Isaac leaned back.
The room had settled into a quiet that only came after something loud and exhausting had passed through it.
The air still carried a faint warmth, but most of the energy had drained from him, leaving his limbs heavy and his thoughts slow.
Catherine stood near the window, relaxed and steady, like the whole session had powered her up instead of draining her like it did Isaac, who looked like he’d been wrung out until the last drop.
Her expression was bright, like a blooming flower.
Isaac grumbled that using clones was cheating.
Of course, being exhausted only meant that he had enjoyed the training just as much.
He didn’t argue.
He looked at the screen before his eyes. It showed the effects of his training.
Solar Draconic Physique (Level 0, Progress: 5% → 7%)
Hollow Crown Physique (Level 0, Progress: 5% → 7%)
Warthrone Physique (Level 0, Progress: 5% → 7%)
Infernal Monarch Physique (Level 0, Progress: 5% → 7%)
Sinbound Physique (Level 0, Progress: 5% → 7%)
Celestial Tempter Body (Level 0, Progress: 5% → 7%)
’This is good,’ he thought, then added, ’System, share Catherine’s Physique progress!’
Celestial Tempter Body (Level 0, Progress: 7% → 60%)
He stared at the number, then looked up at her. "Your Physique progress is already at sixty percent?"
She shrugged. "I only have one physique. It’s easier to focus everything into it."
A slow smile spread across his face. "That’s good. I can share your progress, so I get the benefits too."
"Exactly," she said, tapping his forehead lightly. "Which is why you should stop looking so tired and start appreciating how unfair this system actually is."
She reached into her spatial ring and pulled out a small, faintly glowing grain. Stepping closer, she pressed it gently to his lips.
"Open your mouth."
He did, and the Vitality Grain dissolved into warmth that spread through his chest and into his limbs, pushing back the worst of the exhaustion.
"Thanks," he said, rolling his shoulders as the heaviness eased. "But seriously, how are you fine when I feel like I need a week off?"
"Because of Life Force. Physique Refinement burns through it. You’re Adept-rank. I’m Champion-rank. I’ve got more to work with," Catherine replied.
"That explains it. Rank determines the total life force we have."
"It does," she replied, then pinched his nose. "And don’t overdo it. I know I tell you to ’train’ regularly, but if your Life Force drops too low, it doesn’t just recover slower. It starts cutting into your lifespan."
He blinked. "So I can actually shorten my life if I push too hard."
"Yes. Physique Refinement is powerful. Of course it has a price," she said simply.
He leaned back, staring at the ceiling. "A drawback like this makes whatever waits at Level Two even more tempting. It would be definitely powerful."
Her smile turned playful. "It will."
"Can you at least give me a hint what will change at Level Two?"
"Where’s the fun in that?"
He rolled his eyes, but he was smiling too.
Catherine opened her mouth to say something else, but her expression shifted, the lightness fading into something sharper and more focused.
"Is there a problem?" Isaac asked.
She took a breath. "The—"
A knock cut her off.
"Sir," an attendant’s voice called from the other side of the door, "Governor Jeremy is asking if you can give him some time."
Catherine glanced at the door, then back at Isaac. "Something important came up. I need to go. You should focus on your meeting with the governor."
Before he could say anything else, the clone in front of him dissolved into light.
Isaac frowned.
He could feel the faint presence of her other clones vanish as well. That meant she was pulling them back to her real body to resummon them next to her.
"Something’s happening," he muttered.
Catherine had gone to deal with the neighboring Monster Tribes. It wasn’t meant to be a simple visit, but it wasn’t supposed to turn into a full conflict either.
"If there was a problem, she would’ve told me. Besides Emily and Celia are with her, so even if Monster Tribes want a fight, Celia, Emily and sis have enough force to fight back."
His thoughts drifted back to how Emily and Celia had ended up there in the first place.
Celia had gone to fight Vale after receiving her legendary weapon. The result had been predictable. The weapon had been impressive, but Vale’s years of real combat experience had outweighed raw strength.
The loss made Celia sulk.
Emily had tried to cheer her up, and somewhere along the way, the conversation had turned into training in the wilderness. Real danger, real fights, and the kind of experience that couldn’t be learned inside city walls.
It would allow Celia to win against Vale. Or so was their thought process.
Isaac had considered sending a clone to keep an eye on them, but he knew his own experience outside the cities was limited. He could protect them, but he wouldn’t be teaching them much.
Still, sending an entire team of awakeners with Celia and Emily would waste too much manpower.
