ALL NOVEL Chapter 65: Negotiation and Recruitment
Chapter 65: Negotiation and Recruitment
Meanwhile, Raven touched the pouch, stored it in the inventory again, and asked.
"What do you think, Mr. Jacob? Am I eligible enough to hire you guys?"
"Y-Yes! I'm sorry for talking rashly, Young Master Thomas." Quincy was the first one to bow her head while standing up.
"No need for formalities," Raven said, again dropping the pouch from the inventory.
"There are a total of 58 Platinum coins in this pouch. This amount should be more than enough for six months. If you do a better job at guarding and helping me with various tasks, I might plan on hiring you in the very long term."
Meanwhile, Jacob stayed silent for a while and asked.
"I heard from Jose that you dream of reclaiming the Azmar town. Does that mean you plan on using our mercenary's strength to take back the ruined town?"
Raven couldn't help but sigh.
"You think that's an impossible task? Yes, I was kidnapped and tortured for months, but that ordeal also led me to get a helping hand. If it weren't for my teacher's assistance, I might not have survived that underground dungeon."
"Teacher?" Quincy's eyes squinted.
"Don't tell me your teacher is a Wizard?" Jacob made a possible guess.
Raven nodded his head and spoke.
"I don't need your strength to protect myself anymore. No Expert Rank Walker can harm me, thanks to my teacher protecting me in the shadows." Of course, that was a lie.
Raven continued with a smile.
"But reclaiming my territory is entirely a different matter. Due to some restrictions, my teacher said he couldn't be involved in politics. So, I have no choice but to rely on help from outside."
Jacob pondered for a second and nodded.
"That explains everything."
"These 58 Platinum coins are not to protect me but to help me reclaim my territory. What is your answer, Mr. Jacob?" Raven asked.
"I understand your situation," Jacob said with a forced smile and continued.
"But I need to think of the consequences if we plan on helping you reclaim your territory, Young Master. Helping you also means standing against Count Spade and all other noblemen of this city. Although all of them are only from knight families and only managing small towns and villas, they still hold higher positions than us in the hierarchy."
As Jacob explained the reason, Raven adjusted the monocle and activated it.
…
[Name: Jacob
Age: 83
Race: Human
Nationality: Zenith Empire
Title: Scarlet Wolf
Rank: Radiant Walker -Eighth Circle
Pathway: Ranger
Level: 18
Attributes:
Strength: 72
Agility: 74
Vitality: 73
Luck: 13
Spirit: 163
Class Skills:
Piercing Shot, Predator's Mark, Shadow Step, Flame Arrow, Hawk's Eye, Hunter's Instinct.
Additional Skills: None.
Affinities: Fire: Intermediate, Archery- High.]
...
'Heh, this is the status of a peak Rank Walker, huh? His attributes are similar to Franco's.' Raven slowly turned his gaze towards Quincy and analyzed her.
'She is a Sixth Circle Radiant Knight. If all their party members are of similar strength, I must recruit them even more.' Raven took a deep breath and spoke.
"Please tell me before this evening so I can look for other mercenary teams."
"We'll discuss this matter with other members and tell you soon, Young Master," Jacob said as he stood up from the sofa.
Meanwhile, Raven suddenly thought of something and added.
"I also plan on giving you one complete 'Uncommon Rank Knight technique' and one Uncommon' Spirit Technique' from the Holmes Secret Vault when this mission ends."
"When shall we sign the contract, Young Master?" Quincy didn't even hesitate and asked.
His words also dumbfounded Jacob, causing him to sit down slowly.
Although the Uncommon Rank Knight Technique wasn't a big deal for a Radiant Stage Knight like him, it can't be said true for the Spirit Technique.
As long as one has a complete Uncommon Spirit Technique, they can reach the peak level of Radiant Knight! There was also a minute chance of ranking up to a Beginner Stage Expert Knight!
The corner of Raven's lips rose.
"The consequence would be severe if you lie to us, Young Master Thomas," Jacob said solemnly.
After all, not every Knight Household possessed an Uncommon Rank Spirit Technique. Most only had a Common Rank Spirit Technique and an Uncommon Rank Knight Technique. Only a Baron Household possessed a complete Uncommon Rank' Spirit Technique.'
So, Jacob was skeptical of his words.
"I'll write down an incomplete copy and show it to you during the evening. You can decide after that." Raven knew how precious those techniques were and laid out a bait.
A silence fell in the room.
"What are the conditions?" Jacob knew that this young boy before him never intended to give such a precious technique for free and felt a sense of uneasiness.
"I want Sepoy mercenary to sign a 10-year contract with the Holmes Household. Of course, I'll only pay half the current amount for the rest of the contract period."
Jacob and Quincy were at a loss for words.
If they decline his offer, they could continue living a normal mercenary life without getting tangled with politics. But if they accept it, they would not only get paid half the original payment but might even have to work like slaves for ten years.
Alas, something stopped them from declining his offer.
An Uncommon Spirit Technique. As long as they practice with it, there would be a slight chance for at least one of the seven mercenary members to become an Expert Walker!
An Expert Walker title was not to be taken lightly.
