Chapter 28: Rivalries & Drug Lords

Arson sat with Xani. The entire construction project could be seen in progress from Xani’s drone grid. The cameras either stayed in motion or posted in a single location which Arson found fascinating.

“How do you watch all the cameras at once?” asked Arson.

“Unlike you, kiddo, I’ve finished my core and have begun to practice real magic, not just the use of system-given skills,” responded Xani. Her smile was vibrant and Arson couldn’t understand her answer entirely so he continued the long train of questions that had begun since he walked into her workspace.

“I know that about magic already. I guess I am asking what factor of magic allows you to do that?”

“That depends on a lot of factors, my attribute system, stat allocation and even my ability to learn non system-given skills.” Arson nodded and just when Xani thought there would be a true moment of silence he asked another question.

“So what magical skill did you learn outside of the system-given skills that allows you to concentrate on multiple things at one time,” prompted Arson. Xani had by that point been fully drawn into a state of hypnosis, and answered the question without thought.

“Mind domain splitting,” said Xani.

“Can you teach me Mind Domain Splitting?”

“Why sure I can. I don’t see— hey what the sparks am I saying? You’re only seven, Arson. What do you need to split your bloody mind for? You don’t think you’re involved with enough already?” Xani seemed to snap out of the trance, and Arson noted the extent of the simple trances use for further experimentation.

“You said you learned it outside the bounds of the system anyway, so what’s wrong with you teaching me before my core is finished? It’s not like anyone knows how to finish my core entirely anyway, but I at least know my mental core is complete,” said Arson. Arson often visited the space tree.

He still didn’t know its true purpose, but it did grow rapidly, supported by the storm that also grew above it. As well as his own soul’s energy as it grew.

The swirl of incredible energy spat from the blackhole beneath the trees sunlit roots was constantly being devoured, in addition to the rain from above. The tree seemed to be fed by Arson merely being alive, and he sometimes felt it to be the true source of his regeneration.

He had no clue how to work on the size of his mana pool, but had spoken with his mother about it a handful of times. She had refused to give him any information on how to increase his own pool as she felt it was too dangerous with his current lack of emotional discipline. The larger the source of power, the larger the potential for mood swings in the young.

She even showed him the barcode that tagged her as a nuclear device from her childhood. It was small and lined the underside of her chin that wasn’t drowned in a flame tattoo. Apparently it was in Musou black, a strange sort of liquid that was used to drink in light for as long as the individual lived.

Arson began to wonder about the liquid and how he could maybe use it, but dismissed it when his mother told him how hard it was to create. Temporarily at least.

“What is next for you if I show you how to split your minds concentration then,” asked Xani.

Arson listed off several things he had to work on and Xani laughed to herself before she spoke up again. He didn’t like that she’d laughed at his short list of goals, but listened to her instruction regardless. It had been much harder for Arson not to lash out since his semi successful raid of the wretches.

“That is the key, hold all of the things you want to focus on in your head, and keep them there, I started with 3, not 7, and rotated the objects of my focus, constantly, until it didn’t matter what number I thought of, I could perceive it fully, at the same time as any other number, or all the numbers, start small, then challenge yourself when things become easy,” said Xani all at once. Arson’s forehead scrunched as he thought about what she’d said, and he smiled.

“Sounds like a fun mental exercise, I’ll add them to the ones my mom has me doing already. Thanks, Xani,” said Arson. He began to practice in his head immediately and zoned out completely. Xani tried to invoke any semblance of a conversation for a while, but gave up after Arson’s third half hearted answer. Only to be startled when he began to ask questions again.

“Wow, this is an odd sensation, it’s like I’m picturing an entirely different place and its needs, but if I push myself I might be able to converse more casually. Am I even doing this right?” Xani gave him an odd look, and cursed under her breath before she responded.

“How many things are you trying to focus on?”

“Seven,” answered Arson.

“I told you to start small, if your foundation is shaky, so will be the skill itself, it will also be graded and regulated once you have truly gained the ability, and it is much harder to level a skill than to be granted a high grade, trust me,” said Xani.

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“Well, I can practically picture anything in my mind, but it feels like I’m currently imagining what it would be like to hold seven different things in my mind and be able to talk to you at the same time,” said Arson. Xani asked him a blur of questions, and then smiled.

“Keep on practicing, stay at seven, are you ready to hear the status report for street sales?” Arson nodded and turned back toward the screens. He had to force himself to not try and split his attention again to include the wall of holograms in front of him.

“Rob and the crew have completely taken over the delivery market in the Old Town sector, due to how inexpensive you’ve made some foods, some even considered to be delicacies. We don’t have much competition in lower end markets, in addition to what we managed to pull in from the private guests at the nightclub, Rob and his second are pulling in almost three million credits a meal served, and are constantly booked.” Arson took some time to process her words. He also took time to watch the deliveries being made by both his new and more senior employees. The orphans were well trained and beyond professional.

“Is it Rob teaching our people such high levels of customer service, or Jasmine?”

“Both honestly, Jasmine puts them through hell, and if they dare try to join crew without any type of home training, Rob forces them to work under Jasmine for a period of time as well, some like it enough and never come back,” said Xani with a laugh.

“You’d think that people would always shoot for crew since they make so much,” said Arson with a laugh of his own.

“Yeah, until they see how much Jasmine’s teams really pull in. Do you know that you have a vintage watch salesmen that doesn’t talk to anyone under 100k credits a transaction, or that some of your recent wealth is from literal hover bike sales that have increased in use since blackhole’s success with them?” Arson shook his head.

