Battle of a Thousand (1)
“What? How the hell are you gonna pull that off solo?”
“You think hyungnim would just blurt that out without a plan? Listen up……”
My current level was 272. If I grinded non-stop until tomorrow evening's siege, I could hit 274 without breaking a sweat. At that point, anyone short of ranker-tier wouldn't land a single hit on me, and level correction would be negligible. Calculations checked out—plenty of winning odds.
“Huh? Wait, hold on? This might actually work!”
“Sounds familiar, doesn't it? You said the exact same thing when I told you I was gunning for Mashil.”
“Ah, this bastard and his damn good memory.”
“Memory's not all I've got. Creativity's lacking, though? Anyway, what do you think? Feasible, right?”
“If it's like you say, definitely…… Hey! Tomorrow might go down in Taitonic history as unprecedented!”
“Right? Heh heh heh.”
Meeting one-on-one with a top-tier guild master was rare enough. Being in the position of receiving a request from him? Even rarer. No way was I wasting that golden opportunity, so yesterday I'd grilled him on all sorts of things. The juiciest bits were the undisclosed intel on nation-building and titans.
"As you know, becoming a castle lord lets you collect taxes on shops, auctions, warehouses, and housing rentals in the area. Rates are up to you, but usually around 2%—nothing extreme."
"The real kicker? Once you upgrade to a full nation…… those taxes double."
“Double? Like, 2x?”
"Exactly. Players pay the same, but your guild pockets twice as much. Think local taxes turning into national revenue—easy peasy."
That explained why second-tier guilds were desperate to claim the next nation slot. I was now one of the tiny elite who knew the real reason.
In fact, the most shrouded secret in all of Taitonic was how much tax revenue castle-owning guilds raked in. Amounts varied by castle, and tax info was locked down tighter than a guild master's safe—only they knew. Us regular players could only guess.
Even a Taitonic newbie like me knew doubling taxes on nation upgrade was huge—no extra effort or cost required! No wonder guilds were merging, backstabbing, dumping cash, and going all-in on sieges.
"Nations also unlock 'National Facilities.' Taesung built theirs a day after founding—the spot we snatched, Bernstein Castle."
"Leaked from Olympus after they took it…… Guess what it was called?"
“Dunno. Special skill lab? Item forge? NPC trainer or something?”
"If it were that tame, I wouldn't be hyping it. Since it's you, Sandro…… It was the Titan Production Lab."
“No way? For real?”
"Nations get titan manufacturing rights. Explains why titans never dropped in Taitonic—locked behind nation status from the start."
Illusion had fielded endless complaints about titan delays. PC version had them early via weapons or ruins. Here? Three years, zero hints. We assumed low-level phase and kept grinding. Then Luitus dropped, and cheers erupted.
Turns out other titan paths opened too—Taesung hoarded it all. If I'd never swiped Bernstein, they'd be untouchable, monopolizing titan OP-ness.
"Olympus can't run it without nation status, but build one and it's game on. That's why everyone's siege-crazed. Taesung's probably rebuilding elsewhere."
Nations craft titans. Weaker than Lord-grades like Luitus, sure—but my solo-summon edge vanishes. No wonder I was panicking. Time to milk Luitus dry while it lasted.
“He swore me to secrecy. Guess as the sole titan rider, he trusted me…… Feels like a stretch, but I'm sieging a castle. While they're clueless—strike now for the big score!”
“That 'siege a castle' bit from the titan patch? Man, your sneaky brain's the one thing I respect. How'd you survive this long with it?”
“Hey! Cut the crap. Anyway, snag a castle and I'll power-level a month straight. You grind like hell too—no crying if you lag behind.”
“Pfft, outpace a guy light-leveling with a holy sword? Dream on!”
“Kek. 'Can't keep up' yesterday, now it's 'maybe'? Progress.”
We always bantered lightly, but I consulted Hyunjung for big moves because of risk checks. Wanted confirmation it wasn't delusion or overreach from someone I respected. His thumbs-up today settled my nerves.
One thing left: Max specs before tomorrow's siege! Perfect short-term grind spot awaited.
* * *
Your level has increased.
“Hooah! Never hustled this hard in my life. Not even high school cramming matched half this grind!”
Three hours' sleep, then half a day straight hobgoblin grinding—no distractions. Hit 273. Time left before siege, but paused for village return.
Saturday arena event pre-siege—weekly exclusive.
Achievement fever hit post-interview—the first official confirmation. Late bloomers woke up, but rising competition locked out even rankers from some feats.
Prime example: Arena's Battle of a Thousand.
You have arrived at Ostarg, capital of the Gaira Empire.
“Whoa! Double the usual crowd? Battle time rush?”
Players teleported in non-stop via space mages. Saturday 6 PM, Ostarg Colosseum's special event.
Arena: Pure PvP playground—no penalties. 1v1, free-for-alls anytime. Wins earned points for arena gear.
But Ostarg's star: Survival mode, Battle of a Thousand. 1,000 players dumped into massive arena, free-for-all till one survivor. Thrilling chaos + top-10 rewards = massive hype. Especially the #1 exclusive A-rank achievement—one of few known paths. Rankers flocked for it.
‘Rare A-grade with a clear route.’
Colosseum ticket booth: Sea of buyers. Easy 20-30k crowd. Late arrival? Planned.
"Come for Ostarg's pride, the Battle of a Thousand? Grab a ticket! Skill or luck nets huge rewards!"
Would you like to purchase a 'Battle of a Thousand' entry ticket?
Select ticket type:
Gold Ticket: 10,000 Gold
Silver Ticket: 1,000 Gold
Bronze Ticket: 100 Gold
Approached a booth NPC—he pitched first. Prompt popped; no hesitation—Gold Ticket.
“Heh. Perks of being loaded! Buy without blinking.”
Three tiers. Random draw entry, slots by type. Early days, Bronze guaranteed spot.
‘Those achievement nabbers lucked out. But today…… me too.’
Hype killed Bronze odds—900 slots from 20k+. Silver 90, Gold 10. Gold sold ~5 weekly—not just price. Special Battle twist.
‘Nightmare for rankers/top-tiers. That's the arena.’
Confident big-reward players? Top-tiers only. But they rarely snagged #1—famous = early target. Tradition: Cull promising sprouts fast.
Colosseum 'Battle of a Thousand' ticket sales closed.
Total: Gold 9, Silver 421, Bronze 21,232.
Touch entry button to confirm participation.
“900/20k for Bronze…… Hell mode. Gold's packed too? Eight others dropping a mil each besides me?”
Ranker-unfriendly structure tanked Gold popularity. This week? Near sellout—almost DQ'd.
“Tough luck for them. Looks like a pile-on setup, but on my day?”
Whoosh! Players vanished in light pillars. Touched entry—poof, teleported.
Entered Colosseum via Gold Ticket.
Battle of a Thousand starts shortly.