Darius smiled softly. "That's right, Chairman Carlton. I wish to issue a mission to all mercenaries. Not only those in Listo, but throughout the entire Andrato Kingdom. In fact, if it's possible, I would welcome for it to be open to all capable outsiders as well."
Carlton gestured for Darius to continue. "You had my curiosity, but now you have my full attention."
Darius raised a finger. "Firstly, although this will likely limit the number of participants, realistically only those at the Amateur and above stages stand a chance of completing the mission."
Darius raised another finger. "Secondly, I'd like for all participants to sign a life waiver as I'm not willing to be held accountable for their lives."
Carlton's eyes flashed. "All mercenaries know that there is a risk of death on all missions, but for you to actively warn them about it... I can already tell that it will be something quite dangerous, so I hope you've prepared appropriate rewards for it."
"Indeed, I have. Here are some of the items I plan to use as a reward." Darius replied softly as he waved his hand.
From his Inventory came 10 items neatly arranged as his hand passed over the table. Once Carlton laid eyes upon them, his pupils constricted sharply and his calm breathing hitched significantly.
His reaction was not out of place, as Darius had placed exactly 5 Scrolls of Awakening and 5 Spark Potions before him. Anyone of any stage would have such a reaction when so much… wealth, was placed before them.
These items didn't represent wealth in terms of money, but capital! With these, any person or faction could create a force of Amateurs that they could raise to become Journeymen or Adepts in the future!
Most people out there naturally awoke, as not many could afford or acquire Spark Potions or Scrolls of Awakening, especially since the chance of success tended to vary depending on the quality.
An ex-Royal Guard like Shanks had trouble getting some for his two kids while they were young, proving just how rare and valuable they were.
Carlton himself had never seen such an array, and he was certain that the same would hold true for any other Branch Chairman. Perhaps only the Royal Family and the top echelon of the two factions in the capital could pull out something like this and offer it as a reward instead of keeping it for themselves.
He soon reined himself in and raised his head, smiling at Darius. "Well, with this much as part of the rewards, it's difficult for me to imagine the magnitude of the mission you're about to commission. I hope it has nothing to do with treason?"
Darius chuckled and shook his head. "Far from. One could say I would be doing Andrato, and every other kingdom on Fallon a favor. My objective is quite simple. I want anyone of any stage to enter the Plains of Death, head to the third band to kill the Stonekeeper Marasmus."
Carlton's placid smile died instantly and was replaced by a dark frown. "Thank you, Lord Stone, but my guild has no intentions of hosting this mission. If there's nothing else, you may leave."
Darius nodded as if he had expected such a response. As such, he waved his hand once more, and added 12 more items to the table. Now there were 8 Spark Potions, 8 Scrolls of Awakening and 6 'fixed' Journeyman spells before Carlton.
The Chairman's frown deepened, yet instead of berating Darius, he rudely took the items up and inspected them one by one. Although he could sense the tendrils of Mind Power from Darius as an Adept fighter, he still could not believe anyone so young could have so much wealth.
As such, he opened the Journeyman spellbooks one by one and skimmed through them. He might not be a mage, but a learned and experienced man like him could tell the difference between an uncompleted spell, an average quality one, and a good quality one.
Once he was done, his face was heavy. These spells could not be described as merely 'good'… they were perfection itself!
Why despite not being someone who had awakened to magic, even Carlton felt like his mana was moving around in his body and he knew his Intelligence had increased, and so did his life level, slightly.
With the same silence, he took the Scrolls of Awakening and checked through them one by one, putting them aside once he was done, before uncorking the Spark Potions.
He sniffed them slowly at first, then dipped a finger in and brought it out to taste. People who had Sparked or Awakened once could not do so twice, especially at Carlton's stage.
So far, only the Supreme System gave that benefit to Darius and Gunner, where they could learn spells and skills both, with some restrictions based on their class and sub-class.
Darius watched Carlton inspect his rewards with a light smile. Gunner frowned but did not make any moves, yet his intense green eyes revealed his displeasure.
Once the Mercenary Branch Chairman was done, he sighed heavily before finally gazing at Darius with a defeated look.
"You should already be aware that the third band is a place full of Adepts. So why do you ask me to send out Amateurs and Journeyman to their deaths?"
Darius shook his head.
"It was never my intention to send anyone to their death. I've always planned to issue it as a compound mission. One, every party that heads out to the Plains of Death, either as a group or alone, should have to register to your guild at any branch so we have them on file."
"Two, once there. I want them to kill any Undead they come across. To incentivize this, I suggest we implement a point system. 1 point for every basic Undead, 5 points for Amateur Undead, 20 points for Journeyman Undead, and 50 points for Adept Undead."
"Three, the main goal remains to kill Stonekeeper Marasmus, and whoever manages it will be rewarded heavily. I shall give you the details of this being, where he resides, and what kind of protection he is likely to have, so you can share it among all candidates."
Darius settled in his chair. "After all, we don't want the elites thinking we're sending them in as test subjects or cannon fodder. Let's furnish them with enough information that if they fail, they can only blame it on their own incompetence."
Carlton listened quietly up to here and retorted. "That might sound nice, but you will only get fools to go forth for you. While they might be plenty, their quality is absolute rubbish. You'd be feeding the Plains of Death more than culling it!"
Darius nodded. "That is true, and is why I shall explain to you how we're going to go about this, so we won't end up sending out suicide squads."
