A month later, sunburnt plateau:
"How is this, Your Majesty? Is everything alright?" Cedric asked with a smile.
"It's truly worthy of Starsea Trading, transporting about ten million people in just a month," Maximus couldn't help but sigh at their efficiency.
A month ago, when he proposed to Cedric to transport the population, he thought he could only transport about a million each time.
Yet now, only a month had passed and there were already about ten million here.
That's equivalent to a whole kingdom.
"Hahaha, this is just the first transaction, so it's a little low."
"After a few more tests, maybe we'll be able to transport a hundred million each time," Cedric bragged.
"Oh, and how did you manage to gather all these people?"
"As you know, it's the era of imperial domination."
"Kingdoms are likely to be cannon fodder, so after some negotiations, it's easy to fool them," Cedric said with a smile.
Cedric didn't tell Maximus that he had earned a lot from this endeavor.
Besides Maximus' payment, there were also payments from the people on board, especially the nobles who feared for their lives.
They were willing to pay a substantial sum of money for a chance to live in a better and safer place.
"Indeed, sooner or later, the times will become chaotic."
"These little kingdoms will serve as warm-ups for the empire's conquest."
"By the way, how much is the total for these people?"
"Almost all of them are normal, with about 10 percent being knowledgeable."
"There are a hundred thousand at tier 1, a thousand at tier 3, and less than a hundred at tier 3."
"That's about 300 million gold or 300 thousand magic crystals," Cedric calculated.
"Hmm, that's not too much,"
Maximus then spare part of his consciousness as he manipulated his token in arcane continent to pay Cedric through the bank.
"Did you receive it?"
"I got it, I'm looking forward to our next transaction," Cedric said excitedly, having earned such a huge amount of magic crystals in just a month.
"Go, I want to see if you could bankrupt me," Maximus smiled.
His current monthly income is 500 million magic crystals.
So, Merely 300 thousand was too little for him.
"Hahaha, then I'll make sure to take all of your money," Cedric laughed.
Imagining Maximus begging not to send any more people due to the fear of being unable to pay.
Soon, all of the people were transported to the edge of the Moonlight Empire.
"Is this the place?" a man asked.
"It should be, the Starseas traders promise to send us to an empire."
"But there is no difference here."
Seeing that the place was still barren, with corrosive mana slowly eating away at his life, he couldn't help but complain.
"Look, there's a formation array there. We're just at the edge, so we didn't feel the change," a tier 1 official mage said.
"Line up!" a loud voice commanded.
The crowd hurriedly lined up, but seeing such a long line, others couldn't help but complain.
"Couldn't we just enter? It's so uncomfortable here," Riley a nobleman ask.
"Look, there's an express lane there, but you need to pay a hefty sum," the guard advised him.
"Thanks, it's really uncomfortable here," Riley said as he took his family to the express lane.
As for his entourage, they could just take the line honestly.
Those who look rich also followed the suit.
Soon, they made their way through the express lane.
"It costs 1,000 gold to be in this line," the guard stopped them.
"Here's the money," Riley paid more than a hundred thousand gold for his family.
Riley was a wealthy nobleman with tens of millions of gold in assets, so this was nothing to him.
"Come in,"
The express lane is already inside the array formation, making it quite comfortable.
"Input your mana and soul signature here."
Soon, one by one, his family finishes registering.
Stepping onto the other side of the formation feels like entering another world.
If the outside was barren, filled with dirt and mud, then the inside is a paradise bursting with colors.
"Beautiful," his daughter said.
Blue light grass lies on the ground like moonlight, slowly shining and nourishing the surroundings.
"Is this the place we will live from now on?"
"Of course. The crew from Starsea Trader said that this is the Moonlight Empire."
"They accept all kinds of refugees and it's quite safe, with abundant food and clothing," Riley explained.
They were also informed about the era of imperial domination, which scared all of them.
Although Riley is a wealthy nobleman, his family's foundation is poor.
There isn't even a tier 3 powerhouse in his family.
