Kaito woke up around eight o'clock. After a quick freshening up, he sat quietly in his room, glancing at the soft glow of the morning interface on his holo-tab. The news broadcast would begin soon. While waiting, he browsed the Glory community forums—hundreds of posts were pouring in from excited players, early testers, and speculative analysts. Most were wild guesses or recycled hype, but a few threads stood out: predictions on the best starting classes, early boss locations, and a few hints about rare item drops. It was nostalgic, seeing history begin to repeat itself.
By 9:00 a.m., the live broadcast began. At first, the stock values barely moved, shifting upward in slow, uncertain ticks. But just as Kaito expected, by 10:00 a.m., the numbers surged sharply—prices multiplying across every sector. Sol-Tek. LumeCore. Cryonix Constructs. It was like watching a tidal wave rise in real-time.
At precisely the right moment, he sold all his holdings, withdrawing the full amount before the secondary dip began. The final balance: 1.02 billion credits—a hundredfold return on the original 10.8 million investment.
The first transfer he made was to his second uncle: 100 million credits, clean and simple—repayment and surplus bundled into a single act.
Next, he finalized the deal for the factory and the land: 5 million credits, wired directly to the previous owner. The land itself was the true value here, positioned in one of the most flexible districts near the villa zones—wide enough to host a megastructure, private enough to be protected.
Before heading to breakfast, Kaito opened the Glory forum's mall section, curious about the early economy. No official regulation existed yet—just players trading gold coins for credits. One post caught his eye.
1 credit = 10 gold coins.(1 gold =100 silver, 1 silver= 100 copper)
A rare window. He remembered well from his previous life—within two days, the exchange rate would flip. When various conglomerates enter the game demand would skyrocket, and the ratio would become 1 gold coin = 10 credits.
Without hesitation, he bought up 10,000 gold coins, clearing out what early farming teams had managed to gather. The market was still raw, still slow—but the seeds were planted.
Before heading out for breakfast, Kaito quickly made a few bulk orders:
100 Grade A Virtual Helmets at 100,000 credits each, totaling 10 million credits
10 Platinum Gaming Cabins at 15 million credits each, totaling 150 million credits
These helmets were for studio-wide distribution, ensuring every member had top-tier access.
Aika and his cousins were already seated around the table, holo-tabs floating in front of them as they streamed live Glory updates. Their eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Kaito, did you see the forums?" Aika asked. "There are already people posting videos of rare drops!"
"I saw someone pull a unique skill book," Kaede added.
"I'm gonna find one too," Daichi said between mouthfuls of rice.
Kaito took his seat, his plate already arranged with steamed buns, egg rolls, and tea.
"When are our login devices arriving?" Aika asked, staring at him over the rim of her cup.
"They'll be delivered tomorrow," Kaito said casually, sipping his tea.
"Which ones?" Hiroto asked.
Kaito smiled. "That's a surprise."
The table erupted in groans and playful protests, but he didn't budge.
What they didn't know was that he'd ordered 10 Platinum-grade gaming cabins.
One for himself.
Five for Aika and his cousins.
One for Mei Rin.
One for Razorblade.
And two extra, unassigned—for future recruits when the time came.
He would order more in time. For now, these would cover the studio's early core.
—
After breakfast, Kaito made his way to the far wing of the estate, where his grandfather was working in quiet focus over a scroll terminal.
"I need a few things," Kaito said, stepping in. "A cultivation manual that scales to Rank 9, strong in agility and body strength. A movement technique suited for terrain flexibility. And a sealing technique—something I can use to create binding contracts."
His grandfather looked up slowly. "for the Studio?"
"Yes. I'll pass only the Rank 1 portions. The rest I'll hold in reserve."
The old man nodded once. "You'll have them by this evening."
Kaito gave a short bow and left.
—
His holo-tab buzzed.
Incoming call: Mei Rin
"You refunded me," she said before he could greet her.
"You helped when I needed it," Kaito replied. "Now I've got the means to do it properly."
She didn't argue. "I was just going to start redecorating."
"We're rebuilding everything."
"Oh?"
"I've already paid for the factory and the land. We're constructing a dome-shaped building—a 100-floor studio complex with modular interiors, full-scale virtual setups, and physical training integration. We'll support up to ten thousand members eventually."
Mei Rin went silent for a beat, then her tone shifted into command.
"I'll get the designs ready. Studio base will be done by April 12. Just a day before your gathering."
