Florida Man in Magus World: Unleashing Liberty and Freedom

Jagged Beard was troubled. He stared at the group of thirsty Lamias around the Fate Plaza, who flanked him from all sides. Strangely, none of them passionately looked at him. Instead, they pestered him for something else.

"Craftsman, my spear has gone dull. Can you repair it for me? In return, I'll let you do anything you want to me."

"Little man, help me fix my pots. If you do, I'll let you use my pot, if you know what I mean."

"No, fix these hatchets for me first! I need to collect some logs and… you know, those squishy mushrooms. I'll give you some good mushrooms for it."

The rowdy girls kept pestering Jagged Beard to the point that he exploded with rage. He shouted, "ENOUGH! GET LOST, YOU DIRTY SNAKES! I WILL NOT WORK FOR YOU SL*TTY SCUMS!!"

The man exploded the aura of an aura knight. The lamias shrieked in fright, fleeing in every direction.

After the crowd was dispersed, the dwarf sat on the floor and grumbled. He had been waiting for the new master to give him instructions, but Felix was nowhere to be found.

Although sitting idly frustrated him, Jagged Beard was relieved that he got time to rest. The accumulating fatigue was killing him, and he needed it.

As Jagged Beard closed his eyes and prepared to meditate, a flying man flew over and landed behind him. The dwarf opened his eyes and looked behind.

Felix was there with his jetpack. However, he looked different.

Jagged Beard deeply frowned, unable to recognize him. He asked, "Sir, by chance, do you have a little brother?"

Felix snickered, "No, I'm your damn new landlord, sir dwarf."

Jagged Beard snorted. He didn't mind the changes, and he didn't want to dwell on his new master's personal affair. He questioned Felix, "Anything you want me to work with? Oh, I haven't thanked you for removing the curse, so… thanks. I guess."

"You're welcome. Anyway, I was running around and improving my land. There's a quarry at the west, actually. I was wondering if you prefer to work in a blacksmith, a mine, or another form of workshop. What kind of job did you have before you became a slave?"

Jagged Beard raised an eyebrow, surprised to hear about a new quarry. He puffed his chest and bragged, "I can do both blacksmithing and mining! As long as you can give me enough food, water, and some ale, I can help you with one of them! Don't expect me to supervise both, though. I ain't a machine!"

Felix nodded, appreciating the dwarf's frankness and honest answer. However, he had one concern. He accessed his inventory and brought out a keg of spirit beer to show Jagged Beard.

"I'm sorry, sir dwarf. We don't produce ale here, but we have another kind of drink. Can you drink this instead?"

Jagged Beard scoffed in disappointment. Still, as he hadn't tasted any alcohol since he had become a slave, his eyes never averted from the giant wooden keg of beer next to Felix.

"What? No ale?! Blasphemy! How can I work without ale?!" Jagged Beard protested.

"Just try it first, and tell me what you think. I'll find something else if you don't like it."

"Well, if you insist."

Jagged Beard snorted and walked toward the keg. Masterfully, he poked his fingers through the lid and lifted the entire thing over his head, pouring the content in his mouth.

*GLUG*

*GLUG*

The dwarf kept drinking and gulping down the cold beer. His eyes widened after he finished the 10th gulp.

"BWAAAAAAH!"

Jagged Beard put down the beer keg and measured its remaining content with his feeling. About 20% of the content had entered his stomach, but he didn't feel anything special.

"What the hell is this? Horse's piss?" Jagged Beard pointed at the beer keg and voiced his complaints, "It's too light! It's the same as drinking water! You'd better get me something better or I ain't gonna work for you!"

Felix frowned. Although he respected the dwarf's culture, this guy might be pushing it. He wondered if he should assert his authority and remind him who the boss was.

As Felix was about to lash out, the corners of his eyes noticed the thick hands of Jagged Beard, which never let go of the keg. The corners of the dwarf's mouth also trembled while his tongue never stopped licking the foam on his beard.

"Ah, I see." Felix figured out the subtle gestures of Jagged Beard. He walked toward the keg and stated, "Since you don't like my newest product, I'll just take it back and throw it away. I'm sorry for disrespecting you, sir dwarf. Alright, let me have this back so that I…"

Jagged Beard's expression turned white. He pulled the keg away from Felix and hugged it. He snarled, "Y-You humans are spoiled rotten! Throw this away? D-Do you know that we SLAVES never throw away food and water?! W-What's given can not be taken back! I-If you're going to throw it away, I'll keep this!"

Felix smirked, watching Jagged Beard's facial color change from white to red.

The guy was fun to tease.

As an apology, Felix brought out another keg and a large set of dragon meat and freshwater. He then asked Jagged Beard, "If you keep heading west, you'll find a mountain range. There should be a stone quarry over there. If you don't want to live together with those Lamias, you are free to build a new house in that area. I'll drop by every few weeks to check on you. Is that alright with you?"

