MoP: Ch. 183

---Third POV---

"What's a limited-time reward pool? Are the devs starting a gacha system now?"

Some players followed the prompt and clicked into the draw interface. They discovered there were three reward pools in total: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced.

The draw currency was bluntly named Draw Tokens. Each player's number of tokens equaled their contribution points divided by 10.

Basic pool: 1 token per draw

Intermediate pool: 10 tokens per draw

Advanced pool: 100 tokens per draw

The guaranteed rewards differed. At the lowest end, it could be something as small as a little bag of rye flour. At the highest end, it could be an upgradeable rare-tier magical artifact, complete with at least double the power boost and a special ability, provided the player was strong enough to use it. Distributing loot was a real headache, so Viktor simply used a gacha system and shifted the responsibility away.

Fortunately, player feedback was positive.

"Going all-in on the basic pool. 300 pulls, let's go."

"I pulled a full high-tier wizard set, and it even comes with a broom."

"Wait, people actually ride brooms to fly? Doesn't that hurt?"

"Rye flour, wheat flour, barley flour. Why do I only get flour?"

"Haha, I got a staff."

The forums were flooded with lucky players flexing their rewards.

No one noticed that the settlement bar in the quest log was still scrolling. NeverShowOff caught a torch that flew in through the window.

[Soul Torch (High):
Forged within blazing flames, imbued with scorching soul fire. Effects: Increases spell damage by 10%. Each time an enemy is defeated, there is a chance to summon a flame soul that lasts several seconds to assist in attacking enemies.]

"Perfect. A fire-type weapon. It pairs nicely with the hat I just pulled."

He was very satisfied with his luck. He didn't obsess over landing some hidden grand reward. Practicality mattered more. He turned to the others.

"So, what did you all get?"

LootGoblin sat numbly in the middle of a pile of cloth sacks.

"Enough food to last me a month."

Hedgehog waved the blade in his hand.

"A set of combo weapons. From now on, I'm going dual blades."

Child flipped through an ancient book.

"Complete Collection of Spatial Magic Spells. No idea if this was lifted from the Magicians Guild."

Lux pinched a strip of cloth between two fingers.

"Clothes with decent defense stats, but they can only be worn as underwear."

Garble took a sip of water.

"A bunch of buff-granting fruits and potions."

"Wait, Garble's level is already way ahead. Why is the dev still stuffing him with supplements?"

Hedgehog protested fiercely. Why didn't he get that treatment?

NeverShowOff, holding the torch, walked over.

"Garble, what are you staring at the panel for? Browsing the forums?"

"I'm looking at the quest panel," Garble said.

His eyes never left the constantly scrolling settlement bar.

"This time, rewards suddenly fly straight into our hands. I feel like something's off."

Hedgehog looked puzzled.

"What could be wrong? In other games, rewards teleport instantly too."

Garble replied, "Sure, but do you really believe that devs who are obsessed with 100% realism would hand out benefits for no reason?"

Everyone fell silent. They recalled the last goblin quest settlement, when they had to run all the way to the warehouse to claim their rewards. It did seem suspicious. So a few more players, like Garble, chose to wait until the settlement bar finished.

A few minutes later, sure enough, the quest log showed a new change.

[Individual reward settlement complete. Expansion pack "Dawn of Nary Town" has been updated.]

[Main storyline updated: The Revelation of the Thirteen Fragments of Gods.]

[Three fragments of a divine artifact have unlocked the secret sealed within Mount Wolcen for a thousand years. Gathering the divine fragments of the Thirteen Ancient Gods may rewrite the world line, or it may open Pandora's box. But if you don't try, how will you ever know the outcome?]

[Details: ...]

Garble skipped the expansion content and clicked directly into the new main quest's details page.

"So while Viktor was gone these past few days, he went to Mount Wolcen?"

Hedgehog suddenly realized it.

"No wonder that ball could be exchanged for so many rewards."

"Even though that Shadow Contract Stone was never used, and now it's gone," NeverShowOff added.

Child asked, "I heard there are level eight monsters near the Wolcen Mountains. Has Viktor's injury fully healed?"

LootGoblin lazily raised his hand.

"I can confirm it. The Severely Injured tag on his ID is gone."

Lux crossed his arms, delighted.

"That means we've got a demigod-level combatant now."

Whether or not the guy was willing to fight, just having that title made it much safer for them to go out and stir up trouble.

NeverShowOff read through all the information carefully and let out a long breath.

"From the looks of it, our future main quest is to find the fragments of thirteen naturally born ancient gods in order to communicate with the world's laws. But since no one has ever seen the world's laws before, whether the result will be good or bad is impossible to say."

