Author’s Note (this doesn’t increase the Chapter price).
Well, it doesn’t look like we are going to make it to 25,000 win-win unlocks. Almost one-third of the month has passed, so it’s possible to make the calculation now.
We could still reach 25,000 win-win unlocks if I released six or seven Chapters every day, but the novel’s quality would suffer if I pushed the schedule that hard. I don’t want to affect the quality.
Because of that, I’ll be falling back to 2–3 Chapters per day from now on. (Yes, that’s still an increase from the original one Chapter a day.)
Thank you for supporting the novel and keeping up with the daily updates. To show my appreciation, I’ll also reduce the privilege prices next month.
Thank you for your continued support!
..
Isaac fell silent as Chairman Lucius’ words settled in his mind. His wives had never questioned him about making the marriage official, nor had they ever tried to pressure him into it.
They trusted him completely, and that trust was exactly why they had remained patient for so long. They knew there were more important matters demanding his attention, so they had quietly waited without making things harder for him.
Even so, Chairman Lucius had forced Isaac to confront something he had unconsciously ignored. When would the right time for an official marriage actually come?
He had always assumed there would be another opportunity later, after the current problems were dealt with. But the more he thought about it, the more meaningless that answer sounded.
The Thousand Year Stampede would begin within a year. As that day drew closer, every resource and every bit of attention would have to be focused on survival, leaving no room for something like a wedding. And after the Stampede began, nobody could predict how long it would last or what condition they would be in by the end of it.
Looking at things from that perspective, the answer became surprisingly obvious. Right now was probably the best chance they would ever have.
The neighboring powerful Lords had already been dealt with, and the City was enjoying a rare period of peace. It wasn’t completely free of problems, but compared to everything they had experienced over the past weeks, this was as stable as things were likely to become.
Isaac organized the remaining matters in his mind while Chairman Lucius waited without interrupting him. After several moments, Isaac finally looked up and spoke.
"Give me a few weeks."
"You’re asking for more time again?" Chairman Lucius frowned.
Isaac nodded before explaining, "I have the Conqueror Trial today, and I don’t know how long that will take. After the Trial is over, we have to travel to the Florathi Kingdom because there are several important matters waiting there. Everything should be finished within a few weeks."
He paused briefly before continuing. "I’d honestly rather ignore all of that and marry Selene and Alice immediately, but these are things I can’t simply postpone."
Chairman Lucius watched him for a moment before asking, "You’re still planning to go to the Florathi Kingdom after everything that happened there?"
"It’s necessary. I have a business agreement with the Seventh Queen, and there’s also a good chance the Third Priest’s faction will make a move against me. If I stay here, then any conflict they start could drag the City into danger. I’d rather meet them on their own ground. That way, if they decide to try something funny, I won’t have to worry about protecting my citizens while dealing with them," Isaac replied.
A cold glint flashed in Isaac’s eyes as he finished speaking. It wasn’t difficult to understand what he meant.
Chairman Lucius remained silent for several moments. He knew that if fighting broke out inside the Florathi Kingdom, innocent people there would inevitably become involved.
Neither of them liked that reality, but both had survived long enough to understand how the apocalypse worked. If protecting your own people required sacrificing your enemies, then there usually wasn’t much of a choice to make.
There was another reason Isaac hadn’t mentioned aloud. Emily had stopped too many spirits from returning to the cycle of nirvana by taming them, and sooner or later the Grim Reapers would come looking for answers.
Before that happened, Isaac wanted to contact them first and negotiate some sort of agreement. According to the information they had gathered, the Florathi Kingdom possessed a method of reaching the Grim Reapers, making the trip impossible to avoid.
Chairman Lucius looked at Isaac carefully before asking one last time, "So you’re asking for a few weeks?"
"Yes," Isaac answered with a nod.
Chairman Lucius smiled in satisfaction. At least Isaac had finally given him a definite answer instead of avoiding the subject once again.
The smile didn’t last long before his expression changed completely. He looked Isaac up and down with open annoyance before saying, "You should be thankful that you’re the Lord of this City. Otherwise, after I saw you walking out of that room this morning..."
He deliberately left the sentence unfinished because there was no need to explain the rest. Isaac already knew exactly what he meant.
Isaac simply rolled his eyes. The old man had returned to his usual habit of taking every opportunity to clash with him.
Although Isaac acted unconcerned, he secretly let out a sigh of relief. Celia had been inside the room as well, and thankfully she had shown him unexpected mercy by staying hidden instead of walking out after him.
