Chapter 558

【 ISSUANCE OF CITY-BUILDING PERMITS 】

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The changes implemented in the new update had once again ignited heated discussions among players.

However, the second batch of public beta players barely noticed its effects. Being new to the game, they were still getting used to their new surroundings. And while a few showed interest in the city-building and lordship systems that older players were clamoring about, most of the newcomers remained focused on leveling up and earning enough contribution points to purchase decent gear.

However for veteran players, things were different.

After the brutal campaign in the Desert of Death, many had essentially ‘graduated’ from the early phase of the game.

Now, they were either eagerly waiting for a chance to gain a silver advancement slot or grinding contribution points to get top-class endgame gear.

In short, for these veterans, the pressure to level up had already eased and they now had more freedom to enjoy the other aspects of the game.

So when the announcement about the upcoming city-building system dropped, their eyes obviously lit up with excitement.

With players being able to create their own new cities and serve as its reigning Lord or form an alliance with other guilds to managed one, wasn’t this essentially a supercharged version of a guild territory? ¹

—No.

Considering the amount of freedom offered in Elven Kingdom, this new feature sounded far more complex and engaging than the typical ‘guild territory’ one can find in other MMOs!

Although Chosen City was impressive, it had grown increasingly overcrowded as the playerbase continued to grow. As a result, its current expansion rate couldn’t match the surge of incoming new players.

Even the newly added areas didn’t have the same appeal compared to the older sectors due to their distance from the central zone.

And with so many players online, even completing daily tasks required waiting in line for hours, which, quite frankly, was frustrating to say the least.

Therefore, the chance to build an entirely new city—one owned solely by a player’s guild—was a game-changing opportunity. It offered not just a fresh start, but complete control over development, governance, and resource management.

While it might be tough to build one from scratch, but in the long run, the benefits would be immense.

Elven Kingdom provides an impressive level of freedom, delivering a deeply immersive experience on an epic scale. With proper management, these new cities could easily rise to fame throughout the entire world of Seigües.

It wasn’t an impossible dream.

After all, who would’ve thought that Chosen City, which started as a small town with only 300 players, would developed into a sprawling metropolis housing hundreds of thousands?

Achieving something similar like that would bring a tremendous sense of accomplishment.

The lordship system, in particular, was highly appealing.

After all, the desire for power is universal.

Just imagine ruling over your very own city…

What an incredible feeling would that be!

Of course, not everyone could claim the title of city lord.

Still, even without that role, being among the founding members of a new city would undoubtedly be a valuable long-term investment.

Take Chosen City, for example. Property prices in its core zone have skyrocketed!

As for those 300 original players, each one now owns a private villa right in the city’s center with even the most inactive among them now hold assets that leave new players filled with envy.

With all that in mind, the leaders of various major guilds grew increasingly excited upon the prospect of such a groundbreaking feature.

“This is it! They’re finally letting us build new cities. Our guild, First Legion absolutely has to build one for ourselves!”

“Totally! We should build one in the northern part of Elven Forest. I’m sick of running back and forth just to farm mobs there.”

“Haha, building a new city? Sounds like we’re going to be rich!”

“Lol, rich you say? Keep on dreaming, dude. Just the city building permit alone costs 60 million contribution points! If you ask me, it feels more like a money pit.”

“Heh, I’m from Moe Moe. Our construction division has plenty of cash to spare!”

“So it’s you crooked real estate developers again…”

“Damn evil capitalists…”

“…”

Even mid-sized and smaller guilds were starting to feel the urge to build one after reading the guild alliance guidelines.

“Building a new city, huh… Sounds really fun. Think we could give it a shot, guys?”

“But the requirements are insane, Guildmaster. Sixty million contribution points? We’d probably have to sell our entire guild HQ and still come up short. Plus, we don’t even have enough members to begin with…”

“Hmm, why don’t we partner up with some other guilds then? I think this alliance feature has real potential. We can’t let the same old major guilds monopolize everything forever, you know.”

“Man, I’m so jealous of those large guilds that throw around millions of contribution points like it’s nothing. They can just ask all their members to contribute a few thousand each, and they’re all set. We small guilds really have it rough…”

“Hey, being a small guild has its advantages too. Those big guilds are overloaded with members which are hard to manage and full of bureaucratic nonsense. Sure, our close-knit group of friends might be weaker, but we’re way more chill right? The only real downside is our guild’s low standing…”

“Well, everything has its pros and cons, I guess.”

During this time, as the discussions became more heated, Evé also began identifying over twenty optimal locations within her territory for city construction, based on development priorities.

As the all-powerful leader of their faction and the actual ruler of a region spanning over a million square kilometers, Evé had a keen eye for choosing optimal building sites.

These locations weren’t chosen at random either, as Evé selected them based on a combination of strategic importance, geographical location, and resource availability.

The strategic importance, of course, goes without saying.

