The Eve of the Guild's Formation

John reached out to pick up another piece of equipment, a tome of ordinary quality.

The effects of the tome were mundane, lacking any special effects.

Its basic attribute provided only a 10-point increase in spell power, making it an item exclusive to mages; other professions could not equip it.

However, in the early stages when equipment was scarce, it could still fetch a decent price.

John was just an ordinary college student. He grew up in an orphanage and managed to maintain his livelihood through scholarships earned by his excellent grades and part-time jobs.

But now, the situation was entirely different.

As an alchemist, John could soon amass a considerable fortune by selling healing potions.

After collecting the equipment, John used a dagger to open the chest of a fishman whisperer.

As expected, he found a blue crystal nucleus inside.

Being the boss of the dungeon, any monster above level 10 was guaranteed to drop a monster crystal nucleus. Now, he had gathered the crystal nucleus needed for his alchemist job change.

Holding the crystal nucleus in his hand, John read its description.

[Item Name: Monster Crystal Nucleus]

[Quality: Common]

[Origin: Level 15 fishman whisperer]

[Attributes: None]

[Special Effects: None]

[Description: Essential material for Awakener job changes and equipment crafting.]

John sighed lightly. This was the most common type of monster crystal nucleus, colloquially known as a "blank" nucleus, offering no additional attributes or special effects.

But it could still be used for a first job change.

Of course, the better the quality, the greater the enhancement for the Awakener.

However, it was akin to wasting an opportunity for enhancement because a monster crystal nucleus could only be used for a job change every 10 levels.

The gap between some Awakeners was gradually widened in this manner.

This nucleus was something John didn't value highly, feeling that even giving it to Victoria for her job change wasn't the best choice. Victoria was quite wealthy and could afford to wait a while longer to buy a better nucleus for her job change.

John approached Victoria and, after explaining the situation, asked for her opinion, "Do you want to complete your job change now, or wait?"

"I think you're right, I should wait." Victoria replied without hesitation. She continued, "Besides, increasing our strength too quickly might attract investigation, and you could draw unwanted attention."

John nodded and stored the crystal nucleus in his system backpack.

"Well, it's finally over," John yawned.

He hadn't rested well the previous night and had cleared two otherworldly gates within 12 hours, which was exhausting. Although his physical condition had improved and he didn't feel too tired, his brain still needed rest.

…

In the Wittgenstein family's estate, a ripple passed through the pool's otherworldly gate.

John and Victoria emerged to find the area unexpectedly surrounded by a large number of armed officers.

The otherworldly gate began to close, condensing into an [Awakening Crystal] that fell into the pool.

"Didn't expect it to be so lively out here?" John said with a resigned smile.

It seemed the emergency response team had discovered the relocation of the otherworldly gate and had quickly surrounded the area to prevent any monsters from escaping.

At that moment, a burly man with a square face approached them.

"You two have worked hard. It looks like you closed this otherworldly gate. Could you cooperate with us for an investigation?" The man scratched his head with a smile, "Don't worry. If you're tired, you can rest awhile. We've got food and water."

After exchanging glances, John and Victoria responded, "No problem."

Under the man's lead, they approached a boxy armored vehicle parked nearby. The back of the vehicle was equipped with tables and stools, turned into a temporary office space.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself." the man said with a smile. "I'm the Chief of the Star City Armed Police Station, Andre."

John recognized the man at a glance, having found him somewhat familiar earlier.

He must have been the person who noticed him leaving the otherworldly gate on the sports field the night before.

Andre pulled out a sheet of paper and asked for some information about the inside of the gate.

It seemed he wanted to gather some intelligence on the otherworldly gates. Apart from details about a three-person Awakener team, John answered most of the questions.

However, he downplayed the difficulty and attributed most of the credit to the swordsman, Victoria.

Andre, without any suspicion, nodded in satisfaction after the questioning.

He then asked, "By the way, we are planning to establish an Awakener Guild soon. Are you two interested in joining?"

"Sure, I'm quite interested." John replied with a smile, readily agreeing.

Victoria also nodded, having barely spoken, leaving John to handle the negotiations.

Andre handed them two forms to fill out their personal information.

After completing the forms, Andre took out his phone, "Would you mind giving me your contact information? So I can notify you if anything comes up."

"No problem." John also took out his phone, saving Andre's number and his messaging app account.

Victoria didn't take out her phone, "If you need to contact me, going through him will do."

Andre smiled and nodded, "Alright."

At that moment, an armed officer outside retrieved the[Awakening Crystal]from the pool and brought it over in a sealed transparent container.

Andre, with a smile, said, "This belongs to you two since you cleared the otherworldly gate. However…" Andre's smile turned somewhat apologetic, "we need to conduct some experiments, so we need the Awakening Crystal."

"Of course, we won't take it for free. We can offer a compensation of 3 million dollars. What do you think? It's okay if you refuse."

Victoria turned to John, seeking his opinion.

After considering for a moment, John, already possessing an Awakening Crystal, found the 3 million dollars offer reasonable, especially since he was in need of money.

Due to the [Primeval Poison Body] requiring a significant amount of toxins for nourishment, purchasing these substances could be quite expensive. Moreover, some toxins were not available through official channels, leading to higher prices on the black market.

"No problem. Go ahead and use it for your experiments." John said with a nod and a smile.

Andre extended his hand and shook John's, "Thank you so much. Please, leave me with a bank account number; the funds will be transferred within three hours."

…

John left the Wittgenstein family estate alone.

Upon learning that Victoria was the estate's owner, Andre began to mobilize the armed officers to help her with the aftermath.

As John arrived at the entrance, he encountered COCO, who had been waiting there.

"John, I ran into the armed police blocking the road on my way here and told them about the situation." COCO explained before asking, "What's the situation inside now?"

John couldn't help but yawn, "It's all been taken care of. The otherworldly gate is closed, and Victoria is dealing with her family matters."

"That's such a relief…" COCO sighed, her worry finally easing, "John, you take my car back to the school first. I plan to stay here with Victoria, considering the big incident that happened to her family."

John nodded and took the car keys from her.

Not bothering to shop for clothes and after grabbing a quick meal, he drove back to the school.

Upon returning to his dormitory, John went straight to sleep.

He woke up the next morning to the school's announcement of an assembly, instructing all students to head to the main auditorium.

John and his roommate arrived at the auditorium, which was already filled with students. Nearly the entire student body was present.

The principal stood at the podium, and the once noisy auditorium quieted down as he began to speak into the microphone, "Four days ago, portals from another world appeared in various countries around the globe, bringing with them a multitude of monsters that began invading our world."

"At the same time, a group of individuals awakened to their professions, known as Awakeners."

"Only Awakeners can enter these otherworldly gates, fight the monsters, and kill the bosses to completely close the gates."

"As such, countries around the world are now valuing Awakeners. They are honored warriors, bearing the mission of protecting our world. Now our nation's Awakener Guild is about to be established."

"Our school has also been notified to take a census of the Awakeners among our students. If there are any Awakeners present, please come up to the stage…"