News of a gate opening quickly reached the ears of all the major guilds within the island.
There were a total of seventy-two guilds within the island, of which only two were of the King grade. Guilds were ranked according to the chessboard hierarchy, with pawn-grade guilds at the bottom and King-grade guilds at the top.
The Severed Star Guild was a newly promoted Queen-grade guild, just shy of the King-grade.
They still lacked the necessary achievements and members to reach the King-grade. But that wasn’t an issue. Even though they had yet to reach the King-grade, they were considered to be the Guild with the highest chance of advancing to such a grade.
After all, each one of their departments had several ‘geniuses’ that could make any other guild salivate with envy.
At this very moment, a meeting was taking place on the Guild’s 50th floor.
The top floor and the Guild Master’s floor.
“The gate has been identified as a ranked Anomalous Type Gate. There are already several guilds that are trying to get their hands on the Gate. In particular, Crownfall and Ivory Dominion.”
“That’s a little worrying…”
A middle-aged man replied, his voice low and steady. He wore a dark suit that strained against his broad frame while his black hair and beard were neatly trimmed.
Wearing a flat expression, the Guild Master leaned back in his chair as light poured through the massive windows behind him.
“…If those two are trying to take the gates, then things will be rather complicated for us. I’m sure they will try their best to make sure we don’t get a spot.”
The rise of another King-grade Guild wasn’t good for them. And so, it wasn’t strange for them to try their best to make things harder for themselves.
“We can’t afford to lose this gate. Especially not when we have found so many talented recruits.”
The reason why gates were important was because of the fragments that they managed to collect from them. Not only were the fragments extremely valuable, providing extremely clean energy to sustain the island and several other important operations, they were also crucial in the development of an awakened.
There existed several types of fragments, and each Decree required a specific sequence or number of specific types of fragments in order to advance to the next Order and unlock the next node.
The higher the order, the more absurd the requirement.
It was for this reason that they couldn’t give up on the gate.
“Guild Master, if I may say something…”
Interrupting the Guild Master’s thoughts, his assistant stepped forward, a folder clutched tightly to her chest as she adjusted her sharp, angular glasses.
“There’s actually something interesting that I’ve managed to find while investigating the recent gate.”
“Oh? Do tell.”
Interest flashed across the Guild Master’s eyes. What could Adeline have possibly found?
“Take a look over here.”
Adeline placed a file on the desk, revealing a photo of a man who stood out immediately, mostly because of the sunglasses he wore.
She pointed at the image.
“He, along with another streamer known as JamieTV, was responsible for uncovering the anomaly within the museum.”
“And…?”
“This guy right here.”
She pointed at the man with sunglasses.
“He’s actually within our Guild as an observer for one of the stars of the Containment department. If we play our cards right, we might be able to claim a spot in the raid.”
“Mhm.”
The Guild Master crossed his arms, his gaze focused on the man with the sunglasses. So he was within the Guild?
Well, that changed the situation.
One of the rules set by the Bureau was that whoever discovered a gate had the right to claim a spot for it. If the young man with the sunglasses was truly within their Guild, then all they needed to do was convince him to join, and the spot would be theirs.
The Guild Master made his decision then.
“Get in contact with him. Offer him a job here.”
“Understood. How much should I offer him?”
“Hmm.”
The Guild Master pondered for a moment before looking back at his assistant.
“Which department was it again? Containment?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, let me make a call.”
The Guild Master reached for the phone next to him and dialed a number. A rough voice echoed from the speakers a few seconds later.
—Er? Guild Master? Why are you calling? I’m kind of a little busy right now…
Adeline bitterly smiled when hearing the voice coming from the speaker. Only he would speak to the Guild Master in that manner.
—…It’s kind of a life and death situation, you know? It’s… errkkkh!
“What’s going on? Are you in the middle of a gate? If so—”
—No, I’m just constipated.
“….”
