Chapter 471: Altar of Eternal Advancement

Unfortunately, Ethan couldn’t choose the type of item he would receive from those two tickets, unlike the one he had used in the past.

Because of this, he had no choice but to settle for whatever came up at random.

[You opened 2 Transcendent Gacha Tickets. Spinning…]

An intense, golden, blinding light flooded Ethan’s room, bathing the walls and furniture in a warm glow.

For a moment, he squinted, turning his face to the side. When he opened his eyes again, the spinning had already stopped.

[Congratulations, you have received: Heart of Verlaine (Rank: Transcended)]

[Congratulations, you have received: Altar of Eternal Advancement (Rank: Transcended)]

Ethan furrowed his brow, leaning slightly forward in his chair.

He didn’t recognize either of those items. In any case, since they were Transcended-rank, they had to be good.

[Name: Heart of Verlaine Description: The Verlaine is a type of crystal beast from the frozen depths of Asmora, the northernmost icy continent of Estria. Finding one is rare enough, and extracting its heart without letting the energy leak out is even rarer. A Heart of Verlaine can be consumed to strengthen an aura user’s foundation during their advancement. It can be used by warriors below the fifth stage. It provides a massive boost to attribute gains after a successful advancement. Rank: Transcended]

[Name: Altar of Eternal Advancement Description: An ancient altar that can be placed in a meditation room. It aids in advancements to higher stages, greatly increasing magical density and the success rate. The altar can be used for the advancement of beings up to the eighth stage. It can assist in the advancement of up to one hundred people at the same time, with the number limited to one starting from the fifth stage. Once fully depleted, the altar must consume 1,000 high-level magic cores to recover before it can be used again. Energy: 1,000/1,000 Effects: +270% success rate for advancement to a higher stage, +500% magical density in the meditation room where it is placed, +50% attribute gains from advancements. Rank: Transcended]

The Heart of Verlaine certainly got Ethan excited.

It would be an excellent item to use for his own advancement to the fourth stage.

The second item, however, was far superior.

An altar that could be used by up to one hundred people at the same time, increasing both the chances and the power of advancements for anyone below the eighth stage.

That would be incredible for him and his wives alike, especially Ysara and Carmilla.

Ysara was very close to advancing to the sixth stage, and Carmilla wasn’t far from reaching the seventh, although she needed much more than just an enhanced meditation room.

With both of them at the sixth stage or higher, Ethan would have a force protecting Goldenveil strong enough that he would no longer need to fear anyone.

He stood up from his chair with a big smile on his face, stretching his back until it popped.

Until then, he had been hesitating to proceed with the construction of a bridge spanning that section of the Solene River.

A bridge that would connect Goldenveil to its territories on the other side and which, of course, would give the city total control over that passage.

He had given up on the idea of collecting taxes from every ship that passed through there, but he would still have the right to inspect the cargo of each one.

The Western Plains had an economy heavily dependent on Lake Azur, and the region’s wealthiest cities needed to trade with the rest of the continent by traveling across the lake and then down the Solene River.

Seeing Ethan in control of all that would leave them, well, not very happy.

His main fear was the formation of an anti-Goldenveil coalition that would try to force the destruction of the bridge and regain control of the passage.

All it would take was a single sixth-stage specialist from one of those powerful city-states to act, and disaster would befall Goldenveil.

But now, with Carmilla by his side, he didn’t need to worry so much.

Not to mention that one—or even ten—ordinary sixth-stage specialists wouldn’t stand a chance against her.

Carmilla was, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most fearsome beings in the region today. And, fortunately, she was madly in love with him, to the point of essentially handing her entire empire over to him.

Well, she no longer had any interest in ruling and wanted only her husband’s love, so it made sense.

She would be one of the greatest forces protecting Goldenveil in the years to come.

With a soft sigh, Ethan sat back down and let his eyes drift to the system inventory.

He once again had hundreds of premium gacha tickets, and for his plans for the coming month, he would need two things.

