Yan stared, dumbfounded, at the messages Zhen Bupo and Ivan had sent across the world channel.
‘Why are the two of you promoting An Ruina’s guild recruitment across the entire server?’
‘And what in the world is [Queen’s Royal Guard]… Could An Ruina really be calling herself a queen?’
‘No, no, no, no matter how I think about it, those two must have insisted on that name. Though it does sound cool and fits An Ruina’s image perfectly…’
Yan’s mind was a whirlwind of complaints as he pressed a hand to his forehead in exasperation.
‘And why did they start recruiting so simply and openly? It makes my own cautious approach seem out of place…’
‘Oh, well, never mind.’
Yan looked at the world channel again, finding it already flooded with excited messages from players.
****
“Is it true? *That* An Ruina?”
“The Queen’s guild! I’m the first to sign up!”
“I watched her matches; An Ruina is so cool! I’m her fan!”
“I’m off to register with Ivan first. You fake fans can keep shouting on the world channel.”
“[Iron-Blooded Queen]’s guild! If you join, you’ll be able to admire the Queen’s heroic valor from up close!”
“[Queen’s Royal Guard]! Yeah!”
****
Yan watched the incessantly scrolling messages on the world channel, a twitch playing at the corner of his mouth.
He could already imagine Ivan’s friend requests exploding.
Yan had anticipated An Ruina’s guild would be popular, but he had never imagined it would reach such a level of popularity.
‘Well, it’s not entirely incomprehensible. An Ruina’s reputation precedes her, after all. The [Iron-Blooded Queen] with her elegant rapier—it’s incredibly thrilling for players in this game, most of whom are young men.’
A woman who was cool, powerful, elegant, and beautiful—who wouldn’t feel admiration for her?
‘It looks like the [Queen’s Royal Guard] guild is about to expand significantly…’
Yan thought, smiling wryly.
[World Channel]
[Ivan: Ah, thank you to all the players for your enthusiastic applications. The first batch of 300 players selected to join has been filled. [Queen’s Royal Guard] will temporarily cease recruitment. We ask for your understanding. As for those who applied through me but were not selected, please wait patiently for the next recruitment drive.]
****
‘300 people!?’
‘Already full!?’
‘In such a short amount of time?!’
Yan furrowed his brows, an expression of utter disbelief on his face.
‘No way…’
‘Has it only been a minute since Ivan and the others posted their recruitment message? And so many players have already signed up?’
Yan realized he might have genuinely underestimated the game’s popularity.
The storm on the world channel showed no signs of abating, with players who hadn’t managed to sign up still complaining.
“Seriously? Only 300 people this time? I didn’t even get a chance to apply…”
“Why not recruit more? There are so many players across the server without guilds right now. It wouldn’t be right for only me and 299 other brothers to join the Queen’s Guard (proud).”
“Ah, those lucky ones who got into the Queen’s Guard.”
“I didn’t even get to add Ivan! How fast are your hands, you guys?”
“I want to join the Queen’s guild too!!!! I’m heartbroken.”
‘Good heavens, does this mean if the Queen’s Guard recruited without limit, they could instantly become a super guild of thousands?’
Yan scratched the back of his head, watching the messages scroll across the world screen, his mind wavering in indecision.
‘Perhaps… taking advantage of this opportunity…’
‘Should [White Cloud Snow] recruit a few people too?’
While he was still deliberating, a new stir arose on the world channel.
[Hayata Midori: [Sword-Light Master] Xiao’s guild—[Three-Chi Ming] is recruiting new members! We also have the formidable additions of [Poison Maiden] Hayata Midori and [Finisher Mage] Fei Yi~ A guild with three beautiful girl champions, don’t you want to join? Welcome to add me as a friend to apply for membership~ Spots are limited, first come, first served~]
[Fei Yi: Wel… welcome to apply to join the [Three-Chi Ming] guild. Interested players can add Little Green as a friend to apply. Of… of course, adding me is also fine. The first batch will recruit 300 players.]
‘Hey, hey, don’t go calling yourselves beautiful girls…’
Yan looked at these two messages, a wry smile on his face.
‘Good heavens, they’re directly using such titles to attract players?’
‘Ah, speaking of which, Xiao’s guild really does have an unusually high proportion of powerful female players…’
‘Xiao, Hayata Midori, Fei Yi… among the first four members, only Guan Ying is a guy…’
‘It’s giving off harem protagonist vibes, making one envious… no, not envious… no, it’s truly an awkward situation.’
Yan observed a moment of silence for Guan Ying, feeling a tiny bit of sympathy…
Just a tiny bit.
Yan gave a helpless smile, not bothering to look at the world channel. He didn’t even need to think; their popularity probably wouldn’t be much less than An Ruina’s.
He tilted his head slightly, a complex look in his eyes, turning to An Dong seated to his right at the long table.
“Hey, hey, don’t look at me with that ‘why aren’t *you* a beautiful girl player’ gaze. Even if you look at me like that, I can’t just gender-bend on the spot!” An Dong complained, curling his muscular body into his chair with a feigned look of fear.
“Hahaha, never mind. Brother An Dong is good just the way he is.”
Yan briefly imagined An Dong in women’s clothing, the sheer bulk of his frame giving Yan a slight shudder of repulsion, and he said this with a laugh.
He then cast his gaze around the others, noticing that everyone was looking at their system interfaces, expressions of wry amusement on their faces.
Sure enough, they were all keeping an eye on the world channel’s developments.
“So, getting back to the main topic, should our guild also recruit players on the world channel?”
Yan sought their opinions.
“Since there are already guilds setting an example for us, we could also learn from them and control the number of players we recruit.”
