Chapter 168: Guild Recruitment
The body-shrinking effect lasted for ten minutes. No one knew exactly how it worked—the so-called pinnacle of gnomish technology was always shrouded in mystery.
Although engaging in combat would force him back to his original size, the miniaturized form could still be used for stealth operations, allowing him to slip into heavily guarded places unnoticed.
In fact, Zhou Ning even had another idea: once Little Deathwing grew a bit larger, he could shrink himself with the World Amplifier and ride on its back, enabling short-range dragon flights.
He deactivated the body-shrinking effect and returned to normal size, then tucked the World Amplifier away with great satisfaction—just as he always said, this item's power depended entirely on how it was used.
Next, Zhou Ning spent some time on-site crafting firearms and ammunition.
Once all the materials were used up, he took out his pocket watch to check the time. It had taken the entire morning. Deciding not to waste any more time, Zhou Ning returned to camp and issued a task to Qingbai Wild Sake, who had just logged in.
"You've triggered the task: Spread the Word."
Zhou Ning would only be staying in West Lin Town until noon tomorrow. After that, he would join the Vick University expedition team for the Meteorological Tide exploration. The task required Qingbai Wild Sake to spread this news as widely as possible, encouraging any players who wanted to learn skills or make purchases to act fast.
The task was similar to a regional announcement in other MMORPGs. But since the game Apocalypse emphasized realism, there were no such announcements. Qingbai Wild Sake accepted the task without question and quickly headed to West Lin Town and the forums to disseminate the news.
As it turned out, Qingbai Wild Sake was more than up to the job. The news spread like wildfire, and when Zhou Ning returned to the town square, the number of players waiting for him had clearly swelled—several times more than the past few days. As expected, people always needed a little pressure to act.
The moment Zhou Ning appeared, the players swarmed him like a supermarket running a free giveaway. A rough estimate put the crowd at two to three thousand.
Zhou Ning glanced over their levels—most were around Level 6 or 7. According to the persistent level rankings on the forums, the highest-level player, Jinse, had already reached Level 12. At that point, over half of the players above Level 10 were Wandering Gunslingers, with only a few Warriors and Mages mixed in.
This wasn't necessarily because Wandering Gunslingers were overpowered. It was simply that without Zhou Ning in Darkland to teach skills these past few days, they had nowhere to spend their experience except on leveling up.
Zhou Ning felt like he had missed out on a fortune. Fortunately, the thousands of players now gathered in West Lin Town gave him some comfort.
To show his appreciation, Zhou Ning added several new items to his personal shop this time.
For instance, [Frostmourne], [Standard Superpower Potion], and most importantly, the item he truly wanted to promote: the [Starry Sky Guild Recommendation Letter].
This was part of a plan he'd devised long ago, using the players of West Lin Town as the first test group. The letter was priced modestly at only 200 Vecktas and was limited to ten copies.
This price was high enough to dissuade most ordinary players—at this stage, most of them only had a few dozen Vecktas in savings. Only real spenders or professional players backed by esports clubs could afford it. And those were exactly the premium crops in Zhou Ning's field of cash cows.
---
[Legendary Weapon: Frostmourne]
Type: Unknown
Damage: 759–2154
Attack Speed: 4.0
Attributes: +40 Strength, +60 Stamina, +50 Spirit
Effect: Souls of those slain by Frostmourne will be absorbed.
Equip: The wielder of Frostmourne shall become the new Lich King.
[Price: 200,000 Vecktas, requires 80 Favorability with Wayne Sturwell]
---
[Quest Item: Starry Sky Guild Recommendation Letter]
Use to join the Starry Sky Guild and gain a chance to earn Wayne Sturwell's favor.
[Price: 200 Vecktas]
---
Upon seeing the price of Frostmourne, the players paused to count the zeros—then burst out in disbelief.
"A legendary artifact? 200K?" One player immediately spotted the key detail and exclaimed, drawing a crowd of onlookers.
"Holy crap, Frostmourne? A legendary weapon? Is this even something a poor guy like me is allowed to look at?"
"Looks ridiculously high-class, but at that price? Forget it... At current conversion rates, that's like 200 million RMB! Even Sunken Star Beneath the Water probably couldn't afford it!"
"Am I the only one who noticed the Starry Sky Guild letter? Compared to Frostmourne, 200 Vecktas isn't that bad. But what the hell is the Starry Sky Guild?"
Zhou Ning maintained a cryptic smile in response to their questions. It all came down to whether they had the insight to grasp it—a new guild was recruiting, and early joiners would be the founding members.
