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How similar these guilds are to the mega-corporations in the real world, thought Zuo Chengan, shaking his head in disbelief.
Without hesitation, he muttered, "Great benefits, but impossible to get into, right?"
Yu Le pondered for a moment, his young face stern, before nodding solemnly. "Hard. Very hard. Take Dawnmoon and Kilohunt, for example. Even veteran players need to reach the 1st Heavenly Ascension just to qualify.
"And even then, most are turned down. They never recruit newbies—unless you're some kind of prodigy who scores an A-grade on your first dungeon. For someone like that, they'd roll out the red carpet."
He leaned closer, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "But between us, the Tidal Surge is more lenient. They still recruit new players regularly.
"The catch? Rumor has it they sometimes send rookies into dungeons to test deadly mechanics. The veterans walk out unscathed, while the newbies…" Yu Le made a throat-slitting gesture, his meaning unmistakable.
Zuo Chengan noted the information carefully. He didn't intend to join a guild anytime soon, but knowledge was power.
"What about smaller guilds? Surely Zone 7 has more than just these three giants, right?" he asked.
Yu Le brightened at the question. "Oh, smaller guilds are simple. The recruiters hang out near the marketplace. Just show them your status panel, and they'll decide if you qualify.
"Some accept anyone; others have specific requirements, like strength or speed stats above a certain threshold. It varies."
Zuo Chengan nodded.
The information was helpful, but revealing his personal stats? That was off the table.
Their tour continued through the Safe Zone's bustling areas: the entertainment center, the combat arenas, and the infamous Tower of Ascension.
Then they stopped in front of a building that made Zuo Chengan pause—a real estate office.
"Real estate office?" he asked incredulously. "They're selling real estate in a game?"
"Of course!" Yu Le replied with a touch of pride as if it were common knowledge. "The game is the ultimate developer. Everyone needs a place to live.
"With your own house, you'll get transported home after a dungeon run instead of dumped in the streets. That way, if you're injured, you won't risk getting ambushed."
Zuo Chengan glanced at the pricing. A standard single-bedroom apartment could be bought for a huge sum of credits or rented for 30 credits per week.
"What happens if you can't afford the rent?"
Yu Le gestured toward a nearby park and a series of bridge underpasses. "Then you sleep there. But getting a spot under the bridge is tough. It's popular because it's sheltered."
Zuo Chengan followed Yu Le's finger and spotted clusters of players' bedding crammed together in the underpasses—zero privacy, maximum discomfort. It was a sobering sight.
Before parting ways, Zuo Chengan paid Yu Le four extra credits as a tip for the wealth of information. Then, without much hesitation, he spent 30 credits to rent an apartment.
A binding notification flashed on his status panel, and a sensation of weightlessness swept over him.
When he opened his eyes, he stood inside a sleek, 40-square-meter property.
The apartment seemed to exist in its own dimension. The front door opened to the plaza outside the dungeon hall, while the window provided a sweeping view of Safe Zone 7.
The location was perfect—scenic, convenient, and surprisingly hassle-free.
Stepping out the door instantly teleported him back to the plaza, where he oriented himself toward the district's tallest structure—the Tower of Ascension.
The Tower of Ascension was a towering monolith of gleaming metal, its height stretching into the heavens, its peak invisible to the naked eye.
Awe-inspiring and intimidating, its presence dominated the skyline.
The floors of the tower were barriers to advancement, each requiring players to conquer uncharted dungeons without guides or walkthroughs.
Success meant progression; failure could mean death.
Zuo Chengan's stats were capped at ten, the limit for "Unascended" players.
To advance, he needed to clear the first floor of the tower.
However, like many others, he lacked the comfort of a safety net—a powerful ally to carry him through.
In the plaza, the atmosphere buzzed with anticipation and unease. Nearly 20,000 players out of 100,000 in this Safe Zone remained unranked, hesitant to take the risk.
It wasn't uncommon to see players forgoing tower ascension altogether, eking out a living by following guides, sleeping on the streets, or barely scraping together the 100 points needed weekly to avoid forced dungeon runs.
Others turned to crafting or selling goods like food and furniture, mimicking the economy of the real world.
Players who earned enough could even buy themselves a steaming pancake from a street vendor. The pancakes here not only tasted better but were healthier than those in the real world.
Zuo Chengan, however, had no intention of staying Unascended.
He hadn't forgotten the unsettling truths he'd glimpsed in the dungeons—humans reduced to mere entertainment, like animals in a zoo, observed by floating, inscrutable eyes.
Those eyes didn't belong to the game. He was sure of it.
To uncover the forces hiding behind them, he needed power.
As Zuo Chengan approached the base of the Tower, its enormity became even more imposing.
Its sleek, cylindrical structure shot straight into the sky, its metallic surface gleaming white. From a distance, it was grand; up close, it was otherworldly.
Yet, in his sight—enhanced by his Eye of Truth—a shimmering golden annotation hovered over the structure:
[Tower of Ascension: The Path to Godhood. Will you seize the opportunity?—##Liu]
The text was unlike any annotation he'd seen before. Most notably, its final segment was garbled and corrupted. Even the font was unusual: a radiant, golden hue that seemed alive.
What kind of being would hide its name behind glitches? And it even has a custom font?
The thought had barely formed when an icy chill ran down Zuo Chengan's spine.
His innermost shirt clung to his skin, soaked in cold sweat, as a wave of boundless fear surged through him, locking him in place.
"Petty coward," he cursed silently, gritting his teeth.
Of course, Zuo Chengan wasn't reckless enough to dwell on the corrupted symbol in his mind. He had no desire to provoke whatever had marked the tower.
As expected, as long as he didn't think about it, the suffocating terror gradually faded.
Recomposing himself, he stepped closer, craning his neck to take in the full magnitude of the tower. The sheer scale and presence of the structure made his breath catch.