Chapter 370: Chapter 370: Illustrated Guide Evolution and the Terror of [Hundred Crafts Convergence]

Hearing the name, everyone but Nieve had their own distinct interpretations.

Bazzer praised it inwardly. ’What an excellent name! It commemorates the heroic feat in the Underground City, where tens of thousands cast aside their differences, their unity like Gathering Stars into Fire to form a dragon. It’s also the name that marked the moment our fates first intertwined.’

Julius, on the other hand, saw a different, deeper meaning. ’A ring represents perfection and absolute unity.’

’In the future, as Lance grows, perhaps all sorts of geniuses and monsters will join this ring. Under its bond, all their strengths will be tightly bound together as one.’

’It’s a great name!’

The most outlandish interpretation, however, came from Felix.

When he heard the name, he thought of an obscure myth.

The Legend of the Tail-Biting Dragon.

’Legend tells of a Giant Dragon that bites its own tail, continuously growing by devouring its own flesh and blood in an endless cycle of destruction and rebirth.’

’Red Dragon... devouring itself...’

’Doesn’t that just say it all?!’

’Toppling the corrupt and decadent Red Dragon Royal Family and establishing a new Red Dragon Regime for Lance... Isn’t that, in a way, a form of devouring oneself?!’

’Lance, I understand you completely!’

Felix was absolutely certain. He felt he had seen right through Lance’s ambition.

...

Suddenly, he found everyone staring at him.

Lance’s skin crawled. ’I get the feeling these guys are cooking up some wild ideas in their heads.’

Only the quiet Nieve at his side looked like her mind was a complete blank.

’Looks like my dear Nieve is the only one who doesn’t give me a headache.’

He reined in his wandering thoughts, and then their five fists bumped together with a solid thud.

As Lance activated the Power of the Bronze Imperial Decree, Bronze Chains, visible only to the five of them, materialized around each of their wrists and linked together. This signified that the pact was formally sealed.

Lance hadn’t included any negative clauses in the contract. The pact’s only binding condition was mutual aid and equality.

Of course, if one day the team expanded and some new member harbored inappropriate thoughts or tried to betray the group, Lance could use the Bronze Imperial Decree to teach them a lesson they would never forget.

At the very moment their fists touched and the contract was sealed, two of Lance’s abilities activated.

One was his panel’s Illustrated Guide ability, and the other was the title entry, [Hundred Crafts Convergence]!

[Detected the establishment of a qualifying organization]

[Society Name: Red Dragon Ring]

[Society Type: Covert - Centralized Leadership]

Lance opened his panel and found only a handful of names listed under the society’s members.

However, the panel detailed each person’s identity, loyalty value, and an assessment of their various abilities.

Lance glanced at it and discovered that, aside from Nieve, the person with the highest loyalty was surprisingly Felix, at a staggering 95.

Not only that, but the panel also displayed each person’s secret, innermost intentions.

Lance glanced at Felix’s:

[Assist Lance in overthrowing the current Iris Kingdom regime and establishing a new one.]

Lance couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath as he read it. He surreptitiously sized up the young nobleman before him.

’You look so honest and upstanding, but this is what you’re plotting on the inside?!’

Looking further down, even Julius, with the lowest loyalty in the group, was at 85. He could already be considered a very trustworthy companion.

In the ability assessment column, Lance discovered that Julius’s greatest strength wasn’t combat, but instruction and internal training.

In the system’s evaluation framework, abilities ranged from the lowest, F-Class, all the way to the highest, SSS+ Level.

And his "instruction and internal training" ability was S-Class, making him a rare talent for logistics and support.

’With this panel, if the team grows in the future, I can manage it like a simulation game, placing every talent in the position best suited for them to maximize their value.’

’Plus, being able to see everyone’s loyalty is basically a cheat code for building up a power base.’

He then remembered that the game he played before crossing over had included management simulation elements. The panel’s potential was gradually being unlocked as it was supplemented with his Otherworld abilities.

He just never expected that [Hundred Crafts Convergence], which he thought would only become useful much later, would reveal its power at this very moment.

The core function of this ability could be summarized in a single principle.

Namely: a king does not rule the world with his wisdom alone, but with the wisdom of all under heaven.

In other words, when Lance was learning a new subclass or Skill, if any of his followers had already mastered it, he would receive a "collective wisdom enhancement" during his own learning process.

Under these conditions, he would constantly experience flashes of insight, boosting his learning speed.

Furthermore, the more followers who possessed the relevant Skills and the higher their loyalty, the stronger this enhancement would become.

His learning speed would skyrocket to terrifying heights!

What he hadn’t anticipated was that simply by sealing the pact with the Bronze Imperial Decree, they were automatically classified as his followers by the panel.

This was a synergistic Effect he had never imagined.

’This is huge!’

’With these two combined, my future research speed for subclasses and Skills is going to be insane.’

And he had already figured out how to make use of the Bronze Imperial Decree.

’I’m going to go pretend to be a genius!’

No!

’Screw that. I *am* a fucking genius!’

...

By evening, Bazzer had gone to pick up Lilia. After they all had dinner together, everyone went their separate ways to handle their own affairs.

Since Nieve had been clinging to Lance like a koala in the Underground City, it seemed only natural to everyone when she followed Lance back to his inn after the gathering ended.

Lance had also retrieved all the items he had previously left with Julius for safekeeping.

The most important of these was the letter of introduction from the old Chef.

Lance had just finished a bath and was now in his room, bare-chested, drying his dripping hair with a towel.

He had to admit, the comfort level of a high-end inn in White River City wasn’t much different from his past life.

Aside from the lack of electronic devices for entertainment, the convenience of its amenities, thanks to the advancements in Alchemy, was nearly on par.

He sat down at his desk and casually retrieved the letter of introduction from his Imaginary Number Dark Grid.

In the bright light of the Magic Crystal Lamp, he read over the recommender’s name and address.

Recommender: Baldwin Van Cleef.

Address: No. 13 Annex, Black Mercury Lane, Copper Green District, Seventh Ring Line, Ostrala City.

’Am I finally going to that place?’

Lance looked at the word "Ostrara" on the envelope, his eyes filled with anticipation.

That place had been his goal ever since he first arrived in this world!

The legendary City of Trade, the most prosperous on the East Coast.

Moreover, back in the Underground City, he’d overheard some veteran Adventurers mention that there were Underground Cities with very special mechanics around Ostrara. He wondered if those places had been affected by the recent large-scale period of silence.

He was particularly interested in a special, hunt-style Underground City.

’Inside that kind of Underground City, there are no Ordinary Demons to just mindlessly grind. Instead, Adventurers face all sorts of buffed-up Lord Level Demons.’

’Very hardcore, and extremely challenging.’

’The rewards for hunting such Demons are also very high.’

He glanced at the time. Ever since Nieve’s Perception began to recover, she seemed to have taken an interest in anything that provided sensory stimulation.

For the past few days, she had become infatuated with the feeling of soaking in warm water.

So, as was her habit, she would definitely be soaking in the tub for at least half an hour before she got out.

’Perfect timing.’ Lance closed his eyes. He planned to use this time to begin his Melting Specialization and construct his very own Star Track!

[Endless Star Ring of the Tail-Biting Giant Dragon]

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