Pulling the Plug? Underhanded Tactics, Are We?

"Bear Forest has no more dungeons. Next, we're heading to Blackwater Creek."

Bella, still excited after clearing the dungeon, exclaimed, "I never thought there would come a day when I could become a legend in Epochal World!"

"Brother, did you see? The entire community is discussing us!"

"I've even been dubbed the 'White-Haired Witch of Destruction'!"

Bella's character design featured a long-haired, white-haired girl.

A bunch of chuuni (delusional) players in the community then came up with nicknames for the powerful players based on their character traits.

Hearing Bella's cheers, Dauntless became curious.

"What about me? Do I have any cool nicknames?"

Hearing Dauntless's inquiry, Bella fell silent. She rummaged through the community.

"Uh… 'Useless Warrior Chased by Trash Mobs.'"

"'Noob Who Can't Learn Skills.'"

"'Lucky S-Rank Waste.'"

"'Worst S-Rank Player in History.'"

"And… do you want me to continue?"

One nickname after another pierced Dauntless's heart like arrows.

Inflicting a deep blow to his spirit.

Hearing the nicknames Bella recited, Dauntless's eyes flared. "Damn it! Who came up with these nicknames! I'm going to fight them!"

Lucas patted Dauntless on the shoulder. "Alright, let's get a move on. Let's try to clear all the Blackwater Creek dungeons within an hour."

Hearing Lucas's statement, Winter inwardly felt a sense of dread. What Azure said could always scare people to death.

Blackwater Creek was full of major dungeons, unlike the other small dungeons. These were level 18-20 dungeons.

In Epochal World, you could change your class as soon as you reached level 18, and level 20 was the level cap before changing classes.

If you didn't change your class, you couldn't continue leveling up.

Therefore, the difficulty of level 18 dungeons was often designed for players after changing classes.

Even for players who had completed their class change, it would take more than an hour to complete an entire dungeon.

The monsters in these dungeons were much stronger than those in dungeons below level 18.

Clearing four dungeons in one hour… only Azure could say something like that.

Thinking about class changes, Winter couldn't help but ask, "Azure, aren't you planning to change your class first?"

Lucas and the others had reached level 18, and could actually change their class now.

Lucas said with a wry smile, "I want to change my class too, but the situation doesn't allow it. How can I change my class without a good profession?"

"All the dungeon has dropped so far is a Bloodrage Warrior Inheritance Book. It's useless." Lucas replied with a bitter smile, his tone sounding truly helpless.

Winter, however, felt a surge of anger. Bloodrage Warrior was a rare class.

"So picky? What class do you want to change to?"

Lucas said indifferently, "At least a Unique Inheritance."

Hearing Azure's answer, Winter almost couldn't maintain her aloof persona.

Each class branch only had one Unique Inheritance. Getting it didn't just require strength.

It also required plenty of luck, luck, and luck.

After all, no one knew how to get the Unique Inheritance, so you could only hope to get lucky.

If you stuck to a Unique class, you might never be able to change your class.

But Azure's answer was at least, at least a Unique Inheritance…

Winter wanted to complain, but in the end, she maintained her aloof persona. "Well, good luck. I'm going to change my class when I reach level 18."

"Change to what? Shadow Dancer?"

Winter replied flatly, "Mm."

To Winter's reply, Lucas smiled with a slightly sarcastic tone. "You're always like this, never picky about anything, that's why you've always been a second-rate assassin. If you were more particular, you'd be much stronger."

Hearing Azure's sudden sarcasm, Winter almost rolled her eyes in anger.

Second-rate assassin? Was he talking about her?

"You!"

"Azure, you're too concerned about strength…"

Winter wanted to retort, but she couldn't say the next sentence. She wanted to refute him with skills.

But Winter suddenly realized that Azure's skills were higher than hers.

\-------------------------------------

"Azure!"

Just as the two were having a verbal conflict, suddenly, a voice came from afar.

It was calling Lucas. Lucas followed the voice and saw several players riding chocobos towards them.

Seeing Lucas, they wiped the sweat from their foreheads.

They finally found him.

"Hidden Origin Guild, Umbral Tide."

The person announced his name.

Lucas shifted his gaze away from Winter.

"Oh, it's you." Lucas showed no surprise at Umbral Tide's arrival. "Are you here to pay me back?"