First: a divine-level city-building token.

Second: a population to inhabit that city.

Well, he’d also need money to finance the city and the bridge he planned to build—which, incidentally, would have to be very well fortified.

Fortunately, with the system, none of that was difficult.

Soon, Ron would return to Goldenveil bringing even more money, so Ethan was relaxed.

His eyes fell on Goldenveil’s status screen.

[Name: Sacred City of Goldenveil

Type: Large City

Population: 182,032

Population Loyalty: 88%

Houses: 60,000 (43,751 occupied)

Prosperity: Extremely Prosperous

Attractiveness: Extremely Attractive

Population Growth: +571/Week (Increase attractiveness and prosperity to gain more residents)

Lord: Ethan Goldenveil

Orders: 2

Knights: 650 (500 Golden Roses + 150 Silver Wings)

Average Level: 40

Stationed Army: 10,000 Soldiers

Average Level: 40

Guard Loyalty: 96%

‘The Divine Wall of Goldenveil’ Status: 3,120,990/3,120,990

Treasury: 22,153,000 gold coins (-183,500 per month)

Upgrade requirements: 60,000/50,000 houses, 182,032/250,000 inhabitants, 1,000,000 gold coins, Lord at Count level or higher]

His monthly losses had increased significantly, but Ethan barely paid any attention to them.

In addition to a population for the new city, he also needed more people for Goldenveil.

Above the city level came the capital level, which granted special bonuses to cities that controlled large regions.

Because of this, Ethan set one of the main slots in the gacha ticket luck system for the token to create the new city, another to expand his army, and the remaining four entirely on population.

He was about to open the premium tickets when he sensed someone approaching his office. It was precisely the person he most needed to discuss his plans for the future with.

Ethan sent out a slight pulse of aura, and the figure outside paused for a moment.

It was Elena, who didn’t hesitate to change direction.

She had been on her way to her own room, but instead, she turned the doorknob and pushed the office door open, finding the figure seated inside.

“Were you training your body with Evelyn?” Ethan asked the instant he saw the dark-skinned beauty standing in the doorway.

She was wearing tight-fitting clothes, still clinging to her body from sweat.

A black top, almost a bra, hugged those large, perfect, chocolate-colored breasts, pressing the dark, creamy skin—glistening with moisture—against her chest.

The squeezed-together globes spilled out from under the fabric, overflowing on all sides, soft flesh bulging wherever the thin material failed to contain it.

Below, in an obscene underboob, a generous strip of dark flesh escaped from the edge of the top. Above, two swollen mounds rose where the fabric sank deep into her breasts, dividing them into a deep cleavage where a few drops of sweat trickled slowly down and vanished between them.

Her slim stomach was exposed, every defined line glistening under the office light, her navel rising and falling with her tired breathing.

Further down, a pair of leggings just as tight as the top hugged those sensual thighs and her plump, juicy ass, the stretched fabric tracing every curve like a second skin.

Even the fat lips of that puffy pussy were perfectly outlined, the leggings pulled snug into the deep crease between them.

“Yes, hubby… That piece of caramel loves to make me sweat! Ah…” She sighed, leaning her shoulder against the doorframe and running the back of her hand across her damp forehead.

“If I weren’t so filthy, I’d throw myself into your arms right now and ask you to protect me from that dragon and—”

“I’m not a dragon!” Evelyn roared from the end of the hallway.

Ethan’s office door was open, and naturally, because of that, the sound-suppression systems were deactivated.

It was easy for Evelyn, with her extremely keen senses, to hear those words, even from a distance.

Elena froze for a moment, her eyes widening slightly, but she soon let out a low laugh, shaking her head and sending a few sweaty strands of hair swaying against her cheek.

“Don’t you want to take a shower with me, husband?” she asked, a teasing smile curving her lips as her fingers played with the edge of her top, tugging it just enough to let a little more of that dark, glistening flesh peek out. “Then we can talk in a slightly more appropriate way.”