The room got silent after Jake said that. That kind of thing clearly put on check if Rick was trustworthy or not. However, that wasn't what Jake meant by that. After all, he knew that if he wanted, Rick could have wiped out the nearby camps and forced the people to join him. However, that would be counterproductive and probably would come with a price since the other camps, in total, had more than a few hundred members.
"You are right in wondering about that," Rick nodded several times. "While I believe that they would benefit more in joining us, some people think that following their own rules and friends is better for them, even if them don't obtain strength and resources as fast as us. I respect, though. It takes courage to follow the hardest path for a reason like that when there is one easier available."
"Indeed," Jake said.
"I can tell that you group still isn't thinking about joining us, may I ask why?" Rick asked.
"Well, I am not really a fan of crowds," Jake said. "We have been here only for a few days, so I think we should get used to this new reality before making any big decisions like joining a guild. Instead of that, we came here thinking about becoming commercial allies. If you are willing to sell some of your magic items to us, we would give you priority when we decide to sell the rare ones we will eventually find."
"Hmm… I suppose that can be done," Rick rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I also think that to our size, people fear negotiating with us. They might think that we will always have the upper hand in any bargain. Still, while I believe in Clark's words when he said that your group is above the others, I still need a confirmation."
"Confirmation?" Jake frowned.
"I need to confirm that you can truly find rare items and often will trade them with us," Rick replied. "There is a sword with an extreme low drop rate in the mission to clear the ice slimes' dungeon. Now that the dungeon broke, the number of enemies will be high enough to increase your chances of finding it. If you managed to get that sword and sell it to us, then we will start negotiating with you."
Jake nodded since it seemed reasonable, but he still was thinking that something was fishy. That being said, he decided to forget about that for the time being. Otherwise, he will keep thinking about it, and Rick will eventually notice that he was being suspicious. In the end, Rick said that he would be waiting expectantly for good results and then offered them another handshake before they left the guild hall.
The group left the base in silence and hoping that something would happen, but nothing happened. Aside from Lana, the others frowned since their instincts were warning them of trouble. Perhaps they have been thinking too much about the possibility of being screwed with… Louise had experience with that, so it was understandable, and Jake was a bit paranoid.
"Are you two satisfied now?" Lana asked.
"Not really," Jake replied. "But this mission is probably a trap."
"So, are we going to avoid that mission?" Louise said. "If we do that, then we won't be able to open a business relationship with Rick's guild."
"Well, he didn't give us a time-limit, so we don't have to go to that mission anytime soon," Jake shrugged. "That being said, I think someone who was drooling looking at Rick will probably bother us for quite a while and force us to go as soon as possible."
"What? I wasn't drooling…" Lana said. "I was just admiring. Besides, I know that you always do that, your close your eyes and imagine us naked."
"Keep dreaming, it is just an exercise to forget your personality and focus on your voice when you talk," Jake said. "Your voice is your only redeeming quality, after all. Even though you didn't have to work hard to have it."
"Well, I am sorry to say that I don't know what your redeeming quality is," Lana forced a smile to hide her anger.
"I am very tolerant of your constant bullshit," Jake said. "Be happy about it."
---- ----
Through the window of his office, Rick watched Jake's group leaving his camp. Based on what he had heard, he truly had expected to make those three join his guild. Jake had the skills and the brain to understand that something was fishy regarding Rick, so he could become a pretty good pawn. As for the girls, they were extremely gorgeous, and even though he didn't know what their innate skills were, it was obvious that they had them.
"You called me, sir?" Clark asked as soon as he returned to the room.
"You were right above them, I could tell that those three had different innate skills," Rick said. "You said that you think that Jake's innate skill increases his health, mana, and stamina by a large percentage, is that right?"
"Yes, sir," Clark said. "It is the only explanation since those are so high… he has some sword skills, but he didn't use anything particularly out of usual with them. As for the girls, I couldn't understand what kind of powers they had since thanks to Jake, the boss fight ended pretty quickly. We also had to get their attention by using more mana than usual, so…"
"It can't be helped, that is how we attract newbies, anyway," Rick said and then began to think about his next step. "That Jake probably won't be in a rush to find the sword I mentioned, so I guess I will have to use some drastic measures to make the girls come to my side… Karina, show yourself."
Out of nowhere, a pale woman wearing a dark hood appeared in the center of the room. For some reason, she was trembling all over, but there were no signs of fear on her face. Instead, she looked like she was a broken robot with malfunctioning functions.
"Kill that guy and bring the girls here," Rick said. "Try to fool the girls and make his death look like an accident. Let's see, you will have to act like this…"
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