Child of Destiny

The Green Marbly Kingdom.

If the Saint Heaven Kingdom was located at the far northeastern end of the Aurora Continent, then the Green Marbly Kingdom was situated at the westernmost end.

A vast distance separated the two kingdoms, with several other kingdoms and empires occupying the lands between them.

Despite its name, the Green Marbly Kingdom was not particularly known for its greenery.

Instead, the kingdom was situated between two vast high-level neutral regions—the endless Raja Desert and the great Desolate Land.

Both were among the most dangerous neutral regions of the Aurora Continent, comparable to the Frozen Kingdom in terms of their level and danger.

However, unlike the Frozen Kingdom, which was centered around the massive Frost City, neither of these two neutral regions possessed a major city at their heart.

Instead, countless settlements and outposts were scattered throughout their territories, most of them either ruled by different NPC tribes or established by players who had settled in the region.

The Green Marbly Kingdom itself was divided into two distinct sections.

One consisted of an endless expanse of desert, while the other was dominated by countless enormous monoliths—the most prominent features of the two neighboring neutral regions.

Unlike most kingdoms on the Aurora Continent, the Green Marbly Kingdom did not possess a large number of conventional cities.

Instead, it had adopted the traditions of the desert people, with countless settlements scattered throughout the kingdom and ruled by different tribes.

The only true city within the kingdom was its capital, Marble Oasis City.

The city was situated beside a massive oasis, which served as the heart of the kingdom’s civilization and allowed the settlement to flourish despite the harsh and desolate environment surrounding it.

Marble Oasis City itself had been built around the oasis.

The massive body of water provided the city with a reliable source of water while also supporting the cultivation of crops and other forms of life. As a result, the area surrounding the oasis became one of the few places in the kingdom where the harsh desert environment gave way to signs of prosperity.

Unlike the sophisticated infrastructures and advanced facilities found in the capitals of other kingdoms, most of the buildings within Marble Oasis City were constructed from mud and other materials readily available in the desert.

The more prosperous families, however, could afford houses built from bricks, giving their residences a sturdier and more refined appearance compared to the simpler structures surrounding them.

On the other hand, the kingdom itself was home to numerous NPC powerhouses, particularly the leaders of the various tribes that ruled the settlements scattered throughout the land.

This was largely a result of the kingdom’s harsh environment.

With resources being scarce, the tribes were constantly at war with one another. Some fought to seize valuable resources from their neighbors, while others simply sought to dominate larger portions of the kingdom and establish themselves as the strongest tribe in the region.

The constant warfare had produced countless heroes and powerful warriors—individuals who had survived and emerged victorious from countless battles.

However, despite the fierce competition between the tribes, no one dared to covet the resources of Marble Oasis City, no matter how wealthy the capital appeared.

Even the most desperate Tribe Chieftains would never dare provoke the city.

There was only one reason for that.

An extremely powerful Sovereign Being ruled Marble Oasis City. It was a Tier 5 existence, a being that currently stood at the pinnacle of power within the Lower Plane of the World.

Under the protection of such an existence, the capital remained safe and peaceful despite the constant conflicts raging throughout the rest of the kingdom.

Several Enlightened Beings also served under the Sovereign Being, further reinforcing the city’s overwhelming strength.

But the Sovereign Being was not the only reason Marble Oasis City held such a special position within the kingdom.

There was also the mysterious Shaman of the capital.

No one knew exactly how powerful the Shaman was, but the abilities they possessed were both powerful and unfathomable.

It was largely because of this Shaman that the Green Marbly Kingdom was able to establish connections with kingdoms far beyond its borders.

Using their abilities, the kingdom had established special teleportation formations that allowed its people to travel directly to the capitals of other kingdoms without having to cross the dangerous and unforgiving lands surrounding them.

However, maintaining such teleportation formations required an enormous amount of precious resources.

As a result, Marble Oasis City was the only settlement in the entire Green Marbly Kingdom capable of maintaining direct connections with other kingdoms.

The largest tribes could also afford to construct their own teleportation formations, but their options were far more limited.

They could only establish connections with Marble Oasis City.

Long-distance teleportation required an astronomical amount of resources, something even the wealthiest tribes could not afford to maintain on their own.

Thus, Marble Oasis City had effectively become the central hub of transportation and trade for the entire kingdom.

The central plaza of the capital was where the massive Teleportation Formation was located.

