Chapter 192:
So, whether or not the little players had entered the game, as well as the “food-tasting party” on the forum, they began a grand discussion on this topic.
According to the information currently released by Brother Stick, these hidden treasures often require collecting a large amount of scattered clues and unraveling them piece by piece to determine the general location and information of the hidden treasure. The real difficulty lies not in defeating monsters but in gathering intelligence.
After all, they are called “hidden” treasures, so of course they cannot be casually left out in the open for little players to pick up money.
After summarizing this point, Brother Meow, aspiring to become an information broker, opened a separate post stating that he had at least three pieces of information that might be related to the secret treasure, but of course, he would not give them away for free. Those interested could privately message him in the game.
Brother Meow was not just making noise, he really had the goods.
As one of the first batch of players to join the Witch Hunters, he had also collected a lot of information from the Avalon Church. Coincidentally, the Witch Hunters were adept at gathering information, and they had fought through the entire Ten-Year War, so they understood many things about Transia and its surrounding areas better than the players.
Currently, Brother Meow could confirm that there should be many valuable things to be found in the ruins of the destroyed Seicob City in northern Transia by the Pioneer Army.
And according to rumors, there was a warehouse belonging to a local mining company in the southern mining district.Finally, the gnolls!
Bandit gnolls were rampant in Transia, but according to the Witch Hunters, there were several major gnoll bandit gangs in the area that had existed for over twenty years. These fierce bandits had reigned over the mountains for so long that it would be unbelievable if they didn’t have some stockpile.
Brother Meow was confident that his three pieces of information could bring him a lot of profit. His only regret was that there were too few players currently, making it impossible to mobilize a large-scale treasure-hunting expedition.
But information had a time limit. If he didn’t quickly turn it into some profit before the information expired, it would be wasted.
And just as the forum was buzzing, the administrator Alpha also posted an official thread, adding more fuel to the players’ enthusiasm:
【《Reality Realm》 Today’s Online Update Reminder:
1. Thanks to the free exploration efforts of the test player ‘Onboard Joy Stick,’ the game’s special ‘Hidden Treasure’ gameplay has been unlocked!
In this continent of swords and magic, basically every village and city has all kinds of rumors, and 80% of them are related to wealth.
As long as you can find these hidden treasures, you can become rich overnight.
However, how to search for key information from a vast sea of ineffective information is the greatest hardship for those in this line of work.
Every outstanding treasure hunter is a professional information analyst.
Want to get rich quick?
Then shoulder your pack and go hunt for treasures!
P.S.:
Developer’s note!
There are still undiscovered major treasures in the Transia region, so kids, don’t rush into the dangerous high-level maps. Of course, I won’t tell you that this is because the other regions still have many functions that the exhausted programmers of the development team have yet to complete.
2. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the test players in clearing the city sewers, the number of monsters in the outer city sewers has been reduced to an acceptable safe level.
But this does not mean that the underground shadows have dissipated.
On the last night in Kadman City, countless people fled into the sewers to escape the disaster, and now, these unfortunate souls have become part of the disaster.
From today onwards, the ‘Ancient Region’ of the Crimson Citadel sewers is officially open!
Those who are fearless and brave can continue to venture into this hidden, most ancient, and dangerous area of this land to search for and confront more numerous and ferocious demonic creatures.
Additionally, to protect the mental and physical health of the adorable little players, the Count of Kadman and his Crimson Regent have dispatched the powerful and cold-hearted civilian protection officer, Lord Kudel, to enter the ancient sewer region and assist the test players in carrying out larger-scale cleanup operations.
Additional note!
The civilian protection officer, Lord Kudel, has a rather peculiar personality and harbors a fiery hatred for all demonic creatures. Therefore, when facing him, all test players must behave like a human.
3. After waiting like watching the stars and the moon, the programmers of the development team finally managed to complete the much-needed PVP content we needed, just one day before they had drained their last drop of blood and won themselves a short vacation.
Of course, for now, it’s also just a new attempt at gameplay.
In order to effectively improve the quality of life for the survivors of Crimson Citadel and to provide them with a second form of entertainment besides binge drinking, starting today, Baroness Miriam and her administrative team have decided to set up an ‘arena’ near the entrance of sewer number 7, which has already been completely cleared by the test players.
And the prodigiously talented Lord Murphy decided to name it the ‘Fight Club,’ to be managed and operated by his most loyal and combative ‘monster,’ Lord Maxim.
