Chapter 281 : Tier 3 Building Unlock Certificate

Tier ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍3 Building Unlock Certificate

Seeing Avril's serious expression, Serea immediately understood her intention. Once she'd instructed all the guards to leave, only Serea's close confidantes remained in the room.

"Miss Avril, you can speak freely now."

"Queen, please take a look at this first."

Julian handed over a yellow piece of paper, which Serea unrolled and examined.

At first glance, there was a portrait—and it was unmistakably herself. The sheet was annotated with information, reading...

Serea Otto, blood Crimson Tempest Gale! Second Princess of Otto Kingdom!

It even marked the location of her camp.

Instantly, Serea's face turned cold. Clearly, her true identity had been discovered.

"How many of these portraits are there?"

"They're posted in our Trading Post and in the border town of Okkento in the Otto Kingdom. I don't know about other cities."

After hearing this, Serea was certain: someone was targeting her. Yet, she had hardly met outsiders while in the palace; even if someone with the same name existed, how could they be sure she was the 'dead' Serea?

No—even vague suspicion was enough for someone with ill intentions to make a move. There was no need for definite proof.

The fact that the dignified Otto princess had faked her death and hidden herself in the jungle, especially now with the war between the Otto and Ailera Empire, would definitely bring her trouble.

"Who could it be?"

"I don't know. These portraits just suddenly appeared in the Trading Post and in border towns overnight."

"......"

Serea fell silent. Her reaction, combined with the information on the portrait, led her confidantes to exchange surprised looks.

"Queen Serea is actually a princess of the Otto Kingdom!"

Such news was not overly shocking to them, though, since as Serea's trusted followers, they already knew about Lilith and Ina. With all three names appearing together, they had more or less guessed the truth.

After all, even though news traveled slowly in the jungle, it wasn't completely cut off.

Avril's visit merely helped confirm their suspicions in advance.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to keep this from you."

"We understand. The Queen must have her reasons. No matter your identity, you will always be our queen."

"That's right!" xN

Hearing this, Serea smiled and rolled up the yellow paper.

"Queen Serea, how do you intend to handle this?"

"At this point, what else can I do?"

"Huh?"

Avril seemed a bit puzzled by Serea's calm demeanor.

Logically, as a married princess who had faked her own death and hidden in the jungle, wasn't she scared of retaliation from the Otto Kingdom and the Ailera Empire?

Not at all!

Maybe Serea had worried in the past, but now there was little reason left for concern. As for why—

Most worrying was only one thing: Ailera.

It wasn't that she feared he would take direct action against her; the real concern was whether he would pressure Otto Kingdom to act against her. That would be the worst-case scenario. But...

This was the Corrupted Jungle. Large-scale armored troops could hardly get in, and small squads couldn't restrain her. Plus, the Otto Kingdom was on the verge of war and had little energy to deal with her head-on—they might only send a few envoys, but if she simply refused to return, what could they do?

Of course, trouble would remain, but nothing insurmountable. Her solution was simple: continue developing according to her plan and become so powerful that anyone who tried to touch her would get burned.

"Thank you for your kind warning, miss Avril. I will be careful."

"It seems Queen Serea already has a plan. That puts me at ease. It's getting late, so I won't disturb you any further."

Avril left the room. Once she was gone, Serea couldn't help but unroll the yellow paper again. Gazing at the lifelike portrait, she fell into deep thought.

At that same moment, elsewhere, the same portrait was being unrolled by someone else.

...

In Okkento's palace, the somewhat weary old king Gibusk sat on the throne, with rows of nobles and ministers assembled below.

"Your Majesty, forgive the disturbance at this late hour, but I believe you will be very interested in this."

With these words, the minister of trade, boltony, presented a yellow paper. The crown prince, Aurela, who was presiding, received it and handed it to the king.

In the instant he saw the portrait and its content, shock eclipsed every other emotion on Gibusk's face. But after the surprise faded, he didn't know how to feel.

