Chapter Eighty-Five: The Suppressed Rank

It should have been starting the day after the monster siege ended. From that time on, these cheerful little people handing out leaflets and calling out their slogans began appearing on the streets of Eastern Harbor City.

After the 1.1 era update, the new City Lord system was introduced. In the initial stage, an individual only needed to register at the temple. After that, all city residents, meaning both players and native inhabitants, would vote together. Only the top ten most popular candidates could proceed to the second round of trials.

Zhao Nan’s fingers flicked lightly in the air. In his eyes, a new subpage about this city lord election had already appeared as part of the City Lord system.

There were already three full pages of profiles on the subpage, and the list was still growing. Of course, whether every one of those who had signed up truly carried in their hearts a burning desire to lead humanity against the monsters was impossible to know.

The candidates on the subpage were ranked by popularity. Unsurprisingly, Simon Yu stood in first place. Everyone had one vote, and with the immense membership of the Inferno Guild, Simon Yu had been among the first to enter the public eye, giving him a tremendous early advantage.

Even though Dan Tianlang had refused to sit quietly at second place, he had been able to do no more than settle for it for the time being.

In the early stages, the votes were basically tied to the number of people in each guild. Later on, it would depend on what methods these people used to win votes. In any case, they only needed to remain in the top ten, because the next round would test the ten candidates’ own strength.

And strength here was not merely a matter of personal combat power. It also involved knowledge, leadership, action, creativity, and a host of other qualities. After many layers of trials, the one with the highest combined score would receive the job of temporary city lord. Even then, the temporary city lord would still have to endure a period of observation. At that point, a public-opinion survey system would appear. Once the observation period ended, if the approval rating fell below fifty percent, it would be treated as a failure, and a new round of city lord elections would begin.

So this system was a very troublesome thing, with an enormous workload and a painfully long cycle. It was not some child’s make-believe game; the amount of effort required was beyond imagination.

By then, everyone had already bought the pet food they needed. Zhao Nan silently closed the subpage of the City Lord system and headed straight for the outskirts of Eastern Harbor City.

Many people were making preparations for the profession of city lord, while he was also preparing to conquer the normal twenty-level dungeon.

...

Half a month later.

Olysis was still lingering around level thirteen, while Zhao Nan himself, after ten days and nights of nonstop monster grinding, had reached level twenty-two.

Little Ice Phoenix was around level twelve, and Fina was charging toward the threshold of level twenty-two. As for Gao Mingyang and Xu Feng, they had barely reached level twenty-one. On the other hand, Fei Yu, Gao Xiang, Xu Yang, and Jiang Lun had already caught up to Zhao Nan’s level.

The stronger the class, the more experience was required for each level-up, and that was what caused this kind of overtaking from behind.

Pets were the same. The greater the potential, the more experience they needed. So aside from Olysis and Saya, the other pets were also in the level twenty to nineteen range.

“Can’t do it anymore. The monsters aren’t giving any more experience.” Gao Mingyang sat helplessly on the ground. He had already grown weary of this monotonous life.

They had stayed in the same place for a full fifteen days, grinding the very same monsters. The monster zone before them could honestly be said to have been monopolized by them. The problem was that although this method of farming experience made levels rise quickly in the first few days, after that it became nearly impossible to improve.

“There’s no help for it. The normal twenty-level dungeon still hasn’t opened, so the next map stage won’t open either.” Xu Feng frowned. “It’s already been half a month. Why still haven’t we reached the conditions for opening the twenty-level dungeon?”

“Because everyone has been suppressing their levels,” Zhao Nan said helplessly. “That was Simon Yu’s idea.”

Looking at the others, Zhao Nan could understand this approach. It was the most correct approach.

“Once the conditions for opening the twenty-level dungeon are met, someone will eventually be unable to resist and rush in to clear it, like us, or like others. Everyone knows that whoever clears it first will definitely get better rewards than those who come later, right? After the twenty-level dungeon is cleared, new maps will open and stronger monsters will appear. That may bring another surge of leveling, but it also means that when the next monster siege comes, both the number and strength of the monsters will increase dramatically. Some people are improving very quickly, while others are much slower. If the overall strength is not high enough, then when an even more powerful monster siege comes, the chances of victory will only be lower.”

By this point, everyone understood.

That was why they had to suppress their levels, waiting until everyone’s levels, equipment, and even skills had improved.

At this point, beyond understanding, there was nothing else to think.

Perhaps some people had already reached level twenty before this and thus were no longer bound by the restriction on suppressing their level, allowing them to continue advancing, like Zhao Nan and the others.

But those who had not yet reached it should hold back and be patient. Otherwise, you would become a sinner. If your inability to endure made the next monster siege even more terrifying, then the spit of the others could drown you.

Under such conditions, when this proposal was put forward, it did not even require any formal supervision. The people around would naturally keep an eye on one another.

Thus, the players who had once been eager to hunt monsters and grow stronger, because they did not know a monster siege even existed, had now all begun to slow down. Some had even not left the city for several days to grind monsters or do anything else, or had gone to low-level monster zones where monsters no longer granted experience but could still improve skill proficiency.

“This situation won’t last long,” Zhao Nan said calmly. “Once everyone is suppressing themselves at the limit of the same level, someone will eventually slip up, or accidentally level up. The normal dungeon will open sooner or later.”

“True...” Gao Mingyang scratched his head. “I’ve got an idea. Since leveling doesn’t have much use right now anyway, why not use this time to really train our skills to mastery? I’m planning to go to the low-level zone. Any of you coming?”

Gao Mingyang’s suggestion was quickly approved by Xu Feng and the others.

“Mm... I want to go back to the school side for a bit,” Xu Yang said softly. “After the monster siege, quite a few students died. Things over there are pretty bleak.”

“You want to go back and help them level up?” Zhao Nan asked.

“Yes.”

“Mm...” Zhao Nan thought for a moment, then nodded. “Be careful. If anything comes up, contact me at any time.”

“I know.” Xu Yang smiled faintly and said with easy grace, “If you need anything, you can contact me too.”

“Zhao Nan, what about you and Fina?” Gao Mingyang asked curiously.

Zhao Nan pointed toward the front, where Olysis and Saya were making a ruckus with great delight, and said helplessly, “Keep training these two guys.”

“Well then, let’s part ways for now. Everyone keep in touch by mail.” Gao Mingyang waved a hand. “Before that, I’m going to eat and drink my fill first!”

“Agreed!” Jiang Lun called out loudly.

The group then left amid laughter and conversation.

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PS: Also, I’d like to ask for some Three Rivers votes... On the Three Rivers channel, if you’re able and have the time, please give me a vote... Simon Yu is rallying votes, and so am I. Life is full of surprises...