The silence in the luxury penthouse was absolute.
Elias sat on the plush leather sofa, a glass of iced water resting on the table in front of him. Below the floor-to-ceiling windows, the Military Safe Zone was completely locked down. Curfews had been enacted. Armed patrols marched through the streets.
The Academy was in a state of sheer panic, but Elias had never felt more relaxed.
His secure phone buzzed. It wasn't Silas this time. It was an unregistered number bypassing the Academy's highest military encryption firewalls.
Elias picked it up and didn't say a word.
"Cadet Elias," a smooth, elegant voice echoed through the speaker. It was Seraphina, the Matriarch of the Phantom Lotus Guild. Just hours ago in the assembly hall, she hadn't even looked in his direction. Now, her voice dripped with honey and desperation. "I hope I am not interrupting your rest after such an... exhausting exhibition."
"Speak," Elias said flatly.
There was a slight pause. S-Rank Guild Masters were not used to being spoken to like subordinates. She swallowed her pride instantly.
"The Phantom Lotus Guild recognizes unparalleled talent when we see it," Seraphina said. "We want you. Exclusively. If you sign a pre-graduation contract with us tonight, I will immediately wire fifty million dollars to an account of your choosing, and deliver fifty High-Grade Mana Crystals to your dorm by midnight."
Fifty High-Grade crystals. That was enough raw energy to power a small city for a month, or in Elias's case, enough to push his base stats to the absolute limit.
"I appreciate the enthusiasm, Matriarch," Elias replied, his voice laced with bored amusement. "But I haven't decided if I want to join a guild at all. I prefer working alone."
"Of course, of course," Seraphina said quickly, sensing the rejection. "Consider the fifty crystals a gift, then. A token of our goodwill. Phantom Lotus is a friend to the Sovereign of Shadows. I will have my courier leave them at your door. No strings attached."
"Leave them with the concierge," Elias said, and hung up.
He didn't even have time to set the phone down before it rang again.
This time, the voice on the other end was gruff, heavy, and visibly straining to remain polite. It was Magnus Valerius, the Master of the Crimson Dawn Guild, and the father of the boy Elias had crippled in the Savage Wilds.
"Elias," Magnus grunted. "Let us skip the pleasantries. My son, Leo, is a fool. He provoked a dragon without realizing it. I am calling to formally apologize on behalf of my bloodline."
Elias smiled darkly in the empty room. "An apology from an S-Rank. That's rare."
"You proved your point in the arena today," Magnus continued, his voice tight. "Arthur Vance is a dead man walking for threatening you. I want to make sure my guild doesn't share his fate. I am sending you a unique artifact—the Cloak of the Nightwalker. It grants absolute stealth from magical detection. Take it as an apology... and an invitation. Crimson Dawn will double whatever Phantom Lotus just offered you."
"I accept your apology, Magnus," Elias said. "Deliver the cloak. But tell your son that if he ever looks me in the eye again, I won't just break his knee. I'll take his head."
Elias hung up.
Within the span of twenty minutes, the phone rang five more times. Every major political faction, military black-ops division, and S-Rank Guild in the country was desperately trying to buy the loyalty of the monster who had humiliated Arthur Vance.
By the time the phone finally stopped ringing, the secure vault in Elias's penthouse was scheduled to receive over two hundred High-Grade Mana Crystals, three unique artifacts, and hundreds of millions in untraceable funds. All given freely as "gifts" by terrified elites trying to save their own skins.
Elias let out a low, echoing chuckle. The system of this world was so painfully predictable. Power commanded absolute submission.
His phone buzzed one final time. It was the encrypted Aegis line.
"Boss," Silas whispered, his voice trembling with sheer awe. "The Guild Master chat rooms are in total chaos. Everyone is terrified of you. They are liquidating their guild assets just to send you bribes so you don't target them next!"
"I know," Elias said, pouring himself another glass of water. "I just accepted all of them."
"You... you did?" Silas asked, suddenly panicking. "Wait, Boss, are you joining Phantom Lotus? Or Crimson Dawn? What happens to Aegis?"
"Calm down, Silas," Elias ordered, his voice shifting back to the chilling tone of the Monarch. "I am not joining them. They just handed me their resources for free because they are cowards."
Elias stood up and walked to the window, looking down at the city.
"Here is your next order," Elias said. "Tomorrow morning, you are going to hold a national press conference. You are going to announce that the Aegis Guild is offering me an unprecedented, ninety-ten revenue split contract, granting me total operational immunity. You will make it look like Aegis is bankrupting itself just to recruit me."
Silas gasped. "And... and you will accept it publicly?"
"Exactly," Elias smirked. "I will sign with Aegis. The other Guilds will think I chose you over them. They won't realize that I already own you. I just used their bribes to fund my own army, and now I will have a legal, public shield to operate under."
"It's brilliant," Silas breathed, realizing the sheer, terrifying scope of Elias's manipulation. "You just robbed the top guilds blind and made them thank you for it."
"Make the arrangements, Silas. The Academy arc is over. It's time for Aegis to start conquering A-Rank Gates."
Elias disconnected the line. He looked at his own shadow stretching across the luxurious carpet. The eyes of the Death Knight, the Void Chimera, and the Hobgoblin Elite seemed to shimmer within the darkness, hungry for the wars to come.
The game had been rigged from the start.