Chapter 103: Three Years

Although Hiro' explanation sounded reasonable, everyone had a streak of irrationality in them, espionage when it came to matters of life and death.

Thus, while the vice-leader decided to call it a day, some of the guild members who agreed with the other members started exhibiting signs of hesitation.

The vice-leader frowned, while Hiro received a notification of two choices.

Choice 1: Disregard your mission profile and descend the hill, achieving great merits to draw the attention of stronger guilds.

Choice 2: Keep to your rational train of thought and dissuade as many members as possible from committing to the suicidal operation, which will result in unpredictable consequences as your reputation suffers.

You have 5 seconds to decide…

…

The world around Hiro turned gray and slow and a countdown timer appeared in front of him.

After looking at the options, he seamlessly selected the second option, and time resumed naturally.

After he selected the option, the vice-leader looked his way and said, "Diego's analysis is sound, and I won't risk the lives of my comrades for strangers. The association sent evacuation notices to these people seven days early." Discover exclusive tales on m,v l'e-NovelFire.net

His meaning was clear. Since they had been warned, they could only blame themselves for being obstinate.

Nonetheless, some people have a stroke of heroism in their blood, and they wouldn't sit back and watch as people of their race fell victim to beasts.

After a heated discussion, they split into two groups. The first group would stay and wait for reinforcements while the other group would descend the hill to help the townsfolk.

The second group would sign their names on a parchment that would relieve the vice-leader, and in extension, the guild itself from any and all responsibility for their casualties or even deaths.

This was of course proposed by Hiro and approved by the vice-leader.

And, just as Hiro expected, a few "hot-blooded" guild members cooled down after this parchment came out, and they defected to the first group.

Where there was a first, a second would follow. Thus, only four people remained in the group from the original eleven.

The vice leader nodded approvingly. If eleven out of twenty-five members split from the team, he'd find it difficult to explain himself even if he had the written agreement in hand.

What kind of a team leader couldn't control half of his team? However, Hiro's move was a stroke of genius.

Now that they would have to pay for the repair cost, equipment fees, and possibly treatment fees for potential wounds from their personal savings, the net profit no longer covered the costs.

Who was so selfless nowadays? That was an absolute joke.

Do they want riches and fame all at once? Pure fantasy.

Of course, these people who pulled out at the last minute felt ashamed of themselves, and what was a better outlet for their hatred other than Hiro?

Thus, Hiro gained himself a solid haters fan club with eleven registered members off the bat.

The vice-leader stored the four agreements in his storage pouch, patted it lightly, and cleared his throat.

"You mean leave now," he said in a solemn tone. "I hope you don't regret the decisions you made today, and I pray for your safe return. This cold world needs more people like you."

Although his tone was awe-inspiring, everyone else knew that it was just a show of hands.

The vice-leader had a reputation to maintain, after all. Furthermore, no one can read minds and record whatever goes on inside them, so who can tell if it's sincere or not?

When these words reach the public ear, no one would question them. In fact, they would even commend his rational and strategic thinking, coupled with his magnanimity.

With the written agreements in hand, he had solid evidence that he didn't push anyone against their will on this suicidal mission.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Hiro seamlessly moved to stand one step behind the vice-leader, fitting into the role of a "lackey".

The vice-leader crossed his arms on his chest and didn't say anything.

The twenty-five-man team was now a twenty-one-man team, excluding the vice-leader.

This lineup was enough to complete the mission.

After thinking about it, the other team members realized that their share of the profits would now increase since the number of profiteers decreased.

So, the group soon forgot about the distasteful episode and focused on preparing their equipment, magical enchantments, armor, and weapons.

The vice-leader and Hiro stood on the edge of the hill and watched silently as the beasts wreaked havoc.

The vice-leader glanced at Hiro's expression from the corner of his eyes, and his heart trembled a little.

Hiro's eyes were dull and bored, as though he wasn't watching an ongoing massacre but a drama play, a deathly boring one at that.

