Chapter 16: Ten thousand each

The two of them stared up at him with a bit of confusion and curiosity. Leon saw that in their eyes, and he immediately got right into it. He had to strike while the iron was hot.

"What do you want?" the young man asked. He looked at Leon with a certain carefreeness, but his guard was still up at the same time to ensure that nothing happened to them and they were not suddenly attacked out of nowhere.

"I simply have a proposal for the both of you, one that can completely change your lives if you are willing to hear it."

"If you are some scout from somewhere, we are not interested in joining any organization," he said and looked away.

Leon understood why anyone with two brain cells would opt to not be in the mix with an organization.

In any guild, there was a structure where those of higher ranks and better potential would get the best of the best from the organization, while those at the very bottom would suffer for it.

They would get the absolute bottom of the barrel, the things that barely anyone wanted and that they could barely make use of.

Not only that, but there were the contracts.

Every new recruit signed one on the first day. On paper, it looked harmless, but in reality, it made them hand over nearly everything they earned to the guild. Loot, bounties, rewards, all of it.

The guild would then be the one to disburse it back to them, a little at a time, and only what it felt like giving.

That made growth almost impossible. Without enough resources to buy better gear or train properly, they had to lean on the guild for everything. The longer they leaned, the more dependent they became.

By the time they realized they were trapped, it was far too late.

Leon knew all of this, and he understood their caution.

"I’m not a scout," he said. "And I’m not from any organization. I’m just one person. I have no guild behind me, no contracts that bind you, and no one sitting above me."

He looked from one of them to the other.

"What I do have is money, and I’d like to use it to help the two of you in a good way. I’ll assist you with whatever you need to grow, and all I would take in return is twenty percent of everything you gain."

There was a short silence.

The young man let out a dry laugh.

"Twenty percent? That makes no sense at all. Who sponsors two nobodies for a cut that low?" He shook his head. "And even if someone did, what would they get out of it? It sounds like a scam to me, a nice way to get us to sign something we shouldn’t."

The other one folded their arms and nodded in agreement.

"Thanks for the offer, but we’re not interested," they said. "Please leave us alone. We don’t want to play along with whatever this is."

Leon did not move.

"I’m serious," he said calmly. "I only want to talk. If you listen to me for a few minutes, I’ll send each of you ten thousand credits. And if you still don’t agree with what I have to say, you can get up and walk away. No hard feelings."

The two of them stared at him.

"Ten thousand," the young man repeated. "Each?"

"Each."

They looked at each other. Their eyes had lit up, even if they were trying to hide it. Ten thousand credits was more than either of them had ever held at one time.

After a few seconds, the young man sighed.

"Fine. We’ll listen. But the moment this smells wrong, we’re gone."

"That’s fair," Leon said and pointed across the road. "There’s a cafe over there. Let’s talk in there."

They crossed the street together and found a table by the window. A waitress came over, and Leon ordered three drinks. Water for himself. He remembered what Xander had told him.

When she left, Leon pulled out his phone.

"Give me your numbers."

They hesitated, and then they gave them. He tapped the screen a few times, and both their phones buzzed at the same moment.

The young man looked at his screen and froze.

"It’s real," he whispered. "It’s actually there."

"Ten thousand credits, as promised," Leon said, putting his phone down. "Now do you believe me?"

The other one stared at the alert for a long time, and the doubt on their face melted away. They sat up straighter.

"So what do we have to do?" they asked.

"Very little," Leon said. "I’ll get you everything you need, and I mean on the highest level. Gear, resources, training, whatever will help you grow. All you have to do is hand me twenty percent of your gains and work with me from now on."

"I’ll take care of the rest."

They had just seen the money land in their accounts, so there was no reason left not to believe him. But there was still one thing that bothered them.

"What do you get out of this?" the young man asked slowly. "We’ve gone through everything you said, and I can’t find anything in it for you. That’s what worries me."

"You don’t have to worry about that," Leon said.

"But..."

"I’m not trying to trick you, I promise. I’ll explain more when the time comes, but for now, trust that I’m not going to harm you."

The two of them looked at each other again and thought it over.

They didn’t speak for a long moment. The waitress came back and set down their drinks, and neither of them touched theirs.

"You don’t have to decide now," Leon said gently. "Take the night and think about it. I’ll be back here tomorrow at noon, and I’ll have a contract with me. If you’ve made up your minds, you can sign it then."

The young man glanced at the other one, who gave a small nod.

"Alright," he said. "Noon tomorrow."

"Noon."

They finished their drinks, stood, and left the cafe together, still whispering to each other as they walked down the street.

Leon watched them go. Then he finished his water and paid the bill.

He walked out into the afternoon sun and headed back toward the guild to pick up his ID card.