Eventually a sea of red flushed over the horizon. The beautiful morning sun bathed Kashi and Syel in its warm glow as it ushered in a new day. Kashi, however, pretended not to see the sun. Instead, he continued to paint with a serious expression.

Syel, for his part, also pretended not the notice the rising sun. He observed Kashi's furrowed brows with a wry smile. He then, tucked his hands in his pocket and continued gazing upon the city below. Following the sun, folks had begun leaving their homes in droves. Some packed their hunting gear for the fields, others dressed in fine garments walked to administrative buildings, while many more boarded carts headed for the shores.

Noticeably, none looked like they were headed for a farm. Serisis' only major source of food were their monsters and aquatic fauna. This lack of food heavily impacted the healthy, available workforce, which then negatively affected the net daily income, which then reduced the crown's coffers, and finally prevented the crown from paying for jobs it might have wanted to create.

Syel thought of Lunette as he looked at Kashi. Perhaps this was why those two were so interested in this country? The economic potential here was enormous. Any grass-roots investment was certain to explode in the near future. Especially with the Mage Academy and their Mana reservoirs. Both would surely bring in massive funding in the near future!

Syel let his mind wander for a while. Eventually, increased activity within the manor reached his ears. Deciding it was time, he looked at the daeben. "Kashi. Time's up."

"Ah." Surprisingly, Kashi made no attempt to argue. Instead, he sighed as he dropped Rosario's brush. "I guess that's enough for today."

"Can I see?" Though Syel said those words, he had already dashed behind Kashi. The halben's eyes went wide when he saw the painting! 'Goddamnit I'm so cool!' Syel, luckily, still had the presence of mind not to scream out loud.

The Syel within the portrait retained his last pose. Chest out, arms in pocket, gazing into a far horizon. However, Kashi had taken a few liberties. For example, Syel in the painting stood at the edge of a massive cliff. A pair of fire and stone chinese dragons coiled around him, gazes also locked onto an unknown future. Peals of lightning struck in the background as a fierce wind billowed the halben's jacket.

That's right. The painting was Alive! Well, sort of. It was more akin to a 2-Second GIF or an animated picture. Either way, it was an extremely rare sight, even in a fantasy world. Syel could not get over how badass it looked! He doubted a video could produce the same ethereal quality.

"What do you think?" Kashi studied Syel's expression. He wasn't used to drawing self-portraits of people whose opinions he actually gave a shit about. Luckily, Syel's bright eyes allayed those fears.

"What do I think!?" Syel laughed and lifted the painting. "This is awesome! I'm definitely getting a house now. Gotta hang this somewhere!" Wait. Kashi had been drawing for hours. This couldn't be all he worked on, right ? The halben's eyes turned sharp. "Hey. You got any more?"

Kashi laughed as five paintings appeared in his hands. "Sure. Just be careful. I didn't have frames to put them in."

Syel nodded, eyes wide as he admired the paintings. Each one was better than the last! Damn. He'd always known Suzuki could draw. But he didn't know he was this good. This was billion-dollar film territory of skill... The immense buffs from the painitngs were also nice.

Kashi released a sigh of relief. Only now did he realize he had been slightly nervous. What would he have done if Syel hated it? Kashi shook his head, and then asked Syel, "Hey. Can you make this for me?"

Syel listened to Kashi's explanation with a questioning brow. "Alright. I'll try my best. Don't know if I can get it exactly though."

"Just try." Clump of dirt and stone appeared in Kashi's hand as he spoke. He then handed the mass to Syel who viewed them with scepticism.

"You a construction worker now?" Syel shook his head and enveloped the stones in his hands. A mandala then appeared between his hands as he began reshaping the stone to fit the shape in his head. The halben's brows locked in total concentration. This was a lot harder than just summoning stone dragons and spikes. It required fine control of mana.

Thankfully, if there was one person on the continent with excellent control over mana, it was Syel. Seconds after the mandala appeared, it promptly disappeared. Syel opened his hands to reveal a 10 x 10 cm. square, stone case. "What do you plan on doing with this?" Syel asked as he handed the case to Kashi.

"Something fun." Kashi grinned as another clump of dirt appeared in his left hand. "Mind working on this one next?" Without waiting for Syel's answer, he stuffed the pile in the halben's hand. Syel naturally grumbled, but Kashi ignored him. The daeben smiled as he pulled out a tiny portrait, and then slotted it into the case. Kashi then handed the case to Syel and accepted the newly made case. "Try injecting it with mana."

