Draco left Stagnant Moss town without any special fanfare or event. He had used his gold to expand his inventory slots to the maximum that could be possessed before the first update. It cost him a total of 30 gold, which no player would be able to afford easily until the first update. It could be seen that if not for the reincarnation of Draco, the AI would've predicted everything perfectly.
Draco even knew about the effects of his actions. Who didn't know of the butterfly effect? That was the main reason he was in a hurry to build a powerful foundation before the timeline went out of control and his 15 years of knowledge became redundant.
He was currently sprinting across the countryside, passing through various zonal areas which were all within the range of level 3 to level 5. All the monsters in these areas were semi-intelligent and could not aggro on him due to his high level. Even if they could, they would need to match his insane speed first.
Before leaving, Draco had already assigned his points. Between levels 1 to 10, a player earned five points per level. This was to allow them to build a foundation for the future. After every class advancement, points earned would drop until they became a rare resource. At that point, focus would shift from attributes to weapons and skills.
At level seven, he had gained 35 points to allocate as he wished. Draco already knew the optimal point distribution for the avenger class. In fact, in his past life he had been one point away from the optimal distribution for the class. The optimal point distribution for the avenger class was 5 STR, 15 DEX, 8 END, 10 INT, 10 SPR, 5 CHA, 5 LCK. Draco had allocated everything similarly, but had only 14 points in DEX.
This wasn't his fault though. He only got to know the optimal point distribution through intense research over 15 years of trial and error. A player had one point in every stat at the beginning and only earned 50 points over ten levels. Even if you knew the optimal distribution, you would still arrive at the same allocation Draco made. It wasn't fate, just maths.
The only way to hit that perfect point distribution was to earn it externally. There were hidden ways to do that which not even 90% of the pros in Draco's past life knew, much less the players of this timeline.
Fortunately, as one of the former supreme powers of Boundless, he knew a few tricks.
Along the way, Draco diverted his path around a level 7 zonal area called Guren Forest. This place was a low level area that mostly had humanoid monsters like orcs and goblins. This place was different from the level 1-5 zones were the enemies were mostly low-intelligence beasts. These ones had some modic.u.m of cognizance, which made them a real challenge in battle, even for parties of the same level.
Since this zone was about the same level as Draco, the monsters here quickly aggroed on him and a train of enemies began. By the time he had moved about halfway towards the center of this forest, the train behind him had grown to an astounding proportion.
Any normal player would have their heart freeze at the sight, and even bystanders would feel their scalps go numb. Draco however, just smirked as he sped along. Unfortunately, since the enemies had aggroed on him, that meant he had entered combat. His stamina was dropping rapidly and he had less than half remaining.
Still Draco revealed no trace of panic on his face. He took out a vial of greenish liquid and drank it in one gulp. A green glow surrounded his body as his stamina rose rapidly. The potion he drank was an advanced type, with both an overtime and instant effect.
Generally, consumables – especially potions – had one of two applications, either an overtime effect which either damages or restores something by a set amount over a fixed amount of time or instant effect, which most people preferred but were more expensive. These would either damage or restore something by a fixed amount almost immediately. Some had activation times and most had cooldowns.
Draco had splurged and bought one with both, half of the effect is dealt instantly and the rest over time. Let's not talk about the price or the misers in the crowd will have heart attacks.
His objective was simple: Gather all the enemies in this zonal area and train them on the person at the center of this zone. One thing players had no inkling of was special NPCs that existed within certain zones.
These NPCs offered one time rewards to those who found them after fulfilling specific conditions. Some of them disappeared after a player found them for the first time and some reappeared after a certain amount of time passed.
It didn't take him long to capture almost every monster in the area. If you looked behind Draco, you'd see a sea of orcs, goblins and other woodland monsters of lore chasing after him with red eyes. The mouths were pulled into a snarl and they seemed to be silently screaming the word "KILL!!!" or even "DEVOUR!!!" which was a bloodcurdling sight.
Well, it's about time. I have very little left in the way of supplies for this side quest. I need to conserve them for my destination.
With that in mind, Draco entered the central zone of the Guren Forest, where a homely cottage was situated beside a clear lake. The sunlight dripped in between the canopy to create one of the most picturesque sights Draco had ever seen. If a scene like this were painted, it would set a precedent in the art community.
Outside the cottage sat an old man smoking a pipe. He was a typical whitebeard mage, with the long blue robe, pointy hat and knee length beard. He was in a rocking chair that looked rickety and honestly, should've broken a decade ago.
The moment Draco saw him, he also saw Draco. With a hearty laugh, he called over. "Ahoi there young lad. Why don't you come here and chat with Uncle Richmond so that- F.U.C.K!!"
His hearty welcome was ruined by his sudden cursing, but who could blame him? If you had managed to carve out a place for yourself in one of the most homely and aesthetical zones for some brat to bring almost every wild beast to trample your hardwork, you'd also curse too.
