Page 288

Lonely as Snow, brimming with excitement, struggled to carry the mithril armor while Luck King followed dejectedly.

Before they could leave the crowd, several high-level players, clad in either armor or robes, blocked their path.

Lonely as Snow immediately recognized them as members of a top-tier guild.

The leader politely extended his hand toward Lonely as Snow.

"Hello, I’m Fengyun, Vice President of the [Royal Authority] Guild. Would you be interested in discussing a trade?"

As a newbie, Lonely as Snow didn’t dare act casually. He quickly shook the man’s hand.

"What kind of trade?"

He already guessed their purpose but asked anyway.

Fengyun smiled slightly and pointed at the armor in Lonely as Snow’s arms. "I think you know why we’re here."

"This heavy armor requires at least 18 Strength to wear. Such a fine piece of equipment will hardly show its value in the hands of a newbie like you."

"Rather than lug around a useless gold burden, why not sell it? Our [Royal Authority] Guild is willing to offer 200 gold coins, more than enough for you to splurge at this stage of the game."

Lonely as Snow suddenly recalled a warning from Singo’s guide: "Top guilds often use their monopolistic position to exploit newbies who don’t understand the market value. Never sell good equipment to them, especially not to [Royal Authority]."

With that in mind, Lonely as Snow decisively said, "I won’t sell it for that price."

Fengyun adjusted his glasses and chuckled knowingly. "You must have read Singo’s guide."

"Let me be frank. Aside from [Royal Authority], no other guild can afford this level of equipment. 300 gold is our absolute ceiling. Take the deal while you can, or you’ll regret it."

Lonely as Snow hesitated briefly but ultimately gritted his teeth and said, "No deal."

A flicker of impatience crossed Fengyun’s face, but he maintained his composure, smiling as he said, "Alright then, how about this? I’ll give you a special privilege: join our [Royal Authority] Guild, and we’ll provide you with the best treatment.

The condition is—you must contribute this armor to the guild. "

Luck King, envious, whispered, "Can I tag along too?"

Lonely as Snow was deeply conflicted.

After all, this was an opportunity to join a top-tier guild, granting access to the best resources in the game.

Even the often-critical Singo admitted the power and influence of these elite guilds.

But a glimpse of disdain in Fengyun’s eyes suggested he thought the deal was already sealed.

A surge of defiance rose in Lonely as Snow—a rebellion against being just another exploited newbie.

"I don’t need it."

He enunciated each word clearly.

Fengyun’s expression darkened, his voice laced with anger. "Fine. Let’s see how far you can go with equipment you can’t even use."

With that, he turned and left with his [Royal Authority] entourage.

Luck King urgently said, "Dude, are you crazy? You finally got something good, and now you’re picking a fight with a top guild?"

Lonely as Snow muttered, "They looked down on me. What else could I do?"

"You’re in big trouble now. That’s [Royal Authority]! If you anger them, they’ll camp the city gates to kill you!"

"Why don’t we find another guild?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind.

"There’s more than one wealthy and powerful guild."

They turned to see the robed, eccentric mage player smiling enigmatically, exuding the air of a hidden master.

Lonely as Snow quickly asked, "May I ask who you are?"

The mage extended his staff, adorned with a crystal orb and a finely crafted coin insignia.

"I am none other than Charlotte, President of [Magic Coin]."

"I heard you’re looking for a guild?"

Lonely as Snow cautiously replied, "Yes, but I’m not interested in guilds that seize their members’ assets."

Charlotte smiled. "Of course not. Our guild values camaraderie and mutual support."

"In that case, welcome to [Magic Coin]."

Luck King immediately adopted a fawning demeanor, his previous conflict with Charlotte now completely forgotten. He hesitantly asked, "What about me? Can I join too?"

Charlotte said, "Of course. We always welcome promising newcomers."

The two newbie players cheered. After all, [Magic Coin] was a renowned guild, especially for its bustling magic offices within the city.

Meanwhile, Charlotte gazed at the two, his smile tinged with deeper meaning.

First, he looked at Lonely as Snow, thinking to himself:

"The guild is full of squishy mages; we’ve long needed a sturdy tank."

"This newbie can advance to Paladin, cast shield spells, and stand there in mithril armor—a perfect meat shield!"

"Recruiting him means he’ll tank all the damage for us. How delightful!"

Then he turned to Luck King, his smile twisting.

"And this so-called ’Luck King’... hehe, finally, someone in the guild unluckier than me!"

Beneath his smile lay Charlotte’s unresolved emotional scars and a touch of card-drawing-induced psychosis.

Oblivious to Charlotte’s peculiarities, the two players remained elated about joining the guild.

Inside the royal palace, Cassius lounged on his steel throne, scanning the void’s interface.

"Out of 50,000 players, over 30,000 chose to start in the Ember Kingdom, while the remaining 20,000 are scattered across Anzeta."

"It seems the publicity wasn’t strong enough—"

"But no matter. These players will soon return to my control. As long as they’re in the Anzeta Wasteland, they can’t escape the kingdom’s influence."

"The war to conquer—or rather, liberate—the Northlands is about to begin."

Cassius stretched his wings, their scales shimmering. His pale golden eyes seemed to burn with flames.

Recently, he had been resting in the palace, researching ways to lift his curse and suppress his destructive urges. However, the full-scale war in Anzeta would inevitably draw him into battle.

From the entrance, a Tiefling guard announced, "Your Majesty, Lord Medrolash requests an audience with urgent information."

"Let him in."

Cassius gave the command indifferently.

It seemed Nocturne had delivered new intelligence. Undoubtedly, Grand Duke Leo in the south had realized that war was imminent.

---------------------------------

A big thank you to [Darrin Lu] for joining my Patreon! Your support means a lot to me.