Chapter 512 - Update 2

｢Boundless System-wide Announcement 

Welcome to Update 2 of Boundless! 

A few changes have been made to the core system to enhance gameplay while some new mechanics have been introduced. Please check the changelog below to verify; 

- Kingdom Wars 

- Video Capture System (Approved by the World Council) 

- Party Video Chat 

- Guild Video Chat 

- Tier 2 Realism 

- Increased Grandmaster slots 

- Anti-Abuse System of NPCs (Click here for full details) 

- International Lottery Games 

- Infallible Contract System｣ 

Draco and Eva appeared within the Ara Zone adjacent to the Paradise Lands called the Winding Desert. It was the diametrical opposite to the Paradise Lands which were lush in greenery and resources, being a barren desert that spanned a great distance. 

The monsters here were mostly of the sand element, all being extremely violent and confrontational. This was not even accounting for the bad conditions in the desert that would sap anyone's physical and mental strength after a long while. 

The level of monsters here varied from Rank 1, level 30 to Rank 5, level 220. Clearly, it would be impossible for Draco and Eva to clear it out even if they used Area Zone-wide attacks which they had more than a few of. 

However, they weren't here to play around or conquer this Area Zone. They couldn't do the latter even if they wanted to. For a kingdom to gain the rights to an entire Area Zone, they would need to follow some processes. 

First, they would have to lodge an application for accession of the Area Zone, which would then be approved by the Cario Continental Council in a general sitting. One only needs 25 votes to win, and there are over 200 votes in play. 

Usually, it was not too hard unless everyone hated your guts. Draco also knew that this would not be a problem for Vita, because the other kingdoms and empires on the continent would not say no to more land for the Kingdom. 

After all, didn't that mean they could squeeze in more of their people or buy some shops in this goldmine? Why stifle their growth when it only brought benefits to literally everyone on the continent? 

After the process is filed, the Area Zone must be cleared of all monsters. At this point, the respawn system for monsters would be switched off, otherwise it would be quite pointless for anyone to try to clear it unless they had absolute power. 

As for those occupied by Kingdoms or Empires, things got a little bit troublesome, but luckily, Draco was not yet in a rush to take part in something like this. 

For now, he and Eva took to the sky and they flew around the entire Area Zone. They were mapping and scanning it, where the monsters of which rank hung out, their types, and their numbers. 

They were serious about this since apart from players, their Kingdom NPC army would also have to take part in the clearing. They were not obliged to, as most others would hire mercenaries and set up a largescale mission with ample rewards. 

However, Draco wanted their troops to experience some combat in order to harden them. Best to start with monsters before jumping to other NPCs and players. 

After spending almost an hour circling the place carefully, the duo met up at the place they started and shared their findings. 

"If we give both our guild members and our army about three months, they could clear everything with some tricks." Draco assessed calmly. 

Eva nodded. "It will be impossible for them to even assist the NPCs in fighting Rank 5 monsters until the majority of them reach Rank 3." 

Draco smiled. "That shouldn't be too much of a problem. Thanks to your genius, they have crossed a large amount of that distance thanks during the Abyss Event." 

"With the 200% exp boost in the Kingdom, they should be able to reach the level cap in less than a month's time, especially if they hunt the monsters here since it was so close by." 

"Speaking of that, it's about time we ranked up as well." Draco pointed out. 

After all, he didn't dare to begin the Tower of Babylon Unique Quest until he powered up a bit more. The Refinement God's Treasury had been doable at Rank 1 since he had a Divine Class and it had been a Tradeskill quest in general. 

The Tower of Babylon would likely be more combat-oriented, so he would need more power than this even if he could smuggle his clan into it to help him out. 

"Hm, we can kill two birds with one stone, allowing ourselves to Rank Up while doing so for our Guild as well." Eva stated with a thoughtful expression. 

Once Draco read what she was thinking, his face froze as his body shivered. Eva's method could be said to be effective but cruel and reminiscent of peak Riveting Night. 

"Hehe, there is nothing like cruel or kind when it involves our benefits. Besides, it's time to teach a lesson to such fools for daring to act that way towards our guild." Eva remarked with amus.e.m.e.nt. 

Draco shook his head with a bitter smile. Why, oh why did those fellows thought it would be a good idea to offend Umbra? Now they were in the sights of Eva and would soon wish that they had never dared to f.u.c.k around. 

Draco then remembered the details of the update and opened the menu. He was slightly surprised to see that pretty much everything that had been there in the previous timeline was still here. 

