"The Ten of you completed the Rank promotion in the shortest time, and for that, each of you will receive a reward," Alex said to the players who stood before him.
The players looked a bit nervous, not knowing the reason for being called out individually, but after hearing the statement, their worries vanished and were replaced with happiness.
"The sequence in which I called your name out is your Ranking, with Eagor being the first and Lady Saahira being tenth place,"
"The seventh to tenth Place holders will each receive twenty thousand shadow points, while the fourth to sixth place holders will receive thirty thousand shadow points," Alex said, staying silent to let everyone reel in their shock.
"The third place holder will receive fifty thousand, and second place will receive seventy thousand shadow points,"
"The first place will receive a choice between a hundred thousand shadow points and a fourth Grade personal wish," Alex said, making every player suck in a deep breath.
Alex was flaunting his resources to make a never-forgettable first expression to ensure that every player here would work himself to the bone to stand out from his peers.
'Everything went as planned, and after receiving the unique items listed in the shop, all their doubts will vanish, and I will have a hundred and sixteen individuals of monstres potential striving to prove their value to my organization,' Alex thought, with a smile looking at the reaction from the players.
Alex was waiting for the player's excitement to settle down to address the last few things before leaving when A player who wore a full-body dark cloak walked toward him.
"Sir, If you do not mind, can you please answer two of my questions," Eagor said, standing just a few feet away from him.
'He wants to ask questions and not tell me about his choice, but more importantly, why does he have such disturbing dark mana around him,' Alex thought, looking at Eagor.
'He has received an interesting-looking, hidden class.' Alex thought, checking Eagor's profile using the red gem appraisal skill.
[Putrid Puppeteer: An individual that uses plague sorcery and combines it with puppets to create unique creatures that have the physical capabilities of soulless puppets while carrying deadly plagues and curses in their bodies, making them nightmarish creatures in battle."]
"I am listening," Alex replied, checking the skills Eagor received from his class as his class piqued his interest.
"As you said, any noteworthy Achievement by us would be rewarded with rewards ranging from shadow points to high-grade items and even personal wishes that could be used in or outside the game."
"So does recommending a large number of talented individuals count as a great achievement that could make me receive a personal wish?"
"If I can receive the wish, could it be used simultaneously with the fourth-grade wish given to me as a reward for a single request?" Eagor asked, surprising Alex with his question.
'He wants to use the wish, and whatever he wants requires a higher grade wish, or at least that is what he believes,' Alex thought, finding a logical reason to Eagor's questions.
"You can receive a wish by recommending a large number of talented individuals, and Yes, it could be used with any number of your wishes toward a single request," Alex replied, interested in knowing what the unknown genius wanted.
"So, What grade of wish do I need to use for the Organization to help me solve a big problem in the real world that involves some big backgrounds?" Eagor said, giving Alex a bit of a shock.
"Why don't you first brief me about these big backgrounds and your situation with them, and then I can estimate what grade of wish will be needed," Alex asked.
"I am a student of a Martial Art School [Twilight Embers], an old non-profitable institute situated in Egypt,"
'I have heard of this name, but where?' Alex thought as he started searching his memory to find where he heard the name of Twilight Embers.
"My School is located in the capital Cairo and for decades, my school has adopted orphans like me and taught them ancient martial arts ranging from hand-to-hand combat to mastery of swords and guns,"
"My School is sponsored by mercenary and hidden organizations that keep it running, and in exchange, after graduation, students join these organizations to make a living,"
"This is how things worked for decades, but after the recent events that have changed the world drastically, making the Ancient World the priority of everyone,"
"The Organizations that once were happy with whatever number of students they could receive from my school are now forcing us into picking a side permanently,"
"My school has produced well-known and respected names throughout the decades, and it is not much of an issue for us to handle the smaller organizations, but the problem is the two giants,"
"The Italian Mafia Branch family, Agostino Bernardo, while the second one being The Death Traders, Mercenary Organization," Eagor said and went silent, keeping eye contact with Alex like trying to gauge his reaction.
'Now, This is really unexpected,' Alex thought, surprised by the two big names.
The Italian Mafia was a goliath of the real world and had the same, if not higher, influence than The Gedeon Family, and their branch family was not a pushover.
While Alex didn't know much about the Death Traders Mercenary Organization from the real world, he knew them from the game and understood that they were an influential and dangerous group.
In Alex's previous life, the Death Traders Mercenary Organization was renowned for taking assassinations, torture, permanent avatar killing, sabotage, and any task that could make them money.
'The situation is a bit troublesome, but solving it will solidify the organization's image as the real powerhouse in the minds of every member,' Alex thought, deciding to help Eagor and benefit from it.
'It would be some real work for Badger to handle this situation, but with his current status, it wouldn't be much of a problem, and it's about time I test his worth,' Alex thought.
"What is the core problem of your situation? Because I don't think your school would need to even think which side to choose and not get in trouble for your decision," Alex asked the question that bugged him after a few moments of silence.
"A threat of death," Eagor replied.
"The Agostino Bernardo family is the easy choice as they have the backing of a real colossal, and The Death Traders know it very well,"
"The Death Traders had made an open threat that there would be a bloodbath for the Agostino family and us if we chose to join them, and they had the guts to make this threat because they had the backing of The Gedeon Family," Eagor said, making Alex feel like he got punched in the gut.
'This is getting out of hand,' Alex thought, taking a deep breath to calm down and reevaluate the situation.
After hearing Eagor's statement, Alex instantly considered the option of maneuvering his way out of this messed up situation by setting the limits too high to be met for the request to be granted by the organization to save his image.
Alex planned to use Badger to solve any of the problems his Organization members would have in the real world, but he never expected that his only option would be unavailable the very first time he needed him.
"A representative of the Italian Mafia has promised to protect us with the underlying threat of eliminating our school if we join the mercenary organization,"
"It doesn't matter which side we decide to join. There will be guaranteed losses for our school," Eagor said, seeing Alex stand silently.