A system notification chimed.

  [System: Skill trainers in Starlight Village have entered an advanced state. Duration: 12 hours.]

  Kael’s mouth twisted into a wry grin.

  “Well, so much for that,” he muttered. “Forget Class Advancement, now even regular players can’t learn new skills here.”

  Fortunately, the downtime wasn't long. Things would be back to normal by morning. He shot a quick message to Lila, who immediately relayed the info to the guild.

  “Nobody panic,” she posted in the Crimson Bloom channel. “We’re based in Starlight Village, so all our skill training and Class Advancements happen here. Our town’s trainers are just getting an upgrade. The Class Advancement quests will be available tomorrow at 7 AM sharp.”

  Rena’s reply popped up instantly, bubbly as ever.

  “Awesome! Dibs on being the first Priest to advance!”

  Lunara followed:

  “And I’ll be the first Mage.”

  Starbloom:

  “First Warlock, calling it now.”

  Velora:

  “First Archer here!”

  No one batted an eye at the others, but Velora’s post immediately drew a wave of teasing.

  Rena:

  “LMAO, keep dreaming, Velora.”

  Starbloom:

  “Yeah, didn’t you hear? Dawnbreaker already hit his Class Advancement. He’s a Divine Archer now.”

  Glytter:

  “Ooooh, maybe Velora’s got a thing for Dawnbreaker?”

  A chorus of replies followed.

  “Whoa, Glytter, you got a death wish? Teasing the guild leader’s man?”

  “Hahaha…”

  Lila rolled her eyes as the chat devolved into her crazy guildmates poking fun at her. She closed the channel and went back to grinding her essence quests.

  Crimson Bloom already had over twenty members at level 30. After tomorrow, they would all have completed their first Class Advancement. The guild’s position as the top-ranked on the server would be untouchable.

  Meanwhile, Kael was stressing about his own advancement. Having a hidden class was absurdly powerful most of the time, but it came with a massive downside: there was no clear path. No dedicated trainers, no guaranteed quests.

  It was all up to RNG.

  He’d come across plenty of Archer skill scrolls on his journey, but he’d been extremely selective, saving his precious Skill Points for only the most critical abilities. While finding skills was manageable, Class Advancement was a whole different beast.

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  His designated NPC was Apollo, a legendary god. A dead legendary god. How was he supposed to get a quest from a deity who had already fallen?

  His only hope was to get lucky in a Hidden Realm.

  Kael walked to his warehouse and retrieved the item he’d acquired from the Blackheart Grotto: [Land of the Behemoth] Teleport Scrolls.

  He'd never been to the Land of the Behemoth in his past life. He had, however, fought a Behemoth Soul in the Tower of Banishment.

  That was a level 40 primal beast. If its mere soul was level 40, the living creature must have been far more powerful. He’d put off using the scroll because he had no idea what kind of monsters he’d be walking into.

  He finally made a decision.

  Tomorrow. After Lila and the others hit their advancement, I’ll go scout out that hornet’s nest.

  With his mind made up, he stopped overthinking it. He walked to a safe zone and logged out.

  Kael stepped out of his room and saw that Lila’s door was still shut. She must still be in-game, grinding. He went downstairs to find Gable and the two housekeepers eating in the staff dining area.

  They stood up respectfully as he entered.

  “Good evening, sir.”

  Kael nodded and walked into the main dining room. A warming cabinet held a spread of five dishes and a soup, including a massive Tomahawk steak he loved and a light consommé Lila preferred. The two maids quickly brought the dishes to the table.

  After nearly seven hours of non-stop questing, he was starving. He devoured the entire steak in record time, then picked up a glass of milk. As he took a sip, he noticed Gable standing quietly to the side, watching him.

  Kael set his utensils down. “Gable, you’ve heard about what happened the other day, right?” he asked, his tone serious.

  Gable nodded. How could she not? Edmund Whitmore, patriarch of the Whitmore family, had been arrested for conspiracy to commit murder. His current wife was being investigated as an accomplice, and even the Mordant family was implicated.

  The fallout was catastrophic. Stocks connected to both families had plummeted, with hundreds of related securities hitting four consecutive limit downs. Financial news channels were debating whether the Whitmore Group was on the verge of insolvency, while entertainment media buzzed about the fate of the family fortune.

  Lila had hired a top-tier legal team to handle everything. Kael didn't follow the news—he had no interest in it—but one thing did concern him.

  “This villa,” he asked, “who holds the title to it now?”

  He was prepared to buy it outright if it was still considered a Whitmore family asset. After auctioning the Sunfire Bell for twenty billion and sinking a billion into founding the Arbazon corporation, he still had a billion dollars left. The villa was valued at three to four hundred million, an amount he could easily afford.

  “The villa is already in your name, Mr. Kael,” Gable replied. “It was part of a prior agreement between Miss Whitmore and her father.”

  Kael froze. He’d assumed Lila meant he could just use the villa, not that she had actually transferred ownership to him.

  “But I never signed any contracts. How is that possible?”

  Gable took out her phone and played a voice recording.

  “Kael, this is Attorney Sterling, please hold for a moment.”

  Then, a woman’s voice came on the line. “Mr. Kael, my name is Amanda Miller with Dawson & Associates. I require your verbal authorization to act as your legal proxy in all matters concerning the property at Cypress Point Estates, Villa 8.”

  A recording of Kael’s own voice followed. “You have it.”

  Hearing it, Kael vaguely recalled the phone call. “I wasn’t really paying attention at the time,” he said, puzzled. “Can you grant authorization just over the phone?”

  “Of course,” Gable explained. “Attorney Miller called from a registered and recorded business line, following standard legal procedure. Your voiceprint was verified, which makes your consent legally binding.”

  Kael didn’t grasp all the legal jargon, but he understood the bottom line: the villa was his.

  He nodded slowly, then picked up his fork and knife and resumed eating.

  Gable remained by his side, hesitating for a long moment. Finally, her personal feelings overrode her professional composure. Her voice was pleading.

  “Miss Whitmore… after everything she’s lost… please, don’t betray the faith she has in you.”

  ***

  I sincerely apologize for the delay. Due to login issues, I was unable to access my Patreon account for a period of time. The issue has now been resolved, and all previously missed chapters have been uploaded. Thank you all for your understanding—your subscriptions and support mean a great deal to me.