Chapter 235 - Returning to Vita City-State
The next day, Draco woke up his two beautiful companions and went to shower with them. As they bathed, Hikari - once again - made some unscrupulous moves on Draco.
He could only reject her advances gently as he had no plans on adding another egg so quickly. He did promise her to work something out later, so Hikari was left partly satisfied.
Since tomorrow would be Roma"s due date, Draco decided to head over to Vita City State and stay there, at least until she and Zaine had given birth. His time in the Castle had been well spent, but he no longer needed to remain in it.
The trio hopped on the back of Luxia, Riveting Night"s Light Phoenix mount, who moved at the speed of light itself. Draco and Hikari only saw a blur before they were over the Aether Hall.
No wind pressure, no force, nothing. They had just been at one place and suddenly arrived at the other in the next second, which was almost no different from teleportation.
Draco wasn"t surprised by this though. Luxia would have been the most useless mount if no one could survive her rides.
The City State had changed greatly over the past 14+ days. The buildings that had been in the early stage of construction were now mostly completed.
The commercial district that had only existed as an early stage skeleton was now a bustling marketplace with many amazing buildings and many patrons.
After all, while Draco prevented others from acquiring land in the City State easily, he certainly could not block everyone outside the gates.
Due to the boons of the city, it would be an understatement to call its patronage exemplary. The amount of people queuing to enter the City State was beyond reasonable.
n.o.bles, peasants, merchants and even non-humans. Many formed a line outside the gates, and they were admitted based on the criteria Riveting Night had set.
It wasn"t anything special really. She had utilised the same common measures as most guilds with cities had adopted in the previous timeline. The players had essentially copied the travel system of the real world.
First, everyone would be asked for the purpose of their visit, was it for business or pleasure? If it was for business, they would have to state what type of business they wanted to carry out and for how long.
After sorting out these details, they would receive a license to do said business and get admitted to the city. As for those who came for pleasure…
They were mostly allowed in with a few minimal security checks. After all, no one had enough b.a.l.l.s to cross this city that was backed by 7 of the world"s most powerful powers, including the War Maniac Pavilion.
Now one thing should be clarified - though it should be quite obvious - and that was the fact that those powers protecting Vita City State didn"t intend to extend their protection to include Umbra the player guild.
If Umbra were to come under fire by anything or anyone, they would sit aside quietly until they were offered something worthwhile to interfere. Not that Draco would directly call for them easily too, because a favor begets a favor.
However, if the safety and interests of Vita City State came under fire, they would deploy their full force to defend it. Even the demons who would invade during the Great War might just give up in Vita City State.
That was why those Rank 7 non-human Hidden Powers that had furnished Myriad Cards and Lorebinders with troops had dared to do so. They couldn"t strike at the city after being rejected/fleeced, but they could certainly strike at the guild.
Draco naturally had some idea as to who the offenders were, but there was little he could do to them at the moment. He didn"t have the power to destroy Rank 7 ent.i.ties - yet - and most of them only feared Richmond, so they didn"t dare go too far.
Nevertheless, their time would come, it just wasn"t now. Patience was a virtue after all, and revenge was a dish best served cold.
In Vita City State, there were a LOT of open lots for building, especially in the residential areas. However, to acquire land there, even for rent, was next to impossible.
Even if one was willing to sign a contract to place himself and his descendants under eternal servitude to the state, they would first have to possess the qualifications do so!
If one was a combat specialist, one needed to be at Rank 4 and above, while being unaffiliated with any Hidden Power or faction! If one was a Tradeskill master, one needed to be at the Master Rank of their craft at the least!
d.a.m.n! This was a crazy requirement that would be hard to meet!
After all, putting aside how hard it was to reach Rank 4 as an unaffiliated person, even Rank 3 was a hurdle. A person at Rank 3 could become a king of a small kingdom.
Such a person was bound to have ties to many powers that had invested in his growth, unless they had a protagonist"s extreme luck or the heavens had blessed them with talent. In either case, neither would be willing to put themselves under another easily.
After all, they had struggled to reach their current level of power all on their own, why should they throw away their freedom? While the benefits of Vita City State were great for NPCs, it was more geared towards factions or those willing to settle down.
The Master Rank crafters in the Rank 7 Castle were in a different situation. They had sold themselves for a chance to become a Grandmaster, with the help of the tools the building provided.
Once they became a Grandmaster, they would naturally have their status change and gain much more freedom from their current contract after negotiation with Draco.
To become one of the 10 Grandmasters in their respective Tradeskill among hundreds of others also vying for the same thing, any edge would make or break the situation.
However, Vita City State did not promise anything similar. It certainly increased the success rate and quality of crafted items, but it offered no such thing to allow one to breakthrough to higher levels.
Hence, many Tradeskill masters entered for business only and set up shops. They then sold their goods, which - regardless of their talent or skill - would already be 15% better than those produced by their peers elsewhere.
