"What..what are you doing here?"
A face that I was overly used to seeing this past few days, but one I never expected to encounter at the moment.
"Why Jay? Are you surprised? You really thought you were the only one capable of fooling those lousy hypocrites in the office?"
"Rick... I should have known that your cheerful persona was just a cover-up"
-How could I have let my guard down? Was it because I considered him beneath me?
My innate tendency to categorize people based on their social characteristics had come to bite me in the end.
However, he had made the grave mistake of revealing himself, especially now with no further protection.
-I will show him what happens to those that try to fool me
-Cower before me
I began to master my murderous aura and was about to unleash it towards Rick when all of a sudden I felt a stinging sensation in my back.
A sharp pain that was incomparably worse than anything I had ever experienced, caused my upper back and right shoulder to briefly spasm, with me halting every thought of intimidating Rick and focusing on my survival
"ARGHHHH!!!"
-WHAT!? WHERE? From the windows!?
Panicking over the possibility of walking right in the hands of my opponent, I began to lose focus, with my senses not working properly when I most needed them.
-Shit...this ain't going to work... I need to calm
Partially infusing my magi on my sixth sense, I directed all my aura in the path that the projectile had followed
An inconceivable hole had been made in one of the windows, which I only managed to realize due to sensing the air current that slightly shifted in its surface.
Apart from that, no aura of any living being could be felt in the trajectory of the ridiculously small object of unknown nature that pierced me.
Nonetheless, no entry wound was visible and no internal injury could be felt in my body.
-So it was a warning shot meant to only inflict pain uh?
-Judging by the max distance I can send my aura and yet not being able to sense anything, my opponent must be a long-range sniper
-He really came prepared it seems
"Easy now Jay, you have already proven your usefulness, no need to show me such a scary face"
Based on the fact that the sniper only fired when I tried to harm Rick, it was safe to assume that there was no need to escalate things by going on the offensive.
-For now, I will hear what he has to say
-But make one wrong move Rick and I will snap your neck in two
"What do you want?"
"Yes of course, I knew that with you we could skip all the unpleasant formalities".
Strangely enough, after hearing my response, his pupils slightly dilated and his unresponsive facial expression formed a wide smile the likes of which I had never seen him make before.
"You see Jay, we are entering an era where one can change his entire fate in the span of a single moment"
"While the military has managed to minimize the exposure of the world on the other side of the Rifts, eventually more and more people will strive into the unknown and discover the life-changing opportunity that will await them"
"My aim is to create a place for those people to flourish their talents and in doing so, I will form the Word's First Private Military Force consisting only of the strongest challengers and functioning outside of the Government's jurisdiction"
"With an unlimited amount of resources and an ample amount of Rifts to clear, we will monopolize the artifact market and become a force even stronger than the Army's Rift Task Force"
"I now stand before you, offering you a spot in the Ranks of my newly established Guild"
-...damn
Rick was definitely the most ambitious person I had ever met in my life.
In a world where the Government constantly sought to establish its dominance and eliminated anyone who proved to be an obstacle, the idea of a person openly creating a private army of beings with superhuman abilities was downright insane.
If anyone were to tell me the same, I would have thought they had a death wish
But Rick's speech left me in awe, compelling me to believe in him.
-A two-faced bastard with the power to move people's emotions...what a combination
"How are you planning on getting those corrupt bastards to allow you to create your own Private Force?"
"By taking advantage of my friends in high places of course"
-For fuck's sake! How many connections does he have?
"Rick, who are you?"
"I believe I have yet to fully introduce myself"
"My name is Richard Sullivan, the youngest son of King Gregory Sullivan, and the third prince of the Sullivan family"
-He what?
-...
"You are what now?"
"WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU DOING THEN STANDING IN LINE FOR A GOD DAMN JOB INTERVIEW!??"
-How is this a prince?
At that moment many strange events began to make sense, primarily being with how people acted around Rick and their reactions to me yelling at him to shut up.
Momentarily dumbfounded by the recent revelation, I contemplated on my lack of knowledge regarding the numerous royal families, which were mere remnants of the Old World before the ascension of the World Government.
"But Jay I must say, I was really surprised by you not even knowing about the existence of the Sullivan family"
"Oh shut up, I only know the names of some of the Kings and Queens, why I am supposed to remember the family names of people that still believe that their mere lineage makes them better than others?"
"Hahaha indeed, I can't get enough when conversing with you Jay, your points of view never cease to amaze me"
His lips curved as he laughed in a wicked manner, probably indicative of the nature of his true personality
"You are right, such anachronistic ideas are truly not fit for our times"
-Says you...
"Then I suppose I will see you in a few days in our training center?"
"I have not decided yet"
"Well, I am sure you will make the right choice, here is our Guild's business card"
After handing me a small and thick piece of paper he made his way towards the door.
"Gentlemen, assist Miss Li"
Out of the blue, twο tall and bulky men with short black hair and peculiar facial characteristics entered the room and grabbed the unconscious woman by the shoulders, escorting her out of the room.
-Almost forgot about her...
"By the way, bring that friend of yours, Julius. He will make a fine addition to our ranks"
"...How did you know?"
"Oh come on Jay, my intelligence network is way larger than you think"
-Figures...
With his final words said, he closed the door and the room was filled with silence once again.
After focusing my attention on the business card in my hand, I was met with the sight of a golden phoenix arching its winds on the white piece of paper, and an address accompanied with a phone number written below it.
"Phoenix Guild uh?"
{What are you going to do human?}
With severe lack of sleep and an unbearable headache, there was only one thing I could do.
Thus I ignored the inquisitive Dark One and lied down to finally get some rest.
{Must feel bad being played around like a toy right?}
"Oh shut up you"
{....}
....