Chapter 768 – Makings of a Paradise

World Ark, Shadowring Town:

Sometime after the initial opening of Shadowring Town, NPCs started to show up in large numbers, creating a lively atmosphere in the town. There were so many NPCs trying to enter Shadowring Town that a long line had formed outside the town’s entrance, the sight stirring the envy of the various powers’ members who had come to check out the new town that had appeared in the World Ark’s core area.

NPC Merchants and NPC caravans were many players’ primary income sources. The more NPC Merchants and NPC caravans a Guild Town possessed, the higher the quantity and quality of quests players could acquire from said town. Aside from the individual player, the town’s ruling power could also generate more income.

This was especially true for a Neutral Guild Town. All of the income generated by the town would belong to the ruling power. Furthermore, the town could do business with both the human race and the Holy Race.

It should be known that they were currently in the World Ark, one of the few high-level World Mode Regional Dungeons in the Eternal Realm. The resources available here were far beyond what was available elsewhere. Even if Shadowring Town did nothing but resell race-exclusive weapons and equipment, it could still generate a massive fortune.

“I wonder which Guild is so lucky to secure a Guild Town in this location. Even if we count only those currently gathered, there are already over four million players here. With so many players, the town can probably match a pseudo-apex power’s income in the Eternal Realm simply by collecting some accommodation fees.”

“Lucky? It doesn’t feel that way to me. There are three apex powers and two royal powers currently eyeing this town. Do you think whoever’s behind this town can defend it?”

“I guess you’re right. I heard that even that peerless chosen one from Demon’s Gate is hurrying over here. If the power behind this town is wise, they might be able to keep one or two shops to make some money. But if they refuse to hand the town over, they’ll have to face the wrath of three apex powers and two royal powers.”

As the various powers’ members observing Shadowring Town saw more and more players gathering, they couldn’t help but grow envious of whoever was the owner of the Guild Town.

After the major system update, combat in God’s Domain had become significantly more challenging for players. So long as players sustained physical injuries, they would sustain a corresponding degree of mental injuries in the real world. Moreover, Healing Spells were incapable of rectifying this problem. All Healing Spells would do was help players recover their lost HP and from their physical injuries; they did not help with the mental injuries players sustained. In addition, once players accumulate mental injuries to a certain degree, they would start to have difficulty controlling their in-game characters and ultimately be forced offline.

Meanwhile, if players wished to quickly recover from their mental injuries, in addition to consuming mental recovery potions offline, it was also crucial for them to rest their God’s Domain characters inside a town or city. Only when both recovery methods were employed could players recover from their mental injuries with the greatest efficiency. Not to mention, by resting inside a town or city in the game, players could also relieve the mental fatigue they had accumulated from using their weapons and equipment. This was already something many players had proven from experience.

Originally, players operating in the World Ark would have to make periodic trips to a nearby NPC Town or City to rest. This was because the World Ark’s resurrection camps could only let players with sufficient mental strength continue fighting. They couldn’t enable players to operate in the World Ark indefinitely.

However, it was a different story for a Guild Town inside the World Ark. The effects of resting in Shadowring Town would be no different than resting in an NPC Town neighboring the World Ark. So long as players rested in Shadowring Town, they could quickly resume their exploration of the World Ark.

Moreover, Shadowring Town could earn money from both human and Holy Race players. Even if the current owner of Shadowring Town could only retain a shop or a plot of land in the town once the three apex powers and two royal powers intervened, they could still generate a fortune that could earn them the envy of even pseudo-apex powers.

While the various powers were enviously looking at Shadowring Town from a distance, a flash of white light appeared in the sole Guild Residence inside Shadowring Town. Then, the white light faded to reveal a figure covered by an Advanced Black Cloak.

After arriving in the town, the cloaked figure quickly entered Stealth and made their way to Shadowring Town’s Town Hall. Although the various powers’ members were closely monitoring the situation inside Shadowring Town, none noticed this cloaked figure.

…

“Guild Leader, I’ve brought the 13,000 bottles of Divine Water of Life you asked for,” Hidden Soul reported after meeting Shi Feng inside the Town Hall. Then, while retrieving the Divine Water of Life from her bag, she looked toward the NPC Guards standing behind Shi Feng and reluctantly asked, “Are you really going to use all 13,000 bottles on these NPC Guards?”

Divine Water of Life was an incomparably rare commodity, even during the Mythical Era. At present, the various powers regarded it as a priceless treasure, and they would only ever use it on NPCs who inherently possessed incredibly high Growth Potential.

However, with Shadowring Town being only an Advanced Guild Town, there was no way it could attract any NPC Guards with exceptional Growth Potential. They could already thank their lucky stars if they managed to recruit a couple of Dark-Gold Guards. Meanwhile, the only advantages these NPC Guards had over Zero Wing’s Personal Guards were their starting levels and tiers. But in terms of Growth Potential, these NPC Guards were leagues behind the Personal Guards Zero Wing’s guild members had carefully selected in the Eternal Realm.

“Don’t feel reluctant about it. These strategic resources are meant to be used during moments like this,” Shi Feng said. Then, he pointed at the 1,000 NPC Guards in the Town Hall’s lobby and continued, “Evenly distribute the Divine Water of Life to them.”

Divine Water of Life was indeed precious. However, compared to having 13,000 bottles of Divine Water of Life, having an Advanced Town in the current World Ark was much better.

Not to mention, the 1,000 NPC Guards he recruited possessed far greater Growth Potential than Hidden Soul assumed. Under normal circumstances, the NPC Guards an Advanced Guild Town could recruit would indeed be limited in Growth Potential. However, because of his status as a 2-star Count of Holy Ring City, Shadowring Town was able to attract some of Holy Ring City’s NPC Guards.

Because of this, over 10,000 NPC Guards had come to apply for a position in Shadowring Town in only a little more than ten hours. Among them, over 700 were Level 210-plus, Tier 6, while the rest were Level 200-plus, Tier 5. In addition, of the 700-plus Tier 6 NPC Guards, over 100 were Dark-Gold NPC Guards, and 323 were Fine-Gold NPC Guards. As for the Tier 5 NPC Guards, 673 were Dark-Gold NPC Guards, and one was even an Epic NPC Guard. With such Growth Potential, these Tier 5 NPCs would have no trouble advancing to Tier 6.

After deliberating for a moment, Shi Feng quickly decided to recruit 100 Tier 6 Dark-Gold NPC Guards, 300 Tier 6 Fine-Gold NPC Guards, 599 Tier 5 Dark-Gold NPC Guards, and the sole Tier 5 Epic NPC Guard. Although a Neutral Advanced Guild Town could recruit up to 4,000 NPC Guards, considering the cost of hiring these NPC Guards and the possibility of NPC Guards with better Growth Potential appearing in the future, Shi Feng decided to recruit only one thousand for the time being.

Not to mention, if he recruited any more, he wouldn’t have enough Divine Water of Life to distribute to everyone.

By recruiting only 1,000 NPC Guards, he could distribute 13 bottles to each NPC Guard, granting them four opportunities to improve their Growth Potential. This was also the maximum number of improvements he could afford.

After receiving Shi Feng’s command, Hidden Soul quickly distributed the 13,000 bottles of Divine Water of Life to the 1,000 NPC Guards in the lobby and had them consume everything.

…