The only new thing was the Growth weapon fix, then again that was brought about by the duo's actions. The AI had already enacted Update 1 back then, so it had to wait for another major update to change it. 

Draco went through them one by one to see the details. 

There were the Kingdom Wars he had expected from the onset. This one didn't need much explanation since the details were clear enough. Now that the function was unlocked, players would be able to have some fun times. 

After all, it wouldn't be just Vita, but many Kingdoms and Empires on the various continents would now open recruitment for players to partake in their wars for various rewards. 

Draco also noted that the Video Capture System had been implemented. As Amber had stated during the case, the studio was not allowed to take recordings of players and release them without consent or court order. 

However, the rule had been relaxed a bit to allow players to video captures themselves and others in the game, but the studio could not. In other words, if Julia were to be assaulted again, she could just record the fellows while they did it and use it as evidence in the real world. 

This would have a great effect on lessening s.e.x.u.a.l abuse and the like in the game until Update 5. 

Obviously, this system could also be used to create content. While one could not livestream yet, they could certainly upload edited videos to their media pages about their adventures. 

This had a positive effect on Boundless as those consuming such content for entertainment would be quickly drawn to the beauty of the game if they were hesitant or ignorant before. 

It was a great upgrade from the photo mode which was already causing waves due to pictures being taken of various handsome entities and beauties - like the Four Beauties for example - as well as amazing locations and unique monsters. 

As for the Party Video Chat and the Guild Video Chat, they were some of the mechanics that Draco wanted the most. If it was before his Inner Universe, they would have allowed him to at least interface with Eva and his people when necessary. 

The Text Chat and Voice Chat were fine, but they were mostly meant for in-battle situations. However, with the Video Chat, one could use it for long-distance scouting, information relay, or just socializing. 

If it had a unique method of collection or activation, he could guide her through it step by step and make sure she was taking the right actions. 

This was just one of the many utilities of the feature, and Draco knew many more uses that could benefit the entire playerbase in time. 

Then, there was the usual increase in realism by the game which would be the case every update. 

Tier 1 Realism had introduced the need for sheaths, quivers as well as other miscellaneous items for daily life. It had also come coupled with the in-game character's hunger and thirst, which was why Draco had gotten Cooking and Brewing in the first place. 

There was also removal of unlimited stamina out of battle, the need for sleep in-game, the introduction of excrement activities, and finally the need for bathing as well as general hygiene. 

Tier 2 Realism took this a step forward. From now, spells and skills now had backlash first and foremost. This meant that one could be harmed by their own ability if they did not exclude themselves from it. 

For example, if Rina used her continent-wide attack, she would nuke herself as well as her chosen targets. Thankfully, she had fire immunity and could also quickly vacate the area to avoid suffering any extraneous damage due to force, pressure, and the like. 

This would force players to stop being casual about the usage of their skills and factor in more things. Luckily, friendly fire was still disabled, but if things would occur like in the previous timeline it would be removed by Update 3. 

There was also the emotional satisfaction value. Now, players would need to take care of other physiological issues like love, l.u.s.t, need for accompaniment, and general mood. 

One could always check these things just like they could hunger or thirst. 

Update 2 also brought in an increased number of slots for Grandmasters of all Tradeskills. The limit had been 10, but with the influx of players now, this would not be nearly enough since players could - theoretically - progress faster than NPCs. 

Now, the limit had been increased to 15, but it wouldn't really change much if the previous timeline was anything to go by. Despite having the AI show its generosity by opening up the pathway to progress further for them, players with great talent like Draco were skill stuck at the cusp of Master Rank. 

However, this timeline would naturally be far different thanks to the kind of power and resources Draco possessed. He was confident in making many Grandmasters from what he had, especially if he captured those fellows who had been just as talented as he in their various areas of trade during the previous timeline. 

In fact, a large reason why Draco had even been capped at the Master stage previous was mostly due to a lack of resources. With the Innate Technique Generator, his Three Pound Origin and Refined Star Technique could definitely have broken through level 3 back then. 

The Anti-Abuse system of NPCs was the most notable addition of Update 2 in both timelines, period. NPCs didn't know about it, but if they did, they would be eternally grateful. 

Well, it wasn't surprising, was it? Some players like Draco felt that NPCs were real enough and often forgot that they were code, but a large majority always had that in the forefront of their minds. 

Fine, they did not want to r.a.p.e or take advantage of players because that could lead to trouble in real life. However, who cared if it was a piece of computer code? They could capture one and enact any sick fantasies they had without fear of repercussion. 

