White Raven Guild. Kukenan Plateau. White Raven city.

A grand and opulent hall. The walls and the ceiling were studded with nice-looking gems that formed various array mechanisms. The well-lit ambiance and pleasant atmosphere. An empty platform was levitating quietly at one end, waiting for someone to take the stage.

Mortals served sumptuous cuisine and drinks. Yet, there was a certain decorum that couldn't be hampered.

One could say that the hall's ambiance became the embodiment of minimalism. And yet, it couldn't help exuding a certain rich vibe that wasn't associated with any start-up guild.

"Woohoo. This guild is loaded."

Bhaa Laah the night elf commented as she looked around herself and saw the riches with which the hall had been decorated. Tumko Darata and his entire team had been summoned to the White Raven Guild's induction hall.

Drin Dawn and Bianka Bluedust were also present with their respective teams in the hall. Eren had called all his key guild members to make a few announcements.

Tumko scanned the area with his keen eyes before commenting.

"I am more curious about how the guy was able to hire so many talented rankers. It's like he cherry-picked the people and paired them in groups that would make sense."

Tumko's statement prompted a chuckle from his vice-captain Tal Waar. He shook his head and smiled before commenting.

"You are praising yourself by saying that. We were also invited to be here by him."

Tal Waar looked at Tumko intently before asking his question.

"Why did you accept his invitation? Do you think he'll lead us out of this prison named Anfang?"

Tumko chuckled as well when he heard another interpretation of his words from Tal Waar's mouth. He then sighed before answering his question.

"Well no matter what we do, it's still a gamble. So why not put our bets on someone like Eren, who knows what he is doing from the looks of things? It would be stupid of us to find an escape route in a dungeon that has been completely conquered by him."

The team's tank Kavach also agreed with Tumko's statements. He added further.

"Tumko's right. It is better to wait than to find an escape route under adverse conditions. I just wish Eren would appear, give his two cents, and let us get started on our missions. I just hate waiting."

***

"How did the last mission turn out, Drin?"

Bianka asked Drin while their teams were catching up with each other. Biaka held a champagne glass in her right hand. With her left hand, she would often readjust the locks of hair and tuck them behind her ears.

Bianka knew that Drin's team had been sent on an imperative mission by Eren. She wondered what the mission was about since it looked to be a guild-related mission.

Drin was reminded of the mission he was part of when he heard Bianka's question. Kirin was leading the mission which involved subjugating a monster tribe. He chuckled before answering.

"Hehe. My last mission didn't feel like a mission at all, Bianka. Basically, I served as a pathfinder for my then-team leader Kirin. She only needed help keeping the crowd away from her while she dealt with the tribe leader.

Then there was this guy named Kaalmaahen. He fights like a monster himself. Anyway, my team's job was to secure a perimeter. The rest was handled by Expert Kirin and Kaalmaahen.

We were released from our tasks when Kaalmaahen defeated a quasi-Monster Overlord named Bigua. I don't know what happened after that as Kirin and Kaal took things from there."

Bianka's curiosity was piqued when she heard the details about the mission from Drin. She predicted that Eren had received something significant from the site by making Kirin take over after the tribe was defeated. That meant he knew exactly what the tribe had in store for him.

Drin looked at Bianka's curious face and smiled before speaking up.

"Look, I don't know what it is that Eren found at the site. But I guess we will find out soon enough. If my guess is right"

Drin looked around himself and pondered a bit. He scratched his chin before making his predictions.

"This meeting should be about what they found on the site. Do you remember the rank-up program the guild mentioned to us earlier?"

Bianka connected the dots in her head and nodded at Drin. The rank-up program was supposed to help all rankers progress further in their respective ranking journeys. The White Raven guild had asked for active participation from all its members.

The guild had assigned the participants of the program valuable resources. In return, they had to stick to the routine suggested by the program and complete a certain set of tasks.

The program was pretty simple at first. But it started getting increasingly difficult for even the most talented rankers no matter which rank they belonged to. Only the key members of the White Raven guild managed to stay in the program while the others were kicked out.

Drin concluded that the meeting was related to the rank-up program and what Kirin found at his last mission site because only the members that were still in the program had been summoned to the place, leaving out the replaceable workforce of the White Raven guild. Second, the way Kirin talked made him see that the rank-up program was only meant to be a warm-up for what was to come for them.

Even the rankers that had stayed inside the program for this long were complaining that the assigned tasks and routines were getting more difficult by the day. And that they were being pushed to their limits for no feasible gains.

Some rankers did improve their ranking status because of the valuable resources provided by the guild. But they felt like the gains they had received weren't equal to the efforts they had put in. Of course, nobody complained about the program to the butcher himself. By this point, almost everyone knew what he had done.

A few guild members were excited about the program as well. Tuan Aag, Renar, Viper, Katalina, and others were among those who made the most of it.

AN: Rank-up program was first mentioned in chapter 787.