Jagged Beard glanced at the second keg of beer, then gave Felix a meaningful look. He pursed his lips and pointed at the second keg, "Five of those per month."

"I lack the ingredients to mass-produce these. Only three per month."

"Tsk! Cheapskate human! Four or no work!"

Felix pointed to the large chunk of meat on top of the second keg, "This is 20kg of dragon meat. 50kg of this and three kegs. No more."

"DEAL! DON'T FORGET TO FULFILL YOUR PROMISE!"

The dwarf finally smiled and burst into laughter. Like a small superman, he lifted everything and balanced it on top of his head. With his small legs, he dashed west, fleeing from the rowdy place.

Felix watched the dwarf disappear to the horizon. He couldn't help but smile, enjoying a brief interaction with a new male friend.

Although Felix had successfully entrusted a new task to the new member, the human-resource management task was far from completion.

…

Main Quest #12: Increase Your Population

Although your territory is well-protected by the system shields, it will never last against fellow system users with better technology levels, manpower, and weaponry.

So far, you've managed to recruit a group of Lamias, beastmen, and some strays. They might be strong individually, but they are not strong enough to compete against armies of established system users of this world.

Your next task will be related to the expansion of manpower. You have multiple choices to finish this quest. But as usual, it will be a time-limited one.

Quest Objectives: Increase your territory population to 2,000.

Current Progress: 519 / 2,000

Time Limit: 15 days.

Rewards:

- Permanently increase familiar slots by one, not including the leveling bonus.

- Dim Philosopher Stone x 1

- Emergency Supply Beacons x 100

- War Machine Factory x 1

…

Thanks to Clover, Felix's starting point was considered high, though he didn't remember teleporting 500 lamias to this place. The last time he checked, it should have been in 200 to 300 members. He didn't understand why they multiplied so fast.

As Felix was at his wit's end, he returned home to consult with his wives.

Arriving home, Felix found Jiji and Diana in sexy bikinis, waiting to milk him.

"Darling, welcome back."

"Master, is it time for our promised service?"

Felix's expression turned dark as he forgot about the previous threesome promises. Again, he would be busy recruiting new populations for two weeks, and he might not have enough time to pamper them.

For the sake of his mental health, Felix showed them the content of the quest and asked them if they could help him gather some stray slaves to increase his island's population.

Jiji read through the details twice and deeply sighed. She turned to her mother, who shook her head as well.

Diana apologized, "I'm so sorry, darling. Aside from the current tribe members, I have no connection with the other Lamia tribes. Most of them scattered throughout the Crimson Desert and Solaris Commonwealth Empire's savannas."

Felix smacked his lips. He started to get a headache, "What about the beastmen? Have you talked to them if they know where their people are?"

Jiji's eyes brightened and pointed out, "Most beastmen came from the slave traders to the north. If we travel beyond Aero City, we will come across Balicano City, where the branch headquarters of Eleanor Church is. The priestesses there abolished slavery, but the nobles never stopped smuggling slaves and fighting against the church. If we contact the church and offer our assistance, maybe we can recruit some people to our side."

Felix was satisfied with the insight. He patted Jiji's head, "Well done. Let's head north right away. You two come with me in my subspace. Call over Eins too so that she won't miss a meal. It will be a long trip."

Diana had no issue with it. However, she glanced at Felix's pants and licked her lips, "Are we short on time? I see that we have 15 days instead of 10 this time. Can we relax for just a day?"

"…"

Felix hesitated for a moment. But when he thought about a prolonged journey in a foreign land in the wild, he recalled how rough and uncomfortable it was.

In the end, Felix dragged the mother and daughter to his favorite place—The rooftop's jacuzzi pool. For the rest of the day, he recharged his mental energy, using both mother and daughter.

…

Balicano City

This city used to belong to a rival noble family of Turo House. But after Aero City had been overrun by Diana's lamias, the city lord fled the town with his family members, bringing along his soldiers and servants.

Replacing the local lord, the Church of Eleanor took over the authority and pacified its citizens. After the purple moon outbreak, the church's priestesses and their paladins subdued the cursed individuals and monsters, ultimately restoring order.

But after the eclipse, the noble family returned to claim their city. They also brought over an army of 5,000 soldiers and 200 aura knights with them.

The church lacked numbers. As a result, they lost the city to the local noble—The Swan House.

Chaos and the tyranny of the Swan House resumed. The poor were enslaved, and demi-humans were imported to work in the city. Soldiers treated the merchants and people like toys, abusing their authority and robbing anybody who looked rich.

Because of the Swan House and its soldiers, the local church called upon reinforcement from the other branches. Thus, the headquarters deployed Elder Zen, Rosaline, and top paladins in a crusade against the rebelling noble house.