The Boss King actually disguised himself as a novice village chief?!
Chapter 427 - 360: Time to Buy a House

Chapter 427: Chapter 360: Time to Buy a House

The official public beta test began, and hundreds of thousands of new players flooded into the game but they weren’t clustered in one place; they were spread out.

In the ’Magic World’, which players speculate to be at least three times the size of Earth’s landmass, these hundreds of thousands of players were dropped in to act on their own, and it was quite possible they’d never encounter a second person in their lifetime.

Fortunately, this was a game.

Everyone was just thrown onto "different servers," and there were Newbie Villages after all, which was definitely better treatment than what beta testers had.

’Magic Ring Weekly’s’ video views began to surge.

Even the viewership of its special columns skyrocketed.

Similar shows like ’Magic Ring Pioneer Guide’, ’Magic Ring Truant’, and ’Magic Ring Complete Collection’ also burst onto the scene as a large number of bloggers joined, causing an explosion of content.

Once it was confirmed that this game was incredibly realistic, everyone couldn’t help but indulge in it.

"The Great Rift Expedition 1.0 has already kicked off, but there have been no changes in the game, no increase in levels, and even up to this stage, no plotline related to the Great Rift has appeared. We speculate that key plot points have not yet been triggered."

"This is probably the time the officials have given newbies to adapt, letting everyone improve their strength and level as much as possible to face the formidable foes in version 1.0.

A friend of mine got lucky and directly landed in the Rand Kingdom, which is truly enviable.

There are many countries in the world, and where you appear in the Newbie Village doesn’t affect the gaming experience, for the Undead will one day become the heroes that those NPCs have to look up to."

Speaking of becoming a hero, how could we not mention weapons? Let me introduce you to the most suitable weapons and classes for pioneering right now. This will be divided according to continent - country - territory, and if your region isn’t mentioned, feel free to submit it."

Lind closed the video; this time, a large number of Undead really flooded into the Rand Kingdom—the number unaccounted for, but definitely exceeding ten thousand.

The total number of players for the public beta test already broke through six hundred thousand, and that was just in the first hour of launch.

It wouldn’t be surprising if more people kept entering the game later on, and peak online numbers surpassing a million wouldn’t be a problem—in the future, ten million might not be out of the question.

Calamity?

The greatest calamity had already arrived.

The question is whether the Abyssal Great Rift could withstand such a multitude of fearless monsters launching suicide attacks.

Distant waters won’t quench immediate thirst. Lind could only focus on the immediate vicinity for now; he had already arrived at the under-construction Snake Catcher Fortress and decided to temporarily focus his efforts on the Snake Catcher Fortress before attending to other matters.

Although the newbie Undead were numerous, they wouldn’t pose a significant problem in the short term. They were curious about this world and would explore with a sense of wonder, guided by fellow Undead. The vast majority of Undead belonged to the "Lawful" alignment.

To cope with the sudden influx of large numbers of Undead, Lind had already carved out some "interesting" jobs for the Undead, such as opening the Points feature and the Points Exchange Shop among others.

It wasn’t just the Snake Catcher Fortress; other areas did the same, with each store owning its unique profession and exchangeable equipment.

Regions had received notice in the first instance, and the local Soldiers and merchants accustomed to acting as NPCs were smoothly arranging tasks for each Undead as seamlessly as gears turning.

To enhance the Undead’s "sense of belonging" and deter them from violence, Lind’s next big move was to roll out the "housing" feature.

Not just in Newbie Villages, but all Main Cities had one severe issue—lack of population.

There were many empty houses with no one to live in them.

Not to mention the abandoned villages, fisheries, and farming areas in the Calamity Shadow.

Homes were put up for sale on 70-year leaseholds, allowing Undead to feel reality in the game world, as if living in a real world.

In this world, there is no issue with being unable to repay a mortgage; most people could even get a house without spending money, just by grinding through a few quests.

Each person is limited to buying one house and only has the right to dwell in it; the land remains under the ownership of the Lord and must comply with the laws of the Rand Kingdom.

Lind wanted the Undead to come live in his territory, to become part of the Rand Kingdom—even if they would later leave for high-level maps, they would still regard this place as "home" and would not wantonly go on a killing spree.

As the strength of the Undead grew, in the future, each would reach the Hero Tier or Epic Tier, and cities couldn’t resist their onslaught, thus emotional appeal had to be used.

With the opening of the "housing" feature, it naturally caused another uproar.

Seeing this, the Undead from various regions also started to inquire with their local Lords, only to be angrily rebuffed by them.

Homes and land were the private property of the Lords—how dare a bunch of Undead monsters covet it? Scram!

Unaware that his actions had been tagged as "Difficulty: Considerate," Lind readied himself to check on his "Crystal Defense Tower," which should be the first since the Crystal Defense Tower craftsmanship in Star Dragon City wasn’t very exquisite. Not only was its appearance too rough and not in line with the aesthetics of the Rand Kingdom, many Magic Circles had not been included. After several experiments, it was scheduled for dismantling.

