*Author's note: change from association president -> association director.*
Logan couldn't help but stare at the arcana ring, twirling it in the air and occasionally bringing it up to his eyes like an appraiser assessing the authenticity of an item. After that, he put it on his middle finger, and he swiped and pressed the air as if there was an invisible screen in front of him.
"This is truly a spatial ring. It's completely identical to real arcana," Logan said as he put the ring to the table. The old man squinted, staring at Klaus with a look of suspicion. "I can't tell if this ring is real or artificial. I don't see the difference."
"It is indeed arcana though man-made." Klaus crossed his legs.
Logan shook his head. "That's not what I meant. Are you trying to deceive me, saying that this arcana came from your company?"
Upon hearing the Association Director's accusation, Klaus raised his eyebrows, and the sound fell silent instantly. Justin and Sheila chose to remain silent, but they knew the air was heavy now.
Suddenly, Klaus laughed, and everyone in the room was astonished. Justin and Sheila twisted their faces in confusion, while Logan just looked at Klaus, with a questioning expression on his face.
Klaus stopped laughing as tears welled up between his eyes. "I'm sorry, Director Logan. This is really funny. Believe it or not, you reacted just like the people at the auction when I sold it to them."
"What? Did you try to auction it off?" Logan raised his eyebrows.
"Yup. They rejected it outright, calling it damaged arcana. This artificial arcana is only at the proto-type stage. It can only be used once or twice, after that it doesn't work. Try it again if you don't believe me."
Intrigued, Logan quickly took the spatial ring and attached it to his finger. When the old man activated it again, it didn't work. His face was instantly red.
"I'm sorry, Klaus. I made an unreasonable accusation." The sincere words escaped Logan.
"It doesn't matter. I expected it. I should apologize for laughing in front of you."
Logan shook his head. "No-no. It's my fault."
Klaus triumphantly grinned. The old man before him changed his attitude one hundred and eighty degrees after that. Logan began to speak carefully, and Klaus treated him politely as well.
"I never thought that a breakthrough would emerge from a conglomerate company. An artificial arcana. The government has poured billions of dollars into making this, but for the past 10 years they have not produced any results, even after they cooperated with the House of Blacksmith. I'm always afraid that this amazing invention will fall into the wrong hands, like Morning Star or Secret Brotherhood."
"Well, we've been working secretly. You know what happens to us if one of the Five Pillars finds out about this, right?"
The words that came out of Klaus made Logan tense up. "Well, this country will be fucked again. If Mors Industries needs a partner, the Awakener Association is the one. I'm ready to listen."
A grin bloomed on Klaus' face.
The reason why the Awakener Association limited guild license requests was the Five Pillars. The Awakener Association was a government tool tasked with overseeing and regulating awakeners. They were like the police for these superhumans.
However, ever since the Five Pillars appeared, the government began to lose their control. The five major guilds began to use their power and influence to establish their own empire.
The government had been worried that other guilds as powerful as them would emerge.
If the Falcon Knight Guards ruled Washington, then New York was ruled by Morning Star.
Morning Star was a guild filled with fighters. They recruited thousands of B-Class awakeners and produced their own weapons, creating a guild that resembled semi-military soldiers. Thanks to their existence, New York was always safe from the Yellow and Orange Dungeons.
However, this did not mean they were the good guys. Morning Star often forced the Awakener Association to grant their requests. Such as monopolizing the item market in Queen and forcing state officials to make sectional policies based on their wishes.
They were like an invisible hand that controlled everything, and this was just in Queens.
If a guild of Morning Star's caliber found out there was a company capable of creating artificial arcana, they would definitely scramble to get their hands on it.
"I, Logan Pierce, representing the Awakener Association, will guarantee the safety of Mors Industries and its guild. But on condition, Mors Industries must prioritize the Awakener Association as the primary customer. You cannot sell the most advanced artificial arcana to anyone. If you agree, I will contact headquarters and license your guild right now."
"With pleasure."
When Logan was about to pick up the pen, Klaus held his hand. Naturally, Logan was surprised.
"We're not done yet, Director Logan," Klaus said, grinning.
At that very moment, the Director realized that Klaus wanted something from him.
"I think you misunderstood what I said," Klaus continued. "I'm not here to seek protection. I really want a partnership with the Awakener Association, a relationship that benefits both parties."
Logan's expression turning serious. "Huft, I should have realized, people like you will never be satisfied. I hope you're asking for something reasonable."
"Relax, Director Logan. I won't be demanding like Five Pillars. I just want the exclusive rights to raid every Indigo and Purple Dungeon that appears in all of Manhattan."
"What? I didn't hear it wrong, did I?" Logan narrowed his eyes.
Actually, requesting a dungeon monopoly was only natural, especially for a major guild of the caliber of Morning Star or Falcon Knight Guards. They usually asked for a monopoly on Yellow or Orange Dungeons where high quality monster cores could be found. They needed it to strengthen their members or increase guild coffers.
However, Klaus' request sounded strange to Logan. There was no significant advantage with Klaus monopolizing the Purple Dungeon and Indigo Dungeon. This would be beneficial for the Awakener Association instead, they no longer needed to worry about the mortality rate in low rank awakeners, such as the F-Class and E-Class.
"That is it?" asked Logan in disbelief.
"Yes, that's all. But I want you to put everything in black and white."
Logan was silent for a moment, and not long after the old man nodded his head. "Okay."
The Director prepared some documents for Klaus and Justin to sign. After signing the document, Klaus and Logan shook hands.
"Nice working with you, Director Logan."
"I hope you complete the prototype as soon as possible."
Klaus and his two subordinates left the director's office. They walked down the hall as if nothing had happened. As they were in the elevator, Justin breathed a sigh of relief.
"Damn, that's stressful meeting. I've never felt that kind of pressure before." Justin shook his head.
"From now on you have to get used to this kind of situation. You're a guild master now."
Justin bit his lip as he heard Klaus' answer. He knew sooner or later this situation would happen to him.
"By the way, boss," Sheila chimed in. "I didn't know that our company had succeeded in creating artificial arcana. To my knowledge, we've only reached the research stage."
Klaus chuckled. "Our company hasn't created anything yet. We only started operations a few days ago, there's no way we could have created it."
"WHAT!" Justin spontaneously exclaimed. He quickly covered his mouth. "And the ring?"
Klaus took the spatial ring out of his pocket. "It's real arcana. I broke it and made that damn old man think it was artificial."
Sheila gasped while Justin dropped his jaw. They both realized that Klaus had just conned a director and hit the jackpot. First he obtained a guild license, secondly he got primary customer and dungeon monopoly rights.
Justin whispered "Yo, Klaus. No one has managed to create artificial arcana in seventeen years. How are we going to create it?"
"That's not your problem. What you should be thinking about is the guild. Your real work is just about to begin. I'll give you some staff to support you."
Klaus had planned everything carefully, and he only needed to execute them one by one, until his goal of world domination was realized!