The office was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The approval on Eleanor’s face was not feigned. She looked at Allen as if he were a work of art, freshly polished by a master craftsman and just beginning to reveal its brilliance.

"A very wise choice, Mr. Allen."

Her reaction truly wasn’t what Allen had expected.

’Shouldn’t she be trying to threaten or entice me into fulfilling the contract, or at least expressing some regret?’

"Lord Mercer Iron Star is willing to take you under his wing personally. This is your honor."

Eleanor leaned back in her chair, lacing her fingers together in a relaxed posture. "In the Association’s database, there are over three hundred entries on Lord Mercer. The most frequent words that appear are ’victory’ and ’wealth’."

"Following him, what you’ll learn will be far more valuable than burying your head in research at an academy for ten years."

Allen knew very well that this shrewd investor would never applaud someone else’s success for no reason.

"Therefore, I cannot accept the Association’s previous proposal," he stated, bringing the issue to a head.

"No, you’ve misunderstood."

Eleanor wagged her finger, her smile growing wider. "Don’t be so quick to refuse. We can still... have another mode of cooperation."

She tapped her fingertip on the desk again. The business blueprint on the light screen vanished instantly, replaced by a brand-new Magic Contract.

"Your ’advanced study’ with Lord Mercer is, in essence, a twenty-year, high-intensity practical application of plane warfare. The Association can absolutely postpone the time for you to fulfill your service agreement."

"Simply put," Eleanor said, speaking at a measured pace, "for the twenty years you are working for Lord Mercer, your agreement with the Association will be temporarily frozen."

"Twenty years from now, when you return from the Molten Iron Mountain Range, we will resume our discussion on how you will serve the Association. Of course, by then, your valuation will likely have multiplied several hundred times over."

Allen’s three thought processes began to run simultaneously.

’This woman is far too cunning.’

’This isn’t a concession at all. It’s an empty promise of a ’frozen agreement’ to lock me in ahead of time.’

’If I really make it back from that plane alive, I might have even advanced to a Second-level Wizard by then. The first creditor I’d have to face would still be the Plane Exploration and Development Association, and the value of twenty years of service from a First-level Wizard is completely different from that of a Second-level Wizard.’

"Although you can’t serve the Association immediately, I am very optimistic about your potential. I will use my authority to help you pay a portion of your ’tuition’ for this advanced study."

Eleanor’s smile held an all-knowing confidence. "And we simply need to patiently wait for a battle-hardened War Alchemy Wizard to complete his training and return. I believe this is an investment with a perfectly acceptable level of risk."

"You mean, the loan I owed before..."

"That interest-free loan of fifty thousand Magic Stones is now officially converted into an investment in you by the Association. No repayment is necessary."

Eleanor snapped her fingers, and the terms on the contract changed accordingly. "Furthermore, considering you’ll need start-up capital to establish yourself in the Molten Iron Mountain Range, I’ve decided to add an additional investment of one hundred thousand Low-Level Magic Stones."

"A total of one hundred and fifty thousand Magic Stones in exchange for priority rights in our future cooperation."

She looked at Allen as if admiring her own masterpiece.

"Of course, these one hundred and fifty thousand Magic Stones will be factored into your future ’valuation’. We are making an investment, not a charitable donation."

Allen fell silent.

’This woman... she’s too shrewd. She’s turned the situation to her advantage, proposing terms I simply can’t refuse.’

’Master Mercer wants me to fight tooth and nail, using twenty percent of my output as tuition. But Eleanor? She’s just throwing money at me, buying out my potential for the next twenty years.’

’It would be foolish to turn down money that’s being handed to me on a platter.’

’And money is what I need most right now.’

’With this money, I can build more Golems before heading to that godforsaken plane.’

"I need to see the specific terms of the contract," Allen said.

"Of course."

Eleanor pushed the light screen in front of Allen.

DSeek began a line-by-line scan, deconstructing and analyzing every clause in his Sea of Consciousness.

The agreement was simple. It postponed Allen’s fulfillment of the mid-term investment agreement for twenty years and added a further investment. After Allen returned from his master’s plane, the Association would buy out twenty years of his service at the salary level of a First-level Wizard, and it confirmed the Association’s priority rights for commercial cooperation with him.

A moment later, DSeek delivered its conclusion: [No traps. A pure commercial investment agreement. The other party is assuming all the risk of you dying in battle, gambling on the high returns should you return successfully.]

"I accept," Allen said, looking up.

’Since you’re throwing money down to bet on my future, I’ll take that bet!’

A trace of sincerity finally appeared in Eleanor’s smile.

She once again took a silver Scroll from her drawer.

"A pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Allen. I hope that in twenty years, the man I see here will be a true War Wizard."

As Allen’s name was once again branded onto the Scroll, the numbers in his account immediately began to jump wildly.

[Association investment funds have been deposited: 150,000 Low-Level Magic Stones.]

[Original loan amount of 26,841.4 has been deducted.]

[Current account balance: 128,470.6 Low-Level Magic Stones (includes original account balance of 5,312 Magic Stones).]

Allen stood up. Without any further pleasantries, he gave a slight nod and turned to leave the office.

When the office door closed, the smile on Eleanor’s face slowly faded. She pulled up Allen’s file and, in the risk assessment category, raised his rating from "Medium" to the next level up.

—"High."

But in the expected returns category, she added the two words "Extremely High."

"Mr. Allen, I hope you achieve victory, and bring victory to me as well," she murmured to herself.

...

「Workshop F-37」

The first thing Allen did upon returning to the workshop was to open the familiar internal procurement network of the Association.

Looking at the long string of digits in his account, he didn’t hesitate for a second this time.

"DSeek, bring up the final materials list for the mass-production model PX-1. Place an order for a quantity of... three units!"

’Having money really gives you confidence.’

’Before, I had to pinch every penny, carefully calculating the cost of even a single prototype. Now, I can just build three right off the bat to prepare a team of bodyguards for myself.’

’PX-0 is the technology demonstrator, and also my bodyguard captain.’

’And these three PX-1s will be the capital I need to get a foothold in the Molten Iron Mountain Range.’

"Auric Gold Ingots, twenty tons."

"Standard Second-level Transformation Crystals, six."

"Standard Third-level Transformation Crystals, three."

"..."

The shopping cart on the light screen was quickly filled, each item followed by a staggering number.

These expensive materials that had once been prohibitively expensive for him were now being swept into his cart by the ton.

Finally, when he checked off the last item, the total price was generated.

[Item Total: 94,160 Low-Level Magic Stones]

[Association Internal Discount (-5%): 4,708 Low-Level Magic Stones]

[Final Total: 89,452 Low-Level Magic Stones]

This figure was nearly the entire net worth of a First-level Wizard from another school of magic.

But Allen didn’t even bat an eye, directly selecting [Pay with Account Balance].

[Order generated. Estimated delivery in batches to Workshop F-37, Zone F, within five business days. Please be ready to receive.]

’Done.’

This feeling of instantly converting a massive amount of money into war potential gave him a long-lost sense of an emotion called "thrill."

’Mass producing units is the essence of RTS games!’