An Interesting Proposal (2)

POV Lina Meraki

Asani Martin. Rank 1000. Broke. Weak in Combat. Gift Unknown. Unaffiliated. Not of interest.

Those were the notes Lina Meraki had written next to Asani Martin's name in the document she created which listed out the names of all the students in her year as well as her thoughts on their potential and how beneficial they could be to her.

When Lina Meraki saw the golden-eyed boy smirk as he approached her during class, she immediately turned away. There was no need to speak with an individual who was weak, had no social status to utilize, and worse of all had no capital.

For someone from the Meraki clan, the clan that produced the majority of magical goods used in the world and had greater GDP than most countries, the last one was the most egregious sin. Lina lived by a simple motto. You could be ugly. You could be weak. You could be stupid. But you could never, ever be broke. Talents, status, and even strength. All of it could be bought with enough money.

As she watched the professor drag Asani Martin away, she could only shake her head in pity. Evelynn Isolde would get off lightly with a fine but it looked as if the student would be in serious trouble with the professor. There was no point in thinking about him further.

Still, as she walked back to her bedroom at the Oasis, a luxurious mid-rise building on campus for white-ranked students, her fingers kept fondling the brick that was handed to her.

Once she arrived, she tossed it into a corner and forgot about it. Many people wanted to utilize her clan name for their 'business ideas' that were sure to make money and she was used to coldly shutting people down. But, as the days went by and she kept seeing the confident way he asked her if she had checked the brick, she thought that maybe there might be something there as he didn't have the eyes of a scammer looking to make a quick buck.

Since she had to reorganize her notes due to Evelynn Isolde being more volatile than expected, she would take the opportunity to investigate him as well.

She quickly pulled out her personal device and dialed a number.

"Yo yo!" A cheerful voice called out.

"Cassandra, I have another job for you."

"I'm listening."

"I have a couple of students I need you to investigate."

"Again? Alright, shoot."

"Julius Crimson. Sylvia Lancia. Drakon Domare. Rain Langely. And…Asani Martin. I want you to look into what they've been up to on campus and report anything weird or suspicious."

"Hmmm. Three of them are from the nine. You know that's triple the fee right?"

"That's fine."

"As expected from our rich young miss. Hmm…Asani Martin? Why does that name sound so familiar?"

Lina heard the sound of keys typing in the background.

"Ohhhh, he's that the black-ranked kid in class that injured Evelynn and got dragged away by the professor. He was cute."

"Was he?" Lina replied blankly.

"Haha, I forgot you rate attractiveness by how much money somebody has. Anyways, did you see Evelyn's face after she came back from being scolded by the professor? She was this close to blowing up! Serves her right for causing problems on day one! I'll do him for free since I'm curious anyway. Am I involving Killian or is it just me?"

"Just you. Killian is too expensive to use this early in the semester and is he even in school yet? I thought he was out on a mission."

"You gotta pay me if you wanna know details." Cassandra sang.

"Pass. Just the info for the ones I asked for."

"Gotcha. Give me a couple of days and I'll send over the deets. Send me the money in the usual account. Bye-bye."

The phone clicked off and Lina picked the brick up again.

Truly, it looked like any other brick she had seen except for the black light and the shadowy presence surrounding it. Remembering Asani's instructions to Analyze it, she activated her skill.

"Insight."

Her eyes immediately began glowing a bright red and she focused on the message that appeared in her vision.

[Shadow brick]

[Creator: Asani Martin]

[A brick infused with shadow mana. Due to inferior materials, it cannot reach its full potential.]

[Attributes: 2/2]

[Hidden: The brick becomes difficult to see especially in dark areas.]

[Fortified (C): The brick is tough and cannot be broken by skills or strength of a lower rank.]

*The object is stable and needs no further mana to maintain its effects.

"What the hell?"

Rubbing her eyes, she used insight again, seeing the same message.

Although it wasn't the most impressive thing she had ever seen, the fact that it was made by a black-rank student and that it hadn't reached its full potential yet was still mana-stable made her interested.

Especially the fact that it had a C rank trait. From her notes about him, it was estimated that his rank was at a maximum of a high F. Low E if she was being generous. Even during classes, he either slept through lecture classes or lagged far behind others in combat training classes. No matter how she looked at it, he was an unserious weakling.

She could only assume that his gifts were not geared to combat at all which would explain his weapon choices as well. If he could churn out more useful items at this rank or even higher, she didn't mind sponsoring him and contracting him to her family. If his skills surpassed what she thought, she would directly hook him for herself. She would wait for Cassandra to deliver a full report before approaching him.