Hearing Lucas's question, Umbral Tide was covered in black lines.

Could he not mention money in every other sentence?

He thought so in his heart, but Umbral Tide didn't dare to make Azure unhappy. "Haha, yes. Hidden Origin Guild is willing to admit defeat."

"The guild leader told me to deliver the money to Brother Azure as soon as possible."

"By the way, Brother Azure, do you know an assassin called Cang?"

Hearing Umbral Tide's question, Lucas said calmly, "Don't probe me, I am Lucas."

Lucas had no intention of hiding his identity.

Winter, on the other hand, gasped slightly.

The rumors in the community were just speculation after all. In reality, Azure had never admitted to being Lucas.

Moreover, Winter knew a little about Lucas's skills.

She had fought Lucas in the first server.

Cang was definitely not like Azure in front of her, whose skills were so abnormal.

The difference between the two was very big, so Winter didn't think that Azure was Lucas.

Ordinary players couldn't see the difference in skills between masters.

Just like Bella couldn't tell how big the difference was between her brother's previous and current skills.

The majority of players in the community only knew that Azure and Cang's names were similar, and their skills were very good, so they came to the conclusion that Azure was Lucas.

But if they were clear about the difference between the two, they would think that their conclusion was ridiculous.

Winter's skills were already at a professional level. Even if she wasn't a T0 master in the entire Epochal World, she could be considered T1.

She had a very clear understanding of the difference between Lucas and Azure.

If she had to use an analogy, Cang's skills were the peak of mortals, while Azure's skills were almost godlike.

The skills that Cang used were theoretically existent, but could actually be replicated.

But Azure's operation subverted common sense and even defied what was theoretically impossible.

So Winter never thought that Azure was Lucas, at most, they knew each other.

Now that she heard Azure admit that he was Lucas, how could Winter not be shocked?

It wasn't just Winter who was shocked. Umbral Tide also showed an expression of disbelief.

This guess was actually true.

Inside Hidden Origin Guild, opinions were split about whether Azure was Lucas.

If Azure wasn't Lucas, then this master of skills couldn't have just popped up out of nowhere, right?

But if Azure was Lucas, then Lucas's skill level had improved too much.

When they were training a few days ago, they hadn't seen Lucas show these skills.

Umbral Tide forced a smile. "Haha, Azure, you're not joking, are you?"

"Hehe, do I need to joke with you?"

Good, so Lucas had been hiding his skills all along… He didn't expect this kid to hide so deeply.

Umbral Tide gritted his teeth and said, "Cang, you also know that I was the one who brought you into Hidden Origin Guild."

After learning the truth, Umbral Tide planned to use a series of emotional tactics.

But he was interrupted by Lucas as soon as he started. "Don't try to appeal to my emotions, it's useless. I accompanied you on several negotiations, I know your rhetoric very well."

Umbral Tide knew that this negotiation would be difficult, but he had a mission, so he had to continue. "Lucas, let's not beat around the bush. If you're willing to return to Hidden Origin Guild, we'll give you better treatment."

"No less than Umbral Void's current treatment, or even higher."

Lucas nonchalantly said, "Umbral Void, is that the S-rank who got the activation code?"

"I haven't forgotten that Umbral Depths said that the S-rank talent would be given to me." Lucas brought up the sensitive subject.

Umbral Tide was speechless. This was Hidden Origin Guild's loss.

"Hehe, Umbral Tide, why don't you join my guild?" Lucas casually suggested.

Hearing this, Umbral Tide's heart suddenly beat faster.

Join Godslayer Guild…

The development prospects of this guild did look good… Recently, Hidden Origin Guild's treatment had been getting worse and worse…

The two were silent for a moment, neither speaking first.

"Captain Umbral Tide." Obsidian Stone called out, waking Umbral Tide up.

Umbral Tide suddenly came back to his senses from his thoughts.

Realizing that he had lost his composure, he flattered with a smile. "Haha, Brother Lucas, you're joking, aren't you? Wouldn't that be too much of a climb?"

"Yeah, I was joking."

Umbral Tide's face twitched. Damn it, he had been played. He had been seriously considering it.

Lucas smiled kindly. "Sorry, our guild's minimum standard is an S-rank talent."

