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Chapter 57 - Umbra\'s Tests

"Unless you like the smell of boob sweat, I’d advise you not to."

"That woman in the red robe was hot! I swear, there’s countable amount of babes that haver better proportions in this world."

"Yeah, but have you seen some of these NPC women? I feel like I’m in a novel where everyone is unrealistically attractive because they can."

"You watch too much anime, bro."

"Hentai actually."

"..."

While the fellows were discussing Sublime and Rina, the females were excitedly whispering about the males. Their voices were filled with adoration and adulation.

"I swooned so hard when I saw the guy in the monk robes. He’s so handsome~~"

"Yeah, but his handsomeness is too...eh. He looks like those boy band idols to me."

"That’s because you have shit taste actually."

"..."

"That tall buff guy with the mustache looks so refined and gentlemanly! I’m sure he’s from a noble family!"

"I’m not so sure... did you see the glint in his eyes? My elder brother, who loves to act like a hooligan, has that same gleam!"

"Girl, what is this about gleams and glints? Do you think this is some cheap we’re in?"

They too were in a heated discussion about what they just witnessed. Their maidenly hearts pounded with a variety of emotions. Maidens were believed to possess a fatal weakness to two kinds of men.

The first were the noble heroes who rode into battle while leading their men in a valiant charge, their golden hair billowing in the wind and their blue eyes gleaming with battle intent as well as the will to protect and save.

The second were the handsome devils who obeyed no laws and flirted with death. They were the ones who were hunted by the world but always stood on top, committing wild and unrestrained acts while being slightly aggressive to them s.e.x.u.a.lly, but within reason.

Kiran looked like the first and Draco was the second, but in this case his spot was stolen by Cobra!

All of this was referring to the bottom floor members in the crowd. The powerhouses were having a much different discussion.

"So, what’s the plan?"

"We should make our stance clear. We do not want conflict with Umbra but will not be stepped on by them."

"It might be hard to implement that. We’ll have to use soft and hard tactics. What does your guild think?"

"I agree. Right now, Umbra has the most solid foundation among us, as well as the strongest player currently."

"It costs nothing but a bit of dissatisfaction to bow our heads down."

"We aren’t actually bowing our heads, Joker. We’re simply compromising. Compromising on anything is a sign of maturity, you know?"

The one replying Joker was called Gentle Flower. She was a svelte maiden who didn’t have much in the way of assets, but her face was oval and pretty in a refreshing way. In her presence, one would not really think of her in a s.e.x.u.a.l manner, but would still love to see her smile because it was a pleasant sight.

Her eyes were light black and her long, waist length hair was a deep green color. She wore a simple sun dress with a flowery embroidery. It was as white was snow, just like her fair and smooth skin.

She looked a lot like the jade beauties described in various written media, and the males around her couldn’t help but marvel at his fact.

On her feet were a pair of sandals that wrapped around her ankles, adding to her fresh and clean look.

The one called Joker though, was a lot less harmonic. He had yellowish-purple hair that was slicked back neatly. His eyes were sharp and thin, giving the impression that he was a scheming sc.u.mbag. His skin was dangerously pale, and not in the supple and soft way that Gentle Flower’s was.

His face was long and narrow, granting him a bizarre handsomeness. His lips were mostly facing inward, making it seem as if they were extremely thin. This made his smile very eerie and gave one the feeling that he couldn’t be trusted.

He was tall but dangerously slim. He was fit, but his waist was tiny and his legs were long.

His attire was a yellow, long-sleeved short jacket that reached his stomach area. Underneath it was a plain black t-shirt that wrapped around his flat stomach. He wore tight fitting pants that were black as well and almost looked like they connected with his leather shoes.

Joker gave off the air of danger while Gentle Flower gave off the air of warmness and purity. The two stood side by side with the other powerhouses.

There was Noble Soul, who was a tall and buff fellow that looked like a fighter. His face was perpetually locked into an expression of determination, as if the very air was an enemy he had to overcome.

He wore medium armor like Draco, but with a non-custom design. He only had it painted red. A sword was attached to his waist on both sides, showing that he also had a similar class to Draco, the swordsman.

His skin was reddish-yellow and he had a thin mustache as well as a stubble on his chin. His light brown eyes burned with might, and his brown hair, which was cut into a fade, was neatly combed into a straight stand.

On the other side of these three was another fellow called Happy Scholar. He wore a magician’s robe that was slim-fitting and a gentle blue in color. There were no designs or sigils on the robe, making it rather plain.

He wielded a thin birch wood staff that had no gem on top. Instead, there was a strange and twisted plant there. His robe was without a hood, allowing his long and silky black air to fall down to his shoulders.

His face was elfin in nature, very angular and long. His jaws were gaunt and his eyes were oval and curved downwards. He looked like the pretty boys in most media aimed towards females, especially when he smiled in that gentle way of his.

