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Chapter 126: Undead Bearing Heavy Responsibility
Spider Cave, beneath Exile Town, was Yang Qiu's first foray into crafting a beginner's monster-hunting spot for players.
When designing this map, Yang Qiu had indeed invested a great deal of thought and effort. His first step was to locate a massive cave. Then, he painstakingly gathered spiders from various nests and lairs within dozens of miles, forcibly integrating these different species of low-level magical creatures into a single cave.
This unconventional method led to an unusual situation where a variety of magical beasts cohabitated within one lairan occurrence that would never happen in the natural ecology of these monsters. However, players were generally unconcerned with the ecological accuracy as long as there were creatures to battle and loot to collect.
The issue, though, lay in the rate at which these monsters "respawned" to meet the players' demand for constant action. The high density of monsters turned the cave into a perilous place, where even the most seasoned players, fully armed and ready, risked causing a monster riot, leading to casualties or even total party annihilation if they weren't careful.
With the release of Desolate Outpost and the introduction of the Poisonous Marshlandsa new farming spot where players could lure and fight monsters individuallythe allure of the Spider Cave significantly diminished.
Players preferred the Poisonous Marshlands for its manageable challenges, highlighting the shortcomings in the design of the Spider Cave as a beginner's hunting ground.
Despite this, the Spider Cave remained relevant due to the demand for Spider Venom Sacs, a common ingredient in spellcasting and alchemy. Players still needed these materials for job advancements, reputation gains, and exchanging specific equipment materials at the Undead Merchant Association. Therefore, he couldn't change the cave but instead develop a new, more accessible beginner's monster-hunting ground that was easier to survive.
He found the ideal location in a hilly area with an open-pit coal mine. To the west and north of the mine lay vast stretches of barren, mossy rock terrain, only sporadically covered in grass and weeds. Dense forests bordered the east, while a natural river flowed to the south, flanked by extensive mudflats.
Climbing atop a hundred-meter-high hill, Yang Qiu surveyed the surroundings.
In the dense forest to the east, roars of monsters echoed continuously, while the vague silhouette of an enormous harpy glided between the treetops. Closer to the southern mudflats, murky-colored slimes sprawled lazily, and half-submerged putrid-hide gators lurked in the mire.
The expansive northwestern rocky terrain seemed tranquil until a lizard crossed an innocuous-looking thorn bush, only to be snatched by a sandworm as thick as a thermos flask, which disappeared swiftly back into the ground after swallowing its prey whole.
"Slimes and sandworms can be Level 0, while the putrid-hide gators are considered Level 1. The monster density here is lower than Spider Cave. If the mudflats and rocky fields are encompassed, it should suffice for the newbie players," Yang Qiu mused, stroking his chin.
"The only issue is its proximity to the dense forest. Higher-level creatures roaming out could decimate players here Well, let's consider it an unexpected thrill in the monster-hunting experience. Positioning a zombie NPC near the forest to warn players about the dangers inside should fulfill my responsibility.
"The slimes' coat can be used as armor lining Wait, no. Isn't it alchemical golems that require extracts from slime monster coats? Mm, that makes it valuable. The price at which to collect from players should be set at one copper for five coats.
"Sokrians have a custom of feeding sandworm meat to livestock, so that should save on feed costs. Sandworms are tough to kill, so the recovery price can be set at one copper per corpse.
"Giving reputation to newbies for farming monsters would be unfair to veteran players and devalue the reputation system. These kills shall not grant reputation points.
"Those veteran players earned their access to the Spider Cave after hard work, so I can't just freely open this mining area for monster hunting. A significant quest for them to complete has to be devised!"
Having outlined his plan, Yang Qiu set to work.
Firstly, he visited a "corpse source"which was the remnants of an ancient battlefield in the Taranthan Wastelands.
The Taranthan Wastelands, which had seen centuries of battles, had ancient remnants like this all over. Yang Qiu had gotten the corpses required for the three thousand new player accounts by running all over to such places
Just over 80 kilometers east of Exile Town lay a naturally formed canyon. This had been a historic battlefield that once entombed countless warriors. Over the years, dense vegetation had covered the place.
