After the players exaggeratedly described this "war" on the forums, a steady stream of players began flooding into Noel Town. New players were reporting there almost every moment, and the number of people loitering outside the town soon exceeded five digits.
Many Kazimierz -region players had gathered here, which made the mayor of Noel Town both pleased and anxious. He was delighted by the sudden influx of cheap labor, yet also uneasy about so many wanderers gathering—potentially stirring up trouble.
Felix, however, had no such concerns. On the contrary, he hoped even more players would arrive. After all, his impressive display of strength—his devastating gun skills and powerful team bonus—had already earned him considerable fame. It was just a pity that the local Kazimierz populace consisted mostly of Kuranta, and the sight of a knight wielding a Gatling gun remained undeniably jarring.
Still, Felix's cold weapons sold out every day. He only stocked a small number of guns, just enough to give players a taste of what they were missing. Those who wanted to wield firearms needed to train their attributes; otherwise, their performance might not even match that of cold weapon users.
Every day, new players would hand over their LMD and mission-earned experience to Felix. These early players were lucky enough to gain a profession without needing to interact with any of the larger factions.
Players from other regions, however, could only watch with envy and frustration. Some areas were so far from Kazimierz that reaching them would take a month or two of travel. There were no planes here—so forget about direct flights.
"Master Pioneer, please come visit Leithania! We have beautiful music and a strong artistic culture! All our NPCs speak German—maybe you'll run into a few failed Austrian artists? PS: Our Twin Towers are still standing—all we need now is a plane!"
"Wuwuwu, I want to buy a gun... I'm returning to my original belief! We're both Sankta anyway—I just want to shoot!"
"Come to the East Country now! We've got arrogant and willful young ladies, cute girls, beautiful girls, more cute girls, and even more beautiful girls. Come sell cold weapons here—I just want to be a swordsman!"
This generation of players was indeed... unique.
While browsing the forums, Felix noticed that many players were petitioning the developers to place his character portrait on the official website. They had even come up with a title for him:
"A Saint Walking on the Earth."
...Though frankly, he felt the word saint had nothing to do with him.
Over the past few days, he had also come into contact with members of professional teams. A Liquid team branch based in Kazimierz had already contributed a significant amount of resources to him.
In addition to daily item sales, Felix continued issuing challenging side quests. Though not easy, these tasks rewarded far more experience than the usual town missions. Players could then use that experience to purchase profession books from Felix, creating a perfect, self-sustaining cycle.
"Mr. Pioneer, what do you think of the infected?"
Felix looked up, withdrawing his gaze from the forum. It was Qiu Muyu, trying to start a conversation with him.
He hadn't been actively communicating with players over the past few days. When they spoke to him, he responded only with the minimum number of words—just enough to get his point across.
He wasn't deliberately trying to portray the image of a quiet and indifferent Sankta; it simply didn't match the expectations players had already formed about him. He just felt that, if he spoke too much, people might begin to feel this NPC was too realistic—even though the forums were already flooded with tens of thousands of posts marveling at how lifelike the game was.
But then again, as a "protagonist" NPC... wasn't it acceptable for him to speak a little more?
Thinking of the title players had given him on the forums, Felix finally opened his mouth.
"They are human beings, just like us."
"The Holy City of Laterano stands far removed from all suffering. They're perched too high to see the dust at their feet." Felix shook his head lightly. "All people are born equal, yet some stand above others, while others bear the weight of every hardship in the world. Before they were labeled as infected... they were people first."
Qiu Muyu's eyes lit up with curiosity. Among the players, she was one of the few especially interested in Terra's lore. But with everyone still stuck in Novice Town, and with no missions yet exploring the deeper world history, she turned to the "angel" who had recently descended before the players, hoping to learn more.
The infected were a taboo topic for most inhabitants of this land, but players had no such reservations. Among them were a few who had become infected during missions or while exploring the map—or had simply wandered into an Originium storm. If these infected players were rejected by Novice Town, they would vent their frustrations through long posts on the forum.
As had been said before, there was no real conflict of interest between Felix and the players. They were currently in a mutually beneficial honeymoon phase. He was not their enemy—in fact, like other major factions on this suffering land, he could recruit them, supply them with resources, and train them to become his most solid foundation. By appealing to their personalities and interests, he could bind them tightly to his side.
