Ulrich leaned back in his chair, slapping the table once with his palm. His voice was deep, full of confidence.
"I can assure you of one thing, Nathan. The information you’re holding is worth more than gold. And the Bluefang Guild... we know how to pay the proper price."
He waved his hand, and a staff member immediately placed a black suitcase on the table. Click—it opened, revealing stacks of thick cash, the light bouncing off the fresh seal wrap.
"Five billion to start," Ulrich said calmly. "And that’s not counting the long-term contract, access to our facilities, and full protection for your family. Your mother, your sister... they’ll be guarded tightly. No one will dare touch them."
Sophia turned sharply toward Nathan, her eyes narrowing, clearly shaken by how easily such an amount was tossed around.
Ulrich pressed further.
"You must realize, individual Hunters are no longer enough. You need backing, structure, and... a nation. Across the sea, the Kingdom of Wyrmhold has a National Hunter. A man whose power alone overwhelms dozens of SSS-rank Hunters. That’s no fairy tale, Nathan. That’s reality. Neighboring nations understand: Hunters aren’t just mercenaries—they’re strategic weapons, equal to nuclear arms."
He leaned forward, his gaze piercing like a blade.
"And you... someone who survived the depths of the Tower. Do you want to walk alone? Or stand with a force that can balance the world?"
The room fell silent. Ulrich’s words clung to the walls like poison you couldn’t simply breathe in.
Nathan sat still, his face expressionless, lips pressed tight. No nod, no shake of the head. Only a pair of eyes measuring Ulrich back, swallowing each word yet refusing to show any reaction.
Validia, who had been lounging lazily in the chair beside him, smiled faintly. Her eyes glimmered with subtle mockery.
Humans... she thought, her inner voice hissing. They think they own the world just because they’ve tasted a scrap of power. Comparing themselves to ’national level’ as if that’s the pinnacle of existence.
She closed her eyes briefly, suppressing a cold laugh.
"In truth, that so-called National Hunter is nothing more than an insect waiting to be crushed. They have no idea how small they really are before the dimensional war." ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ NoveI-Fire.ɴet
Tension thickened. Ulrich waited for an answer. Sophia waited for certainty. And Nathan... chose silence, letting the weight of it become a weapon pressing back against the Guildmaster.
Nathan lingered, processing Ulrich’s words. Once, he had been nothing but a loser, desperate to be a famous Hunter. But after all he had learned—from the warmth of caramel-tits and the naughty words of the milky mommy—the treasure before him no longer mattered.
But he wasn’t a fool anymore.
"I accept. Give me the money right now," he said firmly.
Sophia was startled—Nathan didn’t look foolish or nervous in the face of such wealth.
"Ahahaha..." Ulrich laughed, then continued, "Very well, it seems you’re easy to work with. That means tomorrow, you’ll join the guild expedition."
Nathan nodded. So this is why Lilith despised humans back then... not just because of their inbreeding ruining their genetics, but also their arrogance.
Validia, sitting nearby, felt grateful for Nathan’s choice. She gazed at him with admiration. Memories surfaced—back when Nathan had let her taste his private blade even while her memories were sealed. A sense of pride welled up; Nathan had proven himself just as she had always believed. So he wasn’t a loser, just a victim of circumstance.
Nathan spoke loudly, "Then transfer it. I don’t want to carry that much money on the street."
Sophia felt it even more clearly—Nathan had changed.
A single year was enough to turn him into someone unrecognizable. I can’t even sense his loser side anymore.
Her heart thundered in protest, unwilling to accept the rise of the man she loved. Somewhere inside, she still longed for the weak fool he once was.
Ulrich only laughed, asking Nathan for his account number and saying there was no need to rush. "Tomorrow, during the expedition into the Tower, David will interview you while you work," he added casually.
Eventually, they left the guild office. Sophia walked with her head down, feeling as though she could no longer claim Nathan. The foolish loser she once loved had been replaced by a decisiveness that shrank her courage to confess her feelings.
They walked slowly. Nathan recalled his promise to his daughter inside the Tower—that he would bring her a gift. It’ll be suspicious if Sophia sees me buying things for kids, he thought.
Meanwhile, Validia, taking the role of Lily, simply followed quietly, doing her best not to act out of place.
When they reached the bus station, Sophia was about to say goodbye—but a man in a neat suit appeared, several people trailing behind him.
"You... Nathan Cole?" the man asked.
Nathan nodded, giving him a strange look. Then a woman in all white stepped forward.
"Hey, hey... WhiteSnake will handle this young man. Eagle Eyes Guild, just walk away," she said, releasing a cold aura.
The suited man responded by conjuring flames in his palm. "So, you’d rather be prey for a scorching eagle’s beak, huh?" he sneered.
Standing between them, Nathan could only sigh.
"Leave. I’ve already joined the Bluefang Guild," he said firmly. He had no interest in being dragged into the petty drama of humans who glorified their Hunter strength—when he himself was already a Commander, capable of stepping in and out of the Tower wherever and whenever he pleased.
The woman in white chuckled. "Don’t be arrogant, boy. We know you’re just a stray lost in the Tower." She stretched her body, wind aura flaring around her, then shot toward Nathan.
Her fist brushed past the side of Nathan’s head. "Wow, you’re not even surprised," she laughed, pulling her hand back.
"Leave. Don’t bother me," Nathan repeated once more.
But the woman refused to back off, and the man in the suit now stepped closer.
Validia grew irritated. These weak humans, strutting around with power no stronger than a toddler’s in my dimension, she sneered inwardly.
The woman pulled out her phone. "Look..." She showed a video.
"Dad..." Nathan muttered. On the screen, his father was tied up.
Sophia shifted into a fighting stance. "So it’s true—WhiteSnake Guild really does use dirty tricks? Tch..." she said bitterly.
Meanwhile, Nathan clenched his fist, a strange aura spreading from his body. In his head, the System chimed, though no panel appeared.
[Commander, do you wish to access raw power without skill naming, and manually control mana?]
’Yes,’ Nathan thought grimly.