Guild Upgrade – A Blessing for All
"If you wanted me to join, a proper guild invitation would have sufficed!"
Winter felt a surge of exasperation.
Nevertheless, she maintained her aloof facade: "It's immaterial; I have no need for it."
Was Lucas mocking her?
Having acceded to Star Absence's request, Lucas began to gather his companions.
"We've lingered long enough. Let's employ a Return Scroll, lest we find ourselves without sufficient time to tackle the instance."
Lucas was meticulously managing their time.
Their forays into the instances had yielded a considerable number of Return Scrolls.
Prompted by Lucas's directive, the others promptly produced their respective Return Scrolls.
After a brief incantation, they were transported back to Maplewood City.
\[Maplewood City – Central Plaza]
Lucas immediately made his way to the guild administrator, with Winter in close proximity.
Turning to Winter, Lucas inquired, "Will you join the guild or not?"
This time, Lucas's tone was devoid of any levity.
Winter was taken aback.
What was the meaning of this sudden formality?
He had just informed her that she wouldn't be entitled to any of the spoils from the Godslayer Guild's commissions.
Yet, scarcely a minute later, he extended a surprisingly formal invitation to join the guild.
"I will."
In short order, Winter received a guild invitation.
\[Guild Invitation from Azure: Would you like to join the Godslayer Guild?]
Winter accepted.
A notification materialized in the lower right corner for the members of the Godslayer Guild.
\[Player: Winter has joined the guild]
Winter hadn't anticipated this moment arriving so casually.
She had initially envisioned a more momentous occasion, only to find herself ensnared by such a simple proposition.
"How ironic, it appears I'm quite mercenary after all."
Winter wryly mused to herself, before perusing the guild's detailed information panel.
-------------------------------------
\[Guild Name: Godslayer]
\[Guild Level: 1]
\[Guild Points: 11,000]
\[Guild Skill Augmentation: None]
\[Guild Members: 4/10,000]
\[Member: Azure – Level: 18 – Talent: Hidden]
\[Dauntless – Class: Warrior – Level: 18 – Talent: Transcendent Warrior (S)]
\[White Deer – Class: Mage – Level: 18 – Talent: Empowered Incantation (S)]
\[Winter – Class: Assassin – Level: 17 – Talent: Shadowstrike (S)]
-------------------------------------
A guild capped at ten thousand members, yet only four individuals were present; the guild was indeed sparsely populated.
However, the conjectures circulating on the community forums were substantiated.
White Deer and Dauntless did, in fact, possess S-rank talents.
While not a closely guarded secret, the sight of three S-ranks gracing the member roster was nonetheless a spectacle to behold.
At the very least, Winter had never witnessed such a display.
Even if she was counted among them.
As for Lucas… his talent remained shrouded in mystery; as he had elected to conceal it, he evidently harbored no desire to disclose it.
Though curious, Winter refrained from prying.
Bella also noted the notification indicating Winter's induction into the guild.
Intrigued, she examined Winter's profile.
"Indeed, she, too, possesses an S-rank talent."
Her brother seemed to possess an uncanny insight into who possessed S-rank talents within Epochal World.
Perhaps this was yet another facet of her brother's talent, Bella conjectured.
With the addition of Winter, the Godslayer Guild now boasted three S-ranks, augmenting its strength considerably. The prospect of a more formidable guild filled Bella with elation.
Bella clicked to examine the effects of Winter's talent.
-------------------------------------
\[Shadowstrike (S)]
\[Effect: Base speed increased by 100%. Each successful attack will conjure a phantom identical to the user. The phantom possesses the same vitality as the original body, and will vanish upon depletion of its health or after sustaining three instances of damage. The phantom wields the same abilities and equipment as the original body. A maximum of 5 phantoms can be manifested simultaneously. Phantoms cannot be employed to generate new phantoms. Additional speed is increased by 100% for each phantom in existence. (The talent wielder retains the ability to instantaneously exchange positions with a phantom.)]
-------------------------------------
Winter's talent demanded a high degree of finesse.
Any adversary facing Winter would, in effect, be contending with six combatants simultaneously.
Though Shadowstrike's damage amplification appeared inferior to White Deer's thirtyfold increase, and its stat and skill enhancements paled in comparison to Dauntless's, its true strength lay elsewhere.
In reality, Winter could conjure a phantom capable of enduring three hits with but a single attack.
The original body, moreover, could continuously swap places with its phantoms.
This was tantamount to rendering the original Winter invulnerable as long as a phantom remained in existence.
Furthermore, Winter retained the prerogative to seize any opportune moment to launch an assault, thereby generating new phantoms.
Assassins were inherently initiators in combat, and the task of evading even a single strike from such a class was daunting indeed.
Ha, difficult in the extreme.
"Oh, yes, here is your ten million."
Lucas transferred the sum to Winter's account.
With three hundred million at his disposal, the expenditure of ten million was of little consequence.
