Epic Lotner

Outside the treehouse, the sun shone brightly, the grass was lush, and the multicolored flowers never withered.

Border Town sat on the edge of Blackleaf Forest. Its accumulated temperature zone belonged to the subtropics, and with the sea to the south and constant ocean breezes, the temperature was never too high. It felt like spring all year round, with picturesque scenery beyond compare.

The town was built atop a cliff more than eighty meters high. A narrow yet deep river flowed down from the mountain lakes, passed through the center of town, and finally plunged off the cliff. Whenever the water crashed down, it kicked up mist that filled the air and formed rainbows that lingered for a long time. Thus, the town called it the Rainbow River.

As for that eighty-meter cliff, it was the natural barrier that allowed the town to remain a Neutral Faction, and its greatest advantage!

Otherwise, the neighboring Steel Duchy and Blackrock Duchy would definitely harass this town without end.

The Light Faction did not represent justice, nor did the Dark Faction necessarily represent absolute evil... That was impossible.

Everything came down to race and interests, so Human Countries had plenty of civil wars, and Beastfolk tribes had no shortage of wars as well.

As for the area surrounding the town atop the cliff, it was not all steep mountains or dense forests. Extending east and west along the cliff's edge was a vast stretch of black soil.

Many crops were planted there, more than enough to feed the commoners in town.

To the south of the town lay Blackleaf Forest, which stretched tens of thousands of miles from east to west. The town stood at a narrow section of this mountain range, and after crossing the southern mountain, one could reach the boundless Ocean.

Within Blackleaf Forest to the east and west were countless Magical Beasts and wild animals. Their levels ranged from low to high, and the stronger the Magical Beast, the deeper it lived in the forest. There were even quite a few wild Dragons.

After all, Blackleaf Forest was home not only to Black Leaf Elves, but also to many Intelligent Races.

The Half-Elves and Elves living in town had far fewer needs than humans. They did not particularly enjoy eating grain and always liked to hunt in the primitive Blackleaf Forest. Every time they entered the mountains, their skills allowed them to bring back plenty of fruit and prey.

Because the relatively narrow mountain range directly south did not have many high-level prey animals, as long as they did not venture east or west to explore, it was difficult to encounter stronger wild animals or Magical Beasts.

The Elves of the World of Gods were carnivorous. They ate fruits and vegetables too, but meat was still their staple. After all, when the Elves had sought to stand at the top of the world, they could never have found the strength to contend for supremacy by eating only vegetarian food.

Handsome and dashing, with pointed ears, William Blackleaf wore a luxurious purple-black robe as he briskly stepped out of the treehouse. After activating the player panel, his leg injury had recovered with astonishing speed. It had to be said that players held a tremendous advantage in this world.

After all, the Priests of this world could not simply restore HP. They could only heal injuries and add various buffs to scrape by...

That was because Priests here were not pure support. They were terrifyingly fierce men who carried flails and specialized in suppressing the Undead. Every one of them was a Buff Guy, absurdly tough and durable.

They would roar, "Holy Light!" and charge forward with clubs in hand...

Whether NPCs or players, recovering HP basically depended on physical fitness and chugging rare Potions. Water Element Mages and Priests were similar, possessing some healing spells, but those merely accelerated injury recovery. Their effects were all about the same.

After all, their class was Mage, not some class born solely to support others.

In his previous life, there had not been many Mage players. This class burned money like water in the early stages, and even grinding depended on luck. At the very least, one had to reach a certain level before earning money through enchanted weapons. Still, powerful Mages were highly sought after. Everyone loved them, flowers bloomed for them, and as long as they cast spells for free...

"Lord, it looks like your injuries have mostly recovered!" The two Elves guarding the treehouse saw him emerge and respectfully bowed while thumping their chests. No matter how much they might dislike William in their hearts, they would never show any discourtesy on the surface.

"Yeah, it should be nothing serious. How has the territory been developing lately?" William glanced at the two Elves, Norton and Nock. Both were pure-blooded Black Leaf Elves and his Personal Guards.

They were level 40 Intermediate-Class Professionals, more than ten levels stronger than ordinary Personal Guards. Most importantly, they possessed Grandmaster Bloodlines, which granted decent attribute bonuses.

As for why he, at only level 8, could see through their attributes at a glance...

It was because they were soldiers under his command. As long as they were loyal dogs in their hearts, he could inspect whoever he wanted. As for everyone else, well, one Insight would do. Being a fusion of NPC and player gave William an enormous advantage in survival.

