Dragon-Phoenix Body (Thanks to God of Death Descends for the Generous Reward)

Version 4.0 was halfway through, and a full fifth of all players had become High-Class Professionals.

Dawn City now commanded an army of 1.8 million High-Class players. They already outnumbered High-Class NPCs, though they still lagged behind in quality.

Bloodlines grew stronger with each level, too, so the gap between them would only widen.

Unless a player had excellent gear and serious skill, they could hardly beat an NPC of the same tier one-on-one.

Besides, NPCs felt too human to many players. Outside of quests, players rarely went out of their way to kill them. They preferred the endless stream of Dark Creatures.

They had no choice. The lord had spoken.

They were to be law-abiding Mercenaries. If they stirred up trouble and someone came knocking, they had better not blame their beloved Prince for refusing to protect them.

But after players reached High-Class, leveling demanded more and more experience, while Class Advancement Quests grew increasingly brutal. Teams and guilds had even sprung up to help people complete them.

Their main service was lending equipment. Class Advancement Quests had to be completed alone, and the chief reason many players failed was that their gear and strength were not up to the task.

Since returning to Dawn City, William had not done much himself. There were plenty of people to handle Dawn City's Mercenary quests for him.

All he had to do was give an order and let his subordinates run themselves ragged. He could still reap the rewards. Life as a lord was wonderful.

And since so many people believed his Holy Path had been cut off, he no longer had to pretend to train. He seized this brief spell of free time to make the rounds of his territory's major cities and build up goodwill again.

But just as