After dealing with the Tradeskill Association, Draco left to check out his new properties. There was a palpable spring in his step due to all the money he had saved.
After all, Draco's biggest concern after paying for the maximum level buildings was not just the settlement's development, but the maintenance of the properties.
Anyone who owned anything that was of a depreciating value knew how headache-inducing maintenance was. Sometimes, just making sure a car or house could stay functional required much more than you paid to get it!
While 100,000 platinum was an enormous amount, maintaining a settlement as well as three maximum level buildings was not enough.
Hellscape had possessed Rank 4 buildings for most facets of development in their Kingdom and the upkeep for them prevented them from climbing higher.
Otherwise, wouldn't just anyone climb to reach the level of universal powers like the War Maniac Pavilion? Clearly, there was a realistic limit to how a power could climb without creating or doing something world breaking to gather in resources or funds.
Since the buildings Draco had asked for were probably Rank 7, one could just imagine how hefty the upkeep would be. It meant that Draco couldn't stop to breathe for a second, he quite literally had to keep doing world breaking things in order to gather the funds to maintain this advantage.
Draco first visited the Noble's residence that was built for him. Upon seeing the 'residence', Draco was utterly flabbergasted. In truth, he had seen many high ranking buildings, but never something above Rank 5.
What he expected to be a super large and opulent mansion turned out to be a… castle!
That's right, a gods damned castle was sitting there, wedged between two other noble residences like it was something utterly normal. As if everyone who developed enough deserved a castle that was arguably better than the King's.
Draco began to sweat heavily. If it wasn't for the fact that Nobles were awarded huge pieces of land, how would this castle fit so easily in one place? Even with its large size, the nearest noble manor was at least 20 km away.
Wouldn't the King be angered to death if he saw a building that was owned by a mere Minor Duke was much better than his? Draco had to take a few breaths to calm himself first.
He walked towards the gates of his castle with a calm demeanor, his black cape billowing out behind him due to the gentle breeze. Anyone who looked at Draco now would be entranced by him, whether male or female.
It wasn't just the physical, but the aura of heroism and power that leaked from him. Of course, that aura was due to his upgraded State of Being as well as his own power of Control which was currently in passive mode.
The gates of the castle were opened by a few knights with bright steel armor as well as long spears in their grasps, greeting Draco with a bow while on horseback.
"We welcome our Lord!"
Their voices reverberated in the area, stunning the few other nobles who were looking on with interest. After all, seeing a castle sprout up in your neighborhood when everybody had a normal mansion was definitely cause for investigation.
Draco took in the bow from his knights with a calm gaze, but inside he was laughing happily. Every fellow had the fantasy of being surrounded by valiant knights while looking heroic.
Draco was no exception, though he couldn't help but frown inwardly. What was missing in this scenario? A damsel with unparalleled beauty and unmatchable elegance to gaze upon him with adoration!
Draco's inner smile couldn't help but become a malicious smirk as he realized that he already had his own damsel that fit and even surpassed the above description.
"Come over to these co-ordinates. Have a surprise for you. Bring the captive as well. – Draco"
"On my way. – Eva"
Draco watched one of the knights brought along a pure black steed with reverence in his eyes. The horse looked malevolent and very unruly, and in fact, was trying to bite the Knight as well as his steed the whole way.
Why would these knights that had reverence and respect in their eyes bring along a rough looking horse that was clearly untamed?
It was precisely due to that reverence!
After all, Draco had his Lightbringer title equipped right now, so to these knights, he was like the incarnation of the Holy Paladin currently.
Surely the Holy Paladin would not face any difficulties in taming a dark-aligned steed… right?
There were no malicious intentions behind their actions and Draco could see that. In fact, he was extremely pleased by this.
After all, let's not forget that this fellow was an edgelord who had suppressed his eighth grader syndrome down!
The sight of such an evil looking horse excited him deep down, but it didn't show on his face.
Instead, he walked up to the animal while maintaining eye contact. The horse first snorted at him as if to say 'this fellow here, do you have a death wish? This Horse Daddy here likes the taste of human flesh the best!' but then its expression suddenly changed.
That was because Draco was using his abilities of Control to mimic what he did when he entered the Guild Outpost in his Drake disguise. Every step of his was timed to match the heartbeat of the horse in front of him, exerting mental and spiritual pressure on it.
The horse began to sweat profusely realizing that the fellow before it was no average bloke.
'F.u.c.k, why does this Horse Daddy have to meet such a monster in this life? F.u.c.k! F.u.c.k! F.u.c.k!'
The animal felt gloomy deep inside, but it put on a respectful expression on the outside, allowing Draco to mount it in one step. It dared not to act up currently, but swore to get revenge on a later date.
Draco turned to his knights who had an expression of growing fanaticism on their faces from his actions till now. Draco smiled inwardly, as this was the effect he wanted to cause by his deeds.
"I need one of you to bring the purest steed we have that is of a white coloration. If we don't have one in our inventory, then proceed to buy one immediately."
Draco's words were met with an instant response. One of the younger knights of the bunch quickly whipped his horse into a sprint. He quickly headed towards the stables in the castle.
