“Lastly, I’ve got some good news that I’m sure everyone will appreciate. Our esteemed headmaster is feeling particularly generous these days. The academy has finally started turning a profit, and he wants to give back to his acolytes — you, the players. From now on, there will be a subsidy provided to every player based on your Magus rank. For detailed information, please wait until the headmaster announces it in the game.”

  Since Victor had just gotten a crap ton of mana crystals that he didn’t know what to do with, he figured distributing them to players would be a wise investment. Not only would this encourage players to progress faster, but it would also aid their meditation and overall development. After all, investing in the players meant Victor would eventually have a stronger, more capable army, and the benefits would fall back into his lap in the long run.

  If that wasn’t enough of a benefit, the higher the rank that a player achieved, the more efficient they would become at everyday tasks. For example, a first-stage Initiate Attunement acolyte could perform manual labor with ten times the effectiveness of an ordinary individual. This meant a significant boost in the academy’s overall productivity.

  “Before wrapping up this dev diary, I’d like to share a couple more updates. Starting now, missions will be graded with stars based on their difficulty to give players a clearer sense of what to expect. Additionally, settlements that have established relationships with the academy will now be displayed on the official website, complete with relationship points. Players can access this information through their Shadowlink Marks as well.”

  “One last thing to note, you can now access the internet directly from within the game. No longer do you need to log out and log in to search for important information anymore. However, this feature is limited to basic search engine use only. Activities like playing web-based games or watching videos, other than other players’ streaming or in-game videos and related tutorial videos, are restricted and cannot be done through this feature. Please, use this feature wisely.”

  Victor actually added this feature not only for the players but also for other natives here, as there was even an auto-translation feature added to it. So, someone like Eleanor should be able to use it and take advantage of all sorts of knowledge, such as advanced metallurgical, composition of alloys, and various techniques from Earth by reading or following step-by-step guides or videos.

  “I think that covers everything for this fifth installment of the dev diary. I sincerely hope this update addresses the current issues within the game and can fulfill your joy while we’re away on vacation. Happy gaming!”

  With a satisfied nod, Victor uploaded his creation to the forum. “I bet the players are going to go crazy over the subsidy…”

  Most established Magus academies typically provided their acolytes with mana crystals as a form of support, with the amount given based on their Magus rank and mana aptitude. However, since Victor was treating this entire fiasco as a game, he couldn’t afford to be biased toward players with higher mana aptitudes. Instead, he chose to reward those who put in more effort and reached higher stages.

  As for how many mana crystals he planned to subsidize, it wouldn’t be that different than other Magus academies. Each week, ordinary players would receive one mana crystal; first-stage Initiate Attunement players would receive two mana crystals; second-stage Initiate Attunement players would receive five mana crystals; and third-stage Initiate Attunement players would receive ten mana crystals. For players who advanced beyond this stage, he decided to hold off on further rewards until the appropriate time came.

  True to expectation, the forum was ablaze with players commenting on the latest update announcement.

  JustLightning: “?? 1? ??1? ??”

  ProcrastinatingPanda: “Fuck! How come I was not the first?! I didn’t even wash my hands after taking a shit!”

  Stickman_Just_Passing: “Dude, seriously? Go wash your hands before typing!”

  Hornycrab: “At this point, I’m not surprised about not being the first anymore… If only the updates were on a set schedule, I’d always be the first.”

  Captain Derp: “Damn! For an intermittent update, this sure is a lot!”

  Gigglebelly Grumblefart: “I’m always been wondering, when are we getting a livestream announcement like other games do?”

  Castlefrost: “Come on, the game’s still in closed alpha. What did you expect? Bet they will do livestreams when it’s fully released.”

  Prominence: “Still, damn. That subsidy is definitely something to look forward to.”

  Storm Bringer: “Yeah, but this can go both ways. On the one hand, it gives new and veteran players motivation to progress faster. On the other hand, it might mess with the mana crystal to real currency exchange rate.”

  Locktekei: “Does this mean my hard-earned mana crystals will be worth less?!”

  GladiusZone: “∑(; °Д°)”

  SuperNovaX: “[Shocked.jpg]”

  Princess_Tomato: “?? ?? ??”

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Huh, now that I think about it, it will indeed impact the exchange rate between in-game currency and Earth’s currency, Victor thought while holding his chin. Oh well, I guess that’s just one of the perks of being an early adopter.

  Right now, the exchange rate between the dollar and mana crystals hovered around 100:1, meaning a single mana crystal was worth roughly a hundred bucks. Considering that a new player could earn around one hundred merit points daily, they were essentially making a hundred dollars a day. As a comparison, the average daily wage of an office worker was about 150 dollars. It was quite a large sum since they were just playing a “game.”

  To be fair, mana crystals were massively undervalued. But then again, most players had no idea of their true worth, nor did they have any clue that the game was real. And Victor still had no intention of divulging that secret anytime soon. Therefore, it couldn’t be helped that the value remained artificially low. Not that it mattered much, considering the majority of players were too broke to buy even one crystal at its true worth.

  KuroUsagi: “Hmm, now that the bug preventing missions from popping up in critical situations is fixed, I wonder if the mission I was supposed to get will appear when I log back in after the update. Can’t wait ‘til maintenance is over.”

  ButterflyWingsAreDelicious: “Ha! This new class update is going to make me even stronger! Fighting in close quarters felt incomplete without proper combat techniques.”

