After finishing all his work and completing the training plans, Kaito finally allowed himself to relax for a brief moment. Then he washed up quickly and headed towards the RV parked outside. Without wasting any more time, he stepped inside his gaming cabin and logged into Glory.
In the next moment, his vision shifted, and he was back in the familiar surroundings of South Glade Town. The bustling square was alive with players, but Kaito's attention immediately turned to the party interface. He noticed that his aunt and the others were already online.
He let out a small sigh. It seemed they had already logged in. He was later than usual because of the time spent formulating training plans for the family.
A quick glance at the system clock also told him he still had about five hours before the night break. That was more than enough time to complete a few important matters. He opened his character status window and confirmed that his level had already reached 19.
Forging over two hundred advanced whetstones had been tedious, but it had paid off. Not only had his forging proficiency increased, but he had also gained a full level. Now he was only one level away from reaching level 20 the requirement for his further class change quest. Once he reached that point, he would need to head to the Astralis city where the class change quest could be taken.
But before preparing for that journey, there was one thing he needed to confirm. In his past life, his class change quest had been given by the NPCs in the Swordsman Hall of Astralis City, just like it was for any other regular swordsman player. However, this time he had chosen a completely different path, taking the hidden profession of Magic Swordsman from the cloaked woman. He needed to find out whether his class change quest would still come from her, or if it would follow the usual path.
With that thought, Kaito set off through the town. He made his way once again toward the narrow alley hidden behind the alchemist's spire. The path was one he remembered well, and his steps carried him quickly through it.
The alley was quiet and dim, its walls still covered with creeping vines. At the end stood the same rusted iron gate, its hinges groaning faintly as he pushed it open. Beyond the gate, the path curved, leading beneath the arch of flowering Spiritvine. The faint glow of the blossoms lit the way with a soft shimmer.
Kaito followed the curve until he reached the familiar door which was carved from volcanic ashwood, smooth and dark, with an austere look that matched its mysterious owner. There was still no sigil upon it, just as before. But this time, something new caught his eye.
On the center of the door rested a small letter, sealed shut with an inscription.
Kaito's eyes narrowed slightly. He recognized the style of the seal at once. Placing his hand over it, he poured his magic swordsman mana into the inscription.
A system prompt appeared immediately in his vision,
[Locking inscription found.]
A moment later, another prompt flashed,
[Mana match successful.]
Then a third,
[Unlocking in progress.]
Kaito waited quietly as the inscription glowed faintly. After ten seconds, the light faded, and the seal dissolved on its own, leaving the letter free to be opened.
He pulled the letter loose and carefully unfolded it. Inside, a message was written in neat strokes.
It was from the woman.
The contents were short but clear. The woman urged him to speed up his training and make his way to Astralis City as soon as possible. Once there, she would personally oversee his class change.
Kaito folded the letter back together, a thoughtful look in his eyes. So it was confirmed the cloaked woman, was still tied to his advancement.
The letter also included a specific address where he could find the cloaked woman once he reached Astralis City. With that detail, Kaito's next step was clear he simply needed to get to level 20 as soon as possible. Fortunately, he already knew the perfect way to do that.
Without wasting time, he turned and headed toward the Forging Life Guild. On the way, a stream of system messages appeared confirmations of the entry fee shares from the Misty Palace dungeon, along with updates on the Shadow Fang Swords he had put up for auction. Their average selling price had already reached twenty silver coins. Seeing this, a wide grin spread across his face.
Then before going to the forging guild, Kaito went to his bank vault. He withdrew the flint steel core fragments and then used ten gold coins to create a public vault. Unlike a private vault, which could only be accessed by its owner, a public vault allowed the owner to grant access to selected people. Kaito immediately gave access to his second uncle.
After that, he filled the public vault with valuable items blueprints, lifestyle player resources, materials, and even the large supply of whetstones he had forged earlier. Once everything was stored neatly inside, he sent his second uncle a message telling him that he was free to use the vault however he liked. He also instructed him to use those resources to further train the lifestyle players in Genesis.
At that very moment, Kaito's second uncle was giving instructions to Nina. When Kaito's message arrived, he paused, opened his system interface, and checked the contents of the newly created vault. The moment the inventory list appeared, his eyes widened in surprise.
The items it had not only included the item that were common items that can be bought in bulk, but there were also rare ones precious materials that were almost never seen in the market right now including the whetstones and were sold only in very limited numbers. The sight left him stunned for a moment. Then he sighed quietly, once again impressed by Kaito's foresight. With these resources in hand, he could now fully commit to training the lifestyle players of Genesis without holding anything back.
Meanwhile, Kaito had once again rented another intermediate forging room. Sitting before the glowing forge, he once again picked up his tools and resumed his work on forging the whetstones.
While he worked in silence, elsewhere chaos was unfolding near the Misty Palace dungeon. Thanks to the guides Kaito had written and released, normal guilds and casual players were now able to clear both the Elite and Hard modes. Although, they had not managed to claim the first clears, but they didn't care. To them, being able to clear the dungeon at those levels was already a huge achievement.
It was only after attempting them that they realized just how terrifying the Misty Palace dungeon truly was. If not for the strategies provided in Raen's guides, most of them admitted they would still be stuck on the normal difficulty, failing repeatedly. But now, with the help of these guides, they were able to clear higher difficulties, earning far better rewards.
Those who cleared the Elite and Hard levels came out with smiles of relief and pride. They could now equip their teams with advanced gear and sell extra drops for profit. The Misty Palace had quickly become one of the most lucrative dungeons in the region, and now many more players had access to its rewards.
As groups celebrated their victories outside the dungeon, the teleportation array at the entrance suddenly lit up with a bright flash. A new team appeared inside the circle, fully armed and carrying themselves with confidence. Their armor and weapons gleamed under the array's glow, signaling they were not ordinary players.
This team that stepped out of the teleportation circle belonged to the Crimson Rose Guild, led by Velena herself. Her expression was calm and nonchalant, showing no interest in those around her. Without sparing a glance at the other players gathered nearby, she moved straight toward the spot where her guild members were stationed.