'Did he just say he want to be hired?' Spark was speechless, but many thoughts continued to run across his mind.
'I can't remember creating job adverts ... neither a company.'
Terry, Joey and Bilo were in a daze, too. Nobody expected such an answer. Maybe even Milo didn't expect himself to ask for such a thing.
Every figure in the room expected him to voice a different request.
Joey for example, expected him to shamelessly ask for a couple gold and Spiritual Crystals... or hell, even for the Bone Marrowing Pill!
Terry on the other hand, half-expected him to ask for the Clearing Cloud Circulation Technique, as its value was the highest among all the things they owned.
Of course that request could never be fulfilled, but it seems his guess was also completely amiss.
Spark... He has gone through countless hagglings in his life, and was absolutely certain of what would come next.
Milo would overexaggerate the first demand, setting it unreasonably high, just to negotiate it down to the amount he was really aiming for.
A standard, but efficient tactic he, himself would have definitely used in this situation.
And Bilo... Bilo thought his brother wouldn't hesitate to demand for a one-way ticket to leave this god forsaken place.
He for once, sure as hell couldn't wait to kiss the scary youngster, the scary Cultivator and everybody else here a sweet forever-goodbye.
For him, it was better to live in the wilderness, cuddled next to the Behemoths and Horrors of the night than to hang around here!
Well... not really.
But the demand Milo voiced hit him like a moving truck nevertheless. He stared at his brother, stumped and in a confused daze, his mouth wide agape. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.
"You want ... to be hired?"
Spark repeated skeptically. His incredulous expression was betraying his state of mind. But after thinking about it for a moment, a sinister smile formed on his lips.
"Then you came to the right enterprise!"
He laughed and clapped Milo on the shoulder. The terrifying glower from a couple moments ago vanished without a trace. .
"Let's work out a fitting arrangement then!"
"Wh-What?" Joey's worldview crumbled in front of him, "You want to hire these guys?"
Bilo's agape mouth turned towards Spark with big, shocked eyes. Everything happened a bit too quickly for him...
Terry also shot a doubtful look to Spark. 'Why hire these untrustworthy ruffians?' This thought was written on his face in colorful shades, but he kept silent, knowing it wasn't his decision to make.
'Kekeke– Free labour aquired!' Spark chuckled inwardly.
Contrary to belief, Spark was quite happy about this demand once he thought about it. Who would have thought that a shrewd talent would knock on his door willingly? And a bodyguard comes with the package! Simply unimaginable.
The only problem lied in their loyalty, and of course in the blemishes on their character.
...Which he could polish over time!
Probably...
If he was the one disciplining them, then it could certainly prove fruitful. He had much experience in that field after all, and taking care of two people more when he already had eleven mouths waiting to be fed?
Done!
"We do not ask for much! Three, no ... two meals a day and a couple silvers a month is plenty, but there is a premise, and it's the most important one."
"I won't budge on it no matter what," Milo explained.
Spark creased his brows and cursed.
'Of course there is...'
"Oh? What is it?"
"...Guide our Cultivation!" Milo bowed, before taking a glance at the three men in front of him, eyeing Joey specifically.
Spark, Joey and Terry scowled terribly at the same time when they heard about the premise Milo had postulated.
It wasn't completely unexpected but nevertheless a serious demand.
Joey mocked the lithe brother without holding back.
"Did you really think we would agree to that?"
However Milo didn't budge at all, instead he said:
"You can choose to guide us in whatever way you see fit, we won't complain at all."
"However I humbly request that you be serious about it."
Joey shook his head coldly.
"Do you know how many resources we would need to use to guide your Cultivation? What a scheming bastard you are."
"Just remunerate us according to our performance," the tall brother proposed, "the benchmark can be pursuant to what you'd find appropriate."
"And what makes you think that you ... two strays who barely reached the Lesser Body Foundation Realm are worth any of the trouble?" Joey spat out venomously, still not convinced in the slightest.
He just couldn't see the value in the bandit-pack.
'Give him an inch, and he'll take a mile, huh?' Spark thought quietly, 'but it's not like I can't understand his position. Although... doesn't he seem like an extreme pushover right now?'
'Renumerate us according to your standards? Either you're plotting or you won't get a dime like this!'
While Spark scolded the carelessness of Milo, he also had to praise his cunning.
'It's not a bad move if both parties follow the terms of agreement, though. Did he see integrity in Joey and me?'
'If you think about it, it was a heaven-sent opportunity for them. Where else could you find an employer who is not already past their reach and also had everything starting from a Cultivation Technique, to medicinal herbs and even Spiritual Crystals? Mind you– in low quantity– but that could change in the future!'
