Abyssal Star Primordial City:

As the sky gradually darkened, more and more players began gathering in the restaurants and street stalls that lined the eastern side of the city’s main street.

“It’s getting increasingly difficult to get into Abyssal Star City. I had to wait in line for two whole hours today,” a Level 112 Shield Warrior clad in pitch-black armor complained as he sat down at a street stall. “The entrance fee has also been increased to 20 Silver today. That’s 10% of my earnings today gone…”

Upon hearing the Shield Warrior’s complaints, the Level 110 Elementalist sitting next to the Shield Warrior clicked her tongue and said, “You’re a Bronze member in Asura, so you have to wait for only two hours to get into the city. Do you know how long I had to wait in line as a normal member?”

“I was just saying,” the Shield Warrior said, scratching his head as he revealed a silly smile.

Ever since the Myriad Worlds’ Descent expansion pack took place, Abyssal Star City had become one of the few cities local players could rest in. This drastically increased the number of players seeking to enter the primordial city. However, as the city only had a maximum capacity of six million players, even after the Asura Mercenary Alliance had raised its membership requirements, the mercenary alliance’s member count had still exceeded ten million. This was far above Abyssal Star City’s maximum capacity.

If he hadn’t joined Asura earlier on and gotten himself a Bronze membership, he would be stuck as a normal member and have had to wait in line for seven to eight hours just to enter Abyssal Star City.

At this time, a Level 112 Ranger wearing chainmail walked over and sat down next to the Shield Warrior and Elementalist, saying, “Our adventurer team is already one of the more fortunate ones. We were lucky we chose to set our base of operations in Abyssal Star City. Had we set up base in an NPC City, we wouldn’t even be able to get into the city. Right now, over 99% of NPC Cities have already become the territories of the various foreign God’s Domains. We’d have to wait ages to enter an NPC City even if we are willing to pay the exorbitant fee of 30 Silver. Many adventurer teams that entered the Miniature Ancient World at the same time as we did have to hire people to repair their weapons and equipment outside NPC Cities at an exorbitant price. Even then, they still have to wait in line to get their weapons and equipment repaired.”

“That’s right. If our Broken Dream adventurer team hadn’t joined the Asura Mercenary Alliance long ago, we would be lining up outside NPC Cities like most other adventurer teams,” the Elementalist said, nodding. “It would be great if I could find a boyfriend who’s a core member of Zero Wing. In that case, I could teleport straight into his private house instead of waiting in line.”

“Keep on dreaming,” the Shield Warrior said, rolling his eyes at the Elementalist. “Every male core member of Zero Wing is prime real estate for the various academies’ young ladies right now. You don’t stand a chance against those young ladies.”

Currently, all core members of Zero Wing enjoyed a special privilege that allowed them to purchase a private house in Abyssal Star City so long as they had enough Guild Contribution Points and Coins to afford it.

Meanwhile, on top of being able to accommodate up to four players, every private house also allowed its occupants to teleport directly into the city, skipping the need to wait in line. Because of this, many players were desperately seeking to purchase a private house’s teleportation slot, with some people offering up to five million Credits per slot per month. However, even at this price, it wasn’t guaranteed that one could buy a teleportation slot.

“Can’t you let me dream?” The Elementalist glared at the Shield Warrior.

Noticing the awkward atmosphere, the Ranger hurriedly changed the topic, saying, “Have you guys seen the God-ranked Expert Ranking List? The list is truly astonishing. Only two people from the Five Great Super Guilds have managed to enter the list, and both of them are old monsters rumored to have reached the Beyond Domain Realm already. Even then, they have only managed to rank 89th and 93rd!”

“I’ve seen the list. I heard that those two old monsters only got into the list because the Five Great Super Guilds managed to secure over half of Burning City’s management slots and gained thorough control over the city. Otherwise, they probably wouldn’t even get into the top 100,” the Shield Warrior said. “The various God’s Domains’ expert standards are vastly greater than ours. Even Beyond Domain Realms experts can just barely squeeze into the top 100. There simply is no place for people like us.”

Subsequently, the Level 112 Ranger said, “But an amazing expert has appeared in our Asura Mercenary Alliance this time. That expert actually got ranked 27th. This has greatly increased our reputation among the various God’s Domains.”

“That’s right. I was very surprised when I learned about it. I originally thought Zero Wing’s Guild Leader Black Flame would be the one to enter the Ranking List. I didn’t think it would be the Glimmer adventurer team’s Vice Commander Kasio instead,” the Elementalist said, sparkles appearing in her eyes when she mentioned Kasio. “His skills are simply amazing. He defeated a Ranger bearing the title of Blood Eagle in just 35 moves. It’s a pity Kasio went silent after securing a slot in Hundred Flow City. Otherwise, he can definitely rank higher in the list.”

