Chapter 52
Name: Lu Chuan (ID: Arrival of the God of Wealth)
Age: 22
Charm: 85/100 (You’re close to becoming a heartthrob in the eyes of players.)
Stamina: 90/100 (After dungeon enhancements, you’re basically superhuman.)
Speed: 80/100 (Consider raising this further?)
Intelligence: 91/100 (Your smarts have won broad recognition.)
Luck: ??? (Suspected extraordinary interference; indeterminable.)
Sanity: 62/100 (Your excessive anger raised your sanity a bit.)
Achievements: God-Slaying Lord; Lord of the Golden Tower; Bewitching Gambler (title); No. 2 on the Newcomer Ranking List; 100% dungeon completion rate; all dungeons rated S or above; Extreme Evil Loan Company VIP.
Skills: Eye of Wealth; God of Wealth’s Currency
Items: Please check carefully within the system.
Wealth: … ?1053 g of gold.
Lying on his hospital bed, Lu Chuan reviewed his current game results.
Thanks to Number 9, “Flesh and Blood Apartment” cleared smoothly, and because his contributions there were indelible, the dungeon cheerfully awarded him an S+ rating. His Newcomer Ranking had risen to second, surpassing [Hand of Rebirth] and [Messiah], now trailing only [Eye of Rebirth].
But strictly speaking, it wasn’t bad either.
Because [Eye of Rebirth] had already cleared five dungeons. The only reason she was still sitting at the top of the Newcomer Rankings was that she hadn’t gone on to the sixth dungeon yet. Once she did, she would naturally drop off the list.
By then, Lu Chuan would naturally take the number one spot.
Mm, time for a proper break.
[Host, are you saying… you won’t fight for first place, but plan to wait until you’re automatically bumped up?] #888 couldn’t quite understand. Lu Chuan was already second now—only one dungeon short. As long as he cleared another one, it was practically guaranteed he’d take first place.
But Lu Chuan was planning to stop and rest.
“If I rush into another dungeon now just to take first and kick [Eye of Rebirth] off the board, what good would that do me? Other than earning another big wave of hatred from the Resurrection Guild, it’s useless. Let her step down peacefully, I step up peacefully—we both win, we’re both number one. Isn’t that great?”
In the adult world, not everything was black and white. A win–win was the best outcome.
On the other hand, people who had to fight over every little thing and crush everyone under their feet… they never got far.
Besides, he had just cleared the dungeon with Lilus. That girl’s younger brother was still lying in the next room. If Lu Chuan immediately turned around and stomped on Lilus’s sister, knowing Lilus’s personality, the next time they met in a dungeon he’d probably go all out just to drag Lu Chuan down with him.
Was that necessary?
Better to sell the Resurrection Guild some goodwill.
Sometimes, you had to look at the bigger picture.
#888 felt enlightened. Humans really did think things through more carefully in matters like this.
“It’s a pity I only got one rules-type item, and its range is too small.” Lu Chuan sighed as he rubbed the blank room card in his hand, a little wistful.
That blank room card was undoubtedly the key item used to clear [Flesh and Blood Apartment].
As long as you wrote a rule on it, you could become the owner of a certain room in the apartment.
When he wrote on it, Lu Chuan had considered that if it became a dungeon reward, he might not be able to change the rule later.
So at the time, he wrote: ‘Anyone staying in the room cannot use player abilities or items.’
Just in case—that was his plan.
Unexpectedly, the system really had given him the card.
The good news: it was indeed a rules-type item, and an S-rank one at that.
As long as Lu Chuan slotted the blank room card into a room in any dungeon, then inside that room, players couldn’t use abilities or items.
The bad news: the card only worked for one room.
But for someone like Lu Chuan, who was planning to build an entire housing complex, at best this was just one office space.
Useful, sure. But not that useful.
Sigh.
Not to mention whether the others had gotten cards like this— even if they had, even if Lu Chuan bought all of theirs, it would still be just a drop in the bucket.
Instead, he was already down 1,000g of gold. No matter how he looked at it, he’d lost out.
Lu Chuan sighed helplessly.
No, he really needed a bigger team.
When would he ever succeed relying on himself alone?
Once he got back, he’d start building his own squad—post some bounties, search for more rules-type items.
After all, items were always a matter of luck.
