Chapter 657: My Dragon’s Roar Town

There was no doubt about it. Twin Wing Island, and Dragon’s Roar Island in particular, were booming.

But could that prosperity last?

Marcus reopened the system document and carefully reviewed the detailed plans Boss Blaze and Path to Heaven had drawn up, taking Dominion’s current regulations and the state of the market into account. They had spent considerable time working out the rules for Dragon’s Roar Island, and Marcus had no intention of changing them on a whim. If he wanted Dragon’s Roar Town to become a long-term source of wealth rather than a temporary novelty, everything had to be managed properly from the beginning.

Rule One: Inside Dragon’s Roar Island, players were forbidden from PKing, harassing other players, or damaging the environment. In other words, the island followed essentially the same restrictions as the major cities under the Dragon Dynasty.

The island’s boundaries had actually been established more than a thousand years ago. The blue barrier surrounding Dragon’s Roar Island now marked those boundaries, enclosing roughly ten miles of sea around the island.

Rule Two: Anyone wishing to enter Dragon’s Roar Island had to purchase a teleport pass. Each pass cost 300 gold coins and allowed the player twelve hours of game time on the island. Once the pass expired, it would disappear, and the player would automatically be transported back to Dragon’s Peak Citadel. For those who wanted to stay longer, three-day, five-day, and ten-day passes were also available.

Players without a teleport pass could still pay twenty gold coins to teleport to the waters outside Dragon’s Roar Island. They couldn’t enter the blue barrier, but they were free to explore the rest of Twin Wing Island without any time limit.

Players who possessed valid passes, on the other hand, could move in and out of the blue barrier as they pleased and travel freely between the island and the other cities. The waters outside the barrier were designated as combat zones, meaning players could hunt monsters throughout the other islands and level up. Both illegal PK and righteous counterattacks were permitted there, so anyone who wanted to fight could do so without disturbing the peaceful environment inside Dragon’s Roar Island.

Three hundred gold coins a day wasn’t particularly expensive. Marcus had initially estimated that they could charge five or six hundred, but after considering long-term development, Boss Blaze and Path to Heaven had ultimately settled on three hundred.

The lower price would make Dragon’s Roar Town attractive to ordinary players while also giving it an advantage over any competitors that might appear in the future. More importantly, it would help build a good reputation for Dragon’s Roar Town and its owner instead of making Marcus look like some greedy bastard trying to squeeze every last coin out of his customers.

There was no reason to deliberately provoke public resentment.

Rule Three: Players who entered Dragon’s Roar Island with a teleport pass could freely enjoy the ocean waves, coral reefs, golden beaches, and fishing rocks at the northern tip of the island. They could explore the tropical rainforest and even climb the volcano. However, certain special attractions required additional fees.

Skiing across the millennia-old snow at the volcano’s summit, bathing in the hot springs formed within the volcanic region, and rafting through the volcanic canyon all cost an additional 200 gold coins per hour.

Just like any major city, Dragon’s Roar Town also provided players with convenient and comfortable services. There were restaurants and teahouses where players could meet friends, eat, drink, and socialize. Since restaurants required cooking materials and players with the Cooking profession to operate them, Marcus had leased the establishments to businesses rather than managing them personally.

Jennifer’s Magnolia Restaurant, for example, had secured one of the best locations in town.

Restaurants could provide food. Accommodation, however, was Marcus’s territory.

On the snowy volcanic peak overlooking the entirety of Dragon’s Roar Island, with a magnificent view extending across Twin Wing Island. Deep within the lush tropical rainforest. In the heart of Dragon’s Roar Town, overlooking the ocean and golden beaches. Even atop the enormous rocky outcrops scattered around the island.

Everywhere, Marcus had left his mark in the form of his private hotel chain, Dragon’s Peak Hotel.

Thirteen towering Dragon’s Peak Hotels had been constructed across Dragon’s Roar Island, along with several smaller inns with their own distinctive designs. Drunkard had hired famous architects to design them, and the buildings had been carefully integrated into the island’s natural scenery rather than simply being dropped onto it.

Together, they offered more than ten thousand couples’ rooms, each renting for 200 gold coins per hour.

"Heh."

Providing players with the finest possible experience while they toured Dragon’s Roar Island was their goal. Of course, there were limits to what kind of experience they were willing to provide. Any kind of outdoor "activity" that crossed the line was strictly prohibited on Dragon’s Roar Island.

