Richard appeared from the corner and stood behind his son, Jonathan. Then he scanned the youngling sitting in front of them from top to bottom.
'What was that?'
To say the truth, the youngling's pressure had made even his heart tremble.
He felt as if he was standing in front of the devil himself.
That pressure was thick and murky, like a quagmire.
At that moment the youngling who was sitting calmly with his chin resting on his hand looked like a devil who was laughing as he gave them an enticing deal.
Every cell in Richard's body was quivering in fear and joy. It was like he had found his ruler, someone he would rule over him.
Only when the youngling's pressure receded did he realize that these weren't his real feelings but the effect of a skill.
'Legendary-grade skill.'
Realizing the rank of the skill, Richard increased the youngling's evaluation in his mind.
The ranks of the skill were: Common, Rare, Unique, Epic, and Legendary. But only Legendary grade skills can be activated without calling their name out aloud.
In the entire earth, the total number of people with a Legendary grade skill wouldn't even amount to a thousand.
'Maybe he belongs to one of the big three.'
The three largest families on Earth were: Martel Family, Yuan Clan, and Pendragon Family.
If it was an heir candidate of these families, then everything would make sense.
Richard squinted his eyes.
To make connections with such a person was very profitable. But Richard's instinct told him that something was wrong.
He still didn't know about the real name of the youngling. Moreover, the youngling was now wearing a mask.
Till now, the youngling was wandering without hiding his face. When they looked up his identity, they didn't find anything and the information about the youngling in the underworld was costly.
Thus, they believed it to be his real face. But then, why was he wearing a mask now?
Ultimately, Richard inwardly shook his head.
The skill was undeniable proof that the youngling had very powerful backing. It wouldn't make sense for him to lie.
Richard bowed and introduced himself.
"I am Richard Williamson, the leader of the Black t-shirt Gang. May I know the young master's name?"
"Akako."
Richard nodded his head.
He knew that Akako was an alias, but exposing his identity would defeat the purpose of the trial.
***
I looked at the person who was standing behind Jonathan like a butler. With his gold-rimmed glasses and grey beard, he looked more like a friendly neighborhood grandpa than a leader of a gang.
I inwardly smirked as I saw him staring at my mask.
Though I had changed my hair color with my stigma and disguised myself to look different, if they searched for my info, they should've easily known about me.
Sadly for them, Ward deletes information about cadets from every database other than the highly secured ones.
The mask I was wearing now was to deceive them into thinking that the previous face was a disguise.
Now even if they get my info from the Underworld, they will think I was someone else.
As always, hiding in plain sight was the most secure method.
"Akako"
I inwardly sighed at the choice of my name. But I quickly erased the thought from my mind.
"Why does Mr. Akako want a VIP membership and a herb to rank up? Shouldn't these little things be easy for you to obtain?"
'No, I don't have any other way to get them quickly. If it was easy, I wouldn't have come here.'
I thought as such, but this wasn't something I could tell them. So, I spoke like an heir to some rich family.
"It is easy, but why should I waste my limited budget given to me if I can get them for free while also taking down a gang?"
Richard's eyes widened slightly. But he quickly returned to his passive expression just as quickly.
"What does Mr. Akako mean that he wants Miller?"
Without minding the pressure that Richard was unconsciously leaking, I answered in a confident voice.
"Miller's talent is only rotting here. I want him to come under me and help him grow."
"He is rotting here?"
Crack-
The edge of the table broke as Jonathan gripped it tightly. It seems he was an overprotective doting brother who protected Miller from behind the scene.
Maybe this was why Miller fell into despair when he finally got to know about his family after everyone in his gang was killed.
"Look at Miller. He is only mid-Meta rank even at that age. If you hadn't shackled him in the name of protection, he would've been a lot stronger."
Not giving them a chance to speak, I continued my barrage of attacks.
"Even if he was only an adventurer with nothing to his name. He still would have been living a better life than a life of mugging people in back alleys."
Richard closed his eyes, and Jonathan gripped the table even harder.
'Good. It's working.'
It didn't matter if both of them didn't look down on their job. They should still be aware of the war that was ongoing on the frontlines.
Restricting Miller's growth was the same as letting him die if the races invaded again.
"What can you do? Wouldn't your family also use Miller? You people are just hypocrites!"
Jonathan burst out. He couldn't handle how he was killing his brother's future with his own two hands.
"My family doesn't know about Miller. I don't want Miller to work under my family, but me."
