Newbie's Quest: Awaiting Challenge

In the world of the White Tower, the number of dungeons is uncertain, a mystery yet to be unraveled by anyone. Once conquered, these dungeons vanish, only to be reopened if left unconquered, offering limitless attempts. Periodically, a new batch of dungeons emerges, each with varying levels of difficulty.

For the major guilds, these dungeons are crucial-they're arenas for accruing points, acquiring advanced weaponry and followers, and climbing the competitive ranks. Veteran guilds seldom chance upon a dungeon randomly. Instead, they meticulously gather intelligence, run simulations, and conduct thorough assessments before choosing their next challenge, thereby maximizing their chances of success.

Dungeons selected by these prominent guilds are usually marked on-site. Although these dungeons are open to all players, the sight of a mark, especially from a top twenty guild, often gives others pause. The marked dungeons are notoriously challenging; the unprepared may unwittingly become mere data points for the technical teams of these elite guilds, with their return being anything but guaranteed.

These marks are discreet yet visible on-site, invisible on the online map, as overt territorial claims are frowned upon in the guild community. However, among the top twenty guilds, there exists a unique map showing the crests of guilds that have marked a particular dungeon. Once marked, it's an unspoken rule among these guilds to respect each other's claims.

No one wants to stir conflict unnecessarily, except for deep-seated rivalries like those between Wanshi and Jiuding, where raiding each other's marked dungeons is fair game. This map meant for the eyes of guild leaders and vice-leaders only, is now in Alex Johnson's hands. His intentions in sharing a portion of this map with Ethan Walker are as clear as day.

"There's always something valuable in a marked dungeon. It might be dangerous, but with your exceptional skills, Ethan, it should be no problem," Emily Johnson says with excitement, barely containing his envy.

Ethan Walker, having finally grasped Emily's disjointed explanation, lights up with understanding. "Why don't you join me?"

"No, no, that's not possible," Emily declines with a pained expression, ruffling his thick hair. "Alex strictly forbids us from raiding other guilds' marked dungeons. It's against the rules. If I dare, he'd skin me alive and display it at the guild entrance." Ethan shivers at the thought of Alex's deceivingly warm smile and Emily's grim description.

Yet, the allure of a marked dungeon is not just in its tangible rewards, but also in the psychological satisfaction it brings. With frequent friction among the guilds, who wouldn't relish the opportunity to outmaneuver a rival? "Ethan," Emily suddenly looks at him with a gaze filled with hope, "you have to plunder Emerald Tempest Guild to the last coin. I won't respect you otherwise."

"Don't worry," Ethan replies, the allure of mischief sparking in his eyes, "I won't disappoint our guild's expectations!"

The two conspirators huddle over the map, excitedly plotting their first target.

Meanwhile, at Emerald Tempest Guild, Ethan's unsuccessful negotiations leave Isabella Martínez pleased and James Mitchell's reprimands noticeably shorter. Henrik Jensen, seeing Ethan as a mere pawn to suppress, speaks little. He harbors no personal grudges against Ethan but intuitively senses trouble brewing around him. Keeping Ethan at bay is paramount, a lesson learned from past experiences at high-ranking guilds.

As the storm rages on, James Mitchell finds himself the most unfortunate player of the evening. After enduring hours of scolding from the guild's leaders, he returns home late at night to a cold reception from his teammates.

James lies in bed, scrolling through his messages, feeling the looming isolation as he prepares to leave Emerald Tempest Guild. Just as he's about to clear his messages and sleep, a new message vibrates his phone. It's from his sister, inquiring about his well-being and proudly sharing her perfect test score. Her neat handwriting fills the screen, bringing a rare, genuine smile to his face. He assures her of his pride and promises a weekend outing, only to be met with her understanding and self-reliance.

As he struggles to find the words to tell her about his impending departure from Emerald Tempest Guild, his phone vibrates again. It's another message, pulling him away from his dilemma.

Upon seeing who the message was from, James Mitchell bolted upright in his bed. It was from Ethan Walker!

"Hi James, it's Ethan. Sorry to bother you so late at night..."

The ellipsis on the screen indicated Ethan was still typing, causing James to wait in a mix of anticipation and anxiety, his palms sweating.

"Could you send me the internal training plan of Emerald Tempest Guild's first team?"

James was baffled and unsure of Ethan's intentions. Internal plans were confidential, and not to be shared with outsiders. Torn between refusal and the inability to reject a request, James hesitantly began to type a response. Before he could send it, another message popped up.

"James, that wasn't me just now. It was someone else being mischievous. Don't mind it."

On the other end, Ethan was playfully hitting Emily Johnson with a pillow, chastising him for the prank. "Don't make trouble!" he exclaimed. Emily, pretending nothing happened, casually flipped through a book upside down. Three minutes later, another message from Ethan arrived.

"I wanted to give you a heads up. The next week might be tough for you. You might face slander and rebuke. Just endure it, it'll be okay."

Confused, James replied with a question mark. He couldn't fathom why Ethan was sending such cryptic messages. What did he mean by expecting rebuke?

Tormented by Ethan's odd messages throughout the night, James had a restless sleep. Waking up with dark circles under his eyes, he found Emerald Tempest Guild in an uproar. His roommate was furiously cursing. "That Ethan Walker, he's gone and breached our stronghold!"