Endless Evolution As A Skeleton In A Game-Like World

”What?” The disbelief in Ark’s voice was glaring. If the vice master’s goal from the very beginning was to poach him, what was with the rough welcome?

”I have heard a lot about you. You managed to escape the maws of a grave keeper worm, one that we now presume dead. You made your way through a forest filled with monsters alone...”

”Mind you, most students failed to get through that forest even with a full party. That alone is worthy of accolades, but you did not stop there did you?”

He smiled. ”You got to the tower and single handedly defeated two boss level monsters, before taking the head of the king.”

The Vice master began to clap. ”Impressive.”

Ark gave him a blank stare. ”Those so-called boss level monsters were weakened. Soo-jin and the others had already landed critical blows.”

”And the king?”

Ark would have frowned if he could. He was already missing his human expressions, but there was no beating this poker face...

”I was lucky.”

The vice commander burst out into laughter. ”Luck is winning 100 credits on the lottery after investing only ten. But this... this is by no means luck.”

Ark sighed. ”You’re reading too much into this. It was a tutorial boss, we were meant to be able to beat it. Why is it so shocking that it was defeated?”

”Because we both know that it was no regular tutorial.” The smile on the vice commander’s face was very disturbing.

Tristan grabbed the tray of food in front of Ark and placed it in front of himself. ”I assume you won’t be needling this any longer?” He said as he popped a cookie into his mouth.

”I was going to take those to go...”

Tristan raised a brow. ”And?”

”Put it in my fridge.”

”I see...”

Crunch!

He practically inhaled the next cookie. ”Do you know the difference between the top rankers and the regular herd? We top tankers are extraordinarily.”

He pointed a cookie—Ark’s cookie—at him. ”You are extraordinary, Ark.”

Tristan redirected his gaze to the cookie, with a flick of his wrist, the cookie vanished.

”But even diamonds can vanish if they get mixed up with the muck.”

He began chewing. When did he pop the cookie into his mouth??

”So what exactly are you saying?”

Tristan’s tone turned serious. ”I am saying that with us, you can actually reach that latent potential inside you.”

Ark mulled over his words for a few seconds. There were many advantages to joining the association.

For one, they had been in the business for a very long time. He would be properly trained, and would have access to precious materials like ichors and skill stones.

But...

”Wouldn’t I get the same treatment in one of the top five guilds? I am sure you are not the only one that has found me extraordinary...” Ark said in a steady tone.

Technically, he had already been scouted by Soo-jin. There was a high chance that once he was fully registered, the offers would start flying from all directions.

Tristan smiled in response, but Ark could tell that he had struck a nerve.

”You can join them of course... well, if you wish to become a dog that is....”

Strangely, the atmosphere grew colder. There was certainly bad blood between the vice commander and the top five guilds, but Ark felt it was safer to stay clear of that topic.

”I can’t give you an answer right now.” Ark replied honestly. ”At first, I wanted to go solo, but I don’t really think that will work out...”

One of the core precepts of Eden was team work.

It was not that Eden lacked insanely overpowered individuals, it was simply impossible to clear larger dungeons and towers alone.

That was why guilds were formed and why they were an integral part of Eden.

You needed a strike force to clear the monsters, an exploration and documentation team to uncover any hidden secrets, a mining team to collect mana crystals, and a clearance team to collect monster corpses...

All of these were things he could not do alone. Well... except you stuck to clearing only small dungeons. But that would only stagnate your growth as a player.

”Although I no longer plan on working solo, but I can’t say I have decided on what guild or group to join.”

There was Fable, which seemed like the best choice considering Soo-jin’s offer. There was Harrow, which was more receptive to the undead, and there were even smaller guilds that would allow him rise up to power much quicker.

But none of them felt right.

He bowed curtly. ”Thank you for your offer, and for seeing me in person, Vice Commander, but I will have to refuse.”

Tristan sighed deeply. ”I see.... No matter, the door will always be open in case you change your mind.”

Ark nodded and stood up. ”Thank you.”

”I must leave you with a warning though. You should be very wary of shady people offering you tremendous power...”

He got up to walk Ark to the door.

”There are a group of people trying to stir trouble in both Eden and the real world. Just like the guilds, they are secretly recruiting talented individuals to build their forces.”

’A underground organization?’ Ark thought.

There were many cults already existing in Eden. For this one to have caught the eye of the vice commander, it must have been serious.

”Is this about the Evernight?” Ark asked.

He nodded and stayed silent.

It was just as Ark had feared. Who were those lunatics, and why would any sane person want to involve themselves with the Evernight?

”Is that it? Aren’t you going to tell me more?” Why was the vice commander edging him?

He shrugged. ”It is confidential association information. Last I checked, you were not a member of the association. But hey, if you were to change your—”

”Thank you once again, and good bye.”

The vice commander laughed. ”Well it was worth a shot.”

”Player Ark...” He paused briefly. ”Can you assure me that you will be careful?”

Ark waved his hands dismissively. ”Don’t worry about me, sir. Despite my appearance, the last thing I would do is join a cult.”

”Ah, but you seem to have misunderstood me. I was never really worried about you joining.”

There was a specific group of people they targeted, his warning had just been to fulfil all righteousness...

The vice commander leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper, as though those words were not meant to be heard by anyone else.

”Those they cannot recruit, they destroy.” His smile broadened, the corner of his lips nearly touching his ears.

”You will do well to be mindful of that~”