“System, don’t just sit idle. Didn’t I earn a lot of points last dungeon? Hurry up and level up, try to get me an attack skill.” Lu Chuan said seriously.
[Host, just one dungeon’s worth of points isn’t enough to unlock an attack skill.] #888 thought this was a bit too hard.
“Then upgrade some other function, and I’ll grab an attack item myself.” Lu Chuan said casually. “The last thing I’m lacking now is items.”
Worst case, when forming his team, he’d just recruit more attack-oriented players.
[Alright, Host.] #888 agreed readily.
While Lu Chuan was here pretending to recuperate, outside things were exploding.
Shen Li hadn’t expected Lu Chuan to make much of a splash in a rules-type dungeon anyway—just surviving honestly and tagging along would’ve been fine.
At best, maybe getting beaten down by [Hand of Rebirth] so he’d realize there were still many young elites out there not weaker than him.
Yes—Shen Li had thought Lu Chuan was a little too arrogant.
That time when he spoke so provocatively to the Vice-guildmaster, declaring he’d be the next Guildmaster—if not for the Vice-guildmaster’s good temper, he might already be paying his respects at Lu Chuan’s grave. At other times too, he’d drawn plenty of hostility; only that silly girl Starry Shasha idolized him so blindly.
Shen Li had just hoped Lu Chuan would learn there’s always someone stronger, and pick up a bit of humility.
But he never expected—Lu Chuan’s ranking rose again.
He had surpassed [Hand of Rebirth] and [Messiah], shooting straight to second place.
And with [Eye of Rebirth] about to drop off the list, that meant Lu Chuan would soon be first.
Good grief. He had become the “someone stronger” himself.
Shen Li already felt a headache coming on.
Now, nothing could stop Lu Chuan.
“You guys in the Star Guild have such a genius, why aren’t you happy?” Mei Xue, lying on her hospital bed, couldn’t resist teasing.
“Don’t tell me you’re worried about your position being threatened.” Gu Quan’an’s left eye was wrapped in bandages, but his right could still see—though he had to squint or everything blurred.
The three of them had known each other for years, and had deliberately chosen a quiet place to talk.
Along the way, they also discussed what happened in [Flesh and Blood Apartment].
“I think we must’ve encountered an Executor, because of the landlord couple causing the dungeon mutation.” Mei Xue wasn’t new to this kind of thing, so she quickly pieced it together.
“I don’t know which Executor it was this time, but the personality was decent—he even knocked us out before handling things.” There was a trace of relief in her voice. “If it had been one of the more hot-tempered ones, they wouldn’t have cared what we thought. They’d have acted directly, whether or not our sanity got corroded.”
To high-level players, the Burial Squad weren’t strangers.
Dungeon mutations were common. As long as you didn’t die instantly, you could usually hold out until an Executor came to erase the anomaly.
But Executors came in large numbers, and their personalities varied wildly.
Most, however, disliked taking on human form—or rarely held it for long. So if a player accidentally came face-to-face with one, it was possible they’d lose control of their power and mutate, only to be erased as part of the anomaly.
But ordinary players rarely had access to such knowledge.
This time, just fainting counted as a stroke of luck within misfortune.
“Another Executor?” Shen Li couldn’t help thinking of the one at Li Family Village. But that time had only been an avatar, while this was the real body—and the dungeon level was different too. It was unlikely to be the same one.
Still, what kind of luck did Lu Chuan have, to meet Executors two times in a row?
“I’m not worried about anything else—I’m just worried Lu Chuan’s getting too much attention.” Shen Li was nearly pulling his hair out. “Looking at you two, I know that if you’d had the chance, you definitely would’ve targeted him.”
Friendship was one thing, positions another.
That was unavoidable.
“True enough. Didn’t you once want to go after [Messiah] too?” Mei Xue admitted without hesitation. “But it’ll be harder now. Your newbie doesn’t know the meaning of restraint. Even [Hand of Rebirth] got nothing from him.”
“Yeah, and he even went straight to deal with the loan shark company. Honestly, if he hadn’t kept pressing, the landlord couple might not have mutated at all.” Gu Quan’an chimed in. “Your Star Guild’s got some skills, recruiting a newcomer this strong.”
Shen Li could only laugh bitterly. “Easy for you to say. Do you know how much pressure I’m under?”
“If you’re under pressure, our Noah Guild doesn’t mind. How about a transfer?”
