MANUKE FPS 67.2 – “E”

Last night, I had dinner with Malta-san and Bill-san at a restaurant called Klebben. The place was well known for its meat dishes. I let Malta-san order for me, and when I sunk my knife into the steak; not only was it thick, its sweet juice filled my mouth from just a small piece. I had to admit, it was better than anything I’ve ever eaten. Even from my original world.

We talked about work during our meal, and just like that, we were on the topic of the magic water. Since Malta-san and Bill-san were merchants, they were quite fond of talking about business. My plan for tomorrow was to head to the Harvest Festival, check on the sales of the bento boxes, and attend the core removal ceremony.

Since there were still two weeks until the estimated time of the Emerald Demon Labyrinth’s closure; I decided to return to the Wolves’ labyrinth to try and get the magic water. Only, there was one problem. The method of extraction. During the discussion with Malta-san, we first thought of using my Gift Box. I found there were some problems though. Magic water is actually quite heavy. So there’s a possibility I wouldn’t be able to lift the bag even at my power suit’s maximum output.

So what should we do?

I had that already covered. I didn’t explain the details to Malta-san. I had only said that I would return in five days, and they should be ready to receive a large amount of magic water then.

Two days later, I was already on the Labyrinth 20th sub-floor’s Gatekeeper room. I realized now that traversing the labyrinth was much quicker if you knew the way. Next was a corridor and an open field. So I took out my Kawasaki KLR and sped through the floor. I would have crossed the field section faster, but I had to be careful not to crash into a tree. Monsters might also appear, though, with that, I only had to make sure they got stuck in the tires.

A Black Moth sprang out, but I simply floored through it. The rain was heavy on the 21st floor, as usual, and filled the floor with endless noise. But in my eyes, those droplets of water were gold coins now, and they sounded like the clinking of coins hitting the floor.

I activated my TSS and summoned a vehicle from my garage. In a dazzling display of light, it appeared on the large stone landing by the stairs leading up to the 20th floor. The Oshkosh M978 Tanker, a diesel-powered 8-wheeled American HEMMTT (Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck). Mainly used to transport fuel for other military vehicles, its tank can hold up to 2,500 gallons (9,500 liters) of fuel.

VMB had no combat vehicles, but it still included a few military vehicles. The M978 was one of them. It was meant to transport fuel, but this time, I was planning to fill the tank with the magical water. First, I opened the manhole-like lid on top of the rank so it could catch the gold coins — I mean, rain, falling from above. The diameter of the hole was no more than 50 cm; it was a bit inefficient in terms of catching the rain.

I summoned a Gift Box from my inventory and extracted a large pan that was over 1 meter in diameter. Before leaving Barga, I bought this from the tool shop and had a blacksmith make a hole in the center. And voila, a funnel. I placed it over the tanker’s hole. Then, I got into the driver’s seat, started the truck, and moved it forward enough for the funnel to catch the gold– I mean, rain.

Now, I just have to wait. Even with the large funnel, it’ll take time for the gold co– I mean rain, to fill the 9,500-liter tank. I don’t know the precipitation rate per hour. However, even if its 100mm per hour, it’ll still take around four days to fill. 

For the time being, I planned to bring the trunk back at 1/4 capacity; about 2,400 liters. The bottle used to sell the water holds 200ml, so it’ll be equal to 12,000 bottles. 

A potion of Magic Restoration costs 1 gold coin. This was equal to 100.000 ol. And We’ll have 12,000 bottles once I was done. Although I don’t know about the production cost, I was sure the profits would still be plentiful. While I waited, despite the other Adventurers rarely coming down to this floor I lingered around the M978; encase I needed to recall it back into the garage immediately. 

In the meantime organize my inventory, purchase more equipment, or do some shooting training, etc. 

Experimenting with the VMB System’s limitations, I tried summoning 2 vehicles at once to no avail. Here I thought that using 2 trucks would make collecting faster… Only now I found it was impossible. 

< — >

Three days later, I returned to the Fort City of Barga as scheduled. Immediately, I headed back to the Marida Company. There, I met with Malta-san, Bill-san, and several other employees they could trust. Then, they took me to the company warehouse. From afar, I could see Alm and Silvara guarding the warehouse. 

So, this is where they’re stationed for now. 

My gaze met with Alm’s for instance, but she turned away quickly. Even from a distance, both the girls stood out like a sore thumb. Two fox beast-women with lush golden and silver hair respectively, plus bondage-style leather armor and skirts. Their tails – with matching fur as their hair – stuck out their behinds; swaying around despite pretending to be indifferent. 

Only Malta-san, Bill-san and I entered the warehouse and the rest waited outside. The escorts, including the two girls, strictly were to guard the perimeter of the warehouse. This was to prevent the employees, corporate spies. and the guards themselves, from seeing what was going on inside.

Once there was only the three of us inside, I summoned the M978 via the TSS. Perhaps shocked by witnessing such a large vehicle appeared out of thin air; Malta-san and Bill-san stood there wide-eyed and speechless. Barrels had been prepared in the warehouse to hold the magic water. The barrels themselves were around 90cm in height, 70cm in girth, and could hold approximately 200 liters of magic water each.

I went to the rear of the truck and opened a rear hatch, revealing the drainage hose. Just like my original world’s version, it had a lever and a nozzle attached. If I pulled the level, the tank’s content will be discharged from the nozzle. I put the nozzle in the opening of a barrel, then pulled the lever to begin transferring the water into it. Malta-san and Bill-san rushed forward as soon as they heard the sound of water pouring down.

“This is real magic water. I’m really at a loss for words…” 

“Chairman, I’m also at a loss for words…”

Seeing that both Malta-san and Bill-san were impressed, I continued to fill the barrels with magic water. Eventually, all 12 barrels were filled full with the magic water. The next part was for the employees. I returned the M978 to the garage as soon as I was done; no presence of it was left whatsoever. Only then, were the employees allowed to enter the warehouse.

“Alright, guys! It’s all up to you now! Put the lids on and load them onto the carriage. We’ll send them to the capital tomorrow morning!”

The amount of magic water would be enough to supply Barga for a while. So, the excess will be sent to the capital. There, the Magician’s Guild and Alchemist Guild will buy it. Of course, my name would not be included in any documents. 

Finished with my delivery, I returned to the inn to prepare for tomorrow’s harvest festival.