2836 Zero Wing“s New Benefits?

The information Liang Jing provided was very detailed. According to the information, the Arctic Canyon had its back to the ocean and also served as the entrance to the Top of the World.

These two points aside, just the fact that Tier 4 Legacy Lands sp.a.w.ned in the Arctic Canyon was already more than enough to drive countless Tier 3 players wild.

When everyone in the room finished reading the information provided, they could already imagine the sensation Zero Wing City would cause throughout G.o.d’s Domain as soon as it opened to the public. It wouldn’t even be strange if Zero Wing City became the most popular city in the game.

At this time, let alone Zero Wing’s members, even Heaven’s Blade’s Divine Shadow couldn’t help gazing at the information before him with pa.s.sionate eyes.

Although the World Tower’s fourth underground floor was a good place to search for Tier 4 Legacy Lands, it was still significantly inferior to the Arctic Canyon.

This was because the fortresses on the fourth floor were far from comparable to an actual city. Unlike fortresses, cities were made as rest areas for players. Cities addressed the various needs of players, such as providing a place for trade in the form of an Auction House. Fortresses did not possess such functions.

After reading the information, Fire Dance turned to s.h.i.+ Feng and asked, “Guild Leader, do you mean to close Zero Wing City’s access to the public and have us monopolize the map for now?”

Upon hearing Fire Dance’s words, everyone else looked at s.h.i.+ Feng curiously as well.

Since today’s meeting was to discuss Zero Wing City’s future development, the best option would definitely be opening the city to the public right off the bat. This way, the city could rake in a fortune just from entrance fees alone. After all, with Zero Wing City’s advantages, it would instantly become the most popular city in G.o.d’s Domain, surpa.s.sing even imperial capitals. It would become a mecca for countless Tier 3 experts.

However, if s.h.i.+ Feng had decided to simply open Zero Wing City to the public, there would be no point in gathering them here today. He could do so on his own volition.

“That’s right. Now that we have secured such a big advantage, we naturally have to use it to benefit ourselves. Only after we have grown stronger will we open Zero Wing City to the public,” s.h.i.+ Feng said, nodding. “It’s just that operating a Main City costs a lot.”

If it were an ordinary Guild City, just the maintenance cost of 30,000 NPC soldiers could bankrupt several first-rate Guilds. Moreover, he had enhanced the city with the Twelve-array Magic World, further increasing the city’s demand for Magic Crystals.

Hence, he had no choice but to give up on his plan to limit access to the Guild’s several thousand core members. After all, a measly few thousand players could hardly cover the expenditure of such a Main City.

“In that case, we might as well give access to all Guild members. Of course, we will also have to charge an adequate fee since running a closed city is a losing business,” Flying Shadow suggested.

“That won’t do.” Shaking his head, Blackie said, “We have a lot of people joining Zero Wing recently. If the various powers successfully sneak some of their members into our Guild, we’ll suffer a huge loss.”

Everyone in the room nodded in agreement with Blackie.

Currently, many Guilds had already begun sneaking their members into Zero Wing just because of the benefits offered by the Mobile Fortress and the Secret Covenant Tower.

To counter this problem, Fire Dance had deliberately made core members.h.i.+p a requirement for entering the Mobile Fortress. To become a core member of Zero Wing, one would have to contribute a lot to the Guild. It would take a new member one or two months to acc.u.mulate sufficient contributions. Only after this new regulation appeared did the various Guilds dismiss their plans.

However, this new regulation failed to deter the adventurer teams. Adventurer teams still joined Zero Wing one after another, all of them with the purpose of utilizing the Mobile Fortress’s training environment. They had joined the Guild solely to exploit the Guild for their own benefit. Once these adventurer teams achieved their goals, there was a high chance they would just pack up and leave.

Of course, Zero Wing didn’t mind that much. After all, these adventurer teams would have to make the corresponding contributions to obtain the benefits they sought.

At this time, Youlan suggested, “How about we learn from the Mobile Fortress’s example and let only core members enter?”

“I’m afraid we won’t have enough numbers if that’s the case.” Shaking her head, Liang Jing explained, “Based on our current estimates, we need at least 80,000 people to keep Zero Wing City running normally. Even then, we’d have to charge one Magic Crystal per person.”

It cost 40,000 Magic Crystals just to keep the Twelve-array Magic World running. After factoring in the Magic Crystals needed to keep the city’s various other magic arrays and constructions operating, the city would need to make at least 80,000 Magic Crystals per day to avoid falling into the red. Moreover, this still didn’t include the cost of the 30,000 Tier 3 NPC soldiers the Guild planned to recruit.

“That much?” Youlan was slightly surprised.

A daily operational cost of 80,000 Magic Crystals was something even the various superpowers would find hard to stomach—especially since this was only one city they were talking about.

“That’s why Liang Jing and I plan to open Zero Wing City to the elite members of Zero Wing and Zero Wing’s affiliated powers as well. However, everyone will have to cover the teleportation fees themselves. Elite members will also have to pay three Magic Crystals to enter the city, while core members will have to pay two Magic Crystals,” s.h.i.+ Feng said. “Apart from the core members we gathered this time, everyone else will be free to choose whether they want to enter the city or not.”

