Capítulo 31: Proposal
On the fifth floor of the Hunters' Association building.
Erik and Violet are in an office, with simple decor, a desk full of papers, a laptop, a bookcase, two medium-sized pieces of furniture, and a small glass table in the middle of the two pieces.
On the glass table was a whiskey and soda.
Erik folded his arms, frowning in annoyance.
"How long will you stay annoyed?"
Leon asked amusedly, looking at him with a smile plastered on his lips.
"And whose fault is it that I'm annoyed?"
Erik snorted in annoyance, which caused the corners of Leon's lips to curve upward.
The reason why he is upset is that you did it a few minutes earlier.
***
"Let's meet again."
Leon spoke with total naturalness, ignoring the surprised looks he was getting.
And in that instant, all attention was focused on Erik as he heard that brief sentence and how he spoke to him so naturally.
"You just saw how I talk to him so naturally."
"Yes, I just saw it. Besides it was Mr. Leon who came up first to talk."
"That's very strange since Mr. Leon doesn't talk to anyone unless they have something to do with the dungeons or his team."
"What kind of relationship would those two have?"
The hunters and Pre-hunters, who were at that moment began to murmur and make speculations, about the relationship that Erik and Leon have.
Erik hearing all these murmurings his expression wrinkled slightly as he tried to look calm, he was cursing Leon with all his might.
'Really? This son of a bitch! He just spoke to me so casually in front of all these people!'
He gave a withering glance at Leon who looked with an amused smile. Seeing those smiles he sighed internally, for he knows he did it intentionally, and responded:
"Yes, we meet again, even though it hasn't even been two days."
Erik said with a forced smile, looking at Leon.
"It certainly hasn't been two days since we didn't see."
Leon nodded with a smile, took off the glasses he wore, and looked around. Then, still smiling, he suggested:
"Why don't we find a quieter place to talk? We seem to attract a lot of attention here."
'This son of a bitch!'
On Erik's forehead, several veins began to throb.
'This is all your fucking fault!'
He felt like yelling that at his but decided to just do it in his mind, knowing that doing so would only make things worse. He inhaled deeply in an attempt to regain his composure.
This simple action only made Leon's smile widen a little more. He had done all this to see Erik's reaction and he was not disappointed.
"Come with me."
Leon and the others began to ascend toward the second floor. Erik motioned to Violet, who was watching him from a distance, indicating for her to follow him, as all the people turned their attention to him.
***
Back to the present moment.
Erik let out a sigh, aware that this was not the right time to be in a bad mood.
His priority was to find a way to get stronger quickly, given that the entire Luminis guild is looking for the guild president's son.
"Why did you call me here? I doubt it's because of yesterday."
He said with more calmness evident in his tone of voice.
"Show a little respect! You have no idea who is in front of you."
Warned one of the people behind Leon.
"..."
Erik averted his gaze to the people behind Leon, choosing to ignore their words.
He turned his attention back to Leon, who wore a smile on his face, and repeated his question in a serious tone:
"Why did you call me here?"
"Hey, haven't you heard that you should treat Mr. Leon with respect?"
Insisted the person behind Leon, clearly annoyed at being ignored. After all, to him, as a follower, it was unacceptable for a D-ranked hunter to talk so casually with Leon.
Considered to be the strongest hunter in the world.
"..."
Erik's expression turned downright grim when he saw the guy behind Leon interrupting again.
'I don't have time to put up with this shit...'
He's in no mood to put up with all this cliché shit. He's got too much to deal with now that things are getting complicated to put up with this.
Just by observing his attitude, Erik labeled him as one of the most annoying guys there could be: someone who blindly admired another.
"Hey, you fucking pet, shut up, I'm not talking to you!"
Erik coldly spat out a dark, heavy voice, his eyes flashed dangerously. The person behind Leon flinched under that gaze.
Feeling as if he was seeing, Death itself!
