Julius Crane shook his head. "You said I am useless. What is it you want from again? What can your House give that I don’t already have? I have zero need to join you."
Ace nodded. As expected of a Crane. He understood the basic principles of the world, the logic of incentives. What can you give ?
But most tis, it’s not always like that. Ethan and Derrick were exactly like that. Ace gave one power, and he didn’t leak one secret.
Incentives.
Ace stared at Crane. The guy ca from a wealthy family, so he obviously didn’t need money, even if he had one to give.
Julius Crane’s backstory was a pathetic one. His father had many wives but loved his mother the most. Unfortunately for Julius, his mother died at childbirth. The love that his father had for his mother turned to hate, and to make things worse, he turned out cursed.
He’d been like an outsider in his own family until he was hurled to the Academy, where he was supposed to fade away. In a way, he’s just an extra like Ace. Even the team in his class won’t make use of him.
Of course, things would be far different for him in the future.
So what exactly can Ace use to get him?
"I don’t want you in my faction because you can swing a sword. I want you there because of your brain." Ace liked to use truth as a weapon.
And it hit the mark because Julius flinched. It was the first ti soone would say they need him for the very thing that defines him: thinking and strategies.
He adjusted his glasses because he wasn’t a fool. "You know so much about . My Talent Ability is trash. You must be after another thing."
Of course, he couldn’t believe that Ace would be after him like that. What’s the usefulness of the untalented? Ace knew this well. His body was made up of the lack of talent.
"Let’s go through the logic together," Ace said. He knew talking with soone like Julius wouldn’t be easy, but he still wasn’t ready for the headache that he didn’t let show on his face.
He went for bluntness next. "I’m broke with a new House that lacks power. You might be trash, but you are still a Crane, and you must have been taught different thinking techniques that are unrelated to your Talent Ability since you were a child.
"In short, you are what I can afford right now. And what will you stand to gain here? Well, you’ll have the chance to prove yourself to your father by helping my House grow."
Julius’s hand didn’t leave his glasses. "I was right. You are a very dangerous person."
Ace waited for his answer, and it wasn’t long before he received one.
"I will join you."
Ace Eros smiled—the type of smile that was common with foxes. Julius shuddered.
"Congratulations. You will be the first mber of the House of Chains. And I have a gift for you. But first, will you serve loyally?"
Julius adjusted his glasses, hesitated, and then sighed. "I don’t know. I don’t have enough information to know how well I will serve you, House leader."
Unlike Derrick, Julius lacked the desperate ambition that made it possible to just pledge his loyalty to soone—especially soone he’d already marked as dangerous.
"...I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll have to wait a while to make him loyal towards so I can use my powers on him. There’s sothing I need to try out..."
"Very well." Ace removed so papers from his pocket. One was for joining his House, and the other was a map marked with different paths and traps.
"Study that map and co up with a plan that will enable the user to reach their destination in the shortest way possible."
"This looks like a dungeon map."
"Is it now?"
"And here, this looks like the power of Ethan Aldrich and Derrick. They’re your subordinates, right? You’ve even included my part here. Who really is the strategist? But who is this fire user here?"
Ace waved as he walked towards the door. "And you can relax now about those bullies. They won’t trouble you anymore."
Before Julius could say anything else, the door was already closed.
Julius stared at the contract papers for a long ti and then shook his head. "A very dangerous person."
And true to Ace’s words, the next day there was news that circulated in Class Two that two people got into a fight with Ethan and their limbs got crushed.
Indeed, they never disturbed Julius after that. He was now part of the Chains.
☆☆
For a whole week after that, nothing interesting really happened until towards the end.
Ace went to class as usual. The only thing was that he regularly t with his House mbers in Class Five’s abandoned building to talk and train together.
Derrick and Ethan weren’t part of his House, but they obeyed Ace all the sa and had to co along.
The new mber of the House, apart from Julius Crane, was a girl nad Celia Hartwell.
She had red hair and even redder eyes. She’s in Class Four like Ace and Derrick, and she was better known as Disaster Celia because of her Talent Ability: D-rank Explosive Fire.
What gave her that na and made her weak in the class was the fact that her Talent Ability needed a high amount of Etherion to truly shine. In her state, she could only cause damage to her allies without making much impact on opponents.
In the future, when she advances her Advancent Stages and Talent Rank, she becos a truly powerful Hero.
But right now, Ace could increase the rank of her Talent Ability, thereby giving her the needed Etherion to use her ability perfectly.
And unlike Julius, she truly turned loyal imdiately after Ace explained and gave her a taste of his ability.
Thus, another sla... subordinate added.
But that wasn’t the best thing that happened that week because towards the end of it, a dungeon was said to have appeared in the developed part of the Field Zone.
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