Isaac walked to the center stage.
The low conversations died down almost instantly.
"Everyone," Isaac began, voice carrying easily through the open area, "I’ll make this simple. The city is now officially active."
A quiet wave of murmurs spread through the people. Isaac continued.
"Now, to activate the City’s Sky Dome and outer Wall, we’ll need to gather several materials. You’ll receive the full list through your terminals later."
He paused, letting the words sink in before he went on.
"But before you complain about the work ahead, you should know this: Just by activating the city, we’ve already gained major benefits."
He gestured toward the open plains beyond the stage.
"I’m sure you’ve noticed it already. The mana density in the air has increased by about one and a half times.
"The land purity has gone up too, around one point two-five times. And if you checked your maps, you’d see our city’s territory has doubled in size."
The murmur turned into scattered whispers of surprise.
A few heads nodded.
"All that," Isaac said, "just for starting the city. Imagine what’ll happen when we complete the next phases. Which is why we can’t slow down."
He tapped his wrist device, and a translucent board appeared behind him, listing the next goal.
"The tutorial quest. We need to clear it."
He explained the objectives one by one—scouting the outer sectors, clearing the nearby dungeon, gathering materials, and building Sky Dome and City Walls and other infrastructures.
As he spoke, the crowd’s energy shifted.
A few looked nervous, whispering to their companions.
Others clenched their fists or smiled, clearly excited.
Isaac finished explaining, then looked up at everyone again. His tone softened slightly.
"With this," he said, "I’m officially creating the Super Guild: Imperium Aeternum (The Eternal Kingdom) . "
The announcement rippled through the group like a shockwave.
He continued before anyone could interrupt.
"The details and documents will be sent to your personal devices. Go through them carefully. Everything from ranks to benefits to responsibilities is listed there."
He paused, letting the initial excitement build, then undercut it with a quieter, colder tone.
"And one more thing. If you don’t like the new policies, that’s fine. You’re free to leave for another city. But if you try to start a rebellion here... you’ll be erased, mercilessly."
A few people audibly gulped.
Isaac’s gaze swept over the faces.
He didn’t need to shout; his calm tone carried the weight of authority.
"That’s all for now," he said, turning around. "If you have questions, send them to me through my secretary: Vale Rae, former guild leader of the former Titan Edge."
Vale’s brow twitched slightly at the way he said former twice, but he said nothing.
Isaac descended from the stage and walked toward the exit, Vale, Ruby, and Priscilla following him.
He didn’t have an office in Fortified City 50.
But Professor Catherine had given him keys yesterday, saying he could use her office in Sanctum of Masters whenever he needed a workspace.
"I’ll need to build a City Hall soon," Isaac muttered as he entered the room.
It was a wide, circular office filled with monitors, stacks of reports, and a faint metallic scent from mana instruments.
"Make yourselves comfortable," he said as he sat behind the desk. "We’re working here for the day."
Vale leaned against the wall, arms folded.
Ruby took a seat on the couch near the window, while Priscilla immediately started sorting through files on a secondary console.
Isaac began going through the documents he’d stored in his spatial ring.
Maps, system reports, infrastructure charts, all layered with translucent blue light above the desk.
Minutes passed in silence, only broken by the tapping of keys. Then came a knock.
"Enter," Isaac said without looking up.
Freya stepped inside, holding a data tablet.
Her coat brushed against the floor as she approached.
"Lord Isaac," she greeted. "I’ve brought the latest reports regarding the governor’s corruption reveal."
Isaac gestured for her to continue.
"People are... going crazy. A lot of them say they don’t believe it, but since we’re using several fake accounts online and having other media sources echo our points, public opinion is slowly shifting in our favor."
Isaac scrolled through the data she shared, scanning the charts showing influence and sentiment metrics.
He rubbed his temples.
"As expected, the backlash is strong," he muttered.
Freya nodded. "It’s worse because people are stressed about the sudden city expansion. The increase in city size caught them off guard."
"The guilds and local networks should be explaining the situation already, right?" Isaac asked.
"They are. But it’ll take time before the citizens calm down."
"Let it continue for a while. Once they’ve had time to process everything, I’ll announce my official position as City Lord and the creation of the Super Guild."
"That’s a smart move," Freya said. "If you made an announcement now, they’d ignore you out of fear or confusion. Better to wait for them to settle."
She turned to leave, then stopped at the door. "I’ll update you again once the metrics stabilize."
Isaac nodded. "Good work."
After she left, the room grew quiet again.
Isaac leaned back in the chair, staring at the faint holographic flicker of the city map projected above the desk.
He had a moment to breathe.
He opened his interface and navigated toward a tab labeled [Lord Profile].
There was a new option blinking beneath it.
[Lord Chat]
"Let’s see what this is," he muttered and opened it.
A message appeared:
[Before you enter the Lord Chat, please select an alias.]
[Note: Alias will be permanent.]
"An alias, huh."
He thought for a second, then typed it in.
[’Cārus’ has been chosen as your alias.]
It was the name Celia had given him during his Trial.
He still remembered the faint smile on her face when she said it. She’d called it a name of ’champion’ in her language.
The screen flickered again.
[You can now enter the Regional Lord Chat.]
He entered.
Instantly, a stream of messages filled the interface.
[FlameGorgon]: Oh, we got a new one, huh? Welcome, Cārus!
[MistQueen]: Another newbie? That’s like the fifth this week.
[VoidSinger]: Bet he’s from the outer belts. Look at that alias, screams pretentious.
[AshRoot]: Leave the poor guy alone, you vultures. Let him breathe.
Isaac frowned slightly, scrolling through the lines.
It felt less like a coordination channel and more like the old internet forums from his world.
It was chaotic, noisy, and full of trolls.
[MistQueen]: So, Cārus, what species are you? Goblin? Dwarf? Hybrid?
[FlameGorgon]: Yeah, yeah, just a friendly question. We like to keep track. For... ’alliances.’
[StoneWolf]: Don’t scare him off already. Not everyone wants to share info, Flame.
Isaac stared at the screen.
He’d expected strategy discussions, maybe trade talks.
Instead, it was gossip and noise.
Then someone new joined the chat.
[Seer]: Hey, Cārus, tell us something. Do you have a Talent yet?
[MistQueen]: Oh, that’s a good one. Let’s see if he’s unlucky or not.
Isaac’s brow furrowed.
Unlucky?
[Cārus]: What do you mean by unlucky?
There was a pause, then the reply came.
[Seer]: The higher your Talent, the harder your tutorial quest gets. Most of us nearly died during ours.
Before Isaac could ask more, someone else interrupted.
[MistQueen]: Hey, Seer, don’t spoil it for him. Let him find out the fun way.
[FlameGorgon]: Yeah, info like that should be earned. Otherwise, we’ll just raise another clueless Lord who can’t stand on his own.
Isaac memorized Seer’s name quietly.
He tried scrolling further up the chat to see earlier conversations, but the messages stopped at a certain point.
Everything beyond that was erased.
He leaned back in the chair, eyes half-closed, thinking.
There was another message at the bottom.
[IronTide]: We’ve had at least five new Lords appear just today.
[MistQueen]: Busy times, huh. Quite a City’s are being wiped out these days, and bold ones are claiming them to raise quickly.
Isaac stared at that line for a moment.
Then, he stood up. "Alright, it’s time. Let’s go and announce the Super Guild and Lord news to the City."