“Our Abyss Guild could take him too.” Gu Quan’an added sincerely. “I could even trade you a few strong newcomers for him—you wouldn’t lose out.”
“If you’d said that a month ago, I might’ve considered it. But not now.” Shen Li shook his head firmly. “The Vice-guildmaster has already sent word—he’ll support Lu Chuan as our guild’s next guildmaster. I’m not only his mentor, I’m his guard. From now on, if you want to go against him, that means declaring war on the Star Guild itself!”
At that, Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an were both stunned.
Wait a second.
Wait, wait, wait.
Something didn’t sound right here.
“Don’t tell me the rumors on the forums about Lu Chuan being your vice-guildmaster’s illegitimate son are true?”
“That can’t be. If anything, he’d have to be your guildmaster [Polaris]’s illegitimate son.”
“Your guildmaster hasn’t even shown up, and you’re already naming the next guildmaster?”
These days, picking the next guildmaster wasn’t that simple.
First, the candidate had to be on the Master Rankings.
Second, they had to be recognized by the current guildmaster, and get support from more than half the guild members.
Because once players reached the Master Ranking level, they were barely human anymore. Even just clearing a dungeon could take ten or twenty years—and if they were careful, they could stay youthful for a hundred, even two hundred years!
Therefore, the birth or succession of a Guildmaster is a major event that happens at most once in a hundred years!
After all, a president is already one of the top players, and no one knows how long they’ll live. Even if you decide on the next president early, it’s useless—because it’s possible that all the chosen successors die off one after another, while the current president is still alive.
Although the [Polaris] president hasn’t shown up for a long time, it shouldn’t be time yet to decide on a successor.
“Our president hasn’t appeared in ages, and I imagine yours is the same. In fact, historically, by the later stages, presidents of major guilds almost never show up in reality anymore—they spend all their time in dungeons instead.” Shen Li paused before continuing, “For you, it doesn’t matter. You still have a strong core group to support the guild. But our guild can’t wait any longer.”
The Star Guild was already on the verge of collapse, still living off past glory.
But the reserves would run out sooner or later, and they needed to reform successfully before reaching the point of no return.
Right now, the vice-guildmaster could barely hold things together, and he was more skilled at internal management than sweeping reforms. The mid-level leadership was weak and disjointed; apart from Shen Li, only a handful of capable players remained.
“What about your [Greedy Wolf Star]? Isn’t he your guild’s highest-ranked player on the Master-Rank Leaderboard aside from the president?” Mei Xue frowned. “If you need to name a new president, wouldn’t he be more suitable?”
“Absolutely not!” Shen Li’s expression turned stern. “If he becomes president, that’s when Star Guild will truly collapse. I absolutely do not approve of his methods of clearing dungeons.”
Mei Xue and Gu Quan’an only mentioned it in passing.
After all, they knew perfectly well what kind of person [Greedy Wolf Star] was.
The fact that Star Guild had turned into a nest of opportunistic veterans was, in no small part, due to the bad example he had set.
At the same time—
In a room a few doors down.
Lilus struggled to sit up, trying to put on a show of bravery, but the people beside him pressed him back down.
Across from him sat a silver-haired girl with a black cloth tied over her eyes, silent and still.
Although her hair was a different color, a closer look revealed plenty of resemblance between her and Lilus.
Her features were more delicate, more feminine—that was all.
This was undoubtedly [Eye of Rebirth], Cynthia.
“Big Sis, I… I dropped in ranking.” Lilus lowered his head, crestfallen.
This had been his last run in a rules-type dungeon. He’d planned to push past [Messiah], but instead he slipped in rank.
Now, even if he went again, he’d already fall off the Newcomer Ranking List.
For their Resurrection Guild to rise, they could only rely on [Ashes of Rebirth].
“It doesn’t matter. Noah and several players from Abyss Guild are about to age out too. They’ll drop off the list soon.” Cynthia shook her head. “The Newcomer Ranking is just a stage for newcomers to shine. One batch after another. It doesn’t mean much.”
It was only because their batch was so strong that it drew more attention than usual.
The real test was the Master Ranking List.
That was what they aimed for.
Two hundred slots, every one a legend.
Of course, not every legend had once topped the Newcomer Ranking List.
Clearing dungeons, after all, required not only strength, but also luck.
“Boss, this time you ran into an Executor. The fact that you only got injured is already fortunate.” One of his companions tried to console him. “Leave the rest to Big Sis.”
