Lonely as Snow was overjoyed, struggling slightly under the weight of the adamantine armor cradled in his arms, while a dejected European Emperor trailed beside him.
Yet before he could even make his way out of the crowd, several high-level players—some clad in armor, others draped in robes—blocked his path.
One glance told Lonely as Snow everything: representatives from an elite guild had come looking for him in person.
The man leading the group politely extended a hand toward Lonely as Snow.
"Greetings. I am Fengyun, vice guild master of Wangquan. Might you be interested in making a deal?"
As a newcomer, Lonely as Snow dared not be disrespectful and hurried to shake the man's hand.
"What kind of deal?"
He had already guessed their motive, but he asked anyway.
Fengyun smiled faintly and pointed at the armor in his arms. "I imagine you already know why we are here.
"This heavy armor requires at least 18 Strength to equip. Equipment of this caliber is effectively wasted in the hands of a rookie like you.
"Rather than lugging around a useless golden burden, you would be much better off selling it. We in Wangquan are willing to offer two hundred gold coins. That sum is more than enough for you to splurge however you like at this stage of the game."
Lonely as Snow suddenly remembered a line from Singo's strategy guide: *Those big guilds love to leverage their monopoly to bully rookies who don't know market prices. If you get good gear, never sell it to them—especially Wangquan.*
With that in mind, Lonely as Snow replied decisively, "At that price, I'm not selling."
Fengyun pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose and let out an amused chuckle, as if he had expected this. "You must have read Sing-dog's guide.
"To be completely frank with you, aside from Wangquan, no other guild can afford gear of this tier. Three hundred gold coins is the absolute ceiling of what we can offer. I advise you to quit while you're ahead; otherwise, the only one regretting this will be you."
Lonely as Snow hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth. "Still not selling."
A flicker of impatience surfaced in Fengyun's eyes, yet he maintained a veneer of composure, smiling as he said, "How about this, then? I'll grant you a special privilege and make an exception to let you join Wangquan. We will spare no effort to provide you with the best treatment available. The only condition is—this armor becomes guild property."
European Emperor looked on from the side with envious eyes, whispering, "Could you take me along too...?"
Lonely as Snow was torn in agony.
This was an opportunity to join an elite guild; once inside, one was instantly propelled to the pinnacle of game resources.
Even Singo, who held open disdain for these mega-guilds, had to acknowledge the unique standing of these giants and the sheer might of their influence.
Yet Lonely as Snow caught the condescension lurking in Fengyun's gaze, as if the man believed he already had him wrapped around his little finger.
A sudden, inexplicable surge of anger welled up within Lonely as Snow—the defiance of an ordinary novice.
"I don't need it," he said, enunciating every word.
Fengyun's expression instantly darkened to an ashen gray. He gritted his teeth and sneered, "Then let's wait and see. I'd like to see just how far you can get lugging around a piece of gear you can't even use."
With that, he turned and marched off with his entourage of Wangquan guild lackeys.
European Emperor chimed in frantically from the side, "Bro, are you insane?! You finally pulled a godly drop, so why go and pick a fight with a mega-guild?"
Lonely as Snow muttered under his breath, "They look down on people. What else was I supposed to do?"
"You've stirred up huge trouble! That's Wangquan! If you piss them off, those guys will camp the city gates just to hunt you down!"
"How about we go seek shelter with someone else?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice drifted from behind them.
"Wangquan isn't the only guild with wealth and power, you know."
The two spun around to see the robed, unhinged wizard player standing before them. A faint smile played at the corner of his lips, carrying the mysterious air of a reclusive grandmaster.
Not daring to show any disrespect, Lonely as Snow hurried to ask, "May I ask who you are, sir?"
The wizard raised his hand, revealing a wand set with a crystal orb and an exquisite coin emblem.
"Insignificant as I am, I happen to be Charlotte, guild master of Magic Coin.
"I hear you two are looking for a guild?"
Lonely as Snow answered cautiously, "Yes, but we don't want to join a tyrannical guild that embezzles its members' property."
Charlotte smiled warmly. "Naturally. The members of our guild are all like-minded companions."
"In that case... Magic Coin it is."
European Emperor had already put on a fawning expression, showing not the slightest hint of their previous spat with Charlotte. He asked meekly, "What about me? Can I join too?"
Charlotte replied, "Of course. Our guild loves nothing more than taking in promising newcomers."
The two novice players immediately cheered. After all, Magic Coin was a renowned, top-tier guild in its own right, and the Magic Agency they ran within the city was exceptionally popular.
Charlotte, however, watched the two of them with a profoundly meaningful smile.
First, he glanced at Lonely as Snow, thinking to himself:
*The guild is crawling with squishy wizards; we've been desperate for a proper main tank for ages.*
*Have this rookie advance to paladin, slap a Shield spell on him, and stick him out front in that adamantine armor—he'll make the perfect meat shield!*
*Recruit him, and have him soak up all the damage all by himself. Wouldn't that be marvelous?*
Then he turned his gaze to European Emperor, his smile twisting slightly.
*And as for this so-called 'European Emperor'—heh, now the guild finally has someone unluckier than me!*
Behind that smile lay the unresolved trauma festering in Charlotte's soul, alongside a personality warped by excessive gacha gambling.
The two newcomers had yet to notice anything amiss about Charlotte, still completely swept up in the joy of joining a prestigious guild.
***
Inside the royal palace, Cassius reclined across the iron throne, browsing the interface floating in the void.
"Fifty thousand players in total. More than thirty thousand chose to spawn in the Kingdom of Cinders, while the remaining twenty thousand are scattered evenly across Anzeta.
"It seems our promotional efforts weren't thorough enough after all—
"Still, no matter. Those players will soon fall under my control as well. So long as you remain within the Great Anzetta Waste, escaping the kingdom's reach is impossible.
"The war to conquer... no, to liberate the entire Northlands, is ripe to begin."
Cassius gave his wings a gentle rustle. A lustrous sheen rippled across his scales, and flames seemed to burn within his pale golden pupils.
Lately, he had been recuperating within the palace, researching methods to break his curse and suppressing the urge for destruction within his heart. He had not taken the field for quite some time, but once the war for Anzeta erupted in earnest, battles belonging to him would be inevitable.
A tiefling guard's voice sounded from the doorway.
"Your Majesty, Lord Mezrolash requests an audience, stating he has an urgent matter to report."
"Send him in," Cassius instructed calmly.
It seemed Nocturne had gathered fresh intelligence. Surely Grand Duke Leo down south had begun to realize that war was imminent.
Chapter 286