Unlike the teleportation facilities found in other kingdoms and empires, there was no massive hall built around the formation.

There were no isolated chambers for special transfers, nor were there separate rooms for different destinations.

Instead, the massive formation itself was composed of countless smaller arrays, each functioning independently and connecting Marble Oasis City to the various settlements scattered throughout the kingdom.

At the very center of the formation, however, was a much larger array.

It was the only teleportation channel connected to kingdoms and empires beyond the borders of the Green Marbly Kingdom.

Arriving in Marble Oasis City was relatively easy.

Travelers could simply appear directly within the central array after teleporting from another kingdom, just like they would when using any ordinary teleportation formation.

Leaving, however, was considerably more troublesome.

The central array could only establish a connection with a specific capital city beyond the kingdom’s borders at a predetermined time and date.

Once the scheduled time arrived, the formation would activate and transport everyone who had registered for that destination as a single batch.

Anyone who missed the scheduled time would have no choice but to wait until the next available connection.

Of course, there was another way.

Travelers could use the teleportation formations connecting Marble Oasis City to other cities within the said kingdoms or empires, using those places as intermediate destinations before continuing toward their desired location.

However, doing so effectively meant paying for two separate teleportations.

For a wealthy player, this might not be much of an issue.

But for the people living within the Green Marbly Kingdom, where resources were already scarce, such an unnecessary expense was something most could not afford.

Even players would find the transportation costs difficult to swallow.

Simply reaching this kingdom already required an enormous amount of money—far more than traveling to almost any other location on the Aurora Continent.

...

Right at that moment, a group of figures suddenly appeared within the central teleportation array.

”Damn! Three thousand gold coins for a single teleportation!? Isn’t that daylight robbery?” Owen complained the moment he stepped out of the formation.

Alucard, who followed closely behind him, could only shake his head. ”You can’t blame them. This place is extremely far from the rest of the kingdoms and empires.”

He glanced around the plaza before continuing. ”It’s only natural for the teleportation fee to be this expensive.”

”It’s quite lively here,” Felicia commented as she looked around curiously.

Felix, on the other hand, frowned slightly. ”Are there really that many wealthy people here?”

The twins had decided to tag along after hearing from Diablo and Alucard that they would be joining Shin on a raid.

Since the sealed portal was currently being heavily guarded by the elites of the Hand of Midas and Deicide, they had plenty of time on their hands.

And since they had nothing particularly important to do at the moment, they decided to join the fun.

After all, a raid alongside Shin was unlikely to be boring.

Diablo, who had already done his research out of habit—a habit carried over from his days as a commander of an organized force—calmly answered. ”There are two main reasons why there are so many people here.”

He glanced around the bustling plaza before continuing. ”First, most of the NPCs here are merchants. They bring unique products from other regions to sell here, while also purchasing commodities that are rare outside this kingdom.”

He paused for a moment. ”For such an isolated kingdom, making a fortune here isn’t particularly difficult. They can simply purchase some of the resources unique to this land and sell them elsewhere for a considerable profit.”

Diablo then looked around again, as if trying to recall the information he had gathered. ”From what I know, there is also a special resource produced in this kingdom that is highly sought after beyond its borders.”

Felicia tilted her head curiously. ”What is it?”

”A special ore called Marbelle.” Diablo thought for a moment before continuing. ”It’s a jade-like marble that possesses a special property. It can help an individual awaken a unique power or develop a higher form of mana.”

His expression became slightly serious. ”And for those who have already awakened their special powers or unique forms of mana, Marbelle can further strengthen them.”

”That makes the demand for it extremely high.” He added.

The others could not help but look around after hearing that.

The plaza was indeed filled with countless players, while more continued to arrive from the central teleportation formation one after another.

”So that’s why there are so many merchants here...” Felicia muttered.

Diablo nodded before continuing. ”As for the second reason...”

He glanced toward the teleportation formation. ”Most of these players are simply stuck here.”

The group fell silent.

”They can’t afford the teleportation fees to leave,” he continued along with a smirk.

”...”

The others immediately groaned in pain.

They had only just arrived, yet they already felt the sting of the three-thousand-gold teleportation fee.

Fortunately, they did not have to worry about such expenses themselves.

Their transportation costs were covered by the wealthy people supporting them.

Owen could not help but sigh in relief. ”Thank goodness we have rich people paying for us.”

...