--- Sunday, 70 Days AD ---

I gently pressed a microscopic Glyph to the parts in front of me, one by one, fitting each part of my Server Building with its placement Glyph, which I'd learned recently.

If anything every happened, cataclysmic storm wiped out the earth, whatever, then this building would not only survive, it would continue its current path like nothing ever happened.

Shifters placed them on just about everything. It was a reversed version of the glyph on my dagger that meant I could never drop it. This meant it could never be moved away from its predetermined placement.

The Island I stood on, recently purchased for a ridiculous price of 155 Koi, was about as large as Puerto Rico, which amused me. I'd bought a Country sized Island for 155 million bucks. Wow.

It was Mountainous, with six giant mountains dominating the landscape, with peaceful valleys between, along with several Rivers.

The entire islands power grid was controlled from the Central Valley Power Plant, which used the Hydroelectric generators placed in every stream and river of my island to make Millions of GigaJoules of electricity, more than enough to power my labs and factory and also the Core I was building currently.

I had hired several people so far to work on the Power plant and also to travel the Island constantly, and check each Water Wheel for faults.

The job was a relatively fun one, as my island was as beautiful as any tropical Island I'd ever seen. My Mills were, naturally, strategically placed for maximum water movement, and also minimum visibility and impact on the environment, even if it was Man-Made environment.

I was on the top of the Tallest Mountain, which I'd named 'Mount Isaac', for Isaac Newton, and I was obviously building my Nova Core.

Soon, it was almost ready. My Server Hub, my own personal Oslo, (I love Puns and Irony with the best of them) and it would be shaped like a gigantic copy of my FingerPrint.

And by Gigantic, I mean it will be literally as big as the mountaintop it was replacing, because it was carved out of the mountain itself. And inside would be what I was calling the NOVA QUEST. The 'Quantum Ulterior Endocryptic Server Thoroughfare.'

(Literal translation: Quantum computer, attached to, and policing, a physical And therefore Ulterior Server, which was Endocryptic, meaning it encrypted every Byte of information that passed through it at any forum, and the only way to unlock it from any access that was not the original, was by my DNA, hence 'Endo', because my DNA was inside me. And the Thoroughfare was because it trafficked Data from one place to another almost immediately.)

The Building itself would be was what was coined 'NOVA CORE', as the core of my operations.

I slowly raised a hand, concentrating on activating every single glyph on the entire Island that held the Exact Same Glyph that I had just Invented, and the Mountainous pile of computer parts and building materials began moving to their designated spots around the massive Quantum Computer, as per the Blueprints in my head and the Mage Glyphs I'd placed on them.

The only difference to my Fingerprint in the construction was the spiral on the middle of my thumb. A Spire was there instead, and it pointed at the spiral of metal that was in the center of the cavern, which I'd turned into a giant Data Bouncer.

It collected signals from devices I registered, and sent them all directly into my Spire, where it was processed and sent back, and from there, sent to the device.

The loading symbol was something that amused me. It was my Familiar Eyes, the tribal Sun, spinning slowly like the Beachball of death.

As soon as everything was in place, I walked into my Quest, and activated the Quantum computer manually, entering my DNA and fingerprints, then everything else about myself, down to nail density. There were now more than 50 billion different security measures in place.

I activated my Gauntlet, and connected to my Quest, and laughed out loud when it connected and started showing me the information I had access to. Normal users wouldn't be able to access my Archive on Shifters, from the Library, nor would they have access to my Familiar's Live Feeds.

Obviously only people that were physically proven to be Shifters would have access to that, and even then there was a magical Stigma placed on the Server, that anyone who looked at information about shifters, and was, themselves, not a shifter, would just see a blank Screen.

The Shifter Teacher had happily provided me with the Stigma Magic, though she didn't know what it was for. I also placed a Stigma Magic on information regarding my Home, from my Charts to my journal Entries to Paper and voices. A Magical Censor. Awesome, really, if dangerous.

I jogged out of the Core, and into my Lab, which was on the Same Mountaintop, and had a Wired connection to the Quest, starting to secure my lab with the new security protocols.

I stood still as my biometrics were confirmed, and then checked, and double checked. I was given total Access, (obviously) and then I started building a Gauntlet, a Mass Producible version. It wouldn't be weaponized, obviously, but the look would be much the same.

Any pictures and data would be stored in the Quest, permanently, and sifted through for several alarm factors, which included everything from phrases that depicted or described violence, all the way to viruses. I knew Viruses were a long way off for people to make, but you never knew. Constant Vigilance.

My mass producible version was still dope, so I separated it into easily manufactured parts, and then nodded. "Perfect... Now where's Kenton..."

---

I had Kenton cut out the pieces of the Gauntlets, and then made one for him, giving it to him as his payment.

I showed him how it worked, and he looked at me like I was insane. "You're... Insane." He said slowly.

'Oh, well then. Take that, mental narrator.'

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"You're giving me a priceless mechanized library, for cutting some metal?" He asked, scoffing.

I raised an eyebrow, and waved a hand. All the pieces connected seamlessly, and suddenly the piles of metal turned into 5,000 (well, 4,999) gauntlets.

"I'm planning on selling them to the Students and Teachers. Then I plan on expanding to the surface, and then the Moon, and then the other two planets. I'm planning on making this a resource that is easily accessed. And it's only 5 Fein apiece to get the metal. I plan on selling them for 50 Fein apiece." I shrugged.

He gulped. "I... I don't understand how it could cost that little to make something like this... They're always so expensive..."

"Because the manufacturers aren't stupid. They know that nobles will pay just about anything to have a luxury the poor don't. So they're making extreme profits, off of minimal costs." I shrugged. "It's not that hard to make my NovaTech, so it won't be that expensive to Buy." I smiled.

