Klaus focused on the company for three months to prepare for the Golden Hammer Expo. While he was busy designing the new artificial arcana, all employees in the Product Development Department had to work hard to finalize the Elemental Gun.
Time was catching up with them. Again Klaus had to increase his men's working hours to get the Elemental Gun ready for the market. He knew it was torture for them, so he increased their salaries by 10% and gave them a bonus if they managed to perfect the Elemental Gun before the deadline.
As for the guild problem, Klaus wasn't worried. After the successful raid of the yellow dungeon, Rays of Hope profited 8 million dollars from selling monster cores and item drops. Thanks to that, the guild opened recruitment for F-Class to D-Class awakener.
He also told Justin and Sylvia to lead some guild members to raid the purple and indigo dungeons, hunting for monster cores and valuable items. In addition to aiming for the media to spotlight them, Klaus wanted to obtain as many resources as possible in case he still needed to get exclusive rights. He was worried about the Awakener Association giving it to his cousin.
Since the dungeon incident in South Houston, there had been no bad news about Sons of Thor. Instead, Gavin Schneider—Noah's right-hand man's success in raiding the dungeon, appeared in the news. It was as if the Sons of Thor's failure in SoHo had never happened before. Naturally, it was enough to worry Klaus.
In a way, the Rays of Hope and the Sons of Thor were currently fighting over popularity in New York, which deserved to be Manhattan's true protector.
For now, Klaus was focused on other projects.
In the middle of his busy day, he smelled coffee in his office. Sheila drew close to Klaus with a cup of coffee and served it to him.
"You've been working overtime lately, boss." The secretary made small talk.
"Why? Do you want to work overtime too?"
"Ah, that's not what I meant. I'm worried about your health." Sheila grimaced. "Ah, by the way, the item you requested is finished."
Sheila handed him a brown envelope, and Klaus opened it immediately. It was essential documents such as passports and social IDs.
"Then what about my money? Have they managed to sell my stuff yet?" Klaus asked.
"They are still working on it. My friend said there's an internal conflict in their organization, but don't worry; they'll give you your money as promised. Though they are jerks, they still have a code of ethics."
"That should be it. If they break their promise, I'll go there and collect it myself." Klaus said in a firm tone.
Klaus sold the stolen arcana obtained from the Black Bulls headquarters to a crime syndicate in the Bronx. He trusted Sheila and left the transaction to her. His secretary said Klaus would get his money in three months at the latest.
But he couldn't wait any longer.
As Sheila walked out of her office, the smartphone in his pocket beeped. He got a phone call.
"What's up, Justin? I told you not to bother me if it's not important." Klaus sighed.
"Sorry, but you had to come here. They're returning to our guild."
Klaus raised one eyebrow. "Who are they?"
"Those loaned awakeners. Olivia Winston and Akio."
"Huh?"
Klaus was a little surprised to hear that. The 1 million dollar debt from the Awakener loan was paid off, and their three members had returned. He had no more business with the House of Blacksmith. Those two had no reason to return to the Rays of Hope.
Sigh out of Klaus. "Alright. I'll meet them at lunchtime. Tell them to wait."
"Okay!"
Beep. Klaus hung up and went back to his work.
...
It was noon at the Rays of Hope headquarters. The guild members took a break for lunch.
As Klaus entered the meeting room, Justin was seen sitting at a table with an Asian man and a woman with exotic skin.
After sitting down, Klaus immediately asked their business to come here.
"So, what are we talking about here? I didn't get any message from Benjamin. I'm sure this is a private matter."
Klaus saw his two guests stare at each other for a while.
"You are right, Mister Klaus. We came here because of a personal matter, needing your help." Akio sounded polite as he said it. Usually, the man was casual.
Klaus squinted. "Okay, this is interesting. You guys have your guild, but why need our help?"
Akio lowered his shoulders. "We're already out of the House of Blacksmith."
Naturally, Klaus raised his eyebrows.
Akio then began to explain their problem to Klaus.
Everyone except for Michael was praised for their success in raiding the yellow dungeon. The burly man was still unconscious after surviving the wendigo's fatal blow.
Of course, the House of Blacksmith was responsible for its wounded member. They took him to the hospital, and various treatments were used to wake him up, but Michael never regained consciousness.
After further examination, it turned out that they found poison in his body. It caused Michael to lose consciousness. To make matters worse, there was no practical antidote for the poison other than the [Elixir], which was very expensive. The cheapest treatment was to extract the poison. Unfortunately, the cost of the service was no less costly.
In the end, the House of Blacksmiths gave up on Michael. They decided to terminate the contract with him.
It made Akio furious. He went on a rampage in the guild master's office, demanding that the guild take responsibility. However, his efforts got him kicked out of the House of Blacksmiths.
"I know this sounds presumptuous," Akio said. "Please, save my friend Michael. He's closer than my brother. I owed him my life when we were in Afghanistan."
Klaus pursed his lips. Alternately, the ball turned on Akio and Olivia. "So, you two got kicked out of the guild for protesting?"
"Yeah, we are kicked out." Akio grimaced.
Squinting, Klaus smelled something suspicious. Akio and Olivia seemed to be acting strangely when he asked why they were expelled.
Besides, he didn't understand why they had concluded he could help their friend. There was no reason for him to help them, but at the same time, he saw an opportunity.
"Alright then. Let's say I'm doing you a favor. But you know, we're not a charity organization. What's in it for me to help you?" Klaus asked skeptically. "I'm not willing to spend 400,000 for just one treatment, and it would take 10 or 30 treatments for the poisons in his body to completely disappear. It's a scam."
"Olivia and I are willing to join your guild for a low price. 5 million dollars per year. Two A-Class people, I think that's a good offer."
"Two A-Class who got kicked out of the guild," Klaus added sarcastically. "You overestimate yourselves."
Akio hissed. "Then what do you want?"
Klau pursed his lips briefly, then said, "500,000 dollars for the first year and a mandatory contract extension for the following year with a salary of 1 million dollars. That's the best deal I can give you."
"What!?" Olivia was shocked. So was Akio, but the man held himself together.
It was a minimal salary for an A-Class. It was only half the income of a B-Class for one year, and Klaus hired them at that salary for two years.
Meanwhile, Justin sighed when he saw Klaus' devious intentions.
"I think that's too low a price." Akio tried to negotiate.
But Klaus didn't budge. He didn't answer, just tapped his finger on the table. Then, he glanced at Justin for a moment. His subordinate immediately understood what Klaus was thinking.
He looked at his watch and then stood up. "Sorry, but lunch will be over soon. I have a lot of work in the office. Next time you can discuss this matter with the Guild Master."
Justin played Klaus' game, following suit. "If you wish to speak with me, please make an appointment first."
They both walked towards the exit.
Instantly, Akio understood their intentions. It was an implicit message that they didn't want to discuss this anymore. Meanwhile, Olivia, who did not understand the situation, could only look confused.
As Klaus and Justin were in the doorway, Akio got up from his seat and called out to them.
"Wait! Okay, we accept your offer!"
A sly smirk spread across Klaus' face.
"Just give me a moment to prepare the contract."
In front of Akio and Olivia, Klaus wrote the contract directly on paper with a pen. The two men just watched. After writing two sheets, he handed them to Justin to sign and then to Akio.
Then, Klaus and Akio shook hands.
"I look forward to working with you," Klaus said.
Akio just pursed his lips.
Meanwhile, Olivia realized that she hadn't gotten a contract yet.
"Wait, where is my contract?" she asked curiously.
Klaus gave her the side-eye. "I'm sorry, but I'm not signing you."