As for the contractual penalty, it could be recouped without undue delay.
Lucas had never assigned undue importance to the penalty; as a reincarnated individual, amassing wealth was a facile undertaking.
Winter's brow furrowed subtly.
Nevertheless, she accepted the funds without demur.
"Oh yes… almost forgot."
Lucas accessed the guild panel and clicked Upgrade Guild.
-------------------------------------
\[Guild Points Required to Upgrade Guild: 1,000]
\[Gold Coins Required to Upgrade Guild: 500]
\[Average Guild Member Level Required to Upgrade Guild: 15]
\[Guild Level cannot be reverted after upgrading. Confirm upgrade?]
\[The following will be unlocked after this upgrade – Guild Shop, Guild Skill Tree]
-------------------------------------
Fortunately, the upgrade instance imposed no minimum member requirement; otherwise, elevating the guild's level would have been a daunting endeavor.
Lucas could readily afford the 500 gold coins.
His repeated dungeon conquests had proven lucrative, leaving Lucas with an approximate surplus of 1,000 gold coins.
This prompted Lucas to reflect ruefully.
Gold coins were demonstrably more challenging to acquire than their real-world counterparts.
As for the average level threshold, each of the guild's four members exceeded level 17, ensuring compliance.
"Confirm Upgrade."
-------------------------------------
\[Godslayer Guild has been successfully upgraded!]
\[Your guild level has been increased to level 2]
\[World Announcement: Congratulations to Godslayer Guild for becoming the first guild in Epochal World to reach level 2]
\[This guild has received an additional blessing – All guild members' luck increased by 1]
-------------------------------------
The world announcement reverberated throughout Epochal World once more.
"WTF? Is the Godslayer Guild hogging all the attention?"
World announcements were colloquially referred to as "hogging all the attention" by Epochal World players.
"Damn, haven't they been in the spotlight about eight times in the last two hours?"
World first kills, all manner of instance first clears, and now a level 2 guild.
Their visibility far exceeded that of ordinary players attempting instance runs.
Upon witnessing this notification, the other major guilds were aghast.
Damn it…
Even the inaugural guild upgrade had been preempted by Godslayer?
The impetus behind their zealous pursuit of first kills was, in part, fueled by the lure of the 1,000 guild points.
This would allow them to upgrade ahead of their rivals.
The first guild to accomplish the upgrade would be bestowed with a permanent blessing.
This was a formidable advantage. This immutable guild blessing conferred benefits that extended far beyond mere statistical increments.
It also distinguished the guild from all others.
Consider, for instance, a novice weighing their options between two guilds offering roughly comparable treatment; the obvious preference would be the guild graced with a blessing.
"Indeed… it was inevitable that the Godslayer Guild would be the first to upgrade."
"One seldom hears of any additional players in the Godslayer Guild."
The average level requirement of 15 was far too exacting; even if the Eight Great Guilds purged all other members, they would still fall short of the mark.
No one could hope to level as rapidly as the Godslayer Guild.
"This bonus is somewhat excessive, is it not? Increasing the luck of all guild members seems a touch overpowered."
The members of the Radiance Guild were visibly disconcerted: "How is it that, upon attaining the initial upgrade in District One, we were not awarded such a magnificent boon? Our enhancement merely consisted of an additional 30% light damage bonus."
While a light damage bonus possessed inherent merit, it paled in comparison to the effects of +1 luck.
There was simply no comparison.
"Good heavens, might I consider defecting to the Godslayer Guild?"
"Luck +1, this bonus… Is Epochal World completely unhinged? This is blatant favoritism!"
The major guilds aired their grievances regarding the bonuses afforded to Godslayer.
These enhancements were undeniably excessive.
While the light damage bonus was not without its merits, acquiring such a BUFF was far from an insurmountable challenge.
However, a BUFF such as +1 luck was exceedingly difficult to obtain.
At most, one could procure limited-duration luck enhancements, such as an increase of 1 luck for a period of 2 hours.
Lucas, too, was somewhat perplexed by the magnitude of his upgrade benefits.
However, he quickly surmised that the inaugural upgrade, which had triggered a world announcement, had likely activated the \[Leave a Mark] mechanism inherent in his talent.
This had, in turn, amplified the effectiveness of the rewards.
The \[Leave a Mark] mechanic had proven quite advantageous.
His current luck rating was likely hovering around 4 points.
This translated to a greater likelihood of loot chests yielding items tailored to his specific needs.
The odds of prevailing in daily random encounters would also be significantly elevated.
Were Lucas to enter a gambling establishment at this juncture, his prospects of generating a positive yield would be virtually assured.
Unfortunately, the current settlements lacked such amenities.
In addition to these benefits, luck also permeated various other facets of the game, such as the probability of triggering hidden quests. With a luck rating of 4, their activation would be virtually guaranteed.
4 points of luck represented the luck ceiling for ordinary mortals.
