Dual Realm Exchange System

By the time Damian and the others returned to Rosewood Town, evening had begun settling over the streets.

Kellan and the seven children had gone ahead in one of the worker carriages after Damian promised to arrange proper accommodation for them before nightfall. The poor youngsters had already endured enough for one day, and the last thing he wanted was to drag them around Rosewood Town while handling property matters.

As for Damian himself, he had intended to separate from the Four Valkyries once they reached the town center.

"Well, thanks for the help today. I’ll handle the rest from here, so you four can go and rest," Damian offered while adjusting his Journeyman Mage robe.

"No," Janet replied immediately.

Damian looked down at the halfling. "No?"

"No," Janet repeated pleasantly.

Paulina’s grey tail swayed behind her as she crossed her arms. "We are coming with you."

"Why?"

Julia gave Damian a pointed look. "Because approximately one week ago, Rosewood Town was peaceful. Then you appeared unconscious inside Moonveil Forest, became a Mage, somehow reached Level 6, discovered a major Dark Goblin settlement, uncovered a Great Fey’s conspiracy, became a Baron of Magic, registered a business, and now you have adopted eight people."

Damian opened his mouth, then closed it.

When she put it like that...

Eunice covered a faint smile behind one hand. "You were also surprisingly capable when organizing the restoration work today. I believe we have all become somewhat curious about what you intend to do next."

"Curious?" Damian repeated suspiciously.

"Extremely curious!" Janet declared as she sidled up beside him, her previous melancholy having recovered enough for the familiar devilish gleam to return to her eyes.

"Besides, I have a far more important question. How did Sister Ophelia taste?"

Damian slowly turned his head to regard the halfling, whose grin widened.

Paulina’s ears flapped while Julia’s pointed ears twitched.

Even Eunice immediately looked away with faintly reddened cheeks.

Damian stared at Janet for several seconds before smiling.

"Not nearly as good as I imagine you would taste."

Janet froze at that, the shameless halfling’s mouth opening, but no sound emerged.

Her freckles seemed to become darker as color rushed across her face, and for perhaps the first time since Damian had met her, Janet had been attacked on her own battlefield and discovered herself horrifyingly underprepared.

Damian raised an eyebrow. "Nothing to say?"

"I... you... that’s... shameless!" Janet finally sputtered.

Paulina immediately burst into laughter, while even Julia turned away to hide a smile.

Damian rolled his eyes and continued walking. "A certain wise person once taught me that if you play with fire, you should prepare to get burned."

"I never taught you that!"

"You’ve taught me many things against my will."

Janet remained behind for several seconds, glaring at his back while desperately rebuilding her dignity.

Unfortunately, her glowing ears betrayed her.

......

Damian’s destination was the same real estate office he had visited shortly after first arriving in Rosewood Town.

Finding Marissa was easy, and recognizing her mood was even easier.

The polished realtor who had previously welcomed him in a fitted grey business dress and professional confidence was still neatly dressed, but the skin beneath her eyes was swollen and faintly red.

Her usual practiced smile appeared when Damian entered with the four ladies, though it collapsed almost immediately after he asked whether something had happened.

"My family came from Boar Village. I moved to Rosewood Town several years ago when business began expanding here. My parents stayed behind because they refused to abandon the farm." Marissa admitted quietly after a long pause.

Damian’s expression changed.

"They didn’t make it?"

Marissa shook her head.

"No."

For several moments, nobody spoke.

The attack had spread farther through Rosewood Town than Damian initially understood.

Otter Village had become personal because he knew Garrick and Kellan, but Boar Village and Bison Village were not empty names on some Guild report.

People living throughout Rosewood Town had parents, siblings, grandparents, children and childhood friends inside those settlements.

The casualties were radiating outward like cracks through glass.

"I’m sorry, Marissa," Damian offered sincerely.

"We spent most of today in Otter Village. I wish there was something better I could say."

"There isn’t, but thank you." Marissa replied with a tired smile.