Syel sceptically examined the painting in the case. It was pretty basic. Just small, empty room. Still, Syel did as suggested and poured his mana into the case. Whoosh! Syel suddenly felt like he had been transported to the room in the painting. Only, his body was not there. If he had to describe it... Yes, it was the same feeling he got whenever he entered the virtual world.

Interestingly, Syel found that he could move freely within this dimension. Only, he felt more like a ghost, or a floating camera. Just as he thought that, Syel caught sight of a candle on the floor. Instinctively, he tried to 'grab' it. Vwoosh!

Syel groaned as he shook his head. The action informed him he had returned to reality. Intriguingly though, he did not come alone. The candle he saw was in his right hand. Syel frowned. Wait. Did this bastard really?

"Yup." Kashi confirmed Syel's thoughts with a proud grin. "Finally mastered Dimensional Painting enough to create small dimension pockets for everyone to use."

Syel rubbed his face and groaned. "Kash."

"Yeah?"

"Mimi's gonna murder you." Syel had a point. The dimensional pockets could potentially sabotage both the train and skyboat business. If people had such a reliable method of carrying around heavy load, why would they need trains?

"Mi―No, never mind." Kashi shook his head. He would not get involved in Syel's weird nicknames. He explained, "Yeah, I thought of that. That's why I'm not planning on releasing them to everyone. I don't even have that kind of time. I'm thinking more along the lines of having them as rewards for our guildmembers, and companies affiliated with us, both Summoned and Residents. What do you think?"

Kashi had indeed thought long and hard about it.

Trains and Skyboats were definite cash cows, but they were also copyable technology. The Hopeful Maggots needed something that was solely theirs; something that could never be reproduced elsewhere to firmly secure their legacy. The Bank was the first step, Kashi viewed this as another opportunity. Somewhere far down the line though.

But perhaps, more importantly, the Dimensional Pocket was a good excuse to slowly level his Dimensional Painting Skill. Large projects took far too long, and needed much more concentration. At least, for the Beginner and early-Intermediate stages, quantity beat quality in terms of levelling speed.

"Not a bad idea at all." Syel admired the Dimensional Pocket as he turned it this way and that. "Small, compact. Pretty functional. It'll catch on fast." His brows then wrinkled softly. "Only problem is the name though. Dimensional Pocket's a mouthful for everyday conversation."

Kashi tapped his chin. "Yeah, you're right. I'm thinking maybe PokeDim."

"That's a lawsuit."

"Okay. How about DimPock?"

"Sounds like you're ordering Dim-sum with a side of Pork. Damn! Now, I'm hungry!"

"Yeah? Well... Dicket sounds neat?"

"Dicket!? BAHAHA!" Syel burst out laughing, unable to control his amusement any longer. "You said Dicket. You really said Dicket. Hey Dickhead, let me see your Dicket! My Dicket's bigger than yours! Bahahaha!" The halben clutched his belly as he rolled on the rooftop.

Kashi had half a mind to just kick Syel off the roof and be done with it. The daeben's ears somehow turned red from all the embarrassment. So, he folded his arms and asked, "Well, what would you call it then? It's not easy to come up with names, you know?"

Syel took a breath and then commented as he patted his chest, "That sounds more like a shitty author's excuse." He then chuckled as he sat up on the roof. "But, I'll help ya out this time." The halben paused, and then said, "How about Pocket?"

Kashi frowned. "That's too simple―"

"Sometimes, simplicity is best." Syel regarded Kashi with a profound smile. "Think about it. The name's simple, people are already used to it, and it quickly gets the purpose of its existence across."

"Yeah. But, like you said. People are already used to it. Don't you think it'll sound weird?"

Syel smiled. "When was the last time someone asked if you had a pocket? Or even anything regarding your pocket specifically?"

Kashi froze. He realized he could not recall a single moment in recent history where someone had referenced his pocket.

"Pocket's a word we're used to, but rarely ever use." Syel chuckled as he juggled the Dimension Pocket. "I can picture a bunch of people walking around, asking each other about their Pockets. Can you?"

Kashi thought about it. He in a tavern. A man comes up to him asking for the 'goods.' Kashi replies, "It's in my pocket. Hope you've got one big enough." The man replies, "My pocket's bigger than yours." Kashi crushes the man's skull.

Alright. That last part was unnecessary. But, at least he confirmed that 'pocket' did sound reasonable in use. At least to his ears. Kashi looked at Syel and nodded. "You're right. Pocket does sound reasonable. Let's go with that."

"Heh. Recognizing my greatness at last."

"...Don't make me regret this." Kashi rolled his eyes and took out two pockets he had just made. He then flung them in opposite directions on the rooftop. "Thanks for your hardwork!" He said to seemingly no one in particular.

