Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
Despite harboring many worries.
The shop had to be opened.
Around dusk, the small shop, surrounded by players, finally opened its doors. Xin Kui and Xin Zhi looked at the dense crowd of players outside, their scalps tingling and legs trembling, but they still bravely curtsied in their maid outfits.
“Welcome to the Magic Skill Scroll Shop!”
“Wow! I didn’t expect the new NPC shop to be run by two Demi maids!”
“This is amazing! Just looking at the elves in maid outfits already makes me feel better!”
“It wasn’t a waste waiting here since morning!”
The enthusiasm and praise from the players left Xin Kui and Xin Zhi a bit dazed, but after a brief moment of astonishment, they finally breathed a sigh of relief. They had expected the foreign players who had waited so long to scold them.
It seemed these foreign people, although their behavior was strange, were actually quite gentle!
“Hello, this is my mission voucher. I’m here to collect a Skill Scroll.”
The leading player, ID Aryk, was likely a Holy Shield Warrior based on his equipment and attire. He was clad in black heavy armor, with a two-meter-long great hammer slung across his back. Standing there, he resembled a moving steel wall.
In his hand, he held a silver-gray token, which was the mission completion voucher issued by the system. All players who had been teleported to Tantinger City to participate in the mission received one.
In reality, less than half of the players had participated in the previous mission.
However, even so, the fewer than two hundred Skill Scrolls in the shop were far from enough.
“Oh, okay, okay, please, please come in!”
Although Aryk’s smile was very friendly, his terrifying size still exuded an oppressive aura on Xin Kui and Xin Zhi.
Xin Kui roughly estimated that he only reached the waist of this foreign warrior.
No wonder the Master had instructed the Royal Construction Team to ensure the shop was at least five meters high.
At first, they thought it was to store more Skill Scrolls, but now they understood it was to accommodate the stature of these foreign warriors.
The Skill Shop was exquisitely decorated.
On the wall hung a flamboyant oil painting of the King of Winter. His bright blue eyes seemed to gaze out the shop, directly at the players lining up. With a slight upward curl of his lips and his hands clasped on the hilt of his sword, he appeared to be telling the players outside: “I’m watching you, so behave yourselves.”
All the scrolls were stored within the System Store. The beautiful counter and surrounding decorations were merely for show. Even the two Demi lolis were likely just mascots to make the shop more lively.
When Aryk discovered that the SHOP had fewer than three hundred remaining skill scrolls, he knew he had guessed correctly.
The rewards that were previously only available to the top one hundred players in contribution points were now given away for free. Instead of direct rewards, players received redemption vouchers.
The moment he received the voucher, Aryk, with his keen game sense, immediately felt something was amiss.
This was why he had been waiting in front of the shop, which was still under construction, since early morning.
He had also witnessed, through the gaps in the shop, the entire process of the two panicked Demi maids working inside for nearly a full day.
Now, it was confirmed.
These Skill Scrolls were limited redemption items!
It was just like how Tencent games used to give away QQ coins. At precisely midnight, there would be a free giveaway. When you confidently clicked on the webpage, you’d only get a message saying, “Today’s quota has been distributed. Please try again tomorrow.”
However, if you managed to log in at the right time the next day, at the very instant of midnight, and clicked to claim it.
The webpage would lag for three seconds.
And then, that damned prompt box would appear again.
“Today’s quota has been distributed. Please try again tomorrow~”
Now, what could be said about what the King of Winter was doing?
To say it was more deceitful than Tencent games would definitely not be true, as everything was completely transparent. Those who came early got them, and those who came late didn’t. Everything could be verified, unlike a cold, impersonal prompt box.
Secondly, once you received one, you couldn’t get another.
So, eventually, everyone would be able to get a Skill Scroll, as the King of Winter would surely restock. If he didn’t… well, they couldn’t really do anything if he didn’t restock, could they? Could they challenge the King of Winter to a duel?
Who could possibly defeat the monster that had split a city in half with a single sword strike?
The players had long lost any desire to challenge the King of Winter.
It was a joke. Every time they thought they were close to pushing the King of Winter to his limits, they would immediately go into a dungeon to clear their overheated minds.
Aryk finally chose a good Knight skill called “Oath of Vigilance.”
[Oath of Vigilance] Radiates divine light, protecting the mortal world:
Grants a buff effect for five minutes.
Effect 1: 120 feet of true sight, seeing through undead, dark magic, curses, transformations, illusions, etc.
Effect 2: Increased resistance towards aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, and spirits.
Effect 3: Roll a Willpower saving throw. Upon success, banish creatures not belonging to the prime material plane back to their original plane or the space-time乱流. Usable once every 24 hours.
However, when he received the scroll, he discovered it was empty.
It simply read: This skill must be taught by the King of Winter at Winter Fort.
Aryk: (°Д°)……
Damn it, is the King of Winter playing a shell game?!
He had always wondered how a Knight skill could be taught through a magic scroll. So, it turned out to be a connected scheme! Damn it!
Actually, Xi Wei didn’t want to do this.
But since he had promised to reward the players, he could only do his best to impart the skills, at least to satisfy the needs of all Warrior players first.
As for the Magic Scrolls, there were only so many. For spells like “Radiant Comet” and “Shimmering Magic Dust,” whatever Mage players could snatch up was theirs. If that wasn’t enough, they could follow the Mages at Winter Fort to learn high-level spells.
Especially those Mages from the South Continent that Xi Wei had brought back from Caran.
If they were willing to join Winter City, Winter City would fund the construction of magic towers and provide monthly salaries and various preferential policies.
All they needed to do was to manage the Winter City Mage Association and guide the novice Mages of the Wintery Empire.
If they refused to join, then death awaited them.
Seeing how the King of Winter was so benevolent and persuasive, those Mages naturally chose to join.
Now, Archmage Aurobak from the Violet Family had been completely won over by Xi Wei’s various enticements. He had even found love in Winter City.
Family honor? Imperial glory?
Heh, what could compare to the succubus maiden in his arms?
If not for the routine work he had to complete every morning, Aurobak wouldn’t even want to wake up.
Only those who had truly tasted a succubus would understand what it meant to be soulfully devoured!
It was a tenderness and allure that would suck the very marrow from your bones.
Previously, he had disdained humans who indulged in succubi, but now he praised them to the heavens.
Not to mention, this succubus was a gift from the King of Winter, and she had been modified in all aspects.
Not only was her personality loyal, family-oriented, but she also didn’t cause him to over-expend his body.
What did his family have?
Just a group of Mages backstabbing each other and playing boring games!
Just as this group of Archmages were enjoying their brilliant lives, a mysterious figure appeared at the entrance of Winter City.
“This is it! I can feel Aurobak’s and their magic fluctuations!”
Mage Layton hid the sharp glint in his eyes beneath his hood, once again transforming into an unremarkable traveler.
A few pictures of Winter City.
