Chương 44: Job Offers

Evel walked out into the large hall with a renewed drive. He now had one more thing to fight for. At the very least, he had to reach the fifth stage, even if it was just to pay Monique back. It was a funny thought. Even reaching the Weaver wasn't easy, but he was already considering two stages beyond that. Stages whose names he had yet to learn. Yet instead of despairing at the insurmountable mountain ahead of him, Evel felt excitement at his progress.

Even being in a position to consider such a thing was a major improvement from just a season ago. The recruits formed a thin semicircle around a small group of representatives. Soft whispers travelled across the groups as Evel made his way to Elena and the group. He couldn't spot Bremin, which was rare due to the circle that usually formed around him due to his aura. Looks like things have just started. Along the way, he spotted Juniper, and stopped. After a moment of hesitation, he continued forward.

Elena is probably right.

"What did I miss?" He whispered to Leo.

"Evel!" He slammed his mouth with his palms upon realizing his voice had travelled far. A few people turned to give him a funny look.

"Lucien and Bremin just got offered positions in Regulus." This time, a whisper.

"What were they offered?"

"I don't know, but they instantly accepted."

"Where are they? I don't see them even amongst the representatives."

"Regulus left as soon as they recruited the two. It seems they're not interested in anybody else."

"They left with just two?" Leo nodded.

"It was so weird! Bremin and Lucien simply walked up to the girl and left. None of the other representatives moved a muscle." Are Regulus just that far above the rest? Bremin and Lucien working together, huh… An absolutely terrifying thought. I suppose I won't see Bremin for a while. I never even got to say goodbye. Elena, who had just finished a conversation with the three friends she had created during the challenge, nudged him.

"Any particular Banner you want to join?" Evel hadn't given it much thought. Ideally, he would join one of the class A Banners with a good offer. The only Banners he was familiar with were Prachar, who made the newspapers and Redigo, who had been chasing him down for his debts. The name brought back bad memories.

"Just not Redigo."

"Good choice. They deal with the more unsavoury businesses."

"You know the differences?" Elena shook her head.

"Equis does medicine and consumables, Prachar handles information. I know Redigo is involved in some trafficking, but I'm not clear on the specifics. As for Acies and Eminus, I haven't got a clue. Based on their banners, I'd assume Acies specializes in weapon creation, and Eminus in summons based abilities." Evel filed each detail away carefully. Soon, a few of the recruits began behaving strangely. Brenton was one of them. He stood up straight, his entire body tensed. Elena placed her hand on his back.

"You alright?" Brenton quickly looked at Elena before looking back at the representatives.

"I just got a special offer from Equis. Th-they're speaking directly in my mind." He hushed. I suppose Brenton's ability would fit quite well with medicine related things... Then Brenton froze once again.

"She can hear me!"

"What's the offer?" Elena excitedly asked.

"700 bonus credits, and I only have to do one mandatory task a season and one 'special' task a week. She's… unclear on what the special task is." This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Elena narrowed her gaze.

"She's going to experiment on my body…?" His voice trailed off. Elena looked at Brenton, who had drops of sweat running down his neck. Then she placed her hand on his right shoulder.

"E-Elena, you're crushing my shoulder!"

"Am I?" Brenton gulped.

"I-I'm not interested, Mrs. Hope. I-I'm sure…" Silence. Brenton looked at Elena, then back at the recruiters.

"Sh-she says I can invite you too, and you'll also get 700 credits. Mine has gone up to 1000."

"Did she now? And what about this 'special' task?" Brenton's shoulder continued to compress into a smaller and smaller volume. A few more seconds of silence. Then, Brenton released a sigh of relief.

"She just wants to test the limits of my powers."

"Like torture and dismember you?"

"I… think so?"

"Oh," Elena lossened her grip.

"Alright." Brenton's head perked up once more as he listened in.

"She also offered Leo and Evel a position with 300 bonus credits. Assuming I join, of course. The rest of the conditions are the same, other than the special task."

"Really? I can stay with you guys?" Leo's eyes shone at the prospect. Evel interrupted.

"Don't accept yet, you may get better offers." Leo opened his mouth to reply, but he froze before he could get the words out. Then he closed them once again and spoke in a soft voice.

"600 credits to join Acies. My heat will apparently be useful for creating weapons…" Evel had expected Leo to light up. Instead, he just stared at the ground, turning the offer over in silence. A man's voice soon entered Evel's head as well. [I'm Arthur. I can offer you 300 credits to join Prachar. An affinity of 60 is unfortunate, but we can appreciate intelligence and quick thinking. I don't believe you'll get another offer from a class A Banner.] Evel tightened his fist. 300 was the best he would get?

