

Emily looked down at the basic, sturdy smartphone resting beside the kettle, one Eric had bought for her a few days prior so they could stay in contact. Her breath hitched, her eyes going wide with shock as the numbers registered on the display.

"E-Eric... eight hundred thousand credits?!" Her hands began to tremble, her voice wavering as she looked up across the table. "Is... is it really okay for me to take this? This is all your hard-earned money from risking your life inside the rift..."

"It’s completely fine, Sis, just take it," Eric smiled warmly, waving a dismissive hand. "Six hundred thousand will wipe out Scarface Vane’s syndicate debt once and for all. The remaining two hundred thousand is for you to hire contractors, finally patch that leaky roof, replace the drafty window frames, and keep the pantry fully stocked. I’m checking into a cultivation facility near the city for the next thirty days, so I won’t be around to help with the chores for a while."

Emily pressed the phone tightly to her chest. Tears welled at the corners of her eyes before breaking into a radiant, relieved smile.

"Don’t worry about a single thing here, Eric. You focus entirely on your path," she said softly, dabbing her eyes with the corner of her apron. "I’ll settle with Vane, manage the builders, and look after the little ones. You don’t have to look back, just give it your absolute all."

"Thanks, Sister Emily. That means everything."

When Eric hoisted his light canvas duffel bag onto his shoulder and walked toward the entryway, the children playing in the living room immediately realized what was happening. A chorus of sniffles broke out as they swarmed forward, clinging to his trouser legs.

"Big Brother Eric, don’t go!" Lily whimpered, wiping her wet nose against his coat sleeve.

"Hey, come on now, don’t cry," Eric chuckled, crouching down to gently ruffle Lily’s hair. "I’m only going away for a single month, and the facility is just on the outskirts of the inner commercial district. If anything urgent comes up, Sister Emily will call me, and I can sprint back here in under thirty minutes. Be good, listen to Emily, and I’ll bring back a mountain of treats when I finish, deal?"

"Deal..." the children chorused through their sniffles, hooking their pinky fingers with his.

With a final parting wave to Emily and the kids standing on the porch, Eric stepped out into the crisp morning air. With Coal perched comfortably on his right shoulder, he began the long walk toward the central district of Riverdale.

After transferring the eight hundred thousand credits, his personal bank ledger sat at exactly *32,800 credits*—a lean sum, but more than sufficient to cover a month of Spartan training.

Following the wide commercial boulevard past rows of weapon smithies, alchemical apothecaries, and armored convoy depots, Eric soon arrived before a sprawling, reinforced concrete complex marked with a towering luminescent sign: *Riverdale Cultivation Center*.

Pushing through the heavy, soundproof glass doors, Eric stepped into the cool, air-conditioned lobby and approached the reception counter.

"Excuse me, I’d like to book a private cultivation room for thirty consecutive days."

The receptionist behind the desk, a lanky man in a crisp grey uniform, didn’t even bother looking up from his datapad. Chewing casually on a piece of mint gum, the clerk simply slid a laminated pricing sheet across the polished marble counter with two fingers.

RIVERDALE CULTIVATION SUITES - DAILY RATES

- Standard Chamber (1x Ambient Mana Filter):

1,000 Credits / Day

- Premium Chamber (2x Ambient Mana Density):

3,000 Credits / Day

- Apex Chamber (5x Ambient Mana Density):

10,000 Credits / Day

*Ten thousand a day for the Apex suite...* Eric thought, his eyelid twitching slightly. *These facilities certainly know how to squeeze wealthy guild heirs and noble prodigies.*

For someone working on a practical, self-funded budget, the choice was straightforward. With his innate Rank-C Skill Comprehension and Rank-D Appraisal constantly optimizing his mana intake, he didn’t need artificial 5x density to make massive strides.

"I’ll take the Standard Chamber for thirty days," Eric said, presenting his citizen banking card against the optical payment terminal. "And add a standard thirty-count bottle of Nutrition Pills to the bill, please."

*BEEP.*

MUNICIPAL CITIZEN BANKING

Account Holder: Eric (ID: #247-RD)

Transaction: -31,500 Credits [Suite Booking & Supplies]

Current Available Balance: 1,300 CREDITS

Nutrition pills were the ultimate staple for hermetic cultivators across the continent. A single dense, chalky tablet provided every caloric, vitamin, and mineral requirement the human metabolism needed to function at peak capacity for twenty-four hours, completely eliminating the time wasted on grocery runs, cooking, or meal prep.

The sole downside was their notoriously dreadful taste, comparable to chewing on compressed chalk, stale cardboard, and wet gravel.

Still, for an awakened aiming to maximize every single second of the next thirty days without external distraction, it was the ideal setup.

Pocketing his brass keycard and the heavy glass bottle of nutrient tablets, Eric turned toward the reinforced security corridor, ready to begin his grueling month of solitary advancement.