Once the new Crystal Defense Tower in Star Dragon City was completed, the old one would be demolished.

The current Crystal Defense Tower integrated many functions, like a "Teleportation Magic Circle."

Going forward, every Main City would establish a Teleportation Magic Circle, which could only be activated with mutual consent from both locations, truly linking the two places together.

Security around the Crystal Defense Tower was also being reinforced, including surrounding Arrow Towers and a Wizard Tower for daily surveillance and maintenance, among other duties.

After confirming everything was accurate, Lind planned to visit the city to check on the fortress’s reconstruction progress.

In his plans, the Snake Catcher Fortress should take on the role of an "arena."

To diversify the function of each Main City was a necessity. To put it plainly, this was a way to stretch the gameplay duration, enticing players to play a bit longer.

Furthermore, he made the Points non-transferable across different territories. There had to be unique features that made each territory irreplaceable, so that the Undead would strive to grind in every location, and thus begin to "grind" earnestly.

A melodious harp sound suddenly caught Lind’s attention, and he felt a spring-like power flow into his body with the music and singing.

He looked up in search, and on a large rock, sat a woman cradling a harp, gently plucking its strings.

With hair as floating silk in the wind, her singing voice drowned out the shouting around her.

The song carried magic power, and on closer inspection, Lind realized that the woman was not sitting on the rock but was floating quietly. The sound waves traveled with the wind in a swirl, drifting over and nourishing everyone.

In her singing, people worked faster and their strength recovered more swiftly.

After finishing a song, she floated down to the ground and clearly noticed Lind’s presence.

"My lord," she curtsied.

"How should I address you?"

"Inar, from Newmoon Town."

"A most perfect performance, your power..." Lind said, "you’re a Great Knight, aren’t you?"

He recognized at a glance that she was not a wizard, even though she used her harp playing and singing to bring strength to people. It felt more like the battle cry of a knight, a skill to inspire the body, not a magical enhancement.

Inar nodded, "Yes."

"A very interesting ability," Lind went straight to the point, "your ability is very useful in war, it can enhance the survival rate of soldiers, and I wish to purchase the potion formula related to your ability."

Different statuses lead to different styles of conversation.

When one is in a lower position, they must consider the feelings of the other party, but when one is in a higher position, they simply need to name their price, and it is difficult for the other party to refuse.

At most, they could just be greedy, and Lind had plenty of wealth.

"Of course!" Inar nodded without hesitation.

It was a pleasant exchange, and Lind was generous enough to offer her more compensation, such as wealth, which in his eyes was just a resource, its purpose to exchange for other resources. Money that couldn’t be spent was just scrap metal.

But Inar refused both the award and the compensation.

As Lind parted ways with her, he said to the officer responsible for the reconstruction of Snake Catcher Fortress, "Give her some extra conveniences, and make sure no one harasses her. Also, reserve a house for her at the Snake Catcher Fortress."

Lind didn’t mind giving a bit extra in other, unseen ways to someone who was proactive in offering help. The ability wasn’t much use in her hands, but if transferred to the battlefield, it meant that a group of soldiers could enhance their strength by 10%-20% without any cost, an increase in power that could prevent deaths and sacrifices.

And it could lead to victory.

"The Duke has arrived!"

Walking along the road, a few children cheered at Lind’s approach.

"Why are there children here?" Lind wondered, looking at the three children and waving to them.

"My lord! They are also residents of Newmoon Town. They came along because their parents are working here," the children explained.

"Hmm," Lind nodded, looking down at the three little ones.

But they were not afraid of him as he had imagined, and were even whispering to one another. The sound of their whispers, however, entered Lind’s ears without missing a word.

"He doesn’t seem that tall, George," the little girl spoke up, "But he is handsome."

"He has golden hair!" the youngest child stretched out his arms, then raised them high above his head.

Lind bent down and asked with amusement, "So, I’m very short, am I?"

An interesting remark, he had not expected to be seen as short in the eyes of a child.

Nowadays, there were not many who were taller than himself – only the Crimson Knight and the mute Karl stood steadily over him.

The three youngsters were startled into silence by Lind’s sudden engagement.

The people around also witnessed the scene but were unsure if Lind would be angered by the children’s words, so everyone stood still and watched, perhaps praying inwardly.

Gathering his courage, the little boy looked up at Lind and said, "My aunt likes you, she wants to marry you!"

"Hahaha!" Lind laughed, gently ruffling the boy’s hair, "That is indeed an honor, and I’m sure your aunt is a beauty. But unfortunately, I already have a fiancée."

"Ah, that’s a pity," the little boy sighed.

The three children sighed, but everyone around them, soldiers and civilians alike, laughed, and the tension was swept away.

"George!" A sharp shout came from a distance.

A flushed-faced woman ran over.

"My lord, I, I..." She was red-cheeked and extremely embarrassed.

"They are adorable kids," Lind smiled and moved toward the Crystal Defense Tower, and after he left, the crowd dispersed on its own.

The aunt grabbed George’s ear, and the little one had to tip-toe as he was lifted by the ear.

That was it, he was sure to be punished today.

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