'Who the hell is this guy?' Jonathan thought inwardly as he evaluated the person in front of him. 'Hmm… his aura is only mid-level Enlightenment realm. Wait a minute, don't tell me this dude is a first year?! Jonathan was incredulous.
Ignoring his blatant gaze, Ronnie Quentin maintained his smile and spoke again. "I have an offer for you. An easy way to make some credits and gain a new… friend," he said.
"Oh? And who might you be?" Jonathan asked.
Which first year student was this bold?
Even his own mates couldn't casually approach him like this!
His interest was piqued.
Ronnie smiled and extended his hand. "I'm Ronnie. Ronnie Quentin," he said.
Jonathan eyed Ronnie's outstretched hand but didn't shake it. Still having the smile on his face, Ronnie withdrew his hand.
'Quentin… that sounds familiar,' Jonathan thought.
Quentin wasn't a common name… only a few people had it, mostly because they were related to…
That was when it struck him like lightning and he gaped at Ronnie.
"You're related to Sky Lord Quentin?!"
"Yes. He's my grandfather," Ronnie replied.
"Damn," Jonathan cursed.
A cold sweat run down his back as he imagined the consequences of punching Sky Lord Quentin's grandson.
Earlier on, he had been nursing thoughts of knocking out this smiling dude and beating the hell out of the school but from the look of things, violence wasn't an option.
He could easily deal with the consequences of offending the Weber family but the Quentin family was a whole other game.
His uncle would be the first to give him up!
The Quentin family had a lot of power in the Western sector. In fact, it was their territory. If he was planning on leaving, he couldn't afford to offend a member of the Quentin family.
"Alright Ronnie. Make it quick," Jonathan said.
"Let's talk inside," Ronnie said and pushed past Jonathan, entering the house as if it was his.
Jonathan was stunned and almost transformed into his granite form there and then!
When he remembered Ronnie's background he sighed, rolled his eyes, took a quick look around and shut the door. When he turned, Ronnie was sitting on the only chair available, leaving him to stand.
'Asshole,' he cursed inwardly but he didn't let it show on his face.
"Well?"
"I want the Medusa's Tears you used back in the arena. What's your price?" Ronnie got straight to the point.
"You know Medusa's Tears? As expected of someone from the Quentin family. It's finished, kid. In fact, it's not for sale," Jonathan replied.
Ronnie gazed at him evenly and spoke again. "Don't lie to me. From the look of things, you used half a bottle of the potion. There's still half left."
"Look man I can't give it to you like that. It's not mine to decide in the first place," Jonathan protested.
With his position in the Underworld, it was already a miracle that he had obtained this in the first place.
Had it not been for Hank and Frank sabotaging the work going on down there in the city, he would have to wait till he reached at least Grand realm to get Medusa's tears!
"I know you want to ditch the Imperial Institute stealthily. You wouldn't want to convert your CP to credits and draw attention to yourself will you?
Luckily, I have on hand one million credits, just for you. You can consider it as me buying Medusa's Tears from you," Ronnie replied.
Jonathan's eyes widened in shock. "How did you know?"
Ronnie just smirked at him.
"Fine. I'll have to ask permission though before I can give you Medusa's Tears," Jonathan sighed.
"No you don't. I want you to be my link with the Underworld. Consider this our first trade," Ronnie said.
"Dude what the fuck?! Lower your voice!" Jonathan cautioned, wearily looking around. Walls had ears!
If anyone heard that he was part of the Underworld, he was done for.
Unlike the head honchos and Capos and Dons, the Law enforcement agents had no qualms arresting small fries like him.
As someone too who had just injured the son of one of the upper echelons of the Merchant Union, he wouldn't be surprised if he ended up in Blackrock prison!
Jonathan shuddered at the very thought of it.
He then turned back to Ronnie. "How do you know I work for the Underworld?"
He didn't even deny it. Ronnie had shown a few seconds ago that he wasn't easily fooled. It was quite plain that he knew what Jonathan was into even before he came to see him.
