Eren had come to realize something after he snapped out of his peculiar state induced by the sound-element arrow. He was going to be a liability if he doesn’t fix the problem he has using the Hex spells.

And he had a feeling that even if he gains the needed control over his Hex spells without his dormant will taking over everything, he wouldn’t be the same person he was back on Earth. Eventually, he would start becoming more of who he already was.

Something about him was bound to change as he kept on using the Hex spells. A tamed monster only became tamed after it had been put on a leash. But it won’t change the monster itself.

Thus, as he grows and progresses further in his ranking journey, he won’t work in the same capacity as the rest of the rankers in his guild. Plus, the Hex spells’ usage was bound to spur his growth as a ranker. The resources he obtains through the guild won’t be enough for him in the future.

He hadn’t made any tangible progress toward getting back at Raquel Ray. For that, he needed to prove his worth to House Ray even though he had been invited into its inner circle by Van Straban. Then there was his goal to resurrect Tory the way he was resurrected.

Eren needed to grow strong at an unbelievable rate if he wanted to achieve these things. Delaying them would only make them more difficult to achieve for him.

Therefore, Eren concluded that he needed a side hustle to meet his needs of having an exceptional growth spurt. Something that would allow him to earn money and other ranking resources without being bound by the restrictions. The same restrictions the guilds would place on their rankers.

Forming a mercenary team was the answer he had come up with while fighting the Spiders. The Spiders had also taught him something very useful. He couldn’t just depend on the guild to advance further in his ranking journey. Sometimes being too dependent on the guild could lead to the guild becoming too dependent on them to accomplish certain tasks.

A guild’s membership served the rankers well until it didn’t. It was all dependent on the guild’s circumstances at that point.

The merc teams were handled by the mercenary guilds. But the mercenary guilds were different from the normal guilds in a way that they didn’t have many official guild members. Their role was merely to act as a conduit between the mercenaries and the kingdoms or influential figures.

Mercenaries could also take up missions from the normal guilds if the respective organizations allowed them. However, since they weren’t bound by the same rules and regulations set by the guild, the mercenaries claimed no responsibility for their actions. As such, the normal guilds would hardly assign anything to the mercenaries.

Additionally, mercenary guilds received challenging or shady missions because both parties weren’t bound by the same textbook rules. There were some things only mercenaries could do better than the guild members of a legit guild.

However, increased risks carry bigger rewards. Mercenaries were paid handsomely to take and carry out such off-the-books missions.

Everything in life has a price. Even freedom came at a cost one would often ignore.

***

“Are you interested in becoming its first member?”

Eren asked, looking Ariadne in the eyes. He looked at him with a surprised expression before asking.

“Are you planning to leave your guild after becoming an Awakened?”

Eren pursed his lips and shook his head before responding.

“No. At least not anytime soon. I don’t want to completely exit the guild system and deprive myself of the steady supply of resources it offers. Not unless I assure myself that I can survive and thrive without it.”

Eren said this and took a long breath. As if he could already see the struggle that lay ahead of him. He adjusted his hair by combing his finger through it and continued.

“So I’ll have to balance my roles as a guild member and the head of my mercenary unit. And I can surely use someone who thinks like me and acts like me to serve as my proxy whenever it is needed. Someone who knows how this wretched world really works and does not operate merely on emotions.

I want someone who has lived their life in both light and shadow. Someone who can be resourceful with whatever jobs we may end up taking.”

When Eren said those things to Ariadne, he really meant them. She could be the right person for him to control and manage the mercenary team he is trying to build. She was smart and adaptable. And had a mind of her own that could see through the possible dangers that lay ahead.

Eren wasn’t sure of her leadership qualities. But it was not like he had any experience in that field himself. Of course, he wasn’t too optimistic about turning a foe into a friend. But he wanted to give it a shot because things would fall into the right place for him if it did work by some chance.

“Alright. That answers where I fit in your goals. But what is in it for me?”

Asked Ariadne while having thoughts of her own swirling inside her head. The battlemage didn’t take long to answer.

“My offer to you is simple, Ariadne. Become the first member of my merc team. You get to keep your freedom. Plus, you’d be entitled to a considerable sum of profits we make as a team.

There’s no binding contract restricting our actions. And since our interests are tied, we won’t have to worry about backstabbing each other. As I said earlier, an alliance of mutual benefits.”

Eren laid out his plan in front of a stranger he had only met twice. And both of those instances were when they were both set against each other. As open-minded as he was, he could see how that could be labeled as something insane.

“Why do you trust me so much?”

Ariadne asked seriously. There was a part of her that wanted to say yes to his offer while she was here. Get away from him and never see his face. After all, since he wasn’t forcing her to sign any type of binding contract, she was free to ditch him anytime she wanted.

However, this was the first time in a long while that Ariadne was trusted to this extent. That too by his enemy who knew how she operated. Who could see for what she truly was?

Eren chuckled before answering.

“That’s the thing. I don’t trust you. And I’m sure you don’t trust me either. So this is as much of a leap of faith for me as it is for you. But I don’t mind gambling at this point.

What’s the worst that could happen? I’ll never see you again after you trick me. Or you say yes now, stick with me until we start profiteering and end up backstabbing me.

Either way, I’m prepared for those outcomes.”

Ariadne replied immediately.

“You can’t just assume something so negative about…”

Eren put his index finger on his lips and told her to keep quiet. He gestured to her that he wanted to elaborate on his thoughts.

“I don’t mind you walking out of my proposal, Ariadne. I’ll not stop you or try to hunt you unless you stay in the House of Spiders after this. I’ll appreciate your honesty, however small a portion of it you have within you.

But you should think things through if you want to say yes to my plan. As I said before, I’ll be the last ship you’ll ever have to board. If it sinks, you’ll sink with me. I’ll make sure of that.”

Eren said casually. However, Ariadne could tell the warnings he had given to her were no joke.

The illusionist processed everything Eren had said to her so far and pondered for a bit while looking down. It took a while to look back at Eren and respond. Her voice was coated in determination.

“I don’t know why I am trusting you, Eren. Even though you talk about a big game, you have practically nothing in your name. The plan I believe you just finalized assumes that too many things will work in your favor. Most of all, you are counting on me to be your support.”

Ariadne clenched her fists as if making her mind on something. She looked at Eren intently before speaking up.

“Then again… one would have to be a bit delusional to set an ambitious goal for themselves. I’m the same brand of delusional as you.”

Ariadne commented and raised her hand, “count me in,” she said finally.

Eren smirked when he listened to Ariadne’s words. He shook her hand before pulling her into his embrace in a friendly way.

The ex-demonic ranker was taken aback by Eren’s bold actions a bit. However, she understood the intentions behind those actions and hugged him in return. A smile appeared on her face when she did that.

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