---
"First Legendary Artifact in the Game! Frostmourne! Held by Wayne Sturwell!"
"200 Vecktas to Join a Mysterious Faction—Is It Worth It?"
Posts like these flooded the player forums like bamboo shoots after the rain. Frostmourne, Wayne Sturwell, and mysterious factions were all hot keywords, instantly capturing attention. Screenshots of Frostmourne and its outrageous price tag left everyone stunned.
"Damn, look at that damage—759 to 2154? That's insane! My cheap little sword only does 39–78 damage and it cost me 6 Vecktas!"
"@Sunken Star Beneath the Water, your moment of truth has arrived. What's 200K Vecktas to a true whale?"
"Why do I feel like Wayne Sturwell is getting more and more mysterious? Shouldn't artifacts like this only appear in endgame?"
"That's the difference between the protagonist and the rest of us. And as for the Starry Sky Guild, there were rumors it was the protagonist's faction. Sure, 200 Vecktas is pricey, but it might be worth it—it could give you direct access to the main storyline!"
Zhou Ning could only applaud the posts—the more, the better. If he could, he would've created ten burner accounts just to keep those threads at the top.
Business boomed. Although no one had yet bought the Starry Sky Guild letter, guns, potions, and bullets sold like hotcakes, and his EXP shot up at a remarkable pace.
2.8 million, 3.2 million, 3.7 million...
In less than an hour, Zhou Ning's experience passed 3.7 million, rapidly closing in on 4 million.
Then, as the forum threads continued to spread, the first Starry Sky Guild Recommendation Letter finally sold—naturally to Qingbai Wild Sake, who already knew the guild's background. As a well-known content creator, money was never an issue for him. The moment he saw the item, he felt a jolt of excitement and bought it without hesitation.
Soon after, another player bought a copy. The second buyer was a Wandering Gunslinger named Haicheng. Zhou Ning recognized him as a former pro player like XB, now retired, and still very skilled.
The surrounding players looked on enviously. With train services suspended, it was now extremely difficult to buy game currency. On top of that, they had been spending heavily at Zhou Ning's shop for several days. Most of them were flat broke.
Zhou Ning handed the two letters to Qingbai Wild Sake and Haicheng, then immediately sent them guild invites.
"Wayne Sturwell invites you to join the Starry Sky Guild. Accept? Yes/No?"
Their hearts racing and hands trembling, the two looked at each other and clicked Yes without hesitation.
"You've joined the Starry Sky Guild! You've unlocked the Starry Sky Guild faction reputation. Current Status: Neutral (0/300)"
"You are the first two player members of the Starry Sky Guild. Guild Contribution +500. Current Status: Friendly (200/1000)"
"Already Friendly?"
Qingbai Wild Sake and Haicheng were both thrilled and surprised. They checked the contribution settings and discovered that contribution could be earned through faction quests or purchased at a 2:1 rate—1 Veckta equaled 2 contribution points. By that logic, Zhou Ning had actually subsidized them 100 Vecktas—what a generous man!
They also found that contribution points were linked to reputation and could be redeemed for rewards. Since Zhou Ning had hidden the guild leadership from ordinary members, they couldn't see who was in charge. Instead, they went straight to the guild shop to browse available rewards.
The guild shop was divided into a Gold Shop and a Reputation Shop. The Gold Shop featured many familiar items from Zhou Ning's personal store, such as the Stone Mask rental, Devil Fruits, Fortune Potions, and Flight Potions—potions with names that screamed power.
In the Reputation Shop, Zhou Ning had stocked some top-tier items for redemption, including a card containing a mid-sized mechanical construct, Hogger's Heavy Chain Hammer, and most prominently, a [Dungeon Summoning Stone] available for just 200 contribution points—an absolute steal.
---
[Lv10–Lv20 Dungeon Summoning Stone – Gnomeregan]
Description: The legendary gnome capital, the Miracle City of Gnomeregan, has fallen to the trogg invasion. Its leader, High Tinker Mechatorque, was betrayed by his advisor, Sicco Thermaplugg. Can you help them reclaim their home?
Type: 5-player instanced dungeon
Current Clears: 0
Highest Completion Rate: 0%
First Clear Team: None
---
"A dungeon?" Qingbai Wild Sake and Haicheng exchanged glances—their eyes lit up.
(Support me and read ahead on Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxxtranslations.
3 new chapters are released daily—thank you for your support!
Powerstone Event: For every 50 powerstones, 1 chapter will be unlocked.)