BXBX NOVEL Chapter 91 : Kim Dong and Emily Frekk
"You two seem like real talents—Kara Spirine, a promising healer, and you…" She frowned slightly. "An all-rounder? Are you still following that path?"
"Yes… I’ve learned many skills along the way and adapt according to situations," Sora replied, remembering Kara’s advice about mastering one skill instead of learning a hundred.
’The problem is, I still haven’t found what I really like, or what weapon suits me best. I don’t even know if I want to focus on magic, being a warrior, or on elemental spells… And my strongest strength is still body forging, which makes me more of a tank than anything else,’ he thought to himself.
He had spent a few years in the [Time Space] honing his skills, pushing them to new levels, but even he knew his style was chaotic. He had wanted to rely on Alius to help refine his techniques, but with Alius gone and the event in Japan fast approaching, he hadn’t taken the time to train more.
Emily’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "I’ll need to see more of your combat style to judge, but jumping from level 75 to 110 in a few weeks and and being an all-rounder doesn’t quite add up. You clearly have secrets, and I won’t pry for now, but you should start mastering aspects of your strength one at a time."
Kim Dong, sitting beside her, nodded. "Before we move forward, tell me your plans for the future. I’ll decide if you’ll be a fit for our guild."
"We’ve been recommended to participate in the event in Japan," Sora explained, "and we plan to head there soon for the regional qualifiers. For now, we want to settle in Seoul and prepare."
"Oh, that’s interesting. You got a spot in the qualifiers! West Europe, I assume? You should be able to secure a spot then," Kim Dong chuckled, before adding "We’re also taking part in that event, but represent the region of South Korea."
"South Korea is considered a region?" Kara asked, surprised.
Emily nodded. "Any place with enough power concentration can be considered a region. There’s even a guild in the USA that has its own region. Regions are designated when an Adventurer’s Guild or Guild territory reaches a certain level. But a cluster of low-level countries like in West Europe also forms a region."
"Qualifiers in South Korea are tough," Emily continued with a grin. "I don’t think either of you would make it—unless you can beat this old man!" She pointed at Kim Dong, laughing at her own joke.
Kim Dong scowled. "Emily, get out. You don’t respect your leader even in front of newcomers."
"No, you, get out. Who said I was done here?" Emily coughed and resumed her serious tone. "It’s good you’re entering the Ascension Event. It’s the best chance for players to gain incredible power in a short time. Many top-ranked players in the world rose through that event. With you two joining, we might even have six or seven players in the event—if that girl can make it into the top 20 of our region."
Kim Dong waved off her comments. "Join the guild, kids! I like the two of you. Ignore Emily—I’m the boss here."
Emily shot back, "What boss? You wouldn’t get anywhere without me. Don’t forget who helped you start ARAM!"
Sora and Kara, ignoring the bickering, focused on the contracts that appeared before them.
[Guild Rules][Guild members are forbidden from harming each other outside of duels or special events requiring such a thing.]
[Guild members must give a minimum of 2% of their gold earnings to the guild.]
[Guild members must give a minimum of 1% of their experience earnings to the guild.]
[In guild activities, loot is randomly distributed unless specified in a contract.]
[Guild members are forbidden from continuously staying in a safe zone for more than a month without permission. A total of 3 months per year is allowed.]
[Guild members must participate in at least 3 wars per year.]
[Guild members earn Guild Points (GP) through activities, which can be used to buy items from the guild shop, trade for items from the treasury, or withdraw gold.]
[Guild members can use gold or items to trade for Guild Points.]
[Guild members can leave at any time, excluding dungeons or raids, voiding the contract.]
[Are you willing to join the guild [All Random All Mid]?]
Sora glanced at the rules, noting that while they were demanding, he wouldn’t mind them for now since he could leave at any time. Sharing gold and experience wasn’t ideal, but with only 1-2% being taken, it was tolerable.
He pressed [Yes], and immediately a notification appeared asking if he wanted to hide or display his guild tag. He chose to hide it.
A gauge appeared next to his name in his profile, showing how much experience and gold he was sending to the guild. He opened the guild member list and found a familiar name, grayed out: [Rachel Claude: Rookie, Level 117].
’That bitch really is here… and her name’s in gray, just like a few others,’ Sora thought, a small smile creeping onto his face as his plan slowly took shape.
"Welcome to ARAM. Wow, you’ve only been here a few seconds and you’re already hiding your guild tag? Are you ashamed of our name?" Kim Dong teased, pretending to be angry.
"Not at all," Sora replied. "I just think it’s cooler to show only my name. The guild name… it’s fine."
Emily smiled at his words, and explained, "You’ll have a rookie period of at least a week. After that, we’ll see if you get promoted to full members. Now, do you want to live on the same floor, or different floors? Each floor has a dozen apartments and a butler who handles all chores. You can bring your family or friends to live here if you’d like."
Sora shuddered at the suggestion. ’As if I’d bring my parents to live in the same building as Rachel. Worst idea ever.’
"What do you think, Kara?" Sora asked.
"I don’t have family to bring here, but we can live on the same floor," Kara answered, blushing slightly, trying to hide their relationship.
"Same floor, same apartment—it’s all the same" Sora said, not thinking too much about it.
"What the hell are you saying? Why say it like that?" Kara blurted, embarrassed.
Emily giggled at their exchange. "You’ll both be on the 69th floor. It’s a floor we prepare for couples. Talk to the receptionist for more information later. For now, I want to test both of you."
"I’ll take these two with me," Emily told Kim Dong. "There’s not much time left before the event, and I need to see what they’re worth, maybe even push them a bit."
Kim Dong waved them off. "Have fun. See you later."
Feeling they didn’t have much of a choice, Sora and Kara followed Emily into the elevator, which soon took them to the 404th floor. When the doors opened, they found themselves in a space that looked abnormal.
The ceiling was 50 meters above their heads, and the area inside was far larger than it appeared from the outside. Noticing their gazes, Emily had a smile on her face.
"This is a space-augmented floor. Masons over level 100 can create miracles. Follow me, and we’ll find a quiet place," Emily said as they moved deeper into the space.
Several guild members greeted Emily along the way, most between levels 100 and 120. They soon arrived at a large training room.
"Surveillance system off. Sound recording off. Privacy setting: Kim Dong and Emily Frekk," Emily commanded, adding more keywords that suggested they were entering a private zone.
"Now we can speak freely," she said, turning to face them. "I understand that you might not fully trust me yet—we’ve only known each other for half an hour—but when high-level information is exchanged, contracts are necessary."
"Only high-level information requires a contract? Why not use contracts with everyone in the guild?" Kara asked.
"We do, for recruits who need training and to share sensitive information," Emily replied.
Sora was surprised. ’Then how can Rachel betray them if she signed a contract on top of the guild rules? Does she have a way around it, or is she avoiding contracts?’ Sora wondered.
A nondisclosure agreement appeared before them. It was a detailed four-party contract, and Kim Dong had already signed it, even though he wasn’t present. It also ensured that both parties would be safe from harm.
"I’m aware you both have supreme skills or powerful innate abilities, so let’s not pretend otherwise. I can help you."
"You are right to hide them, however pretty much everyone who can achieve such a rapid growth, or do something seemingly impossible, has one of those. Just make sure no one perfectly understands their limits or weaknesses."
Sora sighed at her words. Ever since that woman, Hannah, had told them similar words, they knew they would meet players like them. It seemed many extraordinary individuals held similar skills.
"Let’s start with you Ralph, I feel like you’re itching for a fight, so let’s see what you’re capable of."