After a while, more than four thousand people registered and joined Maximus’s group.
[Wanderer: Please proceed to the lobby for an introduction.]
“Let’s go, Blane,” Cereb urged his friend.
As they walked, they witnessed various robots dismantling buildings.
Meticulously choosing valuable materials and disregarding the rest.
Soon, they arrived at a colossal monster standing about 100 meters tall.
While not towering compared to other buildings, the sheer sight of it left them stunned.
“Blane, do you see what I’m seeing?”
“It must be.”
“A Mechanical Vehicle!” This was the collective thought echoing through most of their minds.
The immense creature before them was undoubtedly a massive mechanical vehicle.
With dimensions of 100 meters in height and 300 meters in length.
It resembled a building from a distance.
Yet such a thing can move?
“How is our transportation vehicle?”
Maximus couldn’t help but feel proud as he observed their bewildered expressions.
“It’s Maximus!”
“The leader of Shadow City!”
“It’s the tech genius!”
Murmurs and whispers swept through the crowd below as they finally laid eyes on the real Maximus.
Until now, they had only seen him through virtual images and heard tales of his achievements.
“Welcome to our team,” Maximus greeted them.
“Leader!” The assembled people erupted in cheers.
After witnessing the mechanical vehicle in front of them they were already convinced.
Furthermore, based on their sight, they saw something incredible.
The whole mechanical vehicle seems to exclude tier 5 coercion.
“Hmm, I called upon you to join me not solely for this trial.”
“But to become members of my upcoming guild.”
“Of course, whether or not you choose to join my guild after this trial is entirely up to you.”
The crowd below was left dumbfounded.
So, Maximus had come to them intending to entice them to join his guild.
However, reflecting on it, they found it more than acceptable.
Having witnessed Maximus’s talent firsthand, they were fully convinced and ready to follow such an exceptional individual.
“We will follow you, Leader!”
“Hmm, excellent.”
“By the way, I nearly forgot.”
“Before we proceed, you must make an oath of allegiance, promising never to betray each other during this trial.”
The people below understood and willingly took the oath with no complaints arising.
“Now, with great pleasure, I officially welcome all of you to the Shadow Hunters Guild!”
“Leader!”
“Please take some time to rest now.”
“We will depart from this location shortly.”
Maximus offered his advice as he exited the room.
…
“Hey Cereb, do we really plan to join the guild after this trial?” Blane asked.
“Of course, why not?”
“We’re already here, so why not go all the way?” Cereb Ask.
“After all, the Shadow Hunters Guild is a newly formed guild,” Blane said.
“Actually, it hasn’t even been officially established yet.”
“But do we truly have a future in a guild like this?”
Blane couldn’t help but express his concerns.
Perhaps his experiences had made him more pragmatic.
“Then let’s make that decision after we’ve followed the leader,”
“If we manage to pass this trial, or at least come close to it,”
“then it’s worth following a leader of his caliber,” Cereb said after a moment of contemplation.
“Hmm, you’re right.”
Others were also engaged in their own inner debates, deferring their decisions until after the trial was concluded.
As for what they had proclaimed earlier, it was mostly for show.
“By the way, where are our accommodations?” Cereb finally inquired.
Considering that robots were dismantling the area, they wondered where they would be able to rest.
“It should be in that,” Blane pointed toward the colossal Mechanical Vehicle.
“Perhaps…”
Once they arrived at what seemed to be the entrance, a screen lit up.
In it was Wanderer, the familiar icon who mostly managed the shadow city.
[Wanderer: Before entering, please retrieve the mechanical watch from the side.]
Wanderer instructed, as a compartment extended.
“What’s this?”
[It’s an identity watch that also grants access to all the facilities within the vehicle.]
“Is that so?”
The people didn’t suspect anything sinister and obediently put on their watches, excitedly proceeding inside.
Maximus had refrained from embedding any explosive devices or any form of malicious intent in the watches.
He understood that such measures would be unnecessary.
After all, he needed a functioning subordinate, not some puppet.
…
Entering the vehicle felt like stepping into another world.
“Hey, this looks like Blue NV Iron, a tier 4 material,” Cereb exclaimed as he tapped the wall.
“But how strange, it has the hardness and density of a tier 5 material.”
“That’s likely the leader’s method,” Blane nodded in agreement.
As they walk, they look obsessively at the various part of the mechanical vehicle wishing to study it, here and now.
Eventually, they reached their assigned room, guided by Wanderer’s instructions.
“Ahhh!” Cereb let out a contented sigh as he sank into the soft bed.
