Chapter 1 The Bottomless Abyss, Stone Forest City

As the Candlelight Firm's auction ended, players who had rented private residences rushed to their new homes. The moment these expert players teleported in, they were stunned.

"How is this possible!" Everyone stared in disbelief at an extra status effect in their status bar.

High Magic Power State!

It only took eight hours of rest to increase a player's stamina and mental strength by 20%, lasting for twelve hours, or up to eighteen hours with twelve hours of rest.

This buff sent everyone into a frenzy of joy.

What was most lacking in the Bottomless Abyss?

Stamina and mental strength, without a doubt. These were essential for staying longer in the Bottomless Abyss. Now, with sufficient rest, they could have 20% more stamina and mental strength than other players, effectively extending their active time by at least a fifth, which was an immense help.

This news quickly reached the ears of the various major powers.

"What's going on? Before, staying at Stone Forest City's hotels only doubled experience gain. How can private residences enhance a player's condition?"

"If that's the case, wouldn't players with private residences level up at least 20% faster than others in the Bottomless Abyss?"

"If so, we must snatch up more private residences tomorrow!"

The various powers all reassessed the value of Stone Forest City's private residences.

Previously, they had viewed them simply as convenient tools for players to travel back and forth. But now that they could enhance stamina and mental strength, the significance was entirely different. Especially for them, renting twenty residences would allow a team to benefit. A 20% boost to stamina and mental strength for an entire team was far more valuable than a boost for an individual.

The combat power of a team was on a completely different level than that of an individual, and team battles could greatly reduce the consumption of stamina and mental strength.

A 20% boost for the entire team would allow them at least 30% more active time compared to other teams, and their range of activity could also be greatly increased.

Especially on the first floor of the Bottomless Abyss.

Many areas on the first floor were occupied by Dark Demons.

These Dark Demons possessed appearances similar to humans, but their bodies were covered in magical runes, and they had a third eye on their foreheads. They possessed a natural and extreme affinity for magic, comparable to the Elven race.

Coupled with the environment of the Bottomless Abyss, a single 65th level Elite Dark Demon could easily bury ordinary expert players in the Blade Mountain Range. If an expert team accidentally encountered a Lord-ranked Dark Demon, they would have to be prepared to sacrifice more than half their team to kill it.

Furthermore, Dark Demons used magic to conceal their presence, making them difficult to detect unless seen with the naked eye. They were masters of ambush, so players had to maintain maximum alertness at all times. If their stamina and mental condition deteriorated too much, even a Micro Realm expert could be killed.

This prevented the current teams from venturing too deep into the first floor. Otherwise, they wouldn't have enough stamina and mental strength to return, and their efforts would be wasted. As a result, expert teams only dared to operate on the periphery.

Now, with private residences, they could fully equip a team to delve deeper into the first floor of the Bottomless Abyss.

Instantly, the major powers began raising funds and dispatching people to stake out the Candlelight Firms that could auction off private residences. Instead of dwindling, the Candlelight Firm became even more crowded, with more players gathering than ever before.

Looking at the Candlelight Firms packed with people, especially in Stone Forest City, Zero Wing City, White River City, Dark Night City, and other locations, the crowds spilled onto the streets, leaving players who came to purchase items dumbfounded.

"What's going on? Why are so many guilds gathering here?"

"Yeah, there weren't this many people during the Stone Forest City auction before!"

Just at the entrance of the Candlelight Firm, they saw over a hundred guilds, each wearing brightly colored guild emblems. Although most were small guilds, there were also members of first-rate and second-rate guilds quietly waiting.

As everyone discussed why so many forces had gathered at the Candlelight Firm, the second auction for private residences in Stone Forest City began.

Compared to the first auction, the Candlelight Firm imposed a restriction due to the overwhelming number of participants: those with less than 500,000 credits were not eligible to enter. This caused an uproar among the free players, and some mocked Zero Wing, joking that they couldn't rent out so many private residences at high prices, hence the restriction.

However, as soon as the auction began, the news coming from inside silenced everyone.

The million-credit private residences of the first day were a thing of the past. Today, the starting price was two million, and the major guilds were desperate to snatch them all up. The various adventurer teams that still wanted to bid were eliminated before they even had a chance to raise their prices, leaving only the top adventurer teams able to compete.

By the time all one thousand private residences were rented out, the rental price of private residences in Stone Forest City had set a record of 2.36 million, far exceeding the 500,000 of the first day, shocking all the players of the various kingdoms and empires.

"They're crazy, these guilds must be crazy!"

The free players who had originally intended to bid felt disbelief at the price. Was a private residence really worth that much?

But on the third day of the auction, the price hit a new high, with the highest transaction price reaching 2.57 million. Tian Tong, who had planned to bid on the third day, was filled with despair at this price.

The fourth day reached 2.71 million, and the fifth day broke through 2.82 million. The adventurer teams had become mere decorations, with the competition entirely among the various guilds.

Bai Qinxue and Aqua Rose, who were in charge of the overall situation, were stunned. They had not expected the private residences in Stone Forest City to be so valuable.

By the sixth day, all seven thousand private residences had been rented out, directly giving Zero Wing over 13.7 billion credits, more terrifying than the investment of several large enterprises and conglomerates.

However, Shi Feng knew that this kind of money could only be earned once. As players' levels and equipment improved, their reliance on private residences would decrease. Moreover, seeing such violent wealth, the major powers would definitely try to find ways to build towns in the Bottomless Abyss. At that time, the rental price would definitely return to thirty or fifty thousand, and it would be impossible to make such a killing again.

During this time, Zero Wing was also developing rapidly. Almost all the guild's experts had leveled up to 70, and more and more players were joining the guild, bringing the number of Micro Realm experts in Zero Wing to forty-three. Fire Dance, thanks to the quota given by Battle Soul Not Fallen, had even entered the Flowing Water Realm.

As for Aqua Rose, Bai Qinxue, and others, they were too busy with guild affairs to focus on improving like Fire Dance. They were still a step away from the Flowing Water Realm, but reaching it was only a matter of time.

However, Zero Wing's frantic expansion and improvement during this period had gradually revealed many problems.

The guild had too little fresh blood, and due to the decrease in internal members, the guild organized fewer team instances and various field activities. The gap between the middle and lower levels and the upper levels of the entire guild was widening. If this continued, Zero Wing would definitely suffer and stagnate.

"It's time to open a training center." Shi Feng checked the guild's funds and felt that this matter could not be delayed any longer.

In the previous life, major guilds either had their own training centers or collaborated with them. These not only provided fresh blood for the guild, but also gave the guild a stable source of income. With the guarantee of training bases and training centers, a guild could truly become a hegemon in God's Domain, instead of being subject to others.