I Reincarnated As A Stick

Chapter 359: Preparing for the Future

Chapter 359: Preparing for the Future

Agreeing to the prompt the system had given him, his body had instantly undergone a massive change in less than an instant. Although not much could be said in terms of his appearance, in terms of his combat power, it had undergone a massive transformation as the gray energy forming his body had become more dense, allowing it to radiate an aura of the Origin that was slightly more intense than before. Other than that, not much has changed to Argentum’s body.

Nevertheless, Argentum felt that he had become stronger. Of course, with the system notifying him that his species had changed from Lesser Origin Elemental to Lesser Origin Spirit, that meant the change was official. Doing some basic movements with his newly evolved body, he felt that there was more force behind his movements, prompting him to think that there was a possibility for him to defeat trained Rank 0 Animates without utilizing any of his status boosting buffs. Perhaps, he could even fight against newly ascended Rank 1 Animates to a standstill with his current power.

After acclimating himself to his newfound power for a short while, he then commanded the system to use all of the unused experience points he still had, raising him to the maximum level in less than an instant while being left with around 20,000 points of experience to spare.

With him now at the maximum level, he now felt that he could beat himself up from before hundreds of times before running out of energy. Not only that, he even had a feeling that he could probably be on par with Felix at half power with his status boosting buffs thanks to the increase in stats brought by his level.

Naturally, he was curious as to how much his stats had increased since he felt his combat power increase by a few times by just reaching the max level. With that in mind, he commanded the system to bring up his status screen, to which the system hastily complied with as a small holographic screen appeared in front of his field of vision.

In less than an instant, the numbers he could see from his stats left him at a loss for words as he instantly calculated that the stats he had right now were more than enough for him to be considered as a decently strong Rank 1 Animate. On some stats, he even felt that he had reached the Rank 2 Animate level.

Ding!

________

[Argentum] (Level 20/20)

Experience: MAX

Species: Lesser Origin Spirit

Existence Level: Pseudo-Animate

Grade: Magic

Power Baptism: 1

—————

[HP]: 2350/2350

[MP]: 8720/8720

—————

Stats:

Vitality – 235 (x10)

Strength – 202 (x10)

Defense – 241 (x10)

Agility – 300 (x10)

Intelligence – 300 (x10)

________

“To think obtaining partial ownership over the Desecrated Inheritance would boost my stats by this much,” Argentum muttered to himself with a chuckle of disbelief as he remembered that that was also why Aurus was stronger than Inanimates of the same grade. Eventually, he had acclimated to his newfound strength once again before dispersing the world of frost surrounding him.

After that, he went silent for a bit before his mind had decided on what he should do next. Commanding the system, he brought up the map once more as he placed on a marker on a certain location he had almost forgotten.

With a light grin as he activated all of his movement speed boosting spells, he then muttered to himself, “It’s time to set some things straight.”

“Time to become the leader of Verdant Breeze Town.”

Whoosh!

…

With the boost in Agility given by him evolving to the Magic grade and reaching the max level being compounded by his movement speed boosting spells, Argentum had surprisingly arrived at the outskirts of Verdant Breeze Town by the time the sun was about to set, multiple times faster than the speed at which Blob took to arrive at the same place.

After that, he then dispelled all of the movement speed boosting spells applied on him as he gradually walked towards the gate that served as the entrance to Verdant Breeze Town. Of course, just as he was about halfway to reaching the entrance gate, he then remembered something he should have done beforehand.

“Since I’m now a Magic-grade Pseudo-Animate, I can finally use this,” Argentum muttered to himself as he allowed the energy in his body to circulate over his body’s surface. Not long after, the gray energy making up his body was soon replaced with the sight of human flesh while his face had taken on the features one would see when looking at a person. After a few more seconds, the aura surrounding Argentum had changed as well, giving off the feeling that Argentum was not a Pseudo-Animate anymore, but a true and blue human.

“[False Visage of the Animate] truly works wonders,” Argentum muttered to himself as he used his energy to take a good look at himself, emulating his appearance from his previous life with a few modifications here and there, mostly on the height area. Noticing that he was naked, he then used a bit more of his energy to create clothes that made him look like a traveler that came from far away. He then stood in place for a bit, allowing him to get a feel as to how much of his mana was being consumed every second. In the end, he had calculated that the amount of energy, in addition to his regeneration rate, would be enough for him to last about half a day in this appearance.

Being assured that his facade would last for half a day, he then sped towards the entrance gate, noticing that the gates were about to close. Fortunately, the guards guarding the entrance gate noticed his presence, prompting them to delay the closing of the gate only after Argentum had gotten in.

After Argentum had gotten in, he then thanked the guards that delayed the closing of the gate before making his way to the manor where the previous leader of Verdant Breeze Town resided. While making his way to the manor, he could not help but look at his surroundings, noticing that the people living in the town were now living far better than before Felix had killed Irren, the previous leader of Verdant Breeze Town.

With a light smile hanging on his face, he eventually arrived in front of the gates that led to the manor, which was well-lit even at this time. Naturally, he was barred entry by the guards that guarded the manor’s gate as one of them shouted at Argentum, “Halt! State your identity and purpose.”

Knowing that they were just doing their jobs, Argentum took in a deep breath and said in an unhurried manner, “My name is Argentum. As for my purpose, tell that leader of yours…”

“…that the esteemed sirs from before have come back.”

