secret dice.

Chapter 792 Cerebral Thrombosis Commando Team
In the end, I still have to go to the capital.

Luo Jun sighed and decided not to waste any more time in Harbor Harbor. He headed to the portal with Mulan Shi.

Unlike teleporting from the village, teleporting from Harbor Port to the capital requires a toll of five gold coins per person.

"It's so expensive?" Luo Jun exclaimed in surprise. "That's enough for a set meal at a high-end restaurant!"

“Anything involving magic isn’t cheap,” Mulan Shi said. “By the way, this world has a skill called Eloquence; upgrading it allows you to bargain!”

"Don't imitate that girl from the Earth Guild's tone, I'm starting to have PTSD!" Luo Jun complained, but still obediently paid the money and finally stepped through the portal.

Just like before, after a moment of disorientation, the scenery in front of Luo Jun changed.

This time, however, what came into view was not a bustling metropolis, but a huge space made of concrete and iron railings, with only one exit, guarded by fully armed soldiers.

"Why are they locked up?" Luo Jun was puzzled when he saw the portal light up again, and another group of people appeared out of thin air. They then walked skillfully to the entrance and were inspected by the soldiers.

"After all, this is the capital city. It would be troublesome if something dangerous were transmitted here. Of course, we need to take precautions." Mu Lanshi took out her ID card and walked forward. After her identity was verified, she passed through smoothly.

Luo Jun followed suit and, after leaving the huge cage, finally saw a magnificent city towering on the horizon in the distance.

"That's the capital?"

As the most expansive plain on the continent, the area around the capital is almost entirely flat, with fertile fields everywhere and virtually no obstacles to obstruct the view. Luo Jun estimated that it was at least ten kilometers away from the capital, but the city was clearly visible in the distance. The towering towers, majestic city walls, and magnificent buildings all demonstrated the scale of this capital.

“This is much bigger than Harbor Harbour,” Luo Jun exclaimed.

"The capital of the Oran Empire is the most prosperous city on the continent," Mulanshi introduced. "It is not only the power center of the empire, but also the headquarters of the major guilds on the continent. It is the best place for mercenaries and adventurers to improve their strength, and it is also the symbol of the Royal Plains."

“But hundreds of years ago, due to the upheaval that affected the entire continent, this symbol changed hands.” As she spoke, Mulan Shi turned around and pointed behind the two of them.

Luo Jun was stunned. He turned around and was immediately surprised, his eyes widening in astonishment.

Behind the two was a small fortress heavily guarded by soldiers. The teleportation array was set up here, and they had just come out of it.

But Mulanshi wasn't referring to the fortress itself, but rather to something further away, beyond the fortress—a colossal tower rising from the horizon!
This tower is so enormous, with a shape that is narrower at the top and wider at the bottom. The widest part of the base is estimated to be the size of a town. It is divided into sections, each hundreds of meters high, reaching straight up into the sky. From a distance, it looks like a giant bamboo shoot...

"This is... the Tower of Babel?" Even without any systematic knowledge of it, one can tell from its appearance that it is the culprit that caused turmoil on the continent hundreds of years ago!
“Yes, the Tower of Babel is located 30 kilometers south of the capital. It suddenly rose from the ground more than 300 years ago. Its rise caused turmoil throughout the continent and created numerous lost lands…” Mu Lanshi looked at Luo Jun: “At least that’s what the books say.”

"I've heard that there are monsters inside the tower?" Luo Jun had also heard about this extraordinary tower.

“Those layers upon layers, filled with all sorts of monsters, each layer has a different environment…” Mulan Shi explained, “Each layer has monsters stronger than the one above. According to records, when the Tower of Babel first appeared, the capital city also suffered a disaster due to the continental upheaval, and was unable to attend to everything at the moment, resulting in the monsters inside the Tower of Babel escaping. In the end, the empire paid a heavy price to defeat the escaped monsters, and then built fortresses and strongholds at the foot of the tower. At the same time, elite troops and powerful mercenaries were also sent into the tower to continuously conquer upwards.”

“Each floor of the tower has a boss. As long as the boss is still there, the monsters on that floor will keep respawning every week. But once the boss is killed, the respawn frequency and strength of the monsters will be greatly reduced, turning it into a relatively safe area that humans can enter.”

