“Eik Magnasen. A score of 203.543!”

“Two… T- Two hund—…” Ihasu stammered, her jaw flapping like a fish out of water. Everywhere around them people whispered among themselves in disbelief. If anyone were to beat the record, it would obviously be some platinum spoon kid with all the support one could ask for. It wasn’t supposed to be some nobody like this guy. And yet here he was.

“Damn,” Heath muttered. “That’s an even higher score than I had expected. GG!”

Ihasu glanced at him. “GG? What does GG mean?”

“It means ‘good game’. It’s a gamer term from Earth.”

“What’s a gamer?” she asked.

“It’s, uuh… It’s someone who plays video games.”

“I don’t know what that is either.”

“I’m realizing that now, yes.”

Her gaze was drawn back to the stage where Eik was walking back toward them. He pretended to not even notice the gawking from the peanut gallery but his face gave away a painfully obvious discomfort with the undivided attention.

“B- But, I just don’t understand how he could do something like… that,” she muttered, pointing to the collapsed colossus, its body still smoking.

Michael tilted his head contemplatively. “Well, it’s just that Eik is a little—”

“Let’s get the heck out of here, guys!” Eik hissed with an only partly suppressed grin. “Did you guys freakin’ see that? Hot damn!”

Immediately, Eik led the way through a throng that parted as he passed. Nobody protested his score this time around but a few people trickled after him up the stairs. By the time they got to the top nearly everybody had thought better of following with the exception of a few.

Some wide-eyed kids tailed them nervously but kept a cautious distance from the new record holder. Boldly marching up to Eik, a brazen, sharply dressed man was an entirely different story, however.

“Mr. Eik Magnasen, if I am not mistaken,” the man said. He was dressed in a long, custom-fitted black coat that flowed behind him like a curtain in the wind which made him look a bit like a goth. His hair was immaculately combed, parted slickly in the middle.

“My name is Djoardj Pilam. I’m a talent scout for Omega!” he said, his tone full of anticipation.

When Eik didn’t answer and instead threw a glance full of confusion at Mikla, Djoardj’s confidence appeared to wane considerably.

“Omega!” he tried again, looking almost distraught at actually having to explain this. “Omega! One of the strongest, if not the strongest guild for Awakened warriors in the entirety of the Nidafjeld Alliance! Surely you’ve heard about us. Best in the game? Explorers for hire? Vanquishers of numerous S-rank monsters?”

“How about X-rank monsters? Have you killed any of those?” Heath asked innocently.

“X-ranked mons— What? You can’t just…” the guy spluttered. “No… No, we haven’t killed any X-ranked monsters.” The enthusiastic spark was fading from his eyes with remarkable speed.

“And wait a minute, did you say your name is George? As in… your actual name is George?” Eik asked in disbelief.

The man frowned. “No, my name is Djoardj, from Omega. Anyway, I saw your performance back there and you’re exactly what we’re looking for. I’ve never seen anything like what you’ve showed me!”

“So you're trying to recruit me?” Eik asked.

Djoardj nodded. “I think I will be able to negotiate a contract that will be extremely favorable for you, Mr. Magnasen, given what you have shown here today.”

“How involved is a contract with your guild?”

“Pardon?”

“Like, how free would I be to pursue personal projects?” Eik asked.

“You would of course be obligated to prioritize guild matters but if you have a hobby, then we would not have a problem with it.”

“I’m starting a business, actually.”

“Oh,” Djoardj said. “In that case we would have to ask you to put that project on the back burner.”

“And my team?”

“Your team?”

“Yeah, my team. My friends,” Eik said and gestured to Heath, Sonja, and Michael. “I assume they would be able to join me if I said yes?”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Djoardj pulled a face. “You guys are on the same team? But they’re not… It’s standard for new recruits to abandon any previous team they might have been a part of. But it’ll be for the better so don’t worry. The famously excellent minds in our department of strategy will match you with ability sets that play perfectly with yours.” he said an eyed Eik’s three friends. “And we’ll also make sure that your power ranks align optimally.”

Without a word in response, Eik gazed into Djoardj’s eyes as he thought, something that didn’t seem to bother the talent scout enough to throw off his pitch. Eik’s jaw tightened but Djoardj didn’t notice.

“I must say, Mr. Magnasen, what I am offering you here is an incredibly rare opportunity. An opportunity that only a select few could ever even dream of receiving. We can offer tailored training programs, consultation of evolution, potions and enchanted armor and weapons, and much, much more. Money will be no issue. This could change your life, young man. And you’ll never have to worry about anything ever again.”

Now that did sound tempting. What a life to live — never having to worry about anything again. Unfortunately, Eik didn’t have the luxury to not worry.

His life didn’t just revolve around him and his own problems. He had a responsibility to his friends, family, and the rest of humanity.

“Can I have some time to think about it?” he finally asked.

