Chapter 658: Journey to the Valley of Ten Thousand Wolves

"Cheers!"

Inside a private room at the Magnolia Restaurant, Marcus savored the Five-Spice Spicy Rabbit Pot freshly prepared by Jennifer, washing down each mouthful with the potent Millennium Fire-Apricot Wine and the mellow Green Tide Aged Brew.

This was the life.

The rabbit pot in particular was incredible. Five distinct spices gave it a deep, complex flavor, followed by a serious kick of heat, while the rabbit meat was so tender that it practically melted in his mouth. After five or six bites, the familiar system notification finally rang in his ears.

Ding!

[Congratulations, Player Stonehaven, for consuming the Five-Spice Spicy Rabbit Pot made from Golden Rabbit Meat. Luck +3, Defense +50. Due to the intense spiciness of the dry pot, Water Resistance +5%.]

Exactly as expected.

The Five-Spice Spicy Rabbit Pot had been made from Golden Rabbit Meat, a Mythic-grade material Marcus had obtained from the Level 50 Mythic Beast Golden Rabbit King with his Advanced Gathering skill, before handing it over to Jennifer to prepare. The resulting dish was not only delicious, but came with remarkably useful effects, especially the additional Water Resistance. He had Jennifer to thank for that.

"Haha!"

When luck was on your side, it felt as though nothing could possibly stop you.

Unfortunately, Marcus had gotten a little too carried away, and a little to drunk. The combination of Millennium Fire-Apricot Wine and Green Tide Aged Brew was far stronger than he had expected, and with the game’s virtual reality set at ninety-nine percent realism, the alcohol felt almost indistinguishable from the real thing. His head had already begun to feel pleasantly, if inconveniently, foggy when another system notification sounded.

Ding!

[Player Stonehaven, due to the combined effects of Millennium Fire-Apricot Wine and Green Tide Aged Brew, you are currently Tipsy. All attributes reduced by 20% for one hour.]

’Great.’

At least the game had managed to reproduce the sensation of being drunk as faithfully as everything else. The alcohol content of the two drinks combined was so potent that even someone like Marcus had ended up tipsy. Drunkard and Invincible Strong were probably in even worse shape.

Fortunately, the celebration had already come to an end. Everyone activated the unique teleportation function of Dragon’s Roar Town and returned to their respective rooms, while Marcus and the girls headed back to his mansion together.

"You drank far too much."

Lily gave him a reproachful look before slipping an arm around him. "Marcus, go soak in the hot spring. It’ll help."

She and Willow Moran supported him from either side, guiding him toward the hot spring inside the residence. The spring was fed directly from a volcanic source and contained some of the clearest, purest water in the entire town. The mayor had personally arranged for it to be connected to the mansion.

The hot spring of Dragon’s Roar Town had quite a history. Five hundred years ago, bathing in it more than twenty times would grant permanent increases of fifty points to Attack and Defense, along with two hundred points to Health and MP. Unfortunately, for reasons no one had ever been able to determine, the spring had suddenly lost those effects five centuries ago. The townspeople had investigated for generations without finding an answer, and after Marcus became Lord of Dragon’s Roar, the mayor had naturally handed the mystery over to him.

Marcus had originally intended to investigate the source immediately, but Path to Heaven had laughed and stopped him.

"Stone, if you solve everything at once, what happens to the hot spring’s premium appeal?"

"Heh."

The man’s argument had been annoyingly reasonable.

So Marcus had sealed off the spring’s source for the time being. Once players had gone through several rounds of excitement and the initial hype had died down, he would investigate it properly and find out what had caused the spring to lose its extraordinary effect.

A full stomach often led to wandering thoughts, and alcohol certainly did nothing to improve a man’s self-control. Marcus was only tipsy, not unconscious, and as he looked at the two beautiful women beside him, his thoughts inevitably began to wander.

Lily had been with him through everything. She was gentle, kind, and beautiful enough to make even the most extravagant praise seem inadequate. Willow Moran, on the other hand, possessed a mature, alluring charm that made it difficult for him to look away whenever she was nearby.

Both women were elegant and gentle, and both were now helping him out of his casual clothes and armor, one on either side. The warmth of the spring and the haze of the alcohol made Marcus feel an almost overwhelming sense of contentment.

Acting on impulse, he opened his arms and pulled Lily close with one arm and Willow with the other, giving each of them a quick kiss before either could react.

"Ladies, come join your husband in the hot spring."

Before they could object, he scooped them both up and carried them into the water.

"Marcus, don’t!"

