Shi Feng could not believe his eyes as he gazed at the elderly man in gray before him. Tier 4!
This was a bona fide powerhouse, an individual that stood at the apex of Godâs Domain!
Noticing Shi Fengâs shock, Aqua Roseâs attention drifted to the Tier 4 Great Wizard. At first, she had been surprised, but disappointment quickly followed.
She had just noticed the elderly manâs Growth Potential.
âWhat a pity,â Aqua Rose said, sighing. âTier 4 is amazing, but his Secret-Silver ranked Growth Potential will hold him back.â
Normally, Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Guards hit their limit at Tier 3. While Secret-Silver Guards were stronger than Bronze and Mysterious-Iron rank, they would hit a wall at Tier 4, with minuscule chances of making it to Tier 5.
More of Godâs Domainâs players hit Tier 3 every day, and it wouldnât be long before the various superpowersâ peak experts began to challenge their Tier 4 Promotion Quests. Once they completed those quests, Tier 4 NPCsâ power would become quite limited, especially that of Tier 4 Secret-Silver guards. A Tier 4 Secret-Silver Guardâs combat power was only on par with a Tier 4 peak expert in full, top-tier equipment. They might be strong, but they werenât invincible.
âA pity?â Shi Feng shook his head and laughed, but he didnât bother to say more.
âWeâve gotten so lucky this time, Guild Leader. We now have two more Dark-Gold Guards: a Guardian Knight and an Oracle. If your two Guards participate, you could form a well-rounded raid party to take down high-ranked Field Bosses,â Aqua Rose delightedly reported.
Shi Feng was one of White River Cityâs Counts, so he had the authority to recruit four Personal Guards. If he accepted these new Dark-Gold Guards, he could use his four guard slots to their maximum efficiency. Dark-Gold Guards were incredibly rare. Most, if not all, superpowers didnât even have one.
âIâll pass on these two Dark-Gold Guards. You and Snow will each nurture one. Both of you are Counts, too, so you should have some extra slots,â Shi Feng said, shaking his head. âIâll take this gray-clad elder.â
Dark-Gold Guards were extremely useful, especially when players wouldnât have to worry about dying. Forming a standard, four-man raiding party with only Dark-Gold or better Guards would be a dream.
However, he almost always operated alone. Rather than take the two Dark-Gold Guards for himself, Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose could make better use of them. The two women frequently led grinding teams and Dungeon raids. A Dark- Gold Guard would greatly enhance their respective teamsâ strength.
âBut, Guild Leader, that elder is only a Secret-Silver GuardâŚâ Shi Fengâs decision surprised Aqua Rose.
Shi Feng was Zero Wingâs Guild Leader, role model, and face. Even if he didnât want the two Dark-Gold Guards, he should, at least, take a Fine-Gold Guard. Picking a Secret-Silver Guard, even a Tier 4 Great Wizard, would make him a laughingstock.
âA Secret-Silver Guard is quite powerful,â Shi Feng said, chuckling. âHe is also a Tier 4 Great Wizard. He could serve as a Magistrate in a major city in any kingdom or empire. He is a true powerhouse in Godâs Domain.â
Aqua Rose only saw Secret-Silver Guards as worthless due to the fact that Zero Wing had more than 30 Fine-Gold Guards, but even the various superpowers wouldnât have more than 2 or 3 Fine-Gold Guards at this stage of the game. Some had even fewer than that.
Normally, the various superpowers treated Secret-Silver Guards like their own children, not to mention a Guard that had already reached Tier 4.
It should be known that Secret-Silver Guards only had a chance of reaching Tier 4; their success wasnât guaranteed. Tier 4 wasnât just a major turning point for players, but for NPCs, as well. Reaching Tier 4 was an incredible feat for all in Godâs Domain.
Not even Fine-Gold Guards were guaranteed to reach Tier 4. They merely had a higher chance.
