The Mercenary Association

As Wade explained, his tattoo pulsed for a moment before fading. Neither Wade nor Hal noticed it as they ate their cookies and sipped their drinks. As time went by, laughter echoed throughout the house, and many future ideas and philosophies were shared.

"I'll see you inside the game Wade."

"Yeah. I'll meet you at the east edge of the Beast Forest later, alright?"

"Alright, see ya later Wade."

Wade walked out with a knowing smile on his face. He missed the days when he was still naive and in high school and when chatting with Hal, he pretended to smile and laugh. Ever since he had learned the path of violence, he couldn't feel any sort of emotion.

*******************

"So. We divide up Mr. King's assets between the 3 of us, correct?"

A young man wearing glasses tapped his nose as he calculated on a piece of paper.

"Of course. Even you, know that Mr. King would give us his assets when he dies and not his idiotic daughter. William, sometimes you should think it through before saying something so dumb. You're smart in calculations but not in business deals which is why our companies are connected in the first place."

A man spoke gruffly as he stood up.

"Hey Pedro, no need to rough William up like that."

Another man spoke up as he sipped his wine.

"If you know what's good for your suit Arthur, you should shut it."

"And if you don't want to sleep like a grizzly bear in hibernation, I suggest you stop being rude to your clients like a little child."

Pedro sat down before grabbing a glass of wine and gulping it down directly.

"Well, now that we're done threatening each other with small talk, here's the way it's going to go. 30% to each of us with the last 10% going to Mr. King's little girl. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

"Same here."

Right as they were about to sign the written agreement, the door opened and a woman barged in.

"My father's inheritance is mine, I am his theoretical heir to his business, properties, and assets. I even have his will right here that shows he has gifted all his property to me as well as letting me inherit all his businesses and assets. You double faces are getting absolutely nothing."

"Well, it seems we are too late as always with the blood of Mr. King. He seizes all opportunity to earn something and it seems his daughter has the trait as well."

Arthur sighed as he sipped some more wine before setting it down.

"I assume we should leave now. We have nothing to gain and all to lose. I'll see you guys at the next business meeting. You too, Samantha if you're going to inherit your father's businesses."

With that sentence said, the three men left leaving Samantha alone in the room.

Samantha sighed in relief before closing the door behind her as she left.

**********************

[Level Up]

[You are now Level 14]

[Experience = 0/1500]

[10 stat points gained]

[5 stat points have been assigned to Magic Power]

Hal sighed as he checked his [Menu] in exasperation. He had grinded an entire day and only leveled up twice. He had killed too many wolves to count with his summons but it had taken too much time and his summon spell hadn't even leveled up.

[Goblin (Level 13) desummoned]

[Wild Wind Wolf (Level 13) desummoned]

[Armed Villager Child (Level 13) desummoned]

[Menu]

[In-game name = Summons Galore]

[Level = 14]

[Experience = 0/1500]

[Class = Summoner]

[Sub-Class = None]

[God = God of Death (changeable at the Temple)]

[Elements = Death Affinity (Rare)]

[Abilities:

Death's Embrace = When you die, you have a choice to sacrifice all of the experience in your experience bar to revive at the same spot you died as well as being unable to take damage 2 seconds from your revival. Cost = All experience in your experience bar including the sub-class experience bar. Cooldown = 1 month]

[Skills:

Inspect: Level 3: 203/300 = Active Skill: Cost = None/Cooldown = None

Damage Increase Level 5 392/500 Active Skill: Cost = 5 Mana per second/Cooldown = None

Defense Increase Level 5 392/500 Active Skill: Cost = 5 Mana per second/Cooldown = None

Basic Summon Level 5 492/500 Active Skill: Summon a random creature to fight for you. The damage they deal will be based off their abilities, skills, and your damage. You can summon basic creatures the same level as you with little to no abilities and skills. There is no limit to the number of creatures you can summon as long as you can take the mana cost. Cost = 10 Mana per second/Cooldown = 4 minutes and 9 seconds]

[Health = 30]

[Strength = 40]

[Agility = 20]

[Magic Power = 110]

[Endurance = 50]

[Stat Points = 0]

[Hp = 300]

[Damage = 40]

[Movement speed = 100

[Magic capacity = 1100 (Recharges 55 mana every minute)]

[Damage Reduction = 50]

Hal decided to wait until his friend Wade arrived before going deeper into the forest. It was time to execute more wolves with his amusing summons.

[Armed Villager Farmer (Level 14) summoned]

[Dying Sword (Spirit)(Level 14) summoned]

[Small Ghost (Spirit)(Level 14) summoned]

*********************

Wade walked back to his house through the passageway as he thought a couple of things through. To become a power in the modern world, he needed a source of steady income. Joining any kind of company would do but the income generated would run out in an instant. Instead, he preferred to create a company. Hal already knew how to create a company but he quit when it started draining him of money instead. Hal then joined a popular company and put his expertise to work.

'He would be a good fit for a manager, wouldn't he? He fits all the criteria as well as being able to do even more with his financial prowess. I can create the products and he can sell them for extreme prices.'

Wade pulled out his phone as the thought went through his mind. He dialed Hal's number and eventually it reached voicemail. He decided to call Hal later and give him a voicemail for now.