If it were one or two, Richmond would just laugh and wave his hands, and the enemies would be blown out of his zone. In fact, most monsters knew better than to enter this zone, as it belonged to a powerful being. However, their hatred for Draco was indescribable. This wasn't due to the normal aggro effect. If Draco had relied on that, every now and then his train of monsters would decrease from enemies giving up the chase.
He had done something unprecedented. When he entered the zone, he sneaked around till he entered one of the orc camps. He then entered the hut of the chieftain's daughter and well, no need to enter specifics. Orcs are pretty open with these things, especially towards humans and the young female orc didn't hold back with her sounds, so the whole village found out soon enough. When the Chieftain and Queenmother realized their soon-to-be betrothed daughter had been soiled by a human, it incited a rage that could not be described.
If it were just once, it wouldn't be this bad. But with all the enemies behind him from almost every camp and settlement in the forest after him… well suffice to say Draco could issue a challenge to Hugh Hefner. There were no feelings involved, for him it was just business.
With his speed, it was a pipe dream for the chasing enemies to catch up to him. In fact, he was purposely slowing himself down to give them that illusion. Whenever he saw a new camp, he would speed up and get down to business before escaping.
Really, the only ones with positive feelings about Draco in the whole forest were the Chieftain's daughters, who would forever remember the well-endowed and handsome human.
"Listen here boy, I command you in the name of Lord Richmond the Great, father of the modern age and pioneer of the future, to commit suicide so that these beasts can leave my sanctuary!" Richmond shouted while casting non-stop.
Draco almost spat blood. Commit suicide? You're not even struggling with them, just waving your arms to scatter them about. In fact, there was a glint in Richmond's eye that said he was thoroughly enjoying bullying these monsters.
Richmond the Great's personality was one of the greatest topics in Draco's past life. He was known as a womanizer and a tyrant. Players who encountered him without something good would find themselves played with until he was satisfied. Females who entered his zone would be harassed until they left.
Still, people came here willing because Richmond always gave out something good based on how much of a good time he had. Some of these things were uncommon skillbooks, advanced tradeskill books and rare weapons and armor. For magical classes, he may teach rare spells and for runemakers, he would gift runes that were ancient.
With such rewards, who cared if he used you as a basketball and dunked you in the lake? Who cared if he peeked under your skirt while giving lewd remarks and chuckling dirtily? Just endure and get your reward afterwards.
Draco didn't have time to be bullied, so he substituted himself with the monsters of the zonal area. With how much fun Richmond was having, Draco simply sat down and recovered his spent stamina. He watched with mild sympathy as these proud and semi-intelligent monsters were dressed up like dollies and made to act out lewd plays. Richmond was one twisted old man.
Soon enough, he ended his torment with a sigh of utter contentment. If Draco didn't know any better, he'd believe that Richmond had received a godly massage.
"Well then boy, you sure made this old man go through a lot of stress in dealing with those brutes for you. Sigh, at my age I should have a fleet of beautiful young girls rubbing my feet while I bask in the sun…"
He puffed out a ring of smoke from his pipe as his eyes glazed over in reverie. Draco kept his indignation in check. After all, he more than anyone knew how shameless old man Richmond was. Arguing with him would end up with you losing in the end.
"Ah forget it. I am Richmond the Great, father of the modern age and pioneer of the future. A man such as myself should be forgiving and understanding toward snot nosed brats who can't even count past 0. Yes, such is the nature of my existence. Sigh, what will the world do without me? I fear to even think it…"
Draco couldn't take it anymore. He fell to his knees and spat blood while trying to curse in anger, but only blood came out. His soul and spirit were heavily damaged by Richmond's words, causing this reaction. The old mage himself seemed to not notice the effect of his words as he continued praising himself and belittling Draco.
Eventually, Draco managed to calm himself and get to the point of his visit. With a grimace of pain, he took on a whiny voice.
"Lord Richmond the Great, father of the modern age and pioneer of the future… this young lad's name is Draco. I thank you for showing me your greatness earlier, I shall surely remember it for the rest of my life!! I only wish I could gain even 0.1% of your greatness through inheritance… I would be able to die in peace under a statue I'll build of you in the world's largest temple!"
It has to be said that Draco was a cunning bastard. His eloquent and carefully chosen words were the ambrosia to Richmond's overly bloated ego. In fact, it could be said that in Draco's past life and for the eternity of this life, no one would be able to string together words that would move Richmond like this.
Richmond had the world's largest smile on right now and if it could, his grin would stretch across his whole skull. He laughed and caressed his beard, feeling sparkly from Draco's words. The old man was pleased beyond words and developed a liking for this foolish young boy who knew what was good in life.
"Boy, you are definitely blessed by the heavens to be able to recognize my greatness. Such a boy like you deserves more than being a mere side character in the story that is called life, where I'm the protagonist! As of today, I shall make you one of the minor main characters! Take this!"
Richmond threw a small vial towards Draco, which he caught clumsily as if he were a bumbling youth. He checked the description of the item and felt satisfied at heart, but he wasn't done yet. He was going to kill this man from overblown ego and take all his stuff. If he didn't die, then Draco would continue receiving goods until Richmond got fed up.
