Chapter 635 – Whole City in an Uproar

The regional announcement was repeated three times, its arrival causing all players in Zero Wing’s Residence to fall silent for a moment.

“An Advanced Guild Residence?”

“What’s going on?”

The Zero Wing members present couldn’t help but doubt their eyes as they read the regional announcement in their notification window.

It wasn’t uncommon to see Advanced Guild Residences outside the Eternal Realm. On the contrary, they were practically everywhere. action

However, for an Advanced Guild Residence to appear in the Eternal Realm, and in the Crystal City of Secrets no less, it was an incredibly unbelievable situation.

“Is this the reason?” Fervent Samsara asked as he looked at Heavy Abyss in astonishment.

An Advanced Guild Residence might be of little significance to players outside the Eternal Realm, but it was a matter of great significance for players living in the Eternal Realm.

Guild quarters!

This was one of the privileges available only to Advanced Guild Residences and above. Guild quarters allowed guild members to have their own private residence within the Guild Residence. With it, no matter how far players traveled, so long as they remained in the Eternal Realm, they could immediately teleport back to their guild quarters on demand. Such a privilege was invaluable in the Eternal Realm.

“This…” However, Heavy Abyss was similarly stunned by this situation.

Her suggestion to Fervent Abyss was based entirely on the astounding growth rate of Zero Wing’s Vice Guild Leaders. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the several Vice Guild Leaders’ growth in strength was unprecedented. Not to mention, Zero Wing was willing to go to great lengths to nurture its internal members, which could be seen by how it had arranged for fifth-floor experts other than herself to train its internal members.

With how generous Zero Wing was toward its internal members, if she and Fervent Samsara became Zero Wing’s internal members, they might just be able to further develop their skills and strength. But Zero Wing suddenly coming into possession of an Advanced Guild Hall was definitely beyond her imagination.

However, before anyone could react, everyone inside the Guild Hall was forcibly teleported to the Residence’s front plaza. At the same time, the Guild Hall started to rapidly transform before everyone’s eyes. Then, after just ten seconds, a ten-story Guild Hall took shape before the Zero Wing members in the plaza.

“Quick! Secure some guild quarters right away!”

“Buying GCPs at a high price! Buying GCPs at a high price!”

Following the appearance of the new Guild Hall, the Zero Wing members promptly snapped out of their dazes and charged into the building, wanting to be the first to exchange a guild quarter.

Meanwhile, after many Zero Wing members arrived at the Guild’s exchange point, they were once again shocked by the items made available for exchange using Guild Contribution Points.

“Crazy! Zero Wing must be crazy!”

“Oh my god! Fifty Combat-ranked Secret Treasure Sets! Am I hallucinating?”

“Mana Purification Technique?! Wasn’t this thing rumored to be available only to the various major Guilds’ core members?”

Everyone couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw the list of items that could be exchanged in the Guild Warehouse. Be it the Behemoth Combat Secret Treasure Set or the rumored Mana Purification Technique, none of them were things ordinary players like themselves could come into contact with. In fact, even the various pseudo-apex powers’ executives wouldn’t necessarily have access to these items.

Yet, Zero Wing was now making these items available for exchange. Moreover, the only condition to exchange these items was to be an internal member…

“What should we do now, Boss Samsara?” one of the fifth-floor experts from the Samsara adventurer team asked.

Previously, even when faced with the Skylight Association’s lucrative offer to recruit them, they had only felt a hint of temptation. After all, the conditions offered were merely “nice-to-haves” and not “necessary” in their opinions. However, it was a completely different story for Zero Wing’s internal benefits. They would be blatantly lying if they said they didn’t want them.

“No wonder our dear Guild Leader never paid much attention to the management of outer members,” Fervent Samsara said, taking a deep breath after he finished looking through the warehouse’s exchange list. “It seems it’s time we have a proper discussion with that Guild Leader of ours.”

