The Author's POV

Sunday, Galxicus guild 80th floor.

It was the day after the battle between me and Alex had taken place. I was currently in my father's office.

Sitting on a large grey sofa, I took a look at the office.

On the opposite side of me, my father, working on a large rosewood desk, was busy compiling a stack of paperwork.

As he compiled the paperwork on the table, his pen would drift in swift and fluent movements across the papers on his desk.

He looked incredibly efficient.

Staring at my father's desk, at eye level, a group of papers, a stack of waiter pads, a portable laptop, and multiple monitors neatly stood on top of the large desk.

On the floor, below the desk, lied a PC tower that hummed quietly. On small occasions, blue light would twinkle on top of the PC tower signaling that its power was on.

On the wall to the right, post-It notes appeared on top of a wooden board with several labels and photos marked on it.

Although the office wasn't the most organized, the number of papers on his desk just went to show how much work my father was investing every day to keep the guild afloat.

"Ren..."

As I was busy looking around, disrupting the silence, my father spoke

"Yes?"

Putting the pen in his hand down, my father's obsidian eyes stared at me.

"What do you think of our guild? Be honest"

Taken aback for a second, I leaned back on the sofa.

What did I think of the guild?

Honestly, it was bad.

From what I've seen yesterday and today, the guild wasn't united. It was split into different factions and there was an evident power struggle.

I didn't even know how they managed to keep what was happening within the guild a secret from outsiders.

I would bet Bronze or silver-graded guilds would love to capitalize on this piece of news. I mean, why wouldn't they? Although Galxicus was failing, if the guilds were looking to expand, absorbing Galxicus was the most optimal thing to do.

Especially since right now, Galxicus was only a 'guild' in name.

It was merely an empty title. It was like a shop that sold nothing. The only reason why it was still standing today was because of my parent's efforts. But that wasn't going to last long. Even they will crumble under all of that work...

As my thoughts reached thus far, I couldn't help but be reminded of the fact that my parents were still working on a Sunday. Not once did they rest.

...If things proceeded to continue like this, I wouldn't give the guild a year before it would be forced to dissolve.

Hesitating for a bit, I looked at my father's earnest expression and shared my thoughts.

"If I had to be honest...terrible"

"The guild members instead of being united are clearly split into factions and..."

As I recounted my honest thoughts, nodding his head, Ronald sighed.

"Judging from the way you are speaking, I can already guess you've already figured out how things are going within the guild."

Glancing at the piles of paper below him, a trace of sadness appeared in my father's eyes as he murmured

"...Sadly the guild is in a state of heavy decline"

Stacking the papers on his desk neatly, leaning on his chair, my father looked towards the ceiling

"My plan was to one day let you be the guild master of this guild."

"I wanted to pass this guild onto you so that in the future you would carry it to greater success...but it seems like it was all my wishful thinking"

Glancing towards the drawer of his desk, my father took out a silver key from his pocket and inserted it into the drawer.

-Clank!

Unlocking the drawer, my father slid it open.

Taking out a thick green book, my father glanced at it for a second. A hint of nostalgia appeared in his eyes.

"When I saw you fight yesterday, I observed that despite having a great defense, you lacked something important. At first, I thought it was an attacking art, but after I put more thought into it, I figured that this book would be more beneficial to you..."

Taking one last glance at the book, my father handed it to me.

"Here"

Shocked, I looked at my father. Tough he looked stoic and indifferent, his eyes carried warmth within them. Whatever he was giving me, it was definitely precious to him, and now he was giving it to me.

"...Thank you"

Nodding solemnly, I took the green book.

I will never forget his favor...

[★★★ Drifting steps]

Movement art that progresses with each step. With every step taken, user speed will increase. Unless user stops, speed will continuously increase until the user either runs out of mana or due to injury.

"Tssss..."

This was precisely what I needed. A movement art. Was this a coincidence?

Glancing at my father, he had an all-knowing look. As though knew from the very beginning that I needed this.

...I guess he wasn't a guild master for nothing.

After having only watched me fight once, he could already detect what I was missing. With this movement art, my strength would see another boost.

Especially since I was already near breaking through to F+ rank...I could feel that I was only a few days away.

As I was busy admiring the book, pointing at the book, my father said

"That movement art is one of the guild's top arts, and I'm technically not supposed to be giving it to you..."

