BXBX NOVEL Chapter 180: Such Realistic Acting
A flash of the sword!
"Roar!!"
The dragon let out a piercing Wail of Anguish as the horn on its forehead was sliced off!
It was a wild creature, and a "dragon" at that, with extremely high base stats and various powerful skills. Yet, it couldn\'t even withstand a single move from a Hall of Valor\'s Trial Seeker!
The outcome was decided in one strike!
The dragon howled in pain and quickly fled...
It shot up into the clouds in an instant.
A crisis averted just like that.
The players, who had been suffocating under the dragon\'s legendary aura, collapsed to the ground, drenched in sweat!
They looked at Willis with expressions of extreme gratitude, even worship!
"So strong!"
"Is this the power of a full member of the Hall of Valor?"
"The leader of this Trial Seeker group is too strong. Could he also have an SS-grade talent or SS-grade profession?"
"This is what happens when a peerless talent joins the Hall of Valor? Their strength just skyrockets."
...
Everyone was filled with awe.
They were convinced that this young leader of the Trial Seeker group was definitely a peerless talent!
After all, through their interactions, they had learned that the young leader\'s name was Willis. He had only joined the Hall of Valor a year ago, yet his strength had grown to such an extent. It was terrifying!
The players present suddenly felt dwarfed by Willis\'s aura.
Originally, each of them was quite proud, as they were top talents in their respective regions.
But now, they felt that compared to the unparalleled Willis, they were far inferior!
"I don\'t have the ability to ascend to legendary status and overpower a legendary dragon in just a year."
"Even with the Hall of Valor\'s help, it\'s impossible."
Similar thoughts filled the players\' minds, their eyes full of reverence.
Seeing the expressions of the many players present, Willis merely smiled calmly, as if it was all just a trivial effort on his part.
"In the wilds of the Hall of Valor, there are often such little creatures eager to interact with you."
"If you lack the strength, I\'d advise you to stay in the towns even if you pass the trial."
His words were casual.
In Willis\'s words, a legendary dragon was just a little creature.
The players\' expressions shifted immediately. Such a powerful and domineering person!
Only Sterl frowned slightly, sensing a kindred spirit...
Although Willis appeared calm and collected, his tone and gaze made Sterl feel like this guy was purposely putting on a facade.
Without using any detection skills, Sterl relied solely on his intuition!
But when he quietly activated all his attribute boosts and used Star Insight, the information he received, combined with the attributes of the legendary dragon from earlier, made him show a strange expression.
Before Sterl could do anything.
Willis stretched lazily and said, "Alright, you guys can explore this world of the Hall of Valor for a bit."
"The town is just ahead, so I won\'t be escorting you further."
"Here\'s a tip."
"Entering here early is a small advantage for the gifted. You can seize this opportunity to train and enhance your strength. Better to prepare now than never."
"I have other matters to attend to, so I\'ll be off."
With that, Willis\'s figure swiftly disappeared.
But suddenly, he turned back with a smile and said, "Oh, right."
"I seem to have a small task on hand."
"The Hall of Valor encourages us to establish small player guilds. I have one myself; are any of you interested?"
"I need more members to level up the guild."
"Since it seems like fate brought us together, leading you into the Hall of Valor world."
"If you\'re interested in joining my guild, you can sign a contract with me."
After saying this, Willis displayed a prepared contract.
The players immediately focused their attention on it, and to their surprise, it wasn\'t a harsh contract. Players who signed it, if they could pass the Hall of Valor\'s trial, must join Willis\'s guild and could not leave without special circumstances.
The contract also detailed some obligations, like following Guild Leader Willis on instance runs to kill bosses whenever possible.
Meanwhile, the players would enjoy guild shop benefits and guild buffs.
It was pretty much the same as joining any other guild.
However...
The thought of having this peerless genius Willis as the guild leader made all the players\' expressions change. Following a top player would definitely be advantageous!
They even felt a sense of unexpected joy. If they could establish a good relationship with such a strong member of the Trial Seeker before the new trial, their future in the Hall of Valor would surely be brighter!
So, they eagerly surged forward.
"I want to join, I want to join!"
"It\'s an honor to be invited into your guild."