“Are you talking about posting a recruitment message on the world channel? I’ve already done it.”
Nan Shi, seated to Yan’s right, slowly lifted his head, gave Yan a quick glance, and stated this.
“Huh?”
Yan hurriedly looked at the world channel.
[Nan Shi: [Spearmaster] Yan’s guild—[White Cloud Snow] is recruiting 300 players. Everyone is welcome to apply enthusiastically. Please add me as a friend to register.]
“Hey, hey, you could at least discuss it before posting…”
Yan looked at Nan Shi helplessly, saying this with a bitter smile.
“And your recruitment message is just so unappealing…”
Hearing Yan’s words, Nan Shi frowned, looked up at him, and showed a puzzled expression.
“Do you have anything presentable that could attract players?”
****
‘Now that he mentions it, not really…’
“No, that’s not… well, even so. Can’t you say it a little less bluntly?”
Yan stammered in protest, his words fumbling.
“No.”
Nan Shi stated unequivocally, then lowered his head again, seemingly engrossed in replying to messages.
“Pfft.”
Lian, seated to Nan Shi’s right, couldn’t help but let out a giggle, seemingly amused by the playful banter between Yan and Nan Shi.
‘Oh, well… never mind.’
Yan didn’t bother arguing with Nan Shi. He looked at the world channel, curious to see how players would react to his guild’s recruitment.
“Huh? [Spearmaster]’s guild? What’s there to say? He’s not a beautiful girl.”
“Exactly, it’s boring. But the 5% attribute bonus is quite tempting.”
‘Seriously… why are you all so fixated on beautiful girls?’
Yan gave a bitter smile, raising his hand to type on the world channel.
[Yan: Who said our guild doesn’t have any? We have [Divine Eye Archer] Lian.]
“Holy crap, the [Spearmaster] replied to me personally? No way.”
“This must be the first guild leader to personally come out and recruit, right?”
“Of course. The recruitment messages from the other two guilds were too embarrassing to read. The guild leaders are just ‘collateral damage’ (TL Note: A Chinese internet slang term, ‘tang qiang,’ literally meaning ‘lying down gets shot,’ referring to someone who gets unintentionally caught up in an incident or becomes a victim of circumstances.), how could they bring themselves to say it themselves? LOL (TL Note: A Chinese internet slang term, ‘233,’ representing laughter, similar to ‘lol’ or ‘hahaha.’)”
‘Huh?’
Upon hearing this, Yan suddenly realized he seemed to be the only guild leader who had personally come out to post a recruitment message.
‘Oh no… doesn’t this make it seem like I have no dignity, like I’m lowering my status?’
In reality, Yan simply lacked the self-awareness of a major guild leader who would prioritize maintaining their image and status.
“But [Spearmaster] Yan seems quite approachable, no airs. It feels like it could be an interesting guild. That settles it, I’m going to apply for [White Cloud Snow].”
“Hoo-hoo, I’ve already signed up, one step ahead of you all.”
‘Well, it seems posting the recruitment message personally isn’t without its benefits after all…’
Yan smiled wryly, continuing to observe the reactions on the world channel.
“Speaking of which, was that true? [Divine Eye Archer] is in the [White Cloud Snow] guild!?”
“Ah! Is it Sister Lian? I watched every one of her matches! She’s so cool, solving everything with a single arrow!”
****
‘It seems Lian’s popularity isn’t much lower than An Ruina’s either…’
After all, she was a divine archer capable of instantly killing opponents with a single shot, and she was as pure and beautiful as a flower on a high mountain peak. It was no surprise she had a fan base.
Yan smiled faintly, looking at the world channel.
[Lian: Thank you for your support, but I didn’t defeat [Phantom Assassin] with a single arrow in the finals, so I may have disappointed you.]
Yan couldn’t help but lift his eyes to look at Lian beside him.
‘To think that the seemingly aloof Lian would actually reply to a fan’s message on the world channel.’
‘Well, she must be doing it for [White Cloud Snow].’
Thinking this, Yan smiled faintly, a hint of gratitude rising in his heart for Lian. He looked at the world channel once more.
“Ahhh! Sister Lian replied to me! WSL (TL Note: A Chinese internet slang term, ‘wsl,’ an acronym for ‘wo si le,’ meaning ‘I’m dead,’ used to express extreme excitement or adoration)! I watched the finals too! Even though Sister Lian didn’t finish it with one arrow, that ‘triple jump’ off the stage and then turning back for a [Piercing Willow Shot] was also incredibly cool! It doesn’t matter if it wasn’t one arrow!”
[Lian: Haha, thank you. All players are welcome to apply to join [White Cloud Snow]. Those interested, please register with Nan Shi.]
[An Dong: Welcome, brothers, to [White Cloud Snow]. If you want to join the guild and make friends, go register with Nan Shi!]
‘These two guys.’
Yan looked at the messages they sent, a faint smile playing on his lips.
[Yan: Everyone is welcome to join the [White Cloud Snow] guild. While I can’t promise anything else, as long as you join, everyone will be good friends adventuring together. [White Cloud Snow] will be our shared home.]
To Yan, for a full-dive game, a guild should inherently embody such an image.
Warm, stable, filled with many wonderful people.
It should make adventures in this full-dive world, which was incredibly close to reality yet fantastically magical, feel less lonely.
That, in itself, was enough.
[Hayata Midori: The first batch of 300 players for [Three-Chi Ming] has been filled~ Thank you for your support~ But I apologize, for the remaining applicants, you’ll have to wait until next time~]
[Nan Shi: The first batch of 300 new recruits for [White Cloud Snow] has joined the guild. Thank you to all other players for your enthusiastic applications. Please look forward to the next recruitment drive.]