With all that he'd achieved?

"I'll consider it." He softly whispered. [Very well.] Leo was still frozen, staring at the ground. Evel sighed.

"Leo, what's your goal?" Leo looked up, confused.

"To get stronger?"

"Yes, but why?" Leo remained silent for a while.

"What's yours?" Evel gripped his hand into a tight fist in front of him.

"I want control over my own life. To be able to make my own decisions." Leo's eyes remained fixed on the ground, the conflict never leaving his eyes.

"I-I don't think I'd mind being told what to do."

"Of course. That's my goal, not yours. You need to figure out what you want to do, and making decisions becomes a lot easier from there." Leo didn't reply, and Evel took a step back. This was an important decision for Leo to make. Telling him what to do here would only stunt his growth. Huh… I guess that's what Elena was going for with Juniper, too. Beside him, Elena scoffed while shaking her head.

"Someone already offered me 700, and you're gonna offer less than them? Talk to me again when you're serious." Recruits began moving; some who had already accepted offers walked forward to meet the representatives. A large percentage of recruits walked forward to the five representatives from REAPER, who stood off slightly to the side compared to the other 14 Banners. With Regulus gone, the acronym didn't really work anymore. REAPE? EAPER? He decided not to think about it.

In the crowd, he noticed a few familiar faces. Diana walked to the short man beside the banner of Acies. Jack walked towards Redigo's banner. And most curious of all, Igneos walked towards a class B banner. The banner was ash-grey and showed a burning flame at the center. A label beside read: Calor. Another voice transmitted into Evel's mind. [I'll offer 500 credits, with one mandatory task a week. Our focus lies in massive architectural projects. Despite your poor affinity, we're hoping you'll be able to bring in a unique insight.] A representative was facing him, standing beside his banner. Earthy brown with a silhouette of a tower. Below it, read Beam. Evel considered what he was looking for very carefully. He needed free time in order to train as much as possible — a teacher of some kind would be extremely helpful. He needed credits or Riak to make time-saving purchases, such as rest pods and consumables, to help him advance.

The way Arlo had described it made it seem as though most people would eventually have the opportunity of getting such a vial, which meant even this small equalizer would be negated eventually, so he needed to use his time to the best of his ability.

"Thank you. If I were interested in getting a teacher of some kind, would you be able to provide one?" [You'd have to use up your credits, but yes. Each task you do will earn you extra credits as well, so it should be no problem.]"Thank you, I'll consider it." Evel lightly bowed, and the man moved his focus elsewhere. After a few more seconds, Evel was contacted again. [Wanna join Quisse?] That's not a very helpful pitch… Evel scanned the banners for one called Quisse, and eventually he found it.

A sky blue banner with a green lilypad. Beside it, a young girl was excitedly looking at him.

"Are there any specific terms you're considering?" [Yes! We'll give you 500 credits!]"…" [Right! We focus on water powers and will help a lot if you use water powers! But I guess you don't have water powers… What powers do you have? I was watching, but I couldn't figure it out! Your final fight against Lucien and Igneos was really exciting! I wanted to grab Lucien, but those Regulus bastards took him before I could even ask! I would have offered him some good rewards. His ability is pretty cool. Right! You should join us! If your power has anything to do with water, you should join us!] Wow...

"I'll consider it, thank you." [I'll await your acceptance!] So far, none of the Banners really offer what I'm looking for. Maybe I should be glad Prachar offered me a spot. Getting into a class A Banner should be an accomplishment worth celebrating. [Tell me, what sort of organization does a magician usually take part in?] A man. His voice was smooth and gentle, and his words interested Evel. This man had been the first person interested in his previous occupancy.

"The ones I'm most familiar with usually belong to a circus." He replied quickly. Arlo also didn't know what a magician did… It seems outside of Yosten, circuses must not be that popular… [Would you be able to run one?]"Yes, do you have an offer?" [I'm from Agent. I'll offer you 200 credits, and you'll be focused on one particular task. It pays depending on the quality of information you're able to get from the city, so if you do a good job, there's major upside potential.] So he wants the circus to act as my front while I get information. Evel eventually found the Agent representative. A man of small stature with calm eyes faced Evel. He had the icewood wheel, and he stood beside the banner. It was dark violet and charcoal, with a symbol of a spiderweb interwoven with a skeleton key. One other thing caught Evel's eye. On the representative's chest was a pendant. A silver half-crescent moon – the same familiar design that Irene once wore. A deep nostalgic feeling washed over Evel.

When he had seen it on Irene, the feeling had been drowned by the urgency of the situation, but now he was sure: He had seen this emblem before. It had been none other than his mentor who had once had the same pendant.