Once Laurent left, Li De turned to Vina.

“Vina, have Isha stay close to my teacher and don’t let her wander off.

Betty comes with me. You’ll be in charge of the Crimson Mage Tower while I’m gone.”

Vina stepped up to Li De and looked into his deep black eyes with a smile straight from the heart.

“Lord Li De, I will manage the Mage Tower well for you.”

Staring at that exquisitely beautiful face, Li De reached out and gently pinched her cheek. The soft, silky feel made him burst into hearty laughter.

“Wait for me to come back.”

With that, he nodded toward Betty, who had already hefted her greatsword and was ready to depart.

Just then, Vina seemed to remember something and hesitated.

“Lord Li De, what about that Otherworldly Chosen adventurer?”

Li De smacked his forehead. The earlier conversation had gotten too deep, and he’d nearly forgotten about Glory’s Light, that player.

“Forget it. I’ll meet him another time.”

After thinking for a moment, he frowned slightly. “Vina, these adventurers are all unruly types, and they can revive endlessly after dying.

In the future, they’ll hold very important positions not just in Green City but across the entire Glory Main Plane.

In the coming days, you'd best start researching and understanding them. The Crimson Mage Tower will eventually form a team composed solely of these adventurers.”

Hearing Li De’s instruction, Vina sensed how seriously he viewed these newcomers and quickly nodded in agreement.

With his affairs handled, Li De departed directly.

And just at that moment, Glory’s Light, thrilled at being summoned by the master of the Crimson Mage Tower, arrived right outside the tower.

Li De had already left, just ten seconds before. A perfect miss.

Dressed in a gray mage apprentice robe, Glory’s Light looked around curiously as he followed the mage who had summoned him into the main tower of the Crimson Mage Tower.

This was his first time stepping into the true Mage Tower. Eyes darting everywhere, he felt like he didn’t have enough time to take it all in.

So this is a Mage Tower? Damn, it’s so high-end. The magic pulsing off these walls, if I touch something wrong, will I get blasted into a fireball?

What the hell? There are alchemical traps here?! I almost stepped on one, 

“You must be Glory’s Light?”

A crisp voice interrupted his wide-eyed gawking.

He turned slightly, and froze.

His eyes lit up with uncontrollable astonishment.

Holy crap. She’s gorgeous! Is this an in-game goddess?!

How can someone be this pretty?!

After the mage who brought him over bowed and departed, Glory’s Light finally snapped out of it and bowed respectfully to the goddess-like figure in front of him.

“Good day, my lady.”

Vina’s expression was cool and dignified. Her chin lifted slightly. Her sapphire-blue eyes carried a trace of imperiousness, and her soft golden curls lent her the air of a queen.

Before Li De, she was the obedient little maid. But now, standing here in the Crimson Mage Tower, she was its de facto ruler, capable of determining any mage’s fate.

A queen in every sense.

“Good day, Glory’s Light. I heard you are an adventurer from the Lost Plane.”

Glory’s Light straightened up, still dazed as he looked at Vina. His heart was practically melting. Damn it, this NPC is going to be the death of me.

Name: Vina Belami

Level: 4

Class: Mage

Description: The most trusted person of authority under the master of the Crimson Mage Tower. Lauded as the commercial jewel of Green City by its nobility. A business prodigy with exceptional acumen.

Oh crap, this is Vina?

A pang of pain struck his heart.

This goddess is actually someone else’s woman…

“Yes, Lady Vina.”

Her eyes sharpened, and a pressure filled the air.

“Glory’s Light, can you tell me, what kind of people are these ‘adventurers from the Lost Plane’?”

Huh?

Glory’s Light panicked a little under her gaze. Though players had no taboos, he’d already learned how much power NPCs wielded here.

If she wanted, she could kick him out on the street in a heartbeat.

Now that he’d experienced how hard life was for players, there was no way he’d want to leave such a powerful and resource-rich faction.

Desire made him cautious. He was no longer the carefree player from when he first logged in.

“Lady Vina, adventurers…”

As Vina listened, intrigued by Glory’s Light recounting the absurd behaviors of other players, Li De and Betty had already exited the Mage Tower.

In a shadowy alley, they changed their identities and sped toward the Western District.

Ever since Laurent had mentioned the mithril vein, Li De’s interest had been thoroughly piqued.

But with the Crimson Mage Tower’s surface-level power alone, there was no way they could devour such a colossal prize.

Ten thousand Beastmen were no joke. These physically superior warriors were notorious for their brutal strength.

As for sharing the prize with Spark or letting him take the lead, Li De could never accept that. We’re talking about a mithril vein, a whole vein.

The wealth buried inside could drive all of Green City insane.

Li De’s first priority now was to keep this information under wraps.

If the Crimson Mage Tower couldn’t consume it, then he’d turn to his other factions.

After all, he wasn’t just the master of the Crimson Mage Tower.

He was also Leader of the Dark Pact, and Lord of Dawn City, nestled deep within the Far Mountain Range, a power that could shake the realm.

The dwarf who leaked this info to Laurent may have assumed the Crimson Mage Tower couldn’t handle it and hoped the message would reach Spark.

But what he definitely didn’t anticipate was this: while the Crimson Mage Tower might not have the strength to claim it, Li De himself did.

As Lord of Dawn, Chairman of the Dark Pact, and Tower Master of the Crimson Mage Tower, he now commanded no fewer than six top-tier fighters at Level 15 and above: the Northern Valkyrie Betty, Level 16. Northern Son Grote, Level 16. Ancient bloodline awakened Bronze Cyclops Kosso, Level 16. Primal born King of Bats Castro, Level 15. Shadow High Priest and Blasphemer Emi, Level 15. Dark Priest of the Evening Bell Church Stanley, Level 15.

No exaggeration, Li De now held the most elite force in all of Green City. In terms of raw power below the Transcendent level, he was second to none.

That was where his confidence came from.

Ten thousand Beastmen might be mighty, but…

If the information about that mithril vein proved true, then perhaps, it was time to test whether Dawn City could devour it whole.

A mithril vein, who could resist such a temptation?