Chapter 21: The Righteous Domain Lord
Just like the Undead specialization, a massive World Tree appeared before him, with two specializations currently available to unlock.
[Specialization Name: Condensed Flame]
[Description: When you focus your mind, a halo will manifest in your palm, and the cast time of Ember Fire will be cancelled.]
[Unlock Condition: Collect the materials [Phantom Flame] + [Remnant Ancient Verses]]
[Note: These materials are obtained from the Sloth Witch's domain [Spirit Phantom Realm] and the special dungeon [Ancient Ruins], respectively.]
......
[Specialization Name: Arcane Flux]
[Description: You may freely control the size of the halo based on your maximum MP, or even condense them together to form stacking damage.]
[Unlock Condition: Obtain the equipment — [Crown of Thorns]]
[Note: This equipment is crafted from [Thorn of the Hatred Tree Spirit + Harpy Brain Matter].]
Both specializations offered transformative changes to skills, and both had extremely difficult material requirements.
Compared to everything else, the [Ancient Ruins] mentioned in Condensed Flame caught his attention.
A special dungeon...
What exactly was that?
When in doubt, Xia Er decisively opened the Oracle Forum and searched for the relevant term.
There was very little information — only a brief post published by the official team.
[Ancient Ruins] were remnants from the previous century, special relics formed during battles between adventurers and monsters.
Not even a hint about how to unlock them had been revealed.
"Looks like I'll need to find a chance to look into this..."
The specialization's effect was powerful — it could directly turn the skill into a single-target instant cast, which was exactly the kind of change Xia Er needed right now. He had to get his hands on it.
While he was still pondering, a raven quietly landed at the study window.
It seemed Lady Witch had sent a reply.
Xia Er eagerly tore it open and scanned straight to the bottom. The reply was only two characters long.
[Noted.]
Hmm.
Still the same cold, indifferent reply as always — though compared to the single character from before, the Witch of Pride had added one more this time.
It was clear the simp plan was bearing fruit.
If this kept up, maybe Lady Witch would eventually write him a whole essay?
After writing another letter and handing it to the raven, Xia Er enjoyed a rare stretch of leisurely days.
Because the Array Formation quest was so difficult, the frequency of players visiting the Undead Domain had noticeably slowed. His daily to-do list had shrunk to just two things:
Urge the goblin blacksmith to hurry up and forge the equipment, and occasionally receive new players lured in by the forum post.
Speaking of the post —
Xia Er was genuinely surprised that players had started calling him the [Mastermind Behind the Scenes].
He had only enabled the anonymous posting option to avoid revealing his identity, but it ended up causing a complete misunderstanding among the players.
The Oracle studio didn't bother to clarify anything either, simply continuing to publish world-lore posts in response to player progress each day, like a machine.
But...
This was actually a good thing.
If he could solidify this identity, it would be enormously beneficial to his cover as an NPC in a side quest — he might even be able to directly guide players on a larger scale.
All he could say was: players' self-delusion was a truly terrifying force.
A day passed in the blink of an eye.
After Avril distributed the supplies from the magic bag, the strength of the domain's several lieutenants rose noticeably across the board.
Little Ghost, the lieutenant with the mysterious background, had even reached level 29 — just one step away from becoming a Boss-tier monster. Her talent was exceptional.
It was all worth Xia Er's painstaking effort to cultivate her.
[Qiyuan Era, Year 322, August 16th.]
A full month had passed since Xia Er first arrived in this world.
It had to be said — his accomplishments during this time were quite impressive. First he had repelled the players, then, through his own brilliant wit, he had completed a persona transformation and leapt into the role of an NPC, continuously squeezing the players' labor for all it was worth.
"Come to think of it, Uriel's Grudge should be finished forging by now..."
In order to push the crafting quality of the equipment as high as possible, Xia Er had deliberately extended the deadline and told the blacksmith not to worry about time.
Four days had already passed — it should be about done.
He walked out of the castle.
Xia Er was just about to head over and check in with the goblin blacksmith when he noticed an uninvited guest had entered the domain.
The figure wore a black robe, their face shrouded in shadow, features impossible to make out.
[???]
Three large black question marks floated into view, signaling that this person was extremely dangerous. This was the first time Xia Er had encountered such a situation — the stranger's power clearly far exceeded his own, otherwise at least some information would have been readable.
This was not a player.
Realizing something was wrong, Xia Er decisively stopped in his tracks. He didn't flee, nor did he take the initiative to attack.
With such an overwhelming gap in power, nothing he did would matter.
"Heh heh... A clever one. No wonder you've managed to hold on until now."
A low, rumbling laugh escaped the black-robed figure's lips. In the next instant, they shifted their footing and appeared directly in front of Xia Er.
A gaunt hand, covered in all manner of magical runes, extended from the sleeve: "Hello."
"I come from Terminal City."
As the stranger voluntarily revealed their identity, the question marks overhead transformed.
[Magical Body] [Source Energy Controller] [Master of the Annihilation Arcane Ring] [Grand Priest of Terminal City]
"Hiss..."
A string of titles materialized in his vision, making Xia Er wince with a sharp intake of breath.
Now that's an impressive resume!
But once he knew the stranger's origins, the anxiety that had gripped him vanished entirely.
So it was one of his own. It seemed his letter had done some good after all.
Xia Er took a deep breath and bowed his head. "The Priest, sir — I failed to greet you upon your arrival. I have been remiss in my duties."
The Priest was very pleased with his attitude. "No matter."
"Among all the border domains, you are the only one who has managed to hold on. Well done."
"Thank you for the praise, sir."
Listening to the familiar flattery, Xia Er suppressed the urge to comment and asked, "May I ask what brings you here, sir?"
The Priest said slowly, "The adventurers have now seized every border territory. Though you have held on until now, given their terrifying rate of growth, you likely cannot hold out much longer."
"I can petition Lady Witch to dissolve your Soul Contract with the Undead Domain and escort you to the central monster habitats."
Having said his piece, The Priest watched Xia Er with an expectant gaze.
Judging by his behavior since they met, this was clearly a smart individual — he wouldn't refuse such an offer.
But...
What Xia Er said next made The Priest freeze in sudden surprise.
"I'm afraid I must decline, sir."
"When Lady Witch bestowed her power upon me and bound me in a Soul Contract, she entrusted me with the protection of this land..."
"Now that adventurers have come to invade, I am the Domain Lord. Having received such great grace, how could I betray my oath over something as trivial as death?"