Chapter 192: Mirage Cloud Field Zone

Draco continued to craft All-Sight potions for 4 hours before going to bed. This meant that he successfully crafted 17 bottles out of 24 attempts, with one attempt per 10 minutes.

His increased proficiency with handling Worldly Energy was balanced out by the increased difficulty of making the All-Sight potion, but with it also came new and great rewards in the form of Tradeskill experience.

After all, while the exp gain return for the Angel's Kiss potion had plummeted, the All-Sight potion was a new Epic potion that he was making, so he gained a lot more from making 17 bottles compared to the recent 30+ potions he made for the Angel's Kiss potion.

Right now, his Tradeskill level for Alchemy comfortably sat at level 50, 65% from level 47, 34%. He had made impressive progress, but after a few more sessions, this reward from the All-Sight potion would plummet as well.

Draco placed the potions aside and went to bed with Hikari as well as Eva. After all, he had a lot more to accomplish the next day.

....

Sublime Notion was currently swamped with work. She had very little time to spend doing anything but supervise the administration of the Vita City State.

Apart from the trade laws Draco had drafted for the Rank 5 and above Merchants, she had to consult with various experts to draft the civil, criminal, economic, diplomatic and military laws and policies.

No, her first issue was the construction of the various buildings for Vita City State. They had so much land, yet Draco had only rented out the most far off bits to the various Rank 7 powers.

The Rank 7 powers - in total - didn't surpass 10,000. Out of more than 10 trillion sapient organisms, roughly only 10,000 had managed to reach Rank 7, which was a testament of how hard it was.

For only 0.000001% of the world to be at that level was horrific.

In essence, it meant that aside from lots occupied by those Rank 7 descendants, so far Umbra only allotted the land to the members of Umbra - as well as the Church of Light, Mages Association, etc - which left more than 97% of Vita City-State's empty and ready to build upon.

But what exactly where they supposed to put there? Draco and Eva hadn't left Sublime Notion with any instructions, completely trusting her judgment.

She was 100% allowed to do anything that she pleased, ranging from completely recreating an idyllic Garden of Eden to a full-on militaristic dictatorship.

After thinking, Sublime Notion devised her plan. She gathered all the building resources from the packs they had opened after the Dragon-Slaying Event, as well as what the various serf players and true members of Umbra had handed in from the gathering quests Draco had created.

She then issued a new quest for Umbra as well as any member of their three allied guilds who were builders.

｢Construction Requisition - Crafting Quest

Description: Build 1 cottage or 1 longhouse.

Time limit: 1 month

Rewards: 5 Umbra Points｣

For clarification, 5 Umbra Points meant 5 gold! That was a whopping amount to pay any builder for a simple job like a cottage or a longhouse.

One could imagine the builders' rush to accept the quest and get to work.

What turned them even crazier were the two crafting boons Vita City State provided them.

｢Boundless System-wide Announcement

Player Draco has created the first player-owned settlement, Vita. Players can now visit the settlement to help foster development. Bonuses are given to all Tradeskill players who work in the settlement. The settlement has a 20% bonus gold and experience reward for players who function out of it.｣

This message had already gone out after Draco had created Vita Settlement, and naturally, it was still valid.

It was one of the reasons Vita City State was considered a hot-spot for any Tradeskill players, yet they had almost no access to the land.

After all, why would Umbra want to share the pie they themselves had worked for with any outsiders, unless they received many benefits in return?

Then there was also the more recent addition to what Umbra could offer the players, which truly cemented it as a hotcake for the whole world of Boundless.

｢Vita Capital City bonuses:

- Bonus Exp modifier acc.u.mulates at 1% per hour spent in the settlement and is capped at 70%

- Crafting success rates increased by 10% regardless of Tradeskill.

- Life expectancy of citizens is boosted by a factor of 2

- Citizens are immune to common diseases and are resistant to rare ailments

- Technique creation success rates boosted by 10% within Training Halls of the city

- Crafted items or created techniques are 20% better when completed.

