At that time, the top 1% had been busy fighting among themselves and had not yet reached an agreement.
This allowed some people to grow.
"I don't care about that, Alex, as long as you have something to do.
Just don't do it half-heartedly; do the best you can," Luca said.
"Of course, Mom, don't worry.
You know me; if I decide to do something, I'll make my way to the top."
Luca then transferred the money to him and left him alone.
'I should call Sis then.
Mom only said I couldn't make my own Guild, but if it's my sister, there should not be a problem,' he thought.
Alex had had a few friends from college and high school who had become hunters, but he had barely talked to them after graduating.
He needed someone he could trust to handle the Guild, as he had planned to fake many items they had brought back from the dungeon.
He also needed to find people from the Dungeon Association to help manipulate the information.
As the phone had started connecting, Alex had said, "Sis, are you busy?"
He could hear ragged breathing from the other side.
"Just... say what you want."
He had wanted to ask more about her situation, but he had known Emily would just get annoyed.
After that incident, her personality changed completely; she became cold and spoke harshly, and Alex got used to it.
"What hunter rank are you now?"
Emily had felt it was odd, as Alex usually never cared about it, but her situation hadn't allowed her to think much.
BANG!
BOOM!!!
Alex could hear explosions from the other side.
"Just what are you doing, Emily?
If you're busy, I can call again later."
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
KA-BOOM!!
Alex had heard machine guns firing in bursts, followed by a big explosion.
The connection then became static for a while before being cut off.
Alex had looked at his phone screen with a raised eyebrow, his eyes filled with worry.
'Just what is she doing?' he had thought, imagining various possible scenarios, each making him worry even more.
Just as he had been about to call the hunter association to find out Emily's location, the phone had rung again.
"Sis, are you alright!?"
Alex quickly asked.
Heavy breathing had come from the other end, followed by a sigh.
"I'm fine.
I'm just doing some stupid cheap mission that isn't worth the pay.
I'm still a two-star hunter; you know it's insanely hard to raise our rank, right?"
Hearing her words, Alex was surprised.
He had heard about the difficulty before, but he had thought it was just a rumor.
His sister had an S-Grade ability, and it had been five years; Alex had thought she should be at least a three-star hunter by now.
"Well, I need a guild.
I had planned to make it myself, but Mom forbade it.
You know how she is after that day.
So, I was thinking of you being the one to establish it."
"You what?"
Emily had then laughed, doubting what she had heard.
"You're saying you want to build a guild?
You, who always spent all day at home reading novels and playing games?"
She had expected Alex to laugh with her, but when he had remained silent, she had added, "You're not joking?"
"I am serious!
Why would I joke about something like that, Emily?"
Alex had felt wronged as everyone seemed to act like he had never done anything serious.
"And why would you be serious about that?
I know you, Alex; you just love wasting away at home all day.
So tell me, why do you suddenly want a guild?"
Alex had then told her what had happened, of course, modifying it beforehand to hide the part where he had gotten the system.
He had done this because he hadn't wanted the hassle of convincing Emily that he wasn't lying.
Even in a world filled with superpowers, the existence of a system that often only showed up in novels and anime would not be taken seriously.
"So, who is this Faerith?
Do you like her?
I never knew you were into older women," Emily had said with a chuckle.
"I told you I'm doing that because of the artifact she's researching.
I am sure it will bring our family to new heights!"
"Yeah… yeah...
And the artifact you're talking about has shown no results until now, right?
Who are you trying to fool, my dear older brother?
There are tons of artifacts with no results; each claimed to have a lot of potential, and you know that none give results!
In the past, I already told you to use your abilities to help with the Guild, but you kept making excuses!
At first, I thought you were just coping with the incident, but after 5 years, I realized you're just being lazy, Alex!"
"Hey, you say it like I didn't miss Dad at all," Alex had retorted back.
"Hmph...
And?
You don't need to mince words with me like with Mom, Alex.
I know you think he's already dead."
Alex sighed, "You know why.
My ability makes me think everything is based on data, and the highest probability is..."
Emily had cut him off with a stern tone.
"Shut it.
I'm not stupid.
I know."
"But just like Dad, who also had abilities with his brain, he should have known if things became problematic.
The other guild members weren't weaklings either."
In the Suzaku Guild, Alex's father had recruited two three-star hunters with SS rank abilities.
The only other possibility was that they had somehow entered a portal and gotten stuck inside.
However, Alex had never shared this with his sister or mom.
He had been afraid they would recklessly run into the portal.
"Let's not talk about that.
I also hope Dad survived.
So, what do you think about my offer?"
"We need another hunter to be the face of our Guild, Alex.
If the Campbell group decides to create a new one after the Suzaku incident, we can't do it half-heartedly.
If only a two-star hunter like me is inside, it will give us bad publicity, you know," Emily had said.