It was late in the year, and the weather had changed from a sunny shroud to a cold and wintry show. Snow fell on the land from the sky, slowly amassing itself over time which made movement significantly more difficult.
Vita Kingdom was thriving in this climate though, the overflowing energy within greatly negated the negative effects. Instead of being bone-chilling cold, it was more of a slight cold, like one had switched on an A/C.
Many children who had been born in the Kingdom played around in the piles of snow. The founding of Vita Settlement was barely one year ago, yet the majority of the children looked like they were 2-3 years old, which was a baffling situation if one did not know the various effects it had.
Vita Kingdom had also greatly changed. When it had upgraded three months ago, the populated and developed land had gone from 95% to 20% at best. Now, around 55% had been repopulated, especially in regards to the outer section.
After all, that land was reserved for visitors and guests, so all Umbra had to do was lease the land to various parties for their own purposes and they would build shops, hotels, or whatnot on it.
They would then profit from the innate benefits Vita provided their craftsmanship, or the high traffic that gave service outlets to their huge customer base. From that profit, they would pay a 15% tax which was the standard globally.
All-in-all, the situation was really good. If you asked those business owners who leased the land, apart from the exorbitant prices for leasing - as well as the conditions - they felt that they were the ones taking advantage of Vita Kingdom.
After all, their crafting success rate was boosted by 30% regardless of what they were trying to make. Blacksmiths, alchemists, and the like who used to have 50% success rates suddenly had an 80% success rate, increasing the number of goods they could put out in the same time frame compared to their similarly skilled compatriots outside.
And aside from that, their created items and goods were 50% better based on the average quality. This meant that if one created, say, a health potion that restored 10,000 HP in 100 seconds, within Vita, it would restore 15,000 HP in 75 seconds.
The cost of production remained the same, yet the quality of goods was far better. As such, these fellows could profit endlessly from it!
Well, not exactly. See, since the outer section was so business-oriented with not a single residential housing - one had to go to the inner section for that - there was such intense competition that it was almost mind-numbing.
Since everyone was enjoying the same benefits and the liens were hard to draw, it really was down to one's strategic positioning and their pricing to outsell their competition.
It wasn't that bad since the traffic was so high that everyone had their shelves cleared frequently, but this precisely happened because the average quality was higher and the prices were lower.
As such, the reputation of the sellers in Vita Kingdom was high, so many came from far and wide to purchase the goods instead of relying on their local retailers, who were longing to move here.
Lower prices compared to average + higher quality compared to average = more buyers and more traffic.
It was a beautiful economic cycle.
They were like embassies on national soil. While they were beholden to the kingdom, they were also sort of legally immune within their demarcated territory. Each 'embassy' also had a few members staying on their land, but they did not cause trouble for the kingdom by multiplying and expanding unless the Administrator gave them that right.
Right now, only 7 powers here had the right to do what they wanted in terms of land expansion, which were the Cario Continental Council, Church of Light, the War Maniac Pavilion among others.
Funny enough, despite having this privilege, they hardly used it and even if they did, it was barely noticeable. Rather, it was those who didn't have this right who expanded without permission and were severely penalized for it.
They also clamored for it endlessly, yet Sublime had long since learned to ignore them.
Initially, the clan houses of the Rank 7 powers who had come to negotiate with Draco back when Vita had first expanded to a city-state had been located at the edges of the outer section, in places where Draco wouldn't have to see them.
Now though, they had been brought to the inner section and given their own sort of 'district' within. However, contrary to the assumption that things had gotten better, since they were close to the center of power, this meant they were under intense scrutiny.
Most of the laws passed in Vita Kingdom these days concerned them, further contracting their rights, freedoms and increasing the shackles upon them. The Rank 7 powers behind them wore ugly expressions but could not do anything besides swallowing this bitter pill and direct their descendants and clansman to remain in their territory and behave.
They could see that the ones in power were just praying for their clans to give them an excuse, and they would descend like a tsunami upon them. As such, they smugly grinned when they thought of how impotent Vita Kingdom would feel now that their people would behave obediently and faultless.
To this, Sublime would push up her newly acquired glasses and smile. The goal had never been the get rid of all of them, as that would offend too many powerhouses. Rather, as long as they behaved and stayed in their lane, it was almost as if they didn't exist.