The two women immediately tried to wriggle free, but Marcus had anticipated their reaction. Even with his attributes temporarily reduced, his strength was still far beyond theirs, and his arms held them firmly.

He carried them to the stone bench built into the spring and sat down, the warm water rising to their chests. With one woman resting against either side of him, Marcus wore the satisfied expression of a man who had completely forgotten how shameless he was being.

"Greedy boy."

Willow’s complaint carried more embarrassment than anger, while Lily could only give him a helpless look.

Marcus laughed softly and drew them closer. "My wives should indulge their husband once in a while."

The two women exchanged glances, both clearly embarrassed by his behavior, but neither truly wanted to push him away. After all, beneath his drunken boldness was a man they trusted completely, and they knew better than anyone that his shamelessness rarely came from malice. He simply became considerably more straightforward when alcohol loosened his restraint.

Amid their quiet protests and embarrassed laughter, they helped him remove the rest of his equipment. Lily slipped out of her Green Mythic Set, Soul Dream, while Willow removed her pristine Level 50 Knight Armor, its intricate patterns catching the light of the spring.

Marcus looked at them and found himself momentarily speechless.

Lily’s beauty was elegant and pure, her slender figure graceful and delicate. There was a quiet nobility to her, like a white lotus rising from clear water, and the gentleness in her expression made her even more captivating.

He had always adored her.

Willow was entirely different. She possessed a mature, confident beauty, with a fuller figure and an alluring presence that even Lily occasionally envied. There was something naturally seductive about her, not because she deliberately tried to attract attention, but because her every movement seemed to carry an effortless charm.

He had always been helpless against her.

The warm atmosphere of the spring grew increasingly intimate, and the two women gradually stopped trying to escape his embrace. Instead, they leaned against him, their earlier embarrassment slowly giving way to the familiar affection they shared with the man they loved.

Marcus could no longer pretend that the alcohol had nothing to do with his current mood.

He pulled both women close, and for a while, the peaceful hot spring was filled with laughter, whispered complaints, and the warmth of three people who had long since become inseparable.

Then the door slid open.

Another slender figure stepped into the room. Her graceful bearing was delicate and reserved, carrying the quiet elegance of an orchid growing deep within a secluded valley.

"Master, Alana has prepared some sober-up soup for you. It’s ready."

It was Alana.

She walked through the lingering mist toward the spring, only to stop abruptly when she realized there were already three people in the water.

Marcus, Lily, and Willow were gathered together on the stone bench, and the scene before her was intimate enough to leave Alana completely stunned.

"Ah!"

A startled gasp escaped her lips.

She stood frozen at the edge of the spring, still holding the bowl she had carefully prepared herself, clearly unsure whether she should stay or quietly retreat.

Marcus glanced over.

"Alana, bring it to your master."

His drunken mind immediately became even more mischievous.

His Alana had arrived too. Today really was his lucky day.

Alana could be mischievous on occasion and sometimes secretly tease him when no one else was around, but she was also exceptionally obedient. In front of others, especially, she treated him as her master and rarely went against his wishes.

"Master..."

Alana hesitated, her cheeks already beginning to warm.

Marcus, still comfortably surrounded by Lily and Willow, put on his most pitiful expression.

"Alana, your master’s head is spinning. I really did drink too much today."

That was enough.

Alana was still suspicious of his intentions, and her embarrassment had not disappeared, but she couldn’t bring herself to ignore him when he was genuinely drunk. With a resigned little sigh, she carefully carried the sober-up soup into the spring.

She approached him through the warm mist, adding another delicate figure to the scene.

Marcus’s smile widened.

For the moment, he was perfectly content to enjoy his good fortune.

The four of them remained together in the hot spring for quite some time, surrounded by warmth, mist, and the lingering effects of the evening’s celebration. Eventually, the alcohol began to wear off, and the effects of the Millennium Fire-Apricot Wine and Green Tide Aged Brew faded completely.

Marcus’s attributes returned to normal, his mind cleared, and the sluggishness disappeared from his body. He stretched comfortably, feeling completely refreshed.

His vitality had returned in full.

"Girls, you’ve all reached Level 50. Gather everyone. We’re heading to Lady Green Tide’s cultivation grounds, the Green Tide Immortal Pavilion, and we’ll investigate the place together."

It was time to complete that quest.

To his surprise, however, Lily did not immediately agree.

She thought for a moment before speaking. "Babe, Twin Wing Island has only just opened. I think we should wait a few days and observe things there first. We can walk around ourselves and see what the players are saying."

"Mm."

