Summoning the Holy Sword

The next reward wasn’t as impactful. ‘Stronghold level +3’ might sound great, but it wasn’t essential as the current Stronghold level was still quite low, so it wasn’t difficult to raise its level.

‘Stronghold level +3’ increased Starlight’s Stronghold from low to intermediate — unlocking various facilities such as the ‘Sentinel Tower,’ ‘Guard Tower,’ and ‘City Wall.’ However, the production of them wasn’t free.

The range of the Stronghold also expanded by one-third which was slightly better than the new facilities but at least it was better than nothing.

Other than these changes, the ‘Hidden Reward’ left Rhode slightly surprised. It didn’t benefit Rhode directly — instead, it added a new structure called the ‘Summon Gate.’ Even in the game, it was considered a rare structure.

After constructing the Summon Gate, players belonging to the mercenary group would receive a Summoning Rock. Unless the players were in a magic-interference area or prohibited from teleporting with sealing spells, they could instantaneously return to their Stronghold after activating the Summoning Rock.

Furthermore, higher-ranking members could even pinpoint a destination and open a portal to transport others to that location.

In the game, all the top ten guilds had this structure as the benefits of it were evident especially during long journeys or when facing troublesome BOSSes.

They could send a one-man forward party out while others spend their time doing important things in the Stronghold. Once the forward party reaches the specified location, he or she could activate the Summoning Rock and transport all the members instantly, saving time and resources.

In the game, the Summon Gate was categorized as an ancient relic; thus, ordinary NPCs wouldn’t be able to lay their hands on it. Some areas with considerable development in magic like the underground cave beneath Golden City possessed it as well.

“Hu…”

After tapping on the final talent tree interface, Rhode let out a long sigh. He could feel a wave of power surging through his body. Perhaps if he were to fight Barter right now, he wouldn’t need to rely on the set effects to defeat him.

In the end, it can be said that Rhode’s real objective wasn’t as simple as other guild leaders. During the last moments of the fight against Waltz, Rhode didn’t believe that Waltz could acquire the Demon Bracelet through luck alone. In fact, he could almost guess who was secretly backing Waltz.

The people backing Waltz were indubitably Rhode’s enemies, and now it appeared that they were about to take things into their own hands. Without a doubt, Rhode wouldn’t allow them to have their way because everything that he did in Paphield and the midsummer festival put him on the other side of the fence. Thus, Rhode had no choice but to gather his strength to resist the opposition.

But before that, he had something important to do.

The closing ceremony would take place the day after today and Royal Highness Lydia would be granting the victor a wish.

Could she grant his wish?

Rhode lifted his chin and gazed at the horizon that was slowly turning brighter.

The sun had begun to rise.