Who was the winner here? Hehe, had this evil shorty ever lost before?
The inner section also had the Portal Center, which was where wealthier visitors could come through. Of course, they were obliged to head to the outer section for business or they could stay in the inner section if they were residents.
The requirements to become a resident had been greatly relaxed ever since the kids of Draco had been born, now even Rank 3's and 4's could squeeze in as long as they offered up enough to gain the permit.
Mostly, they needed to have unique skills that could benefit the kingdom, and once they got the permit, they could now purchase a plot and build their residence. They could now live and work out of Vita for as long as they wanted.
However, they were not citizens of Vita Kingdom. They had no rights and benefits apart from being able to live and work, but they bore all the burdens and responsibilities of citizens. They were to provide some of their skills to the academies in the core section or could be drafted to defend the kingdom in war.
They also paid taxes for their work as well as their various purchases. One might wonder why people were so frenzied to still attempt to buy residences, but those were mostly NPCs.
Just looking at the benefits of staying in Vita Kingdom for NPCs, it rather seemed like Umbra were too soft. This was literally the only place in the world offering these kinds of benefits and you were only making them suffer this little inconvenience?
Even if they made things worse, people would still crazily apply. The amount of immigration requests Sublime and the rest of the admins of Umbra received on a daily were enough to make her crazy.
Many players also tried to get some lands here so they could acc.u.mulate the exp bonus and Tradeskill benefits, but they were locked out of the inner section. However, they were given priority on the outer section, as Vita Kingdom did give some extra benefits to players.
However, players were too poor to be able to pay the bills, so apart from powerhouses, few could capitalize on this. Those who could had skills far below the average NPCs, so the bonuses didn't save them.
They were barely able to stay afloat here, but what was truly exciting was that the growth of their skills was extremely grand. It had taken roughly 9 years for the first Master Rank craftsman to appear among the players in the previous timeline, but here - not including Umbra obviously - it might only take 3 years or less!
That was some spicy butterfly effect right there.
The core section was what had changed the least, but also changed the most in a way. At first, it had been the Nshaw Tribe and the players of Umbra who lived there as fully-fledged citizens, with all the rights, protections, and benefits that came from it.
In fact, they had it even better since they were immune from most laws, did not have to pay any taxes, had heavy subsidies from the government, and were like nobles to the rest in the kingdom.
If a member of the Nshaw Tribe walked out to the inner section and saw a face he didn't like, he could walk near the person and suddenly trip, then howl about how the fellow had broken his leg.
Immediately, the 'culprit' would have two choices. Flee and never return to Vita Kingdom but become a wanted fugitive, or stay and be arrested, then fined or locked up.
Unfair for sure, but that was how Draco and Eva liked it. Luckily for the stability of the kingdom, the citizens disdained leaving the core section apart from those who took up jobs as guards.
They had everything they wanted and even better in the core section, so why waste their time mingling with those normie sc.u.m?
Just like the members of Umbra towards all other players, the citizens of Vita Kingdom had developed a feeling of arrogance and xenophobia toward all others in the same category.
Both parties had integrated warmly. The Nshaw Tribe were great warriors due to their millennia of fighting for the right to the Paradise Lands against outsiders, but they were also quite special in the sense that they were advanced researchers.
The quality of their inventions and research were on par with the Gnomes and the Goblins, otherwise they wouldn't have been the ones to invent the player-killing item, the Evil Bead.
As such, they could work with the Goddess Descendant and share insights. Draco had spent sine time getting them accustomed to each other and was surprised by how well they had meshed back then.
Now, after a few months, there were many intermarriages and new youth being born with the benefits of both sides, having great Tradeskill talent and having great combat skill.
In truth, Draco had gotten damn lucky slaughtering all those monsters in the sea. The influx of items had allowed him to place many of them into the Tradeskill Altars.
After all, the members of the Nshaw Tribe and his guildmates used them greatly. They would spin the wheel often, though what they gave up was not great, so they usually vied for lower items.
However, due to the sheer number, Draco had to refill often. After all, at a point, Norma had stopped bothering with such low-quality items. How could you ask a Semi-Origin God to make such crap?
The Goddess Descendants also were talented, so they usually went for mid-tier items. It was only the Tradeskill players of Umbra and Nshaw Tribe crafters that were 'trash', so they took the low items.
