Free Web NovelChapter 48: [48]: The Domain Edict, Ruined Keep of Ash
Riding the Behemoth of the Hollow was an entirely different game experience.
With a mounted Speed of 298, Levi looked like a dark comet streaking across the map. The wind physics inside the NerveDive helmet roared in his ears, pulling at his black cloak. He covered the distance from the Crimson Steppes back to Valerius Citadel in a tiny fraction of the time it would have taken him on foot.
He didn’t stop to admire the scenery. He rode straight through the massive iron gates of the Citadel, ignoring the startled shouts of the NPC guards who completely failed to track his movement speed.
He navigated the stone-paved streets until he reached the grand municipal hall. It was a massive, incredibly opulent building constructed with white marble and gold trim. This was where players came to interact with the Domain System.
Levi dismissed his Behemoth, the massive dark horse dissolving into shadows, and walked up the marble steps.
Inside, standing behind a polished oak desk covered in maps and property deeds, was Lord Fenwick. He was a fat, arrogant-looking NPC dressed in ridiculously expensive silk noble clothes. Fenwick looked Levi up and down, clearly unimpressed by the jagged, terrifying aesthetic of the Obsidian Carapace.
"If you are here to ask for a handout or a basic mercenary contract, the barracks are down the street," Lord Fenwick sneered, waving a dismissive hand. "This office handles the sale of territorial Domains. Unless you represent a massive guild coalition with extremely deep pockets, do not waste my time."
"I don’t have a guild," Levi said flatly, walking right up to the desk. "I want to buy a Domain. Show me the map."
Fenwick scoffed, crossing his arms. "Very well. But do not blame me when your purse is too light to afford even a patch of dirt."
The NPC tapped the oak desk. A massive, glowing holographic map of the entire region projected into the air between them. Several icons hovered over various ruined forts, abandoned castles, and empty plots of land.
Levi studied the map carefully. The Domain System allowed players to buy these ruined properties and rebuild them into personal bases. Owning a Domain unlocked passive gold generation, fast-travel points, and the ability to construct a localized auction house.
Levi’s goal was simple. He wanted to establish a complete monopoly on auction house taxes before the massive player base realized how valuable it was. The NPC-run auction house in the City of Thresholds charged a brutal 15% tax on every transaction. If Levi built his own trading hub and set the tax rate to 5%, every top-tier crafter and guild leader would flock to his territory to save money. He would get rich passively.
But he needed the right location. If he bought a Domain in a low-level zone, griefers and rival guilds would constantly siege it just to annoy him. He needed a place so hostile that casual players couldn’t even survive the walk to the front door.
His eyes locked onto a blinking red icon situated far to the north.
[Ruined Keep of Ash]
[Location: The Ashen Peaks - Level 30 Zone]
"That one," Levi said, pointing at the hologram.
Lord Fenwick choked on his own spit. "The Ruined Keep? Are you mad? That territory is situated in the dead center of the Ashen Peaks. It is completely overrun by high-level elemental fiends. No mercantile caravan would ever survive the journey, and the ambient heat will melt standard armor. Furthermore, the Domain Edict costs five thousand gold coins!"
Fenwick smirked, clearly expecting Levi to back down. "As I said. You do not have the—"
Levi didn’t let him finish. He opened his UI and dumped exactly 5,000 Gold Coins directly onto the oak desk. The massive pile of digital currency hit the wood with a deafening, heavy clatter.
Lord Fenwick’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull. The arrogant noble NPC instantly dropped his sneer and scrambled to pull a heavy parchment scroll from under the desk.
"M-my deepest apologies, my lord!" Fenwick stammered, bowing so low his forehead almost hit the wood. "I did not realize I was dealing with a pioneer of such immense wealth! The Edict is yours!"
Levi took the heavy parchment.
[Domain Edict: Ruined Keep of Ash]
He didn’t stick around to chat. He turned around, walked out of the municipal hall, and instantly summoned his Behemoth.
He jumped into the saddle and spurred the massive dark horse forward. He rode straight out of Valerius Citadel and headed dead north.
The journey took him back past the Windswept Plains and the outskirts of the City of Thresholds. The area was starting to populate with Level 15 to 18 players who were grinding standard mobs.
Levi blew right past them.
The players just stopped and stared as a Level 20 player on a Gold-tier, pitch-black nightmare horse streaked past them at 298 Speed.
"What the hell was that?!" a Mage yelled in the proximity chat, dropping his staff.
"Is that a dev? You can’t even get mounts yet!" a rogue complained.
Levi ignored the chat logs. He kept the Behemoth at full sprint. The green grass of the plains slowly began to die, replaced by charred, blackened rock. The temperature spiked drastically. The sky turned a dark, smoky orange, and the smell of heavy sulfur filled the VR helmet’s sensory engine.
He had reached the border of the Ashen Peaks.
Rivers of literal glowing magma carved through the blackened landscape. The heat distortion made the air wobble. High up on a jagged, volcanic mountain in the distance sat the massive, crumbling black walls of the Ruined Keep of Ash.
Levi slowed the Behemoth down to a trot. He couldn’t just walk in and claim the property. Owning the Edict just gave him the legal right to the land. To actually build his base, he had to physically clear out the monsters currently occupying it.
He pulled up the local mob data.
The Ashen Peaks was a Level 30 zone.
Levi was Level 20.
"A ten-level gap," Levi muttered, his eyes narrowing. "That’s a fifty percent Level Suppression penalty. The system is going to cut my damage in half before I even hit their armor."
It was a mathematical nightmare. Going into a zone ten levels higher than your character was considered impossible by the game’s community standards.
But Levi’s stats weren’t standard. His Total Attack was sitting at an absurd 520. His Health was 1,520. He had a shield that gave him 755 extra HP, and a scythe that healed him for 10% of the damage he dealt.
He patted the Behemoth’s thick, armored neck and rode slowly up the volcanic slope toward the massive, broken iron gates of the Keep.
He could see them waiting in the courtyard. Massive, hulking creatures made of charred rock and flowing magma.
He unsealed the Sovereign’s Deathknell. The dark aura of his class flared aggressively against the orange light of the volcano.
Levi didn’t care about the 50% suppression penalty. He was going to break the mathematical limits of the game, clear this Keep, and build his empire.
He kicked his spurs into the Behemoth and charged the gates.