"Can I really join? I\'m willing to sign the contract!"
...
All the players were very excited.
Only a few were still hesitant. The players who had earlier mentioned Willis\'s name were not very enthusiastic.
They were also awed by Willis\'s terrifying power when he slashed the dragon with one strike, but to their knowledge, Willis wasn\'t a peerless genius before entering the Hall of Valor.
These people felt that if Willis was already this strong, wouldn\'t others be even more formidable?
Maybe they should wait until they formally entered the Hall of Valor to consider joining the guild?
Faye and Sterl, on the other hand, noticed something off.
Sterl, using Star Insight, discovered that Willis\'s legendary ability wasn\'t that strong. It was called Transform Light into Blade, formed from three eight-legend points skills, along with Willis\'s own S-grade talent and A-grade profession.
The dragon, as a dragon species, had base attributes comparable to some legendary elite monsters.
Without any buffs, Transform Light into Blade couldn\'t have so easily decapitated the dragon with one strike!
Instead, Sterl noticed that something was wrong with the dragon. His Star Insight revealed that the dragon was already in an injured state, marked with the debuff Broken Horn.
But when it first appeared, the dragon didn\'t have a Broken Horn, did it?
Sterl came to a strange and absurd conclusion: the dragon\'s horn was originally broken and somehow reattached. Then, it was conveniently sliced off by Willis at the exact moment it charged...
Coincidentally, the dragon, knowing its Broken Horn status, fled in panic after losing an insignificant horn!
"This... too many coincidences, right?" Sterl muttered.
He felt like he\'d uncovered the truth: "The acting was quite realistic."
Sterl felt that the dragon\'s appearance, getting slashed, and fleeing were all orchestrated by Willis.
"Willis probably staged this whole scene to set the stage for recruiting guild members."
"Why does he want to recruit people? Could it be that sacrificing guild members boosts his power?"
Having experienced the blood sacrifices of the Divine Mountain Empire\'s old emperor, Sterl was quick to think of such sinister plots...
Meanwhile, Faye, with Felicia being a demigod, also saw through the facade.
Thus...
Sterl and Faye exchanged a knowing glance: "Don\'t go!"
Though their voices were low, the players present were strong enough to hear them...
But Willis ignored those uninterested in signing the contract. He looked down on the enthusiastic players rushing towards him, dismissively waving his hand: "I\'m not taking any trash."
"Let me see..."
"You\'re no good! Get lost!"
"An A-grade profession and you dare to come? Your talent is mediocre. Get out of my sight!"
"Even if you show up, I won\'t let you join my guild if you lack talent and strength!"
"I\'m founding a guild, not a garbage dump!"
Willis\'s face was full of arrogance. Only a few players were allowed to sign the contract and join his guild, and they looked extremely grateful and excited.
But Willis himself maintained a look of reluctance, as if he was forced to take them in.
It wasn\'t until the young man with the SS-grade talent, who had previously explained things to Sterl and the others, hesitantly stepped forward.
Willis gave him a disdainful glance: "SS-grade talent, not bad."
"At least you\'re someone. Sign it."
"Once you\'re in the guild, we\'re on the same team."
He still wouldn\'t look people in the eye, as if even SS-grade talent barely met his standards.
However, Sterl sharply noticed a fleeting hint of joy in the corner of Willis\'s eye.
It was so brief, it almost seemed like a mirage.
But... the stronger and more talented one is, the more they can catch these fleeting emotions.
"Osmond, what are you hesitating for?" someone from the Trial Seeker who knew the SS-grade young man called out his name directly.
Osmond, recalling Willis\'s expression and the firm warning from the man and woman earlier—don\'t join this guild—felt something was off.
Seeing Osmond hesitate, some other players also paused.
No one here is a fool. All the players present are talented and capable heroes, top-notch individuals from various regions, who have emerged from a crowd of geniuses.
If other players are hesitating, they must have spotted some issues!
Many players looked at each other, and except for those who had signed the contract early on and whose faces were now uncertain, everyone else seemed a bit awkward.
Signing the contract might be a trap, but not signing it could offend this mysterious genius, Willis.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, they found themselves in a real dilemma!