Based on past playersâ collected statistics, Fine-Gold Guards only had a 30% chance of completing their Tier 4 Promotion Quest. Dark-Gold Guardsâ chances were roughly around 40%. Of course, even if a Personal Guard failed their Tier 4 Promotion quest, they could challenge it again. Players would only have to invest more resources to boost their strength.
However, challenging the Tier 4 Promotion Quests was a time-consuming process for both players and NPCs. Personal Guards would have to wait a full month before they could challenge the quest after failing it. Hence, it was easy to imagine how much time it would take to nurture a Tier 4 NPC.
As for recruiting a Tier 4 NPC as oneâs Personal Guard, that was simply unheard of. Shi Feng hadnât heard of a single player recruiting a Tier 4 NPC. At best, some had recruited Tier 3 NPCs.
If he revealed this elderly manâs information, the various superpowers would likely die with envy.
While the gray-clothed Wizardâs Growth Potential was somewhat lacking compared to Dark-Gold Guards, Shi Feng wasnât concerned. He had plenty of items that could raise an NPCs Growth Potential, and this old manâs was on the high end for Secret-Silver Guards. With a little effort, upgrading him to Fine-Gold rank was entirely possible.
Following which, Shi Feng recruited the elderly man as one of his Personal Guards.
[Versailles] (Ye Fengâs Personal Guard)
Gender: Male
Age: 76
Loyalty: 75
Growth Potential: 74
Level 112
Class: Tier 4 Great Wizard
When she saw Versaillesâs statistics, Aqua Rose was speechless. After recovering, the other Tier 3 NPCs had climbed to, on average, Level 120. The Dark-Gold ranked Guardian Knight she had recruited was even Level 121, yet Versailles was only 112?
Versailles hadnât even reached the level required to challenge the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. He was also a much lower level than mainstream Personal Guards.
âItâs almost time. The Lost Townâs transfer should be complete by now. Gather the main force members immediately, as well as all of the potential newcomers and core members, who have signed our confidentiality contract. From now on, the lost Town will be our developmental headquarters,â Shi Feng said as he glanced at the time.
âIs that all, Guild Leader? What about the Lost Townâs security?â Aqua Rose asked worriedly.
The Demonwolf Mountain Range was a far more dangerous place than Cold Spring Forest, so defending a stronghold there would be a much greater challenge. Moreover, the Lost Town wasnât a Basic City, only a Basic Town.
Yet, Shi Feng only wanted to station the Guildâs contracted recruits and core members. Even with the Guildâs main force, the town would only have around 5,000 players.
It was far more than what they had stationed in the Lost Town before this, but the town had only occupied a pre-Level 100 neutral map. The small number of high-level NPCs and players had been more than enough to deal with the occasional monster tide. However, they wouldnât have a level advantage in the Demonwolf Mountain Range.
âNormally, security might have been a problem with so few members, but we have time now,â Shi Feng consoled his companion as he gestured to Versailles. âWith him there, we wonât have to worry about security.â
âBut, heâs only Level 112 and a Secret-Silver GuardâŚâ Aqua Rose argued.
âRelax. Heâll be more than enough,â Shi Feng said, not bothering to explain. Definitively, he continued, âJust relay the message.â
âAlright, then. Iâll go notify themâŚâ Aqua Rose despondently agreed, leaving to notify the Guild members Shi Feng had requested. Since he was so confident, insisting would be inappropriate.
Before half an hour had passed, all of Zero Wingâs contracted recruits and core members used the Guild Transfer Scroll Shi Feng had provided and arrived in the Lost Town, which had transformed into a wintery wonderland.
Chapter 2592 â Natural Training Ground
As Zero Wingâs members teleported to the Lost Townâs Residence, the Residenceâs plaza quickly became crowded. âWhat is this place? Why do I feel like a foreign energy is trying to invade my body?â
âMy senses feel so dull, and Iâm suddenly starving. Didnât the higher-ups say they were bringing us to a sacred training and leveling ground? Whatâs going on here?â
âMy friends were still jealous that I got chosen to join the Guildâs special training, and they didnât, but why does this place feel lesser than Stone Forest City?â
Upon their arrival to the Lost Town, Zero Wingâs new recruits and core members, all of whom had high potential, were curious about the situation, falling into heated discussions. The recruits were especially confused. They knew nothing about the Lost Town, and now, they had been thrown into such a harsh environment. They couldnât bring themselves to believe this was a sacred training ground. Just surviving in this town long-term would be a problem.