3 days later, when Cassandra laughingly delivered the report while letting her know she was caught by Professor Lee and Asani, Lina resolved herself to unravel the mysteries around Asani and rope him in. After all, a poor student with no real support who was being ostracized by Evelynn Isolde was ripe for the taking. She would have to squeeze the maximum amount of benefits from him while making him feel indebted to her. After all, that was the best way to make money.

She happily updated his info while humming to herself.

Asani Martin. Rank 1000. Broke. Weak in Combat - Creation-type gift. Unaffiliated. Potential underling. Current Enemies: Evelynn Isolde. Current supporter: Professor Lee?

***

"Let's talk money." I watched as Lina Meraki gently placed her tray of food before sitting down, her large backpack still on her back. The students surrounding us looked at us in shock before looking away as her expressionless eyes glanced at them.

I simply arched my brow at her before continuing to eat my breakfast quickly. I had gone to train with Professor Lee in the morning and my body was still aching since Professor Julian wasn't in the infirmary and his temporary replacement had laughed at me before kicking me out with a roll of bandages.

"I said let's talk money. You've been bothering me about it for days. I'm here now." Lina said again.

"Good morning Asani. You look handsome today Asani. How are your injuries Asani? Let's start with that kind of polite greeting next time." I told her as I sliced up my pancakes, hungrily shoving them in my mouth.

Lina blankly stared at me before parroting, "Good morning Asani. You look like shit this morning Asani. How are your injuries Asani? Did Evelyn and her cronies beat you up again Asani?"

"Why thank you for asking Ms. Meraki. I'm doing well. I'm grateful that you care."

Lina looked me up and down before clicking her tongue in pity, "Word on the street is that the only thing you had going for you was your handsome face. Who messed it up this time?"

I could only smile as she evaluated me. My arms from my shoulder to my fingers were wrapped in bandages. My left eye was slowly swelling shut and I had various cuts across my face covered in little bandaids. My training uniform was hanging by charred threads and my hair was probably wild and unkempt. All in all, I probably looked like a hot mess.

"Well, I'm glad you think I'm handsome. As for the culprit, a vicious woman who likes to beat people up for minor comments, and her two overgrown mutts who eat your treats and then betray you jumped me up this morning. Then our school nurse refused to treat me for free." I grumbled as I remembered the morning training from hell. Today had been a particularly hellish game the professor called 'Dodge it or die trying'. Naturally, the dodging was done by me with my eyes closed and my ears covered while she and the wolves bombarded me with attacks. It was supposed to help raise my perception but I truly believed it was because I told Professor Lee I spotted a gray hair in her head.

My body, especially my back was still a bit sore from being smacked by those wolves and I could feel my head throbbing since I was low on mana. I had meant to eat and take a potion once I was back in my room but I didn't expect Lina Meraki to confront me.

"How sad. You should use a potion to get better. After all, we have class. Would you like me to provide you with one for a small fee?" Lina asked me as she delicately ate her breakfast sandwich.

"Pass, I know where the store is. But enough small talk. You're apparently a busy lady since you're only just getting back to me. As you said, let's talk money." I smiled sardonically.

I watched as her eyes became cold as she sat up straight to stare at me. Good. She was taking me seriously.

"One moment please." Lina reached into her bag and brought out a little snow globe that had a small plant in the center. She shook the snow globe and placed it on the table and I took the opportunity to analyze it.

[Globe of the Silent Forest]

Rank: C

[Creator: Lina Meraki]

[A globe filled with snow from the silent forest and a sprout of a distortion tree ]

[Attributes: 2/3]

Charges remaining: [1/3]

[Silence (C): When shaken, a field of mana will surround the user with a radius of up to three meters. No sound will be heard outside of the field. Duration: 30 minutes]

[Distortion (C): When shaken, a field of mana will surround the user with a radius of up to three meters. Imagery inside of the field will be distorted to those outside of the field. Duration: 30 minutes]

"You've probably never seen such an item before, right? It makes it so we can talk freely. If our talk is successful, I can expose you to more items like that and give you some." She lifted her gaze from the globe and smiled at me in a slightly condescending manner.

"How generous of you." I snorted before shaking my head, "I'm assuming you looked at my brick. What did you think?"

"A crude and useless tool made by an amateur. Yet the attributes are interesting and it shows the creator might have a smidge of talent. Since you're marked as the creator, you must have a gift that allows you to enchant items and help create them right. Am I right?"

