Chapter Fifty-Seven: Dreams Awakened, Upgrades Unleashed

The labyrinth passageway ahead was still shrouded in that same dark red hue. Zhao Nan and Fenina led the way, with Gao Mingyang and the others following behind. It had been over an hour since their last battle, and now they were advancing toward the end of the third level at a pace several times—perhaps even ten times—faster than they had managed on the first and second levels.

The wounds on Gao Mingyang and his companions had long since healed; aside from some lingering fatigue, their only real complaint was hunger. Munching on an elven biscuit, Gao Mingyang strode easily up to Zhao Nan’s side. “Should we take a break?”

Zhao Nan nodded, glancing around before deciding to halt where they stood. He pointed to a wall ahead, and the little mage, Jialun, scampered over, reaching up to draw the guild’s insignia upon its surface.

This was the third time Zhao Nan had ordered a mark to be placed, always after traversing a long stretch, and with many branching paths between each mark. Finding one from another would take some time.

In truth, it was only half an hour earlier that Zhao Nan realized the idea had been his in the first place.

…

The third level of the labyrinth was starved of proper light, making it easy for the eyes to tire. This was their first real rest, and Gao Mingyang finally broke the silence. “Zhao Nan, I get the feeling you actually know the way through here.”

“My secondary class is Explorer, and my specialty is mapping unknown territory,” Zhao Nan replied, biting into the elven biscuit Fenina had handed him.

“There’s a class like that?” The others looked on with curiosity at the young man whose power far exceeded his years.

Their team interface displayed everyone's level: fifteen. Xu Fei had already joked that the pair were clearly cheating, though he had only said it to lighten the mood.

“There is. Players have far more secondary classes to choose from than primary ones.”

Indeed, the Explorer class existed, though no one but the player themselves could know what secondary class they held.

The sound of chewing filled the quiet, and even Gao Mingyang, usually so boisterous, fell silent. He scratched his head, sending a flurry of dandruff drifting down like little ants, increasing with each pass. He opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it, his impatience evident.

Suddenly, Zhao Nan asked, “The guild has already been established, so why hasn't there been a system notification?”

“Thanks to you, our guild’s room is in the special section of the guild hall—a system reward, naturally. Dammit! Do you realize how dangerous that is? The Blood Shadow guild is always scheming to get into special zones, you know! Do you think I dare make it public? I had to spend every coin from the first intermediate guild reward just to buy an ordinary room in the regular zone!” Gao Mingyang grumbled. “Now I’m so broke I don’t have a single copper left! If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have come to this mess. Still, at least this mess let me run into you again.”

Zhao Nan smiled, unconcerned by Gao Mingyang’s complaints. But Gao Mingyang pressed on, “I don’t care anymore. The token was yours to begin with. You should be the guild master!”

Zhao Nan was silent for a moment, swallowing the last piece of biscuit before he finally said, “Mingyang, what’s your dream for this guild? Why did you want to build it?”

“To reach the end, to see it for myself, of course!”

“If it’s not about domination or ruling over others, what does it matter who’s guild master?”

Gao Mingyang paused, scratching his head again, dandruff fluttering like butterflies as he paced back and forth, as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

Suddenly, he stopped, a fervent light in his eyes, his face serious. “Zhao Nan, you’re not going to leave, are you? I can’t figure out why you gave me the token and then left. But since fate brought us together again, don’t leave! If you do, I’ll just disband the guild and fight for another token myself, start over if I have to!”

“Why?” Zhao Nan asked.

“If it’s a dream, what kind of fool would I be if I didn’t find others to chase it with me?”

Laughter broke out.

“You really are a fool,” came a voice that only Gao Xiang could wield with such bluntness. As his cousin, he didn’t mind Gao Mingyang baring his teeth at him in mock threat. Their camaraderie was always this boisterous.

Fenina leaned close to Zhao Nan and whispered, her hand warm atop his, her face bright with encouragement.

Zhao Nan turned his hand to squeeze hers gently, then stood, dusting himself off. “Alright, let’s move on.”

“Zhao Nan…”

“Oh, and if we’re going to explore the world’s edge, we’ll need more strength. Jialun, go and erase that mark. Let’s train here for a while.”

Gao Mingyang blinked, looking around. Then Xu Fei, Gao Xiang, and Xu Feng all unleashed their skills at once. Jialun, more direct than any of them, shouted with excitement, “Level up! Level up!”

“Count me in! Damn, when we’re out of here, drinks are on me!”

Zhao Nan agreed softly, remembering that night of revelry at the bar, the intoxicating feeling of joy still lingering.

He sighed. If he was going to help them level up, things couldn’t stay easy for long. The monsters in this dungeon were strong enough to be a feast of experience for Gao Mingyang’s group. Even though experience was split, it was still a bounty for him and Fenina.

A sidenote: since the launch of the pet system, Fenina no longer split experience with Zhao Nan in their party; she received her full share.

She was now considered an independent member, able to join a legion party as a unit—or the Edge of the World guild, as well.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, the Edge of the World guild currently had… eight members.

…

“Young master, here’s their mark again. This is the second one we’ve found!”

Ximen Yu nodded, scanning the surroundings in silence. Though they had set out only minutes apart, now all he could see of the other party was their trail.

No way could a team of eight advance through unknown territory faster than his two full legion-mode squads.

“Do they know… or is it luck… or something else?”

“What are you muttering about, brother?”

Ximen Yu smiled serenely, patting the cheek of the delicate-faced companion at his side. “I’m just amused. Of all disguises, why choose to dress as a boy?”

Ximen Xiaowu stuck out her tongue, her eyes bright with mischief. “What, did I charm you?”

With a fond smile, Ximen Yu pinched her cheek, lowering his voice, “This isn’t a place for games. Stay in my sight.”

“I know.”

…

“Damn! Leveled up again!” On the vast pale blue magic circle, a brilliant golden light flashed over Gao Mingyang, restoring him to full strength.

The golden glow danced several times; now, apart from Zhao Nan and Fenina, everyone had leveled up.

They stood at the end of the third level. Their latest foe, the elite corridor guardian, had just fallen.

“Are we moving on to the next floor?”

“No. Let’s retrace our steps. The guardians should respawn soon.”

They left no further markings. The third level was one and a half times the size of the second; to fumble through by feel would take a day or two. That meant Zhao Nan could farm the corridor guardians several more times.

It wasn’t just about experience anymore—they needed better equipment as well.