"What?"
I grinned.
This time, it was Richard who had lost his composure. As a leader of an organization, he should know that losing one's composure was the biggest mistake done during a deal.
Yet what I said surprised them.
"How do you know about Miller if your family doesn't?"
To them, it doesn't make sense how 'Mr. Akako' would know about Miller's ability without using his family's resources.
Of course, I knew because of the novel. Miller was going to get refuge under the founder of Round Table after his gang was destroyed.
This was the reason I came to this area. In a few months, the Black t-shirt gang was going to be destroyed by Leon under Lilith's dad's command.
The reason?
Lilith's dad couldn't handle that his cute little daughter was with a boy. So, he decided to fuck over Leon by giving him a difficult task as his mission.
Unsurprisingly, Leon was able to do it and thus earned his respect.
I was here to get the pie(Miller) before the storm(Leon) arrives and the pie lands in the thief's(Round Table) hand.
"You don't need to know how I know. Only that my family doesn't know anything about Miller."
Jonathan was about to say something, but Richard stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder.
Both of them looked at each other until Jonathan sighed and retreated.
Jonathan was young, so he didn't have his father's experience. In this world, everything was possible; you just had to pay the right price for it.
This was why he didn't question my answer. Some things were best left unknown.
Of course, in this situation, all of this was bullshit. I was thankful to Richard, who was thinking with experience and calming his inexperienced son.
"What guarantee is that you won't use our son for your own gain?"
"There is none, and don't be mistaken. I will use him for my gains. I am not running a charity to help your son without anything in return."
But before Jonathan kicked a fuss, I added.
"If he is going to work under me, he will face life-threatening situations. Those situations will be far more dangerous than any gang wars of yours. But I promise. In return, I will help him will grow beyond anything you can imagine."
Technically, I wasn't lying. In no way, they can imagine Miller would become a 5-star villain and the 7th Seat of the Round Table.
"What will you do?"
I placed my feet on the table and closed my eyes. My heart was thumping loudly.
This was my first step to create my own force. Something that would rival even the Aegis and Illis.
After deliberating for a few minutes, Richard opened his mouth.
"I won't make any promises. We still need to discuss this with Miller."
I was a beat late to understand the meaning of Richard's words.
'Yes!'
The first step was a success!
I wanted to jump in happiness, but I controlled myself. A few things were still left.
"What about the herb and the VIP membership?"
"Those will take a few days at least. We will send it to your address."
Would you look at this old sly fox? Did he really think I would slip at the end and give him my address?
"Don't want to."
I repeated myself.
"I don't want to wait. Bring them within an hour, or the deal is canceled."
***
"How is it? Will it work? Will it?"
Trevor removed his goggles and looked at the two cadets, who kept annoying him.
For the past two weeks, whenever he was going to rest, both of them will magically pop up and ask him about his progress.
"Get out or I won't complete it anymore."
Unable to handle the two 1st years anymore, Trevor hollered.
He was Rank 2 of 3rd years and the top student in the Research Department. He wasn't their slave!
"Magical Engineering demands immense concentration. Not to mention what you are asking is borderline impossible."
The only reason Trevor had agreed to his teacher's request to help them was that the because of what he was asked to make.
The device he was making was simple, yet difficult at the same time.
It had ignited his inner engineer, and thus he was working on it.
But these two cadets were chewing on his mental capacity more than the actual project!
p
Without waiting for them to speak, Trevor kicked them out of his lab
-Bang!
Standing in the lobby, Leon and Lilith awkwardly smiled at each other.
"Maybe we were too pushy?"
Sighing, both of them went toward the training ground. These days, they only trained or followed Trevor to make him work faster.
"Still, it was a surprise that you were able to get a senior to work on it."
The device was something Anna had given them the idea about. From then Lilith used her connections to get someone to make it.
"My dad helped me."
Lilith snorted smugly. Naturally, when her dad asked why she was doing this, she answered that this was for a good friend.
Her dad also looked happy that she had close friends.
"We are here."
Leon spoke while scanning his bracelet at the training ground. This training ground was only available to low-rank students.
Because Leon couldn't enter the training ground of high-rank students, Lilith came here.
Lilith wasn't hindering her growth to train with Leon. All the training grounds were equipped with similar facilities.
The only difference was that the higher rank cadets had more luxurious equipments and personal trainers, which Lilith did not need.
"Hmm? Why is she here?"
Leon pointed to the silver-haired girl who was training there.
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