Chapter 30: The First Castle on the Server! Recruiting Another 200 Six-Star Mages!

Immediately afterward, a system notification appeared before John.

[Global Announcement: Congratulations to Lord "Tyrant" for becoming the first player on the server to construct a castle!]

[First Achievement Rewards Being Distributed: 10,000 Gold Coins, 1 Six-Star Unit Altar Stone, 1 Six-Star Unit Training License, and 1 Epic Resource Plot!]

[The first-achievement milestone has been detected. The system will broadcast this announcement three times across the entire server. Would you like to conceal your identity?]

John tapped the air with his finger.

"Don’t hide it."

The next second, the global announcement rang out three times in succession.

[Global Announcement: Lord "Tyrant" has become the first player on the server to construct a castle!]

[Global Announcement: Lord "Tyrant" has become the first player on the server to construct a castle!]

[Global Announcement: Lord "Tyrant" has become the first player on the server to construct a castle!]

World Chat fell silent for approximately three seconds.

Then it exploded once again.

"A CASTLE?! I haven’t even finished building a wooden hut yet!!"

"No, seriously, where the hell did he get all those resources?! Good heavens!"

"Everyone, I’ve figured it out. Tyrant is the GM’s biological son. Case closed."

"I’m reporting him! This is definitely cheating!"

"Where’s the report button? I’ve been looking everywhere and can’t find it. Oh, wait. Turns out I can’t even bring myself to report Tyrant. Watching this guy show off is more entertaining than playing the game myself."

John glanced at World Chat, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly, then casually closed the interface.

He entered the castle.

The interior of the Lord’s Hall had already been arranged according to his plans.

A spacious chamber, stone flooring, the lord’s throne at the center, and weapon racks and trophy displays lining both sides.

Unfortunately, the hall was still rather empty for now.

Gru and the villagers were busy moving supplies from the warehouse into the castle.

John walked up to the lord’s throne and sat down, tapping his fingers against the armrest.

The system notifications were still refreshing continuously. Only then did he remember that he hadn’t checked the rewards from the second night’s siege battle.

[Second-Day Monster Tide Siege Speedrun Rewards: 10,000 Gold Coins, 1 Five-Star Unit Altar Stone, 1 Five-Star Unit Training License, and 1 Hero Recruitment Scroll!]

The rewards were similar to those from the first night’s first-kill achievement, except that the unit tier had increased from four stars to five.

John checked his inventory.

The Six-Star Unit Altar Stone he’d obtained from the six-star chest had already been used to construct the Dragon Knight altar.

However, the first-castle reward had given him another six-star set.

Combined with the five-star unit materials from the second siege battle, he now had enough materials for two more unit altars.

"Let’s use the six-star set first."

John rose and walked over to the Dragon Knight altar.

A building interface appeared in the air.

[Consume 10,000 Wood, 10,000 Stone, 10,000 Iron Ore, 1 Six-Star Unit Altar Stone, and 1 Six-Star Unit Training License (Frost Mage) to construct the six-star unit building: Frost Mage?]

"Construct."

As soon as the words left his mouth, his 10,000× Acceleration talent activated.

The resources in the warehouse were deducted instantly, and a towering structure made entirely of icy-blue crystal rose from the ground.

Faint frost patterns shimmered across its surface, while a massive ice crystal floated above the tower, radiating an eerie blue light.

[Hidden Class Detected: Undead Sovereign.]

[Class Authority Forcibly Converting Building Properties...]

A layer of eerie green necromantic flames spread across the icy-blue crystal tower.

In the blink of an eye, its transparent crystalline walls transformed into translucent gray-white bone crystal.

Inside the ice crystal at the tower’s peak, a flickering mass of ghostly blue soulfire appeared.

[Building Conversion Complete!]

[Unit Altar: Undead Frost Mage]

[Tier: Six-Star (Mid-Tier)]

[Level: 1 (Upgradeable)]

[Recruitment Cost: 150 Gold Coins per unit]

[Recruitment Time: 24 hours per unit]

[Upgrade Requirements: 10,000 Wood, 10,000 Stone, and 5,000 Iron Ore. Each upgrade reduces recruitment time by 10%. Maximum Level: 10.]

John glanced at the recruitment cost.

Just like the Dragon Knights, each Frost Mage cost 150 Gold Coins.

He didn’t hesitate.

"Recruit 200 Undead Frost Mages."

[30,000 Gold Coins deducted.]

[10,000× Acceleration activated...]

The soulfire at the top of the bone-crystal tower suddenly surged, enveloping the entire structure in a ghostly blue glow.

Frost patterns spread rapidly across its surface. The surrounding temperature plummeted, and even the ground became covered in a thin layer of white frost.

Immediately afterward, two hundred pillars of icy-blue light shot out from the tower’s peak and descended onto the open ground in front of it.

As the light faded, two hundred undead mages clad in gray-white bone armor appeared before him.

Their physiques were comparable to those of ordinary human women, and they stood slightly over 1.7 meters tall. Translucent bone-crystal armor covered their bodies.

Their eyes glowed ghostly blue, and each held a staff topped with a fist-sized blue ice crystal.

Unlike the Undead Dragon Knights, whose undead forms retained their original draconic features, these Frost Mages looked almost exactly as they had in life.

Pale and beautiful.

John opened the status panel of the female mage at the front.

[Unit: Undead Frost Mage]

[Tier: Six-Star (Mid-Tier)]

[Level: Lv1]

[HP: 1,000]

[Attack: 1,300]

[Defense: 200]

[Trait: Undead Body (Immune to mind-affecting magic, feels no pain, and never tires)]

[Skill 1: Ice Bolt (Lv1 · Active): Fires a projectile infused with the power of ice, dealing magic damage equal to 150% of Attack. Cooldown: 15 seconds.]

[Skill 2: Icefall (Lv1 · Active): Summons a shower of ice over a designated area, dealing magic damage equal to 80% of Attack to all enemies within a 10 m × 10 m area and reducing their movement speed by 80% for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 25 seconds.]

[Skill 3: Ice Prison (Lv1 · Active): Manipulates ice elements to create ice walls and alter the terrain, restricting enemy movement or even imprisoning targets. Can be cast individually or combined with other Frost Mages for a coordinated spell. Each Frost Mage can manipulate up to 100 cubic meters of ice. Cooldown: 60 seconds.]

[Description: In life, many served as tribal priests, scholars, and battlefield mages. Though they no longer remember their names, the frost spells etched into their souls remain as precise as ever.]

John studied the panel and let out a satisfied breath.

This was his first ranged unit—and one equipped with crowd-control abilities, no less.

"Assign them to Ophelia’s legion."

John issued the command.

The aura beneath the two hundred Frost Mages lit up, dark-purple dragonflame patterns intertwining with icy-blue frost runes.

Ophelia watched the newly recruited mages without voicing any objections.

Although they weren’t the most natural fit for her legion, John still didn’t have a mage hero under his command. For now, the Frost Mages could benefit from her formation bonuses.

They could always be reassigned later.

John had been thinking the same thing. He nodded, then turned his attention to the final set of materials.

[Five-Star Unit Altar Stone ×1]

[Five-Star Unit Training License (Priest) ×1]

He pondered for a moment.

For an undead army, the Priest unit type really wasn’t particularly useful.