Your secret game is absolutely poisonous!

Qi Ji used his mental energy to exchange for a "Tops Force Field" skill stone and began learning it.

"Indeed, this is a skill with great potential, and its exchange cost and learning threshold are relatively low. It has the value of being promoted and researched on a large scale in Miracle City!"

This technique isn't actually very practical in the Old Man's Ring game, but its advanced design concept makes it a high-potential and worthwhile magic to develop in the real world and in realistic scenarios.

"You guys did a great job!"

Qi Ji's gaze swept over the adventurers fighting and suffering in the border region. Scenes of various adventurers dying and related information were constantly appearing on the lord's data panel.

Adventurer "Sanzhu" is dead. Soul Crystal +2, Spirit Power +4!

Adventurer "Lone Goose of Ten Thousand Mountains" has died. Soul Crystal +3, Spirit Power +9!

[Adventurer "Grumpy Chicken" is dead. Soul Crystal +1, Spirit Power +3!]

【…】

Each death of an adventurer yields a significant amount of resources, and because the quality of adventurers in Miracle City has improved, the production rate of Soul Crystals and Spiritual Energy is much faster than before.
"That's why high-difficulty dungeons are the best for looting!"

Currently, twenty to thirty adventurers from Miracle City who are venturing in the border region have already passed through Stoneville City and left the initial area of ​​Nymgford, and are now exploring the equally vast Lake Lienia.

This place is scenic, mysterious, and secluded.

It not only boasts stunning scenery completely different from Nymgford, but is also fraught with danger and terrifying monsters. Giant lobsters and crabs living in the wetlands alone have killed nearly a hundred adventurers.

Some people couldn't help but complain that Grek was really confused, insisting on attaching the flying dragon head. If he had installed two shrimp heads on his body, these adventurers would probably still be kneeling and suffering in front of him right now!
There are many areas to explore in Lake Lienia.

The two major local powers, Kalia Fortress and Reyalukalia Magic Academy, alone are enough to keep adventurers occupied for two or three days. In addition, there are various wild bosses, caves, and village ruins to explore.

The most important and central area in the entire Lake Lienia is the Reyalucaria Magic Academy.

When the War of the Fragments broke out in the royal city of Rodel, the Magic Academy immediately chose to close and refuse to contact the outside world. This shows that neither the academy nor the Kalia royal family wanted to get involved in the conflict, and even seemed to be watching from the sidelines.

The Kalia royal family and the magic academy have only superficially submitted to the Golden Law.

They have been looking for an opportunity to break away.

The Eternal Queen's shattering of the magic ring caused chaos throughout the world, which presented them with the perfect opportunity.

Of course, despite their close relationship, the relationship between the Magic Academy and the Kalia royal family is not harmonious and fraught with undercurrents... Adventurers come to Lienia not only to pursue the Great Rune, but also to fully understand the story of this land and the profound history it contains.

Although the adventurer's most important and prominent goal is the magic academy located in the central area.

However, the Academy of Realucalia was already closed at this time, and brute force alone could not open the academy gates. Only by holding the Radiant Stone Key could one break the spell and enter and exit smoothly.

Like Stoneville.

The magic academy was also magnified more than tenfold.

Qi Ji divided the project into two main parts: the outer perimeter of the academy and the core area.

The former can be entered using a regular Radiant Stone Key, which can be obtained in many ways, and if you are lucky enough, you can even buy it directly at the Blessed Camp.

This makes a lot of sense.

After all, there are many who covet the Great Rune in the hands of the Full Moon Queen.

There are always some incredibly resourceful individuals who can obtain the keys to the academy through various means, or those who are simply fading individuals from magic academies and already possess the Radiant Stone Key. In such cases, obtaining the key is naturally not too difficult.

The college is surrounded by classrooms, libraries, and affiliated towns and villages.

It can accommodate thousands of magicians to study, plus tens of thousands of staff members aged three to provide chores and services for the magicians.

This area definitely doesn't exist in the Old Man's Ring game. Qi Ji created these to make the world more vivid and lifelike, since so many magicians also need lodging, sleeping, eating, drinking, and relieving themselves.

of course.

