When Sigmund personally encountered the Village Chief that was during his first meeting with the guild master. The group before his meeting included the head of the village.

He noted the Chief's status before their group's exit.

[Name: Rafa Libera]

Position: Chief of Greston Village

Age: 376

Soul Force Units: 13,500

Level: Rank 5 mage swordsman

MP: 12,000

HP: 10,000

XP: 54,500

Strength: 2,400

Wisdom: 1,600

Agility:  1,300

Intelligence: 1,100

Dexterity:    130

Control:    110

Expertise:  Elemental magic, proficient in the elements of water, earth, fire, wind and

                                    lightning

Weapon of choice:  long swords

Tools equipped:  storage ring

                            20 swords, mid-grade

                                    4 spears, mid-grade

                                    1 scythe, top-grade

                                    2  axes, mid-grade

Abilities:    Teleportation

Earth magic

Invisibility

Elemental (fire and water) balls and beams

                                  Lightning rod

                                  Wind blades

Ice swords

Sigmund noted the experience points of the village chief, an attribute he was envious to learn. As for other attributes, the level did not even worth noting but to this village, he could be regarded among the most powerful, if not the acme of power.

After he scanned this continent, with Darwin's help, he cognized the cultivation rankings of this world.

The mages should reach beyond the rank 12 before they could extend their level to the immortal realm of magic cultivation.

But even beginning mage rank 1, mages can extend their lifetime, considering the vast amount of immortal energy of the planet in this realm. However, they would still be at the mercy of higher-ranked mages, who could obliterate their bodies and mana cultivation.

As he was mulling his encounter with the Village Chief and the cultivation ranking of this world, he noticed the presentation lead to the scenes where the current guild master of the Merchant's Guild took his office. The person before him was the successor of a parent who was an offspring of one of the early settlers of the village.

Langford Berry's grandfather was among the surviving elders of the village. He used to be a loyal subordinate of the Village Chief taking the role of one of the generals.

From hundreds in population, the village ballooned to more than a million in population.

The burgeoning population of the village was a result of refugees, whose previous villages were destroyed by beast hordes and monster attacks. Most of these settlers occupied the western section of the village.

Sigmund was already aware of almost everything in the village. Nevertheless, he projected an image of a sophisticated man with an approachable personality who could give respect as well as receive it with sincerity.

"Thanks for that presentation. Knowing the origin of the village does not really weigh much in my decision to purchase that ruined parcel of land near the South Gate." Sigmund sent his gratitude as well as his conviction after watching the hologram presentation.

Langford thought that the other merchant's reaction was within his range of expectation. His intention to show that presentation came out of sincerity with a slice of shrewdness.

"Then, by all means, let us proceed with the survey and then the deed of sale. Thankfully, I was asked to broker that big parcel of land. It's a pity that it was in ruins but, because of that factor, the estate value was lower than other strategic locations of the village."

Within the day, both parties started the processing of the acquisition of that property.

The next day, Sigmund received a surprise visit from the Village Chief together with the guild master in his teashop.

He led his visitors to a more spacious private room on the ground floor of the shop.

The entourage of guests included the Merchant Guild Master and his secretary.

On the Village Chief's side, his entourage was composed of his executive assistant, his deputy, and an elder whom he believed to be the guild master's grandfather.

The guests noticed the interior of that spacious private room where the decors on one of the corners included spirit plants and herbs, noted for their calming effects.

In another corner was a spirit tree called Mystical Jacaranda, famous for its purple blossoms, one of the ingredients of a vitality pill called, Body Replenishment Pill. The tree itself could aid in raising mana cultivation by meditating within that radius. Its leaves and dried flowers could be served as a variety of spirit tea.

When the guests learned of these materials, they could not help but feel a slight hint of greed. They immediately masked it as they felt that they might potentially face a formidable opponent.

The Village Chief was no exception to this. But he managed to get information from Langford Berry about this new merchant in their village. By then, he could adjust his temperament to deal with a person he could not afford to go against.

Meanwhile, the Merchant's Guild master could not help but feel a certain amount of excitement when he saw those items including the crystal lights in various shapes, forms, and lengths installed at the ceiling.

The wide rectangular conference table was illuminated with spirit crystals at each corner with a bigger crystal at the center. The soft light was emitted from the table, radiating certain waves of energy to alleviate the tense atmosphere inside the room.

Overall, this room emanated treasures that could be coveted if the area was not well-guarded.

As the first party to use that private room inside the teashop, there was a sense of gratitude with varying feelings of intention after witnessing those treasures.

Nevertheless, Sigmund placed these things aside, expressing no concern whatsoever as he cordially brought his guests to this room.

The teashop owner opened the discussion to help ease the tension.

He was calm but his guests were not.

"It's a good surprise to have you visit my newly-opened teashop. We actually prepare some delicacies and beverages to serve as refreshments before we go into serious matters."

By this juncture, Barry entered the private room with a service trolley to deliver slices of pastries on small plates including several bottles of ale.

"I have been hearing of your bottle of ale, Mr. Chua, from our adventurers. And they seem to like it." The Village Chief broke the ice.