Translator:Exodus Tales

Editor:Exodus Tales

Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: A player has triggered the new expansion pack "Otherworld." The expansion pack will take effect in the Witch's Hill in six hours.

Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: An Otherworld Gate has been activated. A large amount of Otherworld Energy has flowed into the Witch's Hill, driving the area's Mana into chaos. Please take care when roaming through the Witch's Hill.

The sudden system announcement had caught Star-Moon Kingdom's players off guard. However, after a few dazed seconds, every player in the kingdom went into an uproar.

"What's going on? Another new expansion pack?"

"This new expansion pack is amazing! Doesn't this mean that we can head to an Otherworld to level up? According to rumors, it seems that Otherworlds have more abundant resources than the continent of God's Domain."

"I've heard that, too. Not only are Otherworlds rich in resources, but leveling there is also much faster."

"We'll be able to travel to an Otherworld from the Witch's Hill in six hours? In that case, I'm heading there immediately! The large Guilds have already monopolized every high-resource map. Independent players like us can't even earn enough money to afford the latest equipment.

The moment they heard the system announcement, independent players and adventurer teams began to swarm towards the Witch's Hill.

As the number of resource maps in Star-Moon Kingdom dwindled as players reached higher levels, there were fewer opportunities for independent players to earn money. Now that a completely new map, one not owned by any Guild, had appeared, this was a golden opportunity for independent players.

As players reached higher levels, money would become an increasingly larger problem. Although players continued to earn more money each day, they had had higher expenditures. Take weapons and equipment, for example. After Level 50, the drop-rate for top-tier weapons and equipment had decreased drastically. Even ordinary weapons and equipment drop-rates had been affected. This caused the prices for Level 50-plus weapons and equipment to skyrocket. This was also the case for repair fees.

Moreover, as high-level resource maps were so far from NPC cities, teleportation fees had increased. High-level resource maps also had harsh environments, so players had to prepare appropriate weapons, equipment, tools, and potions if they wanted to grind effectively in these areas. And everything cost money.

As God's Domain continued to develop as a game, it provided a wider variety of services for players to enjoy, as well. After a hard day of work, many players sought food, beverages, and all sorts of entertainment. There were also the fees to learn Skills and Spells, and applying for a Promotion quest was expensive.

Now that a new opportunity to make money had arisen, how could anyone miss it?

Naturally, Star-Moon Kingdom's various large Guilds had called their upper echelons for a meeting the moment they had learned of the Otherworld Gate.

"A path to an Otherworld? This is a perfect chance for our Guild! I've heard that the players and Guilds in the Black Dragon Empire have made a fortune due to the path to the Ice Crystal World. We have to monopolize this Otherworld's resources before the other Guilds!"

"But the Witch's Hill is Zero Wing's territory. If we try to set up in the Otherworld, I'm afraid that"

"What's there to be afraid of? Now that Star-Moon Kingdom has its own Otherworld, the kingdom's Guilds are going to swarm to it. Can Zero Wing hope to stop so many Guilds? Although, you have reminded me of something. Start raising funds right now and figure out a way to build a town in the Witch's Hill."

After the various large Guilds had found out about the Otherworld Gate, they dispatched exploration teams to test the waters. They also gathered resources to construct their own towns in the Witch's Hill. Even a fool could tell that a large number of players would flood the map now that an Otherworld Gate had appeared, and all of those players were potential income sources.

If they could construct a Guild Town in the Witch's Hill, they could definitely make a ton of money.

Less than ten minutes after the system announcement, Aqua Rose, who currently rested in Zero Wing City, was astonished as she received Zero Wing's latest statistics report.

In ten short minutes, Zero Wing City's player population had risen by more than 100,000, earning the city several hundred Gold in entrance fees. Moreover, Aqua Rose had received hundreds of requests to rent Zero Wing City's Shops.

Before today, the various trading firms and merchant players had hesitated about leasing Shops in Zero Wing City due to the high rent. Very few had actually agreed to do so thus far. Without certain guarantees, earning back the cost would be almost impossible, yet several hundred people had just petitioned to lease the buildings.

And this wasn't the most surprising part.

Several dozen real-world corporations and companies had contacted the Guild to purchase virtual storefronts in Zero Wing City. Moreover, these companies and corporations had offered astronomical sums of money, even enough to tempt Aqua Rose.

Despite the fact that Zero Wing was now a very large Guild, it severely lacked Credits. Normally, the Guild only earned Credits by selling weapons and equipment or completing difficult commissions. It usually avoided exchanging Coins and materials for Credits since it was such an unwise move.

Hence, Zero Wing's ability to earn Credits was so weak that it couldn't even rival second-rate Guilds.

The lack of Credits ultimately hampered Zero Wing's development. If the Guild could secure a massive source of Credits, it could nurture more internal members and fortify its foundation.

Following which, Aqua Rose reported the matter to Shi Feng, letting him decide how they should proceed.

"There are so many offers?" Shi Feng could not help his grin when he saw the list of interested buyers and their respective offers. "Tell them that Zero Wing City's virtual storefronts are only available for rent, not for sale. We will hold an auction for these storefronts in Zero Wing City's Candlelight Trading Firm in two days."

The situation didn't particularly surprise him. The moment the Otherworld Gate appeared, Witch's Hill had become Star-Moon Kingdom's focus. A frightening number of players would serge to the city, and it wouldn't be surprising if Zero Wing City's player population shot past the 10,000,000 threshold.

Previously, the Witch's Hill had been considered a backwater area. Although the various corporations and companies had been impressed that Zero Wing City had several million residential players, how long could the city possibly maintain its prosperity?

However, the Otherworld Gate changed things. Even after players reached higher levels, they could continue to level in the Otherworld connected to the Witch's Hill's Otherworld Gate. They would not have to move their base of operations after hitting Level 60 or 70. Even players past Level 100 could level up in the Otherworld. Unfortunately, the Otherworld wouldn't be as vast as the God's Domain continent. To put it simply, so long as the Otherworld Gate existed, the Witch's Hill would remain popular.

Hence, one could easily imagine Zero Wing City's allure toward these corporations and companies.

"We're not selling?" Aqua Rose could not help her growing concern as she said, "I'm afraid they won't agree to such a condition. There are too many uncertainties involved in leasing a virtual storefront. They'll only be able to operate their businesses comfortably if they own the property. Moreover, the various large Guilds will definitely try to establish Guild Towns in the Witch's Hill now that it has an Otherworld Gate. If we don't take advantage of this opportunity now, we'll be in an awkward position later."

"Relax. You'll see the results in two days," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He did not bother to explain further.

What Aqua Rose said was indeed true. The appearance of the Otherworld Gate would lure a lot of large Guilds to establish Guild Towns in the Witch's Hill, and the competition in the map would become intense.

However, the various large Guilds didn't know how difficult it was for a Guild Town to survive long in the Witch's Hill.

Realizing that Shi Feng had made up his mind, Aqua Rose relayed his message to the corporations and companies that had contacted the Guild.