Expert Walkers were highly respected even by Low-Rank Nobles and even had a chance to get a non-hereditary noble title.
"This is an offer I can't refuse, Young Master Thomas." Jacob raised both his hands and surrendered.
"When can we sign the contract?"
"Anytime. And please prepare the contract yourself. I'm short of hand, after all." Raven waved his hand.
After conversing for a while, Jacob and Quincy bid their farewell to Raven and left the mansion.
'Not bad. I thought Jacob and Quincy would immediately take the money and sign the contract, but the money does not tempt both.'
[Of course, lad. They must have faced a similar situation before. But unlike before, you threw out a much bigger bait and gave them no chance to refuse.]
Nodding, Raven stored the money back into inventory, leaned on the sofa, slowly closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
His mind drifted to dreamworld in a matter of seconds. Occasionally, he would hear a bell ring from a faraway place but couldn't wake up due to tiredness.
After some time, a loud bell sound came, waking him up from a deep sleep.
"How long have I been asleep?" He took a silver pocket watch from his inventory and checked the time.
'1.00 P.M!'
He hurriedly stood up and approached the entrance before opening the wooden door.
Surprisingly, he saw a hundred men and women standing on the lawn.
His arrival instantly attracted everyone's attention. Some looked puzzled, some nervous, some disappointed, and a few curious.
"Care to explain what's going on here?" Raven asked in a solemn tone.
Meanwhile, all the men and women hurriedly moved closer to the porch and stood in line before greeting him with a bow.
"Greetings, Young Lord. We came here after seeing the recruitment notice from the Employment office. We tried ringing the bell multiple times, but no response came. So, we decided to wait outside." A tall, middle-aged man with a fit body stepped forward, adjusted his pince-nez glass, and greeted him with a bow.
Raven nodded his head and spoke.
"Sorry, my bad. I'll interview everyone and select the skilled candidates. Come inside one by one." Saying so, Raven turned around and went back to the living room.
He quietly sat on the sofa and waited.
The first one to appear was the same tall, middle-aged man wearing pince-nez glass.
He arrived before Raven, gave him a leather file that contained personal information about him, and patiently waited.
"Take your seat," Raven said as he pointed his finger at the opposite sofa, looked at the file, and activated the monocle while looking at the middle-aged man.
To his surprise, he saw more detailed information from the status screen!
[The artifact is a part of wisdom itself. It uses your spirit power to scan the target, link itself to the 'Wisdom Link,' and reveal a minute amount of information about the target. The lower the rank a person has, the easier it is to gather information. And if you already have information about the target, it will do a detailed analysis and give you even more detailed status.] Zera explained.
'Oh?' Raven nodded in surprise and looked at the information.
[Name: Jay
Age: 54
Title: Proud Butler
Traits: Exceptional organization skills, excellent communication, flattery, narrow-mindedness, gossiping, and arrogance.
Past History: Worked at Windfall Household for two years but was kicked out due to a personal dispute with a fellow servant.
Current Status: Contempt, Annoyance, and Disdain.
Attributes:
Strength-1.1
Agility- 1.0
Vitality-1.0
Spirit-1.2
Luck- 1.0
Affinities: Darkness- Intermediate.]
Raven took a deep look at the status and gave the file to him.
"Go back and wait in the foyer. Also, tell the next person to come."
A hesitant look appeared on Jay's face.
"I'll only tell the result at the end of selection," Raven said with a smile and waved his hand.
Jay didn't say anything and quietly left the living room. A few seconds later, another person entered.
It was a young man in his twenties. He had blonde hair and unique red eyes, was around 170cm tall, had a round face, and had light skin. He wore a black overcoat over his formal shirt and pants and looked composed.
Raven looked at his file and then focused on the status window.
[Emanuel, 22 years old, Race: Human, Title: Little Fox. Traits: Etiquette, Wine Knowledge, Discretion, Culinary Knowledge, Problem Solver, Household Management. Past History: Completed his Apprentice Knight Training School seven years ago and worked as an apprentice servant at Humphrey Household for three years. Later, he left the job for unknown reasons and only appeared in Giaris City recently. Skills: Immature Swordsmanship. Affinity: Sword- Intermediate, Wind- Low.]
'Unknown reasons? So, even the artifact has limitations to gather information about the target, huh?' However, this information was enough for Raven to select a suitable candidate.
"Sit down," Raven ordered.
"As a servant, I can't sit in front of the Lord of the House, Young Master." Emanuel bowed his head and apologized.
"Very well then. So, have you practiced swordsmanship?" Raven asked out of the blue, causing Emanuel to widen his eyes.
He never mentioned anything about his sword skill in the personal document!
After a bit of hesitation, Emanuel nodded his head and answered.
"I had a fortunate encounter four years ago and learned the basics of the sword from a Rogue Knight, My Lord."
Raven furrowed his brows and nodded.
"Not bad. You can go and wait in the foyer now."
Following that, Raven continued to interview every person. Among 100+ people, almost half of them were spies sent by other Knight Households. There were even five skilled people sent by the Spade Family!
'Worst of all, two of them are assassins!' Although they were only around Elite Rank, Raven decided not to provoke them.