Norton and Nock looked at their Lord in surprise, then shook their heads. "Ever since you decided to rebuild the town, quite a few citizens have fled. The current situation is not looking good.

Should we summon Executor Lotner? He was originally responsible for the territory's affairs."

"Ahem, I've only just realized that the town is perfectly fine. It isn't time to rebuild yet. We should develop it properly instead, organize a few hunting expeditions, and sell Magical Beast pelts in the Human Duchy. We could earn quite a few Gold Coins.

Take me to see Uncle Lotner.

I don't know what happened, but after falling from the tree, it seems I hurt my head. Some of my memories have become blurry, and I've even forgotten where Uncle Lotner is!" William put on an act and rubbed his head.

Norton nodded, thinking, That fall seems to have fixed his brain!

The town was not large.

A town of only three thousand people could not possibly be that large.

As for its buildings, most were treehouses built around enormous trees, while the rest were wooden houses made from felled trees. Their structures were simple, and their defenses were trash.

After all, this was a subtropical region, so there was never any need to worry about keeping warm.

In the entire town, it seemed that aside from his treehouse, which had been enchanted, all the other buildings were ordinary and crude.

Especially after his cheap old man disappeared, quite a few commoners and soldiers had taken plenty of things with them when they moved away...

"Everything is waiting to be rebuilt. Once I reach level ten, the important thing is to quickly change classes and become a Novice-Class Professional!" In his previous life, William had chosen the human race and stubbornly played Warrior all the way through.

Although he had not found a Hidden Class during the early stages of the game back then, even the unluckiest players had a sliver of hope. After grinding for several years, he had finally seized an opportunity and changed into a Hidden Class.

Otherwise, the only way to reach the Legendary path was to grind to the end, forcefully complete missions with equipment and attributes, and climb upward.

As for why he called himself unlucky?

His starting Luck had been 3 in both his previous life and this one. Was that not proof enough?

This was the inheritance of the unlucky.

Such an inheritance, one that not even Time-Space could erase, moved William so much that he nearly cried...

After walking for three or four minutes, William finally met Uncle Lotner. He had once been his mother's Personal Guard, was now the town's executor, and was also his life mentor...

Every physical class had to cultivate Battle Aura.

Just as every spellcasting class needed to meditate on magic.

Once he reached level ten, he could learn Battle Aura or become a Mage, then choose a class he liked.

Lotner's Status Panel delighted William even more. He had never expected such an immensely valuable expert to be living in his territory.

Name: Lotner

Race: Black Leaf Elf

Class: Demon-Hunting Ranger

Rank: Intermediate-Class Professional

Bloodline Potential: Epic (base attributes at level 52 +39.2%)

Level: 52

Talent: Intermediate Vitality. 1 point of Stamina = 40 HP.

Talent: Intermediate Speed. 100 points of Agility increased critical hit damage by 10% and increased attack speed and movement speed by 20%.

Talent: Eye of Detection. Could easily see through an enemy's weaknesses. Attacks that struck weaknesses increased critical hit damage by 20%!

Talent: ...

HP: 15300

Stamina Value: 3500

Battle Aura Value: ...

"What do you mean, Talent... This is what real Talent looks like, okay!" William could not help wanting to complain, but the system ignored him.

Then, with tears in his eyes, he said, "Uncle Lotner, thank you!"

He practically wanted to throw his arms around Lotner as he spoke...

Seeing this, Lotner felt somewhat reassured. He had already heard from Siya that William Blackleaf seemed to have damaged his brain in the fall, but he had become much more polite than before.

So he looked at William with the affectionate gaze one would give an idiot and slowly said, "It's nothing. It's what I should do. And you should call me Executor, not Uncle Lotner."

William wiped away several nonexistent tears, pursed his lips, and stubbornly said, "No. Uncle Lotner will always be my uncle. You are not only my executor, but also my teacher. Although I've forgotten many memories, I know that you are the person in this world who treats me the best."

"Ahem, let's look at the territory's development first. If this continues, the territory your father left you will probably disappear from this continent!" Lotner was slightly embarrassed, but the flattery left him deeply satisfied. This little fellow he had watched grow up finally knew how to respect him.

It seemed damaging one's brain was a good thing.

"But why do you keep touching my biceps???" Lotner did not know what to say. How could he know that William's feelings toward an NPC with an Epic Bloodline, combined with those solid muscles, were an indescribable fondness...

Please give me Recommendation Tickets.

Let me give all readers a multiple-choice question.

When a bootlicker licks to the very end, does he end up with everything, or nothing at all?