Chapter 303: A Business Deal [2.]

Kael didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he continued watching Jonas, waiting to see where he was going with this.

Seeing that Kael wasn’t interrupting, Jonas went on.

"After the upcoming tournament, the various Safe Zones have agreed to begin relaxing some of their restrictions."

He adjusted his sitting position. "Until now, the four Safe Zones have maintained fairly strict caution, barely letting outsiders step foot inside them. That was necessary, for security reasons, of course."

Kael nodded slightly. He was familiar with that arrangement.

"However, that’s about to change," Jonas continued. "Following the tournament, the Safe Zones will begin reducing some of those defenses and allowing limited access to individuals and organizations from the other Safe Zones."

He smiled faintly.

"The idea is to encourage cooperation, provide opportunities for people to gain experience in different environments, and allow organizations to expand their operations beyond their original territories."

Kael listened carefully.

On the surface, it sounded like a fairly reasonable arrangement.

However, he could already imagine the problems that would arise once those restrictions were lifted.

And Jonas seemed to know exactly what he was thinking.

"Of course, things won’t be quite as peaceful as the people making these agreements would like to believe."

He chuckled.

"The moment those opportunities become available, every major Guild and organization will want a piece of them."

His expression grew more serious.

"New markets, access to different Rifts, valuable resources, and the opportunity to establish influence in another Safe Zone. There’s simply too much to gain."

He shook his head.

"And since the number of available slots will be limited, competition is going to be fierce."

Kael nodded.

That much was obvious.

Even without knowing the exact details, he could already tell that the competition for those opportunities would be intense.

The major Guilds had spent years accumulating wealth, manpower, and influence. There was no way they would willingly allow smaller organizations to take valuable expansion opportunities without putting up a fight.

Jonas looked directly at him.

"Now, Kael, I won’t deny that you’re an exceptionally powerful individual."

He paused.

"In fact, based on what I’ve seen and heard, your personal strength is probably enough to place you among some of the top Hunters."

Kael remained silent.

"However, your Guild is a different matter."

Jonas spread his hands slightly.

"No offense intended, but the Mothlight Guild is still in its early stages. You have a few capable people, some promising products, and a growing reputation, but that’s about it."

He continued before Kael could respond.

"Compared to organizations that have spent years building their foundations, your Guild simply doesn’t have the manpower, connections, or established influence needed to compete with them on equal footing."

Kael couldn’t argue with that.

Although the Mothlight Guild had been developing quite well, it was still relatively new and was nowhere near the level of the major organizations that had existed for years.

And while Kael could personally deal with many threats, that didn’t mean he could solve every organizational problem simply by being stronger than everyone else.

Jonas continued.

"So when the competition for expansion slots begins, I can almost guarantee that the Mothlight Guild will struggle."

He paused briefly.

"Actually, struggle might be putting it mildly. If you try to compete directly with the major Guilds, there’s a good chance you’ll simply be crushed before you can establish a foothold."

Kael frowned slightly, but he didn’t interrupt.

He understood the point Jonas was trying to make, and unfortunately, he wasn’t entirely wrong.

"But..." Jonas smiled. "That wouldn’t be a problem if the Hunter Association were to allocate one of those expansion slots directly to the Mothlight Guild."

Kael paused. He could see exactly where Jonas was going with this, and he was genuinely interested. An offer like that could open up countless opportunities for the Mothlight Guild.

Kael fell into thought.

To be fair, Jonas hadn’t been entirely correct about his reasons for establishing the Mothlight Guild.

Influence was certainly one of his objectives, but it wasn’t the only one.

When he first created the Guild, another major consideration had been resource acquisition.

He wanted an organization capable of gathering valuable materials, securing access to Rifts, and providing him with a steady supply of resources.

However, that objective had become considerably less important after his recent dealings with Aurelius.

With access to a merchant capable of obtaining treasures that most people in this world couldn’t even imagine, Kael no longer needed to rely on the Guild as heavily for acquiring rare resources.

Of course, that didn’t make the Guild useless.

Far from it.

There were still many advantages to controlling an organization with its own manpower, facilities, and access to Rifts.

And with resource acquisition no longer being such a pressing concern, expanding the Guild’s influence had become an even more attractive prospect.

Which meant Jonas’s offer was almost perfectly suited to his current interests.

Not bad.

Kael leaned back slightly in his chair.

He had to admit that the Vice President had come prepared.

Jonas, meanwhile, had been observing his expression.

Seeing that Kael was finally showing genuine interest, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Of course, I should clarify something."

Kael looked at him.

"The expansion slot is only what we’re offering in exchange for the exclusivity arrangement itself."

Jonas raised a finger.

"It doesn’t mean we’ll be taking your resources for free."

He continued, "Any item the Association obtains through this arrangement will be paid for separately. The expansion opportunity is simply the benefit we’re offering in exchange for receiving preferential access."

Kael nodded slowly.

That made the proposal considerably more attractive.

The Association would provide Mothlight with an opportunity to expand into another Safe Zone, and in return, the Guild would grant them certain privileges when purchasing resources.

The resources themselves would still be sold at their agreed prices.

It was a very good deal.

Perhaps even better than Jonas realized.

"Alright," Kael finally said. "You’ve definitely caught my interest."

Jonas smiled.

"I thought I might."

"But there’s something I’d like to clarify first."

"Go ahead."

"When you say exclusivity, what exactly are you asking for?"

Kael’s expression became slightly more serious.

"Because depending on what you mean by that, this could be a very different conversation."

Jonas nodded, seemingly having expected the question.

"Fair enough. It’s actually quite simple."

He leaned forward slightly.

"What we want is the opportunity for the Association to occasionally browse through the Mothlight Guild’s available inventory and receive the first pick of certain items."