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"Wow, this place is incredible!" Liam exclaimed as he gazed at the newly established Lord's Mansion.
The Novice City had enough houses to accommodate the entire population of 150,000, but vast areas still lay undeveloped. Among the grand structures, aside from the resource points, the most impressive was undoubtedly the Lord's Mansion. Covering hundreds of square meters, it stood as the only building in the city taller than five stories.
As the honorary lord, Alex naturally earned the right to reside in this mansion.
For the other citizens, being part of the city's first wave of residents meant they could purchase property at highly discounted prices. However, even a basic apartment cost at least 100,000 points. Though the discounted price was slashed to 30,000 points, it wasn't something everyone could afford.
Most opted for renting, which cost around 3,000 points per month. But it seemed that, just like in the real world, those with enough points were eager to purchase, and within a short span, tens of thousands of homes were already sold.
Alex's group didn't hesitate either. For them, 30,000 points was a negligible sum. After securing their own homes, they excitedly clamored to check out the Lord's Mansion, East Sea City's only "villa" at the moment.
Seeing their amazement, Alex chuckled, feeling a bit of pride. "Why don't you all just move in here? If I had to live in this huge place all by myself, I might not want to stay."
Having grown accustomed to sticking together, Emily and the others quickly warmed to the idea. Aside from a few who had reunited with family, most of the group decided to stay in the mansion as well.
But before they could pick their rooms, their first visitors arrived.
A large group from the other nearby settlements had come, led by both guides and team leaders. Among them were Quinn Frost, some of the teachers from Yellow Tiger High School, and even Anya and Liam from the People's Park settlement.
Not many of Alex's group had experience hosting formal guests, being just teenagers after all. In the end, Emily, with her natural leadership, guided the girls to welcome everyone into the grand hall of the Lord's Mansion, a space large enough to accommodate over a hundred people.
Six guides, Emily, and the other city administrators sat in the front row, while Alex took the central seat.
"This marks the first official management meeting of East Sea City," Quinn began, taking charge of the proceedings. "We will now outline the rights, duties, and responsibilities of the honorary lord and the city administrators."
As the newly appointed honorary lord, Alex's position granted Quinn greater influence, making him the de facto moderator of the meeting. While Alex held the title of lord, it was mostly symbolic—his powers were primarily activated during large-scale conflicts, where his title would boost his combat abilities. For the most part, the role was more ceremonial, like a figurehead.
Emily and the other city administrators had even less direct power. Their main responsibility was voting on significant matters, like removing a lord or electing a new one, but beyond that, their duties were minimal.
Thus, the meeting didn't last long. The only other notable announcements came from the six guides, who declared plans to set up shops and further develop the five resource points under the city's control.
Future meetings, Quinn explained, would be rare, with most city management tasks handled by the Guide Association.
From what Quinn revealed, Alex and the others realized that if they wanted to build a city of their own, they would need to upgrade East Sea City from a Novice City to a Main City. The mission, *First Volume: Rebirth*, which had tasked them with building a Novice City, was only the first stage of a much larger plan.
Upon the establishment of East Sea City, anyone who had participated in the main quest, regardless of whether they had died during the resource point battles, received a new notification:
"Yellow Tiger High School, Huangpu Reservoir, and other settlements have completed the main quest: *Establish a Level 1 Novice City*. Participants receive 10,000 merit points, 10,000 points, 100% growth, and 2 skill points!"
And with that, the city received a new mission:
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**First Volume: Rebirth**
Main Quest: Establish a Level 2 Novice City
Description: You have successfully rebuilt your home, but it is still too fragile. To strengthen your city, you must unite and capture more resource points!
Quest Requirement: Capture 10 N-level resource points within the city.
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After the others had left, Alex finally had a moment to review his spoils from the day's battles. With the chaos of the Life Tree conquest, he hadn't had a chance to properly assess his rewards until now.
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**D-level Quest: Capture the Life Tree**
Quest Completion: 100% (Base Rating: F)
Sub-quest 1: Defeat 10 Twin-Claw Serpents (10/10)
Completion: 100% (Rating upgraded to E)
Sub-quest 2: Defeat the Red-Crowned Serpent (1/1)
Completion: 1000% (Maximum rating achieved, upgraded to B)
Sub-quest 3: Defeat the Boss: Golden-Crowned Colossus
Completion: 100% (Rating upgraded to A)
**Special Achievements:**
1. 50% damage contribution during boss fight: Rating upgraded to S
2. 90% damage contribution during boss fight: Rating upgraded to SS
3. 100% single attack damage contribution: Rating upgraded to SSS
**Final Quest Rating: SSS** (Maximum rating for D-level quests)
**SSS Rating Rewards:** 20,000 points, 12 skill points, 3 super skill points, 140% growth.
Total Serpents Defeated: 21 Twin-Claw Serpents, 62,000 merit points.
Total Red-Crowned Serpents Defeated: 23, 138,000 merit points.
Boss Damage: 100%, earning 360,000 merit points.
Highest contribution, earning an additional 50,000 points.
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**N-Level Resource Point Rewards:**
1. Contributed over 50% of total efforts in capturing the Life Tree, granting you 10% of its future yields.
2. Defeated the Golden-Crowned Colossus Boss, granting you 1 Life Crystal.
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The sheer amount of rewards made Alex feel slightly overwhelmed—though, admittedly, it was a pleasant problem to have.
Even though Alex had been forced to reduce his involvement in fighting due to the difficulty of the Life Tree battle, his gains remained significant. In total, he had earned 70,000 points, 560,000 merit points, 12 skill points, 3 super skill points, and 140% growth.
On top of that, he had secured 10% of the Life Tree's future income and had obtained a powerful Life Crystal.
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**Life Crystal (R-Level): Instantly restores 100% of your health.**
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With this crystal, as long as Alex wasn't instantly killed, he practically had two lives to fight with.