Damn it, was he twisting the knife?

He was so sorry that his A-rank talent was too weak!

As a headhunter who specialized in recruiting for Hidden Origin Guild, Umbral Tide had repeatedly recruited high-quality talents for Hidden Origin Guild, so he had naturally received the guild's attention and was given an A-rank talent activation code.

But that only made Lucas's treatment even more unfair.

Even a headhunter who wasn't a main combat member got an A-rank talent.

And Lucas, a world-class honor player, the first assassin of Epochal World, and the best team battle commander, Hidden Origin Guild had actually given him the same A-rank talent?

Moreover, it was a A-rank talent that was specifically used to support the S-rank Umbral Void: \[Shadow Cover]

The dignified first assassin had been reduced to supporting others. How could he tolerate that?

"Brother Lucas, Hidden Origin Guild was wrong about this."

Umbral Tide's expression was also ugly. "How about this, it's okay if Brother Azure doesn't join our Hidden Origin Guild for now, but at least don't hurt the harmony."

"Hidden Origin is willing to offer compensation for what we've done, how about it?"

Lucas didn't seem angry. He just smiled faintly. "Heh, I still owe you 500 million, what are you compensating?"

Umbral Tide's negotiations were definitely being broadcast live.

And being shared with the internal members of Hidden Origin Guild.

Half of the decisions that Umbral Tide made came from the higher-ups of Hidden Origin Guild.

\-------------------------------------

At this time, in the guild base of Hidden Origin Guild, several high-ups were sitting around a table, their faces serious.

"We've released a tiger back into the wild."

"It seems that there's no hope of pulling him back to the guild and talking."

"Dauntless, Bella, plus him… and this guild that has taken seven first clears, including one world first clear. The value of Godslayer Guild is at least 16 billion World Coins."

One world first clear was worth several billion to a giant guild like Hidden Origin.

If they could directly buy a world first clear with money, Hidden Origin Guild would be more than willing. The promotion of the world first clear would make countless A-rank talent holders who were hesitating and didn't know which guild to join make up their minds.

If an A-rank talent was worth 20 million, 200 people would be worth 4 billion.

Although the probability of awakening an A-rank talent was one in ten thousand, the player base of Epochal World was huge.

With 11 billion players, a one in ten thousand awakening probability would still result in 1.1 million people. Was it not enough to shake 200 people with such a big world announcement?

In addition to the extra rewards from the world first clear, equipment innovation meant the equipment of the first team would be far ahead of other guilds.

4 billion was a conservative estimate.

The value of each S-rank talent holder was immeasurable, with a guaranteed value of at least 3 billion.

It seemed that the number of S-ranks in the third server was around 20 at most. 10 were born with it, and about 8 more were from the activation codes.

The team size limit for normal dungeons was 5 people. The difference in combat power between a team with only one S-rank and a team that was entirely composed of S-ranks was huge.

The more S-rank powerhouses there were, the better the ranking they could get in various dungeons, battles, and events.

They would also completely crush other guilds in the competitive arena.

The benefits brought by this in the long run were immeasurable.

With such value, 3 billion could only be considered the lowest guaranteed price.

In addition, Godslayer Guild had taken other first clears, and it was confirmed that Bella and Dauntless had exclusive weapons.

The overall value of Godslayer Guild added up to at least 16 billion. The actual value was even twice as high.

After thinking for a while, Umbral Depths made a decision. "Give up on Lucas. He's not coming. However, we can try to poach Bella and Dauntless privately."

"And Winter, let's see what's going on with her. We've invited her many times but she hasn't come. How did she get together with Godslayer Guild as soon as the server opened?"

Just as the other high-ups were discussing how to poach people, suddenly, a burly uncle player interrupted their conversation.

\[Hidden Origin Guild - Head of Strategy - Shadow Surge]

"The matter of poaching people can be discussed later. The first world BOSS is coming soon. We didn't get the world first clear for the dungeon. We must get the world first clear for this world BOSS."

"Umbral Void's talent ability can execute percentage-based health. I can't say anything else, but the world BOSS must be ours."

"However, Azure's threat is too great. We have to find a way to get rid of him."

"In my opinion, we can use the matter of the 500 million compensation to get him to leave the game for a while."

"Umbral Tide, do you know what to do?"

