Chapter 29 A Citizen of Red Lake City
Individualism.
No teamwork.
Ye Ci was reminded of her last life. She was always alone and she never accepted any friendship.
As a result, she was rejected by everyone.
Even if Steel-Blooded Battle Axe was not something she wanted, she felt that she had no right to be rebellious.
She could never forget what the Glory Corporation said to her. “Fate is not about an individual. Only with the help of your most trusted comrades can you stand at the top of the world.”
She took in a deep breath. Since she had made her decisions, there were matters that she needed to attend to. She contacted Four Seas.
There was no story without coincidences.
Before she could contact Four Seas, she received a message from him.
“Gongzi, I’m so sorry. We might need to delay our appointment. I’ve received orders from my guild. We’re going into the Chilly Wetlands tomorrow.”
It was a beautiful coincidence, but it was bound to happen. Most of the players have reached lv10, and the Chilly Wetland dungeons were the ones first post-lv10 dungeon to be explored. Many guilds had made preparations for expeditions into the Chilly Wetland.
“It’s okay, I was about to contact you as well. My guild had an expedition planned into the Cruel Pit 3 days later.”
“What a coincidence. Which guild are you in?”
“Steel-Blooded Battle Axe.”
“Ah, the guild that is quite famous lately.” Four Seas was a veteran gamer, so he knew almost anything happening in the game. “You must be part of the main force!”
“I’m just a substitute.”
If Ye Ci could see Four Sea’s expression, she would be amazed. Four Seas was shocked beyond believe. He stood still with mouth agape.
“How strong Steel-Blooded Battle Axe really is? Even you are a substitute!” asked Four Seas.
Ye Ci did not answer directly. She did not know the guild’s true strength, and she was never one to gossip. She hung up after talking briefly with Four Seas.
With her inconvenience settled, Ye Ci decided to make some preparations despite being a substitute.
No battles could be won without preparations.
In the following days, Ye Ci gathered a lot of fabric and sent them to Flutter n’ Sway to be made into bandages. She then headed to the Forest of Stone.
The First Blood of Forest of Stone was already taken by a secretive organization called “Cain’s Wrath”, but this did not reduce Ye Ci’s enthusiasm towards the dungeon.
Blue equipment was always inferior to Purple equipment. With Ye Ci’s previous damage output based on Blue equipment, it was hard for her to clear the Forest of Stone. With the Venomous Scorpion equipment set and Ol’ Three, however, she steamrolled the dungeon easily.
She couldn’t help but let out a whistle after defeating the BOSS John.
Purple equipments. With them, it was almost a massacre. Before having such equipment, Ye Ci could not clear Forest of Stone unharmed.
Ye Ci’s eyes lit up after receiving book from the BOSS. It was a skill book.
Rapid Fire (level 1): Unleashes an Hunter’s innate ability, each arrow fired will turn into four arrows. Required level: 12
Rapid Fire was one of the most important Hunter skill. A level 1 rapid fire can shoot 4 consecutive arrows. When it was maxed out at lv15, it can fire 20 arrows at one go. With critical hits, the damage dealt to a target would be enormous.
Ye Ci was jovial. The drop rate for the skill book was 2%. This was the first time Ye Ci had come across this skill book despite all her past life’s experiences.
Ye Ci clapped her hands together and the book vanished into a flash of white light, entering her body.
Other than quest items such as “Lemmy’s Doll” and “John’s Right Hand”, Ye Ci received some other equipments as well, but only a ring caught Ye Ci’s eyes.
Ring of Unjust:
Blue Equipment
Strength+5
Stamina+5
Intelligence +8
Required level: 12
Although it was a ring mainly for mages, it was better than nothing. The additional 5 points of Strength would be of much help to Ye Ci. After putting everything into her inventory, Ye Ci returned to Red Lake City.
John’s Right Hand was the third quest item for Ye Ci’s quest. She could hand it to the mayor of any major city and would subsequently be rewarded huge amounts of prestige points in that city.
Ye Ci, of course, handed it to the mayor of Red Lake City.
“Ah, young Huntress, I’m impressed!” The mayor adjusted his spectacles and, with a face full of disgust, took a look at John’s Right Hand that was laying there. “This is John’s right hand alright! You’re a brave lad! Ok, this thing is disgusting, take it away.”
Ye Ci picked the hand up and stored it back into her inventory.
“Okay, you can get your rewards from the administration official. He’ll give you your reward!” With that the mayor left the room.
Ye Ci bowed at the mayor half-heartedly and left.
The administration official was way more generous than the mayor. He rewarded Ye Ci greatly after receiving John’s Right Hand.
Red Lake City prestige points x2000, Gold coins x1000, Talent points x2
Ye Ci’s prestige in Red Lake City soared to “Intimate” from “Friendly” within an instant. This meant that she could receive a lot more quests in the city. She could also unlock the “Military Rank” system for Red Lake City.
The Military Rank System could be unlocked when a player’s prestige with a city reached “Intimate”. They could receive quests with increasing quality and difficulty proportional to a player’s military rank.
“There’s a bunch of bandits northwest from here. I want you to investigate them.” The administration official gave Ye Ci her quest.
The official then gave Ye Ci another quest, “Young Huntress, you’ve done a lot for this city. The citizens of Red Lake City remember your deeds. Although you’ve been here for only a short time, I believe you love this city sincerely. I would now like to invite you to become a citizen of Red Lake City. Do you agree?”
Ye Ci agreed without hesitation.
A player could become a citizen of a city in Fate when their City-recalling Crystal was bound to the city, and players can only be a citizen of one city.
Some of the cities that were situated in more lush areas were suitable for potion makers and cooks. Cities that were closer to mines were suitable for miners and blacksmiths. There were also cities situated closely to dungeons, which were the favourites of guilds and other warmongering players.
The city was crucial for the growth of its citizen. Many of the players did not understand this important factor. They did not think clearly about the choice city and, in the later stages of the game, had to pay huge fees to change their citizenship.
As for Ye Ci, she chose Red Lake City because it was one of the cities with no Steel-Blooded Battle Axe members as residents. More importantly, however, it would become one of Fate’s top 10 most developed cities in the future.
Although Red Lake City was more isolated, high level dungeons would appear near it in the future. The surroundings of Red Lake City was rich with plants, animals, and mines. It was the perfect place.
Ye Ci could remember clearly that Red Lake City would be packed full of players in a few years’ time.
“Congratulations, you’re now officially a Red Lake City citizen.” The official said with a stoic voice, after which his expression soften. This gave Ye Ci a sense of belonging.
A bright golden light emitted from Ye Ci’s body, and at the same time, a system announcement rang out.
“The young Huntress Gongzi You has settled in Red Lake City after a long journey and is now a citizen of Red Lake Citizen! This is a very joyous event!”