Florida Man in Magus World: Unleashing Liberty and Freedom

Zen was interested, but she couldn't decide for her people. After all, the Eleanor Church and Diana had been at odds for decades. Joining forces might be impossible.

"I need to see your territory and consult with my people first. Also, we are not in a hurry to migrate. We can simply withdraw to our headquarters whenever we need to."

Felix was relented. He showed her the perk, "I know that you and my subordinates might not be very compatible, but how about setting up a branch in my land? Also, we offer sanctuary to homeless people. If you can help me migrate local people who wish to move out of this city, I'll give you some of these."

He ejected skin care cream, which had been sitting in his inventory slot since his early days. He then explained about its effects.

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Detoxifying Cream

This bottle contains skincare cream, commonly used for smoothing the face and skin. The cream neutralizes external impure mana from penetrating through the cream layer, allowing one to stay in an environment full of harmful miasma for a longer period. It also removes skin impurities, such as acne, scars, moles, and freckles.

This product is popular in many worlds as it can also be used to treat skin diseases and STDs if applied to certain body parts.

The cream's effects expire 20 hours after it is applied to your skin. Please keep it away from children, sunlight, or high-temperature areas. Do not consume it directly unless you are a Floridian.

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"I know that you're skeptical, but this skin care cream is exclusive to our citizens. You see, it can heal scars, smoothen skin, and remove dark spots on your face."

Felix scooped a finger's worth of cream and walked toward one of the middle-aged paladins. The paladin facial skin had weathered through time, sunlight, and multiple battlefields. She had plenty of scars, dead skin, and dark spots on her cheeks. But as soon as Felix smeared the cream on her left cheek, the dead skin and impurity fell off, replaced with the smooth skin of a fresh teenager.

The paladin sensed the warm sensation on her cheek. He rubbed it and discovered the smoothness that she had long forgotten.

"It's smooth…"

As soon as the word dropped, all middle-aged paladins in the area turned their heads.

Women of all ages in this world share one thing in common. They compared their beauty with others in secret, and they always did everything in their power to maintain their youthful appearance to bolster their social status.

Seeing how fast the skin healed, the paladins behind Zen all took off their helmets and rushed over. They asked Felix, flaring their nostrils.

"What's that? Can I try?!"

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"Are you selling that?!"

"I didn't hear your conversation, but I heard something about skincare cream! Is this the one?!"

Zen was also taken aback by the effects. She gulped as she wanted to try that as well.

Felix was kind. As the cream in the current cup would expire in 20 hours, he might as well use everything. He scooped more white cream and smeared it on the volunteers' faces. However, he chose to only clean one person's face. As for the rest, they got only one part of their cheeks clean.

The lucky paladin rubbed her face and looked at the reflection from her sword. She almost shed a tear of joy.

As the cream was popular, the cup was soon empty. Not even an atom of cream remained in the cup as the girls fought to get the last bits on their skin.

Felix then followed up with a sales pitch.

"If you agree to become a citizen of my new city, this cream will not be the only thing you can enjoy. For exceptional workers who greatly contribute to the city's construction and improvement, I can reset your age!"

Felix brought out the half-spent philosopher stone and showed it to everybody. He then turned to the most influential person in the group, Zen. He teased her, "Wanna try?"

Earlier, the paladins all swarmed Felix and she didn't get a chance to test the cream. But now, she had an opportunity to try something better. The corners of Zen's mouth rose as she was about to agree.

"Hold it!"

Suddenly, one of the paladins at the back of the crowd shouted. The crowd turned around and noticed another dominant person—Cornelia. Everybody parted, opening a way for the paladin commander to pass.

Cornelia stopped in front of Zen and Felix. She glared at the Floridian and swooped her gaze around. Instantly, she noticed an empty cup of cream in a paladin's hand.

"Give it here."

The paladin reluctantly passed the empty cup to Cornelia. She retrieved it and sniffed the bottom of the container.

It smelled pleasant, similar to a soft perfume or a fragrant soap. Her eyes shifted, glancing at Felix.

"Do you have any more of this?"

Felix smirked, "No. That's the only sample I'm carrying. The rest is in my house."

"I see. Then, what about the 'age resetting' that you mentioned."

"Wanna test the effect?"

"Yes. Test it on me. But if something goes wrong, I'll kill you."

As soon as Cornelia threatened Felix, Diana's expression changed. She opened Felix's inventory slot and pulled out his Baretta, which had been upgraded. She pointed the muzzle at Cornelia's face, confident that the mana-piercing rounds in the chamber could instantly kill this infamous war maiden.

