Online Game: Starting With SSS-Ranked Summons-Chapter 259: New Members (2)

"And this is Alfie Brighthand, the human prodigy. Graduated top of his class at the best university. His talent is A-Rank Blacksmith."

Alfie stepped forward, eagerly shaking Arthur's hand with both of his.

"Absolutely thrilled to meet you, Guild Master. I expect to create great things with your direction and resources. It's an absolutely fascinating field and I'm sure that I will not let you or Mr. Gates down." Alfie's eyes gleamed with genuine enthusiasm.

Arthur raised his eyebrow. It was the first time he had encountered a talent such as Blacksmithing. Although it wasn't combat-oriented, it was still a very good talent and something that would significantly benefit his guild.

'Although my Luck talent brings me lots of resources and items, they aren't all exactly fit to what I need. Having a talented blacksmith would make things much more efficient,' he thought, already calculating the potential advantages.

Gates nodded approvingly, he could see the interest in Arthur's eyes. "Alfie isn't just any blacksmith. His A-Rank talent lets him sense the true nature of materials, identify optimal forging temperatures by touch alone, and create items that consistently exceed normal quality parameters. His current level and strength allow him to create Uncommon items with ease. He could also create rare items, but his success rate is 30%."

"I should be able to increase the sucess rate soon," Alfie added, "The village's resources were very scarce, but with the city's resources, I should be able to progress much faster."

'A craftsman capable of creating customized equipment for guild members is a good addition to the guild. Although he still won't be of much help to me personally.' Arthur thought.

The reason was simple.

Alfie could never hope of reaching Arthur's speed of progression. Whilst Alfie could only create uncommon items and rarely have the chance of creating rare items. Arthur had hundreds, and close to a thousand of rare and very rare items. He could also kill monsters that could drop epic items.

'Although he won't be of help to me. He is still a talent, I can't keep the mindset of only improving myself. I need to build my own team, my own kingdom...my own empire.'

After some pleasantry talks, Arthur invited them all to the guild's registration chamber. A circular room with the black flag of power standing proudly in the room.

One by one, they stepped forward. And a notification appeared before each of them.

[Welcome to Power]

[Guild Benefits Unlocked]

[Infinite Storage Space Allocated]

[10% Increase in experience granted]

[Guild Skills Available for sharing]

...

Oliver's eyes widened as he read through the list. "These benefits... they're far beyond what I expected."

Archie whistled, bouncing on his toes with excitement. "Skill sharing and infinite storage. Insane."

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Alfie was practically vibrating with delight as he scrolled through the available benefits, his fingers trembling slightly as he navigated through the guild interface.

Arthur glanced at Gates with a raised eyebrow. He had thought Gates had briefed them on the benefits, but clearly, he hadn't revealed the full extent of what Power offered.

Gates shrugged slightly, a small smile playing on his lips. "I wanted to see their genuine reactions."

Arthur nodded.

"Power isn't like other guilds," Arthur addressed them. "In fact, you can check our benefits against the top guilds inside the city. While we're smaller, our benefits far exceed theirs."

The three recruits exchanged glances, the implications of joining such a resource-rich guild at its start beginning to sink in.

"Take the rest of today to familiarize yourselves with the place and do anything you need to do," Arthur continued. "Tomorrow, we'll discuss initial assignments."

They nodded, still somewhat stunned by their good fortune.

"I have a few things I need to attend to. If you need anything, just message me." Arthur said to Gates, who nodded in return.

With that, Arthur turned and headed towards his personal headquarters. The doors closed behind him.

In the corner, amid an elaborate construction of invisible webs that hung from the ceiling to the floor, Formicia was curled up. The giant spider's multiple eyes were closed, her legs tucked neatly beneath her body.

Arthur shook his head with a soft smile as he saw her eyes slowly open at his approach, eight eyes fixing on him with unmistakable intelligence.

"Good morning, Formicia. Napping?" he asked, his tone gentle.

Formicia untucked her legs and stretched, the movement elegant despite her monstrous appearance. She bobbed her head in acknowledgment.

"Yes, Master. I need to conserve some of my energy to create the spider commander," she replied, her voice a melodic whisper in Arthur's mind. "This part of the process requires significant energy."

Arthur nodded, understanding the magnitude of what she was attempting. Creating an epic-rank subordinate was no small feat, even for a superior-being of Formicia's capabilities.

"Alright. You can return to resting," he said. "I'll be back later."

Formicia inclined her head respectfully before settling back into her web, eight eyes slowly closing once more.

In his mind, he visualized the mountain where he'd first arrived in this world.

His body shimmered, becoming translucent for a moment before vanishing entirely from the guild hall.

Arthur materialized on a rocky outcrop overlooking the forested valley.

A telepathic message from Hank resonated in his mind, clear despite the distance.

'Master. The group you are training are approaching the area you spoke about.'

Arthur's lips curved into a subtle smile. "Let's see what Theodore, Jasmine and the others will do once they encounter their first true challenge... a demon." He muttered, as he glanced in the direction where they were walking.

With a thought, he resonated with Hank's Clairvoyance skill. Through the canopy of trees, he could make out the small party moving along the winding trail, unaware of what awaited them—or that they were being observed.

...

"You should be fine now," Jasmine said, her hands still glowing with the fading green light of her healing skill. The wound on Abel's shoulder had closed completely, leaving only a faint pink line that would disappear in seconds.