Oak Hills was a player-built town southwest of Spawn, founded and managed by Pancen. What began as an unnamed, unconnected stretch of land with no residents became one of Liberty Minecraft's fastest-growing communities, notable for its active real estate market, consistent architectural theme, and a founding story that NullCase regarded as a small philosophical discovery about the nature of value itself.

The Origin of Realized Value

The story of Oak Hills begins with an empty landscape. Several months before the town had a name, Pancen claimed an area southwest of Spawn that no other player had considered worth developing. It had no residents, no Netherway connection, and no obvious draw. Pancen subdivided it into claims and subclaims -- a framework for a town that did not yet exist -- and then, for weeks, nothing happened. Even Pancen seemed to waver in his commitment.

Then something shifted. Pancen returned and the town materialized rapidly, as though some internal obstacle had been overcome. Before the name "Oak Hills" appeared anywhere, Pancen had listed every property for sale. A newcomer named TheMotherBrayne, who had accumulated a fortune, purchased every single one.

What happened next struck NullCase as remarkable. Having watched all his properties sell instantly, Pancen realized they were worth more to him than he had thought. He offered to buy them back from TheMotherBrayne at a higher price, effectively paying TheMotherBrayne for the service of helping him recognize their worth.

Pancen realized the town, those claims were more valuable to him than he'd originally thought. Having realized their value, in the same moment he decided to offer TheMotherBrayne a higher price, paying TheMotherBrayne for helping him to realize their worth.

NullCase saw in this episode an independent rediscovery of the concept of "realized value" -- the idea that something's worth is not inherent but becomes known through market interaction. He speculated that markets might function as a means of eliminating doubt, both about the value of one's work and about oneself.

Town Governance

Pancen operated Oak Hills under a clear set of terms, displayed on lecterns in the town hall for anyone to read. New players could purchase subclaim management privileges for as little as $1, making entry affordable. However, these were management permissions, not outright ownership -- Pancen retained the underlying claim and could revoke access.

The conditions were straightforward: residents were encouraged to build in designs that matched the town's consistent aesthetic theme. Players who were inactive for a month or whose buildings were deemed unsuitable risked having their management permissions revoked. NullCase acknowledged this was labor-intensive for Pancen -- judging inactivity durations and architectural suitability was subjective, ongoing work -- but credited him with pursuing a clear vision.

The goal is to build a town that he's certain is beautiful and prosperous. In this I expect he'll succeed.

This governance model sat between the extremes found elsewhere on the server. Unlike the Grand Bazaar, where Aewheros operated as a hands-off landlord, Pancen was an active curator. Unlike New Stockholm, where Haksndot sold plots outright and let buyers build freely, Oak Hills maintained aesthetic standards through the owner's ongoing involvement.

Growth and Real Estate

Oak Hills experienced a real estate boom in mid-2020 that surprised even NullCase. By August 2020, at least eight different players owned more than 50 properties in the town. At least 16 claims were on sale at any given time. Some parcels had been bought, resold, and offered again at higher prices for a third time in less than two months.

I don't know what's going on in Oak Hills. Pancen has built an area which seems to be taking off in a way we've never seen before.

The speculative energy was driven partly by the town's improving infrastructure. Pancen secured direct access to the Netherway, making Oak Hills one of the easiest off-Strip destinations to reach. Rumors circulated of a south road connecting Oak Hills to New Stockholm, which would link one of Liberty's fastest-growing towns with arguably its wealthiest.

Competition Among Sellers

An unusual competitive dynamic emerged when Freeaboo purchased several land claims around Oak Hills in July 2020. Some plots had homes already built by Pancen, but most were empty. Over the following two weeks, Freeaboo constructed townhouses on the empty plots and listed them at significantly higher prices, betting that Pancen had undervalued the land. Freeaboo continued to add detail to the houses even after listing them -- a strategy NullCase noted as a clever way to increase value until a sale closed.

The competition had an unexpected effect on prices. Normally, more sellers competing for buyers drives prices down. But because Freeaboo had first purchased roughly 20% of available claims from Pancen -- removing supply from the market before adding improved supply back -- the net effect was upward price pressure. Pancen responded by raising his own prices to roughly match Freeaboo's. Both sellers were effectively validating each other's higher valuations.

Commerce and Shops

Oak Hills developed a diverse commercial district anchored by its town center. The Log House, owned by Pancen, operated as a lumber exchange -- buying logs from players at $30 each and selling at $40, with the $10 margin compensating the owner both for the service and for the risk that price-destroying innovations (like a new automated tree farm) could crash the value of his inventory overnight.

x3LetterNumbers opened a premium diamond tools shop in the town center, offering fully enchanted equipment at five diamonds each. The shop catered to diamond miners, who needed to replace gear quickly given the hazards of their high-paying but dangerous occupation.

Toast's Logs N' Stuff sold baked potatoes alongside lumber. DrAssenov designed a home as part of Pancen's Build Challenge, a competition that encouraged architectural creativity within the town's aesthetic framework. The challenge submissions were viewable on a lectern in the town center.

Neighborhoods

Oak Hills grew into distinct neighborhoods as different players brought their own character to the town. Waterfront properties along the town's edge featured azure buildings with a lit boardwalk that provided protection against hostile mobs -- a practical amenity that also made the area attractive to visitors.

On the northeast end of town, Freeaboo built an Irish village, constructing the Eadron Fountain and Faoiseamh Park. A purple building called the Ubhthoradh (Irish for "eggplant") anchored the district. The Irish quarter added cultural variety to a town that might otherwise have been architecturally uniform.

Namesake properties -- homes built in styles that reflected the town's identity -- dotted the landscape. A road network was planned to connect Oak Hills southward to other settlements, and the town's proximity to the Netherway via a dedicated station made it increasingly accessible.

Legacy

Oak Hills demonstrated that a single committed player could create a thriving community from nothing through careful planning, persistent effort, and a willingness to maintain standards. Pancen's town was neither the largest nor the wealthiest on the server, but its rapid growth, active property market, and philosophical origin story made it one of the most interesting. The episode with TheMotherBrayne -- where selling everything taught the seller what his work was actually worth -- remains one of Liberty Minecraft's most evocative moments, a small but genuine insight into how markets generate knowledge that did not exist before the exchange took place.

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