Key regions such as the northern part of the Elven Forest near the ruins of the former World Tree’s divine kingdom, the Dark Mountain Range that links the Desert of Death to the Elven Forest, and the eastern border of the Elven Forest across the river from the Holy Maniya Empire were all prime candidates for establishing new cities.

Naturally, even within these regions, Evé handpicked the exact city-building sites with great care.

Each site had to be viable for city construction and rich enough in resources to make the effort worthwhile.

For instance, in the resource-scarce Dark Mountain Range region, Evé only marked three potential sites:

One is located in a basin suitable for construction and relatively rich in resources compared to the rest of the range.

Another sits at the junction between the Dark Mountain Range and the fertile plains, featuring particularly rich soil.

The third is near the boundary with the underground region and holds significant mineral deposits.

However, despite marking these three locations in the Dark Mountain Range as potential spots, Evé actually intends for only one city to be built there. Once a guild selects one of these three, the other two will be removed from the list of viable construction sites.

As for the Elven Forest…

Well, nearly every part of it is rich in resources. Except for the three sites in the Dark Mountain Range, all the other twenty locations she selected are within this region. The only differences between them were the terrain and geographical location.

In Eve’s overall plan, amongst the twenty locations that she handpicked, at least one major city should ideally be built in each of these following three strategic areas:

The Dark Mountain Range,

The eastern border of the Elven Forest,

And the northern region of the forest.

The eastern border is located near the Vymur River (see Chapter 210), the largest river on the continent. It acts as a natural boundary with the Holy Maniya Empire.

Furthermore, merchant vessels from Aries Kingdom in the south and the Empire often pass through this area, making it a key trade route. The fertile land along the river is also ideal for building a port city.

This location is particularly attractive to any large guilds already involved in trade with those two human nations.

Meanwhile, the northern region of the Elven Forest, although farther from the central area, is home to numerous magical beasts. For high-level players who thrive on grinding and adventure, it’s an ideal location to build a city.

She recalled that players had been complaining for months about the lengthy travel time between the northern and southern zones. So establishing a city in that area would definitely address such needs.

Not to mention, the World Tree’s fallen divine kingdom is also located in that direction, so she had plans to open up the area for exploration soon.

All of this makes the northern region a likely hotspot for city development, even if it’s far from the Elven Forest’s central zone.

As for the Dark Mountain Range, on the other hand…

Her only real concern is that no one might want to settle in this location.

Compared to the two resource-rich locations mentioned earlier, the Dark Mountain Range feels somewhat barren. The mana density in this region is low, and transportation is inconvenient. Moreover, building a city there would pose a significant challenge.

Still, it’s the only mountainous region among all the twenty viable locations, so maybe someone will find it appealing?

In any case, Evé plans to highlight the advantages of this barren region when introducing the construction sites to the players.

She’ll talk up features like its strong natural defenses, its critical strategic location between the Desert of Death and the Elven Forest, and the potential for triggering hidden quest.

Her plan guarantees one major city in each of these three prime strategic zones. But beyond that, players are also free to build wherever they choose.

With Elven Kingdom now boasting 360,000 players, and assuming one city per 30,000 players, that’s about twelve new cities.

Rounding down a bit, Evé expects at least ten cities to be built initially.

Additionally, to help players better plan ahead, she uploaded the details of the twenty suitable locations to the official forum three days after the latest game update went live.

Thinking about it, she’s quite excited to see how those guilds will develop their respective cities.

༺⟐༻

Chosen City – Central Temple

Time quickly flew by.

Before anyone knew it, the day had finally arrived for the city-building system to be officially launched.

Today, the temple square was much livelier than usual.

Players gathered around the surrounding buildings, their presence filling every corner. Laughter and shouting echoed through the air, creating a lively, celebratory atmosphere.

Veterans and newcomers alike wore all kinds of gear with many of them watching the temple’s gate with curiosity and excitement.

But in stark contrast to the crowded square outside, the temple itself was unusually quiet.

Usually bustling with activity, especially after the recent influx of new players, the Temple now stood empty. Not a single player was inside, and the silence felt unusual.

From the square, a clear dividing line was visible: no one crossed a certain boundary surrounding the temple. It was as if an invisible wall kept the players away

It wasn’t just a feeling.

They really weren’t allowed to enter the temple’s premises.

This was Eve’s doing.

Today was the official day to apply for city-building permits, and Evé, under the guise of Zero, would personally hand out these permits to any eligible guilds that meet the requirements.

So to prevent guilds from exploiting loopholes or farming permits, and to ensure players took the matters seriously, Evé decided to issue permits only four times a year—once every three months according to in-game time.

The issuance would always take place in the main hall of the Chosen city’s central temple, and each event would last just two hours.

Zero would handle the whole process.

To prevent crowds of curious players from overcrowding the temple, Evé used the game system to block access to the surrounding area.

For the next two hours, only guilds that met the application requirements would be able to send a representative into the temple.

