Facing the rowdy players, Mezrolash stepped forward and raised the bloodstained greatsword in his hand high.
"Silence!"
Yet the players seemed stuck in their rebellious phase; if anything, the noise only grew louder, and all kinds of banter erupted.
"Hello there, hubby!"
"No male waifus! Step aside and let me have him!"
"Why is a red-skinned NPC acting so arrogant? Sooner or later we're gonna raid your ass!"
"His gear looks sick! Does the shop sell that?"
"He's so edgy, I love it!"
Mezrolash's scalp went numb listening to them, but he could only bite the bullet and press on.
"Warriors from an unknown realm, I am the acting administrator of the City of Baator, a tiefling warrior under the red dragon's command. You may call me Mezrolash. I have come to receive you on my master's orders.
"However, our City of Baator—and indeed the entire Cinder Nest—has no place for idlers. You must prove your worth to me.
"As you can surely see, the City of Baator was established not long ago, and everything here awaits development. I hope you will contribute your strength..."
Mezrolash tried his best to sound stirring and impassioned, but apart from a few hardcore lore enthusiasts, virtually no one was listening.
"That armor looks pretty neat. Feels like he's at least miniboss tier."
Mantou instinctively pulled up his interface and tossed a scan.
[Loading data...]
[Loading complete!]
[Based on your current strength, you can observe the following information:]
Sword of the Oathbreaker: Mezrolash
Faction: Cinder Nest - City of Baator
Basic Attributes: ???
Challenge Rating: ???
Disposition: -5 (Mild Dislike)
*According to official info, stats are only concealed when there's a gap of five levels or more between your level and their Challenge Rating. Is this starter-village NPC really that strong?*
*Wait, why did his disposition go into the negatives?*
He looked up, only to see the tiefling staring right at him, a dangerous glint in his eyes. He had clearly noticed Mantou probing him.
*Holy crap, he can detect an Inspect skill?*
Mantou sheepishly closed his interface, snapping to attention and listening obediently.
Mezrolash swept a warning gaze over the crowd before continuing, "You may accept quests, and the City of Baator will reward you accordingly.
"Everyone, please wait a moment."
He paused abruptly.
"Captain, we found him," Damakos stepped forward and reported.
Several burly tiefling guards carried a fresh corpse bristling with arrows out from the cave and laid it beside the previous one—it was Langlibaitiao again.
Only this time, he had died before he could even deliver a line.
Mezrolash had learned long ago from Cassius that these players could resurrect, but he also knew there were limits to it.
In Elezerg, players could only resurrect once every ten minutes, with an experience penalty based on their current level each time. Moreover, they were limited to three resurrections per day. After dying a third time, their only option was to idle on the forums and shoot the breeze.
"Damn, is this NPC that smart?"
"He even knows how to camp the spawn!"
"The official AI is straight-up griefing!"
"Good, good, good! Do you know how many people that troll Langlibaitiao has tilted? In another game, he pulled the final boss into our capital and trashed the whole city! Serves him right to get crushed until his spirit breaks!"
"Consider me a fan now."
"Seeing a player spawn-camped breaks my heart, but seeing that it's that scum Lang makes me ecstatic!"
"Turns out there really are good NPCs in the world..."
A chillingly gentle smile finally appeared on Mezrolash's face.
"Silence, everyone.
"Consider this a minor warning."
The moment he spoke this time, the crowd of players instantly fell silent as cicadas in winter, resembling elementary schoolers caught red-handed by their homeroom teacher.
After all, nobody wanted to be spawn-camped before they could even level up. Next to Langlibaitiao's arrow-riddled corpse, Mezrolash's words carried exceptional weight.
Mezrolash began introducing various details according to the red dragon's instructions.
"The smithy sells weapons and armor, the market will offer food and water, the tavern sells drinks and offers lodging on the second floor, quests can be accepted at the bounty board in the plaza, and rewards are claimed at the City of Baator's Adventurers' Guild..."
Following Mezrolash's explanation, the players gained a general understanding of the City of Baator.
Once the quests were officially posted, corresponding quest entries appeared on the players' panels, including repairing city walls, constructing houses, venturing out to hunt, slaying hostile monsters, and more.
The system allocated experience according to quest difficulty and consumption, while faction contribution was managed directly by Cassius as the faction leader.
However, most of these tasks leaned toward labor, commonly known as grunt work. Monster hunting and leveling—the gameplay loop players were most familiar with—made up a relatively small portion. After all, Storm Heights was on the verge of being completely claimed by the Cinder Nest, leaving only the monsters hidden deep in the mountain forests to track down.
"So many quests..."
"This dire boar hunting quest rewards a standard city guard equipment set! Watch me get god-tier RNG right out of the gate!"
"These are based on real physical stats, dude. You probably can't even beat a chicken."
"You're the one who can't beat a chicken!"
"Why are there construction chores...?"
Being fresh to the game, the players were thoroughly intrigued by the wide variety of tasks—so much so that they hardly noticed when Langlibaitiao's corpse was hauled out once more.
Three corpses lay neatly side by side in a row.
They stood as a silent testament to the fate of that resident clown.
Although the City of Baator had begun to take shape with the rough outline of a settlement, it had only been developing for five years. Its population was sparse, its foundation shallow, and its buildings still rudimentary across the board.
The most pressing issue was a labor shortage. Reinforcements from the Cinder Nest had mitigated the problem slightly, but distant water could not quench an immediate thirst.
With the arrival of these hundreds of players, however, every aspect of the City of Baator could develop rapidly—especially with a workforce that feared neither death nor exhaustion.
And so, the players commenced their exploration.
"Holy crap, why is there an ogre in this tavern?! Are the guards blind?"
"Wait, bro, don't hit me! I'm one of the good humans!"
"That big-nosed goblin is a patrol guard? I thought it was a mob!"
"This wyvern understands human speech!"
"Ogres, goblins, wyverns, and... uh, tieflings. Why do I feel like our starter village isn't part of any decent faction?"
"That dragon statue in the center of the plaza looks pretty cool. Apparently he's our big boss."
"Wait, did we spawn straight into a boss's lair?"
"..."
Mezrolash stood on high ground, quietly observing these "Starfallen" scurrying about to accept quests, lost in thought.
Their arrival brought immense chaos to the City of Baator, but it also injected a vitality brimming with endless possibilities. Though Mezrolash often found himself rendered speechless, he recognized this clearly.
*I'm beginning to understand what Master meant by 'entice them with profit, intimidate them with force,'* the tiefling paladin thought to himself.
...
Chapter 68