The situation began to worry Aqua Rosen. The townâs new location was nothing like what she had imagined. Even Tier 3 players like herself would struggle to survive here, much less the Guildâs latest trainees, who hadnât yet reached Tier 3.
Needless to say, training and fighting the random monster tides would be nearly impossible. Players would be fortunate to exhibit their normal combat standards in such a severe area, much less improve their combat standards.
During her previous visit to the Demonwolf Mountain Range, she had stayed in the neutral mapâs outer region, where the environment hadnât been particularly harsh, but now that she stood in the inner region, she felt sluggish, and her senses had considerably dulled. The constant hunger assaulting her mind and body was also quite uncomfortable.
Most importantly, the Mana here felt like an icy hell. Violent, ice-type Mana filled the area, and Aqua Rose could sense scant amounts of other elements. Manipulating Mana in this zone would be almost impossible.
When players couldnât manipulate Mana, how were they supposed to improve?
âGuild Leader, you donât intend these Tier 2 members to remain here for their training, do you?â Blue Frost anxiously asked Shi Feng.
Blue Frost recognized the area as the Demonwolf Mountain Rangeâs inner region and knew that the lowest-leveled monster was Level 120. This would be an amazing area to level and train for players of his tier and level, but Zero Wingâs new recruits and Tier 2 members would only waste their time here.
These members were Zero Wingâs future. Sending them to such a place to waste their time would cost the Guild.
âRemain here for their training?â Shaking his head, Shi Feng said, âSuch a wonderful thing isnât possible.â
Shi Fengâs reply confused Blue Frost. He couldnât understand what was so wonderful about this frozen hellscape.
Shi Feng didnât explain his statement, however. Instead, he met with the Adventurerâs Associationâs NPCs to complete the handover procedures. Once complete, the NPCs promptly left the Lost Town, making the already desolate town even more lonely.
At that point, the sound of a system announcement rang in everyoneâs ears.
Lost Town Region System Announcement: The townâs new location is subject to a mysterious curse. Wraiths will absorb the excess Mana players radiate, transforming into monsters. Please be wary of these monstersâ attacks.
Shortly after the system announcement ended and before Zero Wingâs members could digest the information, translucent, humanoid ghosts started to manifest around some of Zero Wingâs members. These humanoid ghosts appeared to be clones of the players they stood by. They even had the same levels as their human counterparts. The moment their forms were complete, these ghosts attacked the players.
Not understanding what was happening, everyone was stunned.
Fortunately, they were all Zero Wing experts, and although their levels and tiers werenât up to standard, they commanded expert combat standards. Even the weakest player there could reach the Trial Towerâs fifth floor. They had no trouble responding to the ghostsâ attacks appropriately. Meanwhile, the players who hadnât been attacked joined the fray, targeting the ghosts near them.
After a moment, however, something else surprising occurred.
The ghostly clones had the same combat standards as their human counterparts. Moreover, other playersâ attacks proved utterly ineffective.
Your official training begins now! Be careful of the ghosts that will appear beside you! No one, other than the player the ghosts copy, can do anything to them! If these ghosts kill you, not only will you lose a level, but you wonât be able to log in for a day!â Shi Feng warned as he watched Zero Wingâs members fight these phantom monsters.
The Demonwolf Mountain Range was no ordinary location. The mapâs inner region was actually considered a forbidden land.
Every forbidden land in Godâs Domain has some mechanic that made survival particularly difficult. The Demonwolf Mountain Rangeâs inner region had this curse.
Shi Feng neither knew exactly what this curse was, nor did he know who was responsible for it, but he knew that an endless stream of ghosts would appear to attack and harass any player resting within a town or city established in this area, preventing anyone from remaining in the region long-term.
Zero Wingâs many members gasped when they heard Shi Fengâs warning.
How was this âtraining?â
This was simply an execution!
They had now fought these ghosts, so they knew the spirits had the same combat standards as the players they cloned. Unlike players, however, the ghosts werenât affected by the harsh environment. Hence, the monsters commanded their playersâ peak combat power. In other words, the ghosts were stronger than the cloned players.
To make matters worse, they would lose a full level and be banned from the game for a full day if they died. Just how were they supposed to catch up with mainstream experts in this situation?
While many of his Guildmates complained to themselves, Blue Frost, who was engaged in a bitter battle with his ghost, realized something, and excitement flashed in his eyes.
Players were at a disadvantage against these ghosts, and they couldnât even manipulate the ambient Mana due to its violent, biased nature. The only option they had left was to find a way to manipulate and use the Mana within them to defeat the phantom clones.
Since these ghosts mimicked both the playersâ behavior and combat standards, players could also predict their opponentâs moves in certain situations.
With this thought in mind, Blue Frost found his ghost counterpart much easier to fight. He also discovered many of his own flaws, killing two birds with one stone.
Unfortunately, these fights wouldnât benefit Tier 2 players as much as it did Tier 3 players like himself. However, Tier 2 players could still use their Skills and Spells in this harsh environment, where Tier 3 players struggled. As long as Tier 2 players steadily trained their combat standards and Skill and Spell Completion Rates, they were more than capable of defeating their ghosts.
Not only werenât these ghosts the problem they had all assumed, but they were also the perfect training partners for experts like them. Only, this kind of training was a little too risky.
It wasnât long before the rest of Zero Wingâs members realized the same, and many stopped complaining, fully immersing themselves in battle.
âGuild Leader, this place is amazing! It is like a natural training ground! Although using it is costly, everyoneâs training efficiency will be several times greater than normal. The Tier 3 experts who havenât unlocked their Mana Bodiesâ full potential will likely do so after spending a month here,â Aqua Rose said, her eyes glowing brightly as she watched the Zero Wing members before her grow steadily stronger.
Zero Wingâs main force members had already unlocked a sizable fraction of their Mana Bodies. If they trained here, theyâd complete the task in no more than 10 days. Once they did, the Guild would have over a hundred Tier 3 experts with 100% of their Mana Bodies under their command!
Just thinking about this elated Aqua Rose.
Training here was brutal and dangerous, but compared to its benefits, the cost wasnât overly high. Even if players died, theyâd only lose a level and some time. Zero Wingâs main force members were already much higher levels than the various superpowersâ peak experts, so the loss wouldnât be a problem. Moreover, the Lost Town now occupied a Level 120 neutral map. Grinding for levels would be easy here, and trading levels for progress in unlocking their Mana Bodies was certainly a worthwhile exchange for Zero Wing.
While Zero Wingâs members worked hard to improve, Shi Feng made his way to the Extraordinary Tower. He didnât pay everyoneâs battles much mind.
The mysterious curse was only an additional benefit for relocating the Lost Town to the Demonwolf Mountain Range. The Extraordinary Tower was still the townâs most valuable aspect.
The Extraordinary Tower had always been the best location for players to grasp the Realm of Truthâs principles. Training in this tower could shuttle players from the Truth Realm all the way to the Transcendental Realm. However, Shi Feng had only been able to unlock the towerâs second floor, which offered guidance for reaching the Ascension Realm, due to a lack of Magic Crystals. As a result, he hadnât gained any guidance or clues about progressing to the next realm.
Now, however, Zero Wingâs Magic Crystal income had skyrocketed due to Stone Forest Cityâs popularity and the Dark Worldâs Teleportation Gate. After the past few days, the two sources had provided more than 300,000 Magic Crystals, utterly surpassing Shi Fengâs expectations.
And this now allowed Shi Feng to unlock the Extraordinary Towerâs third floor.
Once he reached the tower, Shi Feng called up the towerâs interface and unlocked the third floor. As he did, he heard the sound of a system notification.
System: The Extraordinary Towerâs first two floors have already been unlocked. Do you wish to pay 1,000,000 Magic Crystals to unlock the third floor?
âUnlock it!â
Chapter 2593 â Extraordinary Towerâs Third Floor Unlocked
The instant Shi Feng chose to unlock the Extraordinary Towerâs third floor, 1,000,000 Magic Crystals disintegrated inside his bag, transforming into a stream of Mana that flowed into the tower itself.
As the torrent of Mana flowed into the Extraordinary Tower, the carved divine runes on the inner walls lit up and repaired themselves.
While the divine runes became more complete, the towerâs exterior changed significantly.
With the Extraordinary Tower in the center, the violent Mana that filled the Lost Town began to obey. The Mana around the tower became denser, and the tower itself released an old, sacred aura that spread throughout the town, instilling anyone it touched with serenity.
âWhat an amazing aura! My hungerâs even disappeared!â
âThatâs not all. My mind feels much clearer, and my Stamina and Concentration have begun to recover, as well. I feel like I can fight these ghosts for an entire day without rest.â
As the sacred aura filled the town, Zero Wingâs fighting members rejoiced.
They had been at an absolute disadvantage against their ghost counterparts, and they had known death was only a matter of time. The foreign energy was corroding their bodies too quickly. However, the situation had changed. Although their surroundings still lacked any elemental Mana other than ice, this sacred aura had cleansed the area of foreign energy. As a result, their minds had cleared during their fight, which would prolong their survival.
Meanwhile, every ghost had spawned with a Mana Life buff, which indicated their remaining lifespan and only had a 6- hour duration. If they could last against these phantoms for more than 6 hours, the ghosts would automatically disappear, even if they couldnât defeat them. In addition, Shi Feng had informed them that these ghosts only appeared for each player once a day. If they held on for the full six hours, they could spend the rest of their day resting easy in the Lost Town.
Of course, players who wanted to dedicate themselves to growing stronger, especially those with high combat standards, wouldnât be satisfied with six hours of training. As a result, these players cherished their six-hour combat session even more than the rest.
Moreover, ghosts wouldnât appear for everyone. At the end of the day, these ghostsâ appearances were the result of a curse. The stronger a player was, the less effective the curse would be. Ghosts might not even appear for the stronger players and would almost never appear for players who had already unlocked their Mana Bodiesâ full potential.
While everyone was surprised and elated about the new changes to the Lost Town, the Extraordinary Towerâs sacred aura had finally filled the town. At the same time, a translucent barrier formed around the Lost Town, isolating it completely. This barrier also calmed the violent, ice-type Mana in the town, creating a stable Mana environment. The Mana wasnât very dense, but it was enough to clear the playersâ minds of unhelpful thoughts.
âWhat did the Guild Leader do?â Aqua Rose was shocked when she sensed the changes. She had felt this strange sensation before. To be precise, she had experimented with it during her travels within the Starlight Fortressâs Legacy Gate!
The only difference was the townâs much lower Mana density, which resulted in a much smaller boost to her mental capacity. Overall, the Lost Townâs training efficiency was barely one-third of the Legacy Gateâs.
Even so, that was astounding!
The Lost Town could accommodate far more players than the Legacy Gate, and while it wouldnât be quite as helpful, it was an ideal training ground for Tier 3 players as they tried to unlock their Mana Bodies.
Moreover, the magic barrier substantially increased the townâs defenses. With the barrier in place, defeating the monster tides would be far easier.
While Aqua Rose and Zero Wingâs other members fortunate enough to enter the Legacy Gate were shocked over the Lost Townâs transformation, something else within the Extraordinary Tower had shocked Shi Feng.
This is the result of unlocking the Extraordinary Towerâs third floor? He was at a loss as he sensed the ancient aura filling the hall.
