Chapter 453: Hesitating on upgrades
Michael once again had to restrain himself from impulsively buying these upgrades. He almost cursed himself for clicking on the option, because now, he would be burdened by the possibility of an upgrade he couldn’t yet buy.
These upgrades are really good. But they cost more too.
He still thought that purchasing the base upgrades would give him more value than the secondary tier upgrades.
For example, the second upgrade he wanted to buy was the [Mini Drone]. Controlling two of these Drones effectively doubled its usefulness. If he fought against a Maugnetic during a duel, the fight would become three versus one with the Drones by his side.
The only problem he had with the Mini Drone was that its usefulness was very limited for now. It would only truly show its usefulness once he upgraded the [Unity Gun Mk.2], when the mini drone would get its own gun. At that point, getting the upgrade could be considered as a necessity.
I can’t decide...
He could also go the stealth route and upgrade the [Muffled Propeller] and the [Camouflage] options to really turn the Drone into a silent killer. However, he would have to spend both drops he had on acquiring this, which Michael was very hesitant about.
After all, he wasn’t really thinking about spying on anyone for now. The value it would give him just wasn’t worth it for spending the two drops he currently had.
Should I do the mini drone and the camouflage? Or maybe...I should just go all in and purchase one of the tier 2 upgrades?
After seeing the secondary tier options that he could buy, Michael was very tempted to just spend the drops on a single upgrade.
The [Shared Vision] was amazing if he wanted full visibility over a battlefield. If he was a general, then this would be his immediate pick for the upgrade. Having the 360 degree piloting view would allow him to oversee the battlefield in its entirety, giving his opponents no chance for him to ambush him.
Meanwhile, the two firearm upgrades were an immediate boost to his offensive capabilities.
He spent so much hesitating on the right choice that Yuna finally returned into his room. When he regained consciousness, she left to fetch everyone else who came all the way from the Nation of Reborn.
His parents and the entire crew of the Reborn company swarmed into his room with worried looks on their faces.
"Oh, my sweet honey baby, you’re okay!"
Lylia immediately jumped in front of the pack and hugged him intensely. She squished her cheeks onto his, smothering him.
"Mmmm-mmmm," Michael mumbled.
"Oh, what has happened to you honey? You can’t talk?!"
Bart immediately pulled her apart from Michael. "Dear, you’re smothering him. No wonder he couldn’t talk."
"Oh..."
Michael put some distance away from his mom. "I was just saying that there was no need to worry. I just passed out from exhaustion."
Still, there was an obvious look of worry from Bart and Lylia. This wasn’t the first time that their son unexpectedly lost consciousness without an obvious explanation.
"Lord Michael. Are you holding up alright?," Sheina asked, bowing her head.
"As up as I’ll ever be," he replied with a smile. His obvious good mood released any worries they had for his well being. His mother thought that it was because of her presence, but it was actually because of the upgrade options he saw earlier.
"Bro Mike! This Metropolis is so big! Are we going to live here soon?" Zion asked.
"Hohoho! It’s much bigger the last time I saw it...oh wait, I don’t remember!"
"As big as it is, we’ll soon expand our business in all corners of the territory. I’ve got the permit," he replied., revealing the red coin he got from the Association.
"Hehehe...so many people here, so many people to spy on," Fudge muttered. "Master, don’t you worry! We’ve already started our preliminary sweep of the entire Metropolis!"
"Not yet, Fudge. We can’t just trespass on other people’s property when we haven’t even got our own place in Metropolis. Wait until we’ve settled."
He then tossed the red coin permit to Castelle, who took it as if it weighed a hundred kilograms
"I’ll assume you’ll handle our expansion here in Metropolis?" he asked her.
The CEO-Maid firmly nodded. "You can count on me, Young Master!"
"Have you decided on where you’re going to build your headquarters here?" Yuna asked him.
"Not yet. And frankly, I have no idea."
"Well, I have good news and bad news for you."
A new voice suddenly emerged from behind the door. Everyone turned to look at the new visitor.
Once Yuna saw who it was, her eyes immediately lit up. "Claudia!"
The aunt and niece had a nice little reunion as they hugged each other tightly. They exchanged some pleasantries with each other, catching up on what they’d been doing, when all of a sudden, Lylia appeared behind Yuna to introduce herself to Claudia.
"Hello, I’m Michael’s mother, Lylia."
"I’ve heard so much about you from Yuna’s letters," Claudia said, shaking hands with Lylia.
"Oh really? I hope it’s good. We’ve been treating her well under our care."
Michael immediately got up off the bed and interrupted their conversation. Right now, his mother acted normal. But eventually, she would get up to her usual schemes about setting him up with Yuna. and he didn’t want Claduia to get involved in that.
"Ahem...Claudia. What were you talking about?"
She faced Michael and told him about what happened while he was unconscious. She told him about the appearance of the Wyvens in the southern shores, she told him about the Parade planned by Alaric Goldstone, and most especially, she told him about the current commotion going on in Main Street of the Upperwood District.
"Wyverns? This means that the foreigners will arrive in the Queens region soon," Yuna realized. "This is huge."
"That’s right," Claudia agreed. "And right now, duels are popping up all over Metropolis as companies try to prepare. Michael, I wanted to reserve Main Street for your company. But that’s not possible now."
Jaku chimed in with his own opinion. "Why do we have to go to this Main Street? Can’t we just choose another land?"
"That’s right!" Zion agreed. "Why do we have to follow this Alaric guy’s parade plans? We’ll make our own!"
".....I agree...." Umisu silently voted.
Yuna was the first to dispel their ideas. "That’s not possible. Alaric was only able to plan the Parade because he influenced the Duke of Metropolis to agree to his terms. We don’t yet have the influence to change that."
Claudia looked at her niece, noticing that she used the word ’we’ when referring to the Reborn company. Yuna had completely integrated herself into this group.
Michael eventually agreed with Yuna. They would need time to build up their power in Metropolis if they wanted to go that route. However, the arrival of the tourists wouldn’t wait for him. It was much more logical to follow Alaric’s Parade and simply take advantage of the route.
"Those wyverns...they’re carrying tourists, right? What kind?"
Claudia listed out all the possible demi-human tourists from all over the globe. "Vampires, Werewolves, Mermen, you name it. They’re probably there."
His ears perked up. Mermen? They’re from Atlantis, meaning they’d be more knowledgeable about Soo. or maybe, they even have it themselves.