Moments later, two hands caught the pockets just before the flew over the edge. A pair of Serian guards then slowly emerged seemingly from nowhere.

Kashi smiled as he looked at both guards. He recognized that technique. It was used by assassins to blend into the peripheral view of their targets. Unlike invisibility techniques, this was more of a finely honed illusion skill. "You both hid perfectly. So, don't feel bad I caught you. Probably wouldn't have, but I could unfortunately smell your scented oils. It's faint, but my nose is sharper than most."

The guards expressed their thanks, which Kashi responded to with a smile and a wave. Kashi then looked at Syel, and both men jumped down from the roof.

Kashi and Syel walked into the manor, just in time to be invited to breakfast. Syel glanced at Kashi. Seeing that the daeben did not make up any excuses to run away, he gladly told the waitress to lead the way. Technically, regular food did nothing for Syel, but as he retained his taste bud, he saw no reason to shy away from good food.

When Kashi and Syel reached the dining hall, it was already packed with the Maggots, the Kings and the countries' delegates. The amorous conversation froze immediately the two entered.

Upon seeing the daeben, Shadow and Jade immediately screamed, "Kashi!"And then ran up to him. Within moment, Kashi was surrounded by not only Maggots but other delegates too.

Kashi had anticipated this reaction. He calmly answered their questions. Yes. He did die. Yes. It was for a short period. No. He could not recall anything after he died except for darkness. Yes. He did have a skill that brought him back to life. No. He could not reveal details about the skill.

Kashi had no qualms about revealing he had a resurrection skill. The system's hasty prompt already snitched. Any intelligent gamer would have sussed out that he had a way to resurrect. Right now, he was only confirming these to the less-informed.

It took a few minutes, but everyone eventually calmed down. Since Kashi was fine, there was no point in overreacting.

In all the commotion, only Syel noticed that, aside from acknowledging each other's presence with thin smiles, Kashi and Lunette did not interact. The halben sighed. He really wanted to smack these children upside the head. The only people who hesitated like this were those who had yet to realize how fleeting and important time can be. But, it was not his place to interfere. Not yet, at least.

Kashi, meanwhile, waited for everyone to return to their seats. After everyone was seated, he looked at King Parissius and King Xafier. He pulled out two portraits from his inventory and walked to their side. "Your Majesties. If it's alright with you, I would like to leave keys to Orez with you both. When you wish, please enter with this, and I will see that you are returned home."

King Parissius's brow rose. Perhaps because of the time he spent with Kashi, he could sense something was off. Kashi giving them keys meant he planned on leaving. "Are you alright? Is there a reason you cannot wait?"

Kashi revealed a bitter smile. This damned king was sharp at the most inconvenient times. "Everything is fine, Your Majesty. I need to leave for training. It is but a few weeks to the battle of the millenia. I do not feel ready." Kashi extended the keys to both kings. "Please take them. Later, it will make transporting you both so much easier."

"Later?" King Xafier frowned as he and King Parissius accepted the keys.

Kashi nodded. "Yes. Later." The daeben took out another key and held it out to King Chu. "Your Majesty. I request you let King Parissius Vermillion and King Xafier Anton use this key to enter Orez. Then, later, when you feel your forces are ready, you can enter Orez. That way, I will transport you all safely to the battlefield."

King Chu accepted the key with a concerned gaze. "You. Are you certain you are in good mind? You just suffered a traumatic event. Are you certain you do not wish to rest and recuperate first? At least stay for breakfast?"

Kashi glanced at his guildmembers. He then sighed and shook his head. "Unfortunately, I sadly must decline." He smiled as he straightened, and then bowed one last time. "I will be going now. I wish you all well."

With those words, Kashi turned to leave the room. However, he paused for a second at the door. He then looked at Leila. "Sorry. When everyone is ready, please leave with King Parissius. I'll get you guys to where you belong when everyone's gathered."

Leila, however, frowned. "You're doing it again."

In response to her chastisement, Kashi let out an awkward laugh and scratched the back of his neck. "Don't worry. I just need to work something out on my own for a little bit. I'll be back before you know it."

Leila observed Kashi's expression. Failing to find any defining traits she could pull inference from, she sighed in frustration. Well, if she could not nail down what was wrong with him, at the very least, she would reduce the stress. This was not her first time dealing with this scenario after all. Suzuki and Razznik both retreated into their shells often. To be honest, it was a surprise it had taken this long for Kashi to do so. Leila nodded, and then promised, "I'll take care of everyone." She emphasized everyone, but her eyes were on Lunette. "You go do whatever you need to do."

"Thanks."

Finally, Kashi left the room, his back strangely looking smaller than usual...