“Three Magic Crystals per person?”

This entrance fee rendered everyone present speechless. It was undoubtedly the highest ever charged in G.o.d’s Domain’s history. If the city were open to the public, there might still be many people entering the city despite the high cost. However, if access was limited to Guild members, the number of players entering the city would be minimal.

After all, players had far too few sources of Magic Crystals. For the average player, they could obtain Magic Crystals only by harvesting ores, doing quests, opening Treasure Chests, and raiding large-scale Team Dungeons. It was almost impossible for them to obtain Magic Crystals through standard grinding.

If a player was merely seeking to level up, they would be much better off heading to the Secret Covenant Tower instead of the Arctic Canyon.

As for those trying to find Tier 4 Legacy Lands…

To put it bluntly, how many players in Zero Wing were actually confident of completing their Tier 4 Promotion Quests?

Tier 4 Legacy Lands were necessary for the Guild, not for the Guild’s members. If the average Guild member found a Tier 4 Legacy Land, they would, at best, receive a reward from the Guild. However, if obtaining this reward meant having to explore a Level 140 neutral map and pay an entrance fee of three Magic Crystals, very few people would accept such a business proposition.

After listening to s.h.i.+ Feng’s words, Cleansing Flame turned to Divine Shadow and asked quietly, “Vice Commander, should the two of us head to Zero Wing City and take a look first? Although we brought only core members with us this time, it would still be a considerable cost if all 2,000 of them enter the city.”

It would be a lie to say that they weren’t tempted by the prospect of finding Tier 4 Legacy Lands.

However, Heaven’s Blade had already suffered a major loss due to its previous disbandment. Apart from some fixed a.s.sets, Heaven’s Blade didn’t have much resources left, and just maintaining the adventurer team’s daily operation was a struggle. If they splurged their precious Magic Crystals now, they would be putting the cart before the horse. After all, Magic Crystals were different from Ancient Coins and standard Coins. While purchasing Magic Crystals in small quant.i.ties was possible, purchasing them in bulk was absolutely impossible.

At this stage of the game, due to the high demand for Magic Crystals, even the Five Great Super Guilds had begun publicly purchasing Magic Crystals. Yet, they only managed to purchase the crystals in small quant.i.ties from independent players seeking to earn Credits. None of the various Guilds’ or adventurer teams’ members would be dumb enough to trade Magic Crystals for Credits.

“Mhm. We’ll do that,” Divine Shadow said, nodding. “If the Arctic Canyon is better, we can s.h.i.+ft our base of operations to Zero Wing City instead of continuing our struggle with the various superpowers on Dragonheart Island.”

Shortly after s.h.i.+ Feng and the others concluded their meeting, Zero Wing suddenly announced a new Guild benefit on its noticeboard. The announcement included information on Zero Wing City’s current location and the qualifications and cost of entering the city.

A sensation immediately spread within the Guild.

“Can this be considered a benefit? Although Zero Wing City’s location is good, the Guild is charging elite members three Magic Crystals to enter. Isn’t the Guild just trying to harvest us for Magic Crystals?”

“That’s right! That’s a Level 140 neutral map we’re talking about! Our average level is only Level 122. Even Tier 3 players will have difficulty killing the monsters in the Arctic Canyon. If the Guild really wants to give us a new benefit, it should let us enter for free.”

“However, the Arctic Canyon is an unexplored neutral map. There will be plenty of Treasure Chests and Dungeons waiting for us. We also won’t have to worry about competing with the members of the other powers. Exploring the Arctic Canyon will definitely be more profitable than exploring Level 130 neutral maps.”

…

For a time, Zero Wing’s members debated heatedly among themselves. While some felt that the entrance fee was too much, others felt that the benefits they could gain from the Arctic Canyon were worth the cost.

“Boss, should we head to Zero Wing City?” the Tier 3 Summoner youth from the Crimson Wolf adventurer team asked Solitary Sword. “Many of our team’s members are planning to head to the Secret Covenant Tower to grind for levels first. They think that there’s no need to explore the Arctic Canyon for now.”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t we go?” Solitary Sword said with a faint smile. “I’ve always been thinking of finding a Tier 4 Legacy Land. Now that there’s an opportunity before me, why wouldn’t I take it? Besides, I’m curious to see what the Guild’s Main City looks like. It’s just three Magic Crystals. It’s not like we’re going to be operating out of Zero Wing City.”

Subsequently, Solitary Sword went to Sky Spring City’s Teleportation Hall together with several dozen of her Tier 3 companions.

At this time, hardly any players could be seen teleporting from Sky Spring City to Zero Wing City. The majority of Zero Wing’s elite members didn’t have much of a desire to visit Zero Wing City.

Compared to spending three Magic Crystals to go sightseeing in Zero Wing City, they would rather spend one Magic Crystal to enter the Secret Covenant Tower and grind for levels.

Shortly afterward, the Teleportation Hall’s teleportation array leading to Zero Wing City flashed. The several hundred members standing on the teleportation array then disappeared and reappeared in the distant Zero Wing City’s Teleportation Hall in the blink of an eye.