That left only one option: Catherine.
After enough pleading, she had agreed to bring them along while dealing with the Monster Tribes.
If things went smoothly, they’d gain experience. If things went wrong, Catherine would be there to pull them out.
"A battle against Monster Tribe would be dangerous, but I’m sure sis would not take too huge of a risk, besides, Celia can use teleportation. They can run away easily if something happens."
Whatever problem had occurred at Catherine’s side shouldn’t be too serious.
So...
Why?
Why was Isaac feeling uneasy?
"The problem isn’t big. If it was, sis would’ve told me. but there is definitely a problem... did Celia do something again?"
Isaac trusted Emily— no, he trusted Celia too, but that girl... was a knack for digging up trouble.
Unfortunately, Isaac didn’t have much time to dwell on the thoughts.
"Sir?" The attendant knocked again.
"Bring Governor Jeremy to the other meeting room. I’ll be there shortly," Isaac called back.
After quickly straightening himself and taking a breath, Isaac cleaned himself, wore new set of clothes, cleaned the room, and headed down the corridor.
The meeting room was simple and clean, with a long table at its center and a wide window that overlooked the inner districts of the city. Governor Jeremy stood as Isaac entered, his smile broader than before.
"Lord Isaac. It’s good to see you again," Jeremy said, offering his hand.
Isaac shook it. "You look like you’re in a good mood, Governor."
Governor Jeremy chuckled. "I am. Because I’ve made a decision."
They sat across from each other.
"I’m listening," Isaac said.
Governor Jeremy folded his hands on the table. "I want to merge my city with yours."
Isaac paused just long enough to make it look like he hadn’t been expecting it. "Pardon?"
Governor Jeremy took a breath and continued, "Our city has builders and artificers. A lot of them. We can help you turn the materials from the Catastrophe into proper equipment instead of stockpiles that sit in warehouses.
"Merging with us will also increase your population. That means more workers, more active blueprints, and faster expansion.
"Right now, even with your resources, you’re limited by how many people you have to actually build and maintain things."
Isaac leaned back in his chair, listening without interrupting.
Governor Jeremy went on, "We’re strong in production, but weak in protection. You’re strong in protection, and your influence is growing. Alone, we both have limits. Together, we can cover each other’s weaknesses."
Isaac tapped the edge of the table with his finger. "And what do you want in exchange? Merging with my city means you stop being a governor. You’d be giving up a lot of authority."
"For me, the safety of my people matters more. I know that’s easy to say and harder to believe, so I’m willing to sign a contract that forbids me from fighting for political influence after the merge. I won’t compete for power within your city’s structure."
He reached into his coat and placed a thick document on the table.
"In return. I want you to vow that my citizens will be treated the same as yours. No discrimination. Same laws. Same protection. If something unfair happens, I want you to step in."
Isaac picked up the contract and flipped through the pages. It was dense, full of clauses and conditions. Most of it focused on equal rights, shared access to resources, and systems for resolving disputes between the two populations.
He looked up. "Does Overlord Zarax know about this? And what about your citizens?"
"Zarax is an old friend. He trusts my judgment. If I tell him this is what I chose, he’ll accept it. As for my people, they’ll understand once I explain what it means to become part of a Lord City. The benefits are too obvious to ignore."
Isaac nodded slowly, then set the contract down. "Is it okay if I discuss this with some people first?"
"Of course. Take all the time you need."
Governor Jeremy leaned back in his chair, watching Isaac with quiet approval, since Isaac wasn’t jumping to sign the contract immediately just to increase his city’s size.
He knew this wasn’t a small decision.
Merging cities meant more than signing a paper. It meant untangling finances, resources, companies, academies, and the countless systems that kept a fortified city running.
Who would control the national funds. How natural resources would be distributed. What would happen when companies from two cities suddenly competed in the same markets.
There were a thousand questions, and Isaac wasn’t the kind of man to ignore them.
Isaac stood and moved toward the side of the room, bringing up his communication interface. He sent out several calls at once.
Chairman Lucius.
The principals of the top three universities.
A few of the larger business owners who had stakes in both cities.
And, after a moment’s thought, Paul and his father from Walker Smithy.
The Walker Smithy’s business had boomed since Tyr, the treant, became Paul’s disciple and Isaac made a few purchases there.
They arrived in waves.
Paul was the first through the door, waving with an easy grin. "Hey, boss. You called?"
"Thanks for coming on such short notice," Isaac said.