"Something like that." I noncommittally replied.

"I completely understand. It's hard for craftsmen to get a footing especially if you have no family backing or financial status. If you're talking to me, you must want an avenue of sales and distribution using my family connections as well as materials to help you create better items. I can provide funding, materials, tools, a lab, marketing, and handle the sales however the profits after selling your created goods will be split 9-1 after all business expenses are covered." Lina began rattling off as she pulled out a stack of papers from her bag.

"This is the standard temp contract for the Meraki family. I will evaluate you for 30 days to gauge your output as well as the quality of goods you can create. If you are successful you can work part-time with me until your third year and sign a long-term contract with the Meraki family. I can even sponsor you throughout the rest of your time in the academy. For those who are talented, we will definitely not short them and treat them very well. I understand you currently have a conflict with Evelynn Isolde. Once you commit to signing a long-term contract, that will be resolved and you can fully focus on fulfilling your item quota and enjoying your student life. What do you think?" Lina slid the stack of papers across to me and I glanced down at it curiously before staring back up at her.

"I think you're mistaken about my intentions. I do plan on partnering with you but I don't plan on signing this slave contract with you." I tapped my fingers on the papers while giving her a sharp smile.

"Calling it a slave contract is disrespectful to me and my clan. As I said, this is a standard contract we give to prospective people who want to create and sell items with us. You should be honored that a student like you is even getting to see one before your third year." Lina narrowed her eyes at me.

"I like to call a spade a spade. And this contract is so full of shit, I could smell it from a mile away. Would you sign this contract?"

"That's not relevant as I have a different skill set. I believe it's a reasonable contract and the standard on the market." She coldly retorted.

"A standard set by your family. Since you think it's so reasonable, let's go through this contract and see if you would sign it."

At her silence, I chuckled before flipping through the contract.

"All items created during the period of employment are owned by the Meraki Corp. This includes items created during nonwork hours if it is created on property owned by the Meraki Corp. Doesn't your family own a lot of construction companies and own a lot of residential and commercial real estate?" I gave her a cold smile and moved to the next point.

"Anything discovered during the period of employment is owned by the Meraki Corp if it is created with over 50% of products or tools obtained from the Meraki Corp. Isn't your family the main provider for tools and products?"

"After the period of employment is over, the individual may not work for a rival corporation in the same field for a period of two years. Isn't the Meraki family a mega-corporation with different branches of business? Basically, the person is unemployed for two years. Shall I continue?"

"The contract is like that because you are an unknown individual. When you have proven yourself after some years of full-time work, it can be renegotiated."

"Bullshit. I ask again, if it were you, would you sign this?"

At her silent expression, I couldn't help but laugh.

"That's what I thought. As I said I don't plan to sign that contract and I'm not here to argue about business practices. I simply am looking for a partner to help with sales, distribution, and item procurement. And I want to partner with you Lina Meraki the individual and not the Meraki clan behind you."

"What do you mean by that?"

I simply smiled at her.

I had spent time consolidating my knowledge from the book and thinking about how best to get rid of the stupid curse on me so I could live my life freely. I planned on continuing to increase my personal strength but I knew that wouldn't be enough to get me where I needed to be in a quick enough time. I needed money, power, and influence at a level to be able to challenge those around me, specifically the 9 clans.

What should I do? How should I go about it? Those thoughts continually circled my head until I realized, there was no need to reinvent the wheel. In the novel, Lionel Lionheart eventually created his own guild to break free of his clan's influence quickly rising to the top as he gathered many talents and allies around him. What was to stop me from doing the same? I just had to gather useful people and chain them to me by hook or by crook. And in front of me was a very pivotal person in my plan.

Lina Meraki. She was a notable character in Heroes Rise Again, but not for her strength. Compared to strong combat characters like Lionel Lionheart or Evelynn Isolde, she could be considered weak. Instead, her strength lay in another direction. She rose to the top to become one of the wealthiest people in the world, eventually creating an organization that could challenge the influence of her clan as she wasn't a candidate to become heir.

Since I never finished the series, I didn't know how she ended up but I knew she was one of the most important backers Lionel Lionheart had. She provided funds, and equipment, and had connections in many secret places. She was somebody I had to have on my side.

The Meraki clan was ranked 7th among the nine clans in terms of strength and battle prowess. While they were decently strong, their focus wasn't on gaining individual strength and power. Rather they were focused on research and innovation. They investigated dungeons and used the byproducts to advance every aspect of human society by blending mana and technology. When analyzing tools, equipment, and even buildings, 8/10 things were created by the Meraki Corporation or Stein Meraki the head of the clan.