If she had appeared at that moment, Isaac was fairly certain Chairman Lucius would have refused to let him set foot inside the Calloway mansion again. That would have created an entirely different headache.
After finishing their conversation, the two of them walked toward the dining hall together. The breakfast table was already filled, and everyone else had gathered before them.
Isaac quietly took his seat and glanced around the table. His eyes eventually landed on Celia, who was smiling at him with an expression that immediately made him suspicious.
She didn’t say anything during breakfast, but Isaac doubted that smile was free of hidden intentions. He was almost certain she expected something in return for covering for him earlier.
Selene, on the other hand, was smiling innocently through the breakfast, and looked fondly at Isaac several times. Anyone could tell by looking at her what happened last night.
That made Chairman Lucius look at Isaac as if he would drill a hole in him with his gaze. Isaac shamelessly smiled back at Chairman Lucius.
Breakfast continued naturally as everyone chatted about ordinary matters around the City. For a short while, the atmosphere remained peaceful, allowing everyone to enjoy the meal without discussing politics, monsters, or war.
Once breakfast came to an end, everyone stood and began preparing for the day’s work. Isaac gathered his party together, and before long, they left the Calloway mansion.
Since Selene needed to go to the office, Isaac drove her there first. After dropping her off at her business building, he returned to the mansion with everyone else. Alice wasn’t heading into the wilderness today because they would be starting the Conqueror Trial, so she had decided to spend the morning training with Eleanor, Sera, Catherine, and Isaac’s clone in the backyard.
Emily was also preparing to leave for her own City. Just as she was about to head out, Isaac reached into his spatial ring and took out an Ocular Skill Upgrade Ticket before handing it to her.
"Here, take this."
Emily looked at the ticket for a moment before smiling brightly. "This is for me? Thank you."
She activated the ticket immediately, and a faint light flashed across her eyes before fading away. Once the upgrade was complete, she stepped forward and gave Isaac a quick kiss.
"I’ll be going now. Stay safe, and if the Trial turns out to be more dangerous than you expected, don’t force yourself through it. You can always come back and challenge it another day," she said with a gentle smile.
"I know. I’ll be careful." Isaac nodded without arguing.
Emily clearly wanted to stay with him. Today wasn’t an ordinary day, and she knew there was no guarantee that the Conqueror Trial would be safe.
In the end, though, she still left because Isaac insister. Staying with him wouldn’t really change anything. Her City needed her attention now that more travelers had started passing through it on their way to Isaac’s territory. Visitors, merchants, and even tourists had begun treating it as a stop along the route, so someone needed to stay behind to manage everything.
After Emily departed, Celia stretched lazily and walked upstairs. Her crew was still tired after the concert, so they had taken the day off.
With the living room suddenly becoming quiet, Isaac took the opportunity to check the rewards. He leaned back slightly before speaking inside his mind.
’System, share Emily’s upgraded skill!’
Demonic Eyes (SSS+ Rank → Transcendent Rank)
A smile slowly appeared on Isaac’s face as he opened the skill description. Every Transcendent skill possessed abilities that placed it on an entirely different level from ordinary SSS-rank skills, and this one was no exception.
All of the previous effects had received substantial improvements, making the skill considerably stronger than before. On top of that, the Demonic Eyes now carried an innate suppression effect against spirit-type entities, a simple addition that dramatically increased the skill’s value.
Isaac immediately thought of Ki Beli, the strongest fighter of the Purification Cult. With this upgrade, Emily would have a much easier time taming him or any spirit that surpassed him in strength.
The usefulness didn’t end there either. If Emily or Isaac ever fought spirit-type monsters, the suppression effect would give them a significant advantage. Even the Grim Reapers belonged to that category.
Isaac had no intention of making enemies of the Grim Reapers. He still planned to negotiate with them once they reached the Florathi Kingdom, but having a contingency plan had never hurt anyone.
Satisfied with Emily’s upgrade, Isaac continued. ’System, share the skills Alice upgraded using the Skill Rank Up Tickets!’
Solar Dominion (SSS Rank → SSS+ Rank)
Daybreak Incarnate (SSS Rank → SSS+ Rank)
Isaac checked Solar Dominion first. Its amplification for fire and light damage had increased b another hundred percent, bringing the total boost to two hundred and fifty percent, while its effective range had expanded to ten hectares.
A wider range combined with such overwhelming amplification made the skill even more terrifying than before. Alice had already dominated large-scale battles, and now escaping her attacks would hit even harder.