Chapter 1031 - When Water Rises, the Boat Rises with It
Chapter 1031 – When Water Rises, the Boat Rises with It
After Shi Feng tapped on the semi-transparent light-blue screen before him, 1,500 Magic Crystals instantly disappeared from his bag.
Immediately, the gigantic crystal atop the Magic Tower released a dazzling light-blue beam that shot 400 yards into the air before bursting apart and spreading over the entire Stone Forest Town like an opened umbrella.
This spectacular sight stunned all the players within the town.
“What’s going on?”
“Is Zero Wing setting up a magic barrier?”
…
Everyone could not help but start discussing the Magic Tower. However, while most people were chatting, a few expert players with sharp senses suddenly discovered that the density of the ambient Mana was actually rising gradually.
“Are you guys feeling it? The Mana density in the town seems to be rising.”
“Yeah, now that you mention it, my mind does feel a lot clearer than before.”
“Wait, take a look at your status windows! There’s an extra buff in mine!”
As experts voiced their findings in surprise one after another, more and more players also noticed the changes that had occurred to the town. When someone mentioned the appearance of a buff in their status window, everyone promptly called out their status windows as well.
[Ample Mana State] Stamina and Concentration recovery improved significantly. Player will be able to maintain a clear state of mind at all times while in this state.
“This buff is too amazing!”
“Hooray, Zero Wing!”
“Hahaha! This is too awesome! My current recovery rate already rivals the recovery rate inside a hotel! With this, I won’t have to rest in a hotel anymore!”
“What a fool! I just came out from a hotel. Resting in one is way better. Not only is the recovery rate there faster, but as long as you rest for five hours, once you exit from the Ample Mana State, your EXP acquisition rate will be 30% higher for two hours. If you rest for ten hours, you get four hours’ worth of 30% bonus EXP!”
“What?! That amazing?!”
“You’ll know once you go test it out. I have to work during the day, so I’ll definitely have to rest over ten hours in a hotel. With this, I won’t have to worry about falling behind in levels!”
…
After the players in the town realized the effects of the Magic Tower, many of them couldn’t hold back their excitement and started cheering loudly in the streets.
The majority of the players in Stone Forest Town were independent players. Unlike Guild players, who had Guild Residences, they did not have the opportunity to accumulate the Double EXP buff. Hence, independent players generally lagged behind Guild players in levels. However, as many independent players disliked the restrictive rules of Guilds, they would rather level up at a slower pace than join a Guild. That way, they could enjoy a free and comfortable lifestyle as well as the exciting adventures God’s Domain had to offer.
However, now that they could also enjoy an EXP increase buff by resting in hotels, how could they not get excited? With this, they could have their freedom and level up quickly at the same time.
The originally bustling hotels suddenly became jammed with players. Every independent player in town had rushed to the nearest hotel in the hopes of renting a room for themself. Previously, everyone had angrily cursed that the hotel rates of Stone Forest Town were daylight robbery, as the town was charging nearly triple that of other places, and only by paying with Magic Crystals would they receive the normal rate. Now, however, everyone thought nothing of it. Instead, they felt that this price was a bargain.
After all, after resting for ten hours, one would have a 30% increased EXP acquisition rate for four hours.
“Crap, this is a scam! I’m already using Magic Crystals to pay, so why are the rates still triple the normal hotel rates!”
“If you can’t afford it, get lost! Can’t you see that there’s still a bunch of people waiting to rent a room?!”
“Hahaha! Luckily, I was smart enough to rent a room for ten days before this situation happened! I’ve saved a fortune this time!”
Currently, every hotel within Stone Forest Town was packed with independent players. Although many were disgruntled at the price markup, the 30% EXP buff was just too important. Hence, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and rent a room. Moreover, every player would rent for at least ten days. Otherwise, when demand for the hotel rooms skyrocketed in the future, they might not get an opportunity to rent one.
…
“Guild Leader, this Magic Tower is simply amazing! It’s only been a few minutes, but every hotel in Stone Forest Town is already at capacity. Right now, many players are even complaining that there are too few hotels in town and are demanding that we build more,” Blackie reported, smiling.
Originally, renting a room for a day in one of Stone Forest Town’s hotels cost only 50 Copper. Now, even after jacking up the price to 1 Silver, 50 Copper, the many hotels in town still could not keep up with demand. Moreover, this price was for transactions in Magic Crystals. If players were using Coins, they would have to pay 3 Silver per day.
“Ignore the matters regarding the hotels for now. Prioritize constructing a Battle Arena. That’s where the money will really come from,” Shi Feng said, shaking his head.
Although hotels seemed to be very profitable, in reality, these establishments did not earn a lot of money.
Hotels simply took up too much space. Moreover, Zero Wing would only gross a maximum of 1 Silver, 50 Copper per day from each player. After deducting the cost of hiring NPCs to manage the hotels, the Guild was earning roughly 1 Silver, 20 Copper from each player. Currently, the hotels in Stone Forest Town could accommodate a maximum of 20,000 people only. In other words, Zero Wing could earn 240 Gold per day at most through the hotels—a large sum of money to ordinary large Guilds, but to Zero Wing, this was a drop in the bucket.
Moreover, 20,000 players were not even one-tenth of Stone Forest Town’s population. Even so, the current number of hotels occupied over half of the town’s lands.
Originally, the reason why Shi Feng had constructed so many cheap hotels was to earn Magic Crystals.
However, now that he had the Magic Tower, there was another building that could earn him even more money—the Battle Arena.
The Battle Arena was a place where players could fight against each other.
Due to the Magic Tower, the Mana density in the entire town had increased. This situation would be of great assistance to players, just like in the Trial Tower of the Divine Colosseum.
Under the effects of Stone Forest Town’s environment, players could maintain a very clear state of mind. Fighting under such a state would be of great help in improving their strength.
However, inside a player-constructed town, PvP was prohibited. The only place players could fight against each other in a town was at a Battle Arena.
When the time came, the 200,000 or so players residing in Stone Forest Town would definitely head to the Battle Arena to improve themselves through PvP. At that time, the money Zero Wing could earn through the Battle Arena would no doubt far surpass the income they were currently making from the hotels.
“I’ll get it done right away!” Blackie’s eyes glowed when he heard Shi Feng’s explanation.
At the same time, the matter regarding Stone Forest Town gradually spread throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. As a result, independent players who were tempted to head to the Undead Gorge started having second thoughts.
Getting four hours of 30% increased EXP acquisition rate was no laughing matter, particularly for independent elite and expert players. This was a rare opportunity to level up quicker. If utilized properly, even if they could not completely catch up to Guild players, at the very least, they wouldn’t be left too far behind.
…
Star-Moon City, Blackwater’s Residence:
“Damn it! To think Zero Wing would still have such a move!” Abandoned Wave’s expression turned very ugly when he received the news regarding Stone Forest Town. At this rate, the more time they wasted, the more troublesome Zero Wing would become. At the same time, his heart was also filled with sheer envy, and he grew even more impatient to obtain Stone Forest Town. Following which, he looked at the subordinate standing beside him and commanded, “Immediately notify Singular Burial’s side! Tell them that there’s a change of plans! We’re going to take action ahead of time!”