Chapter 104: The Faces Behind the Masks

ThreeleafAxe69 and ThreeleafDad were the heirs to the famous clothing brand, Threeleaf Enterprises. To them, playing the game was never just about entertainment. It was a massive, carefully calculated promotional campaign for their family brand.

Threeleaf was making a very shrewd move. Their earlier attempts to use games as advertising platforms had produced only modest results, but Dominion was different. This game had effectively monopolized the entire gaming market. With so many players pouring into Dominion every day, if their Guild could break into the Top Ten, the exposure would be explosive, a level of publicity that simply could not be ignored.

Old Vine paused as he spoke, his eyes shining with admiration, before continuing in an animated tone.

“Stone, it won’t be long before major corporations realize just how much vitality and business potential Dominion holds. When that happens, they’ll rush in with promotions, sponsorships, and spokesperson deals. The advertising effect will be far stronger than any traditional campaign they could run outside the game.”

As he spoke, Old Vine suddenly turned to look at Marcus, his gaze carrying a strange, probing quality.

“Stone, you’re currently ranked number one on the Top Ten Experts Leaderboard. Your reputation is enormous, and players everywhere are curious about you. When the time comes, a lot of companies will definitely come knocking, hoping you’ll represent them. What do you think? Want me to help you make a few connections? I promise I won’t let you get taken advantage of.”

Marcus laughed softly and shook his head.

“Haha, no thanks. I’m not interested in endorsements.”

Only then did he fully understand the odd look Old Vine had given him earlier. The old man was trying to make a quick profit through him.

’Dream on.’

Marcus had no intention of lowering himself to promote random products, and even if he ever changed his mind, he certainly would not need Old Vine to arrange it for him.

“Heh heh…”

Old Vine suddenly let out a low, peculiar laugh, one that made Marcus feel faintly uneasy.

In this world, people could not always control their own paths. The tree might wish for stillness, but the wind would never stop blowing. Some things were simply beyond personal choice.

Marcus, the number one expert in Dominion, was already under the scrutiny of countless eyes. Wanting to live a quiet, ordinary life, free of trouble and conflict, was never going to be easy.

On one side, players were burning with curiosity about the rise of the top-ranked expert. How had he reached the peak of Dominion so quickly? The moment Marcus revealed himself, he would become the center of attention, a walking topic of conversation, and his commercial value was impossible to deny.

On the other side, he stood at the very center of a gathering storm. Ambitious players everywhere were seeking him out. Some wanted to befriend him, others wanted to challenge him, but all of them hoped to use his name to elevate their own status. Situations like these would inevitably be forced upon him, whether he wanted them or not.

Old Vine, for his part, did not truly approve of Marcus’s lack of ambition. He felt that Marcus showed little desire to pursue grand achievements, and on some level, he even looked down on his family background, believing Marcus did not quite match their social standing. Yet despite this, Old Vine still felt a strong instinct to protect him.

He hoped Marcus would develop smoothly and seize every opportunity that came his way, rather than letting rare chances slip through his fingers.

In the real world, Old Vine would never speak so frankly, nor would he offer such detailed guidance, not even to the children of wealthy families. Why he was doing this for Marcus was something he could not explain, and in truth, he had not even realized it himself.

On a subconscious level, Old Vine wanted to see Marcus accomplish something remarkable. He found himself anticipating Marcus’s future success, even though Marcus himself failed to notice these subtle expectations.

To be fair, Old Vine genuinely liked him. If he were not worried about Marcus potentially influencing his two precious granddaughters, he might have treated him with even more warmth.

There was something about Marcus’s, an indescribable charisma that quietly drew people in. It made Old Vine feel that remaining silent was wrong, that he should encourage Marcus to strive for something greater.

The fact that Marcus could affect a seasoned old man like Old Vine, to the point where he unconsciously forgot about Marcus’s family background during their interactions, was something Old Vine himself had yet to realize.

