The sight before their eyes left the three Orcs utterly stupified.

Norclin City stood like a polished jewel on the edge of the continent. Tall, silver-white towers climbed cleanly into the sky, glowing softly with stored energy. Floating roads curved between them in smooth, impossible arcs, carrying quiet, rail-less vehicles that glided on threads of light.

Robots moved through the streets with the same fluid ease as people. Some walked on two legs, carrying crates or guiding visitors through the busy districts. Others hovered above the crowds, scanning for broken panels or dim lights that needed fixing. They didn't look threatening—they were calm, tireless workers that kept the city alive.

At the center of Norclin City rose the Core Spire, a massive structure that linked every district with faint blue energy lines. It powered the city's shields, the floating roads, the lights… even the robots themselves.

For all its advanced technology, the place never felt cold. Hanging gardens ran down the sides of buildings, and soft lantern-screens lit up the pathways in warm, inviting colors. Humans and robots moved together smoothly. When compared to this, Coast City paled significantly.

"Don't be too surprised," Langdon beamed, a proud smile crossing his face. "With my abilities, I was able to fix up a handful of bots, and they helped rebuild most parts of the city. I added a little touch to it, too."

"We should get moving. We have no idea what the Adventurer Guild is planning to do with the Orcs. I would love to avoid any more scuffles at the moment." Langdon quickly took the lead, guiding them into the city proper.

The three Orcs were still in a daze. No one would have thought a city this advanced could exist after the Cataclysm. It stood on par with—if not slightly more advanced than—the greatest cities before the transmission.

"Your ability must truly be powerful," Akhil said, his gaze drifting away from the human Gamers using a nearby teleporter.

Langdon threw him a side glance, letting out a measured sigh.

"Well, you could say that, but it's not so helpful in a direct fight. I have a limit to the amount of bots I can control directly at a time. The bots roaming the city are mostly moving independently. However, I programmed them to perform each function perfectly. That way, I don't have to worry about them going haywire."

"That's quite sad," Akhil replied, though his tone betrayed no sympathy.

Of course he felt no sympathy. Akhil was instead terrified by the thought: 'If he had the capacity to control all these bots, just how dangerous would he be?'

He could instantly tell how heavily the human infrastructure relied on these tireless bots. They were the major workforce of the entire settlement. Any sudden collapse of Langdon's system would leave the human leaders facing total obliteration.

'He truly is monstrous,' Akhil couldn't help but shiver at the multiple possibilities. His gaze shifted to the two combat bots walking silently beside Langdon. 'Just how much power would those two have?' He glanced back at the harmlessly youthful boy. Langdon's looks were profoundly deceiving; guessing his strength based on appearance alone would be a fatal mistake.

"I have no idea where that slimy guy is, and even now, I still have no idea where the Guild's HQ is..."

"So where are we going to then?" Akhil asked, his eyebrow raised at the sudden revelation of the problem.

"The Guild has a branch in every city. We're heading to the one here. We should be able to get some answers from there, or possibly find the missing Orcs," Langdon explained.

His steps came to a sudden halt, and the others stopped with him.

In front of them stood a large, imposing building with a stone base. Just standing on the street, they could tell it was a very busy place. People were constantly moving in and out of the entrance.

They were all wearing different battle or adventuring attires, but one common item linked them: a badge embroidered with a Wyvern. This badge signified their status as an Adventurer.

The Guild was the central authority for distributing tasks and rewards. Adventurers fulfilled these missions to gain substantial rewards. While the online apps made missions openly available and allowed them to filter for easier tasks or specific goals, the physical branches still served key purposes: grading Adventurers, conducting specialized training, and handling complex submissions or reward claims, and also for buying items.

As they entered the building, the sight of a bustling lobby immediately greeted them. A receptionist desk was placed prominently up ahead.

And several people could be seen clustered around the receptionist desk, apparently trying to process badges for new adventurers. By the side, where long rows of tables were placed, lots of people were drinking, eating, and loudly chatting.

