Chapter 47 - Contract Offer ( 2 )

"Awakened Association, huh… May I ask what kind of benefits will I get if I joined you guys?"

Cyril calmly asked since he already expected this. They can't force someone to join their organization because of the law but they could offer better compensation if they really wanted to have someone join them.

"Of course… This is what we will have to discuss…" The lady smiled as the discussion for the contract continued.

Apparently, in exchange for the two-year contract with them, he will be provided with a set of C-Rank Artifacts and a single B-Rank Artifact. It seems that the B-Rank is also too rare for them and they do not have a lot of them in their inventory at the moment.

Cyril could understand that since most of the B-Rank Artifacts were being hoarded by the large guilds. Even the association can only procure a little and they even came from the Arcane World that they own.

"That's a good compensation aside from the monthly allowance that you'll get, isn't that right?" Valeri asked with a smile. They are offering a good deal to him and even second-rate guilds would have difficulty matching this up. Perhaps, only the first-rate guilds would have something better to offer.

"Monthly allowance? I guess that's different from the shares I'll get from each exploration?"

"That's correct." Valerie nodded as she felt that it's easier to negotiate with this

"I see… Then what will I do once I joined?"

"Well, the only requirement is that you should agree to two Special Request Explorations a month. Of course, you can explore more than that if you want but the Association would have the power to command all its contractors to participate in an exploration twice according to their ranks…"

"Two compulsory Arcane World exploration you say?"

"Hmm… Well, that's true… However, it's not like it will happen monthly. There have been six months straight that it wasn't used as far as I remember. After all, there are times that we would have plenty of Awakened willing to participate without using the SRE to earn more money."

"Ahh… That makes sense." Cyril nodded as he looked around the well-decorated room.

Valerie thought that he was trying to think about the offer but the truth is that the man is actually watching Xagan explore the room… He realized that based on the demon's action that someone is watching them from the other side of the window.

He heard the demon commenting about how old they are and should retire already.

'Well, they must be doing this to avoid pressuring me with their presence…' Cyril thought as he looked at the lady.

He doesn't have a plan to join the Association at all since he would have trouble with his schedules or if something really happened and he couldn't participate in their SRE…

As he kept his silence, Valerie felt his hesitation.

She then added…

"In truth, there are also about twenty Awakened people under us that aren't exploring at all. They are just waiting for the SRE. After all, we are already giving them an allowance to live by. It's just that they have to live frugally since they have no other source of income. What I'm trying to say is that you wouldn't be too tied up if you join us…"

Cyril appreciated her efforts to recruit him… However, he felt that working with the Association again might repeat the same history.

'Ugh… I already decided on my plan to focus on the Tree of Life…'

The young man sighed and as he was about to reject her, he recalled the morning news he heard… The news reminded him of the event that will start on September 20th.

The Association would be the one managing it and it might be a good idea to join them for a while.

Aside from that, there are also the matters that will happen in December, and getting their assistance might make his work a lot easier.

"Well, two years is too much for me… How about cutting it in half. One-year contract… I can do that."

Cyril made his offer.

Considering the years he has left, he wanted to spend at least three years to strengthen himself and find all the Artifacts and Arcane World that will benefit him.

After all, even if he learned the location of the Tree of Life, he knows that it wouldn't be easy to take its fruits.

He heard from the rumors that it is being protected by a powerful guardian beast that can only be found in the myths.

He wasn't exactly sure what kind of beast it is but he knows that it hadn't been easy for them to find and benefit from it as well.

"One-year contract? Hmm…" The lady then touched her ears as if she was thinking.

However, Cyril somehow had an idea that she's speaking with one of the old men on the other side of the room and discussing his offer.

After a while, Valerie finally smiled and accepted his offer. However, he has to sign a non-disclosure agreement since a one-year contract isn't something they would recommend.

As for the Artifacts that will be provided to him, he also has to return them after the contract finishes or if he no longer needed them after acquiring better ones.

"Alright, young man. We'll finish the contract. I have to make another one."

"Thank you, Miss Valerie."

It didn't take long before she erased the contents of the current Paper Artifact and changing its terms according to their negotiation.

Since the Paper Artifacts hasn't been used yet, changing its content is possible by erasing the contents using their Aura manipulation.

Cyril then read the contract for a moment before signing on it. After both of them signed, paper crumbled into bits of light before entering their bodies.

The bindings of this Artifact are visibly stronger than the one he used with Britta.

"All the stuff you need including your license card and association memberships card will be here by tomorrow so come early. Right, in about a week, there will be an Arcane World Exploration so you have to be ready and clear your schedules."

"Alright!"

Cyril left the place with a smile and called for Xagan after getting outside.