Building The First Adventurer Guild In Another World

The smooth rhythm that had carried the Adventurer Guild through the first layer of the treasury did not last forever.

At first, nobody noticed the subtle change. Gregor continued shattering bubble after bubble with confident swings of his broadsword, Brutus crushed barriers apart through sheer brute strength, Lyana’s vines continued launching everyone through the air with remarkable precision, while Sage floated high above the battlefield directing every falling treasure safely toward the ground with his wind magic.

Everything appeared to be progressing exactly as before, and the rapidly growing mountain of treasures on the marble floor only strengthened everyone’s confidence. It almost felt as though they had figured out the treasury’s secrets, as though this ancient vault had finally accepted them as worthy successors to its forgotten riches.

Unfortunately, treasures accumulated by an ancient civilization powerful enough to shake the world were never meant to be obtained so easily, and the treasury had only been observing them until now.

Sage was the first to notice something was wrong. While guiding another stream of ancient books safely toward the floor, he realized the next layer of floating bubbles looked slightly different from those below.

The transparent barriers surrounding them were no longer completely smooth. Strange golden runes had begun appearing beneath their surfaces, flowing endlessly across each bubble like tiny rivers of liquid light.

Every few seconds those runes shifted position before disappearing into the opposite side, only to emerge somewhere else a moment later.

The movement reminded Sage of living veins carrying blood throughout a body, making the bubbles seem less like containers and more like living creatures silently watching everyone below. His expression slowly became serious as he extended his senses toward the nearest one, but before he could properly inspect it

Gregor had already reached the target.

"Guildmaster!" Gregor shouted confidently while raising his broadsword over his shoulder. "I’ll crack this one open too!"

"Wait!"

Sage’s warning came a heartbeat too late.

Gregor’s sword struck the shimmering barrier with tremendous force, yet instead of bursting apart like the earlier bubbles, the surface rippled strangely before expanding outward. The golden runes suddenly ignited, spreading across the entire sphere like wildfire.

Gregor barely had time to widen his eyes before an enormous explosion erupted directly in front of him.

BOOM!

The blast wasn’t fiery like ordinary explosions. Instead, compressed mana erupted outward in every direction, creating a violent shockwave that threw Gregor through the air like a leaf caught in a hurricane.

His armor screeched as invisible force battered his body, and his broadsword nearly slipped from his hands as he spun helplessly through the treasury.

Sage reacted immediately, abandoning the treasures he had been guiding as powerful currents of wind shot toward Gregor from multiple directions. The rushing air wrapped itself around the green-haired knight before gradually slowing his momentum until he landed roughly on the marble floor instead of smashing headfirst into one of the gigantic pillars.

Gregor remained seated for several seconds, blinking repeatedly before rubbing the back of his head. "...That one hurt."

Brutus folded his arms. "You call that ’hurt’? You flew halfway across the hall."

Mina covered her mouth to hide her laughter.

"Green bush became a shooting star."

Gregor shot her a tired glare."I nearly died."

"You looked funny."

Sage descended slowly toward the group, his brows tightly knitted together as he stared back toward the glowing bubble. "Everyone stop for a moment."

His voice carried enough authority that the entire Guild immediately halted. "The treasury has changed."

Nobody argued. They had all witnessed it. The second layer was different.

Sage looked upward thoughtfully before speaking again. "The first layer tested whether we could gather treasures. This layer..."

His eyes narrowed. "...is testing whether we’re worthy of taking them."

The atmosphere immediately became heavier. Even Boren stopped smiling.

Sage took another deep breath before pointing toward the upper layers. "Nobody attacks another bubble until I give the order. Watch carefully first."

Everyone nodded with solemn looks.

This time Brutus volunteered. "I’ll test it."

He waited until Sage floated closer before carefully swinging his enormous axe toward another bubble. The barrier cracked slightly under the impact before finally bursting apart, but instead of treasures falling from within, dozens of glowing figures stepped out through the shattered fragments.

Every person present froze. The figures resembled gigantic warriors clad in ancient armor. Their bodies shimmered like transparent glass while brilliant golden runes flowed continuously beneath their surfaces.

Each one carried different weapons, greatswords, spears, halberds, bows and although they lacked faces, the killing intent radiating from them felt completely real.

"They’re... soldiers?" Boren whispered.

"No," Valeria Vanthrice shook her head calmly and said with a slight grave tone. "Illusions."

Before anyone could relax, one of the illusion warriors disappeared.

A sharp whistle echoed through the hall.

Gregor instinctively leaned backward. A glowing spear sliced through the space where his head had been only a fraction of a second earlier before embedding itself deep inside one of the golden pillars.

Gregor’s expression changed drastically, his face turning pale as he rubbed his neck. "...That illusion nearly killed me."

"It doesn’t matter whether they’re real," Vanthrice glance at him and said. "If they can kill you, treat them as enemies."

