Catherine had told him about them before.
Right now, the two high-rank species were extremely secretive.
While they did own Fortified Cities on the surface, most of their true population had long since been relocated to separate dimensions controlled by their race. Those dimensions were self-contained worlds, hidden from the Sector.
The high-rank species were completely closed off.
Their members never appeared in public, except for Trials or Quests. They never interfered in the politics of the Sector, at least not openly.
For the general population, it was as if only twelve powers ruled the Sector.
So it was correct to say that the actual leaders of the Sector were the twelve mid-rank species.
The Florathi race was one of those twelve leaders.
Their job, along with the others, was to coordinate responses against large-scale threats—Raids, powerful monster tides, Catastrophes, or special events that could endanger multiple Lords or entire regions.
When something went wrong at a large scale, they were the ones who mobilized.
After receiving all the information from Ashroot, Isaac typed a short message of thanks and closed the chat.
The room grew quiet again.
"I have a Great Dungeon now. So it will definitely bring a lot of people. I need to make sure my Territory is strong enough to deal with anyone who gets funny ideas when they lay eyes on my City," he muttered.
Strengthening the City required multiple things.
Powerful buildings. Stronger troops. And even more powerful elites.
He leaned back in his chair and began listing everything in his mind.
"I already started building all the blueprints I got.
"As for elites... Alice, Emily, the Sword Empress, Professor Catherine, and Vale are all growing stronger at a good pace," he said.
The materials from the Crimson Sky Wyrm’s corpse were also being processed.
The crafters from former Fortified City 82 were handling the corpse carefully. They were extracted materials to craft equipment. The Mana Organ was being prepared separately. If everything went well, Alice would attempt to digest it and possibly extract one of the Crimson Sky Wyrm’s innate skills, and refine her physique.
That alone could elevate her to another level.
"The only problem is stronger troops..." Isaac murmured.
He did have troops.
There were the nagas, the ogres, and the soldiers he summoned daily from the Summoning Altar and the Standardized Battalion. They were disciplined and useful. But in his mind, they were not enough.
If Lords from other regions began arriving because of the Great Dungeon, some of them would not come peacefully.
Isaac did not want to rely only on elites.
He needed soldiers who were terrifyingly powerful. Soldiers who could defend the City even if he was absent.
"I guess it’s time to test my skill," he said after a moment.
His clone had already harvested the genetic genes of the Tyrannical Golden Hens. They were not ordinary hens; they were violent, dominant creatures that had evolved under extreme conditions. Their genes were potent, and could be extracted by his skills.
If fusing those genes with seeds worked the way Isaac theorized, then he could create something entirely new.
Something sapient.
Something loyal.
Something that could form the backbone of an elite army.
He finished dealing with the documents on his desk and stood up. He could have delegated this experiment to his clone, but since it was the first time he would attempt such a fusion personally, he wanted to use his main body.
Reaching the farm did not take long.
Like before, his new house was still near the farm, slightly separated from the main city. The noise of construction and daily activities faded the farther he moved from the central districts. The air here felt calmer.
As Isaac descended from the sky and landed near his house, he stretched his shoulders slightly.
"I guess I should start—"
His words stopped mid-sentence.
He sensed a foreign presence.
Isaac turned his head slowly.
Someone was sitting on the porch.
His breath caught in his throat.
Silver hair that fell neatly behind her shoulders. A small nose. Small, cherry-like lips. Ruby eyes that seemed clearer than before. Fair skin that almost looked luminous under the daylight. Her posture was straight, refined. There was an air of nobility around her that hadn’t been there before.
"Isaac?"
Even her voice sounded different. It was softer, but clearer. It carried a faint resonance that lingered a second longer than normal.
Her brows were slightly furrowed, and the expression made her look unexpectedly cute—
Isaac forced himself to snap back.
"Selene? Why do you look... so different?"
He paused halfway through the sentence.
Technically, Selene still looked like Selene. Her facial features were the same. But everything about her presence had changed. It was as if she had gone from being an exceptional beauty to something far beyond that.
"It’s the result of my evolution," Selene said. Her shoulders relaxed once she realized Isaac wasn’t ignoring her and was just confused. A polite smile formed on her lips. "How do I look? Though, judging by your reaction, I think I can guess."
She chuckled softly.
The sound was strangely pleasant.
Isaac felt a subtle pull in his chest. It was faint, but it was there. A desire to listen longer. To make her smile again. To—
’What the hell?’
His mind snapped back sharply.
’A mental skill?’
He focused carefully on the mana around her.
’No... it doesn’t look like she’s actively using anything.’
Her expression was natural. There was no sign of concentration or deliberate casting.
’So it’s a racial ability? Something passive?’
A cold realization settled in his mind.
’What kind of terrifying race did she evolve into?’
"You look good," Isaac said, keeping his tone steady. "And congratulations on completing your evolution. You’re high-rank now, and only a few people in the City can match you. So, what race did you evolve into?"
"Silver Drake. That’s my species now. Though..." she continued, hesitating a little. "My skills are a bit... weird, I guess."
"Weird how?" Isaac asked.