- Natural population growth is boosted by 500%｣

Crafting success was boosted in the City State and the quality would be better. They would also gain 20% more experience and gold for their work from the system as a bonus.

Vita City State was currently a haven for Tradeskill players, and these effects had been spread about by those who had been hired from the outside to build residences or lots.

The players of the world had once been rebuffed by Draco's draconic demands, but after understanding the value of these boons, the outrageous price he had charged seemed sensible.

As such, many approached Sublime Notion intending to negotiate.

A lot of the player guilds even pledged to sign a contract - with the system as the judge - to follow Umbra for eternity as long as they could settle on a piece of land on the outskirts.

Rash? No, the ones to do this were clever. Even if many of the benefits seemed to favor NPCs, there were more than a few that were useful for players. Besides, they were thinking ahead.

If Vita City State was this generous with its rewards before it became a Kingdom, then what about when it finally did? And what about when it further developed into an Empire?

Sure, it might take some time, but this was Umbra after all. The very first guild, founded by the number one player, who managed to instate the very first City State, before even a year had passed in-game...

As such, it would be best to jump on the train as early as possible, so that they could benefit in the future.

Sublime Notion was very tempted, given some of the offers she had received. Many of those guilds pledging eternal loyalty were at the Epic Rank, with even a few Legendary guilds - on the same level as Meiren, Myriad Cards or Lorebinders - making the same offer.

It didn't matter whether they were being truthful or not. Once one signed that contract with the AI presiding over it, there was no escape. Those guilds would become the dogs of Umbra.

However, Sublime ultimately refused them. It wasn't because they weren't good, but because Umbra - and by extension, Draco and Eva - did not need so much chaff following their heels like dogs.

Draco alone had been able to almost single-handedly manage a Guild War against two Legendary guilds. Why would someone like that need Epic guilds at his beck and call?

As such, Sublime placed the conditions for renting a lot in Vita City State. When the guild leaders saw it, their faces became black as they began cursing and swearing.

There was no way they could pay that. Even Draco and Eva would need to visit more than a few Field Zones or Legendary Dungeons to get all that, much less these players.

The price wasn't listed in money, since Draco had emphasized that resources were paramount. After all, they already had the cash printing machine that was the Rank 7 Shop.

With the platinum Upgrade Token, they could easily create another Rank 7 Shop in Vita City State. Umbra would always have enough to handle most affairs on hand, but resources were hard to acquire.

Draco had swindled and bullied the Rank 7 powers into coughing up so much that all felt like they ended up paying an arm and a leg. All of it was now in the Guild Warehouse.

Most of it was for later, when the players reached the higher Ranks.

As for current resources.... they probably had more than any one organization, but they were far off from filling the whole City-State on their own. All of Umra's serf players, who had reached 1.5 million now, were working around the clock to gather more.

Sublime left the matter of the player recruitment for the guild to the Five Generals minus Rina, who was currently traveling the world to increase the level of her staff and subsequently herself.

Sublime was saddened and relieved by the fact that the Tome of Healing was no growth-item, meaning it couldn't become Divine, but she would have struggled to raise its level anyway.

Sublime Notions plan for the empty lots of Vita City State was to build as many residences and rent them out. Apart from what the players of Umbra - and the 7 top organizations like the Church of Light - had, the rest was all rented out, even what the Rank 7 powers owned.

This meant that the land still belonged to the State. They would be able to profit from it while also deciding about who got to stay on their properties at any time.

Umbra would be able to earn profit by doing nothing, just like a typical landlord. It was truly an insidious plan by this evil loli, proving once and for all that the intention of the noble hero Draco, as well as the heroine Eva, to seal her away in this office was in everyone's interest.

But despite that, one could not suppress true evil, and it was beginning to show in the policies that Sublime Notion was drafting for Vita City-State.

........

Meanwhile, Rina was walking into a Field Zone called the Mirage Clouds. It was an area that could only be reached by taking a hot air balloon manned by an eccentric goblin.

