Game’s Dogma

Undergoing class progression was the entrance to an entirely different world. Skill count, skill type, and skill effects were all incomparable to currently available skills.

Back when Drako Yau fought Handsome Scholar, it was lucky that the paladin had only learnt Holy Bash. He could learn several troublesome skills when he reached Level 23, and things might have taken a different turn in that case.

Still, Drako Yau was grateful that the Real World he was currently living in shared many similarities with his game. He had no intention of looking down on other players, or rather, the more he knew about the game, the more he understood the fact that players would get exponentially stronger at higher levels. If he was arrogant, he would die before he knew it.

Just when Drako Yau was about to head out to farm experience, a message appeared on the global channel.

‘Empyreal Spire has arrived to pay Yoda a visit. May people of Yoda kindly meet us at the east gate?’

The same message repeated itself on the global channel for six times.

It wasn’t impossible to send repeated messages in a series, but that cost a lot of gold, and it wasn’t something ordinary players with limited gold could afford to do. Of course, most also didn’t feel like spamming the global channel was necessary.

Drako Yau squinted his eyes. Zephyrwolf tugged his arm from beside him and said, ‘They’re picking a fight right at our doorstep! Follow me!’

Drako Yau sighed and followed along. Greenstone also walked behind the two without giving any reactions.

Idyllic Poet, suddenly left all alone, didn’t feel dissatisfied, but instead found it intriguing. No one else would leave a charming beauty like her all alone. Even Zephyrwolf had been drooling all over her just now, though he instantly ditched her when something important came up.

Perhaps here… Here, I can find what I want…

Upon having that thought, Idyllic Poet was in a pretty good mood as she hopped along like a bunny.

Masses were gathering on the city walls of Yoda. There were five separate crowds, and three of them had a similarly great number of players.

In one of the crowds, a person was holding a short staff while hanging a sly smile on his face. He was Hexen, the guild master of Corrupted Officials, one of Yoda’s most powerful guilds.

On the other side stood a man who seemed frosty, but everyone could vaguely tell he was unfriendly towards the other two forces. He had a spear hung on his back, and his well-built body was reflective of his true appearance in real life. This muscular man was King-Hit, the guild master of Hotblooded, another major guild in Yoda.

The remaining group had no one particularly powerful present, but it was another major power in Yoda nonetheless. The one who got forced into the temporary leader role was a man who looked like a crook and was also Zephyrwolf’s right hand man, Dogsnout.

‘Excuse me, sorry, let me through.’ Zephyrwolf squeezed through the sea of players to get to his guild members. Drako Yau, on the other hand, slipped into the crowd without anyone noticing him, with Greenstone staying tightly on his tail.

Members of Howl of the Tempest Wolves all let out a sigh after Zephyrwolf made his presence known.

The three major forces were all there to surround merely three players. Among the three, one held a shield and sword, his gaze constantly scanning his surroundings, seemingly in search for someone. The other was an emotionless person who hung a simple wooden sword on his back. The two of them were guarding the final member of the three, though he was looking at the scenery beyond the city walls instead of facing the crowd.

Compared to Empyreon’s celestial atmosphere and Terrafirm’s vastness, Yoda was surrounded by short rivers and tiny hills, with NPC settlements scattered here and there. Lively it was, to sum it up in one word. Various terrains and structures were kneaded together, but they synergised with one another to form a mellow scenery that pleased the eye.

‘Yoda is such a nice place’, Chau Yu turned around and waved his fan, making a grin at the crowd. ‘I’m just here for a visit, there’s no need for such a warm welcome is there?’

‘Who are you?’ Hexen smiled back at him, though his sly smile was so despicable that it warranted a punch to the face.

Chau Yu chuckled without answering. His gaze didn’t even stay on Hexen for more than a brief moment. Instead, he turned to look at Zephyrwolf and said, ‘You… You’re not bad. Do you want to join my side?’

Zephyrwolf’s face darkened. ‘Who the hell are you!’

Hexen had a worse look on his face than Zephyrwolf. That man was totally looking down upon him! Lifting his short staff, he snickered and said, ‘Arrogant fella!’ 

Chhk!

The eyes of the emotionless Tripurity brightened immediately, and the sound of unsheathing a sword could be heard. It was just a wooden sword, yet the sound it made was crystal clear.

The wooden sword appeared right before Hexen in no time, its tip levitating barely centimetres away from his throat.

Everyone gulped as their jaws dropped.

What sort of skill is that?

When did the sword even appear?

Drako Yau’s eyes also lit up. What a quick attack. Which hidden class is this? Pretty sure the warrior class doesn’t have such a skill.

Chau Yu maintained his smile, though there were various emotions mixed into it. He chuckled and said, ‘My intention for this trip isn’t to fight. So… it’s better to hold ourselves back. My partner here’s a bit sensitive, the sword might pierce through your throat next time.’

Hexen was clearly disgruntled, though he still slowly put down his hand that was lifting his staff. The sword stationed at his throat spun a circle in the air before returning to the sheath on Tripurity’s back.

Tripurity had not moved at all the entire time.

Chau Yu didn’t bother himself with Hexen anymore. His target this time wasn’t such a lackey. ‘Where’s Mask?’

Drako Yau felt his back itch. He turned around to find Idyllic Poet smiling smugly at him, her tender fingers first poking his back, then pointing at the commotion outside. Drako Yau frowned; he wanted absolutely nothing to do with such troublesome matters.

‘He’s not here’, Zephyrwolf answered. The other two major forces had nothing more to add either.

Mask had always been neutral. Despite being close with Zephyrwolf, he never sided with anyone when disputes between guilds broke out. Ordinary players also held Mask in high regard and greatly respected him, the masked man who made a stand when things were desperate and demanded nothing in return afterwards, choosing to hide himself instead. Even the other leaders such as Hexen and King-Hit knew they couldn’t act in such a high-minded manner.

‘He’s here.’ Tripurity broke his silence. ‘I can feel it.’

Handsome Scholar also nodded without saying anything.

Chau Yu chuckled again before proclaiming loudly, ‘I am here for no one but Mask. I, the master of Empyreal Spire, hereby recruit Mister Mask into our guild. Payment, conditions, name it and it shall be yours.’

Empyreal Spire!

Everyone was familiar with the name of this particular guild. After The Siege had ended, it appeared out of nowhere and made itself known to the masses. Their numbers were few, but every one of them was an elite among elites. It was rumoured that even the player with the lowest level in their guild was Level 19, and over half of them had already completed their class progression quest.

More importantly, the team record holder of the Demon City (Hell) dungeon was none other Empyreal Spire! The record alone was a clear indication of the guild’s strength.​​​​​​​

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