As the group entered the building, however, it was as though a switch had been flipped. The chatter died, and everyone paused to stare at them.

Some of the humans sitting at the round tables slowly lowered their beer-filled glasses, fixing their hostile gazes on the newcomers. Their stares immediately put Akhil, Nibo, and Ryan on high alert.

"Why are they looking at us that way?" Akhil asked, his voice low as he turned to Langdon.

Something felt terribly wrong. He didn't like the cold, aggressive gazes the Adventurers were throwing at them. 'Is this an ambush?' The thought wasn't far-fetched, but from the look on Langdon's face, he seemed as genuinely surprised as Akhil was.

"I have no idea, but it certainly doesn't look good. Calm down, I'll deal with it..." Langdon whispered, stepping up in front of the group, his two bots silently taking up positions behind him.

"Do you guys have any problem with us?" he asked calmly, walking a few steps forward into the room.

The Adventurers stared blankly, then a loud, booming laugh broke the unsettling silence.

"You've got to be kidding me! Don't tell me you had no idea before coming in here." A large, burly man bellowed from a nearby table.

He slowly stood up, his muscles bulging visibly through his black tank top. He was massive, probably the same height as Nibo, but wider. Though shorter than Ryan, he looked undeniably intimidating. His condescending gaze swept over the entire room, making it obvious that he was strong and proud of it.

A large, devilish grin spread thin across the burly man's face as he looked toward them, his eyes glinting with clear killing intent.

"The Orcs have been on high demand in the Guild market lately," he sneered. "I don't know who placed that System Quest on the market, but it's been quite profitable. I'm just a few coins away from getting a good boost from the store, and who knew my coins would come knocking right at my doorstep?"

Akhil frowned deeply at the man's vile remark.

'Someone placed that task on the market?'

He had known this mechanic from the game: defeating an Orc would grant the player massive rewards. He knew this because he had committed similar 'crimes' back in the Beta, leveraging the system to level up quickly.

Initially, when he saw the humans attacking the Orcs, he had figured it was for similar profit reasons. The Orcs weren't just being attacked out of fear; it was because the humans were looking for a faster way to level up in preparation for the Scenarios.

But even then, it seemed that information was limited mostly to Samxon's group, as only a few humans had attacked them previously. If the bounty was widely known to all the humans, the Orcs wouldn't have survived even until he had awakened.

But it seemed as though whoever had given out that information previously had now posted it widely on the Adventurer Forum, making far more people aware of this profitable fact.

Akhil had been afraid of things escalating to this point. With this move, he was sure many more people would be made aware of the bounty.

'How did the information get to them? Who was behind giving out such destructive information?' Akhil thought, the tension in the air thickening with every passing second.

Everyone in the hall had their gazes fixed on the group, greed flashing deep in their eyes. Some of the human Adventurers had already drawn their weapons, ready to tear them to shreds.

Seeing the entire scenario, Akhil could only think of one thing: 'Discord... The Titan of Discord!'

The Titan had already started working! Just like in the game, the System would never officially announce the start of a scenario until all the conditions had been fully met.

For the Titan of Beasts, that required an army of beasts under its control. For the Titan of Discord, it required that the entire factions were struggling and constantly fighting, or that the tension for a global war had reached its peak!

'That means the Titan already started causing trouble since the very start of the scenarios!' Akhil gritted his teeth.

The Titan had already begun moving, and every fight, every battle, was just another fuel for its growth. They had to find and defeat the Titan fast, or they would be left facing an exponentially stronger enemy.

But at the moment, Akhil had to look past that future threat, because the present held something more immediately disturbing.

The burly Adventurer dragged his large hammer forward, the metal screeching against the polished floor.

His fierce gaze locked onto the group.

"So, Orcs," he challenged, his voice thick with menace. "Will you make this easy for me... or do you want to go the hard way?"

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