If this was the case, then who wouldn"t flock to this city to buy wares? Even better was the fact that Umbra was leasing Field Zones and dungeons situated in the Paradise Lands to player guilds and NPC groups to clear.
Naturally, Umbra collected a hefty tax of 80%, but the tools the adventurers bought were subsidized and - if crafted - given priority. All repairs were also free for them, so many still bit the bullet and came over.
This was no different from owning a huge farm with millions of rows of corn, then lending a basket to some hungry fellows to harvest it all. When they put in the tireless hours of labor to clear it all, you would take most of it and leave them with some.
However, the laborers got some produce for their effort, and they didn"t have to pay any capital for the growth of the corn, so they weren"t making losses, only profit!
And of course, there was the money and exp gained from clearing mobs. That was solely for them, and Umbra had no interest in interfering in that.
It was like Bill Gates with $40 billion in the bank l.u.s.ting after your mere $5,000. Why would he chase after your tiny little morsels when he had the big feast at home?
This made for a perfect cycle and formed the budding ecosystem for Vita City State. The Paradise Lands had been l.u.s.ted over by powers in the old era and some powers in this one, so its yield was no joke.
Draco laying claim to it had only been possible through clever manipulation of circ.u.mstances and opinions due to benefits provided to various parties, allowing him to swallow this cake whole.
There were many lots that were used for hospitality services like taverns and hotels. This was where those who wanted to reside in the city for pleasure would stay during their duration.
Those who came for business got permits, those who came for pleasure got something like visas. You couldn"t stay forever naturally, so once your visa ran out, you would be evicted "gently".
There was more to the budding Vita City State, but Draco decided to do an in-depth review later. He descended with Riveting Night and Hikari onto the area before the Aether Hall and Vitae popped up before them.
As the avatar of the Aether Hall that oversaw the whole City State, he was definitely aware of Draco"s arrival. Besides, he had been formed from Draco"s blood, which contained hints of his bloodline.
Even among the avatars for the few Aether Halls that had emerged since the beginning of time, Vitae was understandably special. If he couldn"t sense his master, he would have to commit Aether-cide.
"Welcome, Master, Madam and Second Mistress. Please follow me to the chamber of the other two mistresses." He asked them with a genial tone. His voice was similar to Draco"s but slightly more refined in a way.
The party of three entered the Aether Hall while following the fellow. The Aether Hall was a reasonably large building, but it had formerly been empty due to the fact that Draco had limited anyone except those of his genealogy from entering.
Now though, there was some activity as those hundred or so slaves Riveting Night had bought resided here, as well as the 28 maids turned concubines, including Verita.
Then there were also the various midwives who were handling the pregnancies of all of them. Draco had gone all out to hire a Grandmaster Midwife for both Roma and Zaine, while he hired Master Rank ones for the 28 maids.
He hadn"t yet gotten to seeding the slaves, because he wasn"t in a rush. He wanted to see his first batch of children and a.s.sess how much they could grow with his help.
After that, he could still plant his seeds rampantly and leave them to sprout on their own, then spreading their seeds, and then sprouting etc.
They entered Roma"s nursing chamber, where she lay on a Semi-Epic bed that boasted unparalleled comfort. The caramel-skinned beauty looked like she was incredibly happy with life at the moment.
Her circ.u.mstances were made to maximize her comfort, coupled with the fact that she would be giving birth to her first child soon, who would be the first of her tribe of Gypsies in the real world.
How could she not be content?!
When she saw Draco enter, Roma"s heart began to beat quickly. Her excitement spiked when she saw him, which was a reaction that made Riveting Night nod her head in approval.
Roma had successfully been converted. Before, she might have been loyal to him due to their Soul Bond as well as her love for him, but there was always some small s.p.a.ce for doubt or distrust.
No matter the couple or how much they proclaimed they loved each other, there would always be that black spot in each of their hearts. It was an inescapable fact that was impossible to get rid of normally.
Even Draco, despite all his love for Eva in their past life, his immediate reaction upon seeing her with Local Lord was to erupt with rage and hate.
It might have been some manipulation by the Mad G.o.d or due to some effect of his bloodline, although crippled.
Nevertheless, he hadn"t given her the benefit of the doubt even once after he had stumbled upon the scenario, completely abandoning all the confessions of love and trust for her.
Yet now, Roma"s first reaction upon seeing Draco was excitement and pure joy. Not to demean Roma or anything, but this was a similar reaction a dog had when it saw its owner.
It was pure, una.d.u.l.terated love that needed no condition or question. Just like Riveting Night, Roma would never question Draco no matter what he did.
If he slaughtered 1 billion people, killed babies, sided with demons, she would still happily walk beside him and add her powerful Mystic Arts to the fray.
Zaine was only about 70% converted. If Draco demanded that she go against the Devil Race for example, she would refuse.
If he made extremely arbitrary decisions for their child and she failed to understand the logic behind them, she would question them and unless he gave her a satisfactory answer, she would refuse.
