Draco calmly watched as his experience bar rose rapidly, making multiple circuits around itself. After all, his rewards hadn't been limited to just money, but experience points and a lot of it too.
A golden glow surrounded him multiple times as he leveled up like crazy!
Counting the experience he had gotten for the Dragorugio set as well as the Dragon's Blessing potion, it summed up to a total of 7000%! That was 70 straight levels, ah!
All for this shameless cheater. Along with the experience came a heavy heap of gold. He had been awarded a total of 250,000 gold for both world-breaking achievements.
2,500 platinum was a hefty amount. Even the Divine-tier guild, Hellscape, had only twice that much in liquid funds. Yet, Draco as an individual possessed this much. Even some wealthy NPCs would have to lick his boots from now on.
However, Draco didn't let it get to his head of course. He was used to hefty sums and total opulence, although he had none of that in this life. He was also aware that he couldn't keep his current level.
Actually, it was more that he dared not to. The AI had given him Guinevere's Necklace for one purpose, and that was to dump enough experience until he dropped back to a balanced amount.
Being level 83 currently meant that he was way above the current playerbase. The AI would definitely not stand for that. In fact, Draco could… feel something or someone staring at him with a dangerous gaze.
Draco obediently dropped all of the 7000% experience into Guinevere's Necklace like the law abiding citizen he tricked himself into believing he was.
｢Guinevere's Necklace – Ornamental Item
Rank: Epic
Effects:
Passive 1 – Regeneration: Possessing some of Guinevere's aura, this item increases health and stamina regeneration by 20%.
Active 1 – On Glory's Wings: Activating this skill allows the user to summon the Knights of the Round Table to fight for him for 1 hour (Knights have a Rank cap of Player Rank + 3). Cooldown: 7 days.
Description: This necklace was bestowed onto the Legendary Dragoness Guinevere by King Arthur, which she treasured greatly. It contains some of her aura.
Further abilities can be unlocked by sacrificing experience points. 11,200% of 30,000% needed to upgrade to legendary rank｣
He was at least a third of the way to upgrading to legendary rank. Honestly, he was looking forward to having another legendary item, especially one that boosted the stamina stat.
Even with the optimal designation, he was still utilizing a melee class and most of his techniques were melee focused. Stamina was naturally the lifeblood of players in his category.
After sorting that out, Draco hastened his steps to the Adventurer's Guild, excitement in his every action. The rewards for clearing an outpost weren't something to joke about.
He soon reached the building marked as 'Adventurer's Guild' on the main boulevard, entering the establishment with agile movements.
Upon entry, he walked straight to one of the counters that catered to incoming adventurers. A fierce looking mature woman was seated there in a strict manner.
Unlike the Merchant Guild or the Land's Commission, the Adventurer's Guild didn't need to care about customer service. If you didn't like it, then take a hike.
Naturally, the employees here were a lot less robotic with their polite behavior as could be seen from the way Draco was handled initially.
"What do you want?" The woman, who had a handsome face and thick brows, asked.
"I'd like to turn in a quest please." Just because she was a grump didn't mean Draco would stoop to her level so quickly.
The woman snorted and seemingly lost interest. Most of the fellows who came to these basic counters to turn in quests probably came to claim low tier rewards.
After all, someone who completed a difficult quest with high tier rewards wouldn't need to come to her. He could go straight up to the higher floors and be 'serviced' properly while receiving his reward.
As for someone completing a death quest? Maybe if they were a hidden power, it might be possible. Then again, which hidden power would bother to do tasks for the Adventurer's Guild?
"Name of the quest and proof of completion." She asked lazily.
Draco didn't mind. "Subjugation of the Paradise Land's outposts. Here is the emblem of the outpost's head."
The emblem was something taken away from Zaine. It was proof that she was the current head of her outpost chosen by the youth residing there as well as the decision makers down there.
It was something that couldn't be forged.
Naturally, when Draco stated his quest and showed the proof, the handsome woman was stunned. Immediately, her attitude changed and she became coquettish.
She didn't even suspect him one bit. No one would come to the Adventurer's Guild to cause trouble like this unless they wanted to die. Besides, she knew about the emblem of the indigenes, since it was the Adventurer's Guild's most important conquest currently.
While she handled the turn-in process, she kept trying to strike up a conversation with Draco as well as seduce him, to no avail. Draco was inwardly shuddering. The woman before him was middle aged and possessed a strong butt chin as well as masculine features.
Seeing such a person being naughty was quite the sight.
Of course, completing the most prominent death quest wasn't handled so simply. The woman at the counter only handled the basic processes before forwarding it to a higher authority.
She asked Draco to follow her, to which he complied. He was led into a room with a small world that was not even half as big as the one in the Tradeskill Association.
Still, it was clean and picturesque, with a strong natural presence. Clean lakes, bright green trees, a perfectly warm sun as well as a cool breeze. Despite having been to multiple small worlds like this, Draco never got tired of it.