Rule Four: During Dragon’s Roar Town’s renovation, several unique services had also been installed.

Small teleportation arrays had been established throughout the island, allowing players to conveniently travel between the beach, the snowy mountain peaks, the dense rainforest, and the town itself. A massive arena had also been constructed where the two Dragon Horns of Dragon’s Roar Bay converged. It floated quietly above the sea and provided players with a dedicated place to spar and settle their differences through combat without disturbing anyone else.

There were also several unique mines scattered across Dragon’s Roar Island. Players could pay a few hundred gold coins per hour for the right to enter them and gather resources.

Speaking of mines, Twin Wing Island was exceptionally rich in resources.

According to the map left behind by Silas the Wanderer and the information provided by the Mayor, there were thirty-two locations scattered throughout the island containing various mines, herb gardens, water sources, fruit orchards, and other unique materials.

Eight of those mining locations were particularly valuable.

Taken together, they represented an enormous fortune.

Naturally, Marcus had no intention of sharing that fortune.

As the Lord of Dragon’s Roar, he immediately designated all of those resource locations as his private property. Other players were forbidden from entering them, much less harvesting or stealing the resources within.

There was one more particularly special service.

Dragon’s Roar Town possessed a unique flying mount, the Three-Tailed Patterned Pheasant.

After more than a thousand years of domestication, the island now had twenty-three thousand of these elegant creatures. They would soon be made available for rental at a price of 500 gold coins per day.

Even now, players gathered in Dragon’s Roar Town’s plaza were already asking about the Three-Tailed Patterned Pheasants. If everything went according to plan, Marcus estimated that it would take only another two hours before he could issue the system announcement informing players that Dragon’s Roar Town was officially offering flying-pet rentals.

Just imagine it.

Beautiful, graceful Three-Tailed Patterned Pheasants carrying players through the skies above Twin Wing Island would undoubtedly be a dream come true for countless female players. Flying above the magnificent island, looking down at the endless blue sea, golden beaches, tropical forests, and ancient volcanoes below would be an experience that few people could resist.

Then there was the mansion rental business Marcus had mentioned earlier.

Under Drunkard’s supervision, 180 distinctive mansions had been built in prime locations throughout Dragon’s Roar Island. Path to Heaven and Drunkard were now finalizing the list of potential tenants and preparing to send invitations through the system to wealthy players and influential figures.

"Heh."

One hundred and eighty mansions.

Each one was expected to rent for around 3,000,000 gold coins a year, and with prices like that, only the genuinely wealthy could afford to live there.

Dragon’s Roar Island.

A playground for the rich.

Ha.

In short, Dragon’s Roar Island had everything now. Natural scenery, beautiful Medieval architecture, modern conveniences, luxurious accommodations, entertainment, unique attractions, and countless other services. Everything had been carefully arranged to complement the island rather than ruin what made it special.

It was practically paradise. A player’s dream destination.

Marcus looked over Dragon’s Roar Island one final time, and the tension in his heart finally eased.

Everything was proceeding perfectly.

The system was running smoothly, and the original residents, under the Village Chief’s leadership, had settled into their roles without causing him any trouble. The players were enjoying themselves, the businesses were operating normally, and the various revenue streams he had planned were beginning to take shape.

Outside the blue barrier, nearly a hundred million players had gathered.

A sea of people stretched across the surrounding waters, an astonishing sight in itself. All of them were staring toward the beautiful and extraordinary Dragon’s Roar Island, and many were already regretting that they hadn’t purchased their teleport passes sooner.

Now they were scrambling to find a way inside.

"All right!"

Marcus looked at his companions and laughed.

"Time to celebrate!"

With that, Marcus and the others headed toward Magnolia Restaurant. Jennifer had already prepared a lavish feast for them, and after enjoying the celebration, it would be time to return to their usual routine.

Grinding levels, improving their strength, and completing their quests.

They still had plenty of things to accomplish, and the opening of Dragon’s Roar Town didn’t mean they could afford to sit around and enjoy their wealth all day.

Of course, every now and then, Marcus would still convert some of his accumulated game gold into dollars and deposit the money into his Titanium Card.

By his calculations, once Dragon’s Roar Town was operating at full capacity, its average daily income should soon reach around five hundred million gold coins.

Five hundred million gold coins...

At the current exchange rate, that was equivalent to fifty million dollars a day.