Paul’s father followed, his expression more reserved but no less respectful. "We should be thanking you, Lord Isaac. Being invited to a meeting like this isn’t something a smithy owner usually gets."
Isaac guided them all into the larger meeting hall. The long table filled quickly as the others arrived, the room shifting from quiet to busy in the span of a few minutes.
Governor Jeremy stood to greet them, introducing himself and explaining the purpose of the meeting.
The contract was passed around.
At first, the discussion was cautious. Chairman Lucius asked about financial oversight and how trade taxes would be handled. One of the principals wanted to know how university funding would change once the two cities’ systems were combined.
Paul’s father listened more than he spoke, but when he did, it was about supply chains, metal access, and how the influx of new workers might affect production costs.
Governor Jeremy answered every question himself.
Isaac found himself quietly impressed.
The governor didn’t defer to advisors or assistants. He knew the details of his city’s operations, from infrastructure to education to commerce.
It was clear he had been carrying most of the administrative weight on his own for a long time.
’He’s competent. I should make him a subject once I have more slots.’
At the same moment, Jeremy felt an odd chill run down his spine.
For reasons he couldn’t explain, he suddenly had the strong impression that his plans for a peaceful retirement were drifting further and further away.
The meeting stretched on.
Points were raised, clarified, adjusted. A few lines in the contract were reworded to make responsibilities clearer. Some clauses were added to protect smaller businesses from being crushed by larger ones during the initial transition.
Hours passed.
Partway through, the door opened and Selene entered.
She had been in Fortified City 22 all day, handling the sale of materials recovered from the recent monster horde.
The market had been active, and profits were good, but the moment she heard that Isaac had called a meeting with Chairman Lucius, she found an excuse to leave and head over.
She still didn’t understand why she was so eager to meet Isaac.
But staying near him made her heart feel strangely full.
Selene took an empty seat near the end of the table, nodding politely to the others. Her presence didn’t go unnoticed.
Chairman Lucius saw her expression. His lips twitched, and his eyes shifted briefly from Isaac to his daughter and back again.
He wasn’t blind to his daughter’s feeling, even she was unaware of her feelings.
Until the end of the meeting, Isaac felt that quiet, disapproving stare of Chairman Lucius more than once. He ignored it and kept his focus on the discussion.
Eventually, Governor Jeremy let out a slow breath and closed the contract.
"This is good enough," he said. He picked up a pen and signed his name.
Isaac took the document, read through the final page one more time, and added his own signature.
"I’ll send a clone to your city. The merge can’t happen until I take control of your City Core. We should get that done today."
"That’s fine," Jeremy replied, standing. "I’ll go with your clone and prepare my people."
They shook hands, and a moment later, Jeremy left with Isaac’s duplicate.
The tension in the room eased after that.
Isaac stayed behind and spoke with the others. He turned first to the university principals, asking how they were handling the education of summons.
"Most of them don’t understand human customs at all when they arrive. We’ve had to add crash course of cultural classes. Communication, laws, even things like how to use public systems," the Principal of Horizon Institute admitted.
"It’s slow. But they’re learning. Some of them are faster than our own students," the headmaster of Sanctum of Masters added.
Isaac nodded. "Keep pushing it. The more they understand how our cities work, the fewer problems we’ll have later."
He moved on to the business owners and Chairman Lucius.
"I’m planning to shift my crop market from Fortified City 22 to my own city soon. Once that happens, you’re going to see a lot more traffic. Other races will start passing through regularly," Isaac told them. "
One of the businessmen leaned forward. "You’re giving us a heads-up?"
Isaac smiled. "I am. If my city grows, it benefits all of us. Prepare for it."
They thanked him, some already murmuring to each other about expansion plans.
Finally, Isaac turned to Paul and his father.
Paul grinned. "So, what have you been up to lately big bro? You haven’t visited much."
"Busy with work. How is Tyr. I hope he is not sulking, since I haven’t visited much?"
"A little," Paul admitted. "He’s been spending more time with the Sanctum students in Fortified City 89. Freya and a few others have been teaching him about daily life, not just fighting."
His father nodded. "The treant’s growing fast. He is becoming smarter too."
Isaac smiled faintly. "That’s good to hear."
One by one, people began to leave, the room slowly emptying.
As Selene stood to follow the others, Isaac spoke.
"Selene, stay behind."
She paused, then nodded and sat back down.
Chairman Lucius stopped as well.
Seeing Chairman Lucius’ stare, Isaac smiled helplessly. "It’s not about what you think."