Because of his rebirth, Kaito knew this was the best time to invest in Astralis City. At this moment, land was still at its cheapest. The plots that would one day be worth their weight in gold were now sitting idle and overlooked. In the future, every inch of land here would cost a fortune, and even the smallest plot would be fought over by countless players and powers. But right now, it was still possible to claim valuable ground without spending unimaginable sums.
As Kaito reached the city hall it was bustling with NPC's wearing officer uniforms, as just like the town hall in South Glade Town, Astralis City's city hall was the central governing body. And because Astralis City was the fiefdom of Duke Reynard, he was its nominal city lord. However, like Viscount Elrick, Duke Reynard rarely appeared in the city hall. Most of his time was spent at his mage tower, leaving the city's day-to-day administration to trusted officials.
And as he approached the entrance of the city hall, Kaito then noticed the guards stationed there. They were level 60 NPCs, fully armed and in neat formation. Although they looked ordinary at first glance, their strength was anything but, as each one of them was a Tier 3 guard.
This Tier difference was significant because, for players, advancing through tiers worked in a much more systematic way as they just need to level up and go through their tier change quests, and even their first hurdle came, once the player reached level 20, as then they would undergo a class change. That class change also included the shift from Tier 0 to Tier 1 and from then on, their growth would continue step by step as they rose through tiers alongside their levels. This was another reason as to why Kaito wanted to complete his class change as quickly as possible, with it, not only would his class officially change, but his tier would also advance from 0 to 1 then he would be more confident in meeting the Duke.
But for NPCs, advancing through tiers was a completely different matter. It wasn't just about gaining experience or training, it was far more difficult. Many NPCs, no matter how high their levels, remained stuck in the bottleneck at lower tiers their entire lives. For them, the tier they held was far more important than their levels. Of course, higher-tier NPCs usually had higher levels as well, since each advancement required meeting strict conditions. Still, the timing of their advancement revealed their talent. The sooner an NPC managed to reach a higher tier, the greater their talent was considered to be.
At this time, As Kaito thought about his upcoming class change, a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes. In his previous life, the Magic Swordsman hidden class had already been claimed by someone else. That player had risen to become a powerhouse, holding a place among the top fifty god-level players in Glory up until the time of Kaito's death.
Even so, Kaito couldn't help but wonder if that person had truly unlocked the class's full potential. As the Magic Swordsman wasn't just a hidden class it was a unique hidden class. Being labeled "unique" meant it carried advantages far beyond ordinary hidden classes. Yet Kaito felt the player who had obtained it back then might not have shown everything the class was capable of. Perhaps he had failed to secure a high enough rating during his class change quest, which limited the class's strength. Or maybe he had simply never uncovered certain aspects of its potential.
But Kaito then pushed those thoughts aside. Whatever the truth was, it no longer mattered. Now, the class was in his hands. He would be the one to uncover its full potential, and he would make sure every bit of its power was brought to light.
So coming out of his reverie, as he reached the entrance of the city hall, his attention was drawn to a large notice board. Pinned to it was a map of Astralis City's central district. These notice boards were common throughout the city, serving both residents and travelers. They displayed maps of the surrounding area and posted official announcements made by the city hall.
Kaito then studied the map on the notice board closely. There were many blank spaces marked within the central district. These blank areas represented unowned land plots that no one had claimed yet.
His eyes narrowed. This was exactly what he had been looking for.
Even some of the prime locations in the city were still unclaimed. It might seem strange that such valuable plots were vacant, especially in a city as important as Astralis, one of the main trade hubs of the Solaris Kingdom. But there were reasons for this.
Glory's system wasn't simply creating opportunities for players by leaving the land empty. The reality followed the game's feudal system. Buying land here required more than just money. One needed either a noble title or the backing of a high-tier powerhouse. Without that, the land was off-limits.
There was another reason as well. From the perspective of many in the Solaris Kingdom, Astralis City was already saturated. Some of the large chambers of commerce had long ago taken control of all the business connected to the city's mage towers, who were considered the main buyers and sellers in Astralis city and the smaller chambers of commerce saw little point in trying to establish themselves here. With the market already dominated, they would have no room to grow.
On top of that, there were hidden rules between the major chambers of commerce in Glory. Each had carved out its own territory, and none allowed the others to interfere. They respected these boundaries strictly. In return, they were given the same respect. This division meant that Astralis City was effectively under the control of only a handful of these large chambers of commerce.
For smaller chambers, there was no need to purchase land here at all. They could simply act as intermediaries buying and selling goods from the larger chambers and earning profits as middlemen. It was safer, cheaper, and carried fewer risks.
Even Mages themselves also preferred to deal with the major chambers. The reputation and trust those organizations had built over many years meant they were reliable partners. If a mage needed resources or wanted to sell valuable materials, they went to the chambers they trusted, not small, unproven traders.
In fact, one of the largest chambers of commerce in Astralis City was operated directly under the influence of Duke Reynard himself. With the Duke's name attached, its authority was unquestionable.
And even just like the Duke's chamber of commerce the others after dominating Astralis City's trade, didn't stop there. To make their positions completely secure, they tied their interests with the many nobles under Duke Reynard's rule, and with noble backing, their hold became unshakable.
And Even on the rare occasions when some other chambers of commerce tried to invade their territory in Astralis City, it wasn't the chambers themselves that acted first it was the nobles. The nobles, whose profits were tied to the existing chambers, would block any outsiders from entering and blocking their way of profit.
And this kind of arrangement wasn't unique to Astralis City. It was the same in nearly every major city across the Solaris Kingdom. Various organizations like the chambers of commerce and nobility went hand in hand, with alliances that locked out competition and kept power concentrated. This was why there were still many pieces of Lands unowned in the Astralis city.
But all of that began to change once players entered the cities in his previous life,
From the perspective of NPCs, players were unique existences. They were seen as beings sent by the gods themselves as even if a player was killed, they would resurrect. There was no permanent end for them. For this reason, most NPCs saw no point in targeting players directly, as it would only waste their effort with no lasting results.