That was one of the greatest advantages of the players: their immortality.
Think about it—when it came time to fight, each player essentially had countless lives. If one died, it was just a tally mark. The next day, they'd be back on the battlefield again. In a prolonged war of attrition, what NPC force could possibly hold out against such an enemy?
In his past life, many NPC factions had eventually begun treating the immortal player armies like a Fourth Scourge. They would designate special battlefields just to let these fearless players throw themselves into chaotic warfare, grinding one another down with no end in sight.
"Someday, if you ever get a chance to visit Rutland, you'll understand."
Felix smiled. Players like Qiu Muyu—support roles and producers—could also become quite useful. As production-based characters, what they lacked was raw material. If he ever needed specific resources, he could simply issue quests to these players. With any luck, they might already have what he needed stashed in their inventories.
Training the players was crucial.
Felix was particularly optimistic about the professional teams. With proper guidance, not only could he build a reliable fighting force, but he might also help them rise within the competitive scene, ensuring they no longer suffered such humiliating defeats.
Then again, players weren't online all the time. It was impossible for Felix to rely solely on them for everything. If he wanted to build a faction that players could see as reliable in the long run, he would still need the help of NPCs. That was both the reason and the excuse behind his habit of saving money.
He already had a plan in mind—but the time wasn't right yet. Only when the year 1088 arrived could he begin putting that plan into action.
It would be dangerous if that woman, Arturia, were here. With her Originium Arts, she'd probably try to become some kind of Holy Emperor, ruling all of Terra while sitting on a golden toilet.
Felix continued explaining the nature of the infected to Qiu Muyu—the origins of Oripathy, the preciousness of Originium, and the intricacies of Terra's resource conflicts. These were topics unknown to most current players, requiring a deep dive into in-game literature and lore. Drawing from both the original owner's memories and the documents he had read in his past life, Felix wove the tale for her.
As the story unfolded, Qiu Muyu unconsciously began to feel sympathy for the infected. This was typical for players like her, who became emotionally invested in the narrative. Sure, some players were the type to skip every cutscene and dialogue box in old-school MMORPGs—but there were just as many who would shed tears over lines like:
"You look best when you smile."
"Ah… I don't know… whether that persimmon… suits his taste…"
"Give me… remember… we… once lived in this world."
---
"If you're ever interested in learning more," Felix said with a warm smile, "you're welcome to come back anytime."
[The Pioneer's favorability towards you has increased by 1]
Qiu Muyu beamed with joy. She hadn't expected to gain favor just by asking an NPC about the game's background. What surprised her even more was that she'd received a quest directly from Felix.
A mission titled [The Pioneer and the Land] appeared in her log. The objective: reach level 10, then return to him. There was a promise of a surprise reward, along with a generous amount of experience and Lungmen Dollar.
Qiu Muyu left in high spirits, while Felix pulled his coat tighter around himself.
Snowflakes were already beginning to fall across the December sky of Kazimierz , but his mind was far from the cold—already drifting toward the near future, silently mapping out the steps of his journey.
---
Felix had no interest in Kazdel's civil war. To him, it was just a brutal internal struggle among the Sarkaz—one that held little meaning.
But watching players who had joined opposite factions bicker and argue about it on the forums? Now that was entertaining.
A faction section soon emerged on the forum. The spark was a post made by border guards aligned with Theresa, who were openly discussing the location of player camps. Not long after, they were ambushed by players from the Theresis Army. This incident marked the first true outbreak of PvP conflict.
Felix watched with amusement as the two sides hurled insults at each other on the forums, describing the battlefield as a duel between martial arts masters.
But the reality? They were just clashing with sticks and knives in crude, close-quarters combat. At this stage, what kind of combat prowess could these early-game players possibly have?
The newly created camp section of the forum restricted players from different factions from viewing each other's posts. Before entering a camp, players had to register their ID, and the clearest way to verify identity was simply whether someone was aligned with the Theresa Army or the Theresis Military.
Of course, it didn't take long before spies started infiltrating the opposing camps—but that was a story for another time.
As more and more players gathered, Felix's inventory began to dwindle. He planned to relocate after the New Year and start his business anew. After all, he had just about wrung every coin he could from the players in this area. It was time to shift his focus to Colombia and Ursus, which were geographically closer to Kazimierz .