The man unconsciously stepped back as they exchanged glances, but quickly realized what had happened.
'I... a follower of the strongest hunter, I'm afraid of a D-ranked hunter.'
Magical energy began to emerge from her body as she realized that she was afraid of him, A simple D-rank hunter.
He couldn't believe he had taken a step back! Just hearing those simple words?
"..."
Erik turned his gaze back to Leon, who was watching all this with an amused smile.
However, Leon was a bit surprised to see his subordinate back off a bit, considering that his subordinate was a B-ranked hunter.'Interesting...'
On the other hand, Violet, who is next to Erik, opened her eyes slightly in surprise. It was the first time she had seen him act like that.
'So he has that kind of attitude too, Interesting~'
She liked this domineering attitude better, as he usually seemed calm most of the time.
'But why is he so upset, could it be that something happened and I didn't notice?'
"Leon, why did you call me here?"
Erik repeated his voice was neutral and demanding an answer. His patience was reaching its limit.
'I need to level up fast before he starts looking for me...'
He needed to go to a dungeon to level up soon, as it wouldn't be long before the Luminis guild would start looking for them.
He didn't want to be caught off guard, especially after drawing so much attention to himself today because of Leon, who had spoken to him in front of all the hunters present at that moment.
He could smell from miles away how annoying he would be when he left this place.
Hearing the question again, Leon stared in silence, until he let out a sigh. He spoke calmly:
"The reason I called you was to make you a proposal."
"What kind of proposal?"
Erik asked intrigued, visibly calmer, though his brow was still slightly furrowed.
"Well, the idea I have is that you join my group, with your partner."
Leon gestured and some of the people in the back handed Violet and Erik a contract.
Erik took the contract with curiosity, took a look at it, and read it very carefully, he did not want to make the mistake he made in his previous company where for not reading carefully he was not compensated.
'This contract limits me a lot, besides it is for five years'
As he read the contract it said that it lasts five years, with other limitations: he is NOT ALLOWED TO REJECT ANY MISSION, and he HAS TO REPORT OBLIGATORY TO EVERY CALL.
'This is practically a slave contract.'
Erik snorted as he looked at this limitation, especially those two that were capitalized. He continued reading the contract and when he got to the important part his eyes widened like saucers.
'The pay is, Ten million dollars a year! Isn't this too absurd?'
Erik couldn't believe the amount of money he would make by signing this contract. He finished reading the contract and then asked the most important part.
"Why don't you offer a contract like this?"
Erik asked with a serious expression, Violet who had also finished reading the contract also looked at Leon.
Since this type of contract is not normal, for a D-ranked hunter. This type of contract is normally made for C- and B-ranked hunters.
"Well, the reason is because of your talent and that of your partner. As you know very well you haven't even been a month since you woke up as a hunter, your growth is not normal, and I am betting on you by offering you this contract."
Leon replied calmly, that was the reason he made them this contract.
"Hmm..."
Erik, put his hand on his chin while pondering over the contract. Although the contract seems very attractive leaving aside the limitations, it was of no use to him.
'Well, besides, if it's five years it's most likely to be one rank higher than this, so this contract is of no use to me.'
"In addition, I will provide you with 20 A-rank mana stones."
Leon added.
"...."
The people around Leon were completely shocked by what they had just heard. They didn't expect him to make such an offer to simple hunters who only had rank D.
"...."
Erik was silent as Violet's eyes widened like saucers.
With those 10 A-rank mana stones, she could move up from B-rank and no longer have to worry too much.
But in Erik's case, those mana stones would be of no use to him. As is well known, he does not possess magical energy, but End Energy.
"I'm sorry, but I can't accept your proposal."
Erik said with a sigh after a moment's thought, as the contract was more the 'Contra' than the 'Pro'.
"¡!"
This caused everyone in the room to be completely shocked. They didn't expect a D-ranked hunter to turn down the offer of the strongest man in the world!