As for those from outside, should they be allowed to use it, they would not even get anything but a kick on the a.s.s for being lower than trash. Players kept mum about it because should a faction like the Diad family get wind of this, they would break all formalities and initiate a Kingdom War with them.
It wasn't that Draco and co. were scared, but there was no need to waste time on such matters when there were more important things to do, no?
That was the current state of Vita mostly. Once one panned the view to their latest endeavor, which was the sea route, one would see great development on this front too.
For one, Umbra and the Huhan Empire on the Vareas' side and Feroria Empire on Cario's side had worked together to prevent anyone else from occupying the land between them.
Rather they had added more settlements in between on both sides, eventually connecting in the center of the Field Zone. These settlements were to become towns for the increase in size, and some members were sent to stay there.
However, they were primarily the serfs of Umbra who numbered millions. They would now have a permanent position on logistics to help the goods from the port move from one spot to another until they reached the empires in the next Field Zone, who would then ship them to the rest of the continent through caravans or by having people come over to purchase them.
They mostly used the latter method as it brought more traffic and profits, allowing their economies to boom. The work and investment they had made in building those settlements had been recouped long ago, and they were now in the green zone with the profits soaring day by day.
It couldn't be helped, there were too many things on Cario that the Vareas factions, as well as people in general, lacked that they could now buy, and Vareas unique sea-related goods were a blessing to Cario that had far more dangerous waters.
The trade was also extremely profitable to Umbra, and their source of income had soared as well. Draco constantly sent out sh.i.p.s his Private Assistants made, adding to Umbra's arsenal and allowing many players to explore the cleared seas.
In fact, some were greedy in the sense that they even went to dangerous waters to cull a few monsters and flee back. This somewhat pushed back the return of monsters by keeping those at the edges in check.
Most players took on patrol jobs, using the Warship King's Spear to shoot down any non-Umbra sh.i.p.s. Since they only allowed their own sh.i.p.s on this route, it was easy to tell who pirates were if they tried to hide, as they were all NPCs, while only serf players manned Umbra's sh.i.p.s.
As for actual members of Umbra, there was no one to compare them to. Even the Emperors of Divine Empires didn't have it as good as them, okay?
Once we snapped back to Vita, one would notice that there was a lot of activity from citizens, players, and residents towards the southern border. Many were kitted in equipment and left in groups, rushing into the desert with greed and killing intent on their faces.
It couldn't be helped, Vita Kingdom had begun its expansion to the Winding Desert. As the Application for Accession had already been accepted, the monsters there were now finite. They had made certain for the clearing though.
One, no use was to use Area Zone wide attacks. They weren't in a rush to conquer the zone after all.
Two, deployment was regulated by the Battle Department, which was set up in the inner section. One would have to go there to receive and take missions, as well as receive war rewards.
Three, only soldiers of the army were eligible to participate. No mercenaries or adventurers. Even members of Umbra were not allowed aside from those who joined the army specifically.
Four, monsters killed that were not part of a group or person's mission would not be counted, but would rather go to those who got the respective mission.
This was done to instill discipline and order. Instead of everyone chaotically doing their own thing, the Area Zone had been cleared systematically and efficiently, leaving very little left to do.
Right now, all that was left were the Rank 4 and 5 monsters, which the players could not deal with. As such, the higher Ranked residents and citizens in the army were in charge of dealing with them.
Players contributed by usually playing bait since they could respawn, kiting such monsters to laid out ambushes so the pros could kill them without suffering too many casualties.
Of 120,000 soldiers who had been deployed systematically since the beginning, only 430 had died so far. They had even been resurrected by Hikari and jumped right back into the fray, so the army was still whole as if nothing had happened.
However, their deaths had been recorded and a penalty would be given by the kingdom in order to 'compensate' Lady Hikari, though the White Dragoness protested that she didn't mind saving people.
Within these three months, they had cleared 99% of the Area Zone. There were just some small problematic areas with groups of Rank 4 and 5 monsters that had proven to be too intelligent to fall for their schemes, so they had to work on culling them slowly and smartly.
Umbra didn't relax the rules, wanting the army to learn to improvise, adapt and overcome instead of always going guns blazing, though that was likely what they would use in real wars anyway.