Some people were simply born this way. They were naturally likable, natural leaders who made others want to help them and stand by their side. Unfortunately, poor Old Vine had not yet noticed the change happening within himself.

Old Vine shifted the topic and gestured lightly.

“Those three belong to the Slayer Guild. The Slayer Guild is quite famous in the gaming world, considered a long-established Guild. Their leaders are involved in all kinds of high-level fields, military, politics, business, even entertainment, so their backing is extremely powerful and not something to underestimate.”

He continued calmly.

“They didn’t enter Dominion right away, so they lost the initial advantage. That’s why they seem to be lagging behind some of the other Guilds at the moment. Still, their reputation across other games is excellent, and they have a very loyal core membership. Their future development is definitely worth watching.”

Old Vine continued introducing the major Guilds seated in the front rows. Although Marcus did not know the details of most of them, he could easily tell from Old Vine’s tone that these Guilds were already well-established forces within Dominion.

As his gaze swept across the VIP section, something caught his attention.

“Old Vine, are those two women members of the Rose Mercenary Group?”

In the third row of the VIP section, two slender figures sat quietly side by side. Their posture was elegant, their presence calm, yet they drew attention without effort. In fact, nearly half the players in the arena seemed unable to look away from them.

Marcus listened carefully and heard countless whispered discussions ripple through the crowd. Unfortunately for the eager onlookers, both women were wearing Concealment Masks for the auction. The so-called wolf pack had no chance of seeing their faces. All the men could do was swallow their saliva in silence and let their imaginations fill in the blanks, sketching imagined features to match those graceful figures.

“Yeah, that’s them. Rose Mercenary Group is female-only. They might not be the biggest or the most hardcore, but every member is, by all accounts, a stunner with a ton of personality. Consequently, they are currently the Guild in Dominion that you do not want to mess with. They’ve got more self-appointed white knights than you can count.”

Old Vine let out a wistful sigh, his eyes lingering on the scene as he admired the youth and passion of the younger generation. If he were twenty years younger, he would have gladly joined those ranks himself.

“Stonehaven, do you know something?”

“What?” Marcus replied, caught off guard.

The old man’s sudden, conspiratorial tone threw him.

“Word is, the leader of the Rose Mercenary Group is an absolute goddess. But nobody’s ever seen her. The whole server’s waiting for the big reveal. She’s ranked just below you on the ’Most Mysterious Players’ list, but let’s be real; the player base is about a thousand times more interested in seeing her face than yours, oh mighty number one.”

“….”

Marcus was left completely speechless. What was all this talk about mysterious rankings and hidden faces? Dominion truly never lacked gossip.

“Do you think one of those two women could be the leader of the Rose Mercenary Group?”

He studied the two women again, irritation bubbling up when he remembered that the masks made any clear answer impossible.

“I don’t know,” Old Vine replied casually. “If you want to find out, you can always go ask them yourself.”

“….”

That was about as helpful as saying nothing at all.

“I really didn’t notice it before,” Old Vine added with a chuckle, “but for the number one expert in Dominion, you’re quite the womanizer.”

“….”

Marcus frowned inwardly. What was that supposed to mean? He was a man. What man was not interested in beautiful women?

Old Vine moved on without waiting for a response and continued introducing other famous Guilds. In total, he mentioned more than a dozen. Considering that Dominion had nearly five hundred million players, the fact that these Guilds had risen so far above the rest spoke volumes about their strength.

For the most part, these major Guilds were composed of players who were either wealthy or powerful in the real world. The moment Dominion opened its gold-to-cash exchange system, these people gained a massive advantage. With money backing them, their development speed became terrifying. That reality was impossible to deny.

Yet when Marcus looked around the spectator stands, he saw no resentment or bitterness on the faces of ordinary players. Instead, their eyes burned with fierce determination.

In Dominion, nothing was truly impossible. With enough effort and the right opportunity, carving out a place for oneself was not an unreachable dream. When their moment arrived, they would make sure the world understood that their strength was not something to be underestimated.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep