NOVEL NEXT Chapter 76: The Second Guild Rises
Three elite Shadow Minions, each capable of dealing over 300 points of magic damage, made Ryan's 1,300-plus health feel dangerously flimsy.
He still hadn't equipped any magic resistance gear. That meant he couldn't absorb even a single point of incoming magic damage—not ideal when your enemies specialized in it.
"Guild leader, we cleared Boss 1 too!" Smoking Gun messaged, sounding jubilant. At the time, Ryan and his group had just cleared about half of the Shadow Minions in their path.
"Nice! Watch yourselves before Boss 2. Those elite Shadow Minions hit hard—each strike does at least 300 damage," Ryan replied with a grin. He was genuinely pleased that the second team had cleared the first boss. If every team in the guild could become self-sufficient, they'd see far better results when it came time for raid dungeons.
"Over 300? Holy crap, how many of those things are there?" AJ shot back, clearly panicking. With just over 800 HP to his name, he'd be down in two hits.
"Each group has three Shadow Elementals. Their damage output is consistent," Ryan explained, half chuckling at AJ's reaction. "They deal magic damage—it ignores armor. Doesn't matter if you're a tank or a cloth-wearer; the numbers stay the same. You should pull two and let someone else handle the third."
"Don't you guys have a Hunter?" Ryan added. "Have the pet tank one. Your healer can focus on keeping you and the pet up. Even if the pet dies, another class can pick up the slack. Just don't try to tank all three at once. Trust me, it won't end well."
"Ohhh, got it. Thanks, Boss! You're a lifesaver!" AJ replied, then posted to the guild chat:
"Hey Boss, is this ring any good? It looks way better than my +1 stamina ring."
Ryan saw the message and immediately scowled. His jaw tightened.
—
Flexible Slime Ring
Binds when picked up
Level: 15
Quality: Uncommon
Effect: When you take physical damage not exceeding 200 points, you have a chance to ignore the attack.
—
"It's excellent," Ryan typed, forcing the words out. "Best-in-slot for tanks."
Players were still obsessed with raw stats, so AJ saw the ring's passive effect and dismissed it as junk. To him, it was just some quirky gimmick. In a dungeon setting with a dedicated healer, why would he need to ignore a weak hit when he could just stack more stamina?
But Ryan knew better. This was one of the few early-game tanking artifacts with a genuinely powerful passive. Watching AJ casually compare it to a garbage +1 stamina ring made Ryan's blood boil.
Still, he couldn't say what he really felt—not without sounding petty. The ring was better. That only made it worse.
Suppressing a sigh, he asked, "AJ, how many small pouches did you get in the starting zone?"
"Huh? Small pouches?" AJ blinked. "Only three. Why?"
"No reason. Just... admiring your good luck." Ryan exhaled slowly, shut the guild channel, and said to his smirking teammates, "Alright, let's move."
AJ watched the channel close. The boss hadn't said much, but that abrupt exit said everything.
Turning to Smoking Gun, he said, "He just left. Think the ring broke him."
"Haha, told you my luck's been good since the starting zone," Smoking Gun laughed, falling into step with the others as they continued deeper into the dungeon.
Since Featherlight Guild's Flowing Light had announced that two teams had already cleared the first boss, the forums were buzzing. Dozens of guilds scrambled to assemble elite squads, each hungry to carve their names into dungeon history.
Though this dungeon was only part of the early leveling path, most players in major guilds weren't overly interested in it. Their focus was elsewhere—on reaching max level before anyone else.
The race to level 40 had taken on a life of its own. Everyone believed the first player to reach it would unlock a new Glorious Achievement. So, aside from sending a few members to test dungeons, most guilds kept their top players grinding quests and mobs out in the wilderness.
Still, the number of guild players entering dungeons was staggering. Entrances across the map were swarming. Full teams packed in like sardines, while countless solo players shouted for groups, hoping to get even a taste of the dungeon experience.
It was in the midst of this frenzy that Sky Dragon Roar walked into the Goldmine Town inn, flanked by several core members of the Sky Dragon Family.
He approached the local NPC, spoke a few lines, and then—like a signal—an emerald glow surged from the ground beneath him, rose slowly over his body, and faded into the air above.
That glow wasn't just for show. It signified a Reputation Level Up.
Sky Dragon Roar had just hit the Honored reputation rank.
And that meant one thing: he now met the qualifications to establish a guild.
The second official guild in the game was about to be born.
As the forums buzzed with their usual heated chatter, a new post suddenly climbed to the top of the board. When players logged in, they noticed it right away:
'Sky Dragon Family Recruiting Talents – Guild Already Established!'
At first, the post barely made a ripple. After all, recruitment threads popped up by the dozen every day. But when curious players clicked in, what they saw made their jaws drop—the Sky Dragon Family had already formed their guild in-game.
It was explosive.
Up until now, only Featherlight Guild had earned enough reputation—via their early Glorious Achievement—to establish a proper guild. No one else had even come close.
Suddenly, someone recalled the quiet group that had first cleared the early dungeon and unlocked the Abandoned Mine. They had made a splash early on, but since then had stayed off the radar, their name buried beneath flashier headlines.
But now, the Sky Dragon Family—silent but calculating—had played their hand. While other guilds chased XP and showy achievements, Sky Dragon Roar had been quietly stacking reputation.
And now? They had struck.
The second guild in the game was theirs.
The forums went wild. Players who'd been discussing Featherlight Guild and their so-called elite teams suddenly had a new target of interest. Sky Dragon Family wasn't just another guild. Their launch was grand, their recruitment aggressive, and their timing perfect.
More importantly, they were a threat.
Even some of the larger guilds started to feel uneasy. Featherlight might've been first, but they'd kept a low profile. Sky Dragon Family wasn't interested in subtlety—they wanted dominance.
Meanwhile, back in the dungeon, Ryan stood before the final boss.
A towering figure of shadow loomed ahead, its body rippling like black smoke under pressure. Dark energy pulsed in waves from its form, and its many eyes shimmered with a dim, hungry light.
"Alright," Ryan said, his voice steady, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Up next is the final boss of this dungeon—Despairer Hughesman. A Shadow Elemental Lord."
He raised his weapon and gave a nod.
"Let's end this."