This area will be open during the dusk hours of every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and will be equipped with specialized protective gear to ensure that test players will be teleported out of the combat zone when their health drops to 1, so there is no need to worry about safety issues.
In addition to player-versus-player combat, test players can also choose to enter the ‘Gladiator’ mode before entering the arena, where they will battle against various monsters unique to the Transia region.
It is worth noting that all enemies provided in the Fight Club are of the ‘Elite’ template, and thus the challenge is quite difficult. Test players aspiring to make a name for themselves in the underground fistfights should prepare themselves in advance.
This area can serve as a location for completing the Black Iron Trial, by paying an entry fee to the organizers in advance.
To enhance the spectators’ sense of participation, players can place bets with the Fight Club host, the ‘Crimson Lady’ Mary, before each bout begins.
To avoid gambling risks, the maximum bet amount is capped at 10 gold coins each time.
4. Miss Femis, the young lady of the Blood Vulture Clan, will soon return to her homeland. As one of the most outstanding Spirit Mage prodigies of the Blood Vulture Clan, Miss Femis will become the undisputed leader of the ‘Midnight Faction’ within the clan.
Spirit users among the test players should prepare money in advance to learn various formidable skills and purchase special items from the young Lady Femis.
5. Optimized the more realistic physics engine and added more interactive intelligent role-playing NPCs and random events.
6. Fixed a small number of bugs.】
“??? Fight Club? So Lord Murphy has also watched that movie?”
Immediately, a little player commented below, but was soon unanimously recognized as an “Easter egg.”
Brother Mao, who was still continuing to slay ghouls and temper his sword arts in the sewers, was unaware of the events on the forum. However, this did not prevent the heartwarming Murphy from granting him the achievement he deserved.
【Ding! Congratulations to the test player ‘Like A Tiger Can Edge Wood’ for being the first on the server to obtain the ‘Glorious Gladiator’ achievement. Special title 【Crimson Gladiator】 progress completed 【1/30】.
After obtaining this title, you will be awarded the ‘Bloodthirsty Gladiator’ set for the PVP first season and the special mount ‘Crimson Gladiator’s Midnight Warhorse’ by the Fight Club operators!】
Upon seeing this suddenly popped-up achievement, Brother Mao was momentarily stunned, then broke into a wry laugh. He had never expected that his casual action would indirectly lead to the birth of a new gameplay feature.
This could also be considered the development team establishing a new way for players to obtain equipment, right?
However, judging from the currently disclosed PVP challenge mode, this thing was destined to be obtainable only by a minority of players specializing in combat skills.
“Hey, tomorrow is Monday. Let’s sign up for the challenge together.”
Just as Brother Mao was about to continue practicing his skills, a private message from Sister Pomegranate popped up on his interface, saying:
“Let’s see who can get that title first!”
“Sure.”
Brother Mao replied:
“But I need to learn advanced sword arts first. How about a PVP match? I heard you used to be a professional?”
“Mind your own business! See you tomorrow evening.”
Sister Pomegranate agreed bluntly and did not respond to Brother Mao’s curiosity, leaving the sword talent a bit disappointed. But he soon picked up his longsword and headed towards the newly opened ancient sewers, which had become the “leveling area” for little players.
The ghouls here were also becoming fewer, and the resentful spirits were unaffected by physical attacks, leaving Brother Mao’s skills nowhere to use.
He had to find another good place.
However, Brother Mao was unaware that the moment he set foot in the ancient sewers, he was being targeted by someone who regarded this place as their “duty.”
The civilian protection officer, Kudel, eyed the “Blood Servant” before him with considerable suspicion.
He didn’t mind having a few more subordinates to help, but he had to first confirm that this guy was trustworthy and wouldn’t hold him back.
——
After leaving the sewers, Murphy did not return to the Crimson Halls but instead came to the city mansion where the Crimson Regent and her administrative team were currently residing. It was lunchtime then, and Miriam was gathered at a table with Professor Malcolm and some assistants, enjoying a simple but ample lunch.
Murphy did not refuse the bowl and chopsticks offered by Miriam, but he quickly expressed his disdain for the culinary skills of his Administrative Knight and camp chef, Franks Shovan, through his actions.
The stew and baked bread before him were nutritious enough, but they could not be described as palatable.
