The moment Russell Moon walked inside the Obelisk Mercenary Guild, numerous curious eyes seemed to automatically scrutinize him because he was probably the youngest person here at this moment.
But unlike the usual medieval setting of the Mercenary Guild, there were no bullies that would stand in front of him since it was restricted to cause any commotion inside the building's premises or else the Player License of anyone who dared to would be revoked, causing the Mercenaries to lose their jobs and their reputations to be put on the bad side.
Russell Moon glanced inside the modernized Mercenary Guild, admiring the interior designs as well as the various technologies that were part of one's everyday life.
A few moments later, Russell found himself in front of the accommodation desk, where a woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and glistening blue eyes was sitting and doing some office work through a projected holographic screen.
"Hello, good evening, ma'am."
Russell politely greeted the diligent woman. Noticing his presence, the woman slightly nudged her eyeglasses before making a response.
"What's your business, sir?"
Even though the woman was in her late twenties, her words contained some seriousness and politeness mixed together.
"I'm here to register for creating a mercenary group."
Russell spoke frankly, not beating around the bush.
There were two common purposes a person could ask for in the Obelisk Mercenary Guild: first, to register to become a part of an already existing mercenary group, and second, to register or establish a mercenary group itself.
The woman proceeded to scrutinize him as she tilted her head, somewhat confused. But the surprising thing was that the woman didn't ask him about his age but rather spoke of her curiosity.
"Do you perhaps have a recommendation, sir?"
Russell nodded his head as he took out a letter he had printed. It was a recommendation letter from Ayleen Mayfield, which served as a form of gratitude for some reason. But Russell knew exactly why Ayleen expressed her gratitude by granting him a favor.
During the few months that had passed, when Russell was becoming more involved with the specific figures in the Obelisk Organization, Ayleen asked if he needed anything, but at that time, he told her that he'd put on hold whatever he needed.
Then, after the terror attack, the favor was bestowed, as he asked her to write a recommendation later to become a mercenary.
'Well, she's just glad about that Obelisk Hymn or anthem whatsoever.'
Russell thought inwardly as he proceeded to show the previously digital letter to the woman. It caused the latter to have her eyes widen in astonishment as she read the name of the one who recommended him.
"You're a rare one, huh?"
With a smile, the receptionist continued to speak.
"Anyways, I want to inform you that getting a recommendation, even if it's from Madam Ayleen or Sir Artorious himself, will not be enough if you don't meet other certain requirements.
"With that said, if you think you have the general knowledge regarding being a mercenary, would you like to still proceed?"
Russell just nodded his head at the diligent woman, who then continued to speak of the requirements to be eligible to establish a mercenary group.
To begin with, a mercenary group must have at least four members. Although it was recommended that the starting members should have a fighter, support, and tanker, it wasn't entirely necessary. because the lives of players who became adventurers or mercenaries were their own to be responsible for.
In addition, each member of the mercenary group should possess a legal, not counterfeit, Player License. Although it was impossible to make a fake license, there were still some people who would fall for it.
Furthermore, upon the creation of the mercenary group, a fixed tax must be paid monthly, which costs around ten million Obel. Although Russell, as well as his other Chaos Companions, apart from Ken Raven, possessed a staggering amount of wealth, he still found it ludicrous, even though he was the one who thoroughly wrote about it in his unpublished novel.
It was truly a pain, but paying this kind of tax came with other benefits, such as an additional price percentage when selling Magic Stones, Monster Cores, and other stuff that could be looted within any kind of dungeon.
"That will be all, sir."
The woman, with an unrelenting smile, said to him.
Nodding at her, Russell took out a check for the advanced tax payment.
'Even in this world, tax surely is an immortal enemy of humanity.'
Russell inwardly scoffed as he handed out an exact one hundred and twenty million Obel according to the amount written on the check.
The receptionist was slightly surprised, but she composed herself, which could be said to indicate that she's truly a professional in her field.
Upon taking the check from Russell's hands, the receptionist verified it by tapping on the holographic screen in front of her.
"Alright, sir, it's confirmed. May I double-check the identity of the members of the mercenary group you'll be establishing?"
Russell then handed her the Obelisk I.D. of his Chaos Companions, from himself, his younger sister, up to Ken Raven.
"This is unexpected, but since you've met the requirements, along with the recommendation by Madam Ayleen, I have no words.
"For the finishing touch, what name would you like for your mercenary group?
"Remember that the name will be saved in our database."
'I've thought about this before, so I'll get it over with.'
Without hesitation, in less than two seconds, Russell spoke.
"Umbra."
"Umbra... That's quite a majestic name."
The woman muttered with a smile before she proceeded to finish the registration.
After some time, the creation of the mercenary guild finally ended.
"Congratulations on the establishment-"
The receptionist was just about to hand Russell the newly issued identification cards for him and his Chaos Companions when her words seemed to be interrupted by something... or someone. Her gaze went past Russell, causing the latter to be curious for a moment.
"H-hey... isn't she?"
"W-what..? Why is she here?"
"What in the hell? It's my first time seeing her up close!"
Russell's deep blue eyes constricted as he heard the astonishment from other people within the premises.
Walking towards the receptionist, a woman with auburn hair and brown eyes under her gold-rimmed eyeglasses waved in Russell's direction.
