"Huh?!"

Ethan froze, turning his face away from the officer and focusing back on the system bulletin board.

He saw ten rank-S missions displayed there; five of them were quests to hunt high-level monsters.

The rest were reconnaissance missions in enemy territory, artifact searches, and dangerous cave explorations.

Because of the high level of danger and great rewards, these quests were categorized as rank-S missions.

Not many players were willing to take them. Besides being dangerous, most doubted their own strength.

But Ethan was different. He was the one who fought evenly against the high-level Ashley.

Yesterday's training made many guild members realize that Ethan wasn't an ordinary person.

Many were confused by his attitude—despite his terrifying power, he never joined any guild.

"How about the Raid Tower?" Ethan asked, surprising everyone.

"Raid Tower? Wait! Are you serious?" several people asked, shocked.

"Of course. My level is above thirty, so I can take part in the Raid Tower."

"That's true, but you forgot one thing."

The officer stepped forward, standing right in front of Ethan, close enough to stare him down with sharp eyes.

"Raid Tower requires a guild party," the man said firmly.

Oh, so he's challenging my experience?

"Really? Too bad, it seems I can't join then," Ethan replied.

He sighed, resting both hands on his hips and shaking his head slowly with his eyes closed.

He acted regretful for not joining a guild, though it was nothing but an act.

"If I had joined a guild party, I probably could've given plenty of contribution points later," Ethan added.

"Contribution points?" the officer repeated.

"Forget contribution points—maybe I could've even shared Tower Artifacts with the guild, since I know where they're located," Ethan replied.

"Tower Artifacts?!" the officer shouted in shock.

Ethan glanced at the man's stunned face, clearly unsure how to respond.

The members of LionArk started whispering among themselves, questioning the truth behind Ethan's claim.

They assumed he was bluffing, unable to prove what he said. After all, finding hidden Tower Artifacts was just as hard as killing a floor boss.

"Impossible! He's just spouting nonsense."

"He's obviously a liar. Don't let him fool us."

"Sir Officer, don't believe him—he's lying."

Unlike the regular members, the officer standing before Ethan kept studying his face carefully. His mind wrestled with whether Ethan was telling the truth or not.

He was in a difficult position. If he refused Ethan's offer, the guild wouldn't gain anything.

But if he accepted it, LionArk might be branded as a guild that welcomed criminals.

Ethan silently watched the officer, who remained quiet despite all the pressure from the others urging him to reject Ethan.

Just as the argument heated up in front of the guild, Ashley appeared, accompanied by Jill and Leon. Ethan turned and smiled, greeting Ashley warmly.

"What's going on, Lucas?" Ashley asked.

"I'm sorry, Miss Ashley. Ethan proposed that we attempt the Raid Tower," Lucas explained, bowing his head.

"Raid Tower?" Ashley repeated in surprise.

"Do you want to join LionArk?"

Ashley turned her eyes toward Ethan, her pupils widening—she was clearly hoping he would join. But Ethan's answer was clear.

"I'll join the Raid Tower, but I won't join the guild," Ethan said.

Again, mocking laughter echoed through the place. They called him crazy, someone who didn't know the rules.

Ethan didn't respond—he already knew the best way to answer them.

"That's impossible, Ethan. Many have tried forming a non-guild party. They were all denied entry," Ashley said.

"Did you forget? There's a trick to bypass the Raid Tower system."

"A trick?"

"Guest member," Ethan said sharply.

"Guest member?" Ashley asked.

Ethan explained the entire concept of the party system. Party mechanics weren't tied to guilds; they were standalone features.

Ashley thought for a moment, then clapped her hands once and smiled. She remembered.

"Oh, right. Guest member," Ashley said.

Lucas turned to look at her, and Leon followed his gaze. Both were curious about what "guest member" meant.

In short, a guest member was a different type of party participant. Usually, someone could join a party only by being invited—once that happened, they became a full member.

However, a guest member could join independently without being invited.

There was no party list feature this time, so automatic matchmaking couldn't be done.

Luckily for Ethan, he had been experimenting with the game's features since last month.

He found a loophole the administrators hadn't removed, letting him exploit the guest member function.

"They just need to input the party code and join," Ashley explained.

"Party code?" Lucas asked.

He quickly opened the party window and saw a party code right below the party name. Everyone grew curious, forming parties and checking their own codes.

"Then how do we become guest members?" Lucas asked again.

Ashley looked forward, and Ethan nodded. Her gesture meant she wanted to show that the guest member feature truly existed, without revealing exactly how it worked.

She created a party and received her code. Ashley then said it out loud for Ethan to hear.

"348TP7UH89K."

Ethan nodded and typed the code into the special section of his profile page—the party section.

Once the code was entered, he automatically joined Ashley's party, with the title "Guest Member" displayed below his name.

He would remain a Guest Member unless Ashley ignored the confirmation panel.

If she rejected it, Ethan would be removed. If she accepted, he would become a full member.

Gradually, Lucas and the others began to understand the concept. However, they still didn't understand why this method worked for the Raid Tower.

"Because guest members aren't counted as full members. The system only detects full party members," Ethan explained.

"So if you join Ashley's party as a Guest Member for the Raid Tower, you can fight because the system won't detect your status. Am I right?" Lucas asked.

Ethan smiled. "Looks like you get it."

"But how do you even know about this? I've been playing Tower of Ascension for two years, and I never heard of this trick," Lucas said.

Ethan smiled and turned away, while Ashley also smiled and shook her head. Ethan understood what she meant—she wanted him to keep his true identity hidden until the right time.

Many members of LionArk still hated Ethan. They hadn't accepted that he was Ashley's friend.

If Ethan openly revealed that he was the former Guild Master of LionArk, they wouldn't believe him.

After all, only Ashley, Leon, Gordon, and Rick knew the face of EthanAsh666.

If those four confirmed that EthanArk was Ethan Arkwright, the man who died two years ago, people's trust in EthanArk would rise dramatically.

In the end, the balance of power would shift, since many guild leaders were wary of EthanAsh666.

"I… found out after experimenting with the system," Ethan replied.

"Huh?" Lucas muttered.

"So, how about my offer? Are you interested?" Ethan asked.

The Tower is the core of this game. There's a chance I can find a way to reach the World of a Thousand Stars there.

Raid Tower… I have to try it.

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