The content on the paper was explicit: the third princess of Otto was still alive, somewhere in the western Corrupted Jungle. It even included Serea's portrait. Even within Otto Kingdom, there were few who had seen her.

Was this a joyous surprise?

No. Ever since Catherine had used the Silver Shuttle to spirit Ina away, claiming to deliver her to a safe place, Gibusk had suspected something. But now the situation had become very troublesome.

Before he could speak, boltony continued.

"Your Majesty, I've already had the crown prince confirm the portrait. It certainly depicts Princess Serea. Ever since the Thief attack on her carriage, her body was never found, and there were many suspicious details. It now seems likely Her Highness is still alive."

This declaration stirred lively discussion among the ministers. Then, as if on cue, General Mocha stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, while it would be a true blessing if Her Highness is indeed alive, with all due respect, ailera's people will not see it that way. They may use this as a pretext for further action, which Your Majesty surely understands."

"But the information isn't confirmed yet, is it?"

"Therefore, I humbly ask Your Majesty to investigate at once. I imagine you'd also wish to see Princess Serea again. Bring her back, and perhaps the third prince of Ailera will let bygones be bygones."

"You!!!"

Gibusk wanted to get angry, but General Mocha pressed on.

"Your Majesty, ailera has long awaited such an opportunity. We must not be unprepared."

"We must not be unprepared, Your Majesty!" xN

With the ministers all exerting pressure, Gibusk realized there was no way out, at least as far as dispatching envoys was concerned.

"Aurela."

Crown Prince Aurela stepped forward and bowed slightly.

"I entrust this matter to you. Remember: act with caution."

"Yes, father."

Aurela accepted the order.

To Gibusk, the other ministers were untrustworthy; only his own son could be relied upon. The words "act with caution" conveyed his hopes; Aurela would understand.

No one noticed the thoughtful look in Queen Catherine's eyes as she lingered in the shadows before making a decision in her heart.

...

Back in the Darkmoon clan camp.

After wrapping up her affairs, Serea returned to her treehouse and immediately spotted Auna, Dorulu, and Ina chatting and laughing together. As peers of similar age, they'd easily become friends.

"Sis!"

Seeing Serea return, ina excitedly stretched out her arms, and Serea naturally hugged her.

There had been too many matters to handle during the day, leaving Serea with no time for her recently awakened 'sister.' But seeing how many friends Ina had made, Serea was reassured—at least her sister wouldn't be alone.

She dined with Ina and Lilith. During dinner, lilith announced her intention to return to the church soon to resign from the Holy Maiden role, which Serea gladly supported.

After the banquet, Serea collapsed onto her bed and entered her consciousness space.

"System, draw lottery."

She glanced over her current crystal materials:

Blood crystal: 2468

Death crystal: 1725

Soul crystal: 245

Fear crystal: 1685

Blood crystals were sufficient. Death crystals only needed to be held in reserve for mass troop production. Soul crystals should be saved for fusing Nether Crystals. Fear crystals could be spent—all right!

System: Converting 2000 blood crystals, 700 death crystals, and 1500 fear crystals. You received 42,007 Dark Power.

"That's enough for 462 lottery draws. I refuse to believe that won't get me a Tier 3 building unlock certificate."

She fired off all 462 draws in one go!

System: Drawing rewards, please wait...

This time, Serea kept only the purple cards; all other rewards were opened immediately.

Out of 462 draws, there were 16 purple cards in total; the rest were experience gems, potions, and a few blue and green pieces of equipment.

"Sixteen purple cards—let's do this!"

Even knowing the system's 'probabilities' would screw her again, Serea still hoped for a miracle.

Shua, shua, shua!

A cascade of purple light flared. First—

Lances, wooden bows, staffs, daggers, various battle armors...and a maid outfit!

It seemed something odd had slipped in at the end.

Tier 4 experience gem (purple): use to increase character's level.

"Now you even have purple experience gems? System, have you no shame?"