He had taken her up to the clouds at a strange angle, and once they broke through the layer, she was surprised to see a whole expanse of buildings that looked amazing.

It turned out that this Field Zone was populated by the Cloud Race, a humanoid species that resembled angels. They were extremely beautiful and handsome, with golden hair and blue eyes.

However, their halos were cracked and their wings were very small and weak. This was because they were only demi-angels at best, unable to use Divine Energy, but could use Worldly Energy easily.

On the rankings, they occupied the 21st place, which was still impressive. However, they were classified as monsters and not as NPCs in the Mirage Cloud Field Zone because this particular group turned feral in the presence of other living things.

They had become corrupted after the second son of Mephisto, Asmo, had visited them during one of his trips to this realm and decided to have a bit of fun with them.

He had forced them to do many atrocious things that would normally go against their nature, like making them eat meat from their kin, as well as bathing in the blood of innocents.

This had weakened them greatly, but they were still more than the average player could handle. Eventually, Asmo got bored of them and left them to their devices, turning a once prosperous civilization into a Field Zone.

Rina followed Draco's advice and began casting Supernova.

｢Active 1 - Supernova: Create a mini-sun that deals 1,000% fire damage over an Area Zone. Cast time: 1 minute. Cooldown: 3 days.｣

A gigantic sun formed over the entirety of the Field Zone, its heat and brightness blinding - somewhat event scalding - all who dared to look at it, or even remain in place underneath it.

(Author's Note: A Field Zone is a type of Area Zone.)

The Feral Cloud race members weren't going to stand there and wait to get annihilated. There were almost 10,000 monsters in this Field Zone, but only a few hundred were close enough to Rina to pose a threat in the time she required to cast her spell.

With scarily sharp teeth and maddened expressions that looked horrific on their Angelic faces, they rushed at her while screeching evilly.

Supernova had a one-minute cast time, but Rina couldn't do anything else while she was locked in the animation of launching the spell.

The speed at which the nearby Feral Cloud monsters were rushing would be enough to interrupt her casting, most likely by straight out murdering her before then.

How could Draco and Rina not have predicted this? Rina simply smiled and waved her hand.

"It's time to go and defend your Mistress, Little Blaze."

Suddenly, a Fire Elemental left Rina's body and formed itself in the corporeal world. It was usually formless, but took the shape of Rina's luscious body, curves and all.

It cried out and spewed flames onto the onrushing Feral Cloud monsters, damaging them heavily and forcing them to fall back while they screeched in endless agony.

The fire of a Fire Elemental was not on the same level as a Pyromancer. It had the trait of endlessness and extreme heat, due to its purity.

This was the very same Fire Elemental Riveting Night had bought from the Bazaar, which had been aimlessly sitting in the Vita City State's slave pen for a long while.

Before, only Draco could tame the Fire Elemental, but he had no use for that. As a Black Dragon, it was clear that the fellow was only interested in anything related to Destruction Energy.

However, the second passive of the Flamesear Legendary staff allowed Rina to control all flames within her Rank. Since this Fire Elemental was Rank 1, it had been easily subdued and pledged fealty to her.

In no time, Rina unleashed the Supernova on the whole Mirage Cloud Field Zone. She stood still and crossed her arms with a light smile, as the fire of the Supernova exploded around her.

She looked like someone from those old shows where five people in colored skin-tight suits would use giant robots to fight bizarre monsters. Had she shouted 'go, go power rangers!' the scene would have been perfect.

Rina's experience bar rose by leaps and bounds. Her Queen of Death title increased all damage by 100%, meaning that the 200,000 damage she dealt from Supernova was boosted by 200,000, for a total of 400,000!

This was something not even Draco could have predicted or accounted for. The Feral Cloud monsters had high speed and great attack, but poor defense. As such, 400,000 damage was enough to wipe out more than 9,500 of the 10,000 monsters here.

