Chapter 1322: Unlocking a New Function
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Chapter 1322 – Unlocking a New Function
Stone Forest Town:
When s.h.i.+ Feng stepped out of the Guild Residence, the sight before him was foreign.
Rows of one- and two-story houses had stood before the Guild Residence previously. Now, various virtual shops occupied both sides of the street. There were also advanced hotels, restaurants, bars, and other establishments. The street was now as busy as White River City’s most popular areas. There was no lack of expert players that had exceeded Level 40. Some players even roamed the street atop Mounts.
Aside from adventurer players, quite a few Lifestyle players chatted merrily on the street.
Many wandering merchant NPCs hawked their wares from temporary stalls along the main street. The NPC traffic was just as shocking as the number of players.
The lively scene made Stone Forest Town look like a city rather than a town.
s.h.i.+ Feng was surprised.
After just a few days, Stone Forest Town had undergone such a ma.s.sive transformation. If the town continued to develop at this rate, it wouldn’t be long before it could be promoted to an Advanced Town. If s.h.i.+ Feng hadn’t already started his city’s construction, Stone Forest Town could have served as Zero Wing’s main headquarters.
As s.h.i.+ Feng slowly made his way to the Battle Arena, he eavesdropped on the conversations throughout Stone Forest Town.
“More experts are gathering in the Battle Arena each day. Before this, I could have easily ranked among the daily tournaments’ top 100 and earned the consolation prize. Now, I can’t even get within the top 300…”
“That’s right. Only our team leader can hold his rank in the top 100 now. However, I heard that Zero Wing plans to extend the consolation prizes to cater to the top 300 soon. The top 100 contestants will get priority in purchasing Exotic Stamina Potions from the Candlelight Trading Firm. They’ll even get a 10% discount. But they will be limited to three bottles.”
“Priority in purchasing the Exotic Stamina Potion? That’s great! Candlelight only sells a limited number each day, and the various large Guilds and secondhand dealers usually claim them.”
“That’s right. Fortunately, we have our team leader. We’ll be able to buy three Exotic Stamina Potions every day. As long as we stockpile, we’ll be able to explore those high-level maps. Our income will be amazing. I heard that the Sharp Edge adventurer team went on an expedition earlier, venturing into the core of the Ghost Ruins and making a fortune. I’ve also heard that they’re already preparing to buy their second private house in Stone Forest Town. All that’s left is to wait until Zero Wing sells more.”
“They made that much money? I heard that the private houses auctioned for more than 600 Gold. I’m guessing that they’ll be far more expensive during the next auction.”
“Of course. They came across a Fine-Gold Treasure Chest during their expedition and obtained a Secret-Silver ranked combat boots design from it. They sold it in the Auction House for a fortune.”
“The Exotic Stamina Potion is awesome. Practically n.o.body explores those distant maps. I wish we could get a private house in Stone Forest Town. We’d be able to partic.i.p.ate in the Battle Arena’s daily tournament everyday. We could also purchase special tools from the wandering merchants.”
“That’s right. Unfortunately, our leader is still hesitant. He’s unsure of whether or not we should equip each team member with a Mount first.”
…
The players’ eyes sparkled as they discussed Stone Forest Town’s private houses.
No one had thought much of the town’s private houses previously. After all, there were Transport Carriages that traveled to and from other NPC towns, saving them plenty of time. However, these players realized that there was a world of difference between the teams that owned a private house those that did not. Not only could the teams that owned private houses send their strongest expert to the Battle Arena, but they could also purchase various items from the wandering merchants when the NPCs restocked. Most importantly, team members could acc.u.mulate the Double EXP buff. They also had the option of using their private houses as warehouses.
It seems people are starting to realize the benefits of private houses. However, this is only the beginning. s.h.i.+ Feng’s confidence in his plans grew as he listened to the public’s growing interest in Stone Forest Town’s private houses.
In reality, private houses offered more than just easy teleportation for their owners. Their companions could also utilize this function. Unfortunately, only a small number of players could teleport at a time. Moreover, the Cooldown between each teleport was considerably long. In addition, private houses needed to reach a certain rank before this function would be available.
To put it simply, private houses could be upgraded like Guild Residences’ private rooms and Shops. In fact, player-constructed private houses were much easier to upgrade. It simply depended on whether or not the house’s town had reached the required standard to unlock the group teleportation function.
This was also why players preferred to purchase private houses in large Guilds’ towns and cities. First, it granted them some security. Players wouldn’t have to worry about other Guilds invading and capturing the town. Second, large Guilds’ towns tended to develop quickly. This, in turn, meant that the private houses could be upgraded very quickly.
Currently, Stone Forest Town was an Intermediate Town. Owners could already upgrade their private houses. Unfortunately, the town had yet to unlock the group teleportation function.
Two conditions needed to be met to unlock this function. The first condition was a player population of over 300,000. For Stone Forest Town, meeting this requirement was a piece of cake. The second condition was the town’s security. This condition was a little more complex. The town needed a sufficient number of defensive structures and a certain quality of the NPCs guarding the town.
Once these conditions were met, the town would unlock the group teleportation function.
Stone Forest Town had already met the requirement for defensive structures. The only problem remaining was the quality of the NPC guards. Although the Guild could recruit NPC guards, it couldn’t nurture them. Hence, the quality of the NPCs depended on the town’s standard and luck. It would take time to meet the requirement.
Fortunately, things had changed. s.h.i.+ Feng had intended to use the Hero’s Chapter in his new city. After reviewing the situation, though, s.h.i.+ Feng decided that this was a good opportunity to develop Stone Forest Town.
Before s.h.i.+ Feng had realized it, he had already reached Stone Forest Town’s most popular location—the Battle Arena!
A large crowd of players was trying to squeeze into the Battle Arena, now the size of Jin Hai City’s City Center Sports Arena. The scene wasn’t any less lively than the White Tiger Dojo’s friendly compet.i.tion.
Meanwhile, in the Battle Arena’s fourth-floor tournament hall, players filled the stands as they constantly cheered on the fighters on the stage. Among them, many were Level 40 and above experts.
At this moment, the fight on the stage reached its conclusion. The victor was a cloaked Berserker.
However, the spectators hadn’t cheered because the match was so exciting. Rather, their cheers were due to another Zero Wing expert’s defeat…
“Sure enough, Turtledove isn’t a match for them.” Blackie sighed as he watched the stage.
Both Rampant Blade and Ye Wumian had fought as well. However, their opponents had been too strong. Neither had lowered their opponents’ HP below 50%. Only Flying Shadow and Shadow Sword had reduced their opponents’ HP to nearly half.
The unknown challengers were ridiculously strong.
“Hahaha! It seems Zero Wing’s experts only amount to this much! They are only slightly stronger than those first-rate Guild peak experts we challenged before. Zero Wing, just send whatever expert you’ve got. I’ll accept the loss if you can get my HP below 50%!” a two-meter tall, cloaked Berserker said, laughing.
“d.a.m.n it! They’re looking down on Zero Wing!” Shadow Sword slammed his palms on the guardrail, wrathful flames burning in his eyes. “If Big Sis Fire were here, she would beat them to a pulp!”
Zero Wing’s other members nodded in agreement.
Fire Dance was the undisputed number two melee expert in Zero Wing. Only the Vice Guild Leader Gentle Snow could put up a fight against her. No one else could even offer a challenge.
Suddenly, a familiar figure slowly approached the stage. When Blackie and the others saw this figure, their jaws dropped.
“Guild Leader!”