Willow nodded in agreement. "We should also pay attention to the players’ discussions and suggestions. If there are problems with Twin Wing Island, we can make adjustments and improve the rules while it’s still new."

"Heh."

Marcus could hardly argue with that.

"My girls really are wise."

The words reminded Lily and Willow of what had happened in the hot spring earlier, and both women immediately gave him shy sidelong glances.

Marcus couldn’t help laughing.

He had clearly gotten away with far too much tonight.

The three of them put on ordinary masks and changed into casual clothing before leaving the mansion and blending into the bustling streets. Rather than revealing their identities, they wandered among the players and quietly listened to their conversations.

By then, Anya and the other girls had already been doing the same thing. They had gone out among the players in masks and ordinary clothes, gathering feedback while Lily and Willow had been... occupied.

The information they had gathered turned out to be quite useful.

One of the most common requests concerned transportation around Twin Wing Island. Players wanted teleportation arrays established on several of the surrounding islands, with a fee of two or three gold coins per use. That would make traveling between Dragon’s Roar Isle and the other islands considerably more convenient, especially for players who needed to move around frequently.

There were also plenty of complaints about the number of market stalls available in Dragon’s Roar Town. Demand had already far exceeded supply, and players were asking for more market space so they could set up stalls and sell their equipment, materials, and other goods.

The town was buzzing with activity.

Unless something particularly important or unexpected happened, however, these relatively minor administrative matters could be handled by his wives. Marcus didn’t need to personally deal with every small problem in the territory.

Since there was no immediate need to visit the Green Tide Immortal Pavilion and nothing urgent demanding his attention, Marcus decided to turn his focus toward another matter.

The Lost Roaring Tiger Squad quest.

It was a Hidden Quest rather than a Unique Hidden Quest, which meant there were other ways to trigger it. Even so, it was non-repeatable. Once another guild completed it, the quest would disappear permanently.

And now that more and more players had reached Level 50, Marcus couldn’t afford to waste time.

He headed to the teleportation array, paid five gold coins, and disappeared in a flash of light.

When he reappeared, he was standing within the territory of the Slayer Guild, the seventh-ranked guild in the US Region.

As luck would have it, the Slayer Guild had established its territory not far from the Valley of Ten Thousand Wolves.

From the Slayer Guild, it would take less than an hour to reach the valley, making the journey considerably shorter than starting from Ironstone Citadel. More importantly, the Valley of Ten Thousand Wolves was prime territory for Level 50 players.

As expected, the area around the guild was bustling.

Players were constantly entering and leaving the territory, most of them hovering around Level 50. Many were preparing to head toward the Valley of Ten Thousand Wolves to hunt wolves and grind their levels.

"Welcome to the Slayer Guild! No restrictions! Slay monsters, butcher demons. If you’ve got personality, guts, and loyalty, you’re welcome here!"

The Slayer Guild was taking advantage of the situation and recruiting aggressively, trying to bring as many high-level players into its ranks as possible.

Marcus watched with interest.

This was the first time he had taken a close look at a guild territory built and developed entirely by players, and the experience gave him a much better understanding of how the major guilds were operating.

The Slayer Guild was currently only a town-level guild, so its construction options were still relatively limited. Its defensive walls were not made from stone or built to resemble a proper fortress. Instead, they consisted mainly of tree trunks and timber, and there were no surrounding moats.

The buildings inside the territory were similarly simple wooden structures. Only after the guild continued to level up would it gain access to stronger stone walls and more substantial stone buildings.

Even so, the Slayer Guild’s construction plan was clearly well thought out.

Guild banners fluttered above the territory, while the guild hall, council hall, supply hall, and guild research hall had all been arranged in clearly designated areas. A central plaza connected the main sections of the settlement, while various Slayer Guild shops and storefronts rented to players lined the surrounding streets.

Everything was neat and orderly.

More importantly, the layout had clearly been designed with future expansion in mind. They were not merely building whatever they needed at the moment. They were already preparing the foundation for what the guild would eventually become.

The other major guilds were probably doing the same.

These large guilds were certainly not simple organizations. They had ambition, resources, planning, and enough strength to turn those advantages into reality.

Marcus couldn’t help feeling a little admiration as he observed the territory.

Then he turned away and continued on his way.

Once he had left the Slayer Guild’s territory and was certain no one was paying attention to him, Marcus summoned Blackie and mounted up.

The black mount soared into the sky. Ahead lay the vast Valley of Ten Thousand Wolves.

At Blackie’s speed, they would arrive in less than forty minutes.