“Kasio’s appearance is indeed expected, but what’s even more surprising is Thousand Scars, a little monster from the Flower of Seven Sins. She managed to rank 10th among the Twenty Outstanding Youths at the young age of nineteen,” the Shield Warrior said. “In terms of combat standards, she is already close to entering the top 100 of the God-ranked Expert List. The second place among the Twenty Outstanding Youths is ranked 98th in the God-ranked Expert List. From what I can tell, there isn’t much difference between that guy and Thousand Scars, so she should probably be close to entering the God-ranked Expert List’s top 100.”

“Indeed. Thousand Scars is already recognized as the number one genius in our God’s Domain. A conglomerate from the Greater World has even extended an invitation to her. This has instantly elevated the Flower of Seven Sins’ position beyond the Five Great Super Guilds. The various foreign God’s Domains’ powers have even taken the initiative to let the Flower of Seven Sins have Gray Copper City. Now, the Flower of Seven Sins is the only power in our God’s Domain to hold control over two NPC Cities. Moreover, it is also the only power that can enter the Boundary Mountain Range’s second underground level to search for Tier 4 Legacy Lands. Now, even the Five Great Super Guilds are looking to further their partnership with the Flower of Seven Sins,” the Elementalist said. Then, she worriedly continued, “If the Five Great Super Guilds really do deepen their ties with the Flower of Seven Sins, it’s going to be tough for our Asura Mercenary Alliance in the future…”

The Shield Warrior and Ranger nodded in agreement.

The Asura Mercenary Alliance might have Abyssal Star City to rely on, but it didn’t have absolute management rights over any NPC City. It only had two management slots in Hundred Flow City, which allowed it to receive a portion of the city’s income. Absolute control over the city lay in the hands of the Divine Hunters Guild, which held six management slots in Hundred Flow City.

Although Abyssal Star City sat in a strategic location, its importance would fall when players gained access to Level 120-plus maps and the NPC Cities there. Even if players needed to find a place to rest, they would choose to rest in the NPC Cities situated in maps below Level 120 so that they could use the Teleportation Halls there to teleport to the Level 120-plus NPC Cities. At that time, Abyssal Star City would be put into an awkward situation, and the Asura Mercenary Alliance would lose its ability to compete with the Flower of Seven Sins.

…

While the Broken Dream adventurer team’s members were chatting among themselves, three Level 115-plus players sitting on the open-air roof of a nearby restaurant were quietly eavesdropping on their conversation.

“I didn’t think our core members would be so popular.” Shi Feng chuckled when he overheard the conversation of Broken Dream’s members.

“It’s not bad. You should have seen Blackie’s situation, Guild Leader. He doesn’t even dare to step out of the God’s Domain Association’s entrance recently. I can probably form a line that stretches from North Street to South Street with all the people who’ve asked me for Blackie’s contact information,” Su Qianliu said, chuckling.

“Can you not just make fun of me, Qianliu? You speak as if nobody has asked for the Guild Leader’s contact information,” Blackie said, curling his lips. “I heard that if you hadn’t announced that you’ve sealed the information, a crowd would have stormed the God’s Domain Association Building.”

Shi Feng was a little stunned when he heard this.

“Let’s set this matter aside for now,” Su Qianliu said, faking a cough. “I came here with important business. Hundred Flow City’s teleportation array is completed already. Now, all that’s left is to activate the main teleportation array in Abyssal Star City, and teleportation between the two cities will become possible.”

“It’s done already?” Blackie’s eyes glowed with excitement when he heard Su Qianliu’s words.

The various local powers have had plenty of interactions with the foreign God’s Domains’ powers thus far. Some superpowers had even traded with these foreign powers and acquired many combat techniques that allowed players to adapt to the Greater God’s Domain’s environment much more easily. This, in turn, allowed the members of these superpowers to develop their combat standards rapidly.

Unfortunately, Zero Wing didn’t have anything special that attracted the attention of the foreign God’s Domains. As a result, the development speed of Zero Wing’s members had become vastly inferior to the various superpowers’ members.

However, things would change once teleportation between Abyssal Star City and Hundred Flow City became possible.

Previously, players from foreign God’s Domains couldn’t be bothered to visit Abyssal Star City since they needed to travel all the way to the city on foot and weren’t even guaranteed to be allowed into the city. After all, the Asura Mercenary Alliance’s members had priority entry into Abyssal Star City.

Now, though, foreign players could treat Abyssal Star City as a teleportation hub. Although they would still be forcibly removed from the city if the city’s occupancy was maxed, they could still save up on plenty of travel time.

“Good! Contact Soul and have her activate the teleportation array right away!” Shi Feng said, smiling.

He had been eagerly awaiting this moment for a long time already. After all, he didn’t have any items suitable to be used for trading with the foreign God’s Domains’ powers.

Shortly after Shi Feng issued his command, a pillar of light rose from a cordoned area in Abyssal Star City’s eastern district. At the same time, a small, two-story Teleportation Hall also rose from the cordoned space.

…

System: Abyssal Star Primordial City has fulfilled the upgrade conditions. Do you wish to upgrade the city now?