The Glorious Evolution

He knew that those benefits would make his merchant life a hundred times easier, but he still needed to deal with many other issues... Mostly related to the capital and network.

Of course, Levi had no intentions of being hands-down on the business... He knew nothing about how things went down on the business side, and to be honest, he had too much on his plate to shove his head in it.

Fortunately, there was no shortage of hardworking people dying for such an opportunity. With Nocturnal Contracts... it was near impossible for the workers to cheat Levi of a single dime.

Once he set up his business with all gears running smoothly from supply to customer, Levi would be sitting on a money-printing machine.

A project that would help him reduce the insane resources his three seeds needed for evolutions.

"I should rent an island close by to my shop," Levi murmured while accessing the biggest rental market in the network, covering almost the entire Boundless Expanse.

In the Boundless Expanse... everything and anything could be sold or rented.

Levi went first to check on the prices for purchasing a prime location in Nocturn's Heart city... What showed up made him almost close the entire tab in horror.

'Ten million Nocrix Credit minimum... So much.'

'What did you expect? Owning any prime location in those cities is a guaranteed, eternal money-printing machine.' Ash'Kral replied, 'The Boundless Expanse is untouched by the chaos outside, which means the real estate value is always on the rise.'

'Ahh... I understand.' Levi smiled wryly.

He knew it was a fantasy to dream of owning a commercial location this early in his life... In fact, he should feel lucky that he was given the chance of thinking of purchasing or leasing such territories.

In reality... Even if one possessed the money to buy it, they wouldn't be able to unless they had the necessary Noble rank.

Levi checked... Only Count Nobles and above were given the rights to purchase or lease prime commercial locations!

This meant his title helped him skip a whole five ranks' worth of struggle to obtain this perk.

Millions of merchants were working their asses off their entire lives, and yet, they would do anything to obtain this perk from Levi's.

The Boundless Expanse always prioritized the Nocturnal Ring's Rifters, ensuring that a constant supply of Rifters kept pouring in.

Levi swiftly switched to leasing a prime location and found that it was as brutal as purchasing one.

"For a ten-million-territory, I will be needing to pay five hundred thousand Nocrix Credits annually, minimum." Levi sighed, "This crap is way too expensive."

Prime locations were often leased for 5–12% of their purchase price annually in a normal market...

Since this price was given to literally a tiny one-room shop, it meant Levi needed to work his ass off in the games to collect more than two million Nocrix Credits to kickstart his business fully.

"Check how many credits were awarded to your account from the streaming revenue." Ash'Kral said, "You have played a Teraowner rank game, which means you are eligible for a percentage of profits depending on your performance and fame."

"Oh, you reminded me..."

Levi swiftly accessed his bank account and noticed two new wire notifications... one related to the title's bonus, and the other to the game's.

-100,000 credits have been deposited in your account.-

-234000 credits have been deposited in your account.-

'So much!' Levi's brow raised in surprise, 'Isn't this the average for Viscount rank game winners?'

'Don't underestimate your performance and audience.' Ash'Kral said, 'You must have earned about 4% of the game's livestream revenue.'

'4%... while the Rifters are given a mere 5% revenue cap in the first five ranks... This means the others shared about 1%.'

Levi had read that when a livestreamed game concluded, the Nocturnal Ring's automated adjudication system began its work.

From the total earnings of the broadcast, only five percent was ever set aside for the Rifters themselves... a rule meant to keep the rewards lucrative yet controlled.

The system first analyzed each Rifter's in-game performance: kills secured, objectives completed, survival contributions, and such. It then cross-referenced that data with their current fame levels... how many viewers they attracted during the match, how engaged their audience was, and their overall influence on the stream's reach.

Each Rifter's share of the reward pool grew or shrank based on this dual evaluation. A rising star with immense viewership but modest performance might still walk away with a healthy cut, while a silent ace who carried the game but drew little audience attention would receive a share weighted more toward their in-game impact.

The sum of these calculations formed a balanced distribution: high performers were rewarded, influential figures retained their pull, and the total payout never exceeded that set at 5% ceiling unless they surpassed the first five ranks.

This way, every game became its own ecosystem... fame and skill feeding into one another, but neither alone dominating the spoils.

This perk was accessible only after one became a Teraowner.

'I have around four hundred thousand credits... a sizable sum, yet it doesn't feel like it.' Levi smiled wryly as he checked his bank account's balance.

With this amount, Levi could go on a shopping spree in the Infinity Shop, but now that his mind was set on owning his own business, it felt like it was a mere start.

'Brat, don't forget about The Titan... you need to prioritize him first.' Ash'Kral reminded with a solemn tone, 'The resources already invested will slowly decay with time.'

'The hell, why am I hearing about this now?' Levi's brow twitched.

'It should take about a month or less before the strengthened wisp starts breaking apart to its natural state.' Ash'Kral said, 'I thought by then, the Titan's consciousness would be awakened and he would keep his wisp intact.'