The room fell silent before the Guild Master suddenly burst out laughing. His laugh echoed within the quiet space as Adeline covered her face and shook her head.
Seriously…
—Errk. Guild Master. Th… his is no laughing matter. I’m actually dying over here. Can you make it quick?
“Yes, I will.”
With a shake of his head, the Guild Master went straight to the point.
“I need you to tell me about the observer that one of your recruits brought in. What do you think about him?”
—Eh?
As if forgetting all about his situation, the line fell quiet.
It remained quiet for a few seconds before his voice echoed again.
—Are you talking about the boy called Seth?
“Seth?”
The Guild Master turned to look at Adeline, who slowly nodded her head.
“Yes, him. What do you think about him?”
—Haa.
A tired sound escaped the Section Chief as the line fell quiet again. Seeing Sebastian act like this, the Guild Master grew even more curious. While Sebsastian tended to act chaotically and erratically, he was an extremely competent man.
There was a reason why he was the Section Chief of the Containment department.
And his next words made the Guild Master extremely surprised.
—I.. really want him.
He could feel the desire in the Section Chief’s voice as he spoke.
—Guild Master… have you not watched the stream?
“The stream?”
The Guild Master looked to his assistant, who readily displayed to him a certain video. He watched tentatively as the Section Chief spoke over the phone.
—The first time I was impressed was during the newbie trials. He was just there to look, but decided to have a go. He… ended up setting the record for the fastest run in the game. I gave up thinking that I might be jumping the gun, but then I saw his stream. That guy… he might just be a monster.
The Guild Master’s eyes narrowed as he skipped past several scenes and witnessed the subject with heavy scrutiny.
He analyzed everything. From the speed of his thoughts, his handling of the situation, and his general calmness.
He was slowly starting to see what the Section Chief was talking about.
But then…
—I ended up offering him a position, but he refused me.
“Hm?”
The Guild Master turned his attention to the phone again.
“He refused?”
—Yes.
“What did you offer him?”
—Very good terms. Top even for the top recruits in their first year.
“But he still rejected?”
—Yes, he said that he wanted to continue developing games.
“Games?”
The Guild Master paused, his eyes blinking rapidly before he suddenly burst out laughing again. His laugh this time was even louder than the previous, the amusement clear on his face.
Eventually, calming himself down, he looked towards Adeline
“Draft up a contract.”
—Guild Master? Are you going to offer him a contract? I’m afraid he’s still going to reject it. He-
“Add the title of ‘Trauma Consultant’. Give him a base salary of around 2,500$ a month and tell him he can do whatever he wants. We just need him for the gate.”
Adeline took the orders seriously and jotted everything down.
Then, finished everything she bowed before leaving.
—Eh?
On the phone, the Section Chief remained stunned. Eventually, however, he recovered and started speaking hurriedly.
—Wait, you’re giving him a bogus position? What for? Ah, wait… is it for the gate?
“Correct.”
The Guild Master nodded.
“If he works for us, then we will get a claim to the gate. The profit that we’ll make from the gate will far outstrip the salary that we’re offering him.”
—Ah…
The Section Chief started to understand. However, he soon chuckled.
—But that’s not the only reason, right? I bet you have other motives behind your actions.
The Guild Master merely smiled without answering.
The Section Chief pressed on.
—You’re smiling, aren’t you? Fuck. Just thinking about it is giving me goosebumps. Shit. I-
“Aren’t you constipated?
—Huh?
The line paused before the Section Chief sighed.
—…I was lying.
“Oh?”
The Guild Master didn’t sound surprised.
“And what exactly were you doing?”
—I was playing football. Recently, I feel like my leg hasn’t exactly been as strong as it once was. The last time I tried to kic-
Du. Du.
The Guild Master ended the call there, allowing for the silence to return to the office.
Then…
Slowly turning his attention towards the sunglasses-wearing figure in the file before him, he drummed his fingers on the table.
“For the Section Chief to say something like that… I’m starting to become interested myself.”