The Great Thief

Lu Li was selective about who got the priority for this. For example, his group members would definitely be included. Only when they reached level 45, they would be able to attempt Stratholme.

Then, there were also the competitors like Fat Monkey, Mu Qiu and Kitty Likes Meat. Their priority level was even higher than Lu Li’s group.

The others were selected based on class, particularly those who were playing as Tanks or Healers since it was harder for them to level up. Such players included Global Friendship, Instant Millennia, Darkness and Machine Bro, who would all be future dungeon explorers.

Besides these three groups of people, the other core players also received a set portion, but for most of them, this wouldn’t be enough.

However, they were still very excited. In the blink of an eye, they had obtained enough experience for a week’s worth of effort.

Regardless of their status, players often checked their own positions on the rankings.

For top gamers, this was a method of collecting data. For casual player, the rankings gave them a goal to pursue.

Hence, the massive swing on the rankings was immediately noticed.

Old Man Next Door: God, there’s a bug on the level rankings; the game is about to shut down. Everyone, be quick and sell your gear.

Storm Warrior: Everyone come out and see God!

Painted Feathers: One, two, three... 22 level 45s, 76 level 44s...Ruling Sword has taken the entire top-hundred positions of the rankings...

Lovable Bookworm: This game is impossible; there are too many bugs.

Interstellar boy: If there’s no explanation for this, we’re not playing anymore. Is Ruling Sword a guild made by the game company itself? Lu Li must be the son’s owner...

I am Richy Rich: You should talk about the matter itself. He’s too poor to be a son of the owner, especially when he can’t even afford a gaming helmet?

Man of Darkness: What is going on? Why are all the players from Ruling Sword leveling up so fast? This isn’t normal at all. Don’t tell me there’s a quest that allows a hundred players to level up at once.

Empty Forest: Obviously, it has to be some kind of repeatable quest.

Zurich: Think about what happened today. What is something from the fishing competition that can be used to level up? It has to be the Scrumptious Fish. Clearly, the ones purchasing all the Scrumptious Fish today were the Ruling Sword players.

Showgirl Chunnie: Haha, I still have some Scrumptious Fish left unsold. Please tell me how to use them.

The world chat was a mess. Everyone was discussing the top hundred players on the rankings and objections were growing. They demanded an explanation from the game company.

The game company kept quiet. Their phones were constantly ringing, but no players received an actual explanation.

Was it because Dawn had already grown so great that they no longer cared about what the players thought?

Of course not!

It wasn’t that the company didn’t notice, but that they couldn’t do anything.

As soon as the level charts started to change, they immediately called for a meeting.

They obviously didn’t want the top hundred positions to be occupied by players from the same guild, especially when a competition was just about to take place.

When all the competitors from Ruling Sword were one level higher than the competitions from other guilds, the results almost seemed set in stone.

They couldn’t allow Ruling Sword to be the set winner for the competition. This was a loss that the company cannot afford, and the gaming associations would also be in trouble.

Once the champion team was confirmed, the attention that the competition received would at least drop by 30%.

This was equivalent to billions of dollars in revenue lost.

Gaming companies had established strong relationships with the gaming association over the years. They profited and lost together so they desperately needed to find a solution.

But what could they do?

Block all players who have reached level forty-five?

Even though everyone demanded an explanation, if they really banned the players from Ruling Sword, they would be in even deeper trouble. The fairness of the game would be challenged.

In the era of virtual gaming, fairness was highly valued.

The company couldn’t interfere with the game itself and they definitely couldn’t punish players without a good reason.

Ruling Sword players had not done anything against the code of conduct.

The location of the quest NPC was very well hidden. Originally, they thought that a player was going to find the NPC first, and that everyone else would follow. That way, the excitement around the fishing competition would improve in the future.

No one thought that the first players to find it would be from Ruling Sword. Not only had the guild stayed silent, but they even purchased all the Scrumptious Fish off the market.

Throughout this entire process, they had played by the rules.

"...this is our current problem that we’re facing right now," the assistant explained the entire situation and sat back down.

"Should we contact the players of Ruling Sword? We can talk about a solution with them."

The one responsible for the gaming association was very chubby man, and was gasping from just speaking a few sentences. He had gained his position not just with his wealth, but also with his intelligence.

"No," the representative for the gaming diplomatic department refused. Although her makeup was well done, everyone could still tell that she was young.

"Then what should we do?" the chubby man asked before opening his palms and adding, "Ruling Sword has really caused a headache for us this time. Are you guys, as the game company, really going to allow them to continue on breaking the rules like this?’

The association didn’t really like Ruling Sword; they favored the other major guilds since they played by the rules.

A regular major guild started out small and slowly grew under the supervision of the association. The top guilds even had their help.

However, Ruling Sword had never played by the book. It was as if they had grown into a giant and fearful existence overnight.