Chapter 3

“What’s your name?”

“Wisteria Summers.”

“Wisteria Summers.” The woman took my hand. “You can change any of Medici Mountain’s arrays however you want. I’ll pay you whatever you want in magical stones.”

I agreed, but I set my fee at ten magical stones for each small job, fifty for medium-sized jobs, and at least 100 for big jobs.

Central systems would require different pricing.

She agreed.

The system popped up.

[User has completed an A-tier array improvement project. Reward: Magical XP +300, Array Blueprints: Level 2 unlocked.]

I looked at the display of the system and the many blueprints populating on it. Suddenly, I realized something.

These blueprints held designs for this fantasy world’s most powerful arrays. Rewarding me with these was pretty much giving me cheat codes.

However, I did not rely on cheat codes. All I needed to modify these arrays was my HVAC experience of ten years.

The cheat codes only gave me this world’s modification specifications. The true skill came from me.

That night, I returned to Icicle Mountain and found Bear standing in the living area.

“Master Windom?” I was surprised by his presence there. “Don’t you need to train?”

“The temperature here is nice,” he said.

To a normal person, this temperature was somewhat chilly, though it could be the best temperature for him.

“What temperature is the best for you?” I asked perfunctorily.

He thought about it before saying, “I don’t know. It’s never been right for me.”

“I can tweak it for you.”

I took out some magical ink.

These days, I brought some with me everywhere I went, just like I used to with a spanner. I walked to the array and made a few minor changes.

The temperature of the living area slowly went up to 59 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bear stood there, his body relaxing minutely.

“Is this good?”

“Yes.”

I looked at him and thought, ‘This man really wasted his 300 years of life. He hasn’t even enjoyed the right temperature for himself.’

But in the HVAC business, making your client happy was a big deal.

“Master Windom,” I said, “I’ll handle the temperature control in your caves from now on for free.”

Bear eyed me.

“Why?”

“You’re my first client. The first client always gets free service.”

Bear looked at me for a moment before laughing.

My reputation in Crylestia School only got better and better.

First, it had been Medici Mountain.

Next, the people at Swordpoint Mountain thought the magical flows in their training room were poor. It was easy for the magical energy inside to get mixed up, and someone could get injured.

I added a “deflector,” letting the magical energy flow in set directions. The effect of training increased by 30%.

After that, Sylvan Mountain’s herb garden had a temperature control problem. Some of their magical herbs preferred shade and others sun, and so they had to move things around manually.

I added a zoned temperature control system, giving every section its own temperature zone. The efficacy of the magical herbs shot up.

Within a month, I had fixed the arrays of six of the mountains. My starting fee was hiked up from ten magical stones to fifty. However, I had gotten too busy, and there was a waitlist.

I had even hired two beginner students as assistants and runners to buy me more magic ink.

The true change was not in my reputation. Rather, it was with Bear.

He started making me change the temperature of the living area every day. He was not training or anything, just sitting there. Sometimes, he would be having tea or looking out the window. Sometimes, he was not even doing anything.

Once, when I returned to the cave to get some tools, he was sitting and having tea, steam wafting from the cup.

In Icicle Mountain, it was practically a miracle for tea to maintain its temperature.

“Master Windom, your tea,” I said.

“You said you could change the temperature so that the tea would keep warm.” Bear picked up his teacup. “I tried it out.”

“Is the tea good?”

“I don’t know.” Bear looked down into his drink. “It’s been 300 years since I’ve had hot tea. I’ve forgotten what it tastes like.”

Bear took a sip and fell quiet for a long time.

“It’s hot,” he said softly.

I stood to the side and suddenly felt like crying.