Chapter 268: Neptua Ladra

Because he had the Space doors and Hidden Paradise, it was not necessary for him to purchase land on Igra.

Unfortunately, the Hidden Paradise had yet to receive its mana awakening and Shane was aware of the fact that it would take some time before he would be able to purchase its awakening too!

As such, he would have to retort to different means in order to make use of the low amount of mana he could use to supply the Hidden Paradise with.

That being said, it would be best to divide the Astral Starlight faction a little bit.

Not every occupation had to stay within the Hidden Paradise and it would be enough if a few remained.

This was, however, not what Shane wanted to achieve!

He didn't want to tell everyone that he had a world within him, and it was already great that the new Artisans they had hired didn't fully understand where exactly the Space door had led them to.

They knew that they were somewhere, but they were clueless about their exact location!

Other than the obvious reasons like independence, safeguarding the lives of the Artisans that didn't want to risk dying with Shane if something were to happen to him, there was also a different reason!

To some people, it might seem stupid, but if he wanted to attract others' interest, there would have to be a place to visit in order to take a proper look.

It was important to see where one might work and a large plot with a huge, self-designed, and built-in mansion with all kinds of additional buildings would be a good start.

Shane wanted a faction, and not just the Starlight Guild or Astral Artisans! As such, he had to construct areas to nurture both Combatants, Supporter, and Artisans at the same time!

In the end, it would be best if the land he wanted to purchase would be large enough to nurture everyone before bringing a few of them to the Hidden Paradise.

With that being said, Shane and Talia had planned to construct a small Astral Starlight faction nurturing ground.

It would have to be small because the funds they possessed were not enough to purchase large lands or even a small place in the crowded areas! 

After that, they would have to purchase lots of goods in order to build a place to nurture everyone before anyone could be taught and trained properly.

He and Talia didn't want to pay too much for a large piece of land either because their funds were slightly above 1.3 million gold coins.

As per Talia's estimates, they would require at least 1 million gold coins to nurture enough Artisans to compete with the government's artisan organisation.

They estimated that the announcement about establishing an artisan organization would be made on the day of the mana awakening!

There were less than 30 days left and they had to hurry up!

After he met with Talia outside the Hidden Paradise, they used the Dimension Portal to enter Lira city, Igra's capital, where they had made an appointment with a real estate firm.

Igra was large, but since the appearance of the Dimension Portals, only several billion people had stayed back to live there.

However, almost every piece of land had been purchased by Cultivators who tried to reap more benefits in the future.

The prices for lands were high now, but it was still better than the inflation once Igra's mana awakening had been held!

As such, Shane and Talia had to act now because it would be too late in the future!

"Let's look through the largest places we can consider….at most 250,000 gold coins!" Talia said hesitantly.

Using the remaining 1.1 million gold coins to build a nurturing ground with necessary tools, blueprints, skills, and books about the necessary knowledge one would have to attain inevitably, wouldn't be easy. But, Talia believed that Shane worked faster than she had expected.

In the beginning, she had been skeptical about Shane's confidence to acquire 1 million gold coins in a month, but not even a week had passed and he had already returned with 1.4 million gold coins.

After deducting the price for the pickaxes Talia had purchased to mine the elemental crystals, there was still more than enough left to start working with.

When the real estate agent they met in Lira heard that the two students in front of him wanted to purchase a piece of land nearby a Dimension Portal, multiple thoughts ran through his head.

"I'm sorry to say this, but the prices for land around Dimension Portals are extremely high. Even though 250,000 gold coins sounds like a lot, the demand for the requested lands is too high…"

He was about to reject Shane and Talia's request to help them further when Shane added,

"I want the lands around the Neptua Ladra Dimension Portal! This includes a part of the ocean too!"

The real estate agent was not sure if he heard Shane right as he hesitated for a moment before stuttering.

"Y-Y-You want to buy land around the Neptua Ladra region? Do you even know what kinds of beasts roam there???"

Even Talia was a little bit astonished about the location Shane chose because Netpua Ladra was considered to be one of the most dangerous areas that were left on Igra.

This was not due to the fact that it was a large coastal area next to a huge ocean, but more due to the beast that inhabited the gigantic underwater cave nearby!

The government had kept it a secret of how strong or what kind of beast one could find in the underwater cave, but Shane knew that the strongest human, John Stella, and his whole hunting group had been unable to injure, let alone kill it!

If that would have been made public, nobody would be able to trust John Stella, or the government anymore, and Shane's father, uncles, aunts, and everyone else knew that most humans would leave Igra, turning the fate of mankind and the planet upside down.

Fortunately, the beast that had invaded Igra when its world protection had been used up more than two centuries ago, was placid and didn't want to kill anyone.

Its goal was something else, which forced it to enter a planet that had yet to undergo its mana awakening.

There were a few of such beasts, but the one habitating below the Neptua Ladra Dimension portal was the strongest.

"Aren't the lands around there the cheapest? I doubt that the Cultivators who own the land want many gold coins for it! Furthermore, the ocean around shouldn't have been available for sale before the Primordial Dimensions emerged.

This might have changed afterward, but don't tell me someone wanted to purchase those lands?"

Shane just smiled, not minding Talia and the real estate agent's stares that seemed to shout the same question.

'Are you insane?' 

"Do you mind answering my question?... How expensive are the lands around the Neptua Ladra Dimension portal? Including the ocean part, please!... How much does one square meter cost?"

It was annoying that the real estate agent didn't answer him and Shane had to clasp in his hand with mana amplifying the effect until the man in front of him regained his senses.

"What?.. Oh, I'm sorry Sir...I was just...astonished. The price for one square meter around the Neptua Ladra Dimension Portal, is it? 

Even though it's dangerous, the beast inhabiting the underground cave is said to be hibernating...That means it's not really that dang---"

However, before the real estate agent could finish his sentence, Shane intervened,

"Cut the nonsense. Once the Le...that beast was to leave the underground cave it might destroy everything! I don't know if you were already alive 200 years ago, but I've heard and seen more than enough evidence to show how dangerous that beast is!! 

It almost cut off a small piece of land with a single attack!!"

Cold sweat began to pour down the real estate agent's back when he saw how informed Shane was about the Neptua Ladra.

He had heard more than enough about this frightening place, but his boss had told him to increase the price for all plots as high as possible.

Nevertheless, Shane's eyes turned frighteningly cold and the real estate agent, who was barely at the Squire stage that came after the Master stage, felt threatened.

'Who the hell is this youth??'

It was impossible to follow his boss's orders and he lifted his hand, revealing the lowest acceptable price for one square meter around the Netpua Ladra region.

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