The illusion army charged. Without waiting for further orders, Gregor gripped his broadsword tightly before launching himself forward. Brutus followed beside him like a charging mountain, his gigantic axe resting comfortably across one shoulder.

"Leave these ghosts to us."

The battle erupted immediately. Unlike ordinary opponents, the illusion warriors fought with frightening discipline. Every movement flowed naturally into the next, every attack supported another, making them resemble veteran soldiers who had trained together for decades.

Gregor quickly discovered that brute strength alone wasn’t enough. Each sword strike passed harmlessly through certain parts of their bodies while other attacks connected perfectly.

He was forced to study their movements instead of blindly swinging. "So that’s your trick..."

A grin slowly appeared on his face. "I can play smart too."

He sidestepped one incoming spear before twisting his waist and delivering a perfectly timed horizontal slash. The illusion shattered instantly into countless particles of golden light.

Nearby, Brutus laughed loudly while smashing another illusion apart with overwhelming force. "Hah! Whether you’re real or fake, my axe doesn’t care!"

Within minutes the entire illusion squad dissolved into drifting particles.

The Guild barely had time to celebrate before another scream echoed overhead.

"Mina!"

Everyone looked upward. The little girl had successfully burst another treasure bubble, but the moment it collapsed, a strange silver light spread beneath her feet. Before anyone understood what had happened, Mina’s body became unbelievably heavy.

She plummeted downward like a falling boulder, her frightened scream echoing throughout the treasury as gravity pulled her violently toward the marble floor.

"Petty uncle Sage!"

Sage reacted instantly. Wind exploded beneath his boots as he shot downward.

"Mina!"

Despite his speed, he realized he wouldn’t reach her in time.

"Lyana!"

"I know!"

Green magic circles instantly appeared beneath Lyana’s feet. Dozens of emerald vines burst upward from the marble floor, weaving through the air like enormous snakes before wrapping securely around Mina’s waist only moments before impact.

The vines stretched violently under the sudden weight, their surfaces groaning loudly as the unnatural gravity continued dragging Mina downward, but Lyana gritted her teeth and poured even more mana into her spell.

Sweat rolled down her forehead. "I... won’t... let... go!"

The vines finally stabilized. Mina hung only a few meters above the ground, breathing heavily while clutching her chest.

Sage landed beside her moments later before carefully helping her onto the floor.

"You alright?"

She nodded repeatedly. "I thought... I thought I was going to become meat paste."

Sage gently rubbed her head. "You did well."

Lyana smiled weakly, though her breathing had become noticeably heavier. "It’s getting harder..."

Sage noticed immediately. Every trap consumed more mana. Every rescue demanded greater effort.

If this continued... He didn’t finish the thought.

Unfortunately, the treasury clearly wasn’t finished testing them either. A loud crash suddenly echoed from the opposite side.

Everyone turned to look and saw Boren standing there completely frozen beside an enormous golden pedestal. His chubby face had gone pale while one trembling finger pointed toward a glowing red rune beneath his boot.

"...Boss."

Sage sighed. "What did you touch?"

"I..." Boren swallowed loudly. "...I don’t actually know."

The rune flashed brilliantly. An instant later, countless crimson lines spread across the marble floor like enormous spiderwebs, connecting every pillar throughout the treasury. Ancient inscriptions that had remained dormant for countless centuries suddenly awakened one after another, flooding the entire hall with an overwhelming golden glow.

The floating bubbles trembled violently as every rune carved throughout the gigantic chamber ignited simultaneously, causing the mana density within the treasury to increase several times over.

Everyone instinctively looked around. The hall itself had awakened. The atmosphere became suffocating, the floating bubbles no longer drifted peacefully overhead. They slowly began changing formation, arranging themselves into strange geometric patterns while ancient symbols appeared beneath each one.

Sage felt cold sweat slide down his back.

"The entire treasury....it’s alive."

Nobody laughed anymore. Gregor tightened his grip around his broadsword. The easy harvesting from before had completely disappeared. Every treasure now demanded a price.

Sage slowly rose back into the air, deciding to personally inspect the highest layers before allowing anyone else to continue. The further upward he flew, the stronger the surrounding mana became. Wind currents grew unstable, gravity shifted unpredictably, and glowing runes drifted through the air like living insects.

Several times he was forced to adjust his flight path to avoid invisible barriers that hadn’t existed before, but after carefully navigating through countless hazards, he finally reached a section of the treasury none of them had seen before.

His breathing stopped. Unlike the lower bubbles, these were surrounded by deep violet light. Inside each one floated only a handful of crystals.

But those crystals were unlike anything he had ever seen. Each Skill Stone pulsed with brilliant silver and gold light while ancient runes slowly revolved within their crystal cores. Even from several meters away Sage could feel the terrifying amount of martial knowledge sleeping inside them.

Compared to the Skill Stones they had already collected, these felt like the difference between ordinary iron and divine steel.

His pupils slowly contracted."High-grade Skill Stones."

His voice barely escaped his lips as he stared at the priceless treasures floating silently before him.

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