Draco was not feeling too good at this time. He felt like he had encountered a huge wall before him, with no noticeable weak points for him to smash as a bypass.
He would need to scale the wall directly and honestly, using his own genuine effort to do so. If this was just the case, he would be totally unbothered.
After all, he had climbed from being a mere piece of chaff to a renowned powerhouse in the previous timeline, and in this one, things were infinitely easier for him in all aspects.
Draco was confident that within the span of 3 in-game years or less, he could ascend to Grandmaster Rank in all his relevant Tradeskills. This was even a conservative estimate, it was likely that if he continued to adventure and find better items/opportunities, it would be even faster.
However, did he have such time while in here? No!
Draco had only a year or less to reach this rank and then defeat all his opponents who were already Grandmasters - a tall task in and of itself - acquire the inheritance - an even steeper task - then conceal all this upon exit from this world.
After all, the Godmar Divine Empire would certainly notice the leaking Divine Energy by then. After 6 months, a few Rank 6 and 7 entities would be able to sense it, but would still hesitate to enter.
By the 11th month, even Rank 1 and 2 losers could feel the potent energy, and the Godmar Divine Empire would begin preparing to do a deep delve of their own.
If Draco were to come out at that time, which fool would believe that he hadn't had a great harvest? He'd then have to go through the arduous task of escaping the empire or at least, defusing their concerns before he'd have peace.
So basically, the earlier he completed this, the more rewards he could get and the less headache he would suffer when it was time to exit.
If possible, he could even harvest more resources and steal some of these natives away with his Advanced Spatial Creation Devices. Putting aside their diverse races and ancient heritage, just their enormous talent in Tradeskills was a great attraction.
Draco had earlier planned to recruit 30,000 Tradeskill players and nurture them with the heaps of resources he had. But if he took all these people, he would have loyal citizens of Vita City-State who could craft.
At that point, he could stop renting land. All those chaff Tradeskill masters that worked in the City-State to rely on its benefits for crafting in order to make money could be kicked out.
With his own citizens doing crafting while being provided endless resources by himself, the amount of money the City-State would make would be enormous.
None of it would enter Draco's hands directly as there was no tax on citizens, but in his opinion, money held by the true people of Vita City-State was money held by the state itself.
He certainly wouldn't seize it, but Draco had come to realize that his elitist approach to most things had cultivated a sense of xenophobia amongst his people, whether members of Umbra or citizens of Vita City-State.
As such, they were cordial and warm to each other, but very cold to outsiders. To clarify, if the citizens of Vita City-State held money, it was likely that they would spend it on products and services from other citizens, not outsiders.
So the money would continuously flow internally and would have a hard time going out. On top of that, money would continuously flow into their hands as many buyers would purchase from them directly.
They would quickly amass obscene amounts of wealth, and if it flowed within the community only, it would soon be spread almost evenly. In essence, even the most common person in Vita City-State would be richer than a Minor Duke of a Kingdom.
Madness!
But that was for the future. Right now, Draco's biggest hurdle was increasing his Tradeskill Ranks, upgrading all his growth items, reaching Rank 2, and then winning the inheritance battle.
"In the outer section, I encountered three resource zones full of monsters and materials. Is that a sort of test for outsiders to pass?" Draco asked Vishad.
Vishad nodded. "That's right. Every time the competition is about to start, three random resource zones from the inner section are moved to the outer section through special means to test outsiders."
"This is done by the Supreme Ancestor, strangely enough. I have no idea why the first test would be demanding on one's combat capability, but who I am to question the wisdom of the Supreme Ancestor?"
Vishad shook his head. "However, it is also not compulsory to pass through the test. Many outsiders have entered here directly after skipping the trials in the outer section, so no one forces you to partake in them."
Draco nodded in understanding. It was truly strange for the Refinement God to make an optional test for one's combat capability, but maybe it was because the Refinement God regretted his own weakness.
Maybe he wished he had been combat-capable, such that he wouldn't have been forced into a dead-end? And that his successor should hold some level of fighting ability in order to prevent this fate from repeating itself?
Draco guessed it to be so. After all, it would be strange otherwise for it to exist in the manner it did.
However, this was not really pertinent. What was important was to learn the requirements, criteria, and details of this competition. After all, there were many points that Draco couldn't figure out yet.
For example, exactly what would be tested specifically? Crafting speed? Quality of the product? Quantity of the product? Value of the product?
Draco posed this question to Vishad, hoping to get some answers. The stern Lizardman didn't disappoint, thankfully.
"The competition had always been the same every millennium. It encompasses all Tradeskills in existence, and anyone of any particular field can apply."
"There is no limitation on the number of contestants, and there is no restriction on their respective Ranks. Anyone can participate, whether they are a teenager at the Amateur Rank or an old man at the Grandmaster Rank."
