My constant, volume-based grinding of F-Rank missions had secured the necessary raw materials and currency, but my small-scale Clear Brew operation in my cramped closet quarters was now a significant bottleneck. To fund the rapid escalation of my Kinetic Anchor Technique and the acquisition of the final, rare component for my core stabilization, I needed exponentially more profit.
I needed to scale my Trash Grass alchemy into a true, silent enterprise.
My focus immediately turned to the Jade Feather Clan's discarded assets. Through Unit 77, my nervous logistics contact, I gained access to the Clan's records on abandoned property. My Hyper-Focus flagged a single, promising asset: a long-forgotten, subterranean municipal water treatment facility located several miles beneath the Academy's main campus. It had been deemed permanently unusable decades ago due to extreme, untreatable inorganic contamination.
For the Clan, it was worthless waste. For me, it was a perfect, secure distillery.
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I approached Elder Varen (the head of student assessment), utilizing my established persona as The Persistent Grinder.
"Elder Varen, Sir," I mumbled, standing slightly slouched. "I noticed the old Gamma-9 facility is flagged as hazardous waste. I could clear it out. I'm quite good at the clean-up missions. It would get me more XP, Sir."
Elder Varen was amused by my sheer commitment to grunt work. He granted me access without a second thought, viewing it as another way to keep the "talentless" youth busy and out of the way of the "geniuses."
Using the cover of "cleanup missions," I began my secret work in the contaminated tunnels.
Purging the Site: The contamination was irrelevant to me. I activated my Blue Trash Grass spirit to its maximum continuous setting. While the spirit was weak in force, its absolute, inorganic purification property was unmatched. Over two weeks, the facility's vast cisterns were silently purged of every pollutant, leaving behind immense reservoirs of perfectly clean, neutral water.
Infrastructure Rebuilding: I used my accumulated low-level funds to purchase cheap, industrial-grade plumbing materials and pumps. I then used my Kinetic Pulse and Density Manipulation to execute the heavy labor—bending metal, fusing pipes, and installing the distillation equipment—in minutes. The surveillance cameras registered a few blurry movements and the sounds of physical labor—the perfect camouflage for a hardworking, clumsy F-Rank.
I had transformed a multi-million-credit hazardous waste site into a fully operational, hyper-efficient, subterranean distillery.
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My scale of production exploded. I could now process hundreds of gallons of raw mash daily. I introduced a new, premium product: The Apex Brew (a silent nod to my true power).
The Apex Brew was simply Clear Brew on a massive scale—alcohol of absolute, perfect purity. I secured a new distribution network through Unit 77 and the logistics contacts I had cultivated. The product was sold discreetly on the city's low-level black markets, catering to the desperate need for clean, reliable consumption among the overworked Rank B and Rank A mercenaries and lower-tier Clan commanders.
The profits were staggering. My income went from small daily deposits to massive weekly influxes of untraceable, encrypted currency.
This capital was immediately funneled into my true objective: acquiring the final, ultra-rare, high-purity essence components required to complete my Lich Essence Stabilization and begin the long, resource-intensive search for the Query Card.
I continued to perform my daily Rank F pest control missions, maintained my clumsy demeanor in the Academy, and endured the Elder's dismissals. The Jade Feather Clan saw a persistent, if simple, boy running a quaint little side business. They saw mediocrity. They saw compliance. They never once realized that the talentless F-Rank was secretly generating the resources of a Legendary-tier enterprise, all beneath their feet. The final stage of my silent ascension was now fully funded.