Clearly, he wasn't the type to lose sleep after sacrificing the lives of tens or even hundreds of his brethren.

For a moment, he began to hesitate if he should keep such a cold-blooded person by his side.

…

Time passed.

After that one mission, Hiro secured himself a footing in the third-rate guild, but his reputation wasn't that good.

Not many among his comrades and leaders looked for him for cooperation or missions, which delayed his progress of collecting materials for the necessary awakening potions.

That changed when the first person approached him for a black deal under the table.

Since Hiro gave off the nihilistic, cold-blooded feeling, many had thought about using him for underhanded deals.

For example, dark organizations, fallen nobility, and even terrorists from rivaling nations and dark guilds.

Hiro didn't care about anything else as long as he got paid. Thus, he slowly transitioned into becoming a tool to execute shady business.

Although there wasn't any evidence of his activities, those in the know weren't stupid.

When the pressure on the higher-ups of the third-rate guild grew too much, they decided to kick him out from the guild.

They'd have killed him if he wasn't backed by a mysterious and powerful character who needed Hiro's service.

As for Hiro, he developed the habit of not completing the current mission unless he received a new mission from a different backer of equal or higher status than his current employer.

This way, he could preserve his life while dancing on the edge of this dangerous blade.

Like this, he plundered, killed, massacred, burned, kidnapped, infiltrated, sabotaged, rescued, protected, groomed, lectured, and took part in many jobs of the trade.

Hiro had no idea how many enemies or allies he created in these short few months of playing Draconia, but whenever he wasn't playing the game, he would request Asmir for demonic cores for his personal training.

Time passed like this and in the blink of an eye, three years passed in the real world.

In the aftermath of such a destructive war of unprecedented casualties; four Stronghold Lords and millions of demons—a great shuffling of power followed.

Asmir spent a lot of time on legislative and reformation policies, preaching her future vision of the demon world to her new territory.

Waves of demons were sent out to clear the lands surrounding the four strongholds to allow for safe trade routes between the five strongholds, Asmir's territory included.

Hiro didn't know much about the outside world in these three years, but ten times that time had passed in the game world.

During these thirty years, Diego's bloodline awakening had reached a critical point, and he started to grasp the feeling of a certain calling.

At this moment, he awakened his affinity to space, and this affinity brought him the feeling that a certain hidden space was awaiting his arrival.

If Hiro speculated correctly, it was supposed to be the realm where the descendants of the mythical creatures hid and waited for an opportunity to strike back at the traitorous magical beasts.

It would be the start of a new chapter in the plot, ignited by the return of the sacred beasts.

Well, their descendants at the very least.

However, Hiro wasn't in a rush.

Since he understood the progression of the plot, he decided to build up a shell guild where he could seamlessly integrate the descendants of the sacred beasts without drawing the attention of humans.

It wasn't any different from money laundering schemes in the human world.

Furthermore, he was currently strong enough to conceal his traces from past enemies and employers, especially those with deep and dark secrets.

Every day was an exciting dance with death in the shadows. Hiro enjoyed this style of life very much.

Honestly, Hiro felt confused about his identity at certain times.

Was he a beast in human skin? Was he a human in beast skin?

Both are correct while both are wrong.

This philosophical question unnerved Hiro on many occasions, but he didn't care.

…

In the dimly lit library, Hiro opened his eyes and stood up to stretch his body.

After a sound round of stretching, he checked his current status.

Name: Hiro.

Race: Demon.

Bloodline: N/A.

Level: 61. seaʀᴄh thё Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

XP: 98%

Divine Abilities: Infinite Sword Matrix, Nine Clones Secret Technique, Divine Perception, Guide to Mortal Combat, Martial Instinct…

AP: 18,000,000.

Gems: 9.

Skills: Immersive Reading, Professional Calligraphy, Analytical Mind, Professional Combat, Professional Soccer, Espionage IV, Telepathy.

Inventory: Mutated Bone Sword (4), Lvl. 1 Mass Enlightenment Scroll, Game Voucher (2).