Chapter 417: Guild

Ethan didn’t hesitate to buy the Fortress of a Hundred Thousand Roses.

It was a suitable place for Seo-ah’s guild, and the price wasn’t exactly outrageous.

He wasn’t thrilled with the bonuses offered to whichever guild used the fortress as its base, but, on second thought, he couldn’t complain.

Unlike what went on among the Golden Lords, there was a genuine effort to maintain at least an illusion of balance among regular players.

Even so, the benefits Seo-ah’s guild was about to receive would probably be enough to attract attention. Most guilds couldn’t get much more than a 10–20% XP bonus, for example.

Gripping the Korean beauty’s slender waist, Ethan took a step back, making room.

His hand fit easily around that narrow curve, his fingers pressing lightly into the warm softness just above her hip. Seo-ah let herself be pulled along without resisting, her hips swaying with the motion until her shoulder settled against his chest.

Naturally, standing right there in the busiest part of Goldenveil’s central district, Ethan drew a great deal of attention.

People rushing by stopped in their tracks, and within seconds a circle of onlookers had formed around the empty lot, everyone keeping a respectful distance.

The entire population of Goldenveil was already familiar with their lord’s incredible ability, and whenever he used it, it became a true spectacle.

The citizens watched Ethan with eyes full of reverence. Some of the elders bowed their heads slightly, and a mother lifted her young son into her arms so he wouldn’t miss a thing.

The players on the street were watching too, but their eyes were fixed elsewhere.

On Seo-ah.

To be more specific, on the weapon strapped to her waist.

It was a Rank S sword!

Some whispered among themselves, nodding toward it. Others just stared, unable to look away.

Most professional players barely had Rank B items. And one of the few players known to own a Rank A item had easily dominated the game’s highest-level arena.

Seo-ah had a Rank S sword. A Rank S chest piece. And a pendant-shaped artifact, also Rank S.

Three Rank S items on a single person.

Goldenveil had the Divine Forge, capable of producing the best items in the entire region.

Other players had to struggle to gather materials and gold—and then still pray that one of the dwarves would take enough of a liking to them to accept a request. Seo-ah, on the other hand, basically had free access to the Divine Forge and total control over it.

She held the status of one of Ethan’s official wives, and the people of Goldenveil viewed her as a being above mortals. The dwarves of the Divine Forge fulfilled her every request as if it had come from Ethan’s own mouth.

Some people had even seen Seo-ah freely commanding Goldenveil’s soldiers just to obtain quest items.

Wasn’t that a bit unfair?

Many in the crowd were wondering about Seo-ah’s true identity back on Earth. It wasn’t exactly a secret, since she herself was openly promoting her guild.

Blessed with a wealthy father in real life, and blessed with a wealthy husband in the game!

More than one sigh of envy escaped from the crowd.

"Ah... Why the hell was I born to be a drug dealer in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, instead of a rich and beautiful Korean heiress? Or maybe a cute Japanese girl? This world is so unfair!"

One of the players complained aloud, a hand pressed flat against his chest as if he were in real pain. Several others echoed the lament right away, a whole chorus of people defeated by life.

He earned a few suspicious glances, since he was a huge man with a stern face and a very intimidating appearance. Still, the players didn’t pay much attention to him for long.

Because, at that very moment, the ground shook.

A low tremor ran through the street, rattling the shutters of the nearby shops and silencing the chatter at once.

Right before everyone’s eyes, the Fortress of a Hundred Thousand Roses began to rise out of the bare ground.

The plot in front of them opened up into a square area of about one hundred thousand square meters.

Golden lines raced across the ground, marking the perimeter, and a deep rumble rose from below, like that of an approaching storm.

Dust swirled up, and the onlookers closest to it instinctively took a few steps back, some covering their mouths with their sleeves.

From the center of the plot, a main castle emerged—more like a palace—surrounded by a lake, with four drawbridges connecting it to spacious courtyards.

Water gushed forth all at once and spread out with the sound of a rushing stream, so clear that it reflected the sky like a mirror.

The castle rose more than ten stories high, with circular towers and an architectural style that seemed to blend human and elven elements.

Elegant arches adorned the entire facade, and the walls seemed to be made of some kind of white marble that almost glowed in the daylight.

Standing beside Ethan, Seo-ah held her breath, her eyes sparkling as she watched each tower take shape. Her fingers had curled around his arm without her even noticing, and she leaned closer and closer as the palace grew, the soft curve of her chest pressing against him.

Surrounding it all, walls shaped like rose petals pushed up from the ground with a low grinding of stone, soaring to a height of about ten meters.

One petal overlapped the next, as if the entire fortress were a giant flower slowly blooming.

All along the wall, carvings in the shape of beautiful roses appeared one after another, the white marble etched with greenish runes—feminine and elegant.

As the runes lit up, a soft scent of roses wafted through the air, reaching even the crowd. More than a few people closed their eyes and breathed it in.

It was a large and powerful fortress, with room for tens of thousands of players at once.

Of course, in practice, that wouldn’t matter much.

Normally, other guilds could freely attack a guild’s fortress. In Goldenveil, however, things were different.

Any player who wanted to attack that fortress would have to deal with Goldenveil’s army. And, well, that would be suicide.

When facing local forces, players suffered terrible debuffs. In Goldenveil’s case, they could lose anywhere from 70 to 80% of their stats just for attacking a citizen of the city within the walls.

To make matters worse, they could even be permanently banned, never to set foot in Goldenveil again.

In the end, everyone simply gazed at the fortress in awe for a moment longer before going about their business.