She stared at the two black, egg-sized gems in her hand, at a loss for words. The System ignored her complaints.

Karan's Shroud (Purple, blueprint), bloodied Blade (Purple, blueprint).

Blueprints for a shield and a one-handed sword—pretty good, so she kept going...

Heart of Certain Victory (Purple, blueprint)

Blueprint for a triple-effect potion. Not bad; perfect for frontline tanks.

The Darkness Sovereign's Invitation (Purple) x3

Three invitations, each allowing for a powerful lottery pull. Also a nice haul, but...

"System, what about my Tier 3 building unlock certificate? Not a single one? Are you kidding me?"

System: Reiterating, this system does not interfere with lottery odds.

"...."

The look on Serea's face could be summed up in four words: utter misery!

Glancing at her remaining crystals, Serea nearly yielded to the impulse to burn through the rest for another ten draws—maybe next time it would work?

But in the end, her reason prevailed over her impulses.

"Forget it, there's no rush. I'll take it slow."

She took out her three Darkness Sovereign's Invitations. If she could get a gold building or blueprint, it would all be worth it.

"Begin powerful lottery!"

Nine cards shot out—leftover from the last prize pool. There were no gold cards left, so Serea refreshed the pool.

Shua!

Golden light flashed: two gold, one silver, three purple, the rest blue or green. A truly lavish pool—with a 60% chance of scoring a powerful item. Even if all gold and silver cards were drawn, the pool would remain, meaning these prizes were hers for the taking; it was just a matter of time.

No way would she strike out; with three chances, it had to be two golds and one silver!

"First!"

Warring Boots (Blue)

"I don't believe it—second!"

Azure Potion (Purple)

"Damn it, if you're going to give me a potion, at least give the blueprint! What's the point of a one-time purple potion?"

System: Host has one more chance.

"Again!"

Gold! Blood Altar Tier 3 Building Unlock Certificate (Gold)!

"Yes!"

As the golden light blazed, Serea was so excited she nearly jumped up. Looking closer, it was exactly the Tier 3 building unlock certificate she needed!

Blood Altar's Tier 3 buildings—Vampire Magitech Academy, vampire Mage Tower—all incredibly powerful. Totally worth it!

"A bountiful haul—see you next time, system!"

After bidding farewell to the System and returning to reality, she found Dogsius and Celia looking at her in astonishment.

"Perfect. Since you're both here, help me divvy these items up."

As she spoke, Serea pulled various blue and purple items from her spatial ring.

"For Little Black, Little White, and whoever Chilia can use them..."

A pile of fine equipment accumulated on the floor, causing the two onlookers to stare in disbelief. As Serea sorted things, Dogsius spotted the black-and-white maid outfit.

Dogsius's eyes shone.

"Master, master! Can I have this one?"

"As a magic class, you'd get good use from it. It's yours."

"Thank you, master!"

Once the gear had been distributed and the blueprints filed into the magic tome for production, the experience gems were handed out as usual to her confidantes. Celia got only one, but it was the highest-tier, a tier 4 experience gem.

"What's this?"

"Don't ask. Use it and you'll see."

Guided by Serea, Celia used the gem. Black light surged into her body; feeling the surging strength, she clenched her fists.

Level 30!

With the power of the tier 4 experience gem, Celia leapt directly from level 28 to level 30.

Serea also immediately used a tier 4 experience gem.

"Purple tier really is different."

With other tier 2 experience gems, Serea's level also rose to directly hit level 30—but upon reaching that threshold, she discovered a serious problem.

After level 30, tier 1 and tier 2 experience gems barely gave any level increase at all. This meant she would need many more high-level experience gems to keep leveling up fast.

What a pain!

As for the extra three undead minion slots, Serea filled them with Death Knights.

After all that, Serea opened the Blood Altar's Tier 3 Building Unlock Certificate. It was time to consider which Tier 3 building to unlock next.

(To be continued...)