Chapter 2482 – Mana Changes

Once Storm Heart’s members paid the exorbitant entrance fee, they carefully walked through the front gate under Auerbeck’s watchful eye.

“What?! Some players are actually willing to pay such a fraudulent fee?!”

“Maybe they’ve decided to do some sightseeing since they’ve already gone to the effort of reaching the fortress.”

The players that had been preparing to leave the area watched Krow and his team with contempt as they entered the Starlight Fortress.

A 20-Silver entrance fee was unheard of on the western continent.

With 20 Silver, a player could fully repair their weapons and equipment in an NPC city. Some Tier 2 players only made that much after a full day of grinding.

Yet, Storm Heart’s members were investing so much money just to sightsee or experience the fortress’s Mana-dense environment. Moreover, they could only spend one day in the fortress. They were foolish to waste their money like that.

After spending a moment to ridicule Storm Heart, the surrounding players packed up and left.

It wasn’t long before 90% of the players around the Starlight Fortress left the area. Now, less than 10,000 players remained in line at the front gate.

“They’ve already secured their hold on the Starlight Fortress, yet they’re chasing away customers. We won’t have to lift a finger to ensure the fortress’s demise.”

“They want to charge Magic Crystals for all basic expenditures made inside the fortress? They certainly know how to dream.”

“How foolish. Do they really think they can squeeze players for all they’ve got just because the Starlight Fortress is the only open fortress in Star Valley?”

The various superpowers’ upper echelons couldn’t help but laugh when they saw how few players were willing to enter the Starlight Fortress.

They had been afraid that the fortress would make some bold move to widen the gap between them, but it seemed their concerns had been meaningless.

Twenty Silver to enter a fortress was a high price to pay, but many expert players could tolerate the cost. With the resources available in Star Valley and the Starlight Fortress’s benefits, they could easily earn back the Coins and more.

However, the Starlight Fortress had crossed the line by charging Magic Crystals for its basic services.

On the western continent, Magic Crystals were players’ foundation. Without Magic Crystals for their Combat Runes, players’ combat power would decrease significantly. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, Magic Crystals were painfully rare in the west. Obtaining a single Magic Crystal was a challenge. If it weren’t so difficult, the continent’s various powers wouldn’t fight so desperately over ore veins that had a chance of producing Magic Crystals.

Although players could obtain Magic Crystals by grinding in Star Valley, it wasn’t easy. Star Valley was still a Level 100- plus forbidden land and far more dangerous than other maps where Magic Crystals dropped.

If a player decided to focus their development around the fortress, they’d only be cheap labor for the ruling power. Only a fool would accept that burden.

Following which, the various superpowers’ upper echelons commanded their teams to turn around and leave. They had no intention of entering the Starlight Fortress.

They had learned of the fortress’s situation from the spies they had planted in Divine Tribe before the Starlight Fortress had opened to the public. They had no reason to enter the fortress to verify the reports. They’d only be handing over their hard-earned Coins by doing so.

MacAffrey felt frustrated as he watched so many players walk away from his position on the fortress’s wall.

Those players were potential money and resources!

Shi Feng could’ve easily transformed the Starlight Fortress into a prosperous trade hub by lowering his prices, yet he had insisted on charging Magic Crystals for all basic services. That condition alone had deterred the majority of players from visiting the fortress.

While the various superpowers walked away from the Starlight Fortress, the Storm Heart adventurer team had made it inside.

“So, this is the Starlight Fortress? The Mana density is so high!”

“It’s no wonder why the entrance fee is so exorbitant. This environment is certainly worth the price.”

Storm Heart’s members were mesmerized when they sensed the ambient Mana within the Starlight Fortress.

They were not members of the various superpowers, just independent players. Even if they were a part of a top adventurer team, they could only get their hands on limited resources. The resources Storm Heart possessed couldn’t even compare to that of first-rate Guilds. Needless to say, they didn’t have access to Mana-abundant locations, either. They had to rely on their exceptional talent and hard work to develop slowly.

“We’ll only be able to rest here from time to time. We can’t afford to go bankrupt,” the ruthless man beside Krow said as he glanced at the pricing boards outside the nearby hotels.

Even in NPC kingdoms and empires’ capital cities, the most expensive, luxurious hotel room only cost 10 Silver per night.

However, not only were the hotel rooms in the Starlight Fortress small, but they were also astonishingly expensive.

A room actually cost one Magic Crystal per night!

Their team currently had 500 players. If they rented hotel rooms for the night, they’d have to pay a total of 500 Magic Crystals...

The rest of Storm Heart’s members could only nod in agreement.

Not even first-rate Guilds could afford such a costly expenditure, let alone Storm Heart. Only superpowers would have the funds to rent these hotel rooms.

“Wait. The Mana here is different somehow,” a Tier 3 female Elementalist suddenly spoke up.

“Different?” Curious, the ruthless man began to pay more attention to the Mana around him, but he failed to find anything unusual about it. “How is it different?”

“No! She’s right!” Krow exclaimed. “To be precise, this area has different types of Elemental Mana.”

“Mhm. I can sense the Three Supreme Elements, and the Mana is growing even denser,” the female Elementalist explained.

Ordinary Tier 3 experts would likely struggle to sense the differences in the ambient Mana, but she had a special Mana Legacy, which allowed her to notice the minute oddity.

“The Three Supreme Elements?” The ruthless man was stunned. Excitedly, he asked, “Doesn’t that mean that this fortress’s environment is similar to the environment of ancient times?”

Experts constantly researched and tried to understand more about God’s Domain’s current affairs and history every day. The information hid many opportunities, and for independent players and adventurer teams, who lacked resources, this was one of the few reliable ways to encounter fortuitous opportunities.

Naturally, Storm Heart and its members were no exception. In fact, their knowledge of God’s Domain was vast, especially regarding the ancient area when Gods had still roamed the land.

The ancient era had been the peak of God’s Domain. Humankind had been far more powerful then. Ancient human civilizations had developed their individual strength and technology to unbelievable levels.

In comparison, current humans hit their limit after reaching Tier 5. Moreover, most Tier 5 powerhouses nowadays were far weaker than those of the past.

The biggest difference between the past and the present was the composition of ambient Mana.

During ancient times, ambient Mana had been composed of all seven elements, but now, it only included the Four Major Elements. The remaining Three Supreme Elements could only be found in certain locations and in almost negligible amounts.

This was why God’s Domain’s creatures couldn’t fully comprehend and control Mana, which made it harder to reach new tiers.

And yet, within the Starlight Fortress, the Three Supreme Elements had gathered, creating an environment reminiscent of ancient times. This was a heaven-defying opportunity!