Living in the congested city was pretty stressful. Draco even lived in the absolute shittiest part too, so there was that.
He controlled the worldly energy in the room to coalesce a pavilion with seats and dishes without missing a beat. The woman who had planned to perform the act for him instantly stopped while gulping.
Her control of worldly energy was nowhere near Draco's, as she intended to make a few couches and a coffee table with some beverages. Draco had practically spawned a kingly pavilion with a myriad of furniture and accessories that made it look right at home in nature.
Sipping on some spawned tea that was filled with worldly energy, Draco sighed with pleasure. Control gave him the ability to move worldly energy easily, but not to this extent. He could easily make a well stocked house if he pushed his control to the limit, but this current pavilion would knock him out cold.
It was all thanks to the Dragorugio set and the Source Energy of a high rank Dragon. As stated before, Dragons were Beings of Origin with admin rights to the world.
To the world, Draco with the Dragorugio set on was essentially a high rank Dragon and not really a human. So he was granted access to these admin rights that were reserved for draconic beings.
He surmised he could make legendary stuff as long as he found the right materials, location and raised his Tradeskills to the right levels. As for the worldly energy requirement, it would never be a problem from now on.
Soon, his submission was completed as a few bigwigs came out to flatter him for a bit. These were the hidden powers behind the guild, who had been there when Draco turned everyone down.
They knew this lad had a limitless future but was unreachable. Even if they couldn't rope him in or kill him, they didn't see the need to be enemies. As such, they gave the fellow a lot of face by spending time with him.
This very act scared the handsome woman whose legs were shaking so much she could hardly stand. These were the ancestors of their guild, ah! How could a lowly cashier like her stand in their presence?
Soon, Draco left, leaving her with her guild's ancestors. The woman was so shaken that she couldn't even think. One of the ancestors turned to her, as if noticing her presence for the first time.
"You were the one who tended to him right? Go and tell that lad Jorgen to promote you accordingly."
Her breaths came in ragged pants due to excitement and ecstasy. Jorgen was the current Guildmaster of the Adventurer's Guild. He was the man at the top!
Just by sorting Draco out during her normal work hours, she'd turned into a dragon from the fish she was.
……
｢Congratulations on completing: Subjugation of the Paradise Land's outposts
Reward:
10,000% EXP
10,000,000 gold
15,000 reputation with the Adventurer's Guild
1 settlement building token｣
Draco couldn't help but smile as he walked over to the Tradeskill Association. The reputation was the least valuable reward he got, as only reputation with the Church of Light was really useful.
The 100,000 platinum he had earned would go into paying for the buildings he requested. Unfortunately, he might have to top up with his own personal funds since he estimated the final cost to be 125,000 platinum.
Draco immediately shoved the 10,000% experience onto Guinevere's Necklace, bringing the count to 21,200% of 30,000%. The closer he got to making it legendary rank, the closer Draco got to omnipotence.
However, the truly heart pumping reward was the settlement building token. It allowed Draco to build a settlement in any Adventurer's Guild owned lands. Of course, if he had earned this from the Sturgehaven Kingdom, he'd have had the opportunity to build it within the kingdom.
Still, Draco preferred to build in Adventurer's Guild owned lands, since that technically included the Paradise Lands. At first, he planned to build up a large stock of funds before using his knowledge to acquire a settlement building token to start small.
Then, his funds from profiteering off the war would feed into the settlement and allow him to gain a foothold in the Paradise Lands.
However, Draco's plans left out the true effect of his reincarnation: his prowess. When he had drawn the map of Sturgehaven kingdom in his room and made his plans, his estimate was that it would take a few months for his settlement to become a town.
By that time, the players would be barely Rank 2. He'd have a firm advantage over majority of players, even the elites. If he continued to exploit his memories, it would be easy to get his settlement to a city, then to a kingdom, and eventually an empire.
This would all take less than 5 years overall, much faster than in his past life.
But the reality was much different than he expected. Everything he did that he subconsciously felt was normal turned out to be world shattering in this timeline for obvious reasons.
As such, he was dumped with rewards he never expected. Two Epic items where one had the chance to become legendary. One legendary Dragon Soul that definitely harbored some secrets.
An armor and weapon set that granted him a mind-blowing State of Being as well as complete fire mastery as well as immunity. Optimal designation on his class that allowed him to use anything and everything as long as he met the requirements.
This was his foundation.
Draco wasn't sure he could keep doing mind-blowing stuff from here on, since by now the AI would realize something was up and nerf him accordingly.
If only Draco knew that the AI knew everything already, he'd probably rush to do everything and anything he could remember before time was up.
Upon entering the Tradeskill Association, Draco once again equipped his Inventor title. As such, the aides quickly fell over themselves to serve him. In fact, one of them secretly rushed to inform the elders and grand elders about this.
Draco was led to a room with a minor world that was smaller than the one he used to craft the Dragon's Blessing potions. It was about the same size as the one in the Adventurer's Association. Clearly, these organizations had a set way they handled their important guests.