So, with no other choice, after the Starsea Trader informed them that they could transport them to an empire.
Riley abandoned his territory to escape to a safer place.
"But how do we get to a city?"
Seeing that there are only plants and trees here, his daughter couldn't help but complain.
"Look, there is a flying boat coming here," Riley said, pointing at more than a thousand flying boats approaching them.
"So many?!" It's the first time they've seen so many flying boats together.
They resembled birds in the sky, forming a formation.
"Come, let's see if we can ride one to the city," Riley urged his family as the flying boats landed.
"Hello sir, these are the flying boats to the cities," a woman greeted them.
"I see, How much is the fare to the city?"
"No, it's totally free. You just need to choose which city you want to land in."
"Oh," Riley was a little shocked that it was free.
After all, the cost of transportation on Starsea Trader is 10,000 per person, which cost him a few million.
"How do we choose? Do you have a map here?"
"Here, sir. It's the blueprint of the Moonlight Empire."
The reason why it's a blueprint is because the construction is not yet completed.
"This—" Riley was stunned.
Looking at different cities and their descriptions,
There are business-oriented cities with towering buildings that soar past the sky.
There are fairy-like cities, using synthetic trees as houses.
There is also a city that looks like a turtle with its dome-like shape.
"Here, I want to go here," Riley chose the noble district.
This city might not be the most architecturally stunning, but it had everything a noble and wealthy could desire.
A large tract of land, huge buildings more luxurious than any castle he had seen.
All kinds of services catered to them.
Furthermore, the mana concentration and protection there were top-notch.
Moreover, it's a gathering of nobles and the wealthy, so entertainment and luxury are unparalleled compared to other cities.
"Are you sure, sir?"
"The housing rent here is very expensive, costing millions of gold per term," the woman advised.
"Rent?" Riley wasn't daunted by the price.
With his business acumen, earning money is as easy as eating and drinking for him.
The reason he only had tens of millions of gold in assets is due to his low-key nature.
In his previous kingdom, such a huge sum would surely be stolen in the blink of an eye.
But with his ingenuity, others didn't even know that he was that rich.
"It's because all of the land is His Majesty's property."
"Furthermore, the structure and materials are not something a few million gold coins can buy."
"Indeed," Riley nodded in understanding.
"Do you still want to go there?"
"Yes, moreover, can't you still go to another city, right?"
"Ah, yes."
"Then I'll go to the noble district."
"Sure, you can take Flying Boat No. 12."
His family got on Flying Boat No. 12 and waited a few hours before it left.
...
Noble District, Avaln City:
"Are we here?"
"We're here, look!"
They looked outside the window and saw architecture that they had only dreamed of.
"Can we really live here?"
"Don't worry, with Father here, everything will be alright," Riley patted his chest.
After some processing, they finally got their place.
Riley and his family enjoyed a warm meal, celebrating their new beginning.
All the other people who were transported to the Moonlight Empire also got their warm homes and meals, looking forward to the future.
...
A month later, a few days before the official student trial,
In Maximus' manor,
Maximus was seated in the meditation room, resembling a tree connected to the world.
Surrounding him was an elemental pool that he had acquired from the system.
Suddenly, like an egg cracking, the energy in the surroundings agitated, refining the mana pathways in his soul.
"Huh!"
"Finally, tier 4 elemental mage," Maximus couldn't help but clench his fist.
He had initially thought that it would take a year to advance to tier 4.
Little did he know that the power of the Gaia's Primal Genesis was greater than he had anticipated.
It took him less than three months instead of a year to advance to tier 4.
If tier 0 is about introducing mana to your soul,
Tier 1 is about condensing mana in your soul,
Tier 2 is about refining your soul with mana,
Tier 3 is about refining the mana pathways in your soul,
Then tier 4 is about modifying your mana pathways to align with an element.
While lower-tier mages use incantations to transform mana into the desired element.
A tier 4 mage, whose mana pathways are aligned with the element, can easily do so just by releasing mana.
Now that his strength is at least ten times what it was before, he feels much more confident about the upcoming official student trial.
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