Chapter 15: The Lord’s Crown Upgrade! A Fateful Choice!
Kaiden could barely resist the temptation to close the book in his hands and return it to its place. He would save the reading for the night. In any case, the books weren't particularly large, so postponing them a little was no matter.
As for the reason for the delay — he had something far more important to do right now. This was the moment he had been waiting for: upgrading the Lord's Crown.
Kaiden stepped out of the Lord's Hall. It was dusk, yet he noticed everyone was still working with great energy. It had to be said — the residents of his territory were truly hardworking.
Without further delay, he opened the Lord's Crown interface and looked at the conditions for upgrading the Bronze Crown to the Black Iron tier:
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- Upgrade Lord's Hall to Level 6 *(Completed)*
- 10 buildings present in the territory *(Completed)*
- At least 6 combat units present *(Completed)*
- Origin Points ×12 *(Completed)*
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Upon seeing that he had fulfilled every upgrade condition, a deep sense of accomplishment filled Kaiden's entire being. He had been coveting the Silver Treasure Chest for a long time — plus the new ability that would come with the Crown's development. So when the upgrade option appeared, Kaiden selected "Confirm" without hesitation.
The familiar white light appeared and spread across the entirety of his territory, and the wave of expansion began in earnest.
When the light faded, this time was entirely different. The expansion was so vast that Kaiden could barely make out the new boundaries of the territory. At that moment, the system alert chimed — followed by the completion notification for the final quest of his second day since arrival:
[System Notification: Congratulations! The Lord's Crown has been upgraded to the Black Iron Crown tier.]
[Quest "The Second Step Toward Dominion!" Completed! Reward dispatched to the Lord's inventory: Silver Treasure Chest ×1]
Kaiden was eager to open the Silver Treasure Chest, but decided to put it off until after dinner. What mattered to him now were the changes to the Lord's Crown. When he opened the Lord's interface, he found that the old Bronze Crown had transformed into a Black Iron Crown. Its appearance was far more imposing and majestic than before:
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[Lord's Crown]
Tier: Black Iron Crown
Attributes:
- Territory Area: 3,000m × 3,000m
- Daily Summon: 20 residents (cooldown period)
- Territory Resident Upgrade System
New Feature Unlocked: Lord's Status Interface
Description: Includes the Lord's traits, current level, future paths, and upgrade method. Note: Open the Lord's Status Interface for further details.
Upgrade Requirements:
- Upgrade Lord's Hall to Level 9
- 25 buildings present
- At least 20 combat units
- Origin Points ×30
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"Just as I expected — the new feature relates to a path for raising my own power!" Kaiden exclaimed with enthusiasm. He had been worried for a long time — this world was far too dangerous. And at last he had found his own upgrade path.
He followed the feature description's instructions and looked at the system interfaces:
[World Chat] [Territory Chat] [World Market] [Territory Status] [Lord's Crown] New: [Lord's Status]
Indeed, a new interface had been added. With immense curiosity, Kaiden opened it:
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[Lord's Status Board]
Name: Kaiden
Level: 0
Race: Human
Traits:
*(Human Average: 10)*
- Health: 13
- Strength: 12
- Speed: 14
- Endurance: 14
- Intelligence: 11
Upgrade System:
For every 1,000 experience points gained by territory residents, the Lord receives 100 experience points.
Note:
- To activate the upgrade system, please select a path first.
Available Paths:
1. Knight's Path (Common)
2. Nascent Mage's Path (Rare)
Maximum of one path may be chosen.
Select a path to view details.
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Kaiden read through the Status Board carefully. First, he examined his displayed traits and found them above the human average. "Had I not eaten that magical fruit before, my traits would be half this quality," he muttered wryly. Then he continued reading downward. The method of gaining experience was clear. In other words, he could accumulate 10% of the experience earned by everyone in his territory.
That percentage was high — the cumulative rate would be staggering. He still had only 24 residents, but with each passing day the number would grow substantially. Kaiden estimated that with his development capabilities, it would be only a matter of days before his territory's population surpassed one thousand residents — all of whom had various ways of earning experience. So his rate of power growth would soon surpass every resident of his territory in the near future. Of that there was no doubt.
But what drew his attention more than anything were the available paths: "Knight's Path and Mage's Path?" Kaiden muttered in puzzlement, then tapped on the first path, and an information interface appeared:
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Name: Knight's Path (Common)
First Rank (Nascent Knight): Per level: +2 Strength points, +2 Endurance points, +4 free trait points. Maximum of 10 levels per rank.
Description: You will acquire the Knight's Seed and the ability to cultivate, refine, and control the Battle Aura to increase your strength and defense for limited periods.
Unlock Requirements: 5 Origin Points.
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"Knight's Seed? Cultivating an Aura? Like in wuxia novels?" Kaiden muttered, not fully understanding — but he didn't delve further. What he truly cared about was the magic path. "Rare" sounded considerably more impressive.
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Name: Mage's Path (Rare)
First Rank (Nascent Mage): Per level: +10 Intelligence points, +5 free trait points. Maximum of 10 levels per rank.
Description: Will prepare the host's body to perceive and absorb mana points present in the air, and use them to unleash magical skills.
Note: The host's highest elemental affinity will be selected automatically. The higher the affinity percentage, the faster the host's mana regeneration and the greater their control over the indicated element.
Unlock Requirements: 10 Origin Points.
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Kaiden studied the Mage's Path information board carefully and compared the two paths. But his choice ultimately fell on the magic class. Imagining himself raining fireballs down on a battlefield was a magnificent prospect, and this path seemed to carry far greater potential.
[System Alert: Do you wish to spend 10 Origin Points to acquire the Nascent Mage's Path? Yes / No
Note: Please be aware that once a path is chosen, it cannot be reversed.]
As for Origin Points — he had 25. Twelve had gone toward upgrading the Lord's Crown, leaving him with 13, which was more than sufficient. So he selected "Confirm" without hesitation.
[System Alert: Confirmed. Preparing the host's body for mana. Please endure the process.]
"AHHH!!"
Kaiden had no luxury of reading the system alert. A sudden and severe pain exploded inside his skull, sending him crashing to the ground, clutching his head, screaming.
Several seconds passed — but they crawled by with agonizing slowness for Kaiden, feeling to him like years. The sensation was like a drill boring into his brain without mercy.
Blood seeped from his eyes and mixed with his tears and mucus. In that moment, Kaiden was like a pig being slaughtered — thrashing on the ground, all dignity as a Lord utterly forgotten. He was in a truly pitiable state.
But then, in an instant — just as the pain had arrived without warning, it left without warning. Kaiden lay on the ground gasping, and new notifications appeared before his eyes:
[System Alert: Host body preparation complete. Host's highest elemental affinity has been selected. Congratulations! You have unlocked the class: Earth Mage — Nascent Rank — with an Earth element affinity of: 85%]
[System Alert: You have acquired a passive skill: Mana Sense.]
[System Alert: Additional active and passive skills may be acquired through: leveling up, treasure chests, killing monsters, purchasing from the World Market, and other methods.]
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— End of Chapter Fifteen —