In the plaza outside the Misty Palace Dungeon, it wasn't only Genesis members who were gathered. Other teams were there as well, equally stirred by the system announcement. Among them were groups from the Storm Life Guild and the Crimson Rose Guild.
Not far from where the Genesis members were gathered, four familiar figures stood together, speaking in low tones. They were, Zephyr, Velena, Marek, and Ravera who had come out of their respective dungeons around the same time and had met up here. Zephyr, who was once one of the strongest candidates for the Storm Life Guild presidency, stood with his Vice-Captain Marek by his side and Velena, leader of the Crimson Rose Guild, was also present, with Ravera, her Vice-Leader, at her shoulder.
The system announcement congratulating Raen for being the first player to step into Astralis City was still echoing in everyone's minds. The Genesis members were celebrating loudly in their own group, but over here, the mood was far more serious.
For the Storm Life Guild, the recent decision of their old president had shaken everyone. The announcement that Derick, not Zephyr, would be the next guild president had been made official not long ago. Even the ordinary members of the Storm Life Guild now knew about it. Most of them didn't protest openly, but the strongest backlash came from the branch stationed in South Glade Town.
Those members had followed Zephyr for a long time. They had fought under his command, trusted his leadership, and built bonds with him through countless battles. To see him passed over, especially when they believed he had accomplished far more than Derick, left them resentful. Though they kept quiet for now, their discontent simmered under the surface.
Zephyr himself had been struggling with the decision. The day he learned of it, he had spent hours in thought, torn between grief and frustration. Eventually, he chose to return to the game and keep leading his team, but the weight of what had happened lingered heavily.
That was when he waited outside the dungeon for Velena. He wanted to tell her personally that the Underworld had interfered in the Storm Life Guild's presidential decision.
And after Velena listened carefully as Zephyr spoke, her expression gradually also grew increasingly serious.
She already knew about the Underworld from Kaito, and she understood that after going after Zephyr, their next target would likely be her. In fact, she felt it wasn't just a possibility, their schemes had probably already begun.
And as the leader of the Crimson Rose Guild, Velena knew the threat very well. On paper, she was the guild's leader, but like most old guilds, Crimson Rose's power was divided among many elders after it's establishment. The shares were split years ago between her father and his longtime companions and when her father had passed away in an accident, she had inherited his position as well as his shares. But the reality was that her hold on power was limited.
She personally controlled 36% of the guild's shares. With Ravera's 10%, that number rose to 46%. But it still wasn't enough. The other elders held the majority, and while her relationship with them remained cordial, she knew better than to trust them completely. This was another reason for her to ask Raen's help before so as to secure her position.
So If the Underworld were to extend an offer, tempting the elders with profit or influence, there was no guarantee they would stay loyal. In fact, some of them might even welcome it if the Underworld decided to replace her.
The thought chilled her. If the Underworld really chose to interfere, all the hard work she had poured into leading Crimson Rose could be swept away in an instant. Her position, her authority, everything she had built could vanish in a single board meeting.
Ravera, standing beside her, shared her grim mood. Hearing about the Underworld's involvement in Storm Life made her uneasy. If they could force the Storm Life Guild to change its succession plan, then interfering with Crimson Rose would be no challenge at all.
As for Marek, Zephyr's Vice-Captain, he stood quietly behind him. He already knew much of the Storm Life Guild's internal struggles, but the fact that Zephyr had been denied the presidency was something he still couldn't accept. Marek had fought alongside Zephyr for years. In his eyes, Zephyr was the rightful leader. To see the title handed to Derick because of outside interference was bitter. From the start of the conversation to now, he hadn't spoken a single word, his face locked in a grim expression.
So even as the system announcement about Raen spread across the plaza, their group did not celebrate. Only after a long silence did Velena let out a faint, bitter smile.
"It looks like we'll still have to ask for his help," she said softly.
Her words referred to Raen.
Zephyr gave a slow nod. He understood. Raen had proven himself time and again. If anyone could offer guidance or support in this situation, it was him. Still, Zephyr knew the limits. No matter what Raen did, he couldn't directly overturn the decision made by the old president. That choice was already announced and accepted.
But Raen might still offer a way forward.
Zephyr's gaze hardened with determination. He knew that although Derick had been chosen as the president, it would still take time before he could officially take over the full responsibilities of the position. Until that transition was complete, there was still room to maneuver. If he and Raen could come up with a plan, maybe they could at least stabilize things, if not reverse them.
What Zephyr didn't know was that Raen indeed had a way to handle the matter. But it wasn't something he could have guessed. The simplest path Raen had in mind was not to change the Storm Life Guild from within but it was to poach Zephyr and his entire team directly into Genesis.
....
At this time, inside Astralis City, Kaito had already made his way toward the huge city hall. The reason he was here and not searching for the cloaked woman was simple, his knowledge of the future.
Astralis City was the fiefdom of Duke Reynard, a Tier 6 mage and one of the strongest figures in the Solaris Kingdom. Because of his influence, Astralis City was counted among the kingdom's main cities and with countless mages living and working inside it, the city had also grown into one of the largest trading hubs for magical resources. Many chambers of commerce had their branches here, competing fiercely for business.
But Glory's world in addition to strength also followed a feudal system. That meant anyone who wanted to purchase land or even open a small shop inside Astralis City couldn't rely on money alone. It required both wealth and background. A person either needed a noble title or the backing of a powerhouse at Tier 4 or above. Without one of these conditions, even if someone had endless funds, they wouldn't be allowed to buy property here.
And Astralis City's reputation as a trading hub made it extremely valuable, but Kaito knew this was only the beginning. Right now, the city's population was relatively small. If he counted carefully, the number of ordinary citizens excluding the mages was no more than one hundred thousand. For such a massive city, that number left wide streets, large squares, and empty plots of land still unoccupied.
But this would not last. Once players began to enter Astralis City in large numbers, the population would surge dramatically. From his past life, Kaito remembered clearly every main city in the Solaris Kingdom would eventually host more than ten million players. That number referred to players alone, not even counting the NPC population. And the cities had a limit to how many people they could hold, and once that capacity was exceeded, expansion became inevitable.
Kaito even remembered that when this happened in his previous life, Duke Reynard himself had issued a large-scale mission to expand Astralis City. That main mission had countless branch missions tied to it. some players were tasked with clearing monsters in the wilderness around the city, some to secure the parameter, and some life style farmer players even had missions to reclaim the land where the city could extend.
And this was not unique to Astralis City. The same phenomenon occurred in every main city across the Glory Plane and as the player base poured in, land and property became one of the most valuable investments possible.
Even right now, many players already knew the value of land in theory. Everyone understood that real estate was precious, and many hoped to buy property in Glory. But they had no idea just how astronomical the prices would rise in the future. Only Kaito knew. With his memories from his past life, he had seen firsthand how insane the market would become.
That was why he had come to the city hall immediately. As the first player to set foot in Astralis City, he had an advantage no one else could match. He intended to use that advantage to its fullest, securing land and property before the flood of players arrived.