(Authors note: Gentle Flower looks like this girl: /XBSdKtK, Joker looks like Hisoka from HxH and his attire is similar to Dio Brando, Noble Soul looks like Asuma from Naruto and Happy Scholar looks like Assassin from F/SN)

These four were the most notable characters of the powerhouses arrayed here. Gentle Flower led the Kamisuo Guild, Joker led the Myriad Cards Guild, Noble Soul led the Desecrators Guild and Happy Scholar led the Lorebinders Guild.

These guilds were top-tier establishments that had crossed over from the early FIVR games and they had a healthy history behind them.

Only Kamisuo had become one of the other Divine Guilds. The others had only been Legendary Guilds that were above everyone else but below just one. Riveting Night hadn’t paid attention to them as she came in because of her inner turmoil.

Happy Scholar had been the one to ask what the plan was and Noble Soul had replied with a firm expression. Joker had been the one to agree and state that they were bowing their head down while Gentle Flower had chastised him with a playful smile.

"Ah, well. You might be right, but it still stings." Joker whimpered with a pout.

"You play too much, Joker. Let’s wait and see how Umbra will handle their recruitment. They are the first guild and they didn’t bother to sign harveey contracts in the early game." Noble Soul replied with a look of chagrin towards Joker.

"We’re still in the early game though." Happy Scholar corrected with a gentle smile.

Noble Soul just frowned and looked away.

At that moment, the receptionist came out from the guild and posted something on a noticeboard near the gates of the building. She smiled at the crowd before walking back in.

Everyone’s words came to an abrupt halt when they saw that and their eyes were pinned to the notice that was just posted. As if controlled by a general, they moved forward in an orderly manner, inspecting the announcement when they were closer.

A screen popped up before them, detailing the requirements in order to enter Umbra guild. They were as follows;

- Players must be level 10 at the minimum to qualify for the basic test.

- Players must be level 10 and possess 3 uncommon combat skills in order to qualify for the advanced test.

- Players must be level 10, possess 3 uncommon combat skills and 1 rare combat skill in order to qualify for the expert test.

- Players must be level 10, possess 3 uncommon combat skills, 1 rare combat skill and possess a hidden class for the core test.

When players read this, their breathing stilled. This Umbra... what a good guild!

They truly lived up to their reputation! They took in everyone and tested them rigorously to allocate their standing, but the basic requirement alone eliminated a lot of people, leaving the elite few.

There were no details about the tests, or the kind of benefits Umbra had to offer. But who would question what Umbra could offer after seeing this Guild Hall?

If these players could see Umbra’s shop, they’d be even more convinced.

Of course, since Umbra had finally stated their criteria, and overwhelming number of people applied for the test.

327 players took the basic test. 123 players took the advanced test. 76 players took the expert test and 16 challenged the core test.

It may seem like a small amount, but that was only limited to those arrayed in the crowd here! Not to mention that only about 50% of players had hit level ten.

Once the news that Umbra had opened recruitment spread, thousands would attempt the tests on a daily basis. Especially since these current early birds would educate future candidates on the methods of testing one would go through.

In the basic test, a player named Hickory Bark spawned in a white room with no decorations. It looked like those rectangular rooms in movies where the protagonist would experience a spiritual moment.

A voice sounded in his ears as he gazed around in confusion.

"Welcome, Player Hickory. You have selected the basic test. You are required to defeat 5 enemies at your level in order to pass. Good Luck." A robotic female voice intoned.

Hickory was startled then skeptical. Just five enemies? Wouldn’t Umbra drown in new members by the end of the week? Fighting five enemies at the same level was definitely super challenging, but there were more than a few pros in the crowd who could do that.

Umbra should know that they weren’t like common guilds, who needed to make lax challenges for recruitment in order to attract players. Just by existing, everyone who wasn’t tied to a guild already wanted to join!

With this basic requirement, if 100,000 people applied, probably 10,000 would pass!

Boundless’ playerbase was increasing exponentially by the day. Could they really handle the fallout from this option?

However, Hickory Bark’s expression changed when his enemies spawned before him. He had expected it to be humanoid puppets with the same stats and class as himself, so that it would be a real test of a player’s skill and combat awareness.

He certainly hadn’t expected it to be five real humans with different classes that supported each other. One heavily armored tank, one ranged archer, one ranged mage, one cleric and finally, a single assassin.

This was an almost perfect team, which he had to face at the same time all by himself! His class was that of a mage too, meaning that he was in a tight pickle this time.

Hickory Bark realized his thinking had been too naive! Umbra was being too lax? Foolish! This was a test were even the easiest setting was harder than the hardest setting for some other guilds.

The bar of entry in terms of requirement was medium-low, but the bar for passing the test was at least, high-medium!

And that was just the basic test, ah! Hickory wondered what the advanced test was even like.

An archer called Sharp Shot would tell him that it was hell. He had paid for the master package, so he had gained three uncommon skill books which he had redeemed.

He had to face the same lineup as Hickory Bark, but the area around him was hazardous. He wasn’t in a white room, but rather a lava lake with only a few surfaces for him to stand on.

He had to simultaneously watch his surroundings and fight this perfect team, who seemed to be unaffected by the environmental hazard.