"L-Lord Richmond!! Such an item for someone as meager as me? Wait, Lord Richmond, this kind of item could have whole kingdoms embroil in a hundred year war and the winning party wouldn't even dare use it, but keep it as an heirloom! Lord Richmond you… you can give this out easily? Does that mean you are more powerful than all the kingdoms in the world? What a great man! I'm blessed to see your very shadow!!"
Richmond laughed happily. He was really developing a strong positive feeling towards this young boy. His words were truer than even the laws of the universe. Richmond felt that it would be necessary to develop this young boy into his herald so that he may spread his own greatness to the world. After all, very few had such perceiving eyes to see the truth of life.
"Boy I shall make you my herald so that you may spread tales of my greatness to the ignorant in the world. How about it?"
Draco pretended to be stunned but inwardly he was cursing. What herald? What greatness? This old man was just a deadbeat pervert with good stuff. Who cares about spreading his name? But Draco knew he was in a bind so he looked hesitant and said. "R-Really? My lord would let a foolish boy like me be his herald? Wouldn't I bring disgrace to your great name?"
"Of course not. This old man wouldn't let you become his herald without giving you anything! Take a look at what being a herald entails!" With a wave of his hand, a panel appeared before Draco.
｢Richmond's basic herald pack
Rewards:
1 heralds badge
1 heralds cloak｣
｢Heralds badge – Unique Item
A herald's badge is a special identification token that grants various powers to the individual wearing depending on the ranking and status of their master. Minimum rank requirement to grant a heralds badge is Rank 3.
Effects (scale with tier):
Minor Diplomatic immunity
Permanent 50% discount at all rank 1 and 2 shops.
Granted Lord rank in all kingdoms with neutral reputation towards master
Granted passage to rare and epic tier Adventurer's Guild controlled dungeons
No teleportation fees to towns and cities in positive aligned kingdoms towards master｣
｢Heralds cloak – Unique item
A herald's cloak is a special identification garb that grants various powers to the individual wearing depending on the ranking and status of their master. Minimum rank requirement to grant a heralds cloak is Rank 3.
Effects (scale with tier):
Appearance deception: 1 form
Movement speed out of combat: 500%
Blink: 500 feet, cooldown 30 seconds
Total Invisibility: 10 seconds, cooldown 30 seconds｣
Draco sucked in a cold breath of air when he saw what being Richmond's herald entailed. Any of these effects were almost impossible to get from any other source. Heck, it was almost as if Draco had wasted his time killing Ratchet with this in hand. What made his blood run cold was the fact that this was all assuming Richmond was a Rank 3 Mage King. If he was even a Rank 4 Mage Emperor, these boons would increase exponentially.
Richmond puffed out a circle of smoke and enjoyed the bafflement of Draco. It should be noted that 15 years of struggle and supremacy had made Draco develop a monstrous poker face that was almost impossible to see through. Not even the Riveting Night of this timeline had mastered it as well as he had. However, Richmond was an existence that was beyond monstrous so Draco's ploys had all been seen through.
"L-Lord Richmond the great… may I ask what rank you are?" Draco asked with an audible gulp.
Richmond smirked and poked a hole in a puff of smoke he blew out, turning it into the shape a voluptuous woman. "Accept my heraldry, equip my items and you'll see."
Of course, Draco didn't need to ask an NPC before checking their tier. After all boundless was still an MMO, so it was easy to check the health, mana and level of players and NPCs. However Richmond's details came as a slew of question marks, which meant he was too high for Draco to see. That was understandable, as to give these items he had to be at least Rank 3 whereas Draco was Rank 0.
Draco pondered for a bit before accepting gracefully. From his point of view, there was no loss to this. The boons on these two items were equivalent to wearing two epic rank items. Who could resist such a temptation?
When he equipped them, a special title was granted him.
｢Richmond's Herald – Special Rank
Mana capacity 100%
Mana recovery 100%
Skill cooldowns lowered by 50%｣
Richmond was a gift that kept on giving. Draco breathed in hard and sighed. At this point, nothing could surprise him anymore. He decided to check Richmond's rank before leaving to complete his objective.
｢Name: Lord Richmond – Rank 7 Mage God
Level: 397
HP: 100,000,000,000,000,000/100,000,000,000,000,000｣
Draco laughed until tears came out of his eyes. A part of his sanity was forever lost to the abyss due to this. Richmond looked over in sympathy. Not everyone could view his greatness and remain sane. It was precisely the reason he had decided to live in a quiet place away from the world.
"Alright old fart, no need for me to pretend anymore. Why me?" Draco regained composure almost immediately and stared at Richmond coldly.
Richmond looked at him with approval and sat up. "You already know why."
Draco did. "How long?"
Richmond sighed and threw away his pipe. "About 3 years give or take."
Draco silently thought for a bit before nodding. "It shall be done."
Richmond waved his arms and Draco was teleported away by a few hundred kilometers, a distance that would take almost 3 hours for a car at full speed to cross. He didn't ask where Draco was going, as the spell would link to his mind and take him where he wanted to go.
Richmond stood under the fractured sunlight from under the canopy and sighed again.