Ivory Online - The Dragon Knight: A LitRPG saga
Page 14
Hero’s sword
ATK: 10
SPD: 5
Durability: 45/50
Rarity: Uncommon
Quality: Standard
Weight: 10kg
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Astute Earrings of the Lord
Level 15
DEF: 40
Durability: Invulnerable
Rarity: Relic
Quality: God-tier
Weight: 0.1kg
Note: This piece is scalable! Stats grow along with the user!
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Wealthy Gambit of the Lord
Level 15
DEF: 40
Durability: Invulnerable
Rarity: Relic
Quality: God-tier
Weight: 2kg
Note: This piece is scalable! Stats grow along with the user!
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Swanky Pants of the Lord
Level 15
DEF: 40
Durability: Invulnerable
Rarity: Relic
Quality: God-tier
Weight: 1kg
Note: This piece is scalable! Stats grow along with the user!
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Shiny Loafers of the Lord
Level 15
DEF: 40
Durability: Invulnerable
Rarity: Relic
Quality: God-tier
Weight: 0.5kg
Note: This piece is scalable! Stats grow along with the user!
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Just as I expected. The Lordly gambit had increased exactly as I had. I guessed one level earned in a class equaled one level for the apparel? It didn’t state any exp points, so that might be the case. That was certainly interesting as assuming I switched classes and my level reset, progression becomes easy, meaning I could add more levels to the armor. I guessed the real question was: what was the limit? If the gambit was part of my Seamless ability, then it was probably limitless.
At this rate, I won’t really be surprised if I end up as powerful as a lesser god in this game with abilities and apparel like this. The only real problem right now was to find a sword that matched the capabilities of my other possessions.
Still, I saw slots for rings – five on each hand – two slots for bracelets, one slot for a belt, which meant I was nowhere near optimal strength. Clarent did not mention any rings in our haul, but he did mention a sword of shocks and an ice dagger. Both may come in handy, so I’ll make sure to ask where he stashed them.
As for the rings, I could easily find some in later drops or buy them when I hit the NPC cities tomorrow. Maybe I might find other goodies like skill books, spells and trainers. Who knew, the possibilities in Open World RPG games had always been vast. For now though, I had a party to host and an apology to make.
I searched around for my stoic advisor, who frankly, should have been waiting for me to waken by my bedside. Now that I thought about it, she set me up didn’t she? She handled the expansion of the Townhall and must’ve known where that corridor would lead to. She however, kept quiet until I was already half-way towards opening the door. Very well, I’d give her this round as a win. But you know what they say, revenge was a dish best served cold.
Seeing that I was stuck walking around aimlessly, I angled towards the Altar of Beginnings. During my trek, I decided to check the city’s overview and productivity tab.
Overview
Buildings
Status
Level
Town Hall
Normal
4
Cottage
Normal
5
Cottage
Normal
5
Cottage
Normal
5
Barracks
Normal
5
Barracks
Normal
5
Warehouse
Normal
6
Walls
Normal
7
Staging point
Normal
5
Marketplace
Normal
5
Stables
Normal
5
Academy
Normal
5
Forge
Normal
6
Cottage
Normal
5
Cottage
Normal
5
Cottage
Normal
5
Cottage
Normal
5
Cottage
Normal
5
Cottage
Normal
5
Watchtower
Normal
4
Warehouse
Normal
6
Warehouse
Normal
6
Embassy
Normal
1
Hospital
Normal
4
Tavern
Normal
1
Well, Bunny Ears had certainly been busy while I was away. Still, with our rate of resource gathering as well as increasing costs, she shouldn’t have been able to build so much. How on earth did that evil rabbit find a way to increase production like this? I guessed that, the best way would be to check the productivity tab.
Productivity
Food
Lumber
Stone
Metal
Per hour
2000
2000
2000
2000
Labor req
60
60
60
60
Prod rate
60%
60%
60%
60%
Tech plus
200
200
200
200
Troop req
500
0
0
0
Valley bonus
0
0
0
0
Capacity
30000
30000
30000
30000
Hmm, still, these amounts did not explain Mira’s sudden burst of growth. “Wait a minute…,” I gasped in understanding. Mira didn’t do anything. I did. It never occurred to me, but it was common knowledge that when you leveled up, Health, Mana and Stamina points replenished instantly. What if… what if my Seamless ability made the resource capacity in my town fill up instantly?
Since the fight took roughly an hour, that would have been equivalent to one full day for Mira. One full day of your resource count rapidly filling up at different points during the day.
