Chapter 13: A First Look at the Explorer Guild

It was a huge building, more than fifty floors tall and stretching across almost the entire street.

The structure was massive — not just in height but in width as well, as if it had been designed to contain every kind of service a cultivator or explorer might need. From the outside alone, Ren could already tell this place was far more than just a guild office. It was a complete system.

The building was sleek and solid, with an imposing yet practical design. It did not try to look extravagant like some noble estate or commercial tower, but there was still something about it that naturally drew attention. It looked like the kind of place built to last through both time and chaos.

At the front was the guild emblem — a compass, a galaxy, and a multi-colored shimmering portal layered together into one symbol. Just looking at it gave the impression of direction, exploration, distance, and danger all at once.

Ren paid the fare, stepped out of the hover taxi, and stood there for a moment, looking up at the building in silence.

Even though he had already seen it from the air during the ride, standing in front of it made the scale feel far more real.

People moved in and out of the entrance constantly. Some looked like young cultivators not much older than him, their expressions carrying a mix of excitement and caution. Others were veterans — they carried visible weapons, travel bags, old scars, and a certain tired alertness that was hard to miss. A few wore uniforms or insignias that clearly marked them as belonging to teams or affiliated branches. Others wore plain clothing and somehow stood out even more.

Ren quietly observed them for a while.

His main purpose today was simple. He was here to scout the guild and rent a training room. That was all. At least for now.

He was not planning to register today.

The reason was straightforward.

Registration would require him to submit personal information, cultivation information, and basic identity details. That alone was not a problem. The real issue was that registering now would reveal he had completed the Seed Stage in less than ten days.

And according to everything he had found online, in this plane, even the most monstrous geniuses needed a minimum of ten days to complete the Seed Stage. It was almost treated like a natural limitation. A rule. Not a written law, but a commonly recognized boundary that no one seemed able to break.

There was a difference between being talented and being a rule-breaker.

Ren had no intention of attracting that kind of attention this early. If people learned he had completed it in under ten days, too many questions would follow. And right now, he did not have the strength to deal with those questions.

So instead of registering immediately, he planned to wait two more days. That way, even if his progress was still extraordinary, it would not look outright impossible. Shocking, yes. But not unbelievable. That was much safer.

After settling his thoughts, Ren began walking toward the entrance.

— • —

The closer he got, the more details he noticed.

The material of the building was smooth and metallic in some places, reinforced with dark stone-like sections in others. Advanced, but not fragile.

Near the entrance, several floating displays showed notices and guild information:

Beginner Registration Training Room Availability, Material Buyback Rates, Restricted Secret Realm Warnings, Current Internal Missions, Public Guild Services and Medical Bay

The doors opened automatically as Ren approached. The moment he stepped inside, a wave of cool air met him.

The inside was even larger than he had expected. The entrance hall was enormous. The ceiling rose several stories high, with suspended light panels and moving holographic projections giving the whole place a futuristic feel without making it look too flashy. The floor was polished and spotless, reflecting the movement of people and light above.

In the center were multiple counters divided into sections — desks for inquiries and general services on the left, material assessment and purchasing counters on the right. Further ahead were larger waiting areas where people sat or discussed things in low voices.

Above everything, floating displays rotated through announcements: maps of known Secret Realms, emergency warnings, lists of newly opened training grounds, guild policy updates, temporary restrictions on certain realm entries, and one large display listing room rental prices and availability by floor and category.

Ren slowed his pace slightly, taking it all in.

This place was busy, but not chaotic. Workers behind the counters handled requests quickly. Cultivators came and went without making unnecessary noise. Even with so many people inside, there was a sense of order.

That alone told Ren how powerful the guild really was. Any place dealing with large numbers of armed cultivators, volatile materials, and realm access needed strict systems, or it would collapse into chaos within a week.

As he continued forward, he noticed the guild was clearly designed to serve many different levels of people. Some counters had signs for beginner services. Others had access restrictions. There were elevators with floor limits depending on guild rank, membership, or authorization. Side corridors were guarded by quiet-looking staff members whose presence made it obvious they were not ordinary reception workers.

Ren kept his expression normal, but inwardly he was impressed.

This was not just a building where people signed papers and took missions. It was more like a small city hidden inside one structure.

He stopped near one of the public information displays and looked over the layout.

The lower floors were open to the public — inquiry areas, waiting halls, standard purchase and sale sections, common training rooms. The middle floors seemed to be reserved for guild members, internal administration, specialized training areas, and beginner mission operations. The upper floors were more restricted: high-level services, elite rooms, internal archives, special material storage, realm coordination offices, and things the average visitor would never be allowed near.

Ren’s eyes lingered on the listing for training facilities. That was what he needed.

Fortunately, the online information had been right — training room rental could be done without formal registration, as long as the person had valid identity verification and could pay the fee.