Normally, only in ancient fortresses could contain all seven Mana elements, yet the Extraordinary Tower brimmed with all of them. Moreover, the Mana here was even denser than in the Starlight FortressâŚ
If Tier 3 players trained here, breaking past the 100% threshold would no longer be just a dream, not to mention fully unlocking their Mana Bodies.
He had been worried about crossing that threshold himself, but the towerâs new environment had just increased his chances by 10%. If his chances had only increased by 10%, others would have an even greater boost.
If players who hadnât yet unlocked their Mana Bodiesâ full potential trained in the Extraordinary Tower, they could definitely accomplish the task in a short time. In fact, their training efficiency here might be twice as high as it was against the humanoid ghosts. Fighting in an area with all seven Mana elements would yield completely different results than fighting in an area with almost none of them. Players would have a much easier time recognizing and controlling the flow of Mana in the former.
Unfortunately, while this environment was idyllic, there was a limit to the number of players who could take advantage of it.
This Mana was contained in the Extraordinary Towerâs training grounds. The first floor could only accommodate 100 people at a time, while 50 could fit on the second floor, and only 10 would fit on the third. In total, only 160 people could use the Extraordinary Tower at the same time.
That was only under ideal circumstances. In reality, far fewer players could train in the Extraordinary Tower at a time.
If players wanted to use the second or third floors, theyâd have to clear the previous floors first.
Shi Feng didnât give the matter much thought before he instructed Zero Wingâs main force members to train in the tower during their free time and to ignore level grinding and raiding monster dens.
Unlocking their Mana Bodies was far more important than raiding monster dens and level grinding. Furthermore, they had unlocked a considerable percentage of their Mana Bodies after consuming the Exotic Legacy Potions they had obtained from Poison City. Normally, unlocking their Mana Bodies would require, at most, two full weeks, but with the towerâs third floor unlocked, they could accomplish the feat in even less time.
Once all of Zero Wingâs main force members unlocked their Mana Bodiesâ full potential, the teamâs grinding efficiency would improve. Securing the Demonwolf den that housed the medium teleportation point would also become easier.
With his Guildmates desperately training, Shi Feng made his way to the towerâs second floor to begin his ascent.
He had reached his limit during his last visit to the Extraordinary Towerâs second floor, unable to improve further regardless of how hard he had tried. Even after creating Swordâs Transmigration, he hadnât been able to reach the top of the second floorâs staircase and had been thrown after reaching the 30th step.
Now, however, he had fully unlocked his Mana Body and gained a newfound understanding of Mana. He had even learned a Mana Technique, and he was ready to challenge the second floor again to push himself through that final barrier.
Neither his Tier 4 Promotion Quest nor the Divine Dragonâs trial would be easy to complete. If he failed, he would suffer unimaginable consequences. Fortunately, both trials focused on testing playersâ individual strength.
Advancing through the Realms of Truth would undoubtedly provide immense help in both upcoming trials. This was why he had decided to activate the Extraordinary Towerâs third floor now.
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Controlling his emotions, Shi Feng climbed the first step on the second floorâs staircase. Two silver-armored Swordsmen then appeared, charging at him with the intent to kill.
As Shi Feng made his way to the Extraordinary Towerâs third floor, a group of Level 110 experts arrived before Stone Forest Cityâs gates, causing a commotion at the cityâs main entrance.
âSo, this is Zero Wingâs Stone Forest City?â an elegant, middle-aged man amidst the group commented as he gazed at the magnificent city before him. With a surprised tone, he continued, âIt is truly extraordinary. With such dense Mana and natural terrain advantage, Wonder shouldâve grown much stronger here.â
âDonât forget our orders, Elder Hermit. We are not here to sightsee,â a bald, middle-aged man in black robes scolded, rolling his eyes. âNo matter how much stronger sheâs grown, Wonder must return with us. The time for her willful rebellion has come to an end!â
âI know. Isnât that why I tagged along in the first place?â Hermit replied. Instead of getting upset at the bald manâs comment, he breathed a deep sigh as he led his team into Stone Forest City.