“Mhm… right, you only got fragments,” Max muttered, remembering that Aya had mentioned it earlier.Apparently, the others had only managed to obtain fragments of the Talent Upgrade Crystal. Max had been far luckier. He had received a complete crystal as a reward for securing Rank 1 on the Leaderboard during the first cycle.His second crystal had come after he became the first Guild Leader.After Max explained this to Riyah, she could only accept that upgrading a Talent was not going to be easy.At the moment, she had only two fragments. If remaining among the Top 20 Survivors was her only way of obtaining more, she would need another three months just to gather enough.“I hope there’s another method to get them.” She muttered.“I’ll let you know if I find something related. Maybe the Reputation Store will sell one someday.” Max said.He considered it a reasonable possibility. The Reputation Store already offered system-related items such as the Guild Expansion Token, so there was no

After almost six hours of travel, with only a couple of short breaks along the way, Max and his team finally approached Blackreach City.The first thing they noticed was the enormous wall surrounding the city. It stretched across the horizon, enclosing an area so vast that they could barely make out its full size from where they stood. The sight immediately lifted their spirits.“That’s the city, right? We’re not wrong this time for sure!”“It doesn’t look like a ruined city…”“I can see some lights.”“This is amazing… It’s a huge city and it must be filled with hundreds or thousands of humans. Why is it not being attacked?”Max nodded as he listened to Riyah. “You’re right… That’s huge… it looks like it could hold tens of thousands inside.”Aya studied the walls from their position. “Walls that tall… they’re not just for show. I wonder how they’re defending against the A.I. Army…”Max had no answer. They had spent days dealing with ruined settlements, machines, and desperate survivor

Max looked at the guard and recognized him as one of the men who had checked their levels with the Status Crystal earlier.After thinking for a moment, he reached into his pouch and brought out the Invitation Token. The guard accepted it carefully and examined the markings carved into its surface.His eyes narrowed slightly as he studied the details. At first, he seemed to recognize the token, but that recognition quickly turned into caution.’Mhmm? Is this token special?’ Max mused.Then the guard whispered something under his breath.“This… this comes from the Aries Faction.”Max was still processing those words when the guard quickly handed the token back to him.Without saying anything else, the man gave a single nod before stepping away and hurrying off.Max blinked in confusion.He had no idea why the guard had reacted that way. Then he remembered Cornelio’s earlier reminder about the different factions operating within Blackreach City.’Ahhh… Right. Aries Faction.’So that was

Another salesman dressed similarly to Adrian overheard the question. He offered the young man a polite smile but did not give him the answer he wanted.“You probably saw it being talked about in the newspaper,” he said carefully. “Well… it’s not really confirmed.”The blue-haired young man shook his head, his desperate expression becoming even more obvious.“But I heard it from the members of the Taurus Faction! They said that if someone found the Divine Gene’s blueprint inside the Virtual World, they would reward that person with treasures, medicines, and anything they wished for…”The salesman fell quiet.Even he did not know how to respond to that.His smile became less certain as he considered the rumor. Everyone in Blackreach City had heard about the Divine Gene by now, but despite all the rumors, nobody had produced any real evidence that it existed.’The Taurus Faction… I think this is the first time they’ve openly said something like that. Did they find definitive evidence tha

Max and the others were still curious about the Virtual World, but without a pod of their own, there was little they could do for now. At least they knew it existed, and they kept that information in mind.Xian quickly proved that hiring him had been the right decision.He guided Max and the others through the crowded streets of Blackreach City, showing them which shops could be trusted and which ones had a reputation for taking advantage of newcomers.“See that stall?” he whispered, gesturing toward a vendor surrounded by flashy signs.“They’ll charge you double. Stick to the shops near the east market… those merchants are honest.”His advice alone could save them a considerable number of C-Grade Cores. The group soon realized that having someone who knew the city was far more valuable than they had expected.After walking for a while, Xian suddenly frowned as he looked at their clothes.“Everyone’s looking at you… You should really change your clothes,” he suggested. “Right now, you