Yang Qiu had cleared some of the overgrowth when he visited previously to collect "materials." This time, when he returned, he saw that several skeletons, which were once ensnared by the vegetation, had now come to "life" and were wandering aimlessly around the entrance he had cleared.
This place also seems suitable to be used as a plotline location, mused Yang Qiu, considering the future possibilities. He walked past the ambling undead and headed into the depths of the canyon.
"Zombies" were rare; most corpses had turned into skeletons as the environments here weren't like the marshlands that could preserve bodies. free.c om
Using skeletons as NPCs wasn't feasible as players would inevitably strike out at them by accident or out of frustration, and unlike players, skeleton NPCs couldn't resurrect indefinitely.
After a thorough search in the canyon, Yang Qiu finally found a few mummified bodies in a collapsed cave that seemed to have been used as a temporary storage site.
"One, two, three Just five?" lamented Yang Qiu. "Sigh Zombie NPCs are really scarce."
Shaking his head, Yang Qiu wrapped the mummified zombies in canvas from his spatial ring, then summoned an undead lizard to haul them back to the mining zone.
Next, he set out to assign suitable "story NPC" roles to these mummified zombies and set up a basic structure for the mining zone outpost in anticipation of the players' arrival
While Yang Qiu was racking his head planning for new content, 300 kilometers away, in Weisshem, the Lord-Mayor duo of Rex and Ji Tang faced a serious challenge.
"The ninth month is just a week away, and that's when village folk begin to sell their grain and pay taxes," explained Sibyl, a resident of Weisshem for over six years, during the meeting.
"In previous years, Baron Markus's steward would arrive with a caravan to buy the wheat, corn, and soybeans the villagers brought to town, and taxes were paid on the spot," she continued.
"The Markus family steward always pushed the prices low, forcing villagers to sell at least half of their produce to barely cover their taxes," Shirley added. "But I've heard before that they needed to prepare at least 5000 gold coins. Mr. Rex has abolished local tax, so we just have to pay taxes to the throne and the faith. To cover taxes for the entire territory, at least 3000 gold coins are needed."
"3000 gold" Rex frowned.
Three thousand gold was equivalent to thirty thousand silver coins or three million copper coins.
In the Weisshem territory, distributing three million copper coins among its population of over twenty thousand didn't seem like a hefty sum. It averaged out to a little over a hundred copper coins per person. However, the business of taxation, regardless of the world, was never as simple as equal distribution; it had to follow a more complex system.
In the town, taxes were levied based on the income of the highest-earning male head of each household. The average annual income for adult males in Weisshem hovered around 100 silver coins, which meant that an average family was expected to pay about 30 silver coins in taxes annually. Since most town residents belonged to extended families, this tax amount was substantial but not crippling.
Farmers, on the other hand, paid taxes based on the yield of their fields rather than family income.
By the laws of the Rhine Kingdom, the tax burden on farmers wasn't excessively harsh. A tenth of their produce went to the Church of Lady Gold Coin, another tenth to the king, and a third tenth to the local lord ruling their areasumming up to a total of 30% of their produce.
However, anyone versed in history knew that rules set by the higher-ups were meant to control those below them, and those with the power to influence these rules often enjoyed bending or outright breaking them.
The seemingly moderate thirty percent produce tax for farmers could become burdensome with added stipulations like the requirement to pay in cash rather than in kind and local rules forcing farmers to sell their produce only to their local lord. Whether a farmer could secure enough food for survival after a year's hard labor depended largely on the benevolence, or lack thereof, of their local lord.
Rex's father being a viscount with his own lands meant that Rex was acutely aware of the immense power nobles held over the local populace.
When Rex was appointed as the new lord by Yang, his first act was to abolish the town's family-based taxation system. He shifted to individual income tax, exempting anyone earning less than 18 silver coins a month. For farmers, he went a step further, eliminating the local lord's share of the tax. He knew too well the significant impact this relief would have on the local farmers.
While local lord taxes could be waived, taxes to the king and the faith still had to be paid. Despite his reluctance to suppress the price of grain, as the current lord, Rex needed to prepare a substantial amount of currency. The biggest issue they faced was a shortage of funds.
