'Shit, I have struck gold this time. I must hurry up and tell the guild leader about Controller and his talent.'
Boss Xiao quickly logged off his PC and opened his phone. He wanted to inform his guild leader that the player behind Controller was exceptionally talented. He was worth investing in for their team.
"Xiao, do you know what time this is? Why are you calling me this late in the night? This better be worth it."
The prominent guild leader picked up the phone even while half-asleep. Xiao admired their guild leader's dedication to his job. And that was why he was calling his leader before his excitement died down.
"Hey man, I am sure you heard all the talk about Controller already. What do you think of that kid?"
Boss Xiao asked the main guild leader. The leader could not help but sigh in annoyance once he heard the overly-excited voice on the other end of the phone.
He should have guessed that the call would be about something unimportant as soon as he picked it up. People were often blinded by their excitement and exaggerated things more than they should have.
"About that kid who beat Winded gliding rookie trainee in that recent tournament and then got injured? I have heard things about him - both good and bad. I had my players investigate him as soon as he logged in after that game, but he was not impressive. Why did you want to talk about that kid?"
The leader asked, sleep overtaking his mind once more.
"Huh? Have you had people investigate the kid already and you still did not know how good he is? I just dungeon with that kid and I must tell you - he is amazing. He managed to clear a dungeon gate solo while being 10 levels below the dungeon. You know how difficult it is, right?"
The leader felt his sleep leaving his system as soon as he heard those words.
"Are you serious? Did he solo a dungeon gate whole being 10 levels below the requirement?"
This was serious business. Even professional players struggled to do this in their early days. It required a lot of knowledge of game mechanics as well as excellent motor skills. That required time and effort.
But the leader also trusted Xiao's judgment and experience. It was almost impossible to impress Xiao since he had been playing this game for such a long time.
"Well, the kid's skilled. He reminds me of an old friend of mine but anyway. What I am telling you is that you need to get your hands on this kid. Take him in your training program and train him. I am sure he will be an excellent support for Henry or even Allen."
The leader rubbed his temple. His brain was beginning to hurt now.
"Alright, I will see what I can do. I will ask our scout department to investigate this kid."
The leader made a note of this and then fell back asleep. When he woke up, his brain did not remember that he had made a note checking the kid's information.
And the paper remained on his desk, only to be picked up by an 18-year-old with striking blue streaked hairs.
"Huh? I think I have heard this name before. Ah, isn't this the controller everyone is talking about recently? I heard he managed to best Jack in the competition. Man, I want to see what this kid is made up of."
The one who picked up this paper sheet was Allen. He was the sword master of the 'Champions' and a member of the world champion team.
Both he and Jack went to the same school so he had heard about that humiliating defeat. And that had made Allen curious to check this kid out.
"Maybe I should as the research department to look into this kid more."
The note also highlighted a meeting time on it. Allen had a brilliant idea as soon as finished reading the note.
He would go to the meeting instead of the guild leader. That way, Allen would be able to know what all the hype was about.
......….
"Phew, the day is finally over. It felt as if these classes would never end."
Clement yelled as soon as the teacher left their class. He dragged Olivier's tired body behind him as fast as he could.
As expected, they were the first ones to the club room. But Clement's excitement did not stop even after that. His excitement continued to rise even once the opened his PC and logged into the game.
"Olivier, since you are on my friend list, I need you to help me out. I applied for one of the sub-branches of Winded Gliding and they said they will test me"
"They said that if I can get them the said materials by the end of today, they will allow me to join their guild."
Clement sounded excited at the prospect of joining such a high-profile guild. He did not see the 'true trap' that was falling into.
There were a lot of guilds that asked players to complete quests before they allowed you to join them. Especially the top-rated guilds and their sub-branches did this often.
But even then, to ask for material was a little too much. And then the kind of material that Clement was given to collect was not ordinary.
"Clement, are you sure you are not being scammed here? Aren't these materials too time-consuming to collect? Look, there is even silver wolf fur. And that thing spawns every three hours."
Olivier pointed out to Clement. But the other teen did not seem bothered even after he heard those words.
"Hmm, I know this is time-consuming but it will be all worth it. I checked this guild's rankings and records. They are truly solid and worth my effort. I am sure I will not regret my decision."
Olivier wanted to point out that Clement was a fool. But he held his tongue back and decided not to say anything to Clement. He did not want to bruise his friend's ego and he also did not want his friend to be angry at him.
There were some lessons that one was better off learning the hard way. And this one surely was that kind of lesson.
"Fine, I will help you hunt the silver wolfs and other material you need. Mainly because I need the same materials and I can use those drops as well."
Most of the material Clement needed was dungeon rewards. And currently, Olivier needed to level up faster.
"Hey kids, what is going on? Are you in a dungeon? What kind?"
Mirai asked as soon as she arrived. She quickly joined them in the dungeon as well without asking any questions.
Other seniors joined in as well, now forming a party to farm faster.
It was not until they were halfway into their gaming time did Isaac raise the important question.
"So, why are we going to these specific dungeons again? Shouldn't we be targeting high-level dungeons to help Olivier level up faster?"
Olivier looked toward Clement for an explanation.
Since it was Clement's burden, he needed to be the one to explain it all to the others. As soon as Clement was finished, Olivier could see looks filled with pity being aimed his way.
"Clement, maybe this guild is not right for you. How about finding a guild that will treat you better in the future?"
Ezra spoke up, not being able to keep her words inside her chest anymore. She needed this kid to realize that he was being taken advantage of.
But as Olivier had experienced before, Clement did not even look disappointed at Ezra's words.
"Huh, being taken advantage of? As if! This is just a test to see if I fall into their standards or not. And I need to get into this guild. Please."
Clement was almost begging his teammates to get his desperation. But no one else understood why it was so important for Clement to get into this 'specific' guild.
"Fine, we will help you out. So, what else is left on your list? I think I have quite a few drops from the silver wolf in my bag. Wait and I will hand them to you soon."
Mirai offered.
"Wait, I might have some of the rare drops on this list as well. If you pay me the in-game money, then I am willing to trade with you."
"Isaac, be merciful. Clement is trying his best here."
Isaac rubbed his arms where Mirai had pinched him. He did not get what the problem was when he asked for money. It was not like he was asking for real-life money here. Let me live a little."
Olivier watched as Isaac and Mirai fought over the ethnicity of exchanging goods for in-game credit.
He would have enjoyed his time with his team a lot more if he was not being spammed every five minutes by a persistent player.
It was the same player who had sent him that weird message yesterday.