“Yeah, Big Sis is only a few dungeons away from breaking into the Master-Rank Leaderboard. Becoming the youngest player on it is far more impressive than anything on the Newcomer Board.”
“It’s fine, Boss.”
One by one, they offered words of comfort.
But Lilus wasn’t really cheered up. All he wanted was to be alone with his sister.
“You all go first.” As twins, Cynthia could easily read even the smallest change in her brother’s expression.
Though her eyes were covered, the black cloth was like the Star cloak—it suppressed her ability, but didn’t blind her.
“Yes.” The others quickly took their leave.
“Lil, what do you want to say?” Cynthia tilted her head slightly.
“Sis, Lu Chuan is strong.” Lilus thought for a moment before speaking. “He might be your greatest opponent. Even though he’s lying down too, I remember he fainted later than me. I’ve encountered Burial Squad before, but the one this time must’ve been at least high-god level—probably top twenty.”
Lilus and Cynthia’s parents had been wiped out by Executor Number 13.
Even their Guildmaster [Undying] couldn’t stop it.
They both remembered vividly how terrifying Number 13 had been.
The guildmaster had barely managed to save their lives, and he’d been badly injured in the process. Number 13, however, revived even after being killed.
That was true immortality.
“But we only ever saw Number 13, and we were too young then to gauge their real strength.” Cynthia shook her head. “Even if higher-ranked Burial Squad show up, we can’t deal with them. The ones who really killed our parents weren’t the Burial Squad—it was the game system. The Burial Squad are just the main god’s blades.”
When players and NPCs paired off romantically, as long as it didn’t disrupt the dungeon, the system might turn a blind eye.
But if children were born—and players tried to use them to disrupt the game, causing repeated anomalies—then the system could not allow it.
“But—”
“Enough. Focus on recovering. The coma from Executor energy can’t be healed with items, only time. Your job now is to restore your body.” Cynthia cut him off. “Leave the rest to the guild. When you’ve rested, tell me everything about the dungeon in full detail. Don’t skip anything. For now, rest.”
“…Alright.” Lilus could never refuse his sister.
Besides, she was only worried about him—what was there to resent?
Meanwhile, Lu Chuan had truly made a name for himself.
When he recovered enough, the Star Guild sent a sizable group to welcome him.
A newcomer ranked second, soon to become number one.
It had been a long time since their guild had seen such a figure. Usually, the top newcomers came from other guilds, while Star could only watch enviously.
Now, they finally had reason to be proud.
Though Lu Chuan’s reputation in the guild hadn’t been great before, seeing him about to seize the top spot changed everything.
There was a huge gap between fourth and first (or rather, soon-to-be first).
So many wanted to greet him on his return that they even squabbled over who’d get the chance. Everyone wanted to show their face in front of the guild’s new rising hero, hoping he might call on them in the future.
Even the veteran troublemakers who used to hassle him had gone quiet.
Lu Chuan looked destined for the Master-Rank Leaderboard.
Better to mend fences now, while it wasn’t too late.
Lu Chuan hadn’t expected his popularity to skyrocket overnight.
Even though he hadn’t yet secured a rules-type item that could expand to cover the whole district, some players were already contacting him, hoping to buy homes in his territory.
For them, spending some money just to get acquainted with Lu Chuan was well worth it.
When he was discharged, the place was packed with players eager to see him.
Originally, he’d wanted to meet with [Messiah] and [Eye of Rebirth], but that plan had to be postponed.
Ah well—too popular to manage.
At least it gave him an excuse to get moving again.
He’d had enough of lying in bed.
Who knew why, with healing items available, they’d kept him in the hospital this long? Players were just overly cautious about Burial Squad.
Personally, he didn’t think Number 9 was the sort of person with a bad temper.
Meanwhile, inside Noah Guild.
In a room, a beautiful boy held a divine tablet in his hand, hesitating between destroying it or not. He put it into the flames of a fire-type item, but before it burned, he pulled it back.
[My Messiah, I want to see you.]
Words appeared on the tablet.
The boy didn’t reply.
Soon, more words frantically appeared:
[Come to me]
[Come to me!]
[You are my apostle, body and soul!]
[Messiah!]
[Messiah!]
…
Author’s Note:
Lu Chuan: “If we can both win, why bother trying harder?”