"So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, conquering this Tower of Babel is the mission assigned to us by the [game]?" Looking at the colossal tower, Luo Jun said, "Then those who entered earlier are very likely all inside that tower?"

“Very likely.” Mulan Shi nodded: “Golden Rose also participated in the conquest of the Tower of Babel. According to her, to obtain the qualification to conquer the Tower of Babel, one must first report to the mercenary guild headquarters in the capital and join an officially certified conquest team.”

"I see..." Luo Jun stroked his chin. "It seems we still have to go through the formalities. Let's go to the capital first and take a look."

Ten kilometers was not a long distance in the eyes of the two cultivators. They easily arrived at the city gate, had their identities checked, and entered smoothly.

The capital city is already magnificent from afar, but once you are actually there, you are even more amazed by the wonders of creation. Many of the exquisite decorations and buildings probably exceed the limits of physics... But obviously, there are no limits to modeling.

The two first went to the Mercenary Guild to report for duty and had their rank reassessed. As a result, they were both given a B-rank rating.

Starting with Rank B, they are considered seasoned mercenaries capable of handling tasks independently. In addition to receiving this evaluation, and to thank them for their contributions to the guild, each was rewarded with a skill potion. The effect is to gain an additional ten skill points upon consumption.

"This is a real treasure!" Luo Jun asked the staff member who gave him the reward with great surprise, "Do you sell these skill potions? How much is a bottle?"

"I'm sorry, skill potions are a scarce resource even for headquarters, and can only be awarded as a reward to outstanding mercenaries who have made contributions."

Since the NPC has said so, it's probably impossible to get it. This is, after all, a game world. In reality, the guild's warehouse certainly has stock, but within the constraints of this game's rules, it's impossible to steal or rob...

Having obtained the potion, Luo Jun brought up the matter of the raiding party again.

"To join the Tower of Babel conquest team, you need at least a B-level rating, which you both currently meet." The receptionist flipped through their files. "So, would you like to join the official conquest team or a civilian conquest team?" "Is there a difference?" Luo Jun asked.

"The official conquest army is currently the backbone of the conquest of the Tower of Babel. It was established under the leadership of His Majesty the Emperor and is a large conquest group that brings together elite mercenaries from all over the country. With a total number of more than 5,000 people, it is almost the size of a small army. Relying on orderly command and cooperation, it fights on the front line of the conquest. Overall, the success rate is high and the casualty rate is relatively low, but the spoils of war need to be distributed uniformly by the state, and individuals can get relatively little."

"Individual raiding groups are relatively small, usually consisting of a few dozen people. These groups often struggle to confront large-scale monsters head-on, so they typically take on missions from official raiding teams or mercenary guilds, acting as support for the official raiding teams. The raiding process is quite dangerous, but the loot can be freely distributed among the members, resulting in generous rewards. Once you reach the level of an A-rank mercenary, you can form your own raiding group."

"It's just the difference between a regular army and a disorganized rabble..." Luo Jun stroked his chin, glanced back at Mu Lanshi, and said, "I wonder which path the others have chosen..."

“If they are regular troops, it’s fine; once you join, you’re considered part of the system,” Mu Lanshi analyzed. “But if they are civilians or self-organized raiding parties, then we can only go to the foot of the tower to find them.”

"Even the base of the tower might not be enough..." On the way here, Luo Jun had also learned about the strategy for conquering the Tower of Babel. Each floor, besides monsters, also had abundant resources. Once the BOSS was defeated, human armies and a large number of mercenaries would enter, establish a foothold on that floor, and stop the constantly spawning monsters. Many raiding groups simply stayed in a floor they had already conquered in the tower and were unwilling to come out unless there were special circumstances.

Luo Jun looked at the receptionist in front of him: "I want to inquire about a group of people. They should have arrived in the capital in the last few months. They are all mercenaries from the Lost Lands, and their rank should be quite high. Do you know them?"

The receptionist tilted her head slightly: "Are you referring to the 'Cerebral Thrombosis Strike Team'?"

Upon hearing the name, Luo Jun and Mu Lanshi's eyes lit up. This name must have been given by some abstract entity from the main world!

"Yes, yes, that should be it!" Luo Jun exclaimed excitedly, "What's their situation now?"