“I have decided that the reconstruction of Crimson Citadel must be put on the agenda!”
The picky vampire lord set down his fork, declaring that fasting was a virtue. Then, under Miriam’s disdainful gaze, he announced his decision.
“The ghoul infestation in the upper sewer areas has been dealt with to a safe level, so workers can enter the city and begin the most basic construction.”
“This will be difficult to achieve, my lord.”
Professor Malcolm was wearing an ancient and expensive pair of crystal eyeglasses with a gold silk frame that Miriam had found in the vampires’ collection, replacing his previously shattered frames. This made him look scholarly and gentle.
However, the gray-haired middle-aged man set down his food and said very seriously to Murphy:
“We do not have enough manpower. Although I know more people will arrive soon, allow me to speak frankly, my lord. We have too many things to do at the moment, and we cannot allocate a large amount of manpower to the grandiose restoration of the city.”
“So you think I want to fully restore the city all at once? In your eyes, am I such a foolish lord, Professor?”
Murphy shook his head and explained:
“I understand that things must be prioritized. In my vision, we must complete the construction of residential houses within the next two months! At least six new residential districts to ensure that before the first snow arrives, the people of Crimson Citadel will not have to spend the coming winter living in tents.
For the surrounding villages, we temporarily have no good solution, but at least the war is over, so their days may be a little better.”
“Hmm, two months, six residential districts.”
Professor Malcolm did some mental calculations and said:
“The time is still a bit tight, but if we don’t consider the aesthetics of the houses and only aim for practicality, it should be achievable. Our cleaners have already properly collected all the reusable materials, and the quarry near Morland Village has not suffered too much damage and can be put back into use at any time.
After the Kingdom of Nordtov returns our Blood Servants to us, the reconstruction can be put on the agenda.
But the problem, my lord, is that we lack professionals in this area.”
“That’s right, Lord Murphy,” Miriam said, dabbing her mouth with a napkin.
“I’ve seen how the halflings build new districts in Shaldor Port. They always hire exceptional Grandmaster architects to be responsible for planning and construction. Otherwise, the result of haphazard city-building won’t be very good.”
“What a coincidence, then,” Murphy shrugged.
“It seems my warriors include professionals in this area.”
“Ah?”
Professor Malcolm was dumbfounded and asked:
“The mountain folk of the Saxony region know architecture? That doesn’t seem right. They live in mountain settlements themselves, at most excavating mountain stone and using wood to help build some small villages. I’ve seen the dwellings of the mountain folk with my own eyes.
They are sturdy, yes, but they only meet the requirements of being sturdy and durable. But construction on such a large scale…”
“Our mountain folk are different,” Murphy waved his hand and casually explained.
“Although they use their own language, they are also worldly. They know how civilized people build houses and have derived their own set of architectural principles from that. In every aspect, they are different from ordinary mountain folk. It is precisely because of this that they managed to survive the three massacres of the Saxony mountain folk by the Goldflower Kingdom.
In any case, I have decided to entrust the construction of the residential districts to them.
From now on, you should mobilize the manpower and prepare. When the first batch of captured Blood Servants is released, we will begin!
Of course, I will have my architects present a design proposal first.
If you disagree after reviewing it, we can think of another solution then.”
At the same time, in a tent at the forward camp outside the city, Heaven’s Chosen Grayman, who had been deep in thought over a set of blueprints, suddenly looked up.
As his assistant gently squeezed his shoulders, he saw his tent flap being lifted, and the immensely popular among players, Lady Adele, appeared before him.
The two young ladies serving as assistants to the Grayman politely withdrew from the tent. After they left, Lady Adele, wearing a cloak to shield herself from the sun, handed him a mind microphone plug-in, indicating that he should insert it into his Computation Bead.
Then, she cleared her throat and said:
“Esteemed Grayman, Lord Murphy summons you regarding the designs and plans you have made for our new city. He wishes to hear your comprehensive report.
Please prepare yourself.
I will escort you to the Blood Vulture Halls.”
“Huh?”
The Grayman was completely dumbfounded.
He glanced at the unfinished design plans laid out before him and immediately felt a headache coming on.
This wasn’t even close to being done!
Even the street maps, building function details, and overall city planning were only one-third complete. And he was really going to be the chief planner for this city?
Hey!
Lord Murphy, do you have some misunderstanding about the abilities of a civil engineering student like me?
Is this really a project I can complete single-handedly?