Alone in the room, his mind began to wander.
He glanced at the identity watch, curious about its functions.
“Wanderer said it can access the facilities here…”
Cereb manipulated the watch, prompting a virtual image to display the entire blueprint of the mechanical vehicle.
“Amazing…”
“Huh? There’s even a workshop.”
“Moreover, it’s more advanced,” Cereb muttered, noticing one of the facilities.
“I should check that out later.”
“There’s also a garden?”
“The leader is quite extravagant, creating a garden within a room made of tier 5 material.”
“But It’s a good idea, I can go there to relax sometimes.”
“Laboratory…”
“Material Synthesizer…”
“Dining room…”
Cereb familiarized himself with the layout of the mechanical vehicle.
Finally, he arrived at the last section.
“Shadow Hunter Guild’s Guide?”
“What’s this?” Curious, Cereb clicked on the link.
[Vision… 𝑂𝑽𝐋xt.𝒸𝗈𝐦
Missions…
Exchange area…]
Cereb read through the vision, which outlined the overarching goal of the Shadow Hunter’s Guild.
That is to establish dominance within the chaotic sea, transforming it into their hunting ground.
“It’s quite ambitious but also risky…” Cereb sighed.
The guide also detailed various short-term goals.
Such as passing the Golden Gate trial.
Constructing a world-class warship, a tier 9 warship.
Regarding the missions, there was an array of tasks to choose from to earn points.
“So many missions, but how are the points distributed…” Cereb mumbled.
He taps on the exchange area to assess the worth of the points earned.
[Low-grade magic crystal = 1 point.
Tier 4 gun slayer = 67,000 points.
Tier 4 bionic armor = 94,000 points.
Tier 5 rail gun = 700,000 points.
Tier 5 bionic armor = 900,000 points.
….]
“So points are equivalent to low-grade crystals,” Cereb nodded.
“What? You can even purchase tier 5 weapons and armor?” Cereb was astonished by the revelation.
Especially in the case of the bionic armor, it’s equal to additional life.
“Buy! Definitely Buy!”
Noticing he had zero points, he rushed to the mission section to identify tasks that could help him accumulate points.
[Tier 1 corpse = 1 point.
Tier 2 corpse = 100 points.
Tier 3 corpse = 1,000 points.
Tier 4 corpse = 10,000 points.
Tier 5 corpse = 100,000 points.
…
Upgrade Robot = 10 to 10 million points.]
“That’s it!” Cereb chose the task of upgrading robots.
Given his proficiency in constructing and designing robots, he could accumulate points more rapidly through this path.
Although he was eager to start immediately, the ongoing packing process was a hindrance.
Unable to do the task, Cereb eventually drifted off to sleep.
…
In the monitoring room, Maximus observed the new members with their varied expressions.
“Hmm, with enough members, this trial should be easier,” Maximus murmured.
“Wanderer, how is the collection task progressing?”
[Wanderer: There are still 18 hours and 15 minutes remaining before completing the collection task.]
“That’s fast enough,” Maximus nodded in satisfaction.
You know, Maximus nearly pack his whole base.
Fortunately, He had exchanged some tier 4 void stone material earlier.
With it, he created a void space capable of holding a huge amount of materials.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t stable enough for humans to enter.
“By the way, how did the people in Shadow City react?”
[Wanderer: Some were celebrating, and some were leaving.]
“Hahaha, those celebrating must be the ambitious ones.”
“Without me at the top, they can become small leaders themselves.”
“Those who are leaving are smart, avoiding the upcoming conflict.”
While he was lost in his thoughts, Andrew barged into the room.
“Boss, I’ve finished your task!” Andrew said excitedly.
“Oh, you finally finished it?”
“I thought I still need to intervene.”
“Of course not, boss. You can always trust this little Andrew,” Andrew boasted, presenting Maximus with a scanner.
This scanner was different from the biological scanner used to locate monsters.
Nor was it a general scanning device.
It was a material scanner capable of locating materials from all over the place.
Under Maximus’s guidance, Andrew had created this remarkable device that would be a game-changer in the Golden Gate trial.
With this device, they wouldn’t need to wander aimlessly but could pinpoint specific materials immediately.
“Let’s see…” Maximus murmured as he operated the device.
Beep*
Beep*
Soon, a black and white map appeared, covered in a multitude of red dots.
“It’s working,” Andrew muttered excitedly beside him.
“Hmm, filter for tier 5 materials.”
Soon, almost all the dots disappeared, highlighting the scarcity of tier-5 materials.
“Good, now that we have this, our development will accelerate!”