“Guo just died…” Bo said, not sure what to make of it. “Shit. And Wally. Now Roj. Damn.” Bo exclaimed.

Zellin’s face paled as he looked at Liu’s shocked face. Is this what a xianxia MC is like? He wondered. Killing for the slightest annoyance? Is he really shocked or is he simply so ruthless and cold that faking shock for his victim’s deaths doesn’t faze him at all? Zellin was now looking at Liu like he was a completely different person, not aware whether this was an elaborate plot by Liu or a simple accident.

Also, Zellin wasn’t quite sure how effective his paralysis pills were, nor was he aware of how many Guo and his friends took at once. Zellin assumed that the effects of the pill would be to a paralyze a Level 10 for anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour, but in reality, the potency and the amount that was taken by Guo’s gang would make the time paralyzed be anywhere from 4-5 hours.

Plus, the fact that about 50 poison spider hatchlings weren’t killed in the dungeon clearing, and the fact that the poison spider hatchlings ended up in the room that Guo and his friends were paralyzed in could only amount to their incredibly bad luck.

“Ha-how did they die?” Liu asked with a slight stutter and an immense feeling of guilt. Liu didn’t intend on killing Guo and his friends for simply beating him and trying to rob him as he wasn’t that hateful, but the fact that they could of died as a result of him made him feel extremely guilty. This could basically be the first time he caused the death of another person, and as Liu was only a child, it would be an extreme blow.

“The notification says that they were devoured by spider hatchlings.” Bo replied with confusion in his eyes. “I wonder how that happened?” He said as he gave Liu a suspicious look. He had noticed the guilt in Liu’s eyes.

“I don’t know! How would I know!? Why are you asking me?” Liu responded speedily, making it obvious to anyone with eyes that he had something to do with Guo and his friends’ deaths.

“Relax, Liu. It’s not like I’m accusing you.” Bo responded consolingly. “Since the guild record says that they died from poison spider hatchlings, there’s naturally nothing we can do but accept it. People die every day, and it’s not our job to look into every death that happens. Right, Zellin?”

Zellin immediately got Bo’s meaning and was very grateful for it. Though his friend might be a ruthless killer, he was still Zellin’s friend. He couldn’t abandon him. “Right.” He replied. “Looking into every single death would be pointless.” Zellin said as he patted Liu on the shoulder, signaling him to calm down.

“Right…” Liu agreed slowly.

“Anyways, Bo, how ‘bout we get onto joining the guild already?” Zellin continued. He was very grateful to Bo, and assumed he would have a better time repaying his kindness if they were in the guild.

Liu’s eyes widened. I don’t want to join the guild! What if they find out I accidentally killed some of their members!? Liu thought to himself, not aware that the situation was pretty much resolved with Bo’s silence.

“We can do it now, if you’d like, since the guild leader is here. Would both of you be joining?” Bo asked, aware of the current predicament going on within Liu’s mind.

Liu looked to Zellin and watched him nod resolutely, before he calmed himself and also nodded his head. Liu’s been with Zellin long enough to trust that he thought this through. He had much more foresight that Liu was currently capable of.

Bo put the spider prince back in his inventory, and led Liu and Zellin up to the fourth floor.

Knock, knock. “Guild leader, I have some people here who want to join the guild.” Bo called out, interrupting the sounds of metal clashing against metal on the other side of the door.

“Come in.” A voice called out.

Bo opened the door and walked in with Liu and Zellin. The guild leader was standing in a wide room with another fully armored person, and seemed to be sweating. They must have been sparring… Zellin observed. Raising skill levels in this way was quite effective, and didn’t require you to risk your life.

“You’ve met Liu, and this is Zellin.” Bo introduced. “They wish to join the guild.”

“Hmm.” The guild leader expressed, seemingly not that interested. He raised his hand and played with some menu options, causing an invitation to appear before Liu and Zellin.

Liu and Zellin both accepted the invitation and received a notification saying that they have joined the guild.

