Peaceful Country Life

Hill's territorial village had finally gotten on the right track.

He handed a task-posting tablet to the general store owner. In any case, the tasks his territory could issue were mostly about gathering various materials. Hill knew very well that collection quests gave players some experience. Compared to simply selling things for money, players preferred quests.

Over the past few days, he had been eavesdropping on the players' conversations. Whenever those high-level players talked, they were usually cursing the game designers for being inhuman. After level fifty, it took more than a week to gain even one level. They were also discussing when the game would open its first dungeon.

Hill was also very curious about how this deity planned to create game dungeons in a real world. After all, from the players' conversations, the game did have plans for dungeons. They just did not know when they would open.

Based on Hill's many years of reading webnovels, it was very possible that the deity would extract echoes of a certain stretch of history and let players fight through them as dungeons. After all, this was the God of Space-Time. Time came before space!

Hill felt that once this deity officially ascended the Divine Throne, the river of time would have a master.

Hill absolutely would not leave home during this God War. He absolutely would not give anyone the chance to turn him into a dungeon NPC.

Hill felt a little sorry for the people in the God of Nobles' faction. If they fought bravely, they would definitely become dungeon bosses and be brutalized by players over and over again. If they looked good too, players would tease them every day. They might not even rest in peace after dying.

Hill's earlier premonition had come true as well. Ever since the Teleportation Array had opened, the low-level players arriving here had started practicing kiting tactics with the Magic Arrow Towers. The birds and beasts that had occupied the mountains near Hill for so long had truly fallen on hard times. Hill's Magic Arrow Towers fired nonstop every day. The village guards could only stand nearby, ready to close the gates at any moment.

At first, Hill had wanted to stop them. After all, they were consuming his Elemental Crystals.

But later, Hill suddenly discovered that perhaps because the Magic Arrow Towers had been datafied by the deity, their power grew stronger as they killed more monsters. Safety was more important than money, so Hill did not hesitate to pile vast quantities of Elemental Crystals onto the underground magic array's core.

He told Falan and Adrian about this discovery, but the two of them refused to use this method without hesitation.

Falan's Mage Tower was frequently visited by Mages. He could not afford to lose that much face.

They thought Hill was truly thick-skinned. Did he not think it was embarrassing that his territorial village was often attacked by fierce beasts?

Hill touched his beautiful cheek. Was that embarrassing?

He did not think so at all! It was not as if he had personally lured the monsters over.

The players did all of that. He simply could not bear to stop them.

Hill was a little worried that once he became a Magus, Falan's demands of him would become even higher. He had better quietly keep a low profile for the next two years.

Hill decided to use the Lord's Manor as a study during this period. Before advancing, he hoped to finish reading all the books. The elemental power in the village was sparse, which could help him control the pace of his advancement. He no longer dared to stay in his own Mage Tower for too long. Hill hoped to advance to Magus after Adrian did.

Moreover, the Space-Time Church had just been completed. Many players curious about the scenery beyond the Western Frontier came to visit. The Teleportation Array saw countless people coming and going every day.

Hill had also discovered that many guilds and families had sent people to stay at the inns in his village. Their purpose was to rush to the potion shop in Falan's territory every morning to snatch up stock. Hill's healing potions and mana potions also sold out every day. Liszt's greatest task now was directing the alchemy workshop in producing those two kinds of potions. However, high-level potions that could improve physical attributes could still only be bought in Falan's territory.

The Mage Tower in the royal capital also provided potions, but those had to be exchanged for merit points. The players apparently preferred using their merit to trade for equipment.

Hill's inn was full every day. Even the Space-Time Church's main hall was packed with low-level players daily. Many sightseeing players came in the morning and left at night. They also loved the food made by the cooks Hill had trained, packing some up to take away every time. The large amounts of animal meat bought by Hill's general store were turned into food and sold back to the players. Hill had thought he would lose money on this, but unexpectedly made a small profit instead.

The players seemed to acquire Elemental Crystals very easily. Could they perhaps be bought with real-world currency as well?

The more players came, the more questions bubbled up in Hill's mind. Every day, he listened carefully to their conversations.

But what interested the players most now were the city defense battles in several first-wave player territories, as well as the feuds and rivalries caused by those territories fighting over resources.

The bald man's Black Rose had also come up a few times in the players' conversations, but they seemed to have formed an alliance with the neighboring territory and were dismissed as little brothers.

Xue Yunfeng had occupied the largest territory beside Black Rose, successfully becoming the most hated existence. First place on the merit rankings was indeed infinitely glamorous, but it had also successfully made him a target for everyone.