"After all, the inheritance of the Refinement God is not for superficial things like Rank or skill. The only requirement to pass the competition's various tests is talent!"
When Vishad declared this, the ambient Worldly Energy shook as if in agreement with his words, and Draco felt amazement.
The method of passing the Unique Quest relied not on skill, luck, Rank, race, or whatnot. The only aspect being tested was talent!
Whether Grandmaster or Amateur, it didn't matter as long as your talent was the best. Some Grandmasters got to their places through fortuitous encounters over the course of their lives, or through some dogshit luck.
Some also got in through shortcuts as Draco did for Cooking and Brewing, only that Draco had been blocked from the promised land because the slots were full.
As such, their actual talent in the Tradeskill was misplaced. For example, if they had resorted to their own means and had no lucky encounters, they might have been capped at the Elite or Expert Rank.
It was likely that what the Refinement God wanted was a person who could reach Primogenitor Rank through their own talent. Of course, this was just Draco's guess.
After all, a Primogenitor was a true Origin God, not a half-baked Semi-Origin God like the Refinement God himself. If he wanted a successor, it certainly had to be someone of unparalleled talent under heaven.
If not, it would seem strange and many things Draco had seen so far would not make sense. For example, the requirement for talent-only was the biggest suspect.
Why would the competition care about only that if the Refinement God wanted someone who could reach the God Rank at most? Such a person would become a True God for sure, but for a Semi-Origin God like the Refinement God, wouldn't it a disgrace for his successor to not even reach his own level?
The successor must not only reach that level, but cleanly surpass it as well without relying on any flukes. This might be why the Refinement God even allowed outsiders to take part.
Draco was sure that if the Refinement God had more time, he would certainly open the inheritance to the entire world. However, the Refinement God was extremely intelligent.
He had only allowed it to open periodically, and clearly he had some memory-wiping means or such to prevent those outsiders who failed the competition from spreading its existence.
Clearly, the Refinement God had scruples about the world learning about this, meaning that he was fearful that his enemies would come for his inheritance.
Draco didn't think deeply into this, but if Eva were here she would gasp. Her theory that some big conspiracy occurred with the slaughtering of Dragonkind and the death of so many gods during the old era's war seemed more likely with this observation.
After learning this much, Draco calmed himself down. If he was to compete in terms of skill, he would have an incredibly tough time, but if it was talent, then he had more confidence.
In Blacksmithing, Enchanting, and Alchemy, his foundation was as solid as titanium. After plateauing in his past life, he had spent the remaining time researching and learning into the field extensively.
After coming to this life, his foundation had allowed him to jump Ranks when crafting. And now that he had reached his former height, he could even reach further than before.
As for Scrivening and Magical Engineering, his talent was certainly good, but not on the same level as with the first three Tradeskills.
"When does the competition begin and how do I enter?" Draco asked finally.
"It starts randomly. It could be at any point during the year, and when it's time, you will know. A summons would be sent out to all sentient people with at least 1 Tradeskill, so you can join then." Vishad answered calmly.
Draco nodded. So no matter what, he had to wait for the quest to progress on its own. That was actually fine, as he could use this time to worm his way into the hearts of the various people here, acquire experience to upgrade his stuff and reach Rank 2, as well as increase his proficiency in Tradeskills through their heritage.
If one took away the fact that the inheritance was a to-die-for prize, just being here was a reward enough for Draco, as it presented him with endless opportunities to hone his craft.
Thinking like this, Draco's expression shifted greatly. His heart shook greatly as something he should have realized earlier finally struck him on the head like the idiot he was.
If the Unique Quest's scenario allowed the natives here to ascend to Grandmaster Rank in any Tradeskill without any number limits, wouldn't that apply to him as well?
In other words, if Draco was able to satisfy the requirements to reach the Grandmaster Rank, he didn't need to worry about killing an already existing Grandmaster or hoping that there would be a free spot.
This made his heart pound. Draco was confident that he could hit Grandmaster Rank in his three fundamental Tradeskills. As for Taming, Scrivener, Magical Engineering, and Tactics, there was no hope for that at this time.
Wait, if that was the case, couldn't he have directly become a Grandmaster of Cooking and Brewing if he had used his Aether Crystal cheat while in here?
Draco's chest swelled with pain and his teeth were clenched as his intestines turned green from regret. If there was a pill for regret in the world, Draco would do anything to acquire it right now.
How could he have known though? Sigh…
What was even more painful was the fact that he had no talent in both of these Tradeskills, so there was no chance of him becoming a Grandmaster through his own efforts unless he dedicated more than a few years to research and practice.
Back then, he had sneered at the AI for telling him that one more unique application would allow him to jump Grandmaster Rank and hit God Rank. He had felt that the AI was courting death, not understanding that his means were many.
Now, he felt stifled when he thought that being a Grandmaster was so close but so far away…