"This team is impressive." The receptionist flipped through the files. "Although they haven't been established for long and the members aren't very experienced, their ratings have risen rapidly, and the members are all very strong. What's even more remarkable is that they changed their captain a little over ten days ago, appointing a B-rank female mercenary who had just arrived in the capital from the Northern Territory as the new captain, surpassing many members who already had A-rank ratings. But that mercenary is indeed very capable; since she arrived, the team's efficiency in completing missions has significantly improved, and her own rating has already risen to S-rank!"

Luo Jun and Mu Lanshi exchanged a glance. There was no mistake; this was definitely the Ice Queen!

"Where are they now?" Mulanshi pressed. "We are their friends; we came here to seek refuge!"

"They should be in the Tower of Babel right now," the receptionist said. "The last time they came to headquarters to hand in a mission was to assist the conquest forces in defeating the lord of the forty-ninth floor, one of the three major retainers of Crocodile King Claudar, the Toad Ancestor Frog. That was last week. Right now, they should be conquering the fiftieth floor..."

"Fifty floors?" Luo Jun exclaimed in surprise, "Is the Tower of Babel really that tall?"

"After the Tower of Babel was erected, the area around the capital became a no-fly zone," the receptionist explained. "No matter what kind of magic it is, it cannot fly to a height of more than a thousand meters, so we don't know exactly how tall the tower is or how many floors it has... but conservatively speaking, it should have at least a hundred floors."

Each floor is over a hundred meters high, so a hundred floors would be tens of thousands of meters... It truly soars into the clouds...

"Can we apply to join the 'Cerebral Thrombosis Commando Team' now?" Mulanshi asked.

"That requires the permission of the group leader," the receptionist replied with a smile. "However, none of their group is currently in the capital, so we can't ask for their opinion..."

"However, there are also branches of mercenary guilds at the foot of the Tower of Babel. If you can find them, you can apply to join a team there," the receptionist replied. "Until then, you can only accept missions as an independent mercenary. There are also many relatively simple daily missions in the branches at the foot of the Tower of Babel, which are suitable for independent mercenaries."

It can only be the.

Luo Jun and Mu Lanshi left the guild headquarters. He first took out a skill potion and drank it down, instantly gaining ten skill points.

"Here, take mine too." Mulan Shi handed over her medicine.

"Aren't you going to drink?" Luo Jun asked.

"I don't have such high ambitions as you." Mulan Shi laughed, "With this, you can raise all three magic types to expert level, right? Take it, consider it a return gift for the two epic treasures you gave me."

"Then I'll accept it without hesitation!" Luo Jun smiled, took the bottle, and drank it down. He then raised his hand and leveled up his fire and storm magic to level 10. Afterward, the two of them went to the Three-Element Magic Guild and raised their skills to expert level.

Furthermore, Luo Jun also learned that even the headquarters of the Magic Guild could only raise basic skills to the Grandmaster level at most. To go beyond that, one would have to find Grandmaster-level experts to personally impart their skills. However, such experts were extremely rare, and obtaining their teachings required more than just money; it usually involved helping them complete some rather difficult tasks.

"I didn't expect it to be so expensive..." Looking at his empty money bag, Luo Jun couldn't help but sigh, "It costs 150 gold coins to upgrade to expert level. If that's the case, it'll probably cost more than 500 to master level!"

"That's why I said everything related to magical combat is very expensive..." Luo Jun's own money wasn't enough to upgrade his three-elemental expertise, and Mu Lanshi funded him with some more. The two of them now only had a little over two hundred gold coins in total.

“Just a few days ago, two gold coins felt like a fortune, but now that I’ve spent over two hundred, it feels like they don’t last long at all…” Mu Lanshi sighed. “What should we do next?”

“Let’s go straight to the Tower of Babel,” Luo Jun said. “We can do some quests there and find out about them at the same time. If the first forty-nine floors have already been conquered, we should be able to get up there easily.”

The two strolled around the city, purchasing some consumables such as dry food and medicine, before leaving the capital. By the time they arrived at the foot of the Tower of Babel, it was already quite late. In the distance, they could see a huge circular fortress surrounding the base of the Tower of Babel. The height of the walls and towers even surpassed that of the capital!
(End of this chapter)