Chapter 7: Joining a Guild

The “Sea God’s Sincere Stone” is like a lie detector. 

With the blessing of the Sea God’s power, if a user places their hand on it and lies, the stone will change color. 

Awakened individuals are registered here and recorded; only those with sufficient power and influence can access these records.

Sules nodded and stood up, but her mind was already churning.

Should she really reveal this ability?

“Heart of the Sea God” was definitely a top-tier captain’s talent, but the problem was… it was too powerful. 

“Heart of the Sea God,” the Sea God’s heart. 

Just by hearing the name, such an ability would be astonishing on Mercury.

Sules understood the proverb, “A tall tree catches the wind.” 

If she revealed this ability, what kind of uproar would it cause? 

Could she protect herself in such a storm?

Sules wasn’t sure.

By then, she had reached the “Sea God’s Sincere Stone,” and the staff motioned for her to place her hand on it. 

Sules took a deep breath, pressed her hand onto the stone, and said, word by word, “As long as the materials are sufficient, I can make my ship upgrade automatically.”

That’s right, Sules chose to use wordplay to misrepresent her captain’s talent. 

What she said was indeed true; she could use the system to automatically upgrade her ship.

But this was not her captain’s talent.

And the automatic upgrade of a ship was inherently illogical; to outsiders, only a captain’s talent could achieve this effect, so they naturally wouldn’t delve deeper.

As expected, seeing that the “Sea God’s Sincere Stone” didn’t change color, the staff member nodded, recorded the ability, and encouraged Sules, “That’s a good ability. May the Sea God bless you, child.”

Sules thanked him politely and then left the Sea God Temple. 

As soon as she exited, she was immediately grabbed by Claire, who had been waiting anxiously outside, “Sules! What ability did you awaken?”

Sules smiled: “Automatic upgrade. I can automatically upgrade my ship if I have the materials. No human effort required, and no time wasted.”

She had no intention of telling Claire the truth. 

Even though Claire’s loyalty to her was a hundred percent, with this kind of secret, the fewer people who knew, the less danger there was. 

Besides, regardless, now was not a good time to tell Claire.

Of course, this ability was already quite surprising. 

Claire covered her mouth and said in astonishment, “Automatic upgrade? That ability is too good! It perfectly solves the problem of our ship’s current lack of manpower.”

***

Since they needed to find a backer anyway, their conversation wasn’t intentionally hidden from others. 

Everyone around who had been paying attention to each awakened individual heard Sules’ captain’s talent, and immediately, a small guild leader rushed over to recruit her.

“Hello, Captain. Our Reid Guild has always offered great benefits and subsidies to newcomers, especially promising young… “

He hadn’t finished speaking when he was immediately interrupted by another person who came up, “Young Captain, don’t listen to him. Their guild is dirt poor and specializes in swindling newcomers like you. Come to our guild. Although we can’t compare to the Albatross Guild, our foundation is still pretty good. And our guild has less competition, so newcomers can also get a lot of resources.”

At that moment, a haughty voice came from behind them, “Quiet down, everyone, move aside, don’t delay people’s prospects.”

Immediately afterward, Sules saw a man in a white uniform push through the crowd.

She, of course, recognized the uniform; it was the Albatross Guild’s uniform.

The man who arrived was a fat person, with an oily face, a mustache, and a middle part in his hair. He painstakingly squeezed through, pulled out a handkerchief that didn’t look clean to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and then began to scrutinize Sules up and down.

After a moment of appraisal, he said in a condescending tone, “You, our Albatross Guild has decided to approve your joining.”

Hearing this arrogant tone, Sules couldn’t help but frown. 

It was true that the Albatross Guild was very powerful, there was no doubt about that. 

But was it really appropriate to adopt such a condescending attitude towards a promising new captain?

She didn’t know what others thought, but Sules was definitely uncomfortable. 

She had been in a high position for so long that she had almost forgotten the faces of those people when she was still a financial novice who knew nothing. 

Now, looking at the fat man in front of her, she actually felt a long-lost sense of familiarity.

Sules hesitated on how to respond.

Although she was somewhat dissatisfied with the other party’s attitude, joining the Albatross Guild was indeed the best choice. She was a very realistic person; she couldn’t let emotion override rational judgment.

Sules thought for a moment and politely asked, “By the Sea God, what are the benefits of joining the Albatross Guild? I haven’t been ashore before, so I’m not very familiar with these things.”

The fat man’s eyes immediately showed disdain when he heard her say she hadn’t been ashore, as if he was looking at some bumpkin, “Haven’t been ashore, huh? No wonder you’re so ignorant. You know our guild is the strongest guild in the East Sea, right?”

Sules nodded.

“As long as you join our guild, almost no one in the East Sea will dare to provoke you. Our guild will arrange a small fishing area for you, and once you become stronger, we’ll arrange exploration missions. Now, quickly come with me to register over there, don’t waste time. If your ability wasn’t barely passable, someone like you wouldn’t even have a chance to enter our guild.”

Honestly, if it weren’t for the compelling circumstances, Sules really didn’t want to compromise.

But looking around, the other small guilds that had wanted to recruit them had already left, completely lacking the courage to compete with the Albatross Guild.

In this situation, she definitely couldn’t join another guild. 

And given Sules’ current circumstances, she truly couldn’t afford not to join a guild. 