“Ok, I’ll move on to Jasmine’s report then. Eureka is taking off pretty well, and the Musou black suit advertisement went viral. Khalif hates you for making him web famous, by the way. Moving on, vintage clothing sales brought in 21 million last week alone, plus another 55 million in private sales,” said Xani before Arson cut in.

“Private sales?”

“Yes, we have dozens of private show clients now that want their clothes modeled with live models rather than holograms, which Jasmine can provide easily, many of the young men and women that model for her have started their idol careers already because of it, most of the private showings are actually because of your sister Autumn and her ritzy friends requesting private shows before their every event, I guess Jasmine is the only provider that can keep up with the girls constant need for a change in style,” said Xani. Arson frowned and Xani rolled her eyes.

“She’s paying high rates, Arson, don’t mess up a good for thing for Jasmine,” said Xani. Arson cooled off instantly. He noted that Xani seemed to know exactly what to say to calm him down recently. Not only did she remain blunt, but she illuminated the threats his actions could have to their longevity.

“You’re right, I’ll ignore it, but I guarantee you that Lane is going to catch some heat for it at some point,” said Arson.

“Speaking of which, Lane or Khalif next?”

“Hmm, I’m going with Khalif, and don’t forget your own report Xani,” said Arson. The young woman nodded and begun Khalif’s report and the contents shocked Arson.

“Coming in at 2nd place, we have Khalif and the newly proclaimed Event Horizon, they made a considerable 578 million credits last week, through their guard jobs, training sessions throughout nearly all of old town, and private body guard testing packages,” said Xani. Arson’s eyes went wide and he was shaken by the numbers.

“I see how he paid for one of the suites we are going to offer at BHC, but what the sparks is a bodyguard test?”

“You pay us to test your bodyguard, we see if we can kidnap you and if we do, you hire one of our guards instead, Khalif said that because of some sort of apartment building in a box that you worked out that the jobs are child’s play, I’ve sent the footage to Lane but haven’t watched it myself yet.”

“Ok, but you said second place, whose in first, you or lane?” Xani laughed heartily. Her eyes still on the holograms.

“I’m obviously in first place, I supply the goods to every other one of the other branches of BlackHole, except for food, and that is going to change rapidly as the farmland we are working on is almost done, but the sales of my redesigned living limos puts me in a different earnings bracket,” stated Xani. Arson shrugged as she was right. Xani had already sold three of the luxurious living room limos, and their billion credit price tag wasn’t something to laugh at. Nor were the 100 million credit subscription packages for upgrades.

“So why save Lane for last if you were in first place?”

“Because the woman is an animal, and deserves every credit you pay her,” said Xani with a wave of her hand. All the holograms changed to show one image of Lane at a news desk. Xani played the video and Arson was immediately captivated.

“Welcome back my fellow cultivators, this is BHN, Black Hole News is provided to you by the BlackHole Syndicate, today we have a special announcement to make,” said Lane on screen.

“Wow the production value is insane, she did this with your drones?” Xani only nodded and let the girl on screen speak.

“First is the second grand opening that BlackHole has planned for this season alone, which is, The BHC.” Images of the shopping mall and mini coliseum above it were displayed. Then the luxury suites being built below the club were displayed and even his famous sister could be seen being served food and modeled for on one of the private suites rooftop gardens.

“Sparks…,” Arson cursed at how good the holograms were, as most new companies didn’t start with high quality advertisement departments, nor someone as skilled as Lane.

“The current underground champion has a 2v1 scheduled for the grand opening three days from now.” Troy was then shown In a bare knuckle match. Hard light clones railed into her opponent from many angles and Arson couldn’t help but smirk at his best friend’s vigor in the ring. She’d changed a lot, but she was incredibly strong, which only made him want to work harder.

“With Black Hole’s development of Black Hole garden, the new store is planned to be completed in a mere season, but before then, we are hosting a small festival centered around a tournament for young cultivators. Sorry scions and idols of Maelstrom, but we don’t get to participate in this one, this is for those without names that need a bit of recognition,” said Lane. Khalif was then shown as he trained with Arson, secured a target, and then a flash of him in the realm’s darkest material made into a suit. he couldn’t use it for what he wanted to, but was glad it worked for their clothing line so well. They didn’t actually offer Musou black material quite yet because of how expensive it was to manufacture, but the single suit they’d managed to make did sky rocket their clothing sales.

More flashes could be seen of the things they had in the works, and Arson was made hungry by all the food commercials Lane threw in to show off the crew’s skills. There was even a flash of Jade as she instructed Rob and the others in the kitchen.

“Welcome to the Black Hole community my fellow cultivators, don’t miss out, also use my name for sign up and your first purchase discount on the new BHC app, and yes we do deliver,” said Lane with a smile and the show ended with a scan-able link to download their app.

“I didn’t even know we had an app,” said Arson.

“Yes you did, you suggested it to me a few days ago,” said Xani.

“Yeah, suggested it, as in, hey Xani this is probably a good idea, what do you think. Normally there would be more of a conversation before we pull the trigger on something this big,” stated Arson. He didn’t feel slighted, but he would never be ok with being misinformed or left in the dark when it came to his own company.

“I felt dumb for not already having something like that in place when you suggested it and may have rushed to get a strong working model out there, it’s already increased sales, and is why Jasmine is booked solid as well as all her teams,” said Xani.

“Are you the only one of my branch heads with free time currently?”

“Nope, I squeezed you into my footage monitoring time, I have to leave soon actually,” responded Xani. Arson sighed and said his goodbyes before he went to go find Khalif. He had to talk to his friend about the rumors about Mr. Kim. If the man had truly begun to spread drugs throughout the sectors of the city that Arson was involved in, a full on retaliation would soon be at hand.

“Let’s hope you haven’t lost your sparking mind, Mr. Kim…”