Chapter 2551 – Intermediate City’s Effects

The crowd began to converse as they stared at the transformed Stone Forest City. However, Zero Wing’s members were more shocked than anyone.

The moment the seal on the city had lifted, Zero Wing’s members had been allowed back in. As they entered the city, they were mesmerized.

Aside from the city’s Mana density, which players could feel from outside of it, these players were stunned by the city’s new infrastructure. Not only did the buildings look completely different, but quite a few were now Shops, run by nonhuman NPCs. These Shops sold special Magic Scrolls, potions, food, and drinks that were usually very scarce on the market.

Most importantly, Stone Forest City now had NPC trading firms’ Shops.

These new Shops might look like the ones ordinary NPCs owned, but NPC trading firms often issued quests for players. Once players had earned enough Reputation Points with a particular NPC trading firm, they could receive special, high-ranked quests that offered bountiful rewards, and if they were lucky, they could even obtain high-quality weapons and equipment by completing these quests.

These NPC trading firms were one of the main reasons that even now, independent and Guild players frequently visited NPC cities.

Now that Stone Forest City had some of these trading firms’ Shops as well, they could continue to earn Reputation Points and pick up quests, saving them the trouble of returning to an NPC city.

“What did you do, Guild Leader? Is this really Stone Forest City?” Gentle Snow asked, her heart pounding as she gazed around the main street. Stone Forest City now had just as many high-rise buildings and Advanced Shops as White River City.

Truthfully, she would’ve assumed that she had entered a major NPC city, if not for the eye-catching Freedom Hotel.

The biggest difference between NPC and Guild Cities was the presence of these NPC trading Firms. They were responsible for nearly half of the quests available in NPC cities.

These quests granted abundant EXP, but they also offered high monetary rewards. Even for expert players, these quests were a main source of income.

This was why players were still tied to NPC cities. If they ignored these quests, they’d lose half of their income, and that would make it difficult for ordinary players to survive in God’s Domain. The chances of acquiring rare materials and equipment in Level 100 maps were incredibly low, after all. At this point, ordinary players only grinded for EXP in Level 100 maps; they didn’t rely on these areas as a stable source of income.

Now that Stone Forest City was home to so many NPC trading firms’ Advanced Shops, the resident players wouldn’t have to return to an NPC city to pick up or turn in the trading firms’ quests. They could simply do so in Stone Forest City.

This additional feature would only be a minor convenience for ordinary players, but for the various powers, this would allow them to shake off the shackles that bound them to NPC cities. If other powers had this feature in their Guild Cities, they would be able to thrive independently, even without the help of NPC cities. They could develop wherever they wished.

“Of course, this is Stone Forest City. Once a Guild City reaches Intermediate rank, it gains the ability to survive independently in the fields,” Shi Feng said, smiling at Gentle Snow’s ecstatic expression.

There might only be one rank between a Basic City and an Intermediate City, but it was like the difference between heaven and earth. This was why he had been so eager to upgrade Stone Forest City to Intermediate rank. As an Intermediate City, Stone Forest City could thrive perfectly well, even if Zero Wing lost Star-Moon Kingdom.

At this stage of the game, the competition in NPC cities had grown intense, and they were no longer under player control. As a result, managing NPC cities had become incredibly troublesome, and there was a risk of other powers taking over.

In contrast, players had full control over Guild Cities. If other powers wanted to take one over, they’d have to capture it.

However, Shi Feng considered the Freedom Hotel’s completion as far more important than Stone Forest City’s promotion. The hotel would be the key that would lead a Guild City to prosperity!

Not only was the Freedom Hotel’s Mana incredibly dense, but players could also set up teleportation arrays within. Unlike NPC cities, there were no Return Scrolls for Guild Cities, and gaining them was a major challenge.

Freedom Hotels, however, could meet that challenge.

Any of the Freedom Hotel’s guests could purchase Return Scrolls and teleport to it at any time and from anywhere. This feature was immensely convenient for players that didn’t have a Residence or house within the city.

Aside from the convenience it offered combat players, the Freedom Hotel would be significantly helpful to Lifestyle players. Not only would players accumulate the Double EXP buff when resting in the hotel, but they would also earn the Double Lifestyle Proficiency buff. Unfortunately, they couldn’t accumulate the Proficiency buff quite as fast as the Double EXP, but it was a precious bonus to Lifestyle players. Tools and potions that increased one’s Lifestyle Proficiency acquisition rate were still insanely expensive on the market, far out of ordinary players’ budgets.

“Guild Leader, our members are in place. Should we open Stone Forest City now?” Gentle Snow reported once she had calmed down.

To cope with the Dark World’s invasion, they had dispatched a large fraction of the Guild’s manpower to Stone Forest City. Even though the city was now much larger, they could still manage it without issues.

Moreover, Gentle Snow was eager to show the city off to the public.

Once Stone Forest City reopened, independent experts would likely have a hard time sitting still. They might even decide to join Zero Wing after discovering the city’s changes. Zero Wing was now the only Guild to break free from NPC kingdoms and empires, and with the city’s help, the Guild’s members could level up far faster than other players.

“Let’s wait. We can open the city once I’m done with the Freedom Hotel,” Shi Feng said.

“The Freedom Hotel?” Gentle Snow was a little confused. The hotel had already been constructed. What more needed to be done?

Shi Feng didn’t explain, however, and instructed her to refine Stone Forest City’s management and entrance fee collection. He then headed to the nearby Freedom Hotel.

Once he stood in the hotel’s inner courtyard, which he had built personally, Shi Feng retrieved the Ancient Tree of Life’s Sapling from his bag.

The Mana density here should be the highest within the city. If not even this is enough, I’ll be out of options.