After all, they currently had no money and no power, and two pretty girls would find it very difficult to survive in this dangerous East Sea.

Thinking of this, Sules pursed her lips, composed her expression, and followed the fat man.

Claire, behind her, naturally sensed Sules’ reluctance and patted her shoulder, silently comforting her.

Claire also felt uncomfortable with the fat man’s tone, but there was nothing they could do; for now, they had to bow their heads to circumstances.

The so-called registration involved writing down one’s name and ability on a member registration form, and then being granted a guild emblem under the Sea God’s witness. 

The purpose of this emblem was twofold: first, to indicate identity, and second, as a restriction—wearers could not harm fellow guild members.

This ability was actually designed for players engaging in guild wars in “Return to Navigation,” effectively preventing accidental friendly fire.

As for leaving a guild, there were two ways to do so. 

One was to follow formal procedures, which required a lot of paperwork and a considerable withdrawal fee.

The other, naturally, was to betray the guild, performing actions that went against the guild’s interests during one’s membership, leading to the guild master judging one as a traitor. 

Such individuals would certainly be ostracized by their former guild, and in most cases, would be scorned by everyone.

Why “most cases”? 

Because at least in the East Sea, such rules were not strictly enforced. 

In fact, many East Sea people were inherently opposed to organizations like guilds that restricted freedom, so they naturally didn’t care about betrayal or similar matters.

Moreover, the East Sea was a chaotic place, rife with evil and disorder.

Let alone a small act of betrayal, no one would be surprised if someone blew up the entire East Sea.

This was also why Sules was eager to join a guild for protection. 

It was too chaotic here; it was truly difficult for people without power or influence to survive.

Of course, despite this, generally no one would still want to betray a guild, especially a large one like the Albatross Guild. 

Because just by offending them, it would be hard to survive in the East Sea.

But why was Sules thinking about betrayal now? 

Because it was already her decision; in the future, once she had enough power, she would very likely choose to betray the guild.

Many things could be seen from the details. 

The fact that this large guild sent such a person to recruit newcomers indicated that there were already problems within the guild. 

Once issues in such a large guild were exposed, it meant that it was already largely rotten from within.

She lowered her gaze, hiding the deep thought in her eyes. 

When she looked up again, her expression had returned to its usual composure.

The Sea God’s witness was simple; Sules only needed to recite a passage.

“Under the witness of the Great Sea God, I, Sules Sulia, voluntarily join the Albatross Guild, to create benefits for it, in mutual benefit.”

After swearing the oath, she received an emblem, round in shape, with a pattern of waves and an albatross silhouette. 

Sules quickly put it on, indicating that she was now a member of the Albatross Guild.

After putting on the emblem, Sules leaned closer to the fat man and secretly slipped ten copper shells into his hand. 

The fat man was well-versed in this practice; he weighed them in his palm and then subtly pocketed the copper shells.

Although he seemed to disdain the ten copper shells as a small tip, the fat man was very satisfied with Sules’ perceptiveness.

With a very official tone, he began, “Very good, now you are a member of our Albatross Guild. After recruitment ends, you and the other recruits will first return to our branch with us. We will arrange a fishing area for you, as well as an introduction to your abilities.”

Sules smiled and nodded, pointing to Claire beside her, “This is my crew member. I bought some things at the market on the continent. Can she go to the pier to pick them up first?”

This was naturally not a problem. 

After receiving an affirmative answer, Sules turned to signal Claire not to worry, letting her go to the ship first. 

Claire hesitated, then nodded, “Then be careful yourself.” 

With that, she turned and left.

***

Not long after, several more people successively stood behind her; all were awakened captains with good talents and promising potential. 

At this moment, a small gasp suddenly came from inside the Sea God Temple. 

Because Sules was closer to the temple entrance with the Albatross Guild team, she heard it very clearly.

One should know that at this time, only one awakened person could enter the Sea God Temple at a time, besides the clergy. 

And one awakened person could not make the sound of so many people. 

So this sound must have come from the clergy.

And for them to suddenly gasp, the awakened person inside must have awakened some remarkable ability.

Almost as soon as they heard the sound, everyone near the entrance couldn’t help but crane their necks, wanting to know what exactly had happened. 

Sules could clearly feel the fat man next to her body tense up, his expression also somewhat agitated.

Clearly, he also knew that the person inside must be some kind of genius, otherwise the clergy wouldn’t be so shocked. 

If such a genius could be brought into the guild, he, as the introducer, would also receive a considerable reward.


Sules was equally curious about what talent that person had awakened. 

The clergy here had seen countless captain talents; for them to be surprised, it must be an incredibly powerful talent.

Perhaps it would take her “Heart of the Sea God” talent to achieve that effect.

A short while later, the person inside came out. Sules looked, and oh, it was an acquaintance.

Indeed, it was the red-haired tsundere young master who lived in the same inn as her. 

She still remembered his name—Aiden Alvis.

When the young master came out, his expression was as usual, very arrogant.

Combined with his slightly tilted head, he looked a bit pampered.

But having seen his tsundere nature before, Sules only felt that this person was like a cat that wanted praise but had to appear arrogant to maintain its image.

Just then, Alvis walked past Sules.

At Sules’ height of one meter sixty-eight, her gaze could only reach his shoulders.

Hmm… still a red Maine Coon.