Garble nodded.

"After all, no one has ever seen all thirteen ancient fragments fused together."

Lux spoke, "Isn't that basically a time bomb?"

LootGoblin complained reluctantly, "Feels like the effort-to-reward ratio isn't worth it."

Child scoffed, "Why play some collection mini-game? Better to just level up and slaughter our way across the entire continent."

After understanding the main quest, everyone felt rather underwhelmed. They waited all this time for this? Casual players wouldn't bother, combat players thought it wasn't exciting enough. Overall, not very interesting. Might as well ignore the main quest and just do their own thing.

NeverShowOff nodded, fully agreeing.

"I think so t..."

[Main quest progress rewards reissued.]

[The fragments "Wings of the Sky" and "Heart of the Earth" have returned to their rightful places. All players' base Flying-type and Earth-type affinity +50. Corresponding spell power greatly increased.]

[All players gain +20,000 unassigned experience points.]

The room fell silent in an instant. The next second, Hedgehog jumped straight off the sofa.

"Twenty thousand EXP! That's enough to jump straight to level 15!"

Ignoring newbie quest EXP, players only needed about 5,500 experience to reach level 10 and unlock their class change. Dropping twenty thousand EXP at once meant an immediate class advancement right at the start. Absolutely broken.

LootGoblin clutched his chest.

"And +50 affinity. The Magicians Guild's affinity detector can only measure up to 100. This is straight-up adding half of that. Stat inflation. This is definitely stat inflation."

All the players were stunned into silence.

Never mind how much the spell power increase actually did, just the sheer numerical value of these rewards was absurdly overpowered.

So this was the payoff for restoring fragments?

[Additionally, due to the completion of the divine fragments, interdimensional teleportation channels have stabilized. Screenshot and video recording functions unlocked.]

Screenshots?

The previously noisy crowd went dead quiet.

They could finally say goodbye to abstract paintings and see in-game environments somewhere other than trailers and expansion videos?

They could even use footage to argue with cloud players?

Hedgehog spoke slowly, "Actually, I've always been a player who loves pushing the main storyline."

The others nodded in unison.

"I agree."

"Same here."

"Even though I never cleared it, I've always firmly supported our wise and mighty devs."

---

[Chronicles of Aeltia: Test Server Version 1.5 Update Announcement]

[Key Updates:

I. Main Story Quest Update: For detailed content, please visit the details page [link].

II. New "Photo Capture" and "Video Recording" Features Added.

III. Version Event Replacement: "Communicate! Build! Mutual Development!" The construction of Honeyvale Town has come to a temporary close. The industrial district is flourishing, and the seeds in the agricultural district have just begun to sprout.

If you're looking to make a fortune, the still-underdeveloped Nary Town might be the perfect destination.

Engage in commercial exchanges, hire NPCs, join the city hall to manage the town... In an NPC-governed town, the identity you can hold is more than just that of a player.

The newly appointed mayor, Cobb, is eager for talent. With only 100 points of map reputation, you can experience life as a cyber civil servant.

Note: During the event, one-way tickets from "Honeyvale Town to Nary Town" are 50% off. We look forward to your visit.]

[Worldline Changes:

I. New Boundary Added to the Great Oak Forest: "The Green Wall Outside Ironstone City" The still-weak Watchers must remain in hiding for now. An "early magic tide" can effectively explain the reason behind Nary Town's loss of contact.

The Forest Tortoise's nest continues to expand. Please stay away from the western forest as much as possible.

II. New Allied Faction Added, The Wasteland: "Bloodbone Tribe" Due to the incompetence of their rulers, massive numbers of refugees cling to the wasteland's main roads like parasites.

Bloodbone, leader of the Bloodbone Tribe's refugees, was the first to extend goodwill toward us and will participate in the construction of Honeyvale Town's city walls.

Bloodbone states: "Use the bones of our enemies as shields, and offer their souls to the wilderness. In this land, we are the true rulers."

Lord Viktor comments: "As long as you have enough money, they're the most efficient mercenaries you can hire, provided you can protect your wealth. After all, they've only just changed professions."

III. New Friendly NPC Added: David, leader of the Ship-Carriage Trade Guild. His ancestors came from the long-isolated Kingdom of Nalis.

Before winter arrives, he will stay at the Ship-Carriage Guild branch in Nary Town.

Note: He has quite a few good items from the Three Great Empires.

IV. New Additions to the In-Game Shop and Skill Upgrades: Flight-type and Earth-type magic spells.

Other Updates:
- Unified bug fixes
- New expansion content added]

---

Less than one minute passed. The announcement thread was already stacked with replies.

