【 DEVELOPMENT OF ELVEN FACTION 】

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Chosen City, the circular dueling arena.

The surrounding elevated seats were packed with players and elves who had come to watch the spectacle, cheering with unrestrained tsunami-like fervor.

Down at the center of the arena, five silver-ranked players stood atop a platform, their equipment still stained with blood, waving excitedly to the cheering crowd.

Inside the arena, bloodstains, fractured ground, and scattered debris were visible throughout, presenting a scene of severe disarray. However, the mage players and elven staff responsible for the arena’s maintenance soon entered the field and, through the coordinated chanting of spells, began restoring the battleground damaged during the duel.

At this moment, the value of magic was fully on display.

Whilst bathed in radiant light, and without taking much time, the heavily damaged arena gradually restored itself, returning its former pristine state.

At the same time, accompanied by two elven staff members, Evé—who’s currently disguised as Zero—stepped onto the platform.

The moment she arrived, the uproar in the venue surged to its all time peak.

“Holy crap, it’s Big Sister! The organizers really managed to invite her? Which guild organized this tournament, again?”

“I think it’s Heart of Nature…”

“Ah… that explains it. Senior Mu really has incredible connections among the NPCs, even Big Sister showed up.”

“She’s a purple-class NPC. I really want to increase my favorability with her…”

“Heh, dude that’s hard to do. She’s elusive as a ghost. Other than Saintess Alice, I heard almost no one can contact her.”

“Really? Is she harder to find than Aurora? That one is truly impossible to track down too, right?”

“True enough…”

Similar discussion, buzzed through the crowd.

To these gamers from Earth, looks were justice, and an NPC class ranking was the absolute truth.

As for Aurora, whose appearance rivaled Thranduil’s, whose strength ranked at that of a demigod, and whose NPC class was the extremely rare golden-class, it was only natural that she became the object of intense adoration upon her return.

In fact, her popularity surpassing even Zero’s in the blink of an eye was entirely reasonable.

As a gentle top-class NPC, Aurora treated players with warmth and was always willing to communicate with them.

As a result, only a few days after her return, her popularity exploded even further.

For a time, massive numbers of players flooded into Mirovia, embarking on all manner of shameless devotion.

Alas, this particular female Demigod’s gentleness was both her strength and her downfall.

Even Aurora herself likely did not realize just how thick-skinned the players could be.

Give them a little inch, and they will run a mile…

Give them a trickle of water, and they overflow…

No description could be more fitting.

Pushing boundaries was in a player’s inherent nature. Therefore, seeing Aurora’s kindness and approachability, more and more people poured into Mirovia, trying every possible way to ingratiate themselves with her.

They sought her out during the day, at night, during prayers, and even while she sleep.

As soon as one person left, another would enter. And before the second could leave, the next was already waiting outside.

In the end, even the ever-gentle Aurora could no longer endure such behavior. Eventually, she directly used her demigod powers to seal off parts of the temple and went into seclusion.

Only when absolutely necessary would she appear in public, becoming even more low-key than the mysterious Godwarden, Zero.

By comparison, although Zero was also just as elusive, she at least appeared frequently in the storyline and consistently issued various quests to the players.

There was a reason she had long held the position of second most popular NPC, right below the goddess herself.

Of course, nowadays she had been overtaken by Aurora.

But just like when the elemental fairies first appeared, this was probably only temporary.

Ultimately, beyond appearance, how much benefit an NPC could bring to players was also a crucial standard for popularity.

In this regard, aside from Zero, the only one who could surpass her was likely their faction leader, the Goddess of Life, Evé herself.

As the central figure of the game’s storyline, Evé possessed beauty unmatched by any other NPC, along with overwhelming power that swept aside all opposition. She was the undisputed most popular NPC in Elven Kingdom.

Her name and image on the internet, for a variety of reasons, spread even more widely than the game itself.

Especially after the latest addition of public beta slots, her popularity surged once again, reaching an entirely new peak.

While it had not reached the level of being known by everyone, among young people it was unquestionably one of the most classic and popular cultural icons of recent years.

“I’m going to protect the goddess.”

“Sorry, I’m too poor to protect the World Tree.”

“Praise be to nature, praise be to life, praise be to the great Goddess Eve.”

“For the glory of the goddess and the elves.”

“Long live the goddess!”

Phrases like these were common everywhere, in chat groups, in bullet-screen comments, and across major social media sites.

As for the goddess’s reaction images, animated GIFs, and all the other related content…

Well…

This matter is best left unmentioned.