Eunice stepped forward and gently took the woman’s hand, offering a brief prayer for her parents. Marissa’s composure nearly cracked again, but after wiping her eyes and taking several breaths, she straightened her shoulders.

"Forgive me. You came here for business."

Damian nodded. "I need two properties. First, a commercial building suitable for a general store. Preferably somewhere with good foot traffic, security and access to banking."

Marissa blinked. "A store?"

"I recently obtained a General Mercantile Permit." Damian admitted with a nod.

Her expression changed immediately, and her professional instinct survived grief remarkably well.

"Then I may actually have several options."

Marissa retrieved a thick property ledger and began searching.

Most possibilities were discarded quickly.

One was too far from the commercial center, another had excellent warehouse access but weak pedestrian traffic, and a third sat near the Adventurer’s Guild but had poor frontage and limited security options.

Eventually, Marissa stopped on one page.

"There is one property that fits almost everything you asked for. It’s located on Central Lane, three buildings from the Caurelian Continental Bank."

Damian’s eyebrows rose.

That was almost ridiculously good, but...

"Why is it empty?" Damian asked with a puzzled look.

"It technically isn’t yet," Marissa clarified.

"The current tenant’s lease has expired. He operated a luxury furnishing store, but business has been poor for almost a year. He already informed the landlord that he cannot afford renewal, and his remaining stock is being removed today." She added while going through documents.

Ah.

Well, that was much more believable.

Damian had seen enough to become suspicious whenever reality conveniently placed the perfect abandoned building directly in front of a protagonist.

"How much?" Damian asked casually.

Marissa hesitated. "Five Gold per month."

Damian’s face stiffened. "Five... Gold?"

Even the four ladies looked shocked.

Damian suddenly understood why the furniture merchant was leaving.

Rosewood Town’s property prices were generally absurdly cheap from Damian’s Earth perspective.

The town itself was a developing frontier settlement expanded from the nearby Rastia Kingdom into a resource-rich danger zone, so local authorities wanted craftsmen, merchants, Adventurers and ordinary families to settle permanently.

Cheap land encouraged immigration, and cheap housing encouraged families.

More families meant more workers, businesses, taxes, defenses and future generations.

Damian’s own residence proved how extreme that policy could become. A two-story cottage with four bedrooms, two washrooms, a private well, an enchanted pool and a large garden would have been marketed like some miniature Beverly Hills villa on Earth.

Here, it was merely three Silver per month.

It was madness by Earth standards, yet perfectly logical under Rosewood Town’s circumstances.

Commercial land beside one of the busiest lanes in Rosewood Town was another matter entirely.

A building three doors from the Caurelian Continental Bank benefited from security patrols, wealthy customers, merchant traffic and constant movement between financial institutions and nearby businesses.

Frontier incentives could make residential property cheap, but they could not magically create more prime commercial frontage.

"That location really is worth its weight in Gold," Damian muttered.

He checked his available finances.

The numbers had become considerably uglier since his first fifty-Gold Starter Pack loan.

Three Silver had gone toward his first month’s cottage rent, another Silver toward early supplies, and his first Otter Village quest had returned one Silver and twenty-two Copper.

Then came twenty Silver and fifty-nine Copper in confirmed Buyer’s Alley purchases.

The seven spell manuals had been the real massacre, devouring forty-three Gold in one glorious afternoon.

Fortunately, the Moonveil Forest investigation had returned Damian’s eighty-five Silver and sixty-eight Copper party share, while today’s Otter Village cleanup added another fifteen Silver and seventy-five Copper after the Adventurer’s Guild’s commission and party division.

On paper, that placed his confirmed subtotal at seven Gold, seventy-eight Silver and six Copper.

Then came all the irritating expenses that never received proper receipts: twelve extra Vials of Vigor, the Alchemical Fire Salt, powdered Common monster bone, two Shield Scrolls, porter fees, carriage fares and assorted small cash payments.

Once Damian conservatively deducted roughly twenty-eight Silver worth of those forgotten expenses, his realistically spendable balance sat near seven Gold and fifty Silver.

