Chapter 47 -47-An Invitation from the Lord of Sunset City

Chapter 47: Chapter47-An Invitation from the Lord of Sunset City

After finishing sorting through the equipment, John reopened his character panel.

[Reality Merge]

[Activation Requirement: Personally kill a Boss using the Void Staff.]

[Cooldown: 24 hours.]

[Current Status: On cooldown.]

So that was how it worked.

No wonder [Reality Merge] had not activated again after he killed Glen.

The twenty-four-hour cooldown had not yet ended following Charon’s death.

This also meant that, from now on, he needed to personally kill at least one Boss every day.

One real-world extraction per day.

As long as he kept doing so, his real-world body would grow stronger at an unimaginably terrifying rate.

John leaned back in his chair and began organizing all the information he had gathered so far.

Three worlds had already been clearly revealed within Apocalypse.

The Human Realm.

The Shadow Realm.

The Dark Realm.

The Dark Realm had once invaded the Human Realm.

The Shadow Realm was also continuously encroaching upon the borders of the mortal world.

The relationship among the three realms was clearly far from friendly.

Wars between worlds, seals, dimensional passages, and territorial struggles would most likely become the game’s main storyline in the future.

Whether there were other dimensions, such as a Divine Realm or an Undead Realm, remained unknown.

Any cross-realm quests he encountered in the future would have to be treated as a priority.

Next was Luna Wolf.

Horus had proven relatively reliable.

Luna Wolf also seemed highly likely to possess official backing.

The information, Hidden Quests, and game data in their possession might far exceed what ordinary guilds could access.

As long as John maintained a suitable distance and continued trading equipment and information with them, both sides would benefit.

Most importantly, he still needed to maintain his lead in levels.

Kill a Boss every day.

Continuously expand his combat system.

Ensure that [Reality Merge] activated on schedule.

Then there was Zoey.

Although she had always refused to explain the true source of her conflict with Gray Ledger, they now shared a common enemy.

Gray Ledger’s silence was far too unusual.

They would never simply let the matter end here.

John lightly tapped his fingers against the tabletop.

He closed the panel, his gaze gradually becoming calm.

"It’s time to keep moving forward."

John left the inn.

Before he could equip the [Faceless Shadow Mask] permanently, he first needed to solve the problem of his appraisal ability.

The [Scan] provided by the Monocle Lens was extremely useful, but the lens occupied the same headgear slot as the mask.

The most direct solution was to learn an independent Appraisal skill.

There were plenty of shops selling ordinary skill books in Sunset City, but detection skills were relatively uncommon. They were usually controlled by the Mage Association, Adventurers’ Guild, or magical academies.

After thinking for a moment, John decided to visit the Sunset City Royal Academy of Magic first.

Its collection of skills was the most comprehensive.

As long as he offered enough money, purchasing a high-ranking skill might not be impossible.

Half an hour later, an enormous complex of white towers appeared at the end of the street.

Large numbers of magic crystals floated in midair.

Students in mage robes came and went, and young mages could occasionally be seen flying overhead on broomsticks.

[Sunset City Royal Academy of Magic]

John had only just reached the academy gates when three soldiers in silver-and-black armor approached him.

An emblem formed from a setting sun and a longsword was engraved in the center of their breastplates.

The man leading them was tall and powerfully built. A scar stretched from his brow all the way down to his jaw.

He stopped in front of John.

"Endbringer, correct?"

John paused.

His hand closed around the Void Staff.

"That’s me."

"What do you want?"

The man replied calmly,

"You are suspected of being involved in a major case."

"City Lord Raymond has invited you to the City Lord’s Mansion to assist with the investigation."

An invitation?

Bringing two fully armed personal guards to block him outside the magic academy certainly made the invitation seem sincere.

John did not immediately agree.

"What case?"

"Explain it here."

The man shook his head.

"We do not have the authority to inquire into the City Lord’s Mansion’s confidential affairs."

"We are only responsible for escorting you there safely."

"Please do not make this difficult for us."

John activated [Scan].

[Rudy Ironstone]

[Identity: Captain of the Sunset City Lord’s Personal Guard]

[Level: Lv50]

[Rank: Legionbreaker-Tier Boss]

[HP: ???]

[Offensive Attributes: ???]

[Defensive Attributes: ???]

John fell silent.

The A-Rank Monocle Lens could only inspect targets whose level or combat strength was relatively close to his own.

This time, it had only revealed Rudy’s level and rank.

Everything else was nothing but question marks.

As for the two personal guards standing behind Rudy, although neither had reached the Legionbreaker Tier, both were above Lv45.

John quietly loosened his grip on the staff.

What a joke.

Against all three of them together, he truly had no chance of winning for the time being.

When standing beneath someone else’s roof, a person needed to be polite when the situation demanded it.

A friendly smile rapidly appeared on John’s face.

"If the city lord has invited me, then of course I’ll go."

"Lead the way!"

Rudy gave him a strange look.

Why had this Otherworlder’s attitude changed so quickly?

"This way, please."

...

Inside Luna Wolf Guild’s headquarters, an enormous silver wolf-head banner hung in the center of the hall.

Luna Wolf’s current core members sat along both sides of a long table.

Horus examined the equipment list he had just received.

"Exile’s Heavy Armor, a Shadow Realm Greatblade, a Faceless Cloak, and two high-ranking skill books."

"This Endbringer really did exactly what he said he would."

"He offered us first choice on every piece of equipment he couldn’t use."

Hawk Eye sat on the other side of the table.

"Even after Luna Wolf was established, he never applied to join us, nor has he made any further attempt to create a guild of his own."

"It seems he truly has no intention of attaching himself to any faction."

White_Bear rubbed his bald head.

"Should we keep inviting him?"

"If we ask too many times, he might get annoyed."

Horus looked up at him.

"So you’re aware that it could become annoying?"

White_Bear nodded seriously.

"Which is why I suggest we skip the invitations and proceed directly with the kidnapping plan."

Bang!

A fist slammed into his forehead.

White_Bear expertly covered his head and crouched down.

Horus withdrew his fist.

"Maintaining our current relationship is enough."

"Equipment transactions, information exchanges, and no interference in each other’s affairs."

"This distance is beneficial to both sides."

After thinking briefly, he added,

"We can still extend an occasional offer."

"If he’s willing to help Luna Wolf members level up or assist us with high-difficulty quests, we’re prepared to pay him sufficiently."

Ironwall nodded and recorded the instruction.

Horus looked toward the opposite end of the long table.

"How are the preparations for the expedition?"

The person responsible immediately answered,

"We’ve completed the selection process."

"The original plan was to recruit five hundred members, but more than three thousand players applied."

"The first expeditionary force currently consists of six hundred players. Every one of them has reached Lv10 and completed their class change."

"Potions, food, spare equipment, and siege weapons are also fully prepared."

"We’re only waiting for Sunset City to issue the departure signal."

Horus nodded in satisfaction.

"Excellent."

"This expedition to Dawnstar City will be Luna Wolf’s first major operation since the guild was established."

"Everyone must perform well."

"That way, we’ll have some meaningful results to present at tomorrow’s briefing."

White_Bear poked his head out from beneath the table.

"If the entire army gets wiped out, does that count as a result?"

Horus glared at him.

White_Bear silently lowered his head beneath the table again.