“You’re a summoner?” The gaunt and pale guild leader suddenly asked.

“Yes.” Zellin replied with a nod.

“Are you interested in monster breeding? Our guild has some connections to the World Moderators, and it’s possible to make some money by selling monsters. Spider monsters are the easiest to make money off of, since a single spider egg sac can carry hundreds of spiders.” The guild leader said nonchalantly.

Zellin’s eyes widened in surprise. “Indeed, indeed. I do have a pet spider.” Zellin replied with repeated nods.

“Bring it out.” The guild leader responded. Zellin took out a habitat card and used his Summon skill to let Leggy out. Leggy’s body was currently about a meter long. “Hmm… Good, it’s a girl spider. Now all you need is a male.”

Zellin smiled mischievously. “Actually, guild leader. I believe Bo happened upon a spider prince of the same species.” Zellin informed the guild leader.

Bo again, let out a wry smile. This kid’s definitely going to end up taking both the spider prince and the spider queen’s energy core… Bo thought to himself.

“Let it out.” The guild leader ordered.

Bo opened his inventory and let out the spider prince. It was much smaller than Leggy; about a quarter of Leggy’s size.

The spider prince immediately noticed Leggy and drew near to her, before beginning to dance around in a circle around Leggy.

Zellin raised an eyebrow, but the guild leader gave them a signal to stay quiet.

The dancing seemed to continue on endlessly, and Liu and Zellin couldn’t help but let out sighs of boredom. About an hour later, the dancing stopped, and the spider prince climbed up Leggy’s legs from underneath. It rested underneath Leggy’s abdomen, upside down, and began touching Leggy’s abdomen.

This went on for quite some time until the spider prince collapsed onto the ground. Leggy backed up and looked at the spider prince for a moment before suddenly lunging towards the spider prince and biting her fangs into the spider prince’s head. It wasn’t long before the spider prince’s whole head became devoured.

Zellin’s eyes widened in shock and confusion. The guild leader simply shook his head. “What an arrogant spider prince. The mating dance ritual only lasted about an hour. If it was truly sincere it would have lasted at least several more hours.” The guild leader said in disdain. “When the spider eggs hatch, let me know. I should be able to get you several hundred gold. Of course the guild will take a small percentage.”

“Guild leader.” Liu suddenly called out. “What are World Moderators?” He asked, after holding in this question for a whole hour.

The guild leader looked at Liu for a moment, questioning whether he should even bother answering before sighing and responding. “They are responsible for the cultivation of all the people in the world. They manage the guilds and colleges, and they provide monsters for us to kill; and sometimes, the higher level World Moderators can even cause disasters to control the human population. They basically make sure that the Grand Game runs smoothly. That’s all I’ll say about the World Moderators.” The guild leader explained. “Now get out. You’ve wasted enough of my time by causing spiders to copulate in front of me.”

After that Bo, Liu, Zellin, and Leggy hurriedly left. Outside the door, Zellin turned to Bo and smiled, extending his hand. “The energy core, please.” He said smugly.

“What, you still want the energy core after killing my spider prince?” Bo replied. “If you want, you can give me 50% of what you earn from selling the spider hatchlings, and I’ll give you the energy core.” Bo negotiated with crossed arms.

“What? 10 percent.” Zellin responded, also crossing his arms, unwilling to lose out on the exchange.

“40.”

“15.”

“30.”

“20.”

“25. Any lower, and it’s not worth it.” Bo responded with frustration. This little kid is really ruthless. If there wasn’t a possibility of these two leaving the guild, I wouldn’t even bother. Bo thought.

“Fine. Hand it over.” Zellin replied, once again raising his hand.

Bo let out a sigh, before opening his inventory, and retrieving a small, pink, gem-like object and handing it over. Zellin immediately fed it to Leggy, who, after eating it, lied on the ground and began to glow with a white light.