Once again, the seamless ability showed its power. This ability truly deserved the God-tier category. It was practically the same thing as hacking an FPS – First person shooter – and giving yourself an aimbot for online matches.
In other words, it was a fucking cheat.
“In the words of Dominic Toretto, A win’s a win,” I stated smugly, throwing my hands behind my head.
Hmm, I wonder what my resource count looks like currently.
I opened the City Management tab and whistled in appreciation.
City Management
City Name
Unnamed
Loyalty/Upset
80/0
Gold
50000
Tax rate
20%
Population
356
Heroes
Clarent
Food
14768
Lumber
16745
Stone
; 12478
Metal
10934
Honor
500
Prestige
500
I immediately noticed two new rows. Prestige and honor. In the original IO, those two stats were used to measure a player’s progress in the RTS campaign. To simplify it, the RTS campaign involved expanding and conquering in order to gain the attention of the Queen, who your player character was enamored with. Gaining certain amounts of prestige and honor would see you promoted and gain new titles, bringing you ever closer to the Queen’s inner circle.
She was obviously never displayed in the original IO, so I wondered what she looked like? Probably like a million bucks since she was the Queen and all. I guessed I’d find out when I increased in rank eventually. I used this time to check two utilities I had largely ignored since I came into this world, the world map and my inventory screen.
The world map opened up to display what I expected, the Continent of Ivory in which my tiny city formed but a mere speck. Geographically, we were located at the southwestern edge of the continent, which was why the coast was so close to us. I could see the capital located in the southeastern section, the city of Carin, where my liege must reside. The continent was certainly lush from what I could see, with 60% of it still being wide forests and long rivers with a few grasslands here and there. There were only five named cities, including the capital, which were as large as my Kingdom in the original IO.
“Hmm, it seems like the city of Dushan is closest to me. I might roll in and see what I can get from there,” I muttered to myself.
Zooming out on the map, my eyes widened when I saw that there was not just one continent. They were numerous continents, more popping up the further back I scrolled, until my own continent was but a mere dot… and there were still more of them.
“How the hell does Vena expect me to clear this? This would require immortality and sheer dedication,” I mumbled angrily, shaking my head.
Come to think of it, I did have immortality didn’t I? Since bonding with my altar – technically with me – gave my companion immortality, that meant it must’ve been a property I myself possessed. I passed a hand through my hair, contemplating my options in regard to this large scale battle royale when I received a tap on my shoulder.
“My Lord, it is good to see you have recovered from the sudden battery on your person,” came the indifferent voice of my evil Advisor. The woman was practically the devil in my eyes!
“Of course you’d think so, Mira dear. You orchestrated everything!!” I shouted angrily rounding on her dangerously. She simply took a few steps back and made a calming gesture.
“Never my lord. I would never lead you into a room full of bathing women with the intention of watching you have your tiny member decimated, rather pitifully too. It’s simply not in my nature, you see,” She answered smugly, her ears twitching rapidly. She may hide it in her voice, but her eyes and ears communicated her mirth more than any other part of her.
“Gah! Whatever! You won that round. Could you assemble the ladies I intruded upon? I would like to apologize and see if I can find a way compensate them for my assault.”
Mira’s mirth disappeared as she looked at me dead in the eyes. “Why would you want to do that my Lord?”
I blinked in confusion. Should it not be obvious? “Because I offended their person by bursting in during their bath.”
She simply shook her head and spoke evenly, giving me her hardest stare since I’d entered this makeshift world. “I forget often that you are new to this position and do not know our laws. No one assaults a Lord, a High-Noble, for any reason, without paying the price. As it were, I’ve had the women involved in the assault exiled. Those who were present were fined heavily instead.”
“This Townhall is the administrative building of His Lordship Jax, not a sauna. That bath was constructed for your purposes only, to be used by you should you feel the need. The ladies decided to use it solely for the purpose of… ‘welcoming their Lord’ as they put it, despite attacking the very person they planned to receive. Notwithstanding it being off limits to anyone but who you specifically chose, they had appropriated the room. Truthfully, that offence is minor, given their own individual standings in our growing society, but it is the assault that bears problem. There were also other offences. Carrying a weapon into a Townhall; a Lord’s residence and workstation as well as utilizing his servants without authorization.”
I nodded to Mira’s elaboration, my jaws clenching and my expression hard. At the beginning, my first thought was ‘what the hell?’ but as she went on, I opted to remain silent. Once she mentioned laws, I realized there was nothing I could do. This was not my world and the laws here were clearly as binding as in my own from the alert I got when I made my pledge. Despite my personal feelings, there was nothing to be gained by trying to overturn it. Heck, I didn’t even think I had the authority to. As a man in power, I was expected to uphold the laws in higher esteem than the normal folk. So that at least, was the same as our world.
