Vortex guild

It was time to put an end to this monster's life.

As Hans left the association, Garrison's words echoed in his mind once again.

"The second step you must do to bring Logan down from his power is to sever his backing."

"Many times in the past and even currently, he has been concealing affairs from the three big guilds to amass wealth and favors, meaning that if you were to take him down now, the three big guilds would oppose, fearing their secrets might be exposed."

"Immoral and unpleasant as it may be, you will have to give them the certainty that you will cover up their sh*t."

"First of all, start by talking with the Vortex Guild's master; he is the most cool-headed out of the three and will be easier to talk to."

That was exactly where Hans was headed right now.

After a brisk five-minute walk, he arrived at the desired destination: a tall, white skyscraper that stood before him, its towering form gleamed due to the brilliant sunlight, making it challenging to gaze at directly.

Without any hesitation, Hans stepped inside.

The hall on the first floor was surprisingly small and lacked both people and furniture, save for the two front desks, various doors, and an elevator entrance.

It seemed quite strange for an association as prominent as this to have such a cramped hall instead of a luxurious and spacious place for the hunters to take commissions and relax.

Nevertheless, Hans walked up to the front desk and requested a meeting with the guild master.

The two receptionists were quite baffled by his request, but before denying him an opportunity, one of them asked, "Sir, do you perhaps have a recommendation?"

"Oh, yes, here it is," Hans replied, handing over a white envelope.

At first sight, it appeared nothing different than normal white mail, but for a trained eye like the one of the two receptionists, it held another meaning.

The black-purple stamp on the mail belonged to a special position and it was well known everywhere.

The seal of an association branch leader.

It must be noted that whoever brought something like this would be treated as if they were the branch leader and every word from them would hold the same value as the branch leader's.

Blocking someone like that at the entrance would signify denying the association's authority and even possibly offending it.

One of the receptionists immediately bowed to Hans and escorted him to the elevator.

Contrary to the cramped lobby, the elevator was proportionally spacious and could easily accommodate twenty people without any problems, with its walls made of expensive-looking white material.

The moment the elevator's doors closed, the receptionist who didn't escort Hans breathed a sigh of relief and discharged the tension he had accumulated over the last few seconds.

But just as he was about to commence his work once again, a thought came to his mind.

'Didn't the association branch leader retire?'

'Then…'

'Could it be that that young man will be the next branch leader?!'

As the elevator with Hans and his escort approached the fourth floor, the young lady beside him explained, "The place you're about to enter is a space that is usually only reserved for insiders and future guild members, under normal circumstances, people from other organizations would not be allowed to access it."

"It's a place where hunters take on jobs and can relax freely with their comrades, between the hours of deathly work as a hunter, it is needed to relieve stress."

"It is a freely accessible space that we insiders like to call, The zone."

The doors opened in the inverse direction, revealing an amazing sight before Hans' eyes.

The fourth-floor room was huge, measuring at least as much as the trading center Hans had visited before.

Peace permeated the air of the whole room.

The white luxurious walls were brightly reflecting the sunlight that entered from one of the four walls that was completely made out of glass.

The ceiling was more than twelve meters (almost 40 feet) high and at half the height. On the side of the room were attached some internal balconies that were occupied by various tables and chairs for the bars. 

All these balconies were connected by white bridges and handrails made out of steel connected to the glass panels.

The people present here were smiling showing no signs of sadness or conflict anywhere.

Since hunters were typically prideful and often surrounded by the deaths of their comrades, witnessing them so jubilant was a rare sight indeed.

As Hans stayed there and looked around, it felt as if all his worries were being swept away.

Scattered throughout the various points of the huge room were some desks where people could seek information and notice boards where hunters could discover possible gates to raid.

At the center, four transparent cylindrical tubes pierced through the towering ceiling, with elevators that could be seen ascending and descending within three of them.

However, one of the tubes remained still in its place, the one to which Hans was escorted.

While the elevator rose, Hans gazed downward through the transparent walls, marveling at the architectural masterpiece that was this building.

It was as if he had just emerged from the purgatory, purged of all the negative emotions from his body, now filled with peace.

The floor panel of the elevator displayed only one button and written on it were the three letters: C.E.O.

Seeing this, Hans remembered his original objective for coming here and composed himself.

Benjamin Carter, the founder, guild master, and C.E.O. Of the Vortex Guild.

When he awakened at the age of fifty-one, he was just a normal person. Thanks to his unyielding will and his rare class: the Windweaver, he managed to create a paradise like this.

He owned 100% of the guild, served as the guild master, and also directly oversaw the activities of the production class, awakened and workers in the guild.

Hearing of him, one might describe him as a perfect man.

What could someone like him possibly conceal?

Well… he indeed is a perfect man, however, he does have a weak spot and that is his

daughter.

His seventeen-year-old daughter is a troublesome pest. Since childhood, she had caused trouble and chaos, the reason being that she awakened at the age of twelve, and not just that, she awakened with the rare magic class: Wind Slinger.

Where many parents would've boosted their kids' egos and grown them into powerful warriors, Benjamin just wanted his daughter to be safe and sound.

He forbade her from entering any gates and fighting, hoping to let her live a normal life. However, she inherited the fiery personality of her now-absent mother and refused to heed his words.

She attempted every method to enter gates and battled the awakened to improve herself. Despite that, in five years, she only managed to reach the first circle since her father always intervened before she could progress any further.

Once, she had turned upside down the whole classroom of the school she was attending, and beat up a teacher who continued insulting the awakened people, claiming that trained teachers deserved to be paid more than the mindless awakened who knew nothing but solely relied on brute strength.

This was Benjamin's only secret, but he did not want it to be revealed, so he paid the association's security team leader a hefty sum to keep it under wraps.

He was truly a fool for his daughter, perhaps because he missed his dead wife, or just because he had always been this way. Regardless, there was nothing anyone could do to change it.

When Hans reached the desired floor, he found an old man with a defined jawline and white hair waiting for him, seated in a red chair.

If it wasn't for the suit he was wearing and the desk full of documents lying in front of him, anyone might have misjudged him as a normal father.

"So it's you," said the OLD man.

'Garrison, you fool, why have you chosen a little boy this time.'

His gaze then fell on Hans, filled with skepticism, he asked, "Are you sure you can properly take care of this city?"

"Kid."