If she continued thinking about it, Evé feared she might once again feel the urge to reduce Demacia’s winning probability on the lottery.

Of course, Evé herself was not particularly aware of, nor especially interested in, her ever-growing popularity on Earth.

After all, no matter how many people on earth adored her, if they could not provide faith, then it was ultimately meaningless.

Unlike her believers here in Seigües, most people on earth were merely following trends. So at best, they were only attracted by her appearance and persona.

As a pragmatist, Evé preferred dealing with believers who could provide her with the power of faith, as well as with the little “leeks” within the game.

Her acceptance of Li Mu’s invitation to serve as the award presenter for the dueling tournament stemmed from the same consideration.

She held a very positive view of the arena system created by the players.

Although it inevitably increased resurrection costs to some extent, the series of chain effects brought about by the arena yielded benefits that far outweighed the expenses.

Not to mention that the cost was ultimately borne by the players themselves.

The contribution points and resurrection tokens paid by players during participation and revival still had to be obtained through grinding monsters and completing tasks.

Pulling her thoughts back, Evé focused her attention on the arena.

Looking at the excited victorious players before her, she smiled faintly.

These highly skilled competitors were all important combat assets.

She would also quietly record the winners’ usernames and increase their drop rates in the future to further enhanced their strength.

For example, when randomly bestowing divine favor.

“Congratulations on your victory, brave Chosen Ones.”

Evé took a medal from the tray held by an elven staff member and personally placed it around the neck of the winning player.

At that moment, several silver-ranked players from the First Legion were so excited they nearly jumped on the spot.

It was hard to say whether it was because they had seen her in person, or because the nearly one million contribution points had just been credited to their accounts.

As for the players in the spectator stands, many began whistling, while others shouted excitedly or burst into laughter.

Evé knew perfectly well what they were so worked up about.

Most of them had probably bet on the right team, and their winnings had just been paid out.

This was evident from the downcast expressions of some players in the crowd.

In any case, in life, there were always winners and losers.

As for the players from Heart of Nature, who were responsible for organizing this tournament and were seated on the VIP platform, they were already grinning from ear to ear.

They had clearly made a substantial profit as well.

After awarding the medals, promptly Evé left the arena amid the crowd of players.

Naturally, after she quietly glanced back at the players trailing behind her and reduced each of their favorability slightly, these tagalongs—whose mostly newcomers—all smiled awkwardly and stopped in their tracks.

Proper use of the favorability system was an extremely effective tool for managing these players.

Alas, Aurora was simply too gentle…

Otherwise, she would have long ago handled players the way the Thranduil did, leaving them utterly at her mercy.

Speaking of which…

Thinking of that rascal Thranduil gave Evé a slight headache.

That black-bellied lotus, although he were extremely capable, could in a sense be considered completely rotten.

Stepping onto the streets of Chosen City, Evé let out a soft breath and looked upon the metropolis, which was growing ever more prosperous with the influx of new players.

Flying magical beasts were rarely seen in the sky above the city. Only near the outskirts could one spot tiny dots of flying creatures.

This was because the city had enacted a no-fly regulation.

Except for approved entities, the use of flight was largely prohibited all over the city.

Such a policy was an inevitable result of urban development.

As player numbers increased, so did the number of those owning flying mounts. So, without regulation, the disorderly players frequently caused accidents.

Midair collisions and magical beast droppings falling from the sky had become common occurrences. Some inexperienced players even rode their mounts straight into buildings, and the most outrageous cases involved crashing directly into the World Tree.

With the new regulations in place, the situation had improved considerably.

As time passed, even with population diversion to several player main cities, the prosperity of Chosen City continued to reach new heights.

Many buildings in the city center were reconstructed into larger and more magnificent structures. The stone-paved roads were refurbished, and roads that had been poorly planned during the city’s initial design were expanded.

This massive project was completed through cooperation among several major guilds, with Moe Moe Committee taking the lead.

The primary goal was to address Chosen City’s growing congestion.

The workload was enormous, but player strength was no longer what it once had been. Mages commanded an ever wider array of spells, and with the assistance of extraordinary powers, the overall construction progress was even faster than similar projects on earth.

Naturally, after these recent renovation, land prices in the city’s core districts soared once again.

The city’s permanent population had already exceeded two hundred thousand, with full-blooded elves and half-elven believers accounting for nearly half of that number.

This was only to be expected.

As the playerbase grew, the division of labor within the Elven Forest became increasingly specialized. Many time-consuming tasks, or tasks players found uninteresting, were taken over by the native elves.