The typical player commenced with a luck rating of 1 or 2, indicative of an average or slightly fortunate individual.
Nonetheless, even 4 points of luck would exert a negligible influence on the course of battle.
Its impact would be subtle at best.
Ascending to 5 points of luck marked the point at which luck could be actively harnessed in combat.
In his previous life, Lucas had crossed swords with one of the three human emperors, an individual boasting an astonishing 11 points of luck.
The experience could only be described as… loathsome.
Critical skills would invariably misfire, items would malfunction at inopportune moments, and his opponent would routinely trigger a litany of improbable effects.
Had he not successfully defused certain misconceptions, he would likely have been forced to restart in ignominy.
Lucas accessed the \[Guild Skill Tree].
-------------------------------------
\[Guild Skill – Swiftness (LV: 1): Increases out-of-combat movement speed by 1% (Upgradeable)]
\[Guild Skill – Stronghold Teleport: Channels for 7 seconds to teleport back to the guild stronghold (Max Level)]
\[Guild Skill – Accelerated Recovery (LV: 1): Increases the restorative effect of food by 2% (Upgradeable)]
-------------------------------------
The selection of level 2 guild skills was somewhat limited.
Lucas maximized the essential guild skills. Swiftness was elevated to level 2, augmenting out-of-combat movement speed by 2%.
Accelerated Recovery was also upgraded to level 2, amplifying the restorative effect by 4%.
Within Epochal World, characters could recover their vitality through periods of rest and consumption of sustenance while out of combat.
Rest afforded a leisurely recovery, whereas food facilitated a swifter restoration.
Potions, conversely, were typically reserved for combat situations due to their scarcity and exorbitant price of 10 silver per vial in the general store.
More advanced potions were unobtainable in stores.
Early-game guild skills did not require a significant investment of resources, rendering their maximization a straightforward endeavor.
The newly introduced guild shop featured a limited assortment of purchasable commodities.
The merchandise available at the level 2 guild shop was of unremarkable quality.
It was not prudent to squander guild contributions on such trivialities.
With the formalities following the guild upgrade duly concluded, Lucas glanced at the member roster and sighed almost imperceptibly.
Winter was at a loss to explain Lucas's melancholy demeanor.
They had only just triggered a world announcement; why the crestfallen expression?
Were she not privy to the circumstances, she might have surmised that some miscreant had absconded with his maiden guild upgrade.
Winter inquired, "What troubles you?"
Lucas replied with a wry lament, "Our guild's composition is far from ideal; no tank, no healer, only damage dealers."
"And to think, despite my recruitment notice, no S-rank talents have reached out to me."
Hearing Lucas's lamentations, Winter was rendered speechless.
Was the presence of three S-rank talents within a single guild insufficient?
Did he aspire to S-rank tanks and healers?
Would the recruitment of merely A-rank players prove so catastrophic?
She had initially dismissed Lucas's insistence on recruiting only S-ranks as facetious, only to realize, upon encountering this sparsely populated guild, that he was in earnest.
However, it was now too late to rescind her decision; Epochal World imposed a mandatory cooldown period on guild resignations.
Once a player had affiliated themselves with a guild, a minimum of one day must transpire before secession was permissible.
Observing Winter's quizzical expression, Lucas gently patted her shoulder and remarked, "I remain cognizant of my pledge to secure a signature weapon for you, though its attainment will necessitate a modicum of time."
Winter offered a tacit acknowledgement.
She harbored no undue urgency regarding the matter of the signature weapon; such implements were undoubtedly exceedingly rare and challenging to acquire.
Nor did she entertain expectations of receiving it the instant she joined the guild.
Nevertheless, why did Lucas exhibit such a propensity for patting people? Did he perceive her as analogous to Dauntless?
"In any case, all of you should accept the challenge quests."
Lucas had initially intended to embark on the challenge quests upon logging in, only to be interrupted by Dauntless's predicament.
He had forsworn the quests and devoted his energies to rescuing his comrade.
Subsequently, they had become mired in a continuous cycle of instance farming, until the present opportunity to return to the city had presented itself.
"Challenge quests?" Winter inquired, bemused.
Lucas elucidated, "They can be found in the guild quest tab."
Dauntless and White Deer, by contrast, accepted the quests without hesitation.
Winter, however, gasped audibly upon inspecting the challenge quest.
-------------------------------------
\[Guild Challenge Quest]
\[Objective: Slay a World Boss]
\[Additional Challenge: Slay four World Bosses consecutively within one hour]
\[Quest Rewards: Silver Equipment Enhancement Stone X1000, Guild Contribution 15000, Four-Star Skill Book of Chosen Class]
\[Challenge Additional Rewards: Unique Class Advancement Book of Chosen Class]
-------------------------------------
In Lucas's estimation, the stated rewards were but a fraction of the true bounty.
There was also an additional, unlisted reward.
\[Upon completion of the challenge quest – the Eternal Sovereign talent rank will be elevated to S]