That was perfect. He still wanted to avoid giving the guild detailed cultivation information for now. Not because he thought the guild itself would do something immediately, but because information was information. Once it existed in a system, it could be seen, compared, requested, or circulated in ways he might not like.

Better to stay careful.

— • —

Ren continued walking deeper into the hall, observing as he passed.

A tall man with a scar running across one cheek was talking to a counter staff member while carrying a case that likely held either a weapon or materials. A girl who looked only a few years older than Ren wore light armor and had a spear strapped across her back. A group of three men in travel gear stood near a map display discussing something in serious tones. An older woman, dressed very simply, carried no visible weapon at all — but the people around her gave her a little more space than usual.

Ren walked that way.

He kept walking until he reached a line in front of a Public Facilities Counter. The sign above it listed services such as temporary practice room rental, basic public consultation, beginner public archive access, and open cultivation space booking.

Good. This was the right place.

There were only four people ahead of him, so Ren joined the line and waited. Several screens behind the counter displayed available room types — some for simple skill practice, others for weapon use, some with impact-resistant walls. A few were marked as low-grade energy environments, likely allowing cultivators to practice under slightly better conditions than normal.

The prices varied heavily. Serious training inside the guild was not cheap. Still, the public basic rooms were within what he could currently afford, especially with the money his parents had transferred to him before entering the Secret Realm.

A few minutes later, it was his turn.

The person at the counter was a young woman in guild uniform. She looked professional, calm, and had a polite smile on her face.

"Sir, how may I help you?"

"I want to rent a public training room."

She nodded and tapped something on the screen in front of her. "Practice type?"

"For now, basic combat techniques."

"Do you need a standard room or a low-grade reinforced room?"

Ren thought for a second. He wasn’t planning to do anything destructive yet. At his current level, a reinforced room would be unnecessary and just cost more.

"Standard room is fine."

"How much time?"

Today was mostly about scouting and getting used to the place, not overdoing it.

"Two days."

"Two full-day rentals?"

"Yes."

She tapped a few more times and turned the screen slightly toward him. "Public standard training room, two-day rental. Identity verification required. Room access valid from today until the same time two days later. Any damage beyond ordinary room tolerance will be charged separately. Food and drink can be ordered from inside. Medical response can be requested through the room terminal if necessary."

Ren read through the conditions and nodded. "That’s fine."

"Please pay using your light-brain or ID card on the scanner."

Ren paid. A blue light swept across the device.

"Payment complete."

A small card-like device slid out from the terminal beside her. She handed it to him.

"Room B-17. Public training section, lower hall east wing. This access card will remain active for the duration of your rental."

"Thank you."

"If you need help finding the training section, there are public route guides near the side displays."

Ren nodded once and stepped away from the counter.

The card was smooth, dark gray, with a small glowing guild symbol on one corner. The moment he held it, a faint map prompt appeared on his light-brain, evidently synced to the room access record.

Convenient.

He glanced at the route. The training section was not too far from where he stood, but it was deep enough into the guild that a first-time visitor could easily get lost without guidance.

Ren started walking.

As he moved, the atmosphere shifted little by little. The main entrance area had felt public and open, like a crossroads. The deeper areas were quieter. Less crowded. He passed a long transparent wall behind which several small consultation booths were visible. Beyond that were two guarded side corridors — one marked for member access, the other for authorized logistics only. Further on, the décor became simpler, more functional. Less display space, more working structure.

After another turn, Ren reached the east wing entrance. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

A staff member stood near a gate-like checkpoint, his uniform less customer-service looking and more like building security. Ren held up the access card. The man scanned it with a handheld device, then stepped aside.

"Room B-17. Straight down, second left corridor."

"Thanks."

Ren walked through the checkpoint. The training section felt different immediately — the noise from the main hall faded behind him. The corridors here were wider, the walls thicker, the lighting slightly dimmer but more focused. Numbered doors lined both sides, each marked with room codes and current status lights. Some green. Some red. Some marked reserved.

Soon he found the second left corridor. A few steps later, he reached Room B-17.

The door was simple and solid, with a narrow display panel beside it. Ren placed the access card against the reader. A soft chime sounded. The door unlocked.

He opened it and stepped inside.

The room was larger than he had expected. Not too huge, but definitely not cramped. A square space with padded but firm flooring, reinforced walls, ceiling lights set into protective fixtures, and a side control terminal built into the far wall. One corner held basic equipment — weighted rods, training dummies, floor markers, and several simple support tools. Another wall displayed emergency instructions and temporary environment settings that, according to the terminal notice, were limited in public rooms.

No energy enhancement. No gravity alteration. No advanced simulation.

Just a solid, reliable place to train.

Honestly, that was enough for now.