If the area surrounding the academy is considered supplementary...

Then the core area of ​​the academy is the real magic academy, just like in the game.

The entry threshold for this area is extremely high; only those who possess a high-level Radiant Stone Key can enter. Those who can hold a high-level Radiant Stone Key are either well-known mages or have made significant contributions to the academy.

The big boss, Queen Renara of the Full Moon, is located in the center of this area.

This explains why the adventurer completed the Topus side quest as soon as he arrived in Lake Lienia. This was partly due to the adventurer's good luck, and partly because obtaining ordinary Radiant Stone Keys was not difficult.

The border area between Miracle City and the city is very large.

It's roughly equivalent to enlarging the game map by nearly thirty times.

Switzerland, a small country with a total land area roughly equivalent to that of Earth in its previous life.
Qi Ji created a large number of wilderness areas as buffers between regions, and only made many camps, villages and towns, and added many characters and faded people, which made the world view more textured and therefore more immersive and realistic.

Having higher artistic aspirations is a good thing.

However, this must not come at the cost of excessively sacrificing efficiency.

If you're constantly running around the map, no matter how realistic the world is, the adventure experience won't be good, and it will also affect the Miracle City's ability to monetize its resources, thus impacting the Miracle City's income.

Qi Ji not only made the scenes bigger, more magnificent and detailed, but also provided more assistance.

For example, the number of blessings at the border is several times that in the game. In addition, whenever adventurers need to pass through a vast wilderness area with little information and only suitable for monster hunting, they can find a portal to pass through quickly.

After defeating Greik and passing through the city of Stoneville, the adventurers, including Meng Bai, could look down on nearly half of Lake Lienia from the giant cliffs, and even see the magic academy, which was tens of kilometers away in a straight line.

If you had to run all those tens of kilometers...

Even with the spirit horse Toret, it would take at least two or three hours to traverse the rugged mountains and lakes and swamps, and that's without encountering any battles or obstacles.

But actually.

Lienia is rife with danger.

To break through the desolate wilderness, you would have to die ten or eight times, and it would take at least a whole day, and that's just for traversing the map!

But it's actually not that complicated.

Adventurers can find portals in the wilderness, as well as special blessings of wonder. These blessings do not require activation and allow free teleportation between all blessings of wonder within a certain range.

It's not just the border area.

Qi Ji always considers efficiency when creating ultra-large maps.

For example, the Ten Kingdoms Sui and Tang Dynasties chapter made using the game "Heaven's Scar" or the Arad Continent made using the game "Dungeon Fighter Online".

The former has a strong main storyline and clear goals at each stage, which ensures that adventurers are on the right path. In addition, it has a large map travel function, which can cover thousands of miles in a minute, even if it takes ten days or half a month.

The latter goes without saying.

The continent of Arad is a secret realm in online games.

Collaboration, interaction, and social interaction with partners are the core selling points.

Adventurers don't need to explore the wilderness at all. They can simply go to the designated challenge entrance, select the dungeon, and enter the corresponding battlefield. The main feature is a fast pace.

The situation is different at the border.

The adventurer only knows that his goal is to become the King of Elden.

How to achieve it and which path to take are entirely up to the adventurer to explore freely.

Adventurers can use portals or blessings to skip over some untouched wilderness areas, or they can walk there on foot or farm runes in the area.

What is visible is what is attainable.

Every inch of the border map is a real scene.

It's just divided into wilderness areas and story areas.

Those pristine mountains and wildernesses, devoid of any trace of civilization, can be used for monster hunting and cultivation. And wherever there are traces of ruins or villages and towns, every square kilometer is worth exploring thoroughly.

There are always undiscovered secrets.

There are always people you haven't met yet.

Or you might encounter a surprising treasure.

The area at the border is so vast and has such high information density that it is explorable.

At this point, not only Lake Lienia, but even the first unlocked region, Nymgford, still has a large number of valuable items, interesting characters, or storylines that have not yet been triggered.

Therefore, many adventurers defeated Grek who had extended his limbs.