A few seconds later, as Russell seemed to have his mouth zipped, the alluring woman casually spoke.
"I'm also a member of his mercenary group. Here's my identification."
Her words finally jolted Russell, as he reflexively put a stop to her actions by holding her wrist.
"What are you doing, Samantha?"
'Why the hell is she here? I mean, how did she know I was here?'
Samantha Hall just casually walked inside the Obelisk Mercenary Guild and proceeded to say that she would join Russell's mercenary group out of nowhere.
"You don't want to?"
"H-huh..?"
Russell's words couldn't escape her mouth because of the way she was looking at him and how they came out of her mouth.
When Russell was momentarily lost for words, he seemed to subconsciously scrutinize her outfit. And when he finally realized what she was wearing at this early hour of the evening, Russell felt like his nose would bleed.
Samantha was currently wearing only a fitted black shirt and a pair of shorts that were above the knee. In other words, her body seemed to be somewhat revealing.
"Hello, good evening, Miss, I'm sorry for the interruption, but it'll be alright. Register me as a member of his mercenary group."
"Ahh... Ma'am Samantha... I-I"
The receptionist glanced at Russell, who was lost in his own world because of the unexpected turn of events.
After some time, as he finally came to terms with what was happening, Russell nodded to the receptionist. It meant that he gave permission for Samantha to become a part of his mercenary group.
A few moments later, the establishment of the mercenary group ended, and the congratulatory words that were abruptly halted were finally spoken.
"Congratulations on establishing the Umbra Mercenary Group."
With that, the commotion, which then became a trend because of Samantha's unexpected presence, came to an end.
***
"That's not important, and nothing will change since I'm now a part of your mercenary group."
Samantha faintly smiled at Russell, who just asked her how she seemed to know that he was at the Obelisk Mercenary Guild.
"Sigh... Alright. But does your father knows about it?"
"Yes, he agreed. Surprisingly, you two have a strange connection. I won't go into specifics, but it seems you have built quite a friendly relationship with my father."
Samantha restrained laughing at her own words.
"Being sarcastic doesn't suit you. Well, I believed you, anyways."
Samantha stopped for a moment as they walked on the sidewalk, proceeding to the closest cafe near the Obelisk Organization.
"If you're wondering why, then I can't answer you. So, let's just order some desserts at that cafe restaurant."
Samantha scoffed as Russell cut off her thoughts.
After some time, they arrived and ordered at a cafe restaurant, causing glares to land on both of them, specifically on Samantha.
"Would you look at that, you're pretty popular that I feel like I wanted to be buried on the ground."
Russell whispered, glancing around the luxurious cafe.
"If I don't care about them, then you, too, shouldn't.
"Anyways, what do you think about the Three-Way Alliance and the Fourteen Days of Founding Deep Connections on the news?"
Samantha asked, curious about the man's thoughts.
'That again...'
Russell inwardly scoffed, remembering the details he had written in his unpublished, now mysterious novel.
Pretending to ponder for some time, he answered her curiosity.
"It's the representation of hypocrisy at its finest."
'As well as cliches, too.',
He thought, before taking a bite of the chocolate cake dessert he ordered.
"W-what do you mean by that?"
Seemingly taken aback by the firm words that came out of Russell's mouth, Samantha asked for clarification.
"Well, just forget it. It'll pass when it's due."
Russell revealed a faint smile, remembering the cliches of the upcoming situations in the near future.
'The Capital Tour will only make the other race, Dwarves or Elves, find fault in human infrastructure and indecency.
'In addition, the Students Exchange will surely allow some spies from other races to enter any human educational institution.
'Furthermore, the El-Vul-Or Tournament will allow them to vent their inner animosity and feed their ego as a superior race compared to humans. Sigh... What a bunch of cliches, indeed.'
Russell thought, not minding Samantha's frowning reaction to his nonchalant response.
A few minutes later, their parted ways after their unexpected dinner ended.
"See you soon."
Samantha waved her hand as her butler came to fetch her.
Russell just smiled in response as a thought for the night surfaced in his mind.
'Does telling Artorious that her wife is still alive somewhere cause his relationship with her daughter to be closer than I thought?
'Sigh... In the end, it's my simple actions that are biting me back.'
Russell inwardly lampooned before proceeding to go home.
***
"ARGHH-!"
Clink-! Tink-
The scream within Leon von Obreyon's personal bedroom reverberated, along with the glass he threw on the wall.
"I-I thought I'm already strong enough... B-but why!?"
He was feeling emotional agony due to the fact that he was helpless against Zebel, and due to the fact that Han Jiho seemed to possess a mysterious power, which was shown in front of him.
Even though it's been almost two weeks since the terror attack happened, his helplessness was sometimes still haunting him in this deep of the night.
[The Constellation, 'Black Dragon of Undying Star', is looking at his champion.]
"S-sorry for my unsightly self... I want to be stronger. Please, help me-!"
<Do you want greater power?">
The voice of the Black Dragon echoed in his head.
Since the influence of Constellations, as well as Gods and Goddesses, was getting stronger due to the gradual opening of Close Mystery Towers, Leon's Constellation directly communicated with him.
"Y-yes-! For my family-!"
<I see... Then I will entrust you with it.>
Without waiting for Leon's response, a System notification rang in his ears.
[You have received a Star Quest!]
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