As a Magus, Xue Yunfeng did not hesitate to name his family Demon Cult. It was completely different in style from names like Romantic Bond and Alluring City, Misty Rain.

So during the one-month city defense battles after player territories were established, they suffered the fiercest beatings every day.

Black Rose was also attacked once a day, then stood in its own territory waving flags and cheering for Demon Cult.

The natives completely failed to understand this intense battle between players. Adrian firmly believed it was military training in preparation for defending against the Noble Coalition.

Hill grumbled inwardly. The Undead you kept calling madly trained would rather lose their cities to the Noble Coalition than let hostile players have them.

Hill saw players in the inn's large dining hall slam tables every morning and shout, "Today, five full guilds are attacking Demon Cult again!"

Luckily, they had to declare war before fighting. Otherwise, Demon Cult would not even have time to call for reinforcements.

Xue Yunfeng's territory was large and had many enemies, but he also had many allied guilds. Huge numbers of players swarmed over every day, and the Elemental Crystals in the players' hands were basically all reclaimed by the Teleportation Array.

From what Hill heard, the technological society the players came from was very stable and prosperous. They only worked three or four hours a day. Most bored people liked playing online games, and their hostilities had accumulated over many years.

They were already very accustomed to this kind of guild conflict. For solo players, the day began every morning with a grand feast of gossip.

Hill truly wanted to see their forums.

Sitting in his office, Hill saw Olivia passing by outside the window. Aside from praying three times a day, morning, noon, and night, she spent her time standing outside and observing the Undead.

This clever and perceptive woman seemed to want to draw closer to her Supreme God by understanding the Supreme God's favored race.

But Hill only saw her footsteps grow heavier and heavier on the way back.

You completely don't understand, do you, little girl? You're looking in the wrong direction. If you want a god's favor, it's better to do more work.

Everyone in Hill Territory was literate. The men had all received basic Knight training, while the women had learned basic etiquette.

Although several families had already welcomed children, they were still infants, so she could not start a basic education class.

The only ones causing trouble in Hill Territory were the Undead. They did not need Olivia to dispense Justice. Whenever they encountered problems, the Undead went to Hill to resolve them.

Olivia was somewhat at a loss, not knowing how to gain the Gods' favor.

Falan's neighboring territory had the largest public library so far, but it was aimed at Mages. She had once gone there every day as well.

Unfortunately, Olivia was a noble lady. She did not think ordinary people, Knights, or Swordsmen had any need to read, so the thought had never occurred to her.

Hill had no desire to guide her. This was Olivia's path. A clever girl would find her own way sooner or later, and what Hill had in mind might not suit her.

The girl still kept to noble traditions, changing outfits three times a day: morning clothes in the morning, formal attire at noon, and casual clothes in the evening.

She tried to dress as lightly and plainly as possible, always wearing a Priest's cloak over her clothes. Yet she still stood out in this village.

Hill had already noticed female players coming to photograph her every day.

On Olivia's first day outside, she wore a blue silk formal gown beneath her cloak to show her solemnity. The long skirt's hem was covered in hollow lace, and many tiny pearls decorated her chest. Her golden hair was loosely pinned up, with two strands of softly curled hair falling down. She wore a set of pearl jewelry.

Her beautiful, sparkling green eyes and noble, elegant attire instantly conquered a whole group of players.

Hill smiled as he watched her get surrounded by players all day in embarrassment, treated as a prop for group photos. He even saw many players who tried to make lewd remarks get struck dead by lightning.

Poor Olivia had indeed left a deep impression on the Undead, but unfortunately, the result was not what she had imagined.

Olivia quickly realized that she had made the wrong choice before understanding the Undead. So she tried dressing more plainly every day before observing them.

Unfortunately, a young lady from a great noble family had a completely different concept of plainness from the players.

Even what she considered an extremely simple morning outfit—a silk long dress with a robe over it—seemed highly formal by player standards.

So Olivia could only stiffly persist each day before groups of players who came to photograph and observe her.

Hill found it quite amusing instead. He wondered what sort of people William had appointed as presiding Priests in the churches he built. Anyone who could deal with players must have exceptionally strong nerves.

Whenever Hill appeared before the players, he wore fashion outfits bought from them. Hill really was very beautiful, a handsome young boy. But where were there any ugly players?

In a game where faces could be customized, there were handsome men of every style. If Hill also wore noble formalwear, he might attract attention, but the players had long grown tired of the clothes he wore. Taking a photo while passing by was the greatest interest they had in Hill.

Perhaps only Alice or Merkel coming out would cause a sensation.

Unfortunately, Hill was very satisfied with his current life and had no need to attract attention.

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