Instead of leaving, they continued exploring Nymgford.

In less than a day, many overlooked areas and scenes were indeed discovered. For example, Baihe Jushi discovered another heavyweight hidden BOSS in Storm Hills - the Furnace Knight!
The investigation has confirmed this.

The Forge Knights are knights who are loyal to the First King, Gofrey.

The Grik Knights under Grik's command, or the Lost Knights who once served the Storm King, are already considered extremely difficult opponents by adventurers, but these two types of knights are nothing compared to the Forge Knights.

Even a powerful adventurer like the White Crane Hermit.

He also lost eight or nine times in a row.

The strength gap is too big!
The Forge Knight possesses secret techniques obtained from the Forge's Hundred Forms, allowing his body to transform into four or five different beast or monster forms. He also has the ability to summon wings and fly into the sky at an extremely fast speed, making him very difficult to defend against!

Fortunately, it was during the process of suffering and abuse.

Adventurers have found the Tower of Divine Gift located in Nymgford.

This tower can empower those who have faded with the power of the Great Rune, thereby greatly increasing their attributes and multiplying their strength.

The White Crane Hermit immediately enhanced the Great Rune in his hand, and as expected, all its attributes surged, allowing the Faded One he was playing to directly reach the peak of the second tier.

If a few more amplification buffs are stacked.

Or activate the "Vengeance Oath" on the Greatsword of the Sword Skeleton.

The character he plays, the Faded One, will possess genuine Tier 3 character abilities for a period of time.

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect!
After being repeatedly defeated, Baihe Jushi had mastered the rhythm of the Furnace Knight's battle and understood its skill style. Finally, amidst the cheers and celebrations of the crowd, he achieved the first kill and successfully obtained the corresponding Tier 3 Three-Star Rare Essence.

"The Forge Knight is truly extraordinary!"

"One of them is this strong... Back then, Grefrey had a knightly order composed of Forge Knights under his command. No wonder he could sweep across the borderlands and defeat all the forces without any chance to resist!"

"The types and varieties of spirits in the border region are so diverse!"

"There are probably at least seven or eight different types of knights!"

"These are all extremely rare and valuable high-quality humanoid spirits!"

"Big shots, please give it your all! Let us see just how much hidden treasure this border region holds!"

"..."

the other side.

Mengbai embarks on a new adventure.

She was one of the first adventurers to venture into Lake Lienia.

However, she neither conservatively returned to Nymgford like the White Crane Hermit, nor did she rush to the magic academy like other adventurers who entered Lake Lienia.

Because Mengbai realized it wasn't that easy!
The magic academy is definitely heavily guarded. With my current abilities, I might not be able to break in, or rather, it's impossible for me to break in at all. It's even less likely that I can defeat the Full Moon Queen. Instead of rushing in to my death, I'd rather explore the surrounding area first.

This way, you can learn about the history and background of the place, and also acquire more rune skills and equipment during your travels, while other adventurers will have already explored the minefield and made all the same mistakes.

Mengbai will absorb experience and greatly reduce the cost of trial and error.

So, old ginger is spicier!
Meng Bai may look like a cute and cuddly little girl, but her hundreds of years of dragon life experience are not just for show... However, it is worth mentioning that although Meng Bai did not explore the magic academy, she unexpectedly found the territory of another important force.

"This is……"

Before Meng Bai's eyes appeared vast ruins.

These ruins must have once been prosperous towns, which were completely destroyed by war. It is unknown whether they were destroyed in the war between the Golden Tree and the Full Moon, or in the struggle between the Realucalia Academy and the Caria Royal Family.

Looking ahead from these ruins.

Ahead lies a high hill and cliff.

Atop this hill and cliff stands an ancient and magnificent building, nearly the size of Stoneville's fortress. Although its full extent cannot be seen from the current angle, one can still feel the powerful sense of oppression and mystery surrounding the structure.

"This isn't the Reyalukalia Academy, could this be... the Kalia Fortress that the other Faded Ones were talking about?!"

"Brother Mengbai, what is Kalia Fortress, and why is there such a large castle there?"