'Alright, I am on it.' Levi nodded with a stern look.

Levi had invested an insane amount of treasures, and he had no intentions of letting them go to waste... The business side could wait a couple of months until he got his shit together.

No further ado, Levi returned to the homepage of the real estate market and typed in -Islands for rental... Nine Skies Provinces.-

The search engine brought out tens of millions of territories of all shapes, sizes, locations, and prices... Some were rented at ten thousand Credits a month, and some at a hundred thousand!

Levi filtered the search by choosing Nocturn's Heart territory... which was considered the capital of the 2nd Sky Province... Then, he limited the price to five thousand credits a month.

The list was drastically shortened.

Levi's lips curled as he kept scrolling down the list, not too fond of the listed islands... he believed five thousand credits a month was a bargain, but the reality was different.

It only showed him territories with Omnipotence Level Two, and double the size of Ash'Kral's little island.

This island would be sold dirt cheap anywhere outside the Nine Skies Provinces... But being near the capital increased its value immensely.

This was the power Province Grade Map Fragments... A single map fragment was equal to one hundred Desolate Grade Map Fragments.

Levi didn't bother purchasing a territory using a hundred Desolate Grade Map Fragments for this exact reason... Before, he didn't mind being too far from the capital.

But now that he had a business in mind... he wanted to be engaged with the heart of the population to experience the culture, knowing that it would help him in his business endeavor.

Though... such experience, plus owning an island for training, didn't come cheap.

'You might as well rent a small apartment studio in the heart of the city, and buy another territory in the desolate void... You will have two islands for training, and a rented apartment in the capital.' Ash'Kral advised.

'Hmmm... That will cost me two thousand credits minimum a month, but it will serve as nothing but a resting area."

If Levi rented an island, although it would be expensive... he could travel between it and the capital while enjoying the benefits of having an O2-rated island.

'No one will rent you an island for less than a decade... A lot can happen in such a period.' Ash'Kral warned, 'It's better to make a small commitment when it comes to rentals.'

Hearing this, Levi realized that Ash'Kral had a point... instead of saving his map fragments, he might as well buy a small island in the void and work on it slowly with time.

If he wanted to give it up, he could always sell it.

It was much better than wasting his money on expensive rent for a whole decade on an island he could not grow... If he was going to do this, he might as well commit to a decade-long rental contract inside the capital.

At least, he would always have a place in the capital.

***

Sometime later...

"Here's your dimensional key... Welcome to your new home, and if you need anything, you will find me on the second floor... Sir Levi."

A short, humanoid elderly male ant handed Levi a contract in front of a closed white door.

The ant man was wearing a comfy green robe, freeing all of his limbs. He was dark-scaled and had a singular antenna on his head.

His non-threatening appearance might fool some to look down on him... but in reality, he was rich enough to buy whole planets if he wanted, and strong enough to make anyone avoid meeting his killer gaze.

The tiny studio Levi purchased on the outskirts of the Nocturnal's Heart Main Hub cost him three thousand credits a month with the discount applied... This studio was one of a hundred in the entire building, which this kind-looking ant owned.

He was absolutely swimming in dough.

"Thank you, Elder Bras'kirn."

Levi bowed his head in appreciation and watched his Landlord teleport away without a trace or sound.

'This... why does it feel like he is stronger than Solarbound Daywalkers?' Levi murmured inwardly, his spiritual vision failing to give him an accurate reading.

'That's because he is...' Ash'Kral replied lazily, 'You're in the Main Hub of the 2nd Province... You will be meeting monsters daily... So, try not to give anyone a weird look. You might be protected under Nocturn's Authority, but they have been living here for so long, they have built their own network... they won't hesitate to use it to make your living experience hell.'

'So, same as on my planet? Good to know.'

Levi scoffed under his breath, not too fond of such oppression following him even here. But, there wasn't much to be done... unity across the universe was used for protection and oppression.

As he unlocked his studio door, Levi was met with a cozy, open-spaced, furnished flat... The bathroom was next to the door. It had a wooden toilet seat with IIthorien inscriptions all over.

The flush mechanism became dimensional as one did their duties on top of a tiny Stygian Gate.

Instead of flushing with water, the feces and such were thrown straight to the Shadow Dimension, where they either got eaten by creatures there or exterminated by its unforgiving conditions.

Unlike Earth, which had the Shadow Dimension enforced on it, Nocturn's authority on his realm was potent enough to allow the gates to appear... not the other way around.

That's why Levi's vision of the Shadow dimension was dead in the Boundless Expanse... The spiritual bridge of darkness was failing to connect him to it unless access was given, like now.

Levi's brow twitched a bit at the sight of disgusting worm-like nightcrawlers floating under his toilet's chair and possibly other tenants' chairs... nasty juices flew down their mouths as some were eating, while others waited patiently.

"This is gonna take me a while to get used to..." Levi muttered as he covered his world with frequencies, wanting to erase the worms from his life.