And he still owed the Caurelian Continental Bank fifty Gold in principal.

Damian rubbed his forehead. "Money really does disappear faster after you start earning it."

Marissa waited patiently.

Damian eventually sighed. "I’ll take the Central Lane property for one month."

All four ladies looked at him.

Marissa blinked. "You’re certain?"

"Very." Damian asserted seriously.

There was no point possessing inventory valued at tens or hundreds of Gold per unit while being too frightened to spend five Gold establishing a storefront.

Damian continued, "I also want fifty Silver allocated for immediate refurbishment. Repairs, cleaning, new basic enchantments, signage, shelving, security improvements and local advertising. Whatever can be completed quickly."

Marissa’s professional instincts fully awakened. "I can arrange contractors tonight."

"Perfect." The young man said, but inwardly, he was sighing endlessly.

Damian had just committed five Gold and fifty Silver, which was painful, very painful, but also very necessary.

"Now for the second property. I need somewhere residential for eight people, preferably more capacity than they currently need."

Marissa searched again, and this requirement proved much easier.

She eventually found an older but well-maintained communal longhouse on the edge of the residential district.

It had previously housed traveling craftsmen and seasonal laborers, so it came furnished with beds, tables, storage rooms, a large kitchen, wash facilities and enough space for roughly thirty residents without becoming cramped.

The owner wanted stable occupancy more than high rent, so six months prepaid cost one Silver.

Damian stared at Marissa. "One Silver?"

"Communal longhouses are not highly desirable among established families. Most people with steady income prefer private cottages. The owner would rather have reliable tenants maintaining the property than leave it empty." Marissa explained.

Damian immediately paid, and now had approximately one Gold and ninety-nine Silver remaining.

His cash reserves had just been butchered again.

Still, Damian did not regret it.

The children would have somewhere safe to sleep tonight.

And if his plans developed the way he increasingly expected them to, housing thirty people instead of eight might prove remarkably farsighted.

......

Marissa personally led them to Central Lane afterward, and the building impressed Damian immediately.

Two full floors of dark timber and pale stone rose between a potion retailer and an enchanted-clothing boutique.

Broad windows faced Central Lane, while the Caurelian Continental Bank’s white stone structure could be seen only three buildings away.

The first floor contained a large open reception and retail area, a rear storage room, two counters and enough wall space for extensive shelving.

The second floor was divided into several private offices, consultation rooms and two larger chambers clearly intended for wealthy clients who wanted purchases handled away from the public eye.

Janet wandered through the ground floor with her hands behind her back like an imperial envoy. "Tsk, tsk, not bad!"

Julia examined the windows. "Good sightlines."

Paulina tested one of the support pillars by slapping it hard enough to make Marissa flinch. "Strong!"

Eunice smiled and spoke simply. "It suits you."

Damian slowly turned in place.

This was real.

His commercial tower in Evergreen Immortal City belonged to his role as an Evergreen Sect Guest Elder and existed within the sect’s territory.

But this was his first actual shop, a foundation that belonged to Damian Baines.

"I’ll take good care of it," Damian told Marissa.

She smiled genuinely for the first time since they met that evening.

"Then I’ll have the transfer recorded tonight, Baron Baines."

After thanking her once more, Damian watched Marissa depart toward the contractor district.

Then he turned around and saw four pairs of eyes staring at him.

Damian’s smile vanished.

"What?"

The four ladies said nothing.

Damian looked from Eunice to Paulina, then Julia, then Janet.

"You lot have been following me all day."

"Yes," Janet admitted without shame.

"You’ve eaten my Grain Avoidance Pills."

"Yes."

"You watched me use a Cleansing Talisman on Kellan."

"Yes."

"You’re waiting for me to explain where all of this comes from."

Janet grinned and clapped. "Yes!"

Damian sighed.

There really was no escaping it, huh?

Obviously, he could not tell them about Shengyuan, and he certainly would not reveal the Dual-Realm Exchange System.