[BobBobby]: What what! New expansion content!

[ImmuneToBeauty]: All earned from me staying up all night.

[CowardlySurvivor]: Why can't I even grab a top comment faster than these cloud players?

[Actually_Hitler]: Who told you to just post bragging about your luck.

[CowardlySurvivor]: How did you know I got a full set of rare-grade fire-attribute armor?

[SoySauceLeader]: What's the point of telling us? Is rare-grade equipment that impressive?

[BobBobby]: I know this one. Fire builds are trash tier.

[CowardlySurvivor]: Very knowledgeable. Don't learn how to type in your next life.

The late-arriving NeverShowOff finally popped up.

[NeverShowOff]: Sorry to keep everyone waiting. This is the latest announcement analysis [link]. Those who need it can jump over themselves.

A whole row of appreciation followed underneath.

[CowardlySurvivor]: That's insane. It's only been a few minutes and the guide is already out.

[NationalChampion]: Every time I think these grind lords are already cracked enough, they manage to shatter the bottom line again.

[NeverShowOff]: Haha, not really. The main storyline update has been live in-game for a while now. You're welcome to check out my post. There's an exclusive surprise in the comments section.

Relying on his pull as a guide maker, he quickly attracted a group of players to click in.

---

"Version 1.5 Announcement Analysis."

"Hello. Welcome to subscribe to the Lucky Stars Guide Group. I usually don't do announcement analyses, but this update from the devs is just way too heavyweight. Let's put aside the most important main story changes for now. This version is clearly encouraging players to develop toward Nary Town."

"I believe most of you have noticed that quests involving frequent NPC interaction grant noticeably more bonus EXP than grinding labor in the starter village. If you're aiming to level up quickly, I strongly recommend saving up 25 magicoins and heading straight to Nary Town to level. Because all buildings in the town currently have safety hazards and the street layout is severely distorted, reconstruction is basically a done deal. No need to worry about running out of tasks to do."

"The newly spawned Forest Tortoise nest to the west can reliably supply both lumber and monsters. There will definitely be no shortage of mobs to fight. The Bloodbone Tribe is a great place to look for NPC helpers, suitable for solo players and lore-focused players who enjoy collecting rumors. The new purple-name NPC David has a serious background. As the leader of a trade guild, he definitely has plenty of good stuff, but how to get it still needs further research."

"All in all, Version 1.5 is a transition patch focused on improving communication with NPCs and stockpiling food before winter. There's a high probability that no large-scale battles will occur. The focus is peaceful development and digesting existing resources."

"..."

"After saying all that, we've finally reached the main point I wanted to talk about: the main storyline. Since Version 1.5 is mainly transitional, and divine fragments are rare, there's a high chance there won't be any further main story progression in this version. Even the current rewards alone are enough for me to make a dedicated guide post just for them. For example, the newly added Flight-type and Earth-type magic spells. This means more new class combinations are about to be born. I have a hunch that these two magic types will definitely be core magic systems, just like light magic."

Just like the fire magic that gets mocked endlessly, the strength of each magic element has never been balanced. For example, when fire magic can only be used as a lighter, light magic already has the ability to act as a short-term lighter and repair fractured arms.

The gap between the two is enormous. Everyone has been speculating. The reason beginner magic like Holy Light can have such powerful healing effects is likely related to Luminaris, who just lies around sleeping on a divine statue.

The Light God's divine fragment had already provided massive bonuses to Light magic from the very beginning.

The newly acquired divine fragments will absolutely not provide weak buffs either. As for class combinations, they are the best leveling paths that players must discover on their own.

As everyone knows, new players get opportunities to choose new skills at Level 2, Level 5, and Level 10.

The types of skills available at each level differ, resulting in very different final builds, with extremely high development potential. By selecting skills according to the class combinations developed by the guide group, players can maximize these three beginner benefits. For example, one of the most popular class combinations among mechanically challenged players is a pure-caster wizard path:

Level 2: Confirm main magic specialization

Level 5: Choose Water-type support magic

Level 10: Change class to Wizard and specialize in Magic Mastery

Although no one really understands the underlying principle, learning water magic at Level 5 greatly improves a player's spell accuracy.

Since this build was discovered, the number of mages accidentally nuking their teammates has dropped dramatically. Light magic can branch into healers, fighters who can deal damage and tank, and mages specialized in hunting dark creatures.

There's no reason the two new magic elements would have less development potential than Light. After this, popular player classes are likely about to undergo a major reshuffle.