In truth, the AI wasn't entirely against this, because Boundless had been created to be all-purpose. It could train humans to be more powerful, but it could also be a place for them to vent their darker side. 

However, activists in reality were not having this. While they could not force Boundless World to directly protect NPCs and neither could the World Council, they could certainly make laws that specifically punished those who did. 

The AI was legally obliged to inform all players of the relevant laws and possible punishments for doing so. However, just like players, NPCs would have to report the crime. 

If players could find a way to lock up NPCs forever, then they could get away with it, just like in real life. However, if you assaulted - say - Sasha from the Adventurer's Guild outpost from back then, she could just report it to the authorities. 

It would be processed both in-game and out of game, as the AI would report the crime to the authorities with the relevant proof. A clever loophole existed that Amber had not mentioned during the trial, which was the fact that the AI could record all actions relating to NPCs and store them. 

So, if a player did something to an NPC, they could provide a video or imagery. Wait, did that mean that players were being recorded indirectly? Yes and no. 

Yes, because they are appearing in the video, but no because they weren't the target of recording. For example, if you are taking a picture of your girlfriend near a public location and a celebrity photobombs you, they cannot use you for a breach of privacy. 

Otherwise, who would dare to take photos? 

Update 2 also brought in a 'fun' mini-game called the International Lottery Games. It was basically a form of gacha, where one could pay up money or items for tickets for various draws. 

The chances were abysmal if your Luck was below 50 points, and hardly 0.00000001% of the entire playerbase even invested that much into Luck. Only people like Fitter Cleric, Draco, and Eva could benefit from this. 

Most would just sink their funds into the demonic beast called gacha, until they would be left with anguish and suffering for daring to think that they were special. No matter how rich and powerful you are, gacha would quickly humble you. 

Draco had won only a select few times in the previous timeline, but 99% of his attempts had either yielded trash or nothing despite putting in things he worked very hard for. 

Obviously, this mechanic was another scam feature from the AI to limit the financial wealth of players unless they had a certain amount of luck. 

As for the leveling bug for growth items, it was pretty straightforward. One could only place experience that they had earned themselves into growth items they own. If another person were to put in their exp, the counter would reset. 

This had come about when Eva gave her excess experience to Fragarach way back then. Now if one owned a growth item, they would have to make like Rina and spend ungodly amounts of time powering it up. 

Luckily, the members of Umbra who had received Semi-Legendary items from Draco that could grow to the Legendary stage had already upgraded them. This also included those who had Epic growth items as a reward for surviving the Void Infestation Emergency Quest when Joker and Happy Scholar had been tricked into causing havoc during the First Guild War. 

Draco was not bothered by this, as he now had many ways to gather experience quickly if he wanted to level up items. Obviously not through combat since he only got 5% of the experience, but through making unique crafts through Tradeskills and completing Unique Quests. 

In fact, Draco was currently sitting on a large amount of Tradeskill and combat experience, but he wanted to keep it for later. At Rank 2, there was no need to consume such precious resources due to short-sightedness. 

As for the last addition to Update 2, it was basically an upgrade to the already-in-place contract system. There were certain limits that players could not make with their contracts, as well as some unique loopholes that had appeared over time as more and more had joined in. 

The AI had cruelly locked all such loopholes and reinforced the system. Now, contracts signed were absolutely absolute, and one should honestly plan to fulfill the terms they agreed to lest they suffer the penalty for breach. 

After assessing the various changes, Draco and Eva returned to the Vita Kingdom. Inside the Aether Castle, they traveled to the administration room where Sublime was seated with square-rimmed glasses on her nose, seriously combing through doc.u.ments. 

Seeing the troublesome oppai loli looking so serious and m.a.t.u.r.e made the duo smile. She did look adorable when she wasn't plotting evil upon innocent souls… though some might argue that she was even more adorable when she did so! 

When she saw them enter, she paused her work. Draco then informed her about the campaign to conquer the Winding Desert Area Zone, what would be required of them, and the layout of monsters. 

Sublime Notion nodded and immediately sent out the Accession Request to the council. Luckily, the next sitting was in three days, so hopefully, it could get approved by then. 

After that, Draco told Sublime to gather all members of Umbra, whether Tradeskill or not, to come to the core area as soon as possible. 

Sublime was shocked, but understood that Draco was likely planning something huge again! 

Excited, yet slightly worried about another increase in workload, Sublime carried out his orders.