Awakening: I Ascend As A Legendary Ranked Necromancer-Chapter 41: The contract

Litha stood up. "That’s it. Are you here to brag about that, eh, rich brat? You can use the door now."

Thayer didn’t use the door. Instead, he smiled. "Litha, dear. Calm down. I’m here for business. I’ve formed two teams to compete for two zones, but the third one is the most important. It’s the one that triggers the other zones."

He leaned forward and stopped smiling. His face became serious, impassive. "I want that last zone specifically. It’s been called the Black Castle Zone. Having it in my name will be the foundation of my Guild."

I had expected as much from the start, yet my heart still began to beat faster. I glanced at the others and caught the glint in Litha’s eyes despite the annoyance shining through.

"You said you’re forming a team to climb the Tower," I said. "Don’t you already have teams ready for this? Why come to us?"

Litha nodded in agreement to what I said.

"Of course I can form teams," Thayer replied, "but I want you three. I want you to join my other members and claim the zone for me. I want to hire you."

"Why?" Temur cut in. "You still haven’t answered that question."

Thayer nodded. "You’re right. The reason is simple. You’re among the last free strong Irons who haven’t joined any Guilds or associations. And I don’t need to go through the stress of introductions."

"Why should we work for you?" Litha asked suspiciously. "What do we gain, and what do you gain?"

I was surprised she didn’t turn him down immediately. But then again, we were already bored with what we were currently doing. Eating from hand to mouth wasn’t ideal.

Thayer must have noticed as well as he quickly continued. "Unlike Guilds, any monsters you kill are yours. Iron-rank artifacts are yours as well, but anything higher belongs to me. You’ll be able to fight, gain essence, and also train for the upcoming floor test.

"Above all, I’ll pay you whether you claim it or fail. If you do claim it, I’ll give you a bonus. One hundred thousand gold coins each."

We all looked at one another. It was a good offer....almost too good.

"But just how dangerous is this zone?" I asked. "Will there be Awakeners of higher ranks?"

Thayer winced. "Well... there’ll be a lot of competition. Not all of it from Guild teams. The zone is also open to unaffiliated Awakeners with deep pockets, but they aren’t allowed to claim it. They can only hunt until the zone has a new owner."

Temur sighed. "Let me get this straight. We’ll be competing with Guild teams, freelance Awakeners, and monsters. And I’m sure Guilds will hire assassins as freelance Awakeners to fight each other."

Silence followed. Even Thayer had nothing to say.

"Why don’t we just register as freelance Awakeners and explore the zone ourselves?" Litha finally asked.

"For one, you’d have to pay for the right to do so," Thayer replied. "Secondly, it benefits you more if you work for me. When you come back, you can hunt as many zones as you want with the monster cores and money you earn.

"Alright, let me sweeten it. If you agree, I’ll give you free housing in the capital town." He spread his hands.

Litha smiled and leaned forward. "Free housing for the next floor as well."

Thayer winced and only hesitate slightly. "If you claim it, I’ll give you that."

Litha looked at Temur. He nodded. She then looked at me, and I shrugged before nodding as well. The benefits matched the risk an unclaimed zone represented.

"Okay," Litha said. "One hundred thousand gold coins each whether we claim it or not?"

"Yes."

"Then we’re in."

Thayer smiled and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen. He wrote quickly and handed it to Litha. "Read and sign. There’s space for the three of you."

Litha read it and passed it to Temur, who did the same before handing it to me. I didn’t know the language, but I understood it anyway. That was how the Tower worked, languages inside it weren’t barriers.

The contract listed everything Thayer had promised, including the housing arrangement. It would remain valid until the Black Castle Zone was claimed, by us or someone else.

I shook my head. The shameless guy had prepared everything in advance. It’s almost as if he was expecting us to agree anyway. But he was right in that they agreed because really were bored and had nothing to do.

I sighed and shook my head. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

I signed my name.

"How did you know we were in Calan?" I asked.

Thayer brought out an artifact, duplicated the contract, and handed a copy to each of us. "You’re a group I’m interested in. Of course I keep tabs on you, and luckily for me, the zones appear where you are."

"So when do we leave for the zone?" I asked. Good thing we hadn’t signed anything with the clothing association. This was work actually worth the pay.

"In two days. Everyone who bid will gather there. Entry starts at the same time, and the race to claim the zone begins the moment you enter."

"We saw a ship belonging to the Tower Guards," I said. "What are they doing here?"

"Maintaining order and overseeing the process. This zone is the biggest on this floor so far. High-ranked."

I groaned. "I thought zones were ranked E to S."

"They are," Thayer said. "This one is E-rank—but a very high one. You’ll likely encounter S-Iron monsters inside."

Temur nodded. He understood my frustration. The ranking system was confusing at first, but it was starting to make sense.

"The Tower Guards will make sure everything is fair before entry," Thayer continued. "Inside the zone, it’s different. The only rule is to claim it."

I let the silence stretch.

"Okay," I said finally, "but how in the hell do we actually claim a zone?"