'It's a big gamble ... but at the same time the only chance for the bird to jump off its nest, and transform into a phoenix.'
Spark had planned to help the most promising and talented kids to become Cultivators anway, so the thought wasn't entirely groundless or difficult to entertain.
The problem, though, was that Spark himself hasn't even started his Cultivation yet! How could he teach anybody anything? That was putting the cart before the horse!
He wondered if the pace the wheels of fate kept turning at wasn't a bit too fast.
He only arrived here the day before, and creating what was essentially a 'Cultivation Sect' on his second day was a bit too ambitious.
Worried that he was wantonly counting chickens, which haven't even hatched yet, Spark fell into rumination.
After a while, Spark sighed in a defeated tone:
"That's quite the demand..."
"And how will you prove your loyalty? How will you prove that you're not cooking up a plot right now?"
"If you haven't realized, I value loyalty the most..."
Milo hurriedly exclaimed:
"How would we dare, with Mr. Joey around!"
The lithe fellow hadn't realized, that he did not word his sentence carefully enough.
Spark raised his voice into a roar.
"So with only me around, you will think about it?!"
Milo took a step back in shock.
'How does this young man show such authority and cunning at his age?'
'How can he turn around every word I say, ruminate over it and spit it back in my face with a complete different meaning!'
'This.... he also fooled me and Celas before...'
Putting his words in careful order, not leaving any room for misinterpretation this time, he retorted:
"That's not what I thought in the least! And with the resources at hand you would probably grow stronger than us very soon. How can we have any place for plots in mind?"
He was silent for a second before adding something in the bitter tone of melancholy'
"I just felt like it was time for change, yes... for a change of our fate as worthless slum rats, as the worthless bandit-pack we are..."
"I say this with my utmost sincerity and honesty. We will put our trust in you, and never think about betrayal, so please... help us escape the gullet of this hell."
All sounds died down and silence ruled the room once again, with pensive thoughts and scrutinizing stares stabbing through the air.
Spark turned to his fiery, muscly friend.
"Joey, what do you say? You would be the one to give them pointers. For now, I'm nothing but a layman in Cultivation matters."
Joey glanced at the two, and said in an steadfast voice:
"I do understand their situation and can somewhat sympathize... but still, I say ... No! It's too risky!"
It was no wonder he didn't agree. He hasn't had a good impression of the two after all. It would be strange for the stubborn Joey to change his mind so quickly.
"Well, you heard him!"
Spark shrugged his shoulders and lifted his hands.
"The Cultivator said No."
Milo's face went dark, as a bitter smile found its way on it, while Bilo's showed a complicated look.
He recovered a bit from the paleness he had before. Milo half-expected this answer... It was too good to be true. Instead, they had to be satisfied some leftover crumbs instead.
"But ... The layman... May say Yes!" Spark announced with a snicker, shocking everbody in the room.
Bilo's face rejected all incoming blood again, his skinshades dropping down to a ghostly white, while Milo found himself swashing in a complex thought process, which reflected very clearly on his expression lines.
Moving too fast? Counting chickens before they hatched? When has he ever done it differently?
His most successful companies were build on loans, mortgages, leverage, blood and tears! He wasn't afraid of failure. He was more afraid of missing good opportunities! And a shrewd employee like Milo, would be an invaluable asset as long as his talents were polished and nurtured.
A diamond in the raw, so to speak.
Well, atleast Spark thought that it was possible. Who could even tell this early on? But he decided to match Milo's gamble with a gamble on his own!
"If you take a gamble with me, I will take a gamble with you!"
Spark voiced his thoughts aloud and exclaimed his vision with utmost confidence.
"At the moment I may be nothing more than a layman, but that won't always be the case!"
"Also, seeing as your Cultivation is at highest in the Lesser Body Foundation Realm, which is not worth mentioning at all, your renumeration will start quite small– until you're worthy of more."
But before Milo – who had opened his mouth already– could speak, he added his own premises on top with tempestuous determination.
"But I am warning you right now! Should you accept there will be no complains! No backstabbing! No corruption!"
Spark raised his voice like a military general charging into enemy lines.
His eyes flickered in unbending resolve and his roaring statement threatened to ring awake the streets.
"You don't deceive your co-workers, nor your employer. You act with the best interest of– not only you, but all your allies– in mind at all times!
"You will sacrifice time and independence, vanquish your doubts and act morally!
"You will lead a long life of discipline. A life meaningful and worthy of the grand opportunities your world encompasses!"
"Should you comply... the least of your achievements would be entering the Qi Realm," Spark softened down and laid bare a glorious future with a charmingly demonic allure.
"You would become parts of the echelons, you so spitefully demonized in your mind."