"It's been a short time since I visited you but I have a proposal for you. We start an entirely new company. I'll create the products and you take care of everything else. You merely have to do what you did before but this time buy a plot of land and I'll give you the layouts for the factory I want. We'll be a weapons company."

Wade spoke as he leaned against the wall of the gloomy passageway.

"My weapons expertise with your financial specialty is a good combination together. This time, you'll succeed in your plan to become a founder of a company and I'll get the steady income I need for future projects. Call me back if you have any questions. Wade out."

As he hung up, he resumed walking towards his bunker as he thought up many ideas for guns that didn't copy his sniper rifle's base ideas but instead improved on the ones that were on the market currently.

"The best guns around are too lacking in terms of range and firepower. I'll fix that up for them and earn a massive reward while I'm at it."

Laughter echoed throughout the passageway as a dark silhouette moved toward the light.

*********************

In a battlefield somewhere around the world

"Take cover! I'll cover fire for you!"

"Bombs incoming!"

"Suppressive fire!"

Many shouts echoed throughout the battlefield as bombs fell and fighter jets flew above. The world trembled as each bomb fell and flashes of light constantly appeared as bullets were fired and bodies dropped.

"We need better weaponry! Half of our men have already been taken out by snipers!"

"Captain, what can we do about it. We can't retreat because that would make us sitting ducks. We're outgunned, outmanned, and even outpaced! What can we do? Argh!"

As the man finished his rant, a bullet went through his skull. Everyone around him stared for a moment before going into a frenzy.

"Sniper!"

"Duck!"

Three more bullets whooshed and three more bodies fell before silence fell. The planes flew past, no bombs fell, and no shots were fired. A voice was heard as the silence appeared.

"It seems we got all of them. America's special forces are done for. We eliminated their elite fleet. Their air force didn't even get here in time."

A voice was heard above the ditch as the man walked past. He had a sniper rifle across his back and a few grenades around his waist.

"Well, goodbye cowards of the special forces. You can't hide in this ditch forever. Anyway, say hello to my little friend. The grenade."

The man threw 5 grenades into the ditch before leaving. A few men jumped up and tried to leave the ditch before being blasted into bloody mist by the few grenades the man had thrown in.

"I told you, you can't hide in this ditch forever."

A few meters away, the man stood with a few pieces of shrapnel hovering near his fingers as he spoke. He flung the shrapnel away with a flick of his fingers before leaving arrogantly.

"The only people who are qualified to stand in my way are those with powers and not those without."

That was the only sentence heard by the final survivor of the American special forces squad before he fainted.

***************************

"Hmm. It seems Wade ran here and then stopped. It's as if his tracks disappear at this point. I wonder where he went. Maybe he used this rock as some kind of jump point to leap on the trees?"

A man in tactical military gear pondered his thoughts as he wondered what he would do if he was in Wade's shoes.

"Who are you? Answer carefully or don't look back or this knife pierces your throat."

A cold metallic object touched his neck as the voice spoke. He felt a cold feeling surround him as his forehead dropped buckets of sweat.

"I'm only here to offer you an invite in regards from the hidden Mercenary Association. That's all. I'm only a carrier so you don't need to know my name."

"Oh? Hand me this invite so I can look it over and if you can provide evidence that supports your claim, you can go."

The deep voice behind him resounded in his ears as he hurriedly reached into his side pocket and pulled out a letter. The letter was torn from his grasp as he held it next to his head and the sound of tearing was heard as more sweat dripped from his forehead onto the ground.

"Hmm. Seems legit. Now tell me. Why'd your secret group try to invite me? Am I really that special or what?"

"I don't know. Really. All I heard was that Mr. Haltion died in an unusual way and Mr. King died spectacularly. Boss also called you a specialist. He told me to invite you to our Mercenary Association as an Honored Customer."

The man behind him sighed as the knife disappeared from his throat. He sighed in relief as he turned around to see a man in a hoodie. He had red and silver hair sticking out and a blade attached to the top of his hand.

"Now tell me. What does your Mercenary Association offer and why should I join it?"

"You post missions with Contribution points you earn from accepting missions. Contribution points can also be used to buy various items. People with the Honored Customer status can earn more Contribution points from missions and sell their items for more to the Mercenary Association instead of selling it to the mercenaries for a cheaper price-"

The hooded man put up a hand to stop him before speaking in a bored tone.

"I'll join. Tell me where to go and I'll be on my way."

"East of the city there's a restaurant called Mercenary's Plate. Not very popular but that's the idea. Show the gold token in the letter to the receptionist and he'll show you the way to the Mercenary Associations base. This is merely one of the branches."

"Alright, thanks. You can go. Also, I'm sure your Mercenary Association holds a hotel in that underground area, correct?"

"Of course. With your honored status, you can get a free room there indefinitely."

"Thanks, I'll pack up and move there in a few days or so. Tell your superiors that and I'm sure you'll get a promotion or something."

The man left the forest with an ecstatic thought on his mind.

'I've recruited a B-tier assassin. I'll get a higher payroll for this. His aura though. I'd rather die than face that again.'

***************************

'It seems I'll need to join the Mercenary Association for that steady flow of cash I need for the moment. I'll set aside the weapon company idea for the moment until something happens' Wade thought as he relaxed on his bed.

Little did he know that his relaxation was only the calm before the storm.