Felix noticed the intense killing intent in the air. He sighed and gestured for Diana to lower her gun. He also reprimanded Diana for pulling out one of his inventory items without his permission.

"Look, I permit you to access my inventory to help me manage your people, not to suddenly pull out my weapon and escalate the situation. Put it back… no keep it in your personal inventory. That gun is for your self-defense."

Diana gently smiled and put the gun away. Marking the ownership on Felix, she kissed Felix's cheek and took a step back.

The tension died down. Cornelia stopped intentionally leaking killing intent and returned her attention to Felix. The latter shrugged and activated Dim Philosopher Stone from his inventory, targeting both Cornelia and Zen.

Green light enveloped both elders. Instantly, a few pieces of Cornelia's gold armor fell off as her body slightly shrank, reverting to her former physique when she was 18. On the other hand, Zen grew an inch taller, and her hunching back straightened, causing her robe to become too small for her. As a result, the tight robe highlighted her fine chest and hips.

"…"

"…"

Zen and Cornelia widened their eyes and looked at their arms in astonishment. They then turned to look at each other.

Zen now looked almost exactly the same as Rosaline. As for Cornelia, she had the gentle face of an adolescent countryside maiden, the same quality that the saintess of the church possessed.

Rosaline couldn't see their appearance, but she could tell from her mana sense that their physical appearance greatly changed. She wished she could pull off the blindfold and look at them at the moment.

But as she was observing them from afar, Felix looked at her. He opened his mouth and was about to say something, but he smiled and changed his mind.

Meanwhile, Felix sighed and chatted with Jiji, "Are you sure you don't want your eyes back, Jiji?"

Jiji, remaining in the system's subspace, opened her portrait window and gazed at Rosaline. She softly grinned, "There's no need. She's already paying the karma."

"How so?"

"For the rest of her life, she will no longer be able to see anything with her new eyes. She will eventually be isolated among her peers because she has the power that nobody has. At the same time, she will never find a companion because all her loved ones will eventually be petrified by her eyes."

"…Isn't that too harsh? Someone might have forced the eyes on her against her will."

"If that is the case, you can simply pluck those eyeballs and use the philosopher stone to restore her original eyes. Easy, right?"

Felix nodded in agreement. However, Diana overheard it and had another idea.

"Instead of curing her, how about you use her eyes as an excuse to make her a hostage? That way, the church and the paladins won't pick a fight with you."

"That's worse!" Felix hated the idea, "Hostages and slaves are no-no. I will not rely on wicked schemes to control my people. I'd rather have 10 wives and be drained every night than copy Hitler's method!"

"…"

Diana and Jiji looked at each other. The latter shook her head, gesturing her mother not to do it. But Diana mischievously smiled and slowly nodded, telling Jiji that she would push this agenda.

"Mother… no." Jiji warned her mother, "I don't want to share the master with other women. Don't."

"Alphas are destined to have multiple females in their packs! Having two is not enough! Actually, I was thinking of adding that dryad at took my place to our family sooner or later."

"No," Jiji was firm. "Master isn't strong enough to support another familiar. Us two and the little hydra is his limit. So, no."

"…Heh."

Diana chuckled and stopped bickering. She crossed her arms and waited for the future drama to unfold.

Meanwhile, Felix sighed deeply. He ignored the quarrel and returned his attention to Zen and Cornelia, urging them for approval.

"So, will you girls move to my city?"

All paladins stared at Cornelia and Zen, supporting this decision with their looks. Their gleaming eyes pressured them into accepting or they would riot.

The priestesses were the same even though they were still young. They were more interested in the skincare cream, and they didn't want to live in a cramp fortress anymore.

Cornelia ignored them. She observed her face through the reflection of her sword and slowly nodded in approval. Moving her arms, she tested her strength if it reverted to when she was young. But betraying her expectations, her physical strength returned to when she was in her prime even though the muscle mass got thinner.

"I approve." Cornelia lifted her head and voiced her opinion first. "What about you, Elder Zen?"

Meanwhile, Zen closed her eyes and delved her consciousness into her mana heart. She sensed that all impurities in her body that prevented her from growing stronger no longer existed. Gathering her mana in her heart, she attempted to break through.

*RUMBLE*

A gold light enveloped Zen, lifting her up in mid-air. A beacon of light shone upon her as if Heaven acknowledged her devotion and faith. An illusion of feather wings emerged, and a halo manifested, hovering over her head.

Zen broke through. She had become an 8th-circle magus of water.

Diana frowned and smacked her lips. She thought that she had caught up to Zen, but she got one step ahead of her again. Though Diana was proud of Zen, their rivalry made her blood boil.

Zen gradually descended. The illusion of feather wings vanished, leaving only the halo over her head.