Of course, this was a completely normal disposition, but heh… using "normal" to describe Riveting Night"s warped logic was pus.h.i.+ng the bill too high.
However Riveting Night was confident. No one who was close to Draco would be able to resist for long, especially when he had Riveting Night herself by his side. Zaine must be dreaming if she thought she could keep her sanity and preservations of self-interests among Draco"s inner circle!
Draco moved over to Roma and hugged her gently. He also kissed her lightly on the forehead before rubbing her bulging stomach.
Draco could have easily seen the details of his child with the Eyes of Caelo if he wanted to, but he refrained from doing so. Like every other parent, he wanted to experience everything naturally and share the joy of discovering their child"s s.e.x with Roma.
"How are you doing?" He asked Roma while gently caressing her belly.
"I"m happy, thanks to you." She replied while gazing into his eyes.
Honestly, this scene would have been quite sickening for an audience member, but both Hikari and Riveting Night were touched. The look Roma was giving Draco was too powerful, even Riveting Night felt her heart flutter.
Draco chuckled and looked around the room. "Where"s Rila?"
He had noticed that the little Origin G.o.ddess was missing since he entered, and his Eyes of Caelo were unable to "see" her since she was a Rankless Origin G.o.d.
It was Vitae who answered, as he suddenly appeared in mid-air. "The Little Princess has holed herself up in the Anomaly Realm ever since Mistress Roma"s pregnancy entered its median phase."
Draco was surprised by this. The Anomaly Realm? What on earth would little Rila want to do there?
Hikari seemed to remember something and spoke up. "That"s right. I"ve also seen her there whenever I was about to lay my egg. She just hovered around the edge of the realm for some reason."
Draco rubbed his forehead slowly, pondering the matter. Eventually, he decided to check on what she was doing down there, so he told Hikari to wait with Roma while he went down with Riveting Night.
Strangely though, Riveting Night opted to stay with Roma. Draco was sure that she wanted to converse with Hikari and Roma, so he left them to it.
He had already accepted that Riveting Night would be the lynchpin binding the various women and concubines to him. He wouldn"t take any really drastic actions unless she pushed for it.
While the whole genealogy idea was cool, Riveting Night"s opinion was infinitely more important to him than hundreds of digital women or children.
Draco went to the lower section of the Aether Hall, seeing the swirling black portal that led to the Anomaly Realm. With a sigh, he pa.s.sed through its gates.
When he went in, he found... nothing different from the norm. It was still an endless white world with no sun, sky or stars, only that the floor was strangely "wet".
The water congregated into a short pedestal in the shape of a uvula, while a spherical ball of water hovered slightly above the pedestal.
That was the Aether Conversion Orb, a miraculous tool that allowed any being with the Aether Production pa.s.sive skill to manually convert Worldly Energy to Aetheric Energy that could expand the borders of the City State.
Instead of conquering lands to promote border expansion, he just needed to maintain this procedure until he eventually swallowed up the whole world… theoretically.
However, this wasn"t important. What he was more interested in was the presence of Rila near where the realm ended.
The little tot wore her one cute one-piece dress, and her eyes that were split into colors of crimson and black for each pupil were gleaming.
Draco walked up and sat behind her, receding his armor into his body as he stuck to the cloth section. He placed his hand on Rila"s little head and spoke to her gently.
"Whatcha doing there, my Darling Rila?"
Rila seemed to have noticed Draco long ago, but her focus was still on the edges of the Anomaly Realm.
"Daddy, there"s something strange about the wall here."
As she said this, she pointed at a very bland area in front of them. It was a patch of whiteness that looked fake, unlike the rest that made up the traversable parts of the realm.
After all, every world had boundaries. There was no world that was limitless except the mainplane. Even the Realm of G.o.ds was limited in scope, having a finite boundary.
However, Draco took Rila"s words seriously. While her ability to produce Origin Energy had been locked away for the good of the world and for his own safety, it didn"t change the fact that she was an Origin G.o.ddess, regardless of her age.
"What"s strange about it?" Draco asked curiously, as he couldn"t see anything special, even with the Eyes of Caelo.
Rila seemed surprised that Draco wasn"t able to pinpoint it even after she pointed to it, but she leaned into his warm embrace which she had sorely missed in the weeks he had been away.
"There"s a strange hole there. It"s covered by a lot of some strange white energy, but I can see through it a little."
Draco frowned. A hole in the Anomaly Realm"s boundaries that led elsewhere? Not only that, but it was covered by a white energy?
From Richmond, Draco had learned that Origin Energy was golden while Divine Energy was a pristine white. Creation Energy was creamy in color while Destruction Energy was pitch black.
Aetheric was a greenish-blue, similar to Worldly Energy, with Aetheric Energy being a deeper hue.
Did that mean that Rila was seeing a wall of Divine Energy blocking a hole? It might explain why he was unable to see it, as his rebalanced Eyes of Caelo couldn"t easily see Divine Energy like before.