The Ace - Chapter 90
He set it on the table gently, and picked up the next one, it was written in flowery and extensive calligraphy, it was from The Alliance of the Winds. They offered him an ‘exceptional school experience’, and ensured that he would be able to take part in any trip and event he wished to partake in. It was a good offer, but quite redundant in his case, since if he wanted to be part of any trip or event, he would have the qualifications to enter. Again, they had underestimated him, believing him to be only a bit more special than most Rank 1s. He put it down again, next to the last one.
He picked up the third one, this one was a thicker envelope. As he opened it, he read the name, and grinned, Dominance Corporation. The paper they used was thick and rich, and when he read their demands, he laughed. They promised to make any of his enemies pay, and to ensure that no one bothered to disrespect him, not now, not ever.
‘Probably a good deal to someone concerned with their outwards appearance, that does not have the necessary strength to back it up. Unluckily for them, I am more than enough to deal with my enemies – not that I have any.’
He set it down with the previous ones, now, two letters were left, he picked up the next one, and as he read it, he frowned his eyebrows: Mercantile Alliance. ‘Interesting.’ To the difference of the others, their benefits were more tangible and direct: ‘We can get you anything you want, anything.’ They were also offering an insane amount of points, with absolutely ridiculous benefits. Ace was tempted by the offer, simply from the number of things they would give him upon joining. They also told him that they would grant him an expedited rank within the Alliance. It was by far the best offer, none of the others even came close. But still, he opened the last letter, before putting the other letter in a separate space to the others.
The last letter was written in clear, black ink, and read: Abyss Group. He opened the letter, and what he saw, surprised him: [We are not an alliance, we are a group. You are hence invited to be part of the group. You have been invited, not because of what we can offer you, but because of what you can offer us. I am also inclined to point out that we are not an ‘alliance’ per se, which means that you are free to join another, while still being part of the Abyss Group. Consider it.]
‘Well, that is certainly interesting. This seemed more like a think tank, or just a club, more than anything else. They seemed to offer no benefits, and yet, they were sure he would at least come and find out more information. Which of course he would. The mere fact that he could join an alliance while also belonging to the Abyss Group, was enough for him. Students were limited to one alliance, which meant that if they said this, they were not considered one by the school.
He kept the letters in his bag, and then went to class once the bell rang, e was looking forward to the lunch break.
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“Good afternoon Ace, we are extremely happy you decided to take on our offer.”
“Of course, how could I not, it was by far the best out of all the ones I received.”
“We certainly hope so.”
Ace was meeting with the Mercantile Association, they had sent him a message, saying that if he wished, he could come to see it during his lunch break, they would be able to further discuss his role there, and how exactly the association worked.
“Now, we will go to a room, where you can meet some of the members of the Mercantile Council, they will explain to you how everything works, and what exactly we hope you will be able to provide us with.”
Ace nodded and smiled as they went through some massive doors, to a wide room, with luxurious decor, and some people sat around an ample mahogany table. As Ace came in, they all smiled and stood up, welcoming him, and asking him if he wanted anything to eat. He had already eaten, but he asked for some food anyways, not being one to disgrace a good host.
“We’re truly happy that you decided to come.”, a blond boy said, a high ranking junior, named Leone
“Of course, you offered the greatest boons.”
“Good, so, here is how it works, the association has various districts, as they are called, each deals in a section of trading, such as painting, sculpture, and so on. Of course, we also handle information and anything fellow students want to acquire – for the right price of course. Within each district, there are various ranks, which denote the members with the most prestige. However, we wish for you to do something different, we want you to be a Collector.”
Ace frowned lightly, and sighed, it all made sense now.
“As I am sure you are aware, collectors are students who can acquire wares, each do so in their own way. Within the collectors, there are also various ranks. We will allow you to take a test, if you pass the test, we will instantly make you a Rank 3 Collector. You will be the youngest one ever recorded.”, he widened his smile at that
Ace nodded, “I understand, what do you wish for my speciality to be?”
“That is for you to decide, but do not worry, you will only have to choose a speciality once you make it to rank 4.”
“I understand, of course, I assume that ‘collecting’ will also bring benefits.”
“Of course, they will allow you to gain more points within the Association, and gain more benefits from it as well.”
“I see, thank you for the chance.”
“No problem, the only reason we are doing so is that we believe that you have what it takes to become a great Collector.
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Ace walked into a simple room, it was large, but decorated in a spartan way, the walls were black, and so was the massive table in the middle, and the chairs that surrounded it. He saw a group of six others, four girls and two boys. They sat around the table, eating and conversing calmly, but as soon as he stepped into the room, they all became silent, and looked at him.
Ace looked around the table, and frowned internally, he did not recognise any of these people. Something weird considering he had memorised all the available files on the students that were currently in the school.
“Hello!”, one of the boys greeted him with a wide smile, “I am sure you do not recognise us, so let me introduce myself, I am Randall.”, he was tall and had curly black hair, his smile did not seem to disappear. Then, around the table, they went around giving their names, “Lucy”, “Lila”, “Rob”, “Lin” and “Tracy”. Ace nodded and gave them a smile each, then said, “Ace, as I am sure you know.”
“We do.”, Lila said, in a cutting fashion. She then gestured for him to sit down at the table. It was perfectly round, so no one could be considered to be the ‘head’, but by deference, Ace assumed that Lucy was the boss, and Rob seemed to be the right hand. It was all conjecture, but his observations would develop as he gained more information.
He sat down, and as soon as he did, Tracy said: “Have you eaten? We can order you anything.”
“No thank you, I have already eaten.”, “Ok then, but if you want anything don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Of course.”, he sat straight, and a calm smile plastered on his face, and after about a minute of silence, Rob began: “As I am sure you are aware, we are a bit of a special case scenario. We are not truly a group or alliance, even if we are called like such, which is merely for comfort. The best way to describe what we do is think tank. All of us here were picked for a reason by previous or current members. We meet whenever we can, and simply talk or discuss. The goal is to create connections, connections that go deeper than a fake smile. This was created in the hopes that people with special skill sets or experiences would be able to become friends, and further their own goals in the future.”
“I understand, and may I ask, why was I chosen?”
“Well, the truth is that we should be the ones to ask that. The reason why you were chosen was that we were unable to understand ‘who’ you were. A boy that suddenly was cured of one of the most severe cases of chronic pain in the last 20 years. He is demonstrating abilities way outside what he should be able to do, and seems to have a genius-level IQ and Eq, and that would be putting it mildly.”
“I see, so you are curious.”
Rob and the others smiled, as if this was all one big joke, “Oh no, Ace, we are not curious, we are intrigued, or better yet, obsessed.”