"With the town hall's current cash reserves, plus the recent spoils from the undead raid on the Sokrian merchant convoy, we barely scrape together a thousand gold," Rex sighed. "We need to find a way to cover the two thousand gold shortfall before the autumn tax deadline, or the Bartalis family will have an excuse to interfere in Weisshem."
Furrowing his brows, Ji Tang asked, "Aren't there numerous estates and farms? Do they not pay taxes?"
"Indeed, they don't," Rex replied with evident frustration. "These estates have purchased their land outright, and the ownership is registered under various members of the major families. Only the governing officials in the families' principal domains have the authority to inquire about their tax contributions."
Ji Tang's face twitched. The fact that major families could legally avoid taxes through land ownership transactions and off-site property investments was not something he would comment on.
"To raise funds quickly, we need to do business with Indahl," Zhao Zhenzhen, who had been invited to listen in, pointed out the obvious. "Rex, does the Bartalis family's stance hinder trade between Weisshem and Indahl?"
"Yes," Rex replied, his face reflecting his irritation. "Steward Gould, who visited recently, demanded as a reconciliatory gesture the unconditional release of all city defense force soldiers, return of confiscated equipment and horses, and preparation of three thousand pieces of undead cloth and 20 undead servants as an apology to the Bartalis family."
The entire meeting room fell silent.
The clerks thought these demands were outrageously unreasonable, while Ji Tang and Zhao Zhenzhen wondered what havoc 20 players could wreak on the Bartalis family
"What about bypassing the Bartalis and trading directly with the civilians of Indahl?" suggested Zhao Zhenzhen.
"That might not be possible, Ms. Zhao," Rex replied with a troubled expression. "Without the Bartalis' intervention, the city defense force and municipal police would still prevent it. All our goods would be forcibly confiscated."
Zhao Zhenzhen pondered for a moment before suggesting, "What if we offer a service instead of goods?" Before Rex could dismiss the idea, she quickly added, "We don't need to worry about being detained. As undead, we fear not imprisonment and can escape anytime."
Players weren't afraid of restrictions on their freedom and could simply respawn back in the city by killing themselves. Their equipment would remain intact as long as they weren't completely disassembled.
Rex was astounded by her suggestion. He had invited Zhao Zhenzhen, hoping the clever undead lady would come up with a solution, but her proposal was beyond his immediate comprehension. "Even so what kind of services could our undead friends possibly provide?"
Zhao Zhenzhen smiled slightly. "If you can secure a batch of 'special materials' from Lord Yang for us, we can organize the undead to earn sufficient currency for Weisshem in Indahl."
Yang Qiu, who was busy designing new monster spawn points, received Rex's request through the imprint matrix. Glancing at the list of "special materials," he immediately guessed who was behind this cunning plan.
"Sigh, always testing my limits," Yang Qiu muttered to himself.
Since her arrival, Zhao Zhenzhen, the "tool player," had been remarkably well-behaved, even more so than Ji Tang, as if she was biding her time for a big move
Yang Qiu, cautious with the thousand new husky-like players, knew that the veteran players were less of a concern. They had proven themselves in two defense battles, both against the city defense force and the Sokrian merchant convoy. The players had neither damaged crops nor harassed civilians along their route, showing more civility than most of this world's armies.
As long as they didn't appear as "special NPCs" with hidden quests or valuable loot, these veteran players posed no greater threat to civilians than a drunkard on the street.
Weighing the pros and cons, Yang Qiu opened a spatial rift to Earth to procure the required items
Soon, a batch of "special materials" was delivered to Rex, who then passed them on to Zhao Zhenzhen.
With the materials in hand, Zhao Zhenzhen cast a long, meaningful glance in the direction of Taranthan. Utilizing her privileges as an "Undead Merchant Association tool player," she issued a quest to all online players who had reputation with the Undead Merchant Association.
For the players, accepting a quest from a "tool player" wasn't something new; they had previously taken on quests from Ji Tang to stage a performance. While some grumbled about the oddity of the quest, they flocked to Weisshem to find Zhao Zhenzhen.