But pretending nothing unusual was happening would only insult their intelligence.

"Fine. I’ll tell you something, but not everything." The young man acquiesced partially.

Their expressions sharpened.

"Otherworlders have occasionally arrived in Valoria with unusual gifts. I’m the same. When I came here, I awakened a Special Power unique to me." Damian began slowly.

Nobody interrupted.

"I won’t explain exactly what it does. There are some secrets I would only trust to blood-related family, my wives or partners, and people who become key subordinates directly tied to me." Damian ended it there with a firm tone.

The four ladies exchanged glances.

Eunice nodded first. "That is reasonable."

Julia folded her arms. "I dislike unanswered questions, but forcing someone to reveal a Special Power would be extraordinarily rude."

Paulina nodded reluctantly, while Janet narrowed her eyes.

Damian immediately became wary, because that expression meant the little monster was thinking.

"So that’s why you took Kellan and those children!" Janet suddenly declared, hopping on the spot in excitement.

Damian paused in surprise, not expecting her to suss this out.

Janet pointed at him triumphantly. "You gained five Levels in only a few days! If your Special Power can produce things like those Grain Avoidance Pills and Cleansing Talismans, then you probably have some method of reproducing what happened to you. You plan to train those children with it!"

Silence filled the store.

Damian considered lying at first, then decided there was little point.

He never intended to build some hidden cult operating beneath Rosewood Town.

Whatever force he created would eventually become visible.

"Yes, something along those lines." Damian admitted.

The reaction was immediate as all four ladies stared at him deeply.

Those children had lost almost everything overnight.

Yet now, by some absurd twist of fate, they had fallen under the protection of a Level 6 Otherworlder who possessed a method capable of turning ordinary progression on its head.

Janet looked genuinely envious. "Those lucky little bastards..."

Eunice lightly struck the back of her head. "Janet!"

"What? I’m happy for them! I’m also jealous!" Janet protested while clutching her head.

Paulina’s ears suddenly rose, and her bushy tail began wagging.

"Damian."

He immediately noticed the dangerous amount of expectation in her eyes.

"Yes?" He asked cautiously.

"You said your power helped you grow through the Novice Stage." Paulina asked slowly.

Damian nodded slowly.

Paulina leaned forward.

"Could you produce something that would help someone in the Journeyman Stage reach the Adept Stage?"

Damian became thoughtful.

Qi Nourishing Pills stopped helping after Level 5, but Shengyuan obviously possessed stronger medicine.

The Grade Two Condensing Essence Pill came to mind, a medicine used by Qi Condensation cultivators to accelerate their own realm progression.

If a cheap Body Tempering medicine could become direct Experience inside Valoria...

What would a Grade Two pill become?

Damian had never tested one, but the possibility was very real.

"Yes... Probably." Damian answered eventually.

Paulina’s tail stopped, Janet’s mouth opened, Julia’s eyes widened, and even Eunice looked visibly shaken.

Then the excitement in their hearts died strangely quickly, not because they wanted it any less, but because all four understood the key problem at the same time.

This was not a Healing Vial Damian might casually sell, it was literal access to power.

If Damian possessed a method capable of pushing Journeyman adventurers toward Adept, why would he distribute it freely?

The person he empowered today could become his enemy tomorrow.

A stranger who smiled while accepting his generosity might return years later with a sword.

And Damian had already stated exactly who would receive his deepest secrets and greatest benefits.

Blood family, key subordinates, and wives or partners.

The four ladies became quiet.

None of them were, or could become, Damian’s blood relatives.

Becoming his subordinates was equally complicated.

Each woman carried circumstances, obligations and histories far deeper than Damian currently understood, making simple service beneath another person far less possible than it might appear.

Which left only one category.

The silence suddenly became very strange as Eunice, Paulina, Julia, and Janet glanced at Damian.

Almost simultaneously, four very different women experienced the same dangerous thought before vows, obligations, hidden histories and common sense could suppress it.

If it was him...

Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea...?

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