Rivalry: Infinite Buff

Chapter 28- A Mess

Players with Holy Artifacts were never easily defeated, Ivan knew from experience. Even though the Baron’s Necklace and Estate Certificate were  Holy Artifacts, they both had effects comparable to those of Holy Artifacts. The only thing he was lacking was money. 

Since Ivan was a Priest whose main function was healing, output was certainly his disadvantage when he was compared with players in other occupations. However, with the necklace, he was able to recruit two guards, and regardless of their combat capability, they were absolutely far stronger than a team of players in regards to loyalty. The human heart was a dark thing, no player could be sure that the teammate fighting at their side wouldn’t betray them the next moment for their own interest. 

The estate certificate was a blessing, even if Leaf Town was in a bad condition. Nevertheless, as long as he reconstructed and boosted it, Ivan would enjoy a steady flow of income. It would be so much easier if thousands of townsfolk helped him to earn money. The only problem was once the estate was seized by some other player or the system, he would lose all of his income. 

As was proven a thousand times before in other games, enormous profits needed to be protected by powerful strength. Ivan had accumulated some assets in which to lay a good foundation for his future. First of all, he had been apprenticed to the Revered Elegance. Judging from what he had seen and heard in Loda, the Revered Elegance was a highly capable character with certainly no less talent than Mr. Bowen. Second, he had saved Fiona’s life and Lord Logan owed him a valuable resource. The state potions he had bought in Loda were the third asset, they were bound to give him a starting capital. And last but not least, he had Guru’s Heart and Speed Staff, which were super incredible.

Ivan was satisfied with what he had gained after just two days of playing and he was confident that he had a bright future. 

After putting on the Baron’s Necklace, Ivan unexpectedly saw that he could conceal it. He chose to show it off though, he was not going to give up the chance. The fact that he was so arrogant and fearless was only because the necklace couldn’t be dropped. 

Once the Estate Certificate was taken out of the box, the system prompted Ivan to use it. After he chose to, the luminous parchment floated up and disappeared into the sky, then the system’s sound rang out echoing through Leaf Town. 

System: Congratulations! Player Bishop has obtained an estate—Leaf Town.

World announcement: Congratulations! Player Bishop has obtained a 1-star estate. He is especially rewarded with 4000 AP for being the third player to obtain one’s own estate.

“Huh? There are two people who obtained their estates before me? And I didn’t know? Maybe they got them when I was sleeping,” Ivan said to himself. It appeared that there were quite a few strong players in the game. After Ivan took the things out of the gold box, Ivan put it in his backpack figuring it could be sold later. 

When the residents heard the system’s announcement, they all stopped working and began to talk to each other. Some residents even dramatically burst into tears and cried out, “Have the strong Just League and great Lord Logan abandoned us? Why was Leaf Town given to this stranger?”

An old man with a white beard rapped a maple tree with his stick and sobbed, 

“Damn Bishop! I’ve been the mayor for 30 years and will soon become eligible for land, but he deprived me of my glory.”

“Where is this damned stranger from? Why should Leaf Town belong to him?!”

“This is totally unacceptable. Let’s go and slay him!”

“Yes! Knock him off!”

“Why don’t you shout with us?” A big man with a large beard questioned Ivan, holding an iron bar in his right hand as more and more people began to crowd around Ivan.  

“Er…”

…

Fuck! Am I that bad? Ivan wiped the sweat from his forehead. Is it necessary to be so hostile toward a perfect stranger?

His future wealth depended on the matter before him so he wasn’t able to back out. As a result, Ivan gathered his courage then jumped up onto a raised platform before shouting, “Hello Everyone! I am Bishop, the one who is in charge of Leaf Town now!”

“This guy is Bishop? No wonder he stayed silent while the rest of us were yelling. Everyone follow me and we will drive him out of our home!” the big man with the large beard yelled. He raised his iron bar and gestured for the residents behind him to rush onto the platform.

At that moment, Ivan announced, “I’ve decided to offer you tax discounts for the first month!”

“Uh?” The crowd stopped when they heard Ivan’s comment.

Seeing they all stopped rushing at him, Ivan let out a small sigh of relief, “Leaf Town was unfortunately affected by the war and everybody suffered a great loss. As the head of Leaf Town, I am responsible for its fortunes. Therefore, I am willing to use three hundred gold coins out of my own pocket in order to help rebuild our home!”

“Ah?” All the townsfolk were astonished to hear Ivan was willing to use his own money to help them. They could not think of any ruler who wasn’t selfish and only wanted to exploit people but the young man in front of them was generous. 

His attitude toward them and their town shifted their hatred into respect.  

“You mean it?” the big man with the beard said in disbelief.

Ivan didn’t hesitate to beckon the old man claiming to be the mayor over, then took out three hundred gold coins and gave them to him. He looked at the wrinkles on the old man’s face and smiled. “I wasn’t meant to deprive you of your right to the town, but I’ve become the head of Leaf Town now. So, I hope you can continue to fulfill your duties as mayor. I am an acquaintance of Lord Logan and I will recommend you to him if you do a good job. Take the gold coins and split them equally between all the townsfolk.”

“Okay...” The old man hadn’t expected Ivan to be close to Lord Logan but it did make sense. Otherwise, the young man never would have been created Baron and granted land. The man realized that if he stayed on good terms with Ivan, then he would still get a chance to obtain an estate so he accepted the coins. 

Ivan’s eyelid twitched involuntarily when he saw the old man take the gold coins. He felt bitter. After all, three hundred gold coins equaled $6,000 or a month’s salary. On top of that, he had no idea how much the first month’s tax discount he impulsively promised was. Ivan intended to make a fortune, but it turned out that he lost money instead. 

Feeling the anger building inside when he thought about the fact he had to contribute money to ease the crowd’s rage. Ivan glared at the ringleader, he was the one to blame for the mess. 

The big man put down the iron bar in embarrassment when he saw Ivan staring at him but he tried to be an upright person. He said, “Baron Bishop, you’re considerate of the townsfolk as head of Leaf Town, but I went as far as to lead a fight against you. It is my fault and I apologize. I am willing to accept my punishment.”

“Don’t kill Iron Man. He did that for us and for our town.” Other people interceded for the big man.

“Oh, your name is Iron Man? It seems to match you. I will not punish you for your actions. Since I have been promoted to Baron, I need guards by my side. Would you like to…” Ivan began to laugh before he finished his sentence.  

“You won’t punish me? And you’re recruiting me? Oh my goodness!” Iron Man said with joy.

“You’re unwilling?”

“I’d like to, very much.”

Ivan smiled at his first guard.