Sharp Shot felt that this was the worst the test could get, but then his heart went cold. If his was this bad, what were the fellows at the expert test facing right now?

Rising Tide would answer Sharp Shot that he was too young and needed to explore the world in order to understand the meaning of the word ’hardship’.

He was a Lance Knight, which was a heavy-armor, halberd wielding class that focused on attacking. His halberd was two-handed, meaning that he could not equip a shield as well.

Thanks to some dogshit luck, he had received a rare skill book in a drop while he was struggling to reach level 10.

The drop rate was abysmal, but it was still there.

Rising Tide was having to face a team of five perfectly aligned fighters in an environmentally hazardous region which was a toxic swamp. If it was just this, there would be no difference between the previous test and this one.

However, while Rising Tide was fighting those five, as well as avoiding various dangers, he also had to fend off randomly spawning monsters from the swamp!

It was hellish to survive these different types of challenges, much less defeating them all and winning in order to pass!

Damn! Were Umbra expecting to accept only the top 1% for real?

Rising Tide was gloomy deep down. He had thought that passing this test and entering Umbra would be a piece of cake, but he now realized that he was naive.

After entering, he would gobble up the benefits they offered and put in the required effort. Afterward, he’d leave them and strike out on his own!

Loyalty? He had no such inclinations! He only joined Umbra because they looked like a fat cow that was yet to be milked!

What a joke! Looking at the criteria Umbra had put down, it was clear that he was an elite!

Would elites serve others willingly so easily? No!

Rising Tide realized that he would have to go all out if he wanted to benefits he was seeking. He was thankful that he didn’t qualify for the core test.

That test... just how wicked could it be?

Rambunctious Buttlover would definitely describe it as being gangbanged by a bunch of muscleheads.

In the core test, he had to face a hazardous scenario, five members of a class-perfect team, a horde of ever spawning monsters while having to protect a fragile egg that prevented him from using both hands.

Rambunctious’ talent was stretched to the absolute limit and his brain and body felt overclocked. He wished he could throwaway the egg in his arms and fight normally, but if he did, it counted as an automatic fail.

For players in the expert test, their attention would be divided into 40% monster horde, 35% five NPCs and 25% environment. However for him, it was 60% fragile egg, 20% monster horde, 15% five NPCs and 5% environment.

It forced him to be absolutely mobile and incomparably careful when fighting. He had to measure the force he used in every attack and movement he made, lest he drop the egg or crush it against his body.

To do that he had to calculate ahead of at least, 2 moves in order to keep himself from being overwhelmed as well.

If there was a temperature gauge for his brain, it would be in the red zone at this moment.

As the tests went on, the powerhouses outside waited quietly. They didn’t guess or discuss what the tests would be like because it was pointless. They would be finding out in but a few moments, so why waste their breath?

The other players who didn’t apply though, were much less restricted by their own natures. They chattered away excitedly about what the tests for Umbra could be like.

The crowd became even more passionate when they saw a player coalesce into being in front of the estate. The player’s eyes opened slowly and his face was locked into an expression of neutrality.

When he turned around and saw the crowd, he shook his head and said;

"I took the basic test. None of you will pass."

After dropping that statement, he left resolutely.

Soon after, another person coalesced in being. He turned to the crowd and sneered. "What dog things are you all? Wanting to pass an advanced test This Daddy failed? Keep dreaming!"

He ran away before the crowd could beat him to a pulp.

Right after, another player arrived from the test. Unlike the previous two, he just spoke one word, his eyes looking like empty and drained husks.

"Hard."

Now, the crowd was less enthused and more concerned. Following the trend, that guy should be from the expert test right?

One more player returned, but this guy was one with a ferocious visage. He was buff and looked like the type who killed people for a living. Many in the crowd shook from his aura, and the expression of the four powerhouses became solemn.

This fellow could definitely give them a hard time!

They waited for his evaluation silently, but... none came!

The fellow stood stock still for a good while before falling to his knees as he burst into tears.

"Waaaaa!! It’s not fair!! It’s not fairrrr!!!"

F.u.c.k! What did that absolute BOSS go through that turned him into a sniveling cry baby???

(Authors note: I really hate chapters where I have to describe stuff because it takes time and research, especially when I need to make comparisons for you readers to get a good grasp on how they look. It’s why this chapter took so long.)

(P.S This King has increased my cultivation recently and attained the Dao of Foresight. This King has predicted that some intellectuals shall ask ’how come Joker and Gentle Flower look so unique compared to the rest?’ and to that This King says, do you remember the attire customization mechanic? It was exacty that.

Now such intellectuals might go further to ask ’but Draco paid 1000 gold to change one item, much less a whole attire’. To that, This King can only say ’friend, why in so much of a rush?’

How can you compare the price of changing an epic item to common items? Can you use the same money to customize a Buggati with what you’d use for a Hyundai?)

(P.P.S Kiran looks like Gilgamesh from F/SN. I noticed I failed to give a comparison for him earlier.)