These included coachmen, shop clerks, tavern attendants, household servants, and city guard soldiers.

Many players had even hired elves as stewards for their mansions.

On this basis, the rising proportion of elven and half-elven residents in Chosen City was a natural development.

Beyond Chosen City, the populations of the seven player owned cities had also, in theory, surpassed one hundred thousand each, with the easternmost Greyhaven exceeding one hundred fifty thousand.

Likewise, a considerable portion of the residents were native elves and half-elves.

Of course, players did not remain in the main cities at all times. Most of the time, they roamed the wilderness, and only at night did the population of the main cities rise again.

During festivals or when storyline quests were available, the population of the main cities would surge sharply, especially in Chosen City.

As for Florence, Rivendell, Mirovia, and Kenorland, their resident populations were also vastly different from the past.

Even Rivendell, the smallest among them, had more than fifty thousand permanent residents, many of whom were half-orc miners.

Mirovia, which had risen rapidly following the return of the Frost Elves, was approaching two hundred thousand residents, second only to Chosen City.

In addition, Sandstorm City in the Desert of Death had gradually recovered its population, reaching one hundred thousand.

However, the racial composition there was relatively mixed, though the Church of Life had already become the dominant faith.

Overall, aside from the five million inhabitants of the Maple Moon Free State, the total population directly under elven control, including both players and natives, had also approached five million.

Among them, there were one million players and nearly four million native inhabitants.

Naturally, the largest group of native believers remained the elven-blooded humans living in the Demirealm of Ouros, numbering around 2.7 million. Over the past half year, tens of thousands more had passed the trials and purified their bloodlines, thereby becoming half-elves.

However, the pace of further purification would slow significantly, as those with the most fervent and fanatical faith had largely already completed the process.

The remaining devout believers and fanatics could only continue to develop gradually.

Nonetheless, Evé was not anxious about this.

Elven-blooded humans reproduced far more quickly than elves and half-elves, and by preserving the demirealm of Ouros, it could continuously supply fresh blood to the population-scarce elven race.

Excluding the other races of the Desert of Death and looking only at the Elven Forest, the number of native believers had also reached the million mark.

Among them, the elven population stood at approximately three hundred fifty thousand, while half-elves numbered around seven hundred thousand.

More than half of the elven population consisted of returning Frost Elves. The remainder were purified elves from Ouros, as well as elves who had gradually returned from various parts of the continent.

As for the half-elves, the majority were purified in Ouros, with a smaller portion being returnees.

This total population of more than five million constituted the entirety of Eve’s current powerbase.

Although this number was still minuscule compared to the hundreds of millions of humans, considering the lifespans of elves and half-elves, as well as the proportion of extraordinary individuals, this force was already extremely formidable.

Leaving aside the players, who had already achieved the target of one hundred thousand silver-ranked individuals ahead of schedule, the overall combat strength of Eve’s believers had almost skyrocketed after the return of the Frost Elves.

Among more than four million believers, over 95 percent were extraordinary beings. Those who had reached the silver rank had surpassed three hundred thousand, with more than half being Frost Elves.

In addition, perhaps due to the further rise of mana within the World of Seigües, golden-ranked experts, whom were previously exceedingly rare, had appeared in an explosive surge, which is now totaling over two thousand individuals.

Had this been four years ago, these golden-rankers alone would have been sufficient enough to scour the Desert of Death repeatedly.

Of course, the majority of these golden-ranked experts were returning Frost Elves, with only a very small number having advanced in rank within the Elven Forest itself.

It could be said that the return of the Frost Elves provided Evé with immeasurable support.

However, their achievements were not something that could be replicated.

They were the in Iron-rank for a long time, forged through thousands of years of struggle and tempering in the Abyss, through millennia of perseverance, and through the sacrifice of generation after generation of elves.

As for Alice and Aél, as well as the fanatical devout priests and high priests within the Church of Life, Evé had generously enhanced their strength.

Thus, all of them had now reached the gold-rank.

As for her own incarnation, Evé did not neglect it either, smoothly elevating the strength of Zero to the legendary-rank.

If not for the overall rise in the world’s mana capacity, which caused the combat strength of all races to increase exponentially, Eve’s current power alone would have been sufficient to challenge the entire world of four years ago, so long as the gods did not descend and legendary or demigod ranked beings did not intervene.

This did not even take into account the more than one hundred thousand elven Einherjars within Eve’s divine kingdom.

It could be said that, at this very moment, Evé was fully prepared for the Heavenly Crusade against the demons.

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