I didn't plan on challenging any of the 9 clans directly. Not now anyway, but I wanted to build my base first, and having a solid financial foundation would help. And it would all start with the girl before me.

I tapped my fingers slowly on the table before speaking, "I know you have the idea of building your own corporation, not affiliated with your clan. Let me in on it. I provide items for you to sell on the market, you provide everything else. 70-30 split with me naturally being 30."

"I don't know what you're talking about and even if I did, what makes you think you're worth 30%?"

"Well for one, I've gotten permission from the administration to allow the sale of goods to students at the depot. I'm very much against monopoly so wouldn't it be good to utilize the built-in customer base we have at the academy and gain a foothold before expanding? We wouldn't even have to do any advertising, just undercut the competition and rake in the money. And that's just the beginning."

As she heard my words, her eyes widened, "The academy? How did you get that? Professor Art is notoriously stingy and a stickler for rules. And where are you getting these 'goods' from? I know for a fact you have no money, you don't go to the labs to create things, and you haven't left campus to go to a dungeon!"

Seeing her become agitated, I could feel my smile widen. She was hooked.

"Nope. No questions, please. Not until we agree to a deal between the two of us and we sign a mana contract. You happen to have an S-class one on hand right? We'll use it to guarantee both of us can't betray each other as we work toward a fruitful cooperation."

"…how do you know that?"

"Oh, so you do? I was just guessing." I laughed at her disgruntled expression.

"Despite being a troublemaker like you said, I like to use my head from time to time. It would be foolish of you to think that I'm stupid or try to con me with a stupid contract like that."

Seeing her stunned expression, I grabbed a couple of potion bottles from my bag and a magazine of bullets, sliding them over to her.

"Anyway, while you've been ignoring me and sending people to snoop around me, I've worked on the first iteration of things we should sell here at the depot. Take some time and go analyze these. Even better if you can get them certified for sale. When you're done, let's circle back and have a proper conversation before signing a mana contract. Oh and tell your purple-haired friend that I'm not as nice as Professor Lee. The next time she comes creeping around me, I'll shoot her in the fucking head instead of sending a warning shot. Am I clear?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lina replied with a blank expression.

"Are you sure? Purple hair. Mask. Glasses. Daggers? Likes to fade away into purple mist? You mean to tell me you don't know why the information dealer Cassandra Mirage is creeping around me?" I stared at her in disbelief.

"…How do you know that?"

"Would you believe me if I said I read it in a book?"

"…there's no need to lie. I understand not wanting to share your information source, however, if you do change your mind, I pay good money for information. Regardless, it seems I was a bit unprepared for this conversation. I assure you, it won't happen again." Lina told me seriously as she took back the stack of papers.

"If you say so. Make sure you work quickly this time. You're not the only Meraki in the school you know?" I gave her a sharp smile.

"…I understand. Let's meet again. Here's my contact info. I'll message you when I'm ready."

"Don't you need to collect mine?"

"I already have it."

"Stalking is illegal you know. Regardless, I'll see you in class, Ms. Meraki. I look forward to working with you."

"Lina."

"What?"

"I go by Lina."

"Okay. Lina. See ya."

As I got up, I heard her quiet voice call my name.

"Asani Martin?"

"What?"

"Who the hell are you? You don't seem like a regular poor orphan. You're close to Professor Lee and have her personally training you. You've been fighting daily and you haven't gotten in trouble. You sleep all day in class yet you're doing well. The staff likes you and gives you extra food. Even Professor Jullian likes you. Professor Art is willing to make an exception for you. It's not adding up. What the hell have you been?"

"Me? I'm just your regular student, trying to make some cash. As for people liking me? Easy. Have a handsome face and try being polite and treating people decently even if you don't think they're up to your 9 clan standards or can bring you some sort of benefit. It usually works wonders. See you later. Make sure you bring my brick next time." I waved goodbye without looking back as I grabbed a potion bottle from my back and chugged it.

Bleh.

No matter how many I drank, I couldn't get used to the taste. It made me wonder how the Meraki Corp got them to taste so good. If Lina could hurry up with her work, that would be the first thing I would change.

Meraki meaning: Meraki (pronounced may-rah-key) is derived from the Greek language, and literally means the "essence of yourself." But it has a translation that transcends many languages and cultures and represents a concept that is deep and powerful. It is doing something with creativity, passion, and love.