When he returned, it was with a horse that looked one step away from becoming a unicorn in tow. Literally taping a spiral horn to its head would make one think it was the real mythical beast.
Draco nodded towards the Youthful Knight, whose face became red from excitement. He was recognized by His Lord! Some of the older knights felt a bit jealous deep down, but their pride prevented them from making the actions that the Youthful Knight did.
Soon enough, Riveting Night walked into view with Zaine in tow. Since she was a non-noble with an unregistered slave, she could not use a carriage to get to the castle.
Hell, had it not been for Draco's high reputation and standing, she might have been blocked at the entrance to the Noble's District. Still, when she came into view, it was Zaine who captured all the attention.
She had discarded her previous sportswear-like attire – willingly or not – for the western idealization of a… maids outfit.
Yes, a maid's outfit.
It had a black dye for the body and the sleeves, as well as pure white laces as well as frills around her neck and wrists. Her short and curly black hair was fitted neatly under her white frilly headpiece. She wore two black garters on each of her forearms that added a certain charm to her look.
Though, the real killer was her black stockings that reached up to the middle of her thigh. There was another garter wrapped around her right thigh that stood out due to her beautifully wrapped thick legs.
Her maid outfit was impractical since her skirt was embarrassingly short and her chest was almost totally on display. While her body was the picture of voluptuous perfection, her chest wasn't overly exaggerated but a humble D-cup that stood erect like a missile.
Her peach wasn't also overly large but protruded outwards so much that the skirt could barely cover her underwear. It was clear her behind wasn't full of fat, but proper distribution between fat and muscle.
All in all, Zaine's physical s.e.x appeal was through the roof. Even Draco had to admit that his breathing became slightly more ragged due to her sheer attraction value.
The strangest part was that her light brown eyes showed no discomfort at being labeled as a slave or forced to dress like this. In fact, she seemed to relish the l.u.s.tful gazes cast her way.
Draco knew this was because of her devil like nature. Still, her eyes were locked onto his form the whole time, taking in the sight of her new master with a palpable gleam.
Even the knights couldn't help but feel sour. They revered their new lord, but the urge to rush up to the maid ravage her while laughing maniacally was hard to resist.
Riveting Night was led to the white horse, which allowed her to mount with almost perfect grace. Zaine didn't mount with her, instead she was allowed to sit behind Draco on his own horse.
Draco had tried to get Riveting Night to remove her cowl through private messages over and over, but the look she gave him through that void-like hood made him drop it. No need to anger her just to look cool.
So it somewhat ruined the effect he planned but Zaine's presence slightly made up for it. As they rode into the castle, she hugged onto the back of his armor with a light blush on her face.
This further aggravated the l.u.s.t in onlookers and they had to bite their tongues in order to resist the urge to kill Draco and mount her. Draco frowned a little due to this effect but didn't talk much.
After all, the effect of a succubus was self-explanatory. It would be scarier if none of these fellows fell for her allure, as that would mean either she was defective or that they fellows possessed monstrous willpower.
After they crossed the plains before the castle, the party was welcomed into the castle proper with an adequate amount of fanfare. A row of maids dressed in more appropriate attires than Zaine bowed down upon his entry.
"We welcome The Master!"
Their gentle and feminine voices would set fire to any man when he heard the adoration and respect contained within addressed to him. Draco was strong willed but he wasn't a deity. He also felt immeasurable pleasure being treated like this.
Riveting Night was noting all this down silently. She may know Draco very well, but that was limited to strategy, combat techniques and general train of thought.
His current preferences were beyond her since he never pursued any pleasures aside from trying to crush her in their past life. This time she opened her eyes wide, making sure to note anything and everything that made him even slightly pleased.
Draco dismounted off his horse and gave the reins to the Young Knight from before. Riveting Night and the other knights did same, establishing a formation around him quickly and with total discipline.
Draco was led into his castle and taken around for a general tour. It had everything, a public reception hall, private reception hall, 99 guest rooms, 1 master bedroom, three kitchens, four armories, one stable, a large public garden with handpicked flowers and shrubs, a private garden with special herbs, an underground dungeon for prisoners, a barracks for the knights, a servant's quarters for the maids, a torture room, a servant's dining hall, a knight's dining hall, a public dining hall and a private dining hall.
It also had a room for each of the Tradeskills available in the Boundless.
It had an intricate network of passageways and hallways that made the layout seem complex, but was nothing before the Control enhanced eidetic memory of the Evil Duo.
They soon mastered the layout of their new private base. The amount of knights were 125. Also, there were 200 squires, 300 maids, 3 stable boys, 1 stable master, 1 knight trainer, 1 squire deacon, 1 head maid, 1 gardener, 1 alchemist, 1 blacksmith, 1 enchanter, 1 accountant, 1 farmer, 1 diviner etc
There was one each of the Tradeskill masters in each of the rooms, who could either perform a service or train others for a fee.
Most surprisingly, there was a shop within the castle that was manned by a merchant! He wasn't officially part of the staff, but rather a sort of roaming merchant that had a high reputation among NPCs.
