Game’s Dogma

Drako Yau left the alliance base.

He made arrangements so that Moonnight could sometimes join Idyllic Poet, Zephyrwolf, WIndstrider, and Greenstone’s squad for levelling up. That was a surprise for Goemon, one that was much welcomed, for he knew that was the best squad in Yoda.

Even the dull-witted Dumbgirl had exceeded ordinary players and became an elite player thanks to her increasing proficiency with Dragon Seeker and Dragon Subduing Chi. Moonnight would only become stronger under the squad’s training and protection.

Real World might just be a game, but because of the brainwave technology, the game world was no different from an alternate reality. Many were addicted to the game as they saw it as an alternate society, a second chance at life.

Making achievements in the game was equivalent to that in real life. For example, Drako Yau’s income from taking a portion of Yoda’s taxes was already higher than his previous salary as chairman of Jubilant Games.

After leaving the alliance base, Drako Yau was in no hurry to level up—though he knew his level was falling behind first-rate and even second-line players a fair bit. Level 30 barely made it to the lower end of second-line players.

Still, trying to catch up at the eleventh hour wasn’t going to do much. It was practically impossible to catch up by levelling up with ordinary means because the others weren’t going to sit there and wait either.

Having spent three days (three years from his perspective) in the Abyss of Durin and having slept for three days, he was falling behind in a lot of things. If he couldn’t catch up in levels, he might as well work on something readily available.

Home decorations—it was the quickest way to become stronger.

He had already asked for Goemon and Hexen’s aid for acquiring high-tier decorations. Assassination Coalition and Corrupted Officials might not be the best at fighting, but they were particularly efficient at such matters. A good army was composed of various troop types, and the two guilds were serving as great supporting soldiers.

Still, some items couldn’t be acquired only through the power of money; he had to visit such places personally.

Empyreon wasn’t in a particularly gloomy atmosphere.

Although tax rates had been increased to maximum, they weren’t at an unaffordable degree for Empyreon players. Apart from being top players in the game, they were mostly from the first five Eastern Cities as well. Most of them weren’t short on money. While some were children and teenagers, they naturally had the money to spare if they could afford to buy themselves a set of brainwave helmets.

The contrary went for Yoda and Evergrand. Players in these two cities were mostly grassroots like Zephyrwolf from the Tenth City. Purchasing the brainwave helmet was the best they could afford, so their source of gold coins was purely from the game.

If the taxes had been increased to their maximum, the so-called commercial city would have fallen apart on its own because players wouldn’t spend so much on teleportation fees and purchasing taxes.

Chau Yu’s plan was indeed a meticulous and cautious one. Despite believing that Yoda would certainly lose with Mask’s absence, he had also considered the very slight possibility that Empyreon might lose the war. He still decided to invade Yoda after such consideration; Yoda would crumble if it lost, but Empyreon could still stay afloat despite taking a hit.

The only issue was that the major guilds of Empyreon were openly expressing their dissatisfaction towards Empyreal Alliance. Even so, Chau Yu calmly dismissed their complaints.

You’re going to blame me when things go awry after sitting out of the entire war?

Empyreon could easily defeat Yoda even with Mask present by sending all their available forces onto the battlefield. Their arrogance of believing that low-end players from Yoda weren’t worthy opponents led to their downfall in the war.

After their defeat, even fewer players shopped at Empyreon. Yoda’s reputation as the commercial hub continued to grow, especially when the craftsmen nurtured by the major guilds were now blooming with talent. The items and decorations they produced were giving better and better buffs.

Empyreon’s high-end strategy was facing a great threat; their current methods were starting to fail them. Even Evergrand was slowly but surely coming together as one under Underworld’s lead.

‘Guild master, Mask just arrived at Empyreon.’

‘Oh?’ Chau Yu opened his eyes. He planned to go levelling up, but there were more important matters to attend to now.

Drako Yau drew everyone’s attention the moment he stepped into Empyreon. The iconic Mask of the Hidden Dragon and the wavy Devil King’s Cloak showed everyone who he was. Despite being under everyone’s gazes, he walked along the path, totally unconcerned by the unfriendly crowd.

Players had to kill him quickly, preferably in a single hit, or else the city guards would arrive at the scene. However, it was practically impossible to kill him with a sneak attack given his heightened senses and Devil King’s Cloak.

He walked down the street with a destination in mind. Hundreds of informants and spies tailed behind him; he was all the rage these days after all. The hundred-win duelist, alliance master of Dragon Alliance, King of Yoda… Although the major guilds in Empyreon disdained him for his rapid rise in status, they still were curious as to what he was up to in Empyreon.

Graceful Fragrancy—it was a store set up in Empyreon.

Every player could only own one store and they had to pay a hefty rent for it. The price wasn’t affordable for everyone, so most store plots were occupied by major guilds. Only a handful of players who could grind top-tier equipment daily and high-level subclass players who produced great items could sustain their stores.

Despite the expensive rent, many high-end players still chose to open up stores rather than putting their items up for sale in the trade centre. Building a reputation—this was what the trade centre lacked. Stores would become well-known if their products were exemplary because players tended to share great shopping spots on the forum.

Graceful Fragrancy was a prime example. It didn’t have the backing of any guilds, nor was it located at a prime location in the city. The tiny store stood in a distant corner of the city, but hundreds of players visited the store every day in hopes that they could purchase its wares.

The owner of Graceful Fragrance was none other than Old Florist, the gardener who shot to popularity because of Septiscent, which increased all attributes by 8 and Health recovery per second by 10.

Considering every level provided 5 attribute points, Septiscent’s buff was equivalent to 32 attribute points—over six whole levels!

When the store system was implemented, Old Florist started his store. He chose such a remote location for a simple reason: he wasn’t a resident of Empyreon. His home was situated in a vacant space close to the starter village where monsters didn’t spawn. He never used Return-to-City Scrolls and walked to the city since it was just a ten-minute walk anyway.

In simple words, he wasn’t a player from Empyreon. He merely set up shop in Empyreon because it was close to his home.

For every 1000, then 2000, then another 2000 Likes on all chapters (1000 -> 3000 -> 5000), there will be bonus chapters! Register an account on Penana and start Liking now for more chapters!