Chapter 123: Establishing a Faction
Not drawing an elite specialty left Zhou Ning somewhat disappointed, but fortunately, the specializations he did get were still fairly decent. At this moment, Zhou Ning really wanted to mimic Ao Bai and say:
"I want them all.jpg"
The [Ascetic Church Acolyte] specialization could enhance his mental resistance, helping to compensate for his greatest current weakness—insufficient willpower.
[Reader] was an exceptionally rare learning-type specialization that could improve his reading efficiency and complemented his clan teachings.
[Deception], although relatively weaker, was actually the one Zhou Ning wanted the most. As the saying goes, "Make up for what you lack." Honest Zhou Ning's one flaw was his inability to lie.
After a bit of consideration, Zhou Ning decided to follow his instincts and chose [Deception], to increase his harvesting efficiency.
Although [Ascetic Church Acolyte] seemed promising, it was tied to religious faith, which made Zhou Ning a bit uneasy. After all, in a world where deities truly existed, faith was a serious matter.
...
Early the next morning, Zhou Ning first wrote an anonymous tip-off letter, detailing everything he had seen at the manor before, and stuffed it into a public mailbox two blocks away. Not reporting it? What—save it for New Year?
Then he took a carriage to the Guild Reception Center in the Canal District—something he had long planned to do: preemptively establish a faction.
In the Apocalypse game, with the advent of the steam age, medieval mercenary squads and mercenary guilds had long been swept away by the tide of history, replaced by a guild system. In a sense, it was an organization composed of industry professionals formed to protect their shared interests. In ancient Falric, it was called Coligium, meaning "aggregation of manpower."
Within the game, manufacturing industries, adventuring professions, and even various classes and subclasses all had their respective guilds—including the Alchemist Guild, which now monopolized 70% of the continent's alchemy industry. Though the name sounded imposing, it was, in the end, still just a guild—its only distinction being that its founder was one of the Four Heroes: the High Priestess Louisa.
Establishing a guild in the game came with a rather high threshold. Even later on, only a few freelance guilds appeared. But that was mostly difficult for others.
As someone with a bit of legendary fame, Zhou Ning received all sorts of special privileges in the Kingdom of Bryston. For instance, in taverns, bartenders might approach a player after their drink and mysteriously whisper, "Have you heard of Wayne Sturwell? They say he's a dashing gunslinger with incredible skills."
So for Zhou Ning, using a bit of that legendary fame to found a guild shouldn't be too difficult.
Before long, the carriage pulled up in front of the Guild Reception Center—a large plaza-style complex. From left to right were the Manufacturing Guild Reception Center, the Professionals Guild Reception Center, and the Adventurers Guild Reception Center.
"...Here."
Zhou Ning got his bearings and walked toward the stairs.
Pushing open the doors, he looked inside. The reception hall was already bustling with activity. All around were tables, and groups of what looked like adventurers were exchanging information in hushed voices.
When Zhou Ning entered, his exceptionally high Charisma stat—100 points—immediately drew some attention. A burly man with a wide-brimmed hat and a scar on his face gave him an unabashed whistle. "Yo, pretty boy, this ain't the kind of place for soft-skinned types like you. I know a love hotel nearby—how about we spend the night there together? My treat."
Before the man could say more, he suddenly felt a tightness around his collar as someone hoisted him up and hurled him toward the door.
Expressionless, Zhou Ning let go and drew his revolver, aiming at the man's head without so much as blinking—and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The burly man had just hit the floor when he saw his hat pierced by a flaming bullet, drifting to the ground inches from his scalp. He could even smell the burnt stench of his own singed hair. Terrified, the curses that had risen to his lips were swallowed instantly, and he scrambled out of the reception center on all fours.
Zhou Ning ignored the stares of the others. With a flick, his revolver twirled in his hand like it was dancing, and then vanished.
Amid the silence left in the wake of the gunshot, he walked up to the main counter.
He sat down on the stool in front of the counter, tapped the surface with his knuckle, and said calmly, "I want to establish a small adventurers guild."
Looking up at him, the staff member offered a polite smile and said, "Hello, I'm Peterson. The procedure for establishing an adventurers guild is a bit complex. May I have your name?"
"My name is Wayne Sturwell," Zhou Ning replied with a smile.
As soon as he said this, the room fell dead silent. The companion of the burly man from earlier twitched, his expression stiffening. The name of the legendary gunslinger Wayne Sturwell was widely known—especially with rumors of a mysterious force backing him, which made them all uneasy.
"Wayne Sturwell?" Peterson's demeanor immediately turned respectful, and he chuckled. "I've heard of you. Do you have your credentials? Sorry, it's a necessary formality."
Zhou Ning had come prepared. He produced his character's identity plate and the Wandering Gunslinger profession badge and slid them across the counter. After verifying them, Peterson respectfully returned the documents.
"Welcome, Mr. Sturwell. In your case, just a payment of 20 Vecktas and a completed form will suffice."
Zhou Ning nodded, retrieved two 10-Veckta banknotes, placed them on the counter, and accepted the form.
The form was simple—name, profession, nationality, and so on—which Zhou Ning filled in one by one.
When it came to naming the adventurers guild, he hesitated. At first, he wanted to use his favorite fruit—pineapple—but realized that "Pineapple Guild" sounded way too cutesy and might damage his cool, composed image. He then remembered the "Starlight Company" established by the vampire version of Zhou Ning in the simulator, and simply wrote down "Starry Sky Guild."
Zhou Ning's target demographic for this guild was primarily players. In his plan, this would also become part of their sunk cost—and a very important one at that.
He slid the completed form back to Peterson, who reviewed it carefully, stamped it, and handed him a copy. "Congratulations. Your adventurers guild is now officially established. Your current guild level is 1, with a capacity of 60 members. If you'd like to take on quests, please head to the area on the right."
"Thank you." Zhou Ning smiled in return. This was the power of just one point of legendary fame—what would normally take two or three days had been completed in under half an hour.
On his game panel, a new sub-interface silently appeared. Clicking into it, a string of data popped up:
[Starry Sky Guild]
Guild Level: 1
Total Members: 1/60
Completed Quests: 0
Location: Darkland
History: None
Founder: Wayne Sturwell
Founded: February 18, 1452
[Evaluation: An obscure mini-guild]
The guild interface also had numerous sub-options, such as inviting members, guild management, and so on—complex and extensive. Zhou Ning didn't delve into it just yet.
He had an appointment with Qingbai Wild Sake in the afternoon. After spending the entire morning setting up the guild, he returned from the Guild Reception Center and first met up with John at the school. According to John's plan, he had already printed a batch of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and was preparing to start selling them the next day. Their first customers would be the students and faculty of Vick University.
Zhou Ning was very invested in this as well. He offered John some advice, particularly regarding marketing strategies. After all, he held a 40% stake in the venture—his future income depended on this.
He even suggested that John pay for a group of girls to cosplay as Dark Magician Girl, Maiden with Eyes of Blue, and so on to grab attention. After all, John's father ran a red-light district, and they even had cosplay services there—though not exactly the wholesome kind.
John, having grown up in that environment, was no stranger to cosplay, whips, or candles. He got the idea instantly.
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