Vol. 5: Chapter 57
For the next three days, Kael’s life narrowed to two places.
Tydrisa’s Quarry.
The Arena.
Every time he left Tydrisa’s Quarry and entered the Arena, he carried a grudge big enough to poison the match.
“That damn merchant Elon. Forty-eight million. He robbed me blind.”
“I have to pay to rent out my own hidden realm. My own.”
In truth, Kael’s actual cost was nowhere near that high.
Tydrisa’s Quarry had been entrusted to [Arbazon] for management. Kael held 70% of the shares, while Arbazon held the remaining 30%. And since Kael also had a stake in Arbazon itself, the amount he truly paid out was only a little over ten million.
But Kael did not care about the math.
He carried all that resentment straight into the Arena and dumped it on his opponents.
Fortunately, that state of affairs lasted only three days.
After those three days, several pieces of good news arrived one after another.
The first, of course, was that Kael had returned to level 40. All his original equipment could finally be used again.
The second was that Starbough Village had officially upgraded into Starlight Creek Town. The level and quality of the shop inventory had risen across the board, and the goods were now comparable to what players could buy in a main city.
The third piece of good news was that the [Arch Elder] title had finally been issued.
Kael now had another title.
[Arch Elder of Starlight Town]
Unlike his previous titles, this one did not add to his five core stats. Instead, it came with a long list of functions.
World Tree Growth +50%.
Chance of advanced elven NPCs appearing +50%.
Elven NPC cultivation speed +50%.
Town shops have a 0.01% chance to generate [Ascendant-grade] equipment quests.
...
There were many more effects, almost all related to the World Tree and town development.
Only the final effect had anything to do with Kael personally.
Select two elven skills. Their skill level increases by 1. Skills may be changed on the night of the full moon.
When Kael reached level 40, he also awakened another elven skill. This one was passive.
[Ricochet Shot]: 4 Skill Points.
Attacks bounce once to a nearby unit, dealing 70% damage. Ricochet attacks do not trigger additional skill effects.
It was an excellent skill for mass grinding. At level 3, it could bounce four times, dealing 100%, 90%, 80%, and 70% damage in sequence.
Unfortunately, Kael had limited Skill Points, so he did not activate it.
His currently activated skills were:
[Precision Shot]: 3 Skill Points
[Phantom Barrage]: 5 Skill Points
[Mirror Image]: Level 4, 8 Skill Points
[Arrow of Dawn]: 4 Skill Points
[Apollo’s Descent]: 6 Skill Points
[Spatial Blink]: 3 Skill Points
[Frenzied Volley]: 5 Skill Points
[Moon Goddess Arrow]: 5 Skill Points
That used 39 Skill Points in total.
[Moving Shot] still required 4 Skill Points, and [Ricochet Shot] also required 4.
As for [Double Shot], Kael had simply used a [Book of Forgetting] and erased it.
Looking at the single Skill Point he had left, Kael shook his head.
What a wonderful problem to have.
After that, he used his [Arch Elder] title to upgrade two skills: [Spatial Blink] and [Frenzied Volley].
[Spatial Blink] increased from 50 yards to 60 yards. Everything else remained the same.
[Frenzied Volley] widened from a 45-degree cone to a 60-degree cone, greatly increasing its coverage.
At this point, the early matters involving the World Tree were basically settled.
The weight on Kael’s chest finally eased.
There should not be any major trouble with the World Tree in the near future. The only uncertain factor was Miana, but Kael estimated she would not make another move until he reached level 50 or even 60.
After all, she was a governor-tier boss. She could not spend every day obsessing over one little town.
If she did, what was anyone else supposed to play?
With that settled, Kael began putting several other matters on his schedule.
Aside from telling Elon to continue watching for clues about the [Goliath Boar Hidden Realm], there were two people he needed to help improve.
Hazel was one.
Orion was the other.
Hazel’s current advantage came entirely from that level-60 shield. Her class and bloodline were still no different from an ordinary player’s, so Kael needed to find a way to change that.
As for Orion, he had followed Kael for a long time and worked without complaint, yet he had received the least. The Diviner class was rare, and Kael happened to know a Diviner questline that could eventually lead to a god-tier class.
The problem was simple.
Who should he help first?
While Kael was still weighing the choice, Orion sent him a message.
“Boss, are you free? I need to talk to you in person.”
“Come to the mayor’s office in Starlight Town.”
“Got it.”
Before long, Orion arrived at Kael’s office.
Kael found Orion’s behavior strange. The man was fidgeting, hesitant, and visibly uncomfortable.
For someone as shameless as Orion, that was almost impressive.
“Wizard-boy,” Kael said, “what’s going on?”
Faced with such an ordinary question, Orion actually stammered.
“Boss, I… uh… I…”
Kael immediately knew this kid had done something guilty.
Perfect. Now he wanted to watch the show.
So Kael did not help him out. He leaned back in his chair and stared at him in silence.
After a long moment, Orion finally gritted his teeth and forced the words out.
“I proposed to Rena…”
“What?”
Kael shot upright in his chair.
This guy worked fast.
“What did Rena say? She turned you down?”
Orion quickly shook his head. “No, no. She said yes. She accepted.”
Kael frowned. “Then why are you acting like you robbed a bank?”
Orion’s face turned red. “She wants a grand wedding ceremony, but I can't afford to give her one.”
Once Kael realized it was a money problem, he relaxed.
He suddenly remembered something. Opening his friend list, he called Elon over.
Orion had no idea why Kael had paused the conversation, so he waited nervously.
A few minutes later, Elon arrived at the office.
“Boss, what’s up?”
Kael looked at him. “How much total ticket revenue has Land of the Behemoth generated so far?”
Elon froze for a moment.
This was something they could have handled through a message.
Even so, he quickly checked the accounts.
“Total revenue is 217,899,800.”
Kael counted silently in his head.
“Five percent of two hundred million is… ten million, right?”
Elon nodded. “Correct.”
Kael pointed at Orion. “You didn’t tell him about his shares?”
Elon blinked. “You told me to draft the contract. You never told me to notify him.”
“Ahem.”
Kael had been so buried in game matters that he had completely forgotten.
Orion, standing off to the side, was lost.
“Boss, sorry to interrupt, but were you two just talking about me?”
Kael nodded, then looked at him seriously.
“You own 5% of Land of the Behemoth. Over the past month or so, your share has earned roughly ten million.”
Orion froze in place.
“Five percent… ten million…”
His voice came out hollow.
“That’s mine?”