She gained 2,453% experience, which she placed into Flamesear wholly, bringing it to 11,850% from 9,397%. It was a great leap for sure, but a cooldown of three days meant that it would take Rina a while to get to her goal.

This was not even factoring something like the time it would take to travel to new Field Zones and other logistical stuff.

Her Queen of Death title gave her a 5% chance to reset all cooldowns when an enemy was killed by her attack, but the system had made sure that one spell meant only one chance to trigger this ability no matter how many beings Rina killed.

However, she would eventually get there. How many players could boast that they possessed a Legendary Item, especially at this stage of the game? And currently, Draco was the only one who had a Divine item, yet she was already 10% of the way to acquiring her own.

As such, Rina became patient and level headed. She systematically went through the Mirage Cloud Field Zone, killing the remaining Feral Cloud monsters carefully with the help of her Fire Elemental.

Its ability to deal damage and defend its master was amazing. It could bend the element of fire in a multitude of shocking ways, most of which Rina never thought of herself.

After some time, she was able to clear the entire Field Zone, gaining 125% experience. She sent the Flamesear's progress to 11,975% from 11,850%.

After gathering all her spoils, she returned to the eccentric goblin and paid for the return trip.

The fellow was somehow unbothered by the fact that he had just watched a Field Zone get wiped by a giant sun. He wasn't even fearful of Rina despite her being the one to massacre all those creatures in practically no time.

As the balloon descended, Rina checked out one of her spoils that seemed very interesting.

｢Angel's Blessing - Active Skill

Rank: Rare

Effect: Send out a random buff to every ally within 10 miles. Buffs last 10 minutes and can't be dispelled.

Note: Race locked to Angels and sub-Angels.

Cooldown: 30 minutes｣

Draco had told her to pay extra attention to any Angelic, Demonic, Devil or Draconic skill she came across. She didn't know why, but all she knew was that the more she could gain, the higher the chance that she could win over Draco.

However, Rina didn't have to worry. While Draco was still on the fence about her, Eva was paving the way for her future success and enjoyment.

........

Draco woke up and shook himself down. After taking a bath with Hikari and Eva, he then went to prepare a new breakfast called coco and bread, which was an African dish.

It consisted of a brew that was called coco, as well as two strange pastries called bofrot and kose, along with slices of white bread.

(Author's Note: Bofrot is pronounced 'Bow-Froat' and Kose is pronounced 'Coal-Say'.)

The coco was thick and hot, going down one's throat with a surprising burn. Since coco was designed to be sweet, it contained a bit of sugar and milk, making the taste really great.

Along with the semi-crunchy bofrot which was like a small round cake and the kose, which was a chewy pastry that was slightly spicy, the blend of tastes was varied and amazing.

It was Zaine who had suggested the recipe to Draco, which he was able to easily learn and implement now that he was a Master Rank Cook.

After eating, they all went down to the courtyard to see what Richmond was up to. The fellow stood there while gazing into the horizon, as if reminiscing times long gone.

With a heavy sigh, he turned to the arrivals and firmed his expression. Riveting Night, Hikari and Zaine felt that something was wrong, but Draco simply didn't care.

He sat in front of Richmond and began trying to hold the Sphere in place as long as he possibly could. The form came easily to him, because his mind was tempered.

He also had the help of the Focus stat, as well as his Dark Angel Inheritance which greatly increased his mental faculties.

As such, Draco was able to hold the Sphere for 1 hour at most now, which was much more than the 50 minutes he could manage before.

When the sun was in the center of the sky, denoting that it was noon, Richmond stopped Draco.

"That is enough. Now, try and form the shape of the Box in your mind and bring it to life. After that, try to hold it in place for as long as possible."

Draco nodded and pictured the shape of the Box Richmond drew. It was similar in size and shape to a rectangle, more than a cube. It was like those old boxes from that number 1 e-commerce company from before World War 3.

Once Draco began, he realized that the Box was truly marvelous.