“Why did you not consult me however?” I asked with curiosity. Knowing Mira’s tight-assed nature, I was surprised she would overstep me like this.
“No offence my Lord, but I do not need your permission for matters of a criminal nature. It is my duty to uphold the will of your liege, regardless of your intention,” She answered seriously, making my temple throb. I suppressed the feeling however.
It seemed that my advisor doubled as my observer. Interesting. I made a note to be more careful about what exactly I let her know about my dealings, especially during RPG sections.
“Thank you Mira. How goes the preparations for the festivities?” I asked, trying to change the topic and get my hidden emotions under control.
Mira gave me an appraising look, noting my forcibly subdued body language with interest. “It should begin in an hour or two. Would you like to freshen up before then?” She asked with a slight grimace, taking a step back from me.
I rolled my eyes. Her message was pretty clear already, she didn’t have to add the theatrics to it. It was clear that I smelled like a garbage truck and chemical waste had shat over my body. Without further ado, I turned around and walked away stately, angling towards the left end of the corridor.
“My Lord, the baths are to your right.”
Chapter 9
Raven
After spending an unreasonable amount of time grooming myself – since my bathhouse was essentially a hot spring – I came out feeling fresh, smelling good and with some pep in my step.
“Oh, you smell sooo nice! I’m calling dibs on your hair!” Fei chittered excitedly, swooning like a lovestruck bird.
The moment she dived into my hair however, I heard a cry of displeasure. “Eww! It’s so wet in here!!”
Laughing at her silly antics, I opened my inventory and went over what I learned. Similar to any MMO, I had a mobile inventory that had an unlimited space, restricted only by my carrying capacity. With my strength at 50, that translated to 250kg, which was admirable, but very limiting. Though, seeing as how any unneeded item or loot would be going to my troops, it didn’t form much of a problem outside logistics.
“So I’d need to find a way to send items back without having to lug them myself,” I whispered thoughtfully.
Aside from that, the inventory was insanely functional. Instead of having a bag which I would need to pull out items from, the inventory was similar to a screen – like my character page – where I could see a neatly arranged row of items stored within. All I had to do to withdraw was place my hand in the screen and mentally select what I wanted removed as well as how much of it.
I also conveniently discovered another facet of my Seamless ability. Apparently, there was a separate tab under my inventory section that gave me access to items stored in my city’s treasury, including the loot Clarent snagged as well as the city’s gold and special items. The only thing left to test was whether I could withdraw city items while in another z
one. Imagine the convenience!
My thoughts were interrupted when I saw Mira approach me from the mouth of the hallway. Unlike me, she hadn’t opted to change anything about herself, preferring to keep to her florid robe. There was however, a slight vigor in her actions, from her wildly twitching ears to her barely contained grin.
“My Lord, the preparations are ready. The people await a speech from you before beginning the celebration,” She informed me. A speech huh? I had a good experience giving those, so this one shouldn’t be too much of a problem if I ad-lib.
“Lead the way,” I commanded.
◆◆◆
“My people, we are gathered here tonight to celebrate the victory of our hero and protector, Clarent as well as your liege, myself. After a grueling battle in which we almost tasted death, we finally routed a camp of greenskins that threatened to destroy what we’ve built so far!”
I heard a cry of anger from that, the onlooking crowd starting to get into the mood from my charismatic words. We were squeezed into the tavern and its surround, the average sized building struggling to contain the people within.
There was the inescapable feeling of excitement before every party, displaying itself in the gathered people’s mannerism and smiles. Even Mira looked tense with anticipation of what would certainly be a festive evening. That excitement lent itself to their reactions to my speech.
“Rather, it is they who lie in the soil, their blood seeping into the mounds of dirt as punishment for daring to target us! And now, with our enemies vanquished, IT’S TIME TO PARTY TILL YOU DROP!!” I bellowed, an ensuing raucous cheer forming the reply as everyone gathered grabbed the nearest full mug and plugged down some ale.
Music instantly commenced, a typical cheery tune that reminded me of Irish style parties. Almost immediately, a clearing was made in the center of the establishment that saw couples take each other’s hands in a merry dance where they spun round and round each other until it was time to pass your partner on. Those of us less suited to such mannerisms just clapped to a beat, giving the dancers a rhythm to follow.