[Congratulations to the Player. Your role-played character and faction have successfully completed the second inference (300 days). Evaluation: Perfect (Level C). You have received a gameplay-oriented Middle Tier item reward.]
[Item Distributed: Clan Banner · Middle Tier Defense]
(Clan Banner · Middle Tier Defense: As a clan that possesses its own Clan Totem Badge, it must naturally also have its own Clan Totem Banner. A Patriarch-exclusive item, limited to the Swamp Territory faction. The Player has the highest authority. Has been placed in your inventory.)
(Effect: Hoist this banner at the highest point of a building within the clan's territory. The banner will then automatically absorb and store Magic Power. It is estimated to store sufficient Magic Power every 150 natural days. When the Clan Banner is at full capacity, it can deploy a Defense Barrier with a 500-meter diameter. This Defense Barrier can withstand one full-power strike from a High Tier existence (Tier Seven). The defensive Power and duration increase against enemies of a lower Equivalent Tier.)
(Restrictions: Once activated, the Barrier cannot be deactivated prematurely. In wartime, the Barrier will automatically deactivate when the banner's Magic Power is depleted. In non-wartime, the Barrier can be maintained for a maximum of seven days after activation, with a fixed Magic Power consumption of fifty percent. Other functions and upgrade requirements for the Clan Banner will be randomly unlocked in future gameplay.)
"A legendary drop???!?"
At a time when the highest-level Players in the entire game were only Tier Three, Lince had actually obtained a Middle Tier item!
And this Middle Tier item was incredibly powerful, capable of withstanding a full-power strike from a High Tier existence!
Even though it could only block a single all-out attack from a Tier Seven enemy, that was still ridiculously overpowered!
After all, in the Western Territory, based on all known information about the Silver Lion Duchy, the Old Duke and the Old Lion were the only High Tier existences. And they were actually Tier Eight, at that!
But the 'tiny' Swamp Territory wasn't about to rebel right now, so naturally, there would be no conflict with the Old Lion.
This meant that as long as the Swamp Territory raised this banner, it could theoretically withstand most of the overt dangers in the Western Realm.
They would even have enough power to protect themselves against a potential Small Demon Beast Tide from the Demon Beast Mountain Range!
'This is killing me! Defense!!! Why couldn't it be an attack item?'
'If this Clan Banner had an offensive ability, one that could unleash a blast of Extraordinary Power comparable to a Tier Seven existence, then that would change everything!'
Lince quickly calmed himself down.
'Can't be too greedy,' he told himself. 'Having an item like this is already great. At the very least, my Rock Dragon Giant Lizard, and by extension the Swamp Territory, has another powerful means of self-preservation.'
'This will be crucial for future inferences.'
But Lince also knew that unless it was an absolute last resort, he could not let York reveal the item's existence.
Otherwise, York would have no reasonable way to explain its origin and would even attract unwanted, covetous attention from outsiders.
Sitting in front of his computer, Lince took another moment to compose himself, then started muttering his thoughts aloud.
"So this update introduced an evaluation system for Inference Day?"
"Perfect, Level C? Does that mean there are also Perfect Level B, or even Level A evaluations?"
"This Beast Tide wasn't even that much trouble. How could it be considered 'Perfect'?"
Lince carefully recalled the battle against the Beast Tide in the previous inference.
'There was some risk,' he mused. 'If that Tier Two Frenzied Porcupine had charged York's Castle along with the other Demon Beasts, it probably would have caused significant casualties in the Swamp Territory.'
'What's more, the Rock Dragon Giant Lizard didn't intervene at the beginning. That must have boosted the evaluation, right?'
'After all, the gameplay style I chose is about cultivating a clan's power.'
'This battle was a test of the clan's abilities. If the Rock Dragon Giant Lizard, my avatar, had acted from the start, the evaluation would have likely been very low.'
'As for the Rock Dragon Giant Lizard showing up at the end to clean up, that happened when the war was almost over, so it probably didn't affect the evaluation.'
'In fact, the Rock Dragon Giant Lizard coordinating with York to completely eliminate the three invading Entry Tier Magical Beasts, and even managing to subjugate a Tier Two Forest Wolf in the process, might have invisibly raised the evaluation even higher.'