After an awkward silence filled the room, Leon spoke up.
"May I ask you the reason why you turned down my proposal?"
"Hmm, the reason I turned it down is because I don't like being subordinate to someone."
Erik answered with complete honesty. As mentioned before, his whole being? No, his whole existence rejects the idea of being beneath someone.
"Seriously... You turned down my proposal just because of that?"
"Yes."
Nadia in the room could not believe that this was the reason for rejecting the proposal, especially Leon, who seemed the most surprised.
She expected any excuse, but not this one, even though she knew he wasn't lying.
"Phew... I didn't expect to be turned down like that."
"But instead of joining our group, why don't we consider a future alliance?"
Erik suggested in all seriousness.
"Are you serious?"
Erik simply nodded.
"Puff-Hahahaha..."
Leon started laughing out loud, making the whole place vibrate with his laughter. After a while, he stopped laughing.
"It's been a long time since I've laughed like that. Tell me, how do you know that to ally both parties must be on equal footing? What can you offer me, the strongest hunter in the world?"
"Hmm, at the moment I can offer you nothing. As you see, I am much weaker than you and have nothing to offer..."
"But that's just for now. In the future, it will be completely different."
Leon snorted. "How can you be so sure of that?"
" You didn't say it yourself just now. I've been a hunter for less than a week and I'm already improving my rank."
Erik said with a small smile. 'However, it's all down to the system.'
"...."
Leon kept silent because Erik was right. It hadn't even been a month since he woke up as a hunter and he was likely to rise in rank soon, given the rapid growth he was experiencing at the moment.
"Well, let's say we accept the alliance, what do you need from me?"
Leon asked curiously.
"I want you to help me just once and provide me with ten mana stones of rank A. Also, the alliance is only with you."
Erik replied, emphasizing the last part.
"I understand, what kind of help do you need? Mana stones aren't hard to come by."
Violet, who was listening quietly, already had a rough idea of what Erik was planning. 'Hmm, I understand what you're getting at.'
"I can't tell you right now. So what do you say, are you willing to invest in our future alliance?"
Erik said with a smile with the intention of not revealing any details, as he didn't know if Leon sold it to the president of the Luminis guild.
Leon was silent again. With this alliance, he had nothing to lose, and considering the monstrous talent Erik had demonstrated, he didn't think it was a bad idea to accept it.
Given the current circumstances, an alliance with him was not a bad choice, besides, he lost nothing. And he can see this as an investment in the future
"Well, he accepted the alliance, what do you need my help for?"
Leon concluded.
Erik smiled nervously as he saw that everything had gone according to plan.
"As you know, the president of the Luminis guild is looking for his son, right?"
"Yes, I know, and what does that have to do with you?"
Leon asked confused.
"I was the one who killed his son."
Erik stated bluntly, getting straight to the point.
"Ahh... Now I get it."
Leon understood everything. That was why Erik had asked him for help earlier.
Since Erik currently lacked the strength to take on the Luminis guild, he took the opportunity to get temporary support, something that would help him take on that guild.
And what better help than that of the strongest hunter in the world? With him by his side, he wouldn't die and besides, he would take off a great weight that was affecting him.
"All right, I'll help you. After all, we allied. I hope to count on you in the future."
Leon said with an amused smile, as he was feeling quite stressed by the whole situation in general.
What better way to release tension than by defeating a guild, right?
"I'll call you when I need your help. They still don't know that it was me who killed the guild president's son."
Erik said as he stood up and wrote down Violet's hunting address to have the mana stones sent to them.
Also, the reason he killed the son of the Luminis guild president is quite simple, and it was because if he left him alive he was going to get in trouble with that guild anyway.
Because Alexander loves his son very much and would obviously believe his son even if he didn't know him.
"See you later."
With that said, Erik and Violet left the room, leaving Leon and his company alone.
...
Regalos
-- Regalo
recibido Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
Poder