He blinked. "Oh... That makes sense, actually. Very much so..."

"Good. So you'll test it out? It won't work outside of the College grounds, but I'd like to know where reception is the worst and best. Just walk around, and I'll track where I lose you. Do your normal routine, but keep it with you at all times." I nodded.

He nodded. "Whatever you say, boss... I think it's safe to say you're my employer now, right?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yes. You'll be payed A Koi a Year, and Bonuses for projects well done." I smiled.

He grinned and nodded, shaking my hand and sliding on the Gauntlet. He turned it on gingerly, and then registered it with my permission. I entered him as a High Level employee with 'Lvl 2M' security Clearance (meaning: Second level of 3, Mage, and 2S would be 2, Shifter). Then I sent him on his merry way.

Jazz spoke from nearby, and I wasn't surprised this time. "Do I get a thingamajig?" She asked, grinning mischievously.

I tossed her a Gauntlet, Programmed with a Lvl 1S clearance. "That is programmed with a 1S clearance, coded to your DNA. You're privy to Shifter texts, and such, so they're unlocked for you, and only you. There's a hefty Magical Stigma blocking regular mages from seeing it, but I'd still be just as careful as always." I smiled.

She slipped it on. "Hmm... Does it come in White?" The color changed to White, punctuating her sentence. "Oh... Mm, mamá likes..." She purred, stroking the smooth metallic surface.

I smiled. "Glad you like it. Where's Tizzy?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Went up to the surface for some stuff. It is Jyarden, (Sunday), after all. Why?"

I shrugged back. "Nothing, just curious." I packed up 500 of the Gauntlets in five huge boxes, and then contacted my employees at the Central Valley Power Plant, and summoned two of them to my current location, then left instructions to take the boxes to the Main College and sell them for 1 Frei. I was sure just about everyone could afford that, and if not, I'd sell it to them for a little less.

"Let's go have some fun, huh?" I grinned.

She raised an eyebrow. "Is this illegal fun?"

"Is selling firearms illegal?" I asked.

She shook her head. "They're not common enough to warrant much attention, so no laws."

"Purrrrrfect." I purred, my chest vibrating, and quickly snitched a tote filled with handguns and ammo, levitating it behind me. "Then let's go start an Armory." I said merrily.

"Ooh, let's." She grinned, eyes sparking mischievously again.

---

"Here's how this works, pal. I ship you product, and tell you how much to charge. You sell them, and I give you a cut. You take more than your cut, I use the product for its intended use, understood?" I was negotiating with a man who had a tiny weapons store in the slums, and mostly sold knives.

He saw the pistol in my hand, a sleek and elegant M-13 Manta, and seemed confused.

I aimed it at a knife throwing target on the wall, 30 meters away, and pulled the trigger, hitting the bulls-eye.

There was a slight 'Crack' but no loud gunshot, like most guns. It was specifically made with a silencer already a basic component in the long barrel.

He jumped, but slowly looked at the wall, then me. "What will that go through?"

"12 inches of stone, at around 20 meters away." I said, measuring the distance between me an the wall at 30, because the bullet had gone almost all the way through. I looked at him. "Or five men, point blank." I smirked.

He nodded. "And is there any ammunition? I know enough about firearms-"

I placed a bullet on the counter, and a clip, and then an empty gun. I showed him the simple, efficient design, sliding a bullet into the clip, pushing the clip into the gun, and chambering the round.

He nodded and copied it, quickly and easily understanding my purposes. I smiled and handed him a small book. "That is all the weapons in this crate, and their capabilities. Study up, and then start selling them once you know their specs well enough to hawk them to people." I said.

He nodded, already reading. "What's my cut?"

"10 percent. The prices for the guns and ammo are also in the book. Good luck." I grinned.

He waved noncommittally, reading quickly, and I could nearly see him quickly and methodically devouring the details, one by one.

I fetched a second crate, and repeated the process with eight other shops, and one traveling merchant who was already selling Rifles to a military contractor.

The pistols would make a good secondary to the soldiers, and he knew that, despite my ridiculous pricing. I also made sure he would sell them at my prices, vowing to sell to his competitors if he reneged on our deal. He quickly swore to obey the prices.

--- 77 Days AD ---

I nodded to my vendor, who was in the middle of a sale, and waited until he closed it to walk up as the other man walked away, the proud new owner of a Smith&Wesson 0.45 caliber 5 shooter.

I inquired about his sales, and he said he would be sold out soon. I nodded and told him to contact the mages college when he was out of stock.

I hummed as we walked. "Tizzy is busy again?" I asked.

Jazz shrugged. "She always disappears on Jyarden. I've never questioned it. She's somewhere in the city, and probably at a coffee bar."

I nodded. "Probably."

"Well, we have an hour to kill before our meeting with the Emperor, what do you want to do?" She asked.

"Walk around?" I shrugged.

As we were walking around the market, I spotted Tizzy, and went to wave, grinning. Then I saw her laughing, and she punched a man's shoulder playfully, and he kissed her nose in retaliation.

I snarled softly, and started stalking forward, before I even realized I was in my leopard form. A tiger (Jazz) wound around me in an attempt to calm me, but I was on a mission.

I ignored the people screaming, and focused on the man. The man who was touching what was mine.

Tizzy saw me, and gasped, rushing forward. "Ohmigod, Caleb, what's happening, what's wrong?" She asked.

I snarled softly and stalked around her, focused on the frozen man, who's knees were shaking. I bared my teeth, licking my fangs until they were gleaming white with a fresh liquid coat, and then lunged.