Still, he wasn't in a rush. Not only was his stock running low, but he had also realized that new players didn't bring much profit just yet. With all the introductory story quests in the Novice Village and Town, the best time to capitalize on them would come after they'd leveled up and matured a bit more.
Then came a message from the Chamber of Commerce: the materials he had ordered had finally arrived. Along with the delivery was a gold-stamped invitation letter, inviting him to attend the end-of-year Knight Competition Awards Ceremony as a distinguished guest.
That's right—this whole event was a product of capital. The Chamber of Commerce held it annually, selecting winners for titles like Most Popular Knight, Most Promising Newcomer, and others. Following the awards was the traditional cocktail party. For any knight or guest attending the ceremony, it was a rare opportunity to grow their social network.
Knights were no longer the revered, noble class of old. In this era, knights needed to make a living like everyone else. It had even become a mark of prestige to be approached by a company for product endorsements. And at this so-called award ceremony, all the major manufacturing companies in Kazimierz would show up—no surprise if a few business deals were struck with knights that caught their eye.
So, under the reluctant gazes of the players in Noel Town, Felix drove off in a military pickup truck.
He felt a touch of nostalgia as he returned to Kawalerielki after several months. Back in the apartment and studio prepared for him by the Chamber of Commerce, he rolled up his sleeves and got to work once again.
Taking advantage of the break, Felix also cracked open the Mechanic Promotion Manual gifted to him by Dürrenmatt. Using the opportunity, he invested half of the 300,000 experience points he had earned into his secondary profession.
From Apprentice Mechanic, he was promoted to Trainee Mechanic Lv15. Though his main level didn't change, he received 15 free attribute points as part of the advancement, along with stat bonuses: +1 Strength, +2 Endurance, +2 Intelligence.
He acquired two new skills: [Basic Mechanical Manufacturing] and [Mechanical Strength]. The former served as a preliminary upgraded version of his earlier skill, while the latter allowed him to increase the damage output when using mechanical weapons in combat. Felix temporarily upgraded both Basic Mechanical Manufacturing and the trait Basic Mechanical Understanding to Lv10, though he left Mechanical Strength untouched for now. Since his primary combat method still involved firearms, he decided to wait until he could create mechanical weapons before investing further.
Out of the 300,000 experience points he had, 250,000 were consumed. Advancing in a profession at this stage required a significant amount of experience. With 50,000 points remaining and nowhere else to allocate them, Felix couldn't resist spending them on his secondary profession: Novice Craftsman. After reading the manual gifted by the old craftsman and completing the upgrade, his Novice Craftsman profession reached Lv10, awarding him 10 free attribute points, +3 Strength, +2 Endurance, and unlocking the skills [Craftsman Forging] and [Basic Craftsman Understanding].
Not a single drop of experience remained.
In the days that followed, Felix spent his time hammering iron and browsing the forums. His next step was to obtain the Gunsmith's Profession Manual. Once he reached a sufficient level, he would be able to modify his own firearms and integrate them with mechanical components, allowing him to benefit from the mechanical strength bonus.
Naturally, Felix was also considering boosting his melee combat abilities. So far, all of his enemies had been defeated in fair, head-on fights. But what if someone ignored the unspoken "moral code" and tried a sneak attack?
Thankfully, the Craftsman profession offered the potential for close-combat enhancement. Unfortunately, his current level wasn't high enough to unlock any such skills.
Every shooter, deep down, dreams of being effective in close combat. And while Felix wasn't a shooter by trade, the appeal of landing a solid punch was undeniable.
One day, after finishing all his work, Felix took a simple shower and changed into the formal suit he had ordered from the Chamber of Commerce. It must be said—he really looked the part of a businessman in that outfit.
He took a car to the award ceremony. Upon arrival, the long red carpet made him chuckle. It was lined with reporters, Chamber of Commerce staff, and members of the National Council. Several knights were walking slowly down the carpet, flashing charming smiles at the cameras with each step.
"The stench of capitalist," Felix scoffed inwardly. "How could I ever be in league with them? I hold no mutual respect for capitalist!"
Clearing his throat, he gave a polite nod to the lovely Kuranta girl sitting beside him in the car. Outside, a beautiful Zalak girl greeted him warmly as he stepped out of the extended Lincoln.