[Knight Family Castle, Jingshi Island, Tzu Empire]
It did not take long for the commotion to spread. Guards talk to their superior and fellow comrades, Albert talked to the other butlers, and just like that, words entered the patriarch's ears.
Summoned, Greem could only obey his father.
The Knight Guild was a family-owned business. Besides the corporate entity making profits, there were traditions and history. Its family, the Knight noble house, had been acknowledged by the emperor himself. For three generations, the Knight family produced A-rank powerhouses, hence its recognition accross the Tzu Empire.
Greem's grandfather was secluded on paper, but the truth was that his grandfather was afflicted with a magical disease. Unlike regular humans, hunters aged much slowlier. Otherwise, Long Tzu would have never reached SS-rank, or lived to see the final battle considering his age.
As the head of the Knight family, Greem's father, Edward Knight, was the guild master and the only A-rank powerhouse of the family. He led the main attack squad of the guild, composed of a line-up of the strongest hunters of the guild. The bare requirement to enter the main attack squad being C-rank, Greem did not hope to enter this attack squad.
All the other hunter teams were led by one of the five elders.
Anna Belle focused on production and magic engineering, thus her team did not enter dungeons.
As strong as they were, the elders were only B-rank. While regular warriors would do anything to earn their favour and enter their team, Greem held no such ambition. In his eyes, there was nothing a B-rank elder could teach him.
What he needed was experience and resources, both of which could only be granted through relentless clearing of dungeons.
Edward Knight. Strong and tall, he was the perfect example of a stern and cruel knight. There were plenty of stories where he sacrificed his own teammates for the sake of clearing dangerous gates. However, every action had been benefitting the family and the citizens. He was ruthless, but pragmatic at the same time. His aura was sharp, though his bloodlust leaked incontrollably, a sign that he lacked control over his emotions sometimes.
In the past, Greem feared his father. He thought him to be cruel and evil, demanding too much.
However, after experiencing the downfall of mankind, Greem shook his head.
The man was impressive, in his own right. If all hunters shared the same ambition, the same hunger, humanity would have never been defeated by the Tower of Abyss, or any SS-rank gates.
This is why to his father's question, his answer was clear.
"As promised, I will grant your wish and allow you to enter D-rank dungeons from now on", his father spoke in a clear voice, "As expected of my son, you managed to deal with Anna's golem so young. Continue like this, and you will make the family proud. Do you have any idea of the team you want to join? As long as I pronounce myself, any team will be glad to have you in their line-up"
Greem did not want to be someone's underling. He wanted to create his own force in the guild.
"Allow me to become a team leader", Greem spoke
His father squinted: "Mmh...You are too young to be a team leader...But I guess getting experience while you are young could be beneficial to you. I will allow you to select four guild members, but since I do not want to rely on the family's resources too much and allow your talent to blossom, they can only be D-rank at most"
Greem smiled: "Can I get anyone?"
His father nodded: "As long as they agree to it, I will make sure no objection blocks you. Since you are only fifteen, I will make sure you have priority on one D-rank dungeon of your liking per trimester. If necessary, you can always ask me for a neighbouring island's dungeon if they catch your eyes"
This was it.
This was the Knight Family.
Neither evil, nor righteous. It was a family that respected the strong and talented before anything else. In his past life, Greem had benefitted immensely under his father's goodwill, but this was on another level. Besides the equipment, priority on dungeons was something all team leaders dreamed of.
Growing stronger required training, elixirs and more importantly, killing. Without dungeons, you could not sharpen your skills or experience 'level ups', an imaginary feeling that came with the killing of monsters. The strongest hunters were not just talented. They also happened to be hunters with a massive list of cleared dungeons.
The Knight family was not a 'light guild' either. They would gladly enter guild wars over dungeon rights. If money was not enough, it would not hesitate to attack fellow guilds. Over the past decades, three consecutive wars with the neighbouring 'Arisha Island' had solidified the family's standing in the region.
Of course, everything was legal.
Such was the imperial law.
One that brought conflict on the foreground.
One that fostered talents.
"Here is the list of guild members. I would suggest selecting both experienced members and newcomers. Experienced members might not have the best talents, but they can make up for your lack of dungeon clearings. As for talents, there are plenty of them since the Hyena guild has been declining"
"Thank you, Father. I will make sure to make them an offer they can't refuse", Greem spoke.
This was the beginning.