Several minutes later, the glow faded and some pink was added to the colors on Leggy’s abdomen. Zellin checked Leggy’s information screen and saw that she turned into a Level 5 Poison Spider Elite.

“Thanks, Bo.” Zellin called out with a triumphant smile.

In another part of the city…

“Hmm… Your friend is quite stingy. I like him. Keep close to that one.” A hulking, bearded man, dressed in silk said with an amused smile. He was seated comfortably in a recliner chair, with an image of Zellin hovering above his hand. “I’m pretty sure this kid set up the murders of those three child thieves as well. That scrawny kid couldn’t possibly have done it by himself. He’s pretty ruthless and calculating for such a young kid. You can learn quite a lot from him, little one.”

A look of doubt appeared on Coral’s face. “Dad, I don’t really think he’s like that. His character is much more like a lazy person who doesn’t take anything seriously. Though, deep down he’s very sensitive. Unfortunately, this makes him try less, lest the pain from failure is too much.” Coral responded with an unusual amount of insight. If Zellin knew how much Coral saw through him, he’d likely never be able to look her in the face again.

“No, Coral. You’re much too naïve. This kid is clearly a wolf in sheep’s clothing; an expert killer. Luckily for you, he’s the sort who’s loyal to his friends, and he’s a descendant of the Kui Demons of the east.” The hulking man reproached Coral, before nodding his head and saying, “I’ve decided. You are to be betrothed to this child.”

Coral’s eyes instantly widened in shock. “Father! Don’t speak without thinking! Zellin’s like an older brother to me! How could I have feelings for him?” Coral urgently spoke out. Though she didn’t necessarily reject the idea, she was very hesitant.

One part of her wouldn’t mind being with someone who she liked as much as Zellin, but she truly had no romantic feelings for Zellin at all. Also, she was much too young to really have those feelings for anyone.

“Of course we must test his character first.” The man said, ignoring Coral.

Coral could only shake her head at her father’s eccentricity. He most likely decided this on a whim.

Later that night…

Zellin and Liu walked into the large living room of their huge mansion. The instant they entered, soft sobbing sounds could be heard. Zellin looked to see Coral on the couch with her head in between her knees, crying softly.

“Yeah, Zellin, you should handle this. You’re her only-slightly older Big Bro. Go on.” Liu said, patting Zellin on shoulder before leaving the room.

Zellin let out a sigh. He had never seen Coral like this before, so he wasn't quite sure how to handle it. Though he would never say it, seeing Coral like this stirred up some pain in Zellin’s heart.

Zellin approached Coral and placed his hand on her head. “Come on, little one, tell me what’s wrong.” Zellin says with a sigh, a little reluctant to play this role.

Zellin took away his hand as Coral lifted her head, revealing her tear-stained eyes. “It’s nothing, Zellin. It’s just that my father wants to ruin my life.” Coral replied in a badly feigned casualness, revealing her annoyance with her father.

“Go on.” Zellin said, crossing his arms and preparing himself for the possibility of a long whine session.

“My father wants to marry me off to some spoiled noble’s son, without even considering what I want.” Coral continued with a pout.

“Is he really that bad?” Zellin asked with a raised eyebrow.

“He is! He’s the worst! He’s lazy and inconsiderate, and his only ambition is to become a super mage without even trying!” Coral spoke out in an exasperated manner.

“What an a-hole!” Zellin exclaimed. “Why would your father marry you off to such a bastard?” He asked in an oblivious manner.

“I don’t know.” Coral said slowly, helpless. “Apparently, he’s a descendant of a great immortal clan in the far east.”

“That’s no excuse to be a douche.” Zellin replied without thinking.

“What’s a douche?” Coral asked, confused.

“Ugh, nothing really. It’s a cleaning utensil of sorts...” Zellin explained awkwardly.

Coral raised an eyebrow in confusion, before letting it go and lowering her head slightly. She then looks up to Zellin with her wide, sparkling eyes, to say, “But there is a way you could help…”