Chapter 90 – Hidden Foundation
“???”
The spy trio fell into a daze as they looked at Blackie’s slightly chubby body.
“What about elite members?” the Berserker youth asked.
“Refinement Realm…” Blackie repeated, scratching his head awkwardly.
The trio was rendered speechless by Blackie’s words. Didn’t this basically mean that only Refinement Realm experts were allowed to join Zero Wing?
“Cliff, do you think this person saw through our intentions?” the female Elementalist secretly asked through the team chat.
It should be known that if a Refinement Realm expert chose to join a first-rate Guild, they would immediately be accepted into the Guild’s main force and given the position of core members. Yet, now, newly-recruited Refinement Realm experts could only become elite members in Zero Wing. No matter how she looked at this situation, it was simply absurd.
“I don’t think so. We were only asking about Zero Wing’s recruitment standards. We have never specifically expressed our intention to join Zero Wing,” the Berserker youth named Dusk Cliff replied.
“What should we do, then?” the female Elementalist asked in exasperation. “This Guild is simply insane.”
The robust Guardian Knight nodded in agreement. If he wasn’t here on a mission a.s.signed by his Guild’s higher-ups, he would’ve cursed at Blackie already.
“Refinement Realm? Aren’t your standards a little too high?” After giving the matter some thought, Dusk Cliff looked back at Blackie and asked, “The three of us are at the seventh floor’s middle-stage standard. What position will we be given if we join your Guild?”
“You can become internal members so long as you acc.u.mulate enough Guild Contributions,” Blackie said in embarra.s.sment. If it weren’t for s.h.i.+ Feng’s maddening requirements, Zero Wing could’ve more or less recruited some expert players by now.
“Internal members?”
The spy trio breathed out a sigh of relief when they heard Blackie’s words. At the very least, they could still join Zero Wing with their strength. Had Blackie said that the minimum requirement to join was also the Refinement Realm standard, they would’ve probably exploded in anger on the spot.
Seeing the hesitant expressions on the three youths’ faces, Blackie hurriedly said, “Our Guild offers excellent benefits to internal members. So long as you become an internal member, you’ll get the opportunity to exchange a Mana Technique Legacy that will help you significantly in reconstructing your Mana Body and reaching Tier 4.”
Upon hearing Blackie’s words, the trio looked at each other briefly before turning back to Blackie, a hint of disdain flas.h.i.+ng past their eyes. If it weren’t for their Guilds’ request, they would’ve probably turned around and left already. After all, no matter how they looked at it, the person before them was undoubtedly a scammer.
First, it was the absurd entry requirement into Zero Wing. Now, Blackie was saying that internal members could exchange for an incredibly precious resource in G.o.d’s Domain. If they didn’t know any better, they’d think that Blackie was recruiting players for a Super Guild rather than a newly-established Guild.
No, even the various Super Guilds wouldn’t give their recruits the chance to exchange for a precious Mana Technique!
However, despite the disdain they held in their hearts, they still kept up their act on the surface.
“Mana Technique? Okay! The three of us will join!” Dusk Cliff said, pretending to be excited.
Meanwhile, when Dawn Moon, the female Elementalist, saw Dusk Cliff’s performance, she couldn’t help but marvel at the man’s acting skills and lament over their fate.
All three of them were geniuses who graduated from top-tier G.o.d’s Domain Academies. Dusk Cliff, in particular, was even the third-ranking genius among Nature Hall’s new recruits this year. Yet, here he was, forced to react excitedly over joining a small Guild that was recently established…
Afterward, the trio signed a standard contract for Zero Wing’s internal members with Blackie, inwardly sighing in relief when they placed their signatures on the paper. They had finally completed the first step of infiltrating Zero Wing with this. Afterward, all they needed to do was think of ways to improve themselves, acc.u.mulate Guild Contribution Points, and become core members as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, as soon as the three youths signed their contracts, Blackie saw s.h.i.+ Feng walking down from the second floor. Hurriedly, he walked over and proudly said, “Guild Leader, look how amazing I am! I just secured us three internal members!”
“This person is Zero Wing’s Guild Leader?”
When Dusk Cliff and the others heard Blackie’s words, they promptly scrutinized s.h.i.+ Feng’s cloaked figure.
At this time, s.h.i.+ Feng gave off the feeling of an ordinary civilian. If not for Blackie taking the initiative to greet him, they would’ve thought that s.h.i.+ Feng was merely an ordinary player staying in the Candlelight Hotel. He didn’t look like a Guild’s Guild Leader whatsoever.
“Three Half-step Refinement Realm players?” After scanning the three youths, s.h.i.+ Feng nodded and said, “That’s quite a good achievement for people your age.”
When Dusk Cliff and the others heard s.h.i.+ Feng’s words, they couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. They didn’t think that Zero Wing’s Guild Leader would spot similar nonsense to the Vice Guild Leader.
While they couldn’t be considered the best for reaching the Half-step Refinement Realm standard at 20 years old, they were still top-tier among their peers. Not to mention, they could potentially reach the Refinement Realm at any time, becoming a true expert in G.o.d’s Domain.
“Do you have any more questions about our Guild?” s.h.i.+ Feng asked as he looked at the trio.
“No,” Dusk Cliff said.
“In that case, I have a task to give you,” s.h.i.+ Feng said. “I have a group of new recruits who have just finished the first phase of their training and require testing. Can the three of you spar with them?”
“Testing?” Dusk Cliff inwardly sneered. Rather than testing the training results of Zero Wing’s new recruits, he felt that s.h.i.+ Feng was trying to test the three of them instead. Even so, he still pretended to be happy as he said, “If it is a command from you, we are more than happy to oblige, Guild Leader.”
“Okay, come with me, then,” s.h.i.+ Feng said, nodding. Then, he started making his way to the hotel’s bas.e.m.e.nt.
A magic barrier sealed the Candlelight Hotel’s bas.e.m.e.nt, and non-Zero Wing members were prohibited from entering it. As soon as Dusk Cliff and the others entered the bas.e.m.e.nt, they promptly noticed that the density of the Mana here was much higher than even the Mana found on the first floor, and they couldn’t help but be shocked by this discovery.
They didn’t think that a small Guild like Zero Wing would actually have the means to create such a Mana-rich environment. Even the combat rooms found in Advanced Hotels didn’t have such dense Mana.
“No wonder the higher-ups are having us investigate Zero Wing. If we can acquire the method to create such an environment, the development speed of everyone in our Guilds will increase by a large margin,” Dawn Moon said in realization.
…
TL Notes:
(9th-February-2022)
Changed s.h.i.+eld Warrior to Guardian Knight in Chapter 89.