The girl suddenly grabbed his arm. "Mister, how about you join my guild?"
Adder did not even bother to react and instead asked, "Which guild are you from?"
She paused for a bit and said, while laughing, "Actually, I have started my own guild. It is called Thorn Crown."
Rooney added from the side, "It's a direct subguild under the Blue Raven. Miss is the only daughter—"
She interrupted him. "Rooney."
Adder almost cursed aloud, barely maintaining his poker face. He could not believe that he was already dealing with people from the corporation faction.
In his past life, after getting kicked out of the academy, he came to learn the harsh reality of the game's guild system.
While on the surface there were hundreds and thousands of guilds, the harsh reality was that there were three factions that controlled all these guilds one way or another.
Even among them, the two prominent ones were the corporation guilds and the administrative faction. All the big and small businesses formed the corporation guilds that controlled the guilds through monetary sponsorship.
As for the administrative faction, it was mostly run by children of those with power. The likes of political leaders' children, as well as government elites' children.
Just the scene of how these two factions had destroyed him flared up a fire within his chest.
'Calm down, it's not time.' He quickly composed himself and asked in a flat tone, "So, miss, are you recruiting me for your guild or Blue Raven?"
At this, she burst out laughing. "Haha, you are a funny mister."
Rooney shook his head. "Do you really think one of the top ten guilds would recruit like this?"
Adder just stared blankly at them.
She waved at him. "Sorry, I did not mean to laugh at that. But hey, if you perform better, I could recommend you to the main guild, you know."
Adder just nodded and asked instead, "So what's your offer?"
At the mention of the offer, she instantly went quiet and scanned him up and down, all while slowly pulling him toward an empty alley.
The others in the group constantly shifted to cover the gap.
Adder just followed along without any resistance.
This seemed to ease her as she asked, "Mister, are you familiar with the standard player packages?"
Adder nodded. "If you are talking about the standard set price, then yeah."
She smiled. "Good. I see a lot of potential in you. To show my sincerity, I am willing to offer you a C-level package with added support and training benefits. If you perform better, I could even arrange special training from Blue Raven."
As if practiced, Rooney cut in, "Miss, that's too much for a beginner—"
One look from the girl, and Rooney went quiet.
Adder rubbed his eyes to hide his irritation. He did not know if she was joking or if these people did not even realize that he was not a beginner.
Now that he looked back at her, he noticed that she was not even missing a single finger.
Even the guys blocking him were mostly bulky. It must be them who helped her progress in the chain quest.
The more he looked at the group, the clearer it became that this so-called Thorn Crown guild was just a band of bodyguards playing the game to entertain their rich mistress.
Well, it was better this way. For someone like her, the witch's book was just a rare toy she wanted to get. It was far better than dealing with someone desperate to gain a unique class.
Instead of refusing, he took a deep breath and said, "Miss, it's an interesting offer, but I need a bit of time."
She frowned. "Did you find something missing in my offer?"
Adder waved it off and rubbed his eyes. "No, it's just I've been awake for too long. It's a big decision. Is there a way to reach you in real life?"
Finally, now that they were in a relatively empty alley, she stopped and let go of his hand.
She smiled at him. "Well, there is no problem with that. I like to have capable people in my guild. Though now that we have such a good understanding, how about you offer that book to the guild?"
This time, Adder pressed on. "Miss, I think you are doubting my intention."
She waved it off. "Oh no, not like that. I do trust you. It's just that I think you are not going to use the book. So why not sell it?"
Adder nodded along. "Miss, you guessed right. But as I said, I am really too tired right now. How about we talk about the book in the next meeting?"
Silence formed between them as Adder stared back, matching her gaze.
The others also shifted slightly, ready for any action. Even he was ready to pull out his sword and take at least a couple down with him.
Though she backed off. "Haha, mister, I trust you."
She turned to Rooney. "Rooney, guide the mister on how he can meet me."
Rooney bowed. "You can leave it to me, ma'am."
She waved at Adder. "Okay, mister, even I am tired. I hope to see you in real life soon."
With that, she mumbled, "Log out."
Adder saw her disappear before him.
The next moment, Rooney placed his hand around Adder's shoulder while nodding to the others.
With that, Rooney started explaining about their guild office, which Adder did not bother to focus on much.
As the others moved back, giving the two of them space, Rooney's tone suddenly turned cold near his ear. "Kid, don't try to be oversmart. It won't take Miss much time to know where you live. You have until tomorrow evening. Fail to show up, and don't blame us."
Adder just feigned fear under his gaze and mumbled, "I will be there by afternoon."
Rooney smiled and patted his shoulder. "Well, I hope to see you tomorrow."
Adder nodded. "Likewise."
With that, Rooney also mumbled, "Log out."
Adder took a deep breath as the others had already dispersed.
Not wanting to deal with any more trouble, he walked to the city road and mumbled, "Log out."