“Of course, of course! I suppose it’s not necessarily an easy decision, even if it is the best one,” Djoardj chuckled. “Here is my card in case you have any questions for me. Ask for me in the reception when you’ve decided to hop on board with Omega. You definitely won’t regret it.”

“Thanks. Well, we have an appointment to get to. Have a good one, George.” He waved as they made their way back toward the fracture that would take them to headquarters. “Damn, George really likes to talk, huh. And he’s kind of a jerk too.”

“Are you really going to join up with them, man?” Heath asked cautiously.

Eik stopped to look back at his friends. Concern was apparent on all of their faces as they waited for his answer. “Of course not! You think I’m actually interested in leaving behind everyone and everything just to go and be bossed around by a bunch of pretentious rich guys? No way!”

“Then why did you say—?”

“That I would think about it? Because I’ve learned that big people with big power, big money, and big influence usually don’t like to be turned down cold. It’s better to pretend to entertain their wishes. I assume that the Omega guild is as strong as he claimed?” he asked Mikla and Ihasu who both nodded.

“Very much so, yes. The guild itself controls several worlds. They operate on the scale of a civilization.”

“Would you advise me to join?”

Mikla shrugged. “I mean, that depends entirely on what you’re looking for. He wasn’t lying when he said this was an amazing opportunity so for most anybody else I would say yes, but maybe not you. There’s too much of your plate already. But keep contact with them. You could still have a beneficial relationship.”

They passed through the fracture and into the E-rank crucible lobby where a crowd had already gathered around the screens displaying the new test record. Excited murmurs flowed through the room as people discussed Eik’s second crushing record.

Hurrying out and back to their rooms, Mikla sent the others back while Eik decided to make a trip to town to pick up some ingredients.

The credits from the test reward had already shown up on his credit slab so he had the funds to splurge a bit to give Eik’s Excellent Elixirs the kick it needed.

Given how quickly he unloaded both pain killers to Earth and Potions of Mighty Strength class 1 both on Earth and on the market in Gimleh, he felt justified in spending almost half of his money on those alone.

Execution of the Potion of the Metal Body class 1 also needed to be practiced so he got ingredients for that as well.

Mikla had advised against graduating from the class 1 of Potion of Mighty Strength too early lest Eik accidentally killed himself in the attempt, but he still bought enough ingredients for a dozen attempts. Eik had hinted at just how effective his ability actually was when it came to alchemy, but had avoided explaining to what degree it actually protected him from any backlash from the Ak’ki of the mixtures.

If he could successfully create a class 2 version of the potion then he would have a version that was ideal for his current rank as well as a way to expand the consumer base for his products. Providing a way for the D-rankers of Forest to power up properly in those crucial moments that decide a fight could do so much for their overall survivability against the flood of monsters and Awakened beasts.

Finally, he bought a new supply of potions before heading home.

It was late evening by the time he stepped through the portal into his house. Reflexively, he caught Mis as she sailed through the air toward the portal. “Nuh uh, you can visit Mikla another time, girl. You’re staying home tonight.”

With everything he’d brought home from Gimleh’s markets, his rucksack of holding was full to near bursting. “Hey, cutie, I’m just going to make a trip to the store real quick to put some stuff away, alright?” he said as he went for the door. “So behave, please. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

When he took the handle the door released from a warped strike plate, the lock lying broken on the step outside. Uncomprehending, Eik stared at the mess for a second, his brain suddenly going into overdrive. Someone had been inside his house. Someone was still actively after him.

As his heart began to thump loudly enough to echo in his own ears. That now familiar feeling of Profound Toxin urging him toward violence rushed up in the back of his mind. He looked at his cat which simply stared back without a care in the world.

“Who did you let in here while I was gone?”

No answer.

“I told you to watch the house, girl.”

Still nothing. Little shit.

“I have to check on something,” he called as he disappeared out of the door. He couldn’t let Mis sense the fury in him. When had he gotten this sensitive?

He chugged a Potion of Mighty Strength and sprinted for Eik’s Excellent Elixirs at full speed. Already as he jumped the small fence into the overgrown garden, he could tell that the front door stood ajar. Someone had been here as well.

He stormed through the door. There hadn’t really been much time to move too much stuff in here yet, but it was still infuriating to see everything strewn across the floor. Worktable, chairs, and shelves lay broken in pieces and vials had been shattered against the walls, the contents still staining the wood in dry, discolored splotches.

Not all of his inventory had been stored here — far from it — but some of it had been. The most recent large flask of Potion of Mighty Strength, as well as a few vials of Potion of the Metal Body had been in a box under a table in the storage room.

There were no traces of those, however. The shattered vials had either been failed experiments or empty from the beginning.

Any idiot could have known that keeping it here was not exactly secure, even with the lock on the door. A simple latch lock was useless against anybody above F-rank. But he’d wanted to believe that it would be okay. That things were getting better. Lesson learned.

But he was never going to let the thief get away with this.