At first, the guards looked at Argentum as if he had become insane. But then, one of them remembered an incident that happened in Verdant Breeze Town about a month ago, prompting them to look at Argentum with a hint of shock as the man asked, “Are you perhaps…one of those esteemed sirs?”

In response, Argentum lightly smiled before nodding, knowing what was going on inside the guard’s mind. With that as confirmation, the guard then told Argentum, “Understood. I’ll call the leader as soon as possible.”

Just as the guard was about to head into the manor, one of the guards stopped him and asked, “What are you trying to do?”

In response, the guard that was just about to head into the manor said to the guard that stopped him, “I should be the one asking you that. Why are you barring one of the esteemed sirs that helped us escape Irren’s rule?”

At that instant, the guards’ opinion of Argentum had instantly changed, allowing the guard that was about to head into the manor to continue onward while the remaining guards looked at Argentum with a hint of awe and reverence.

After some time, the guard that entered the manor had returned to the gate with another man in tow. Seeing this man, Argentum instantly knew that the person he had chosen to become the proxy leader of this town had worked hard. Taking note of the white strands of hair on the man’s head while the battle-hardened face of his had gained a bit of softness, this well-clothed man in front of him was none other than Delmann, the proxy leader Argentum and the guards had chosen about a month ago.

Taking a look at the young man near the gates of the manor, he then took the words of the guards beside him into consideration as he asked Argentum, “Are you really…one of those esteemed sirs from that incident?”

In response, Argentum lightly chuckled as he said to Delmann, “Bless the winds of verdant breeze…”

“…for we shall stand as tall as trees.” Hearing the statement Argentum gave him, Delmann instantly knew that the guard beside him was not lying at all. One of the esteemed sirs from that incident had actually come back!

With his eyes glistening in excitement, Delmann hastily grabbed Argentum by the hand as he looked at the other guards and say, “Make sure no one knows of this news! We shall officially announce this in the future!”

And with that, Delmann and Argentum hastily headed towards the manor while the guards that were left guarding the manor’s gates started to discuss in excitement the feats Argentum and his friends had done the previous time they were here in Verdant Breeze Town.

…

Brewing a cup of tea for Argentum, Delmann then sat on a chair opposite Argentum as he told him, “It’s nice to see you again, esteemed sir.”

“Call me Argentum, Delmann,” Argentum said in response before taking a sip of the tea given to him. “Ah, good tea.”

“So, what brings you back here so early, Sir Argentum?” Delmann asked before adding, “You did tell me that there was a chance that it might take a long time for you to come back.”

“Fortunately, the problems on my end have all been resolved, allowing me to focus all of my attention on this town once more,” Argentum responded, giving an excuse he made up on the spot. “In any case, you do know what my appearance means, right?”

“But of course,” Delmann responded as he nodded. “From this day henceforth, Argentum shall now become the leader of Verdant Breeze Town.”

Ding!

Surprisingly, just as Delmann announced that, a notification sound resounded throughout Argentum’s mind, prompting him to look at it.

‘You have obtained the passive skill [Lord of Verdant Breeze Town].’

In an instant, he felt that his combat power had risen to a slight degree, confirming Felix’s words from the past that becoming the leader of a town would increase his combat power. After taking in a deep breath, he then looked at Delmann for a bit before pondering over something.

Soon after, he then asked Delmann, “Since I don’t know how the town operates, I would need someone else to guide me. With that…”

“Would you like to become the vice leader of the town, Delmann?”

Naturally, Delmann hastily accepted with a smile on his face as he responded with gratitude, “I would be glad to! Many thanks to Sir Argentum for being magnanimous!”

“You deserve such a position since you’ve been managing the town all the while I was gone without even having any experience in it,” Argentum said in response with a light chuckle before saying, “In fact, I would like to apologize for throwing you into such a position all of a sudden.”

“There’s no need to be sorry, Sir Argentum,” Delmann responded as he waved his hands. “I’m just glad you came back for this town of ours.”

Hearing those words, Argentum let out a light smile before telling Delmann that he was just going to another part of the manor to settle some things. After making sure that Delmann wouldn’t be able to find out what he was doing, he then redirected the energy in his body, making sure to keep his facade active, as he formed a connection with a certain someone.

“Felix, are you there?” Argentum said through the connection, prompting Felix to reply with, “What’s with the slightly urgent tone, Argentum?”

“If it’s possible, could you connect Eleanor and Rosalia to this conversation as well?” Argentum asked, to which Felix asked, “Is there a reason behind this?”

“Yeah. The town,” Argentum succinctly replied, which Felix instantly understood. Without hesitation, Felix utilized the entirety of his energy to make sure that Eleanor and Rosalia were connected to their conversation. Fortunately, it did not take long for the two to respond, with Eleanor saying, “What’s with the sudden request, Felix?”

As for Rosalia, she had noticed Argentum’s presence in the conversation and instantly said with a chuckle, “I see. It’s Argentum’s doing. So, Argentum. Why did you call us?”

At this point, Felix already knew the reason behind his call, so Argentum told them, “I’ll explain as to how I get to this point later, but currently, I’ve become the leader of a town.”

Not giving them the chance to voice out their reactions, he then continued, “With that being said, I would like to ask if you three…want to become main contributors to the development of this town?”

In an instant, Felix and the others went silent. Although the burden of being a contributor to a small town didn’t seem like much, once the town began to grow, the burden would grow as well. Fortunately, these three were owners of inheritances, so they had enough experience in terms of management. With that, their answer to Argentum’s offer was set in stone. In unison, they said in response to Argentum’s offer.

“We’d be glad to.”