Draco directly formed an impressive mansion, the same one as in his previous life. He entered and went to sit at the same snack bar where he died, musing about the shortness of life internally.
Soon, a few Elders and a Grand Elder came to receive him. Draco invited them courteously and they were astounded by his prowess with worldly energy.
Secretly, they swore to do everything to attract this fellow's eye. Such a talent! Why was he wasting his life chasing the path of a combatant?
"Good day, Young Lord. What would you have us do for you today?" The wizened looking Grand Elder took the lead for the conversation.
"I dare not have your esteemed self do anything for me, Good Sir. I just wish to make a payment for an order I made. The order number is 2344543." Draco replied courteously.
The Grand Elder stroked his beard while laughing happily. He was exceedingly pleased with Draco due to his humility. He expected the fellow to be arrogant and unruly, to which he'd have to bear with it while suppressing his anger inside.
"Not a problem, not a problem! Why, we might even be able to cancel the costs on your order, since Young Lord is so amiable, haha!" Grand Elder Johnsen said with a friendly smile.
Draco's eyes lit up due to the promise. "Is that so? Then this Young Lord will forever remember the grace of your esteemed self, Grand Elder!"
Draco didn't expect this old geezer to be so stupid. Never make a promise before knowing the exact details of the matter. He had no idea that this decision was made due to his polite demeanor.
After all, everyone expected the 'Son of Heaven' to be arrogant and unbridled! That went for every young master under the sun. So seeing a polite one made the Grand Elder feel good.
The thing the Grand Elder didn't know was that Draco was, as a matter of fact, arrogant and unbridled. However, the fellow's arrogance was one level higher from the common young masters and Sons of Heaven.
Humility, when utilized in certain ways, was a form of arrogance too!
"Haha, Young Lord need not worry. On my honor as Grand Elder, I will make sure no one disturbs you with a measly bill."
In the mind of the Grand Elder, whatever Draco was here to but couldn't be as expensive as his potential worth. After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to take this chance to close the gap between them.
Honestly, it wasn't a bad idea. Had Draco not planned to wipeout Zaine's Outpost after receiving enough boons, he'd probably have requested the simple versions of the buildings, meaning that this ploy by the Grand Elder would've been effective.
As it were, he had dug himself quite the grave.
An Aide rushed into the room with a fl.u.s.tered appearance, sweating bullets while looking at Draco as if he were a monster. This action didn't escape the Elders and Grand Elders, giving them a bad feeling in their hearts.
After all, this group of Elders were part of the Grand Elder's faction within the Tradeskill Association. Should any mishap occur to or on behalf of the Grand Elder, they'd go down with him.
"What is it? Can't you act courteously to our guest? Is this the kind of face you want our guests to see when they visit us? Shameful display!"
The Grand Elder harrumphed and scolded the poor fl.u.s.tered Aide, who could only feel wronged inside. After all, he was fl.u.s.tered on your behalf!
"Y-Yes. Sorry about that Grand Elder. It's just that the bill came in and…" The Aide couldn't muster the will to finish.
"And…? You know what, give that thing to me! Sigh, we lack good youth nowadays in our Association. One should always remain composed and elegant – WHAT THE F.U.C.K!?!?"
The Grand Elder's noble words were caught in his throat as he could help but curse out loud. The Elders around him gave him disdainful looks for being such a hypocrite, but also screamed out when they saw the gross total for the bill.
Their lax sitting postures instantly became uncomfortable, as if one really needed to shit, but couldn't do so due to circ.u.mstances. Their backs and foreheads began to sweat so heavily that wiping away the sweat did nothing to stem the flow.
Doomed! They were doomed!
If they could kill Draco, they wouldn't have wasted a second to end his and the Aide's life in order to suppress the promise that was made. However, they were stuck in a situation where they couldn't kill him or even show the slightest hostility, as his backing was deep.
Draco watched all of this with a casual smile. While sitting on his couch in an incomparably comfortable position, he decided to drive the nail deeper.
"Esteemed Grand Elder, this Young Lord is exceptionally thankful for your grace in waiving my bill. While I do have the money to pay, not having to is very convenient for my operations. Fret not, I'll make sure to visit you on a later date to show my gratitude."
Draco's words were like rubbing salt on a lethal wound. The Grand Elder couldn't hold it back anymore, he coughed up a thick wad of blood before his eyes rolled back into his head.
"Grand Elder!!"
The Elders and the Aide cried out in alarm, wondering what happened to the Grand Elder. Surely, it was bad, but not that bad… right? Unfortunately, these fellows weren't privy to information within the Association like the Grand Elder, even as Elders.
This blunder of his could see him be ranked even lower than that Doug fellow! Not to mention that he, Johnsen, was the First Grand Elder. He would fall from top to bottom!
Draco just watched the ensuing theatrics with a smirk. With so much money saved, he could work on some of his plans for the settlement much earlier.