What did this mean? It meant that he'd be selling special items only! No common potions or the like. Mostly likely, he'd be selling things on par with Draco's recently crafted items and potions or even higher!
No one had achieved a Rank 7 noble's residence in his past life, so Draco couldn't tell for sure. The merchant, named Shuro, also declined to elaborate, only telling Draco to wait a few days for his stocks to arrive.
"Hmph, deliberately acting mysterious."
Draco couldn't help but snort and leave in a huff under Shuro's enigmatic smile. Deep down though, the curiosity was eating him up. However, he reined in that burning inquisitiveness and handled some miscellaneous matters first.
Draco had Zaine settled in one of the guest rooms before checking out the master bedroom with Riveting Night. When the two saw its lavishness, they couldn't help but marvel.
The master bedroom had a magically enchanted wardrobe that had its own space. It was the size of two mansions and could store leagues of clothes for the couple.
The room had a bar that was fully stocked with all kinds of drinks. The cupboards were enchanted with ice magic, meaning that all drinks were chilled before removal.
There was a wide king size bed that had a thick and lavish red canopy as well as a mix of black and white sheets. The bathroom attached to the master bedroom was also a super-mini small world, with a hot springs, waterfall and sauna.
Not matter how you wanted to go about your bathing, your options were unlimited. There was also a modern looking toilet but players didn't have to worry about excrement in the early updates. That would slowly become a problem in the later updates, as the AI made the game more real.
No matter how the Evil Duo looked at it, the castle was the definition of opulence. If the King came down to see this, he might just lose his temper and kill the two of them back to level 1.
His castle was Rank 5 at best!
Draco and Riveting Night got familiar with their base before leaving together with the blessing of their servants and knights. Draco made sure to drop 25,000 platinum into the castle's coffers for upkeep.
After all, the Tradeskill Association only handled the first weeks' pay and maintenance. With that amount deposited, it should last about two to three months.
For scale, 25000 platinum was equivalent to $75,000,000,000!
Lord in heaven, what an amount!
And yet, it could only maintain a castle for barely three months? Jesus, what at all was the minimum wage for the servants like?
The Evil Duo left to visit the Guild Hall next. The shuttled through the player barren Cario city in a carriage that seemed totally common. Truth be told, the Castle had its own noble's wagon, but Draco didn't want to flaunt his existence.
After all, he was terrified of the King's response!
Richmond might be powerful, but he wasn't god of this world. He could prevent the other hidden powers from messing with his herald, but he couldn't prevent a king from punishing a treasonous citizen.
After all, wasn't it practically treason to announce to the world metaphorically that you had a bigger d.i.c.k than the King himself?
It took them a while to reach the Guild Hall as Cario City was about as large as Italy in the real world in terms of scale. The whole world of Boundless was just as it was titled, Boundless!
New continents were always being discovered during Draco's past life, much less now. The reason why Boundless was so attractive was that unlike the real world, resources were infinite.
As long as the AI could generate them, they'd keep spawning into being. Even if player annihilated all the NPCs in the world of Boundless, the AI would just spawn them on a new continent and use the fact to create some new content.
The Guild Hall was a hundred times bigger than the castle. In fact, the Evil Duo shared the same surprise since the building was essentially a… skyscr.a.p.er!
That was right, a skyscr.a.p.er that looked no different from one in the modern world about 40 years ago in this timeline. Still, that was just the exterior because the two doubted about how a modern building could exist in what was essentially a medieval game.
The aesthetics of the exterior was a tall, rectangular and uniform shaped building that was covered with rows and columns of reflective glass panels.
Upon entry, Draco and Riveting Night were led to a lobby with a receptionist who was seated behind a desk. She had a computer in front of her too!
The lobby was carpeted and stylish, with two A/Cs blasting conditioned air, as well as a water dispenser near the entrance.
"How can I help you, Guildmaster and Vice-Guildmaster?"
The Receptionist's sonorous voice woke the two up from their stupor. They were still disbelieving that such a setup could exist in Boundless, but decided to investigate more.
"Hello, I was curious as to the setup of the building. I initially thought the Gods forbade Immortal Adventurer's from replicating technology from the World of the Gods here?"
Draco asked with a curious smile.
"Yes, such a rule does exist. However, upon reaching the maximum level of the building, the Gods decided to be lenient on their chosen ones by allowing them to experience a bit of home. After all, aside from specifically conditioned residents like me, none else are allowed into the building."
Her explanation was met with a simultaneous frown from Draco and Riveting Night. The two of them were skeptical of this scenario.
They had reached Rank 5 for their Guild Halls and the building's looked more like the Adventurer's Association rather than this.
Suddenly, Draco's passive Control tingled very slightly. He hadn't been able to maintain it like this before due to the severe burden on his weak body, but the Draconic Source Energy easily fixed that for him.
He felt like something was watching their reactions very carefully. Draco was unaware of exactly who, so he private messaged Riveting Night to stay alert.
Immediately, the presence left. Draco was baffled by this. Could it be that whoever was watching them so overtly could see into their private messages?
That was impossible… right?