" And who knows... If your talent permits, you could perhaps glean into heights at which the term 'height' would find itself obsolete and inappropriate."
Spark lingered a bit, and let the words settle.
"Heights, which you thought you could never reach before, as you only stared at them from the very bottom, with a regretful heart of longing desire!"
Spark ended his speech with a last promise.
"But first and foremost, you wouldn't be forced to corrupt your souls any further by following immoral orders. You will act as gentlemen, upright and exalted..."
...
The room turned silent.
It was hard to say no to the glimpse of ascension, but it was even harder to believe those words without a spoon of scrutinizing skepticism.
The promises of Spark were like the bewitching whispers and rumblings of an evil entity, sounding far too good to hold a semblence of truth.
But as desperate Milo directed his gaze upon the evil devil's countenance, there was nothing to see but an open and confidence-exuding face.
No doubt of success, no thought of failure. Steadfast in decision. The young man gave off such an impression.
Milo sighed deeply. He had made his decision beforehand, but hearing such eloquent and enticing words, filled him with the confidence that the young man in front wasn't a fool. The speech struck something deep inside of him.
The chain of words was stricken with such unbelievable meaning, that it stirred his heart like a boiling pot.
'Leading a meaninful life, worthy of the opportunities of the world, huh...'
Milo thought deeply about the words he had just heard. They had such a profound narrative, and worldview, that they burned into his brain, never to be forgotten again.
Perhaps, this was the first time in a long while, where Milo dropped his calculative, algorithmic filter and made a decision purely with his heart. Even though the matter was decided beforehand, his heart was on board with it. He had no bad feelings in taking this gamble. He trusted in himself, and in the words he just heard.
"We accept your demands," Milo finally uttered.
"We want to become worthy of the chances the world encompasses," he reiterated the point which touched something deep inside his soul.
"That will depend on you... but good call."
Spark then turned around with a chuckle.
"Now, show me you're worth the gamble. Take care of the information leak as neatly as possible, no deaths... I'm sure you'll find a way."
"Understood," Milo bowed and pressed Bilo's head down as well, signifying the start of the contract, before adding a loud, "Boss," on top.
'As I thought ... very decisive.'
He nodded and sent them away quickly with a gesturing motion of his hand.
"Report back when you solved the problem, or encountered a new one. Obek, Kaine and Sarah... See if they have spread any information regarding the Cultivation book and ah– as I said, handle it appropriately."
Milo's resolute eyes streaked Spark, "We will. Thank you for the opportunity."
"Mhm," Spark nodded again before replying vaguely with a meaningful smile, "Don't disappoint yourselves."
...
As the brothers left the tavern two similar situations happened at once.
Bilo stared at Milo. Terry and Joey stared at Spark. They asked incredulously, almost in unison, "What the hell did you just do?"
"Hired employees," Spark replied tersely.
"Grabbed the chance for a glorious future," Milo explained vaguely with sparkling, hopeful eyes.
...
"But ... Why? Just hire more trustworthy employees!"
Terry chimed into the discussion.
"You want to guide their Cultivation? Maybe they agreed now, just to steal all your resources later!"
Spark nodded in acknowledgement, "But if you were in their position, wouldn't you want a second chance at life?"
"Would you really betray the chance to change your fate?" he added.
Silence filled the room when he said those words. Who wouldn't want to be given a second chance?
Quiet filled the kitchen, because they had also gotten this second chance from the young man in front of them.
Joey finally jumped over the obstacle of his bottleneck, grasping another shot at Cultivation with help of the Clearing Cloud Arts and the Spiritual Crystals Spark brought.
Terry's life would have ended without the young man's interference. Also the ingenious ploy he came up with allowed Joey to successfully win in combat.
And that's all the more reason why they were worried.
These matters could backfire quickly. If you save a wolf pub, you raise a wolf.
Meaning... in some cases it could provide a fresh, generous new start in life for a mishappened, unfortunate person.
In other cases, though, it would prove to be deadly magnanimity... a fatal mistake.
It was naive, thoughtless and even dangerous.
But these adjectives couldn't describe the persona of the man in front of them. And they didn't believe he decided this on a whim. It just didn't match the calculated sophistication he showed before.
...And the real truth was neither him being thoughtless, or him acting out a whim. It was neither out of pure kindness, nor with bad intentions in mind.
"They are just the result of their environment, and will surely be valuable assets later on."
"It's purely business," Spark said cheerfully.
The phrase seemed to awaken traces of reminiscence on his face, as it flowed into a meaningful expression.
He then clapped his hands, and decided to adjourn the meeting.
"We should talk later. The shower's waiting."