"Good. I'll also need three residential towers on that land. Compact, efficient. Enough to house all incoming non-local members."
"will be done by April 16."
—
After ending the call, Kaito returned to his room and rolled out a practice mat.
With the day's business settled and the foundations laid, it was time to tend to the other half of his progress.
He shifted into the foundational martial arts postures his third uncle had taught him two days before—movements rooted in control, rhythm, and precision. As his body moved, his breath aligned with the Skyshatter Eternity Manual—slow, deliberate inhalations and sharp, controlled releases.
He could feel the build-up. Not just strength, but awareness.
The training continued for nearly an hour, every stance holding firm, each movement flowing into the next. He didn't rush. There was no need.
After that just as he was drying off, a soft chime echoed through the villa—followed by a knock.
It was his second uncle.
He stepped inside with a faint smile and a raised brow. "I received the transfer."
Kaito nodded. "I made a few investments," Kaito said, shrugging lightly. "Got lucky with the timing."
"Consider it repayment. And expansion funds."
His uncle paused at that. "Expansion?"
A short silence followed—then his uncle exhaled through his nose and nodded. "Well, luck or not, that money's going to good use. We'll strengthen the estate's security and upgrade the martial wing."
Kaito's gaze sharpened slightly. "Also I have something else in mind."
"Oh?"
"I want you to start preparing a research center—on the ruins site. We've uncovered those spiritual seeds—level 2 to 9 varieties. Grains, herbs, rice strains. Some are extinct. Some never existed in known databases."
His uncle's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "And this research center would be…?"
"A front," Kaito replied, matter-of-fact. "We'll release the level 1 and 2 variants slowly. Frame it as new breakthroughs from soil refinement, ancient farming techniques—whatever sells. We can't let anyone trace it back to the ruins. Not yet."
Kaito continued. "We can't reveal what we have until we're strong enough to protect it. That seed bank is more valuable than most kingdoms. If the world realizes what we've got, it'll invite more than attention."
His uncle gave a small grunt. "I'll get in touch with a few trusted agronomists. Quiet ones. I assume you want everything done under the Ren name?"
Kaito nodded. "Yes. Low profile, clean paperwork. And make sure the lab's structure matches those modular builds the medical companies use—quiet, professional, but expandable."
"Understood."
Then his uncle turned to leave
Kaito offered a polite nod and watched him disappear down the hall.
He then moved back to his desk and brought up a separate, encrypted interface—something that didn't exist in the current world's mainstream systems. A shimmering cube of light appeared mid-air, quietly pulsing with a rhythm only he recognized.
The AI core.
He tapped a virtual key and initiated the binding sequence. The AI integrated into his estate's internal server cluster, then routed a mirrored copy to the Genesis Studio's newly installed infrastructure.
A low chime confirmed completion.
[Studio AI integration complete. Management permissions linked. Task automation initialized.]
With a flick of his finger, he routed control of construction schedules, staff protocols, cabin access, and future housing layouts to the AI. Within seconds, a roadmap was visualized: layered deployment, real-time updates, dynamic access tiers—all streamlined.
Kaito allowed himself a quiet nod of satisfaction.
This would save him hours of manual coordination. Maybe days.
He also linked a bridge node to the villa's family systems, letting the AI manage backup surveillance, secure transmissions, and logistical syncing. By tomorrow, the entire estate would move smoother than any household on Earth.
He had already told his grandfather about the AI earlier that day—just enough to secure approval for the integration, though he hadn't revealed the system's full capabilities yet. That explanation could wait.
So far, everything had been confirmed: the cabins, the helmets, the reinforced server lines, the studio's training simulations… and the raw batch of alloyed terrain generators for the studio's physical environment pods.
A soft notification blinked at the edge of his vision—an internal message from Mei Rin.
Support structure for the dome is now complete. Studio grounds ready for final installation. Also—Virtual Helmets (A-grade) delivered successfully. I've distributed them to the girls, and I've kept one as you said.
Kaito nodded silently.
The A-grade helmets had arrived ahead of schedule, thanks to their low-volume logistics. But he had declined to keep one for himself. Registering twice would have been a waste of time and effort. He will reregister when his Platinum-grade cabin arrive tomorrow morning.
For now, the Type-C helmet would do.
It was enough.
He stepped into his room, lights dimming to match the twilight outside. Crossing to the far wall, he placed his hand against the cabinet surface. A concealed panel slid open, revealing the familiar contours of the C-grade helmet resting on a softly lit pedestal.