Chapter 203: [203] A Chat With Tristan

Ark’s office was at the very top of the guild house. It was a large building with a vast array of windows that gave him a 360° view of the entire property.

Thalia had gotten him a nice large desk, a spinning chair he was sure to abuse later, and even a nice lofty couch he would be napping on soon.

But for now, there were serious matters to discuss.

Ark pulled out the recording device from his inventory and placed it on the table, as well as the notebook.

He had not been able to write anything down during his time in the dungeon, but he made sure to note down a few important details that he felt needed to be mentioned.

"Straight to business." Tristan smiled, but he did not reach out to pick them up. "I like that, but I also like stories." The smile reached his eyes.

Ark rolled his eyes. Knowing Tristan, Ark was sure he would not leave until he had told him everything, so he indulged the Vice Commander with the little time he could spare from his rest and relaxation.

By the end of it, he clapped. Ark did not know if he was mocking him or if he was genuinely impressed.

"You killed a level 50 wyvern... although there was a lot of luck involved, that was impressive. Should I add Wyvern Slayer to your growing list of names?"

Ark shot him a glare. "Don’t even think about it."

Tristan raised his hands in surrender, then picked up the recording orb.

Ark had made sure to mentally instruct Jenna to stop recording whenever the video would have been problematic... such as the time he used [Astral Strike]. So he was sure Tristan would not end up finding out anything he did not want him to know.

But before letting the device go, there was still one thing he was curious about.

"That device, it doesn’t only record video and sound, does it?"

Tristan had said they were trying to find Hell-level dungeons, but Ark could not understand how video recordings of a domain were going to help them out with that.

The Vice Commander nodded as he absent-mindedly fiddled with the device.

"As perceptive as ever. You are right, it does not only record videos. This device also picks up different frequencies that are imperceptible to us."

He stuffed the orb into his pocket and shrugged. "But I am not an artisan, I only know the basics."

Ark sighed, just before his face settled into a frown. He was itching to know more about Tristan’s plan and his clear obsession with Hell-level dungeons.

While others would much rather avoid them, Tristan was planning to actively search for the Hell-level challenges. Why?

He would have asked, but he knew Tristan would be as mute as a fish.

"Thank you for your work, but judging by the nasty glare you are giving me, it seems I have overstayed my welcome."

Tristan got to his feet and picked up the book as well.

"Till we meet next, guildmaster," he said in a smooth tone before walking towards the door.

He grabbed the door handle, and the door had just squeaked open partly when Ark spoke:

"Wait!"

A ghost of a smile appeared on Tristan’s lips.

"Yes?"

Ark frowned. "Just one question, and this one does not really concern your association, so don’t be greedy!"

Tristan softly clicked the door shut. "Alright, the least I can do is listen to your request."

Ark folded his hands on the table as he wondered how he could make his question sound a little less like confidential information.

Because if Tristan told him it was confidential information, then one of them was going to die tonight. It was probably him, but you get the point...

Ark sat at the very edge of his seat, his blue eyes burning with childish curiosity.

"Are you the only one trying to find Hell-level domains? I mean... if they are so special, there is no way the top guilds have not gotten a whiff of it, right?"

"That means they must also be going after them. For whatever confidential reason you refuse to share. And in that case..."

Ark finally slowed down after speaking without breaking once.

"In that case... wouldn’t they already be working on a device just like you—"

"They already have one," Tristan cut in, his tone cold and stiff.

His eyes looked empty, and although he was smiling, Ark noticed his lip twitch once, just before his smile widened as though to hide it.

Tristan must have really hated the top guilds that much...

But even his attitude was not enough to mask the shock from what Ark had heard.

"You said... what?!" He was on his feet in seconds.

Tristan shrugged. "Not only that, but we suspect they have had it for quite some time now."

If the top guilds really had something that powerful, why were they allowed to enter that specific tutorial?

They must have known how many people would die, right? They must have realised the scale of what they were walking into...

"How long?" Ark asked.

"There is no way to tell. It may have been weeks, months, or even years... Tch."

Tristan clicked his tongue.

"Information on the top guilds is almost impossible to get. Most of our agents had already been found out."

Ark gave him a blank stare.

’Did he just admit to spying on some of the top guilds?’ He was sure that was some sort of crime.

"But if they already have the equipment, why did you agree to the deal I proposed? I thought this would give you an edge, but it looks like you are already so far back."

Ark paused.

"Actually, forget being far back. You have practically been left in the mud."

"Thank you for making the situation so blatantly clear," Tristan said in a dry tone. "As for your question, the reason is simple..."

A few seconds passed in silence, and then he smirked. This time, it was genuine.

"Their equipment is incomplete."

"Incomplete?" If they could already test the rifts, then how could it be incomplete?

Tristan nodded. "They likely need a condition before they are able to test if a tower/dungeon is Hell-level."

Now Ark was getting more invested. "What type of condition?"

"You must have been taught this in the academy, but [Rifts] are not just portals into Eden," Tristan explained.

"Yes." Ark nodded in agreement. "Rifts are expressions of what lay inside a domain. For example, larger rifts lead to larger domains or towers."

"Looks like you didn’t skip spatial science." Tristan smirked. "It seems the technology some of the top guilds have developed involves testing the energy in the rift and analysing it against a control medium to determine the level of deflection."

"But the deflections in a spatial space are negligible unless there is sufficient mana contamination present."

"We are able to rank towers and dungeons using a similar, but fundamentally different technique."

"I see..." Ark stroked his jaw. "I have no idea what you are talking about." All he did was take a few classes; he was in no way an expert!

Tristan sighed as though Ark were a fool. "Basically, they might need a good number of people to enter the domain before they can measure."

Ark couldn’t help but wonder how many people were needed. ’A couple of players? Or a few hundred, just like their class...’

Tristan walked a little closer to the table, although he was meant to be leaving.

"It may seem like nothing, but remember, not all towers and dungeons allow exit without completing a few, or sometimes all, objectives. Do you know what that means?"

"Sacrifice." The word was heavy on Ark’s tongue.

It was like a game of Russian roulette. If they were to send their members into a rift without knowing the dungeon/tower type, and it turned out to not just be a lock-type dungeon/tower, but a hardcore domain as well...

They would all be wiped out.

It was rare, but it was a possibility. A chance that hundreds of players would be wiped out, just so that they could find out the difficulty level of a domain...

Worse of all, Ark was sure it had already happened a number of times already.

"Because of this, the top guilds cannot afford to always run their tests."

"Their methods are inefficient. But once we create this artifact..." Tristan smiled.

"We will finally have one-upped the guilds, after three hundred years. And it is all thanks to you."

A few seconds passed in silence, and Ark leaned back into his soft chair, staring up at the ceiling.

"Is that so..."

Tristan finally walked back to the door and opened it. "Your dungeon run is tomorrow?"

Ark fixed his gaze on him. "Yeah?"

"Be careful, Bronze rank is a whole tier above you. And it is not just the monsters... the entire domain will be much harder."

Ark waved his hands dismissively in the air, motioning for him to leave. "Are you trying to preserve you assets? Like last time?"

A sly smile tugged at his lips. "Who knows? Maybe I’ve just grown a little fond of you."

Ark’s face settled in a frown. "Get out. You are going to make me sick."