Chapter 235: 235
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 .
Nobles, 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 balls 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 .
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 entities - 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!
Damn! 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 lusting 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 lusted 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 circumstances 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 assess 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 .
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