With the higher-ups giving instructions, Umbral Tide could only do as he was told.

Umbral Tide looked at Bella and Dauntless behind Lucas, but it was obvious that now wasn't the time to poach them.

If he rashly added them as friends now, Azure would see through his impure motives.

Umbral Tide flattered with an apologetic smile, "Brother Lucas, Hidden Origin Guild also feels very sorry about the activation code."

"You shouldn't have to pay the penalty for breach of contract. Otherwise… let's just cancel the 500 million penalty."

"It's not too late now. How about a few of us, the guild leader, me, and a few old friends, get together offline and talk about this matter and make it clear?"

"After tonight, the matter of the penalty will be written off." Umbral Tide said with a smile.

In reality, he wasn't the one who decided whether the penalty would be canceled.

When they arrived at the scene, those old foxes would take the lead in the conversation. After getting through tonight, the Hidden Origin Guild's first team would have leveled up and killed the BOSS.

The gap with Godslayer Guild would be narrowed, and the threat of Godslayer Guild would naturally be gone.

What's more, Bella and Dauntless might be poached.

By enticing them with benefits, reasoning with them, appealing to their emotions, and threatening them with power, the two newbies had only known Godslayer Guild for a little over an hour.

In Umbral Tide's eyes, there was nothing that couldn't be poached.

At that time, Lucas would be a lone commander, and naturally wouldn't be as impressive as he was now.

One meal to cancel a 500 million penalty.

With enticements, pleas, and apologies, since he said so, Azure should at least give him the face to have a meal, right?

No matter how good Lucas's skills were, he was just a 21-year-old young man.

Hidden Origin Guild had figured out this point.

But they didn't expect that this series of humble requests would only be met with Azure's short answer: "I'm not going."

"Brother Azure… 500 million isn't a small amount."

"I just begged the higher-ups for a long time…"

However, Azure seemed to be indifferent, lazily replying, "Then I'll just owe it."

"But you guys, are you paying back the money?"

"We're in a hurry. If your guild doesn't have money, we're leaving."

Umbral Tide was a little frustrated. How could this Lucas be so stubborn, and why did he keep saying that Hidden Origin Guild didn't have money?

If this got out, their reputation would stink again.

Lucas also owed a penalty, but he could be unreasonable and say that he didn't have money.

Because he really didn't have money, and he didn't care about his reputation.

But Hidden Origin Guild couldn't do that. Their guild relied on their reputation to recruit new members. If their reputation stank, no one would come.

Hearing that Lucas was about to leave, he hurriedly called out, "We have it!"

If Lucas left, and then posted another thread later, Hidden Origin Guild would really be scolded to death by the players.

Lucas had already taken out a return scroll. "Okay, directly transfer 1 million gold to me, or transfer 150 million to me."

After the price stabilized, the exchange rate for gold was 1:100 World Coins.

But now it was the early stage, and everyone had very little money. If you wanted to buy gold from other players, you would need to spend more money.

If you wanted to buy 1 million gold, it would cost at least 150 million at the current price.

Lucas had even calculated the exchange rate.

Umbral Tide wanted to curse.

How could he raise the price? He thought that 100 million would be enough. The higher-ups had only transferred 100 million Epochal Coins to him for compensation for this negotiation.

As for 1 million gold… Hidden Origin Guild couldn't get it.

Where could they get 1 million gold in such a short time?

Hearing Lucas's asking price, Winter also realized that Azure had actually given her a discount when he sold her the equipment.

But… to sell her a low-level silver equipment that could only be sold for a dozen gold in the first server for 1000 gold, Winter still wanted to curse him for being a profiteer.

Umbral Tide awkwardly requested instructions from his superiors.

After a moment, the superiors replied. "Transfer it to him. Epochal Coins have been transferred to your account. Just transfer it directly."

\-------------------------------------

Inside Hidden Origin Guild.

A group of high-ups sat together, completely helpless against this stubborn Lucas.

"This Lucas, is there really nothing we can do about him?"

"What can we do?"

"Can we really rush into his house and pull out his internet cable?"

Hearing this complaint, all the high-ups turned their heads.

"We know where Lucas lives, right? When the BOSS is about to be opened, we can go to his house and pull out his internet cable, so that he misses the chance to fight the BOSS."