Epic-Class Lotner

Epic-Class Lotner

Outside the treehouse, the sun shone brightly. The grass was lush, and the colorful flowers never seemed to wither.

Border Town lay at the edge of Blackleaf Forest. Its accumulated temperature zone was subtropical, and with the sea to the south and constant ocean breezes, the temperature was never too high. It felt like spring all year round, picturesque and breathtakingly beautiful.

The town had been built atop an eighty-meter cliff. A narrow yet deep river flowed down from the mountain lakes, passed through the center of town, and finally plunged over the cliff. Whenever it did, it kicked up a mist that lingered in the air and formed rainbows that refused to fade. Thus, the town named it Rainbow River.

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

Otherwise, the neighboring Steel Duchy and Blackrock Duchy would surely 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. That was why human nations had so many civil wars, and the beastfolk tribes had no shortage of conflicts either.

The area surrounding the town atop the cliff was not entirely made up of steep mountains or dense forest. Extending east and west along the cliff's edge was a vast stretch of black soil.

Many crops were grown there, more than enough to feed the town's commoners.

To the south of the town lay Blackleaf Forest, stretching tens of thousands of miles east to west. The town sat in a narrow stretch of this mountain range, and once one crossed the southern mountains, one could reach the boundless sea.

Within Blackleaf Forest at either end, there were countless magical beasts and wild beasts. 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 many intelligent races.

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

Because the relatively narrow mountain range directly to the south did not contain many high-level prey, as long as they did not risk exploring east or west, they would rarely encounter stronger beasts or magical beasts.

The Elves of the World of Gods were carnivorous. They ate fruits and vegetables as well, but meat remained their staple. After all, when the Elves had once sought to stand at the top of the world, they could never have found the strength to contend for supremacy on a vegetarian diet alone.

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 interface, the injury to his leg had healed with astonishing speed. Players truly possessed a tremendous advantage in this world.

After all, the priests of this world could not simply restore health. They could only heal injuries and apply all sorts of buffs to scrape by...

That was because priests here were not purely support classes. They were fearsome powerhouses who wielded flails to counter the Undead. Every last one of them was built like a mountain and ridiculously tough.

They roared, "Holy Light!" then charged forward with their clubs in hand...

Whether NPCs or players, recovery mostly depended on physical constitution and chugging rare potions. Water mages were much the same as priests, possessing a few healing spells, but those merely accelerated injury recovery. Their effects were more or less identical.

After all, their profession was mage, not some class created solely to support others.

In his previous life, there had not been many mage players. The class burned money like water in its early stages, and even grinding depended on luck. At the very least, one needed to reach a certain level before earning money by enchanting weapons. Still, powerful mages were always in demand, loved by everyone and welcomed everywhere, as long as they gave out free magi...

"Lord, it seems your injuries have mostly recovered!" The two Elves guarding the treehouse saw him emerge and respectfully bowed, thumping their chests. Regardless of how much they might dislike William in their hearts, they would never behave disrespectfully in public.

"Yes, there should be no serious problem. How has the territory been developing lately?" William glanced at the two Elves, Norton and Nock. They were both pure-blooded Black Leaf Elves and his personal guards.

They were level 40 Intermediate-Class Professionals, more than ten levels stronger than ordinary guards. Most importantly, they possessed Grandmaster Bloodlines, granting them considerable attribute bonuses.

As for how he, at merely level 8, could see through their attributes at a glance—

They were soldiers under his command. As long as those loyal dogs were faithful to him in their hearts, he could inspect whoever he wanted. As for everyone else, well, he only needed to cast Insight on them. Being a fusion of NPC and player gave William an enormous survival advantage.

Norton and Nock exchanged surprised glances with their lord, then shook their heads. "Ever since you decided to rebuild the town, quite a few subjects have fled. The current situation is not looking good.

Should we summon Executive Officer Lotner? He was originally responsible for the affairs within the territory."

"Ahem. I have only just realized that the town is doing perfectly well and does not need rebuilding yet. We should focus on development instead. Organize a few hunting expeditions, gather magical beast pelts, and sell them in the Human Duchy. We could earn quite a few gold coins that way.

Take me to see Uncle Lotner.

I do not know what happened, but after falling from the tree, I seem to have injured my head. Some memories have become blurry, and I have even forgotten where Uncle Lotner is!" William pretended to rub his head.

Norton nodded, thinking, That fall seems to have knocked his brain back into working order!

The town was not particularly large.

A town with 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 by felling trees. Their structures were simple, and their defenses were utterly pathetic.

After all, this was a subtropical region. No one ever needed to worry about keeping warm.

It seemed that, apart from his enchanted treehouse, every other building in the town was ordinary and crude.

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

"Everything needs rebuilding. Once I reach level 10, changing into a Novice-Class Professional is the only proper course!" In his previous life, William had chosen the human race and stubbornly played a 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 player 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 onto the Legendary path would have been to grind until the end, brute-forcing missions with equipment and attributes.

Why did he call himself unlucky?

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

This was the inheritance of an unlucky player.

An inheritance that even time and space could not erase moved William so deeply 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 and was now the town's executive officer, as well as William's life mentor...

Every physical class needed to cultivate battle aura.

Just as every spellcasting class needed to meditate on magic.

Once he reached level 10, he could learn battle aura or magic, then choose a profession he liked.

Lotner's attribute panel delighted William even more. He had not expected his territory to contain such an immensely valuable expert.

Name: Lotner

Race: Black Leaf Elf

Class: Demon-Hunting Ranger

Rank: Intermediate-Class Professional

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

Level: 52

Talent: Intermediate Vitality. 1 point of stamina = 40 health points.

Talent: Intermediate Speed. Every 100 points of agility increased critical 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 gained 20% critical damage!

Talent: ...

Health: 15300

Stamina: 3500

Battle Aura: ...

"What do you mean, talent... This is what a real talent looks like!" William could not help complaining, but the interface ignored him.

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

Judging by his tone, he practically wanted to throw his arms around Lotner...

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

So he looked at William with the caring gaze one might give an idiot and slowly said, "It is nothing. It is what I should do. Besides, you should call me Executive Officer, not Uncle Lotner."

William wiped away a few tears that had never appeared, pursed his lips, and stubbornly said, "No. Uncle Lotner will be my uncle for life. You are not only my executive officer, but also my teacher. Though I have forgotten many memories, I know that you are the one who treats me best in this world."

"Ahem, let us look at the territory's development first. If this continues, the territory your father left you may disappear from this continent!" Lotner was slightly embarrassed, yet inwardly delighted by the flattery. This little fellow he had watched grow up finally knew how to respect him.

It seemed damaging his 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, muscular arms, were an indescribable fondness...

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