"Reason being that it's against the rules as I would normally need to acquire the permission of the board before being allowed to even show you this, but..."

Pausing, turning around, my father looked at the window of the office. Towards the busy streets of Ashton city. In a firm voice, he said.

"...but looking at the state of the guild, I don't see the need for me to be reserved"

With his back still facing me, my father, Ronald Dover resolutely looked at the people coming in and out of the building.

After a short pause, he turned around and in a solemn voice he said

"I want to set up a different branch for our guild"

"A branch?"

Taken aback, I tilted my head in confusion.

If the guild was failing, why set up a branch? That just didn't make sense.

"...yes, and you're going to lead it"

"What!?"

Shocked, I looked at my father with wide eyes.

What kind of joke was this? I was still in my first year in the Lock. How could I possibly have enough time to run a branch?

Asking me to operate a branch would mean that I wouldn't even have time to attend my lectures, let alone classes.

Watching the streets below him, Ronald Dover smiled.

"...Ren, in this world, you're either a pawn or a king."

"You can either be someone who continuously follows other's will or be someone who dictates their own will. Although setting up a branch of a failing guild seems like a stupid idea, in reality, my goal isn't actually to set up a branch"

Noticing a subtle hint within his words, a sudden thought occurred to me as I looked at my father in shock

"...you don't mean"

"Yes...I want you to set up a mercenary group"

A mercenary group.

A group composed of talented unaffiliated individuals who do tasks for money. Be it killing certain monsters, villains, or corrupt individuals. They were the ones you would call.

Mercenary groups were just as popular as guilds, with some being just as influential as some of the top guilds in the human domain.

...and my father was asking me to set up a mercenary corp.

Placing my hand on my chin, I thought about it.

"If it's a mercenary group..."

It was possible.

Although hard, it was possible.

Setting a mercenary group wasn't easy.

There were two requirements to set up a mercenary corp.

—Have at least one individual with a Hero certification or

—Get a recommendation from a graded guild.

Though I couldn't get a Hero certification as I had not yet graduated from the academy, with the recommendation of my father, setting up a mercenary corp wasn't a pipe dream.

Creating my own organization...

The idea did sound tempting.

...Creating an organization filled with people that I could control.

The more I thought about it, the more I started realizing that this was what I actually needed.

After realizing that things did not always go according to plans, rather than remaining passive, why not set up my own organization?

An organization that operated in the shadows as my henchmen. If Kevin and the rests were the light, why not be the shadow?

Licking my dry lips, I crossed my legs and thought

'If I was going to do it, I may as well go big.'

With my knowledge of the future, I knew certain people who didn't have much time in the novel but were in fact extremely talented in their own right.

With my very own organization backing me, I wouldn't need to worry about problems that kept haunting me since the very first day I reincarnated.

...yes, why didn't I think about this before?

Firming my mind and looking at my father I said

"Alright I'll do it"

Nodding his head, and seeing my resolute eyes, a smile appeared on Ronald Dover's face.

"Good choice"

...

Leaving my father's office, I already started thinking of all the talented people whom I could poach into joining future mercenary corp.

I already had a couple of people in mind...

Just as I was about to make a list of the people I wanted to join my mercenary group, at that moment, my phone vibrated.

Turning on the phone, I checked who was calling me. Soon a smile appeared on my lips.

'Just the person I was looking for...'

[Smallsnake] appeared on the caller ID.

—Hello?

As soon as I picked up the phone, Smallsnake's face popped up on a hologram screen.

"Yo, it's been a while. What's up?"

—…Where are you? I can hear a lot of people around you.

"Me? I'm at my parent's guild."

I raised my phone and showed him the nearby scenery

"Been sorting out the family stuff at the guild"

—Really?

"Yup, anyways, I need to talk to you about something"

—Go ahead.

"Not on the phone, meet me near my guild in the northern district."

—...That's kind of far.

"Trust me, you won't regret what I am going to say to you"

Seeing me smile mysteriously, Smallsnake's expression turned skeptical. In the end, he nodded.

—...Alright.

"Perfect, alright, see you in a bit"

Smiling triumphantly, I hung up the phone.

—This better be w-

-Tak!

Turning off the phone, a trace of a smile appeared on my face. Putting on my coat, I went towards a nearby cafe' and sent Smallsnake my location.

I wonder how big my organization will become....