B-rank (2)

Everyone knew that the air in the room was tense, but the show had to go on. Now that Shui was present, the scarred man started off by congratulating him and Maha for passing the exam. He made no mention of the other candidates who had died, and moved on to updating their underground guild IDs. Shui thought that they only needed to change the rank, but this update also came with new features that the man began to explain.

"With these IDs, you'll now be able to keep track of your contribution points as well as the items that you can exchange for your points. You can gain contribution points by successfully completing tasks and providing useful information or items to the guild. For passing the exam, you've each earned 1000 points, but you'll soon realise that you'll need much more going forward. Keep in mind that you can also lose points by failing your tasks or killing people with positive connections to the organization, so be careful. If you slip up too many times we'll make sure to 'fix' your behaviour."

Once he got back his ID, Shui checked for the contribution points that the man was talking about. Like he said, Shui found it in the top right corner of the card. It was labelled 'CP', and the number for one thousand was next to it. He then found a shop icon and tapped on it, but the list that popped up seemed never-ending so he would have to look it over later.

Considering how easily they could add these features, Shui suspected that they had always been there, only sealed. He wanted to see the structure of the cards so that he could replicate its features for his own use, but he doubted it would be that easy even with the Sage Eyes.

While Shui was fascinated by the technology behind the IDs, the man continued to explain the other new feature added to them.

"Additionally, we've added a communication feature so that you can contact the guild in case of emergencies and so that we can contact you if we have a commission ready."

This second feature was more for the organization's convenience than for theirs, but Shui's rating of the ID still went up by several notches. Communication terminals already existed, but he had only read about one that could perform functions besides communication.

'I wonder if I would get the same thing if I reached a similar rank as a worker.'

For the record, his underground guild ID now looked something like this.

[Faceless CP:1000

Rank: B [Shop]

Title: Thousand Face

Success Rate: 100% (15)]

Once the man was done explaining the new features of the ID, he moved on to a new topic.

"As you've now become members of the organization, both of you have been assigned codenames. Henceforth, you shall be referred to as Faceless," he said while pointing at Shui.

"And you will be Fox Demon," he said to Maha.

The codenames seemed to be based on the characteristics they showed, but Shui didn't know how much effort they actually put into making them. Still, he was okay with his codename and Maha was the same so there was no problem.

With the codenames taken care, things looked to be wrapping up, but there was something else left.

"Now then, normally this would be where I take you to the local inventory so you can exchange points for your first item but...",the scarred man paused as he turned towards the expressionless young man who stood up.

"I'll take it from here, Daisy."

Both Shui and Maha nearly choked on air when they heard what was likely the codename of the scarred man. The scarred man didn't seem bothered by it, so either he had gotten used to it or actually liked the name.

After speaking, the young man went in front of the scarred man with his back turned to him.

"My codename is White Snake, but none of you are worthy of calling me that so 'Sir' will do. Before you get the wrong idea, I didn't come here from headquarters for this trivial event, I just happened to be here and decided to drop in. Although I ended up staying longer than planned."

Sensing his gaze sharpen as he glanced at him, Shui sat unflustered but didn't try to taunt back.

"Anyways, congratulations on passing the exam, but in case you were planning on going on a killing spree after this, I'll need you to scrap those plans."

"That wasn't on the schedule but, may I ask why?" I inquired.

"Hmph, listen up. Now that you're one of us, there's something that you would do well to remember. Nothing in this business is free. All I'll tell you is that it would be best not to cause any trouble while the Array Master Minor Ranking evaluation is going on. If you want to find out more, then pay for it with your contribution points. Let's see, about one thousand should cover it."

There was not a single crack in his blank expression, and yet the assassin known as White Snake was able to clearly convey his spite. Spirit gems could be converted into contribution points, but it seemed intentionally terrible so that no rich kid could quickly climb the ranks unless they were throwing out royal-level funds.

Shui had a feeling that this warning was connected to what Alicia told him the day before, but it was still too early to be sure.

Once the young man finished what he had to say, he left the room. Soon after, 'Daisy' led Shui and Maha to the storage room that served as a physical space for them to shop. They went to the ground floor, entered a room packed with books and then went down a staircase hidden under a rug. Nothing was unexpected so far, but Shui and Maha felt a bit of surprise when they saw the storage room that was much bigger than the mansion it was under.

It couldn't be compared to the seemingly infinite space of the Primordial Library, but it was still more than you could hold even with the standard storage ring. If he used the storage ring that he stole from the hidden auction, then he would probably have to empty it out first and then it might barely fit everything in his sight. While Shui and Maha took a moment to examine the room, Daisy went straight towards a nearby table.

Sitting behind that table, was a well-endowed woman with a book covering her face as she snored audibly.

"Wake up, Wolfsbane," said Daisy.

Shortly after, her snoring stopped and she took off the book from her face, revealing her sharp, purple eyes. Detecting something dangerous from those eyes, Shui and Maha backed away and kept their guards up, however, the one who the eyes belonged to didn't even glance at them. He didn't remember reading about it, but when he saw those eyes, Shui thought about a special physique that allowed one to manifest and manipulate poisons and curses that had a direct effect on the soul. Depending on her mastery of it, even Shui needed to be careful against an ability like that.

'First that guy, now her. This organization of theirs must be much more powerful than I thought.'