Chapter 11: Proposal

Charles was silent for some minutes and then calmly replied: "I would like a sword, a two-handed sword, large, heavy and long, at least 5 feet, I hope you can fulfill my request".

Anthony thought for a while and then brought up a diagram in front of Charles, which depicted a wide, purple sword. Its length was about 6 feet, it didn`t have a guard, and the handle was a simple piece of black metal, also the sword was divided into two, from the handle to the point. And between the two parts there were many blades turned towards the handle. If you pierce someone with such a sword and then pull out the sword, the enemy will turn into a bloody mess. It was a terrible and incredibly cruel weapon.

"Will you give it to me, seriously? I am sure that it is worth much more than 50 thousand sempets that Stroph asked, and it was he, who killed the Demonic Armored Ogre". Charles liked the sword, spinning it and examining every detail of it through a 3D hologram, and he knew very well that this wasn`t a simple sword.

"That's right, I won't give it to you for your help in killing Ogre and it really costs much more. Approximately 250 thousand and one can get it only from the Phantom Association, or on the black market, but I do not advise to appear in such places". After these words, Anthony was silent for a while and then continued: "But I can give it to you, if you agree to my proposal, you have to go to the fighters' school." When everyone heard what he said, they were immediately silent. There was a dead silence for a couple of minutes; none of them dared to say anything.

Charles was the first to break the silence: "What? What about the school? And didn`t those who can enter the school fighters themselves, already receive a reward? And you offer me such an amazing sword? I can't help but ask, what do you mean?" He didn`t understand Anthony's proposal at all. The fighters' school was the place where the school leavers entered, and most of the applicants became just first rank fighters. Even Richard, a third rank fighter, had a sword worse than the one Anthony offered him.

"I will really give you this sword if you immediately enter the school of fighters. I will also solve all the problems with the school, you will finish it with the highest grades. Why do I do it? I'll explain now. Besides Anna Astin, you are the best student in the whole city. Perfect grades, always executive and prepared, excellent skills and manners. But there are a lot of students like you or Anna Astin in other schools. You're probably thinking now, why me? Eh. The thing is that I have a talent. I can most likely see the talent in a person, it is the talent I have seen in you and in no one else. Richard was in the same situation as you, he was an ordinary schoolboy, but I saw the talent in him and he is now a fighter of the third rank. Well, what do you think, do you agree?" Anthony looked at Charles, waiting for his answer. The atmosphere was quite tense.

Anthony took a new cigar and continued to examine the documents, he thought that Charles needed some time to make a decision, but to his surprise, very soon he heard his voice.

"I agree, I hope you will do everything you said," Charles spoke quickly and clearly and the determination was burning in his eyes.

"You can be sure, I'll tell you more, you're going to the fighter school tomorrow. Well, and what about you, snow-white sniper?" After he finished with Charles, Anthony turned to Stroph, apparently he also had an offer.

"I am? I don't want to go to school, I've had enough, I already practically don't go to school," Stroph responded quickly, he didn't want to go to the fighters' school at all.

"I won't offer you to go to the school of fighters, I know very well how you go to school, you are a real record-breaker for truancy." Anthony took a slight sigh after which he continued: "I want to send you to the slums, your talent is unbelievable, your shooting level is simply unprecedented."

Hearing it, the eyes of all present greatly expanded, the proposal was too strange. The slums was an incredibly dangerous place, and if Stroph was an unbelievable talent, then sending him to this dead place is the same as destroying all chances of revealing his talent.

"Don't be so surprised, now I will clear everything up. You would think that to send him to the slums is like to ruin his future. But if I send him to the "Inner Circle" and especially to the capital, the arrogant bastards who live there wouldn`t let him open. In the slums he would have a chance, a chance to become stronger and develop his talent. The fighting is constantly taking place there. And it is not only about revealing your talent, you don`t know something, it`s top secret information, but since everything has gone so far I`ll tell you, listen carefully, this information can change your future." Anthony spoke very slowly and clearly, he wanted to convey his thoughts to the people who were in front of him.

He put his hands in front of him and said: "The Spirit, the way you can get the Spirit, it's far from 100%, but the tops know this way and some people have tested it. The best chance to show the Spirit is not through endless training, using a great number of resources or some ten-year meditation. To maximize your chances of awakening the Spirit, you need to be on the verge between life and death. When a person finds himself in situations in which his life is being solved, he can arouse the Spirit, with one sole purpose - to survive.

Everybody was shocked by what they heard, the Spirit was considered an incredible skill that everyone from the third rank soldier had. But nobody knew exactly how to awaken him or how effective were such methods as using expensive resources. Quite a lot of people had the Spirit, but everything happened by chance, so no one will be surprised by such a case as if some man from the slums suddenly has the Spirit and he will be sent to the "Inner Circle" or even the capital itself.

"Is the Spirit so incredible? Yes, it's not clear how to awaken it, but many people have it, and I think that rich people, using the tons of resources, also increase their chances somehow". Stroph was not very surprised by Anthony's words, he believed that even if such a dangerous way is not 100 %, what is the sense of it.

"In any other situation, you would be right, but not in this one, everyone knows that there are many colors of the Spirit, but almost no one knows that there are also different types of the Spirit, on which his power depends, there are only two of them. Awakened by chance, this is the first type, you can call it -the weakest of these two. The second one is obtained at death. Visually, they aren`t different, but if two absolutely identical in strength persons start to fight, then, with all other equal, the one whose spirit obtained at death, will win 1000 fights out of 1000, absolutely without chances for any other outcome. Anthony spoke very quietly and swallowed up hastily continued: "This very second type is called the Perimortem Spirit.

After his words, all quieted down, this information was too incredible.

Anthony gave everyone some time to wake up, put out the cigar with a serious expression and said: "So what do you say, young man? Will you take a risk?"