Death… And Me

Chapter 4519: The Worst Guilds

Dlaval also had its guilds, but they weren’t anything like the guilds back in Besgol. First of all, all knowledge contained inside them was locked behind huge hurdles, and few of those who tried to join even had access to anything worthwhile. Well, just managing to join any of them was already a task and a half.

If Dlaval City had laws, its guilds would also be considered heavily corrupt. Nepotism, favors, bribery, and all kinds of under-the-table dealings were common occurrences among those at the top of the guilds, and no one really found anything strange about it. That was basically how the entire Woster worked to begin with. Strength and connections mattered far more than fairness, and those who lacked either were naturally pushed to the bottom.

—

After passing Roan the airplane, Rean, Flugel, and Lukay arrived at the Arrays Guild of Dlaval. Its headquarters was in the Central District, but this trio went to the branch in the North Side instead. There was little reason for them to expose themselves by going into the central area when they could investigate the same organization here.

They had tried to visit the private vaults, but just as Flugel predicted, even those had their ancient arrays destroyed a long time ago. The only difference was that the privately owned lands where those vaults were located had contributed to the ancient rune markings not disappearing completely. Unfortunately, whatever traces remained were too incomplete to provide much useful information.

So, in the end, they decided to go to the Arrays Guild of Dlaval and see if they could find anything there. Rean and Lukay obviously knew that Rean already had the Godly Pressure Arrays.

It was just that they couldn’t be the ones to tell Flugel or anyone else in Besgol about them. Flugel would have to find them on his own, and that wasn’t even considering the possibility that Duze and his people might come out to wipe everyone’s memories again.

The north branch of the guild stood out quite a lot, having a large estate only for itself near one of the most frequented areas of the North Section. The building was clearly designed to give off an imposing impression, with several layers of protective arrays carved into the walls. Of course, compared to the arrays Flugel had seen in Besgol, they were nothing impressive.

There weren’t that many cultivators inside, though. The entrance hall seemed almost empty compared to the huge crowd that walked outside every day. A few cultivators sat in designated areas, while several others moved around carrying documents or communicating with the workers behind the counters.

The reason was quite simple: Not many could pay for the guild’s services. Arrays were a rare thing in Dlaval, and this scenario showed that clearly. Above all, because of how tightly the guilds protected their knowledge, they didn’t need to worry about not having enough clients.

Here, their services were considered a premium, and the few who could afford them had to pay fortunes. It wasn’t wrong to say that the guilds despised anyone without huge wealth, at least until those people proved that they had enough talent to be worth investing in.

At the counter, the worker there looked pretty bored until Flugel, Rean, and Lukay arrived. His behavior changed straight away, and he put on a professional smile. ”Welcome to the Arrays Guild, friends. How can I help you?”

Flugel was the one to talk. ”How does one join your guild? What should we do?”

The welcoming expression on the worker’s face instantly disappeared. ”Tch, another bunch of trash thinking they can make a killing in the guild. Shoo, shoo. Don’t waste my time.”

Flugel’s mouth twitched. He had seen the level of arrays used in Woster so far. Compared to what he knew, he might as well call himself the god of arrays. Naturally, he wasn’t going to reveal that since doing so would only attract unnecessary attention.

”Is there a test to join or not?” Flugel asked calmly.

The worker sighed, clearly not expecting much from them. He pushed a device forward. It was very much like the one Kentucky and Kachia had used when they tried to join the Rosvelt Sect.

”Fine. Send your Godly Sense inside. It will be used to register you for a test. However, be aware that there is no refund if you fail, and taking the test is quite expensive. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Rean and Flugel looked at each other and nodded. Then, Rean touched the device while Flugel took a step back. They had already heard from Kentucky that the price went up with cultivation, so it shouldn’t be any different here. Since Rean had lower cultivation, it was better if he did that. Not to mention, both Flugel and Rean trusted each other’s skills in arrays, so there was little reason to waste resources by having Flugel pay the higher fee.

After sending his Godly Sense inside, the guy started to work on his terminal.

”Alright, name and cultivation.”

”Rean Larks, Aura God Peak Stage.”

The guy nodded and entered the information. ”What about your two friends?”

”They are here to cheer me up during the test,” Rean said with a smile.

Flugel and Lukay didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The worker was also taken aback by the answer. He looked at the three of them for a moment, clearly trying to figure out whether Rean was joking, but eventually decided not to ask. ”Alright. It’s thirty Godly Beast Crystals for an Aura God to take the test.”

That was three times the price Kentucky paid for the test in the Rosvelt Sect. However, Rean didn’t need to think much to understand why. Kentucky was merely trying to join Rosvelt as a normal cultivator with no special abilities. Rean, however, wanted to join as one of the most prized occupations: an Arrays Master.

”Let me guess, it would be three Godly Predator Crystals if I were a Zone God, right?”

”Oh, at least you know how the prices work,” the guy confirmed. ”Anyway, are you going to pay or not?”

Rean nodded and passed over the crystals without hesitation. They had killed a lot of Godly Beasts on their way to Woster and had also accumulated a considerable number of crystals during their adaptation years. Thirty Godly Beast Crystals wasn’t exactly an insignificant amount, but it wasn’t enough to make Rean hesitate either.

The guy took the crystals and nodded before passing Rean a light green token, this one with the image of a rune on both sides. ”Bring this token to the exam room in the back.”

Rean narrowed his eyes. ”Wait. What if I don’t know anything about arrays? I might be trying to join to learn about arrays, after all.”

”Hmph!” The worker snorted in disdain. ”That’s your problem, not the guild’s. Who said becoming an Arrays Master was easy? Now it is too late. As I said, there is no refund.”

Rean sighed. The attitude of this guild really was something else. Were it not for the Godly Pressure Adaptability of those who lived in Woster, this place would have collapsed to the Godly Creatures a long time ago. No region would step forward to help a place like this, either. Woster had isolated itself from the outside world, and its people had long since grown accustomed to relying only on themselves.

”It’s fine. I am already an Arrays Master. I was just curious.”

The worker’s eyes narrowed slightly, but his expression quickly returned to its previous indifference. ”Then go be curious somewhere else. Shoo, shoo. You have already wasted too much of my time.”

Rean couldn’t help but smile wryly. He had barely spent a few minutes here, yet apparently that was already considered too long.

And so, Rean went to the back with Flugel and Lukay.

The three passed through a corridor leading deeper into the guild. Unlike the entrance hall, the further they went, the more cultivators they encountered. Most of them appeared to be waiting for their own tests, while others were carrying tokens similar to Rean’s and moving toward different examination rooms.

Flugel quietly observed everything along the way. His expression remained calm, but his eyes constantly moved from one place to another. The guild might have been arrogant, but it was still one of the few organizations in Woster that specialized in arrays. Even if its public knowledge was inferior to what Flugel already knew, there was always the possibility that something useful was hidden deeper inside.

Lukay noticed Flugel’s expression and couldn’t help but ask, ”Did you find anything?”

”Not yet,” Flugel replied softly. ”But this place has a different feeling from the vaults. The vaults were ancient ruins that had been abandoned for countless years. Here, at least some arrays are still being maintained.”

Rean nodded. ”The only question is whether they have any information about the ancient arrays or if they are using that shit we have been seeing so far. Anyway, we can take a look after I pass the test.”