When the Samsara adventurer team joined Zero Wing, it had only done so on a superficial level. Nobody in the adventurer team ever considered becoming a part of Zero Wing. Zero Wing’s executives also didn’t seem to care about this matter, choosing to let them “free range” in the Guild. Of course, they were more than happy with such an arrangement. It was also why they didn’t rush to join the Skylight Association. However, after seeing the benefits Zero Wing offered to its internal members, it had become very difficult for them to sit still. It was especially so when they saw the Mana Purification Technique. This was something that they must have if they wished to progress further as Tier 6 players in the future.

“Let’s go and negotiate with the Guild Leader as well, Commander Abyss. We can forge a much better Divine Body if we can exchange this Mana Purification Technique.”

Similar to the Samsara adventurer team, many of the fifth-floor experts in Heavy Abyss’s team were also tempted by Zero Wing’s internal benefits.

“At worst, we’ll offer to sign a ten-year contract with Zero Wing. So long as we can get our hands on the Mana Purification Technique, even serving Zero Wing for a decade wouldn’t be a problem.”

Their desire for the Mana Purification Technique was blazing hot. Meanwhile, their interest in joining the Skylight Association could be described as lukewarm.

“Okay. I’ll try to talk to him,” Heavy Abyss said, sighing helplessly. Her original intention was to distance herself from Zero Wing’s internal affairs as much as possible. She also didn’t wish to get involved in the war between Guilds that was bound to happen in the future. But she would be lying if she said the Mana Purification Technique didn’t tempt her.

…

While two of Zero Wing’s Three Overlords were making their move, news of Zero Wing’s Residence being upgraded quickly spread across the Crystal City of Secrets, causing many independent experts to grow restless.

They could still resist Zero Wing’s temptation if it was only a matter of Secret Treasures. But the privilege to teleport back to the city was something they could not resist.

The Eternal Realm was massive. Even with the help of Flying Ships, it would take several hours to travel between neighboring NPC Cities. Moreover, as players’ levels increased, they would also need to travel farther and farther away from NPC Cities to grind in suitable maps.

As for the Underground Crystal Palace, it simply couldn’t be used as a reliable grinding spot due to the entrance cooldown. Not to mention, each time they re-entered the secret land, they would have to start from the first floor. Players under Level 160 might be able to more or less rely on the Underground Crystal Palace for EXP, but it was simply unrealistic to try to level up in the secret land past Level 160. Ultimately, they would still have to go to the high-level maps in the fields.

Meanwhile, when it came to grinding out in the fields, the ability to teleport back to a city would become extremely important. Not only would it allow players to cut their travel time in half, but they could also use this ability to escape from danger.

Shortly after the upgrade of Zero Wing’s Residence, news of Zero Wing’s internal benefits also started to spread across the city. Upon learning of the items Zero Wing’s internal members could exchange for, many fifth-floor experts and adventurer teams that were previously against getting involved in the struggles between Guilds promptly jumped out of their seats and contacted Zero Wing.

Of course, as these fifth-floor experts and adventurer teams were reluctant to abandon their freedom completely, they didn’t outright choose to become Zero Wing’s internal members. Instead, they offered to be in Zero Wing’s service for anywhere from several years to over a decade. In return, they asked for the privilege to exchange for the Mana Purification Technique.

…

“Over 200 fifth-floor experts have contacted me thus far, Guild Leader. Are you really not going to consider their suggestions?” Hidden Soul couldn’t help but ask Shi Feng when she saw the partnership conditions the various adventurer teams and solo experts had sent her. “Also, Samsara and Heavy Abyss have asked to meet you. They should be wanting to discuss this matter as well.”

A force of more than 200 fifth-floor experts. Even if these experts didn’t become internal members of Zero Wing, simply having them based in Star Lake City would bolster Zero Wing’s strength significantly. The current situation was a good example. Even though most of the fifth-floor experts currently in Zero Wing weren’t internal members, in the eyes of the various powers, Zero Wing’s threat level in the Crystal City of Secrets was no less than that of pseudo-apex powers.

“Fervent Samsara and Heavy Abyss, is it?” Shi Feng, who was fiddling with the golden heart in his office, chuckled when he heard Hidden Soul’s report. “So they’ve finally started to grow restless. Very well. Have them come to my office. It just so happens I also want to meet them.”