The Experience Shop

"An Experience Shop?" "What on earth is that?" "You spend experience points to redeem... skill proficiencies, combat techniques, and even spells?" In the central square of Northwind Keep, players crowded before the Kingdom of Cinders' bulletin board, shouting in clamorous debate. "Who the hell brought a wyvern here?!" "Holy crap, what is that?" "Mantou, you old scoundrel, stop shoving!" "Damn it, that's cheating! Go wait in line like everyone else!" "What do you mean 'cheating'? As a peace officer, it's my duty to disperse crowds and prevent accidents. That's called a sense of responsibility, alright?" "Let me see, let me see." Leading Noodles through the press of players, Mantou used the wyvern's massive frame to part the crowd gathered before the board, physically carving a path straight through. "An Experience Shop..." "Looks like this actually has some good stuff." Mantou stroked his chin thoughtfully, only to be grabbed by the collar and hoisted into the air by a burly man behind him. "Don't block the way!" "Shit..." "Nice one!" Cheers erupted from the crowd. The level cap for the open beta was level eight. Most ordinary players still hovered within level four, and some casual novices hadn't even reached level two. Yet among the core members of top guilds and dedicated solo professionals, quite a few were already approaching that threshold. Nobody knew how long it would be until the next major version update, by which point players would inevitably accumulate a surplus of experience. Currently, the locations offering an Experience Shop included the Tower of the Great Savant, the Redscale Garrison, the Imperial Military Training Camp, the Wasteland Shooting Range, and the Lizardfolk Wasteland Hunting Grounds. Each offered different skill proficiencies—such as spells, horsemanship, military tactics, hunting, and governance—as well as various combat arts. Players could even browse select materials from the kingdom's Grand Library. However, unlocking the Experience Shop came with a hard requirement: one had to be an imperial subject and possess a certain degree of dragon blood. *With a new system like this dropping, Sing-dog will definitely put out a guide, won't he?* Mantou opened the forums. Sure enough, several guide posts were already up. By the time Mantou had first heard the news, Singo had already visited every single location where an Experience Shop was available and swiftly compiled a comprehensive guide. His sheer efficiency was staggering. "[Experience Shop Guide: Beginner Edition]" "In Elezerg, while leveling up is undoubtedly vital, utilizing the Experience Shop to acquire abilities during the early game may offer newcomers far faster progression." "Even if you level up to a level-four fighter with higher base stats and skills, it remains difficult to unleash your full potential without solid combat techniques." "Proficiencies available at the Imperial Military Training Camp—such as swordsmanship, horsemanship, and athletics—deliver outstanding results. When properly combined, spending merely around a thousand experience points yields far greater benefits than simply bumping your character level." "Additionally, if you are a casual player, I recommend going directly to a facility like the Northwind Keep Technical Research Institute to learn a trade. "Whether it's crafting luxury goods, forging armor, or brewing potions, you can generate a respectable income—more than enough to live a comfortable life." Reading this, Mantou nodded. Even though the guy was a massive pain in the neck, he was remarkably professional when it came to game guides, or at least thoroughly trustworthy. However, these threads were aimed squarely at beginners and casual players. They weren't particularly useful for a veteran like Mantou, who possessed the Redscale Conqueror prestige class and had ingested a Dragon Blood Potion. He scrolled further down, and sure enough, a new thread caught his eye. "[Experience Shop Guide: Advanced Edition]" "Under the current version cap of level eight, any reasonably dedicated player should already be near the top. By the way, I've already banked four thousand five hundred surplus experience points." Mantou spat mentally in disgust. *Damn it, he just can't write a guide without flexing, can he? Completely hopeless.* He turned away and glanced somewhat sheepishly at his own status panel. Level 7 (28,800/34,000 XP) *That makes no sense...* *Where did he get that much experience?* Mantou considered himself plenty hardworking when it came to grinding experience. During the previous war, he had patrolled the Northern kingdoms on his wyvern, making countless swooping dive-bombs and conservatively killing hundreds of Northern soldiers. Just three days ago, he had accepted a bandit-clearing bounty and burned a hideout hidden deep in the forest to ash—even if he had pocketed all the looted supplies for himself. *Damn, it has to be perks from his viscount title,* Mantou thought resentfully. He had also attended that coronation ceremony—which had practically looked like a festival of special effects—yet he had only received the title of baron, still falling one tier below Singo. He also enjoyed Faction Contribution rewards, a gold stipend, and similar benefits. He had even sunk most of his savings into shares of Claudeus Military Industries, which paid handsome dividends every month. Mantou continued reading the guide. "Based on the interval between phases in the closed beta, the next major version update will likely arrive in about a year—and this window is our best chance to pull ahead of the pack." "There are already a hundred and ten thousand players in Elezerg, and that number continues to climb. If we want to secure prime resources, we have to widen the gap between ourselves and the rest." "Do not hoard your experience points, and do not save them for the next version; experience inevitably depreciates." "Five thousand experience was an astronomical figure during the closed beta, but now it's merely a handful of side quests." "Experience is meant to be spent; the sooner you use it, the sooner you reap the rewards." "Next, I will list recommended Experience Shop purchases for several major classes." "On a side note, the Dragon-Pact Sorcerer—a faction subclass obtained from the newly built Tower of Sinful Fire—is an extremely potent caster path. However, its class change quest is brutally demanding, so weigh the pros and cons carefully before attempting it." "For Redscale Conquerors, I recommend prioritizing horsemanship, lance techniques, scouting, and archery. I advise stacking horsemanship to 10 or above if possible; from personal experience, the results are phenomenal..." "For dragon-blessed paladins, recommended proficiencies include swordsmanship, shield techniques, military tactics, and athletics." "Additionally, I advise everyone to purchase a portrait of the Emperor to hang at home. The first thing you should do upon opening your eyes every morning is salute the portrait and shout 'Loyalty!'—supposedly, a high degree of faith boosts the effectiveness of Dragon Oath Spells." *Credit where it's due, Sing-dog's guides are packed with solid advice.* Mantou finished reading the guide thoroughly. He noted down the key points relevant to the Redscale Conqueror and patted Noodles on the neck. "Noodles, let's go!" The wyvern lowered its head obediently, allowing Mantou to leap onto its back. *Roaaar—!* Noodles let out a raspy screech, flapped its wings, and carried Mantou into the sky with an air of imposing majesty, soaring off toward the Redscale Garrison under the envious gazes of novice players below.