Of course, this was all just Lince's reasonable speculation. He didn't know the specific criteria for the evaluation, but he figured his assessment was probably more or less on the mark.
Otherwise, Lince had no idea how he could have earned a "Perfect" evaluation.
Lince didn't dwell on it for too long.
Besides, that wasn't the only reward.
The text on the loading screen began to change again, announcing a new notification and reward!
[Congratulations to the Player's role-played character for achieving a perfect victory in a small-scale territory battle for the first time. You have gained +150% to your current Growth Level. This can be claimed after entering the game. Claim countdown: 01:00.]
'More EXP?'
'And 150% at that?'
Lince was overjoyed. This meant that his Rock Dragon Giant Lizard could officially advance to Tier Four—a so-called Middle Tier Magical Beast—as soon as he logged back into the game.
'It's only the second day since the server launched! Though it feels like more than a year has passed (and in the game, it actually has...).'
'War really is a catalyst for rapid development.'
But that wasn't all. The reward text was still being generated on the screen, appearing letter by letter.
[Congratulations to the Player's character for subjugating an Entry Tier Magical Beast for the first time during an automated inference. You have received a random Extraordinary Bloodline reward (Low Tier).]
[Extraordinary Bloodline reward distributed: Flaming Scorpion · Low Tier]
(Flaming Scorpion · Low Tier: A Bloodline from a Low Tier Magical Beast of the desert. Fire Attribute Affinity. Currently in the Player's inventory as a Bloodline Potion. The role-played character can drink it to fuse it with their own Bloodline, or it can be bestowed as an item upon mortals in the game. A mortal who has not awakened a Bloodline can drink this Bloodline Potion to flawlessly activate an Extraordinary Bloodline without risk and advance to Tier One. Those who have already awakened a Bloodline can use it to replace their existing one. Warning: For non-Player characters, no mortal may possess two Extraordinary Bloodlines simultaneously. Furthermore, this Bloodline can only be used on adult mortals '16 years of age'.)
'Hm? A Bloodline Potion?'
Lince stared at the reward.
'Compared to the evaluation and growth rewards, this thing is practically nothing... but hey, every little bit helps, right?'
'Should I have the Rock Dragon Giant Lizard drink it?'
'A Low Tier Bloodline, from what I understand, would only give the Rock Dragon Giant Lizard one or two extra Low Tier Skills.'
'But it's a different story if a Tierless mortal from the Swamp Territory drinks it.'
'That would immediately give the Swamp Territory another public-facing Entry Tier individual. At the same time, if I use this Bloodline on one of York's direct descendants, I might be able to get the Bloodline integrated into the Swamp Giant Lizard's body through the clan's feedback-loop buff.'
'If that works, it'd be like killing two birds with one stone.'
'The only question is whether an exploit like that would actually work.'
'Besides, if I want to kill two birds with one stone, based on the current time conversion for the inferences, I would have to play the game for at least another 19 days. I'd have to wait for York's child to come of age.'
'I obviously can't wait that long.'
'Nineteen days... who knows if I'll even be able to play this game in 19 days? And by then, I might not even have a use for the power of a mere Low Tier Bloodline anymore.'
So, for the time being, Lince hadn't decided how to use this Bloodline Potion.
Therefore, Lince planned to hold onto it for now.
'After all, rather than giving the Rock Dragon Giant Lizard one or two more Low Level Skills, it would be better to bestow it upon York and have him train his subordinates.'
'But this item wasn't easy to come by.'
'What if a future game update allows me to bring this Bloodline Potion into the real world?'
'Even if I don't use it myself, it could bring me immense wealth.'
'I'm not greedy for money, but that doesn't mean I don't want some extra cash on hand.'
So, Lince had no intention of using this Bloodline Potion lightly, not unless he came across something better.
And just as Lince's mind was racing, contemplating the uses for the Bloodline Potion, the dark mist in the background on his computer screen began to dissipate.
What appeared before his eyes was an overhead view of the area around the Baron's Castle in the Swamp Territory.