"Medusa's Tears is a rare poison and those who can easily access it are the Merchant Union, Mercenary Association, some families and the Underworld.
The government has access to it too but it is heavily restricted and monitored. Someone like you won't even catch a glimpse, much less hold Medusa's Tears till you reached the Domain realm and worked for the government.
Obviously, you're not from any of the powerful families who can access Medusa's Tears so that option is ruled out.
You're not with the Merchant Union nor Mercenary Association either because you just injured the son of one of their Chairpersons.
That leaves only the Underworld," Ronnie explained.
Jonathan sighed and leaned against the wall heavily. This was even worse than he thought! The deduction skills of Ronnie Quentin were truly top notch.
If he had been able to figure Jonathan out, then it meant that others too would also come to that conclusion.
All the more reason for him to get the hell out of here.
As if sensing his thoughts, Ronnie spoke again. "The earlier you give me Medusa's Tears, the faster you can get out of here," he smirked.
Jonathan stayed silent for a minute and then opened his suitcase. He took out a small vial half filled with grey liquid and looked at it longingly.
"You won't tell anyone I'm with the Underworld right?" he asked.
"You have my word," Ronnie nodded solemnly. Inwardly, he was sneering. It wouldn't take long for people's suspicions to rise after Jonathan's disappearance.
He wouldn't even have to do anything for those rumors to spread on their own.
If Jonathan was lucky, it would die down and everyone would forget.
If not?
Jonathan would become a wanted person.
Ronnie was quite interested to know how Jonathan would sever the school bracelet and nano armor to avoid being tracked by the school.
The Underworld did possess those capabilities though.
"Alright." Jonathan sighed and handed the vial to Ronnie Quentin. "Transfer the one million credits," he said.
"Uh huh. You're forgetting something though. Your CP… you won't need it anymore, will you? After all you're leaving and you don't want any attention drawn to you," Ronnie smiled at Jonathan.
This was also another thing which he had come for. Even if he didn't receive Medusa's Tears, he was determined to get Jonathan's CP.
"Ugh. Fine I'll transfer my CP too," Jonathan sighed.
He should have already converted his CP to credits before doing the deed. Unfortunately, he knew that such a mass conversion would easily be suspicious and he had been wondering on how he would get credits to escape.
Luckily, Ronnie was given him what he needed and at the same time also taking something much more valuable.
This Quentin guy was a scheming bastard.
Ronnie and Jonathan fiddled with their comms for a few seconds before they both beeped, signifying a successful transaction.
Ronnie couldn't help but grin. As expected of someone in the top ten on the ranking list!
He had received a sum of 8,469 CP!
Noticing his grin, Jonathan became even gloomier. He felt like he had been ripped off and indeed he had been ripped off.
Looking at the credit to CP conversion rate which was 1000 credits to 1 CP, it meant that he had just lost 8 million credits!
Ronnie had acquired 8 million credits with just one million credits. That was insane.
Jonathan felt his heart bleeding but there was nothing he could do about it. He had no use for CP anymore.
"Let me give you my contact details to give to your… handler. There are some things I want to purchase but I can't afford to have attention drawn to me so I'll have to use other channels such as yours.
If he is reluctant, ask him if he wants to become more powerful. I believe he won't pass up such an opportunity," Ronnie said.
"Whatever," Jonathan rolled his eyes and took Ronnie's contact.
"Good bye, Jonathan. It was a pleasure doing business with you."
Ronnie Quentin rose up and leisurely walked out of Jonathan's house without looking back. He had already achieved far more than he hoped so he was in very good spirits.
With a way of contacting the Underworld, he would be able to advance some of his plans and make preparations for the future.
Jonathan watched him go. "I can't say the same though. That feeling ain't mutual," he muttered under his breath as he watched the receding back of Ronnie Quentin.
If not for Ronnie's background, he wouldn't have hesitated to knock him out and ran away.
Well, that was life. Not everything went according to plan. You win some and you lose some… so they say.
Shrugging, he also left his house and went the opposite way.
It was time he left the Imperial Institute… for good.