"I'm not entirely clear on the specifics either, but along the way, in the Blessed Camps I've passed through, I've heard other Faded Ones mention more than once that in the power structure of Lienia, the Academy of Realucalia and the Kingdom of Kalia are the most crucial."

Meng Bai continued, "Kalia Fortress was originally the royal city of the former Kingdom of Kalia. Although the Kingdom of Kalia was a small kingdom, it possessed considerable strength. It suffered enormous damage in the war with the Golden Tree faction. Later, its relationship with the Reyalukalia Academy deteriorated, and it suffered heavy losses from the invasion of the Cuckoo Knights..."

All of a sudden.

Everyone became curious.

Some adventurers who were familiar with the forces in the Lienia region also shared their information and thoughts.

"So this is Kalia Fortress?"

Black Hammer King: "As expected of the territory of the Kalia royal family, although it is dilapidated, it is still magnificent!"

Feng Zhongmian: "As far as I know, the relationship between the Kalia royal family and the Magic Academy has always been very delicate until the appearance of Queen Renara of the Full Moon. She became the leader of the Magic Academy and the Queen of Kalia at the same time... She was the only hero in the past hundred years who could rule the Kingdom of Kalia and the Magic Academy at the same time!"

"When the Golden Clan invaded the south and war broke out with the Kingdom of Caria, it was Queen Full Moon who led the army to hold off the invincible Golden Army."

"..."

Pear Blossom Rain: "Is the being we adventurers are going to challenge in Lake Lienia really that powerful?"

Cat Momo: "This does sound much better than the weak and ugly limb-extending Greke. Did she finally manage to withstand the Golden Tree's attack?"

Time Traveler: "We managed to block it, but not completely. After all, the difference in strength between Kalia and the Golden Tree was too great. In the end, we had to resolve the problem through a dramatic political marriage."

"At that time, the most powerful and prestigious hero leader of the Golden Tree army, Red-haired Rdagan, married the Queen of the Full Moon, and from then on, the Gold and the Moon reconciled and stopped the war."

"However, in this political marriage..."

"Queen Full Moon seems to have really fallen in love with Radagan."

"After using Renara, Radagan ruthlessly abandoned the Queen of the Full Moon and ran back to Rodel to marry the Eternal Queen Marika, thus becoming the second King of Elden."

"Queen Full Moon suffered a huge blow as a result and went insane. She now seems to have lost control of the Kalia royal family and the magic academy."

"This is all the information we have at the moment!"

"..."

When I heard this intelligence...

The adventurers were very curious.

Nancy: "Where did this Radagan come from? What makes him think he can become the second King of Elden?!"

Cat Mengmeng also complained, "Hmph, what a bad man who started something and then abandoned it. When I meet him, I'll definitely teach him a lesson!"

"That's not important right now!"

"Mengbai, hurry up and take action."

"Kalia Fortress is right in front of us; there might be some good treasures inside,"

"..."

Meng Bai came here to avoid running into trouble too early, but she didn't expect to run into Kalia Fortress so unfortunately. Her intuition told her that this place was not easy to fight, but since she had come so far, she would not be willing to give up without going in and taking a look!

Then try it!
Mengbai decided to cross the ruins and enter the fortress.

This ruin is inhabited by a large number of immortals.

They must have been nobles of the Golden Tree faction in their previous lives, so even though they are completely turned into zombies like other undead, they can still use some basic spells and teleportation abilities. They are very troublesome when there are many of them!
Fortunately, these nobles were very fragile and anemic.

We made our way to the depths of the ruins without any major incidents.

At this moment, Meng Bai noticed that there were fewer monsters around, which did not seem to be good news... because just then, a series of mournful growls came from all directions.

Sometimes near, sometimes far.

When far away, it can feel like being thousands of meters apart.

When it's close, it feels as if it's right in front of you.

[You have unlocked the latest monster in the monster encyclopedia: Royal Ghost!]

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

(PS: Something came up today and I was a little late with the update, so the word count is a bit lower. It will be back to normal tomorrow.) (End of Chapter)