Outside the Temple, Li Mu checked the time while waiting patiently.

It was still not yet 7:00 a.m in-game, and the main hall of the temple remained closed. Only the side halls were open to the public.

Still, he could hardly contain his excitement.

Over the past four days, his guild, Heart of Nature had finally gathered the required amount of contribution points.

All that remained now was to apply for city-building permit.

As for the location they chose to build their city…

Just yesterday, he and all the senior members of his guild had spent the entire day discussing potential sites and ultimately narrowed it down to two options:

Either the northern part of the Elven Forest or its eastern border.

The former was ideal for farming mobs, while the latter was better suited for trade and commerce.

Among the twenty available options, these two stood out as the most promising and Li Mu was certain he wasn’t the only one who thought so.

Mostly likely, those Guildmasters from other major guilds also shared the same opinion as him and were similarly competing to obtain the permit to build in these two prime locations.

Thus, Li Mu wasn’t surprised when FriedTomato, the leader of First Legion; Little Salty Cat of Moe Moe Committee; and Ji Gang, who recently renamed his guild from Autobots to Scourge Knights, had also arrived early.

With several of the most well-known players in the entire server gathered in one place, it didn’t take long for the surrounding crowd to stir with excitement:

“Hey, isn’t that Brother Mu? No way, it really is! It’s the first time I’ve seen him in person!”

“Sure enough, Guildmasters from HeoNa, Legion, Moe Moe, and Autobots… wait, it’s Scourge Knights now are all here. Man, I’m so jealous…sixty million contribution points, that’s insane.”

“Well, what do you expect? They are the top guilds, after all. Heck, I’d be more surprised if they didn’t show up. Even Autobo—er, Scourge Knights—have passed 30,000 members since the last update. They even changed their guild banner to a sword and shield.”

“Honestly, Scourge Knights sounds way cooler. The name Autobots was just kinda weird, if you ask me. Haha, now only Moe Moe Committee has a weird sounding guild name among the Big Four.”

“Haha, better not let Sister Cat hear that or she’ll raise the price of your house.”

“Wait—Salty Cat is here too? Where?”

“Over there.”

“Damn! That gear she’s wearing looks so expensive….its probably all silver-class or better. No wonder she’s the richest player on the server…”

“Yeah, I’m jealous. Damn evil capitalists.”

“Forget grinding, let’s all just go suck-up to Sister Cat. Who knows, maybe she’ll gift us with rare items.”

“Forget it. Salty Cat already said she has enough flunkies as it is, and you probably don’t even meet the minimum criteria to become one.”

“Oof. That’s brutal.”

The atmosphere buzzed with similar discussions as the surrounding players admired the various rich and powerful figures waiting outside the temple.

But aside from the ‘Big Old Four’ guilds that never missed a major event, some unfamiliar guilds were present as well.

“Look! It’s the All-Star Guild. They’re here too.”

“Aren’t they a professional esports club? I didn’t know they joined Elven Kingdom.”

“They did during the fourth beta, though their growth was slow at first. But their numbers quickly shot up after the public beta, and they’ve got nearly 20,000 members now.”

“Hmm, with those numbers, would they become the fifth major guild?”

“But having 20,000 members still isn’t enough to qualify for a city-building permit, right?”

“I heard they teamed up with several mid-sized and small guilds to form an alliance.”

“Ah, that explains it…”

“Wait—isn’t that the guildmaster of Silver Hand? They’re here too? I thought their guild barely passed 10,000 members.”

“Yeah, but they also joined another guild and formed an alliance. I think it’s called the Azeroth Union? They’re eligible now and planning to apply for one.”

“So lucky…Our guild only has a little over a thousand members.”

“Dude, you’re doing way better than us. We’re super small guild, with just over 200 members. But if you really wanted to join this city-building event, maybe you could try joining the ‘Goddess Evé Fanclub.’ They’re recruiting small guilds into their Alliance and any guild with 1,000 members can join them.”

“Pfft…that guild alliance name though…”

“Don’t laugh! It’s actually founded by several first-beta players. I think they’ve got over 3,000 members now. They pulled together dozens of micro-guilds into an alliance and crowdsourced enough contribution points to build a city too.”

These spectating players chatted enthusiastically, thrilled by the spectacle.

Then, moments later, the temple bells began to ring, signaling that it was finally time to issue the City-Building Permits.

Hearing it, the expressions of Li Mu and the others lit up with anticipation.

They immediately opened the in-game system menu and navigated to the newly unlocked city-building application interface to submit their prepared contribution points.

After the right amount was deducted, they were granted entry into the temple.

Amid the envious stares of the surrounding crowd, this group of players, composed of leaders from major guilds and alliances who are the elite among Elven Kingdom’s 360,000 players, eagerly stepped into the temple’s grand main hall.

¹ In the context of games, a ‘guild territory’ refers to a specific area or region within the game world that a guild has claims and controls.

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