  MissRichLadyAuralise: “Ah, the brute finally finds a toy to play with.”

  ButterflyWingsAreDelicious: “What, you wanna fight? Meet me at the practice grounds for a duel — I’ll be waiting! (?д?╬)”

  MissRichLadyAuralise: “Oh my. Resorting to physical violence is the best you can do? How uncouth. But sure, I will take the offer and bring my entourage to take you down a peg or two.”

  ButterflyWingsAreDelicious: “Bring it on!”

  MsMelody: “Please, don’t fight!”

  It seemed that the two most troublesome female players weren’t cursing at each other anymore on the forum and resorted to settling their differences in-game.

  Squadzell: “Hey! Where can I sign up for the expedition?”

  GladiusZone: “Are you blind? The promotional manager said the headmaster’s the one who decides who gets to join the grand expedition.”

  Zylvern: “Guess it’s better to start licking the headmaster’s boots.”

  CookieMons: “+1”

  Prominence: “+2”

  Squadzell: “Seniors, please teach me the way of bootlicking! ??”

  ButaYaarou: “I want to lick a girl’s feet too. (?° ?? ?°)”

  GiveMeTheNuclearCode: “Same.”

  SirLaughsALot: “Ahem.”

  ButaYaarou: “Crap, you again!”

  GiveMeTheNuclearCode: “Uh-oh.”

  “…”

  Anyway, Victor had no time to waste getting caught up in the players’ comments — there was too much to do to prepare for the grand expedition. But just as he was about to get started, something clicked in his mind.

  “Wait a minute…” Victor mused aloud.

  “Is something troubling you, Master?” Lizbeth inquired, hovering nearby.

  “It’s nothing. I just remembered the steam kite that Eleanor made… Given her skills in aerodynamics, it shouldn’t be too hard for her to develop a small makeshift dirigible capable of carrying two dozen people.”

  Victor was no master in airplanes, but he was pretty sure making a dirigible, even with limited materials, should be possible with the help of the players. Perhaps the twin overseers had a blueprint or even an old dirigible that could be repaired. He recalled them mentioning that everything inside the citadel was dysfunctional, but it was better to ask than assume.

  With that in mind, he set to do what must be done.

  “Master, I have done my job! Where’s my food?” Lizbeth chimed in, seeming to have finished with the code.

  Of course, after he was done eating with this little fairy of his.

  ***

  “A… a dirigible?!” a voice rang out, filled with disbelief. “Patron, can you repeat what you just said? This time, please make your words clearer.”

  “You heard me right,” another voice responded, belonging to none other than Victor. “I want you to build me a dirigible — the kind that Magi use to travel across the continent.”

  The woman before him, Eleanor, widened her eyes as she stared at him like looking at an insane man. “Are you out of your mind?! You’re asking me to build a flying machine with nothin’ but a hammer and a furnace?” She shook him violently as if trying to force out an answer to this ridiculous request.

  “I know it sounds crazy, but I want you to make me a dirigible that can carry two dozen people. And I need it ready within two weeks. Can you do it?” Victor asked before swiftly continuing after realizing that the request was indeed a bit absurd, “But before you say no, hear me out — I’m not asking you to make one from scratch. I’ve got a connection that might have a broken dirigible lying around.”

  For a moment, Eleanor just stared at him, as if trying to process what he had just said. Then her eyes widened, so large that they could fit a baseball.

  “You have a broken dirigible?!” she repeated, even more stunned stupid than before.

  If I say that I just inherited a citadel of war that can destroy small planes, will she die of shock? A mischievous thought flashed inside his mind.

  Victor had recently learned that through the mark placed by Garry, he was able to send messages to the twin overseers by expending some infused mana. It wasn’t as efficient as the Shadowlink Mark, but it could be used to communicate over long distances in a similar manner, with the amount of mana being the limitation, not the academy level otherwise.

  From this, he learned that the twin overseers did indeed have several almost-destroyed dirigibles in their possession. These dirigibles were in such poor condition that calling them “broken” was putting it mildly. Still, Victor wasn’t about to discourage his only Artificer with the grim details.

  “Yes,” Victor confirmed with a nod. “You’re the best person for the job; I can’t think of anyone else who can do it better than you.”

  Eleanor took a deep breath, the initial shock wearing off as her expression turned confident. “Well… I won’t say it’s impossible if we’re just fixing a broken one. Though I’ll need a blueprint and parts that can be salvaged. Oh, and I want dozens of your acolytes to help with the construction. It’s going to be a massive undertakin’, y’know.”

  Victor smiled, knowing she’d come around. “Whatever you need, just let me know. Actually, I want you to make this in secret from my acolytes; I’ll give you a place for the assembly, and I’ll even lend you several special ‘helpers’ to assist with building the airship.”

  He didn’t want the players getting too involved and potentially leaking information before it was time. While they could help gather and prepare materials, he preferred they not be the ones doing the actual repairs on the dirigible. As for the “helpers,” they were functional worker golems from the citadel. Nonetheless, the thought of having to go back and forth to transport everything using his interspatial ring was a bit disheartening but necessary.

  With determination gleaming in her eyes, Eleanor declared, “Alright, let’s do it. But don’t blame me if we end up with something that looks more like a flying barrel than an airship.”

  Victor chuckled. “As long as it flies and gets us to Brightmoon City, I won’t complain.”