[They are important since I will not be the one joining. They will. I keep a strict policy on not restricting my freedom. However, I am also not against connections.] Shiro typed out leisurely.

[What I want is for my friends to join the faction in my stead. However, I will be assisting the faction when I can while not joining as a member.]

“Hmm…” Freya narrowed her eyes slightly. While receiving Lyrica and Madison as members would be good, her main task was still to recruit Shiro.

“I’m afraid that might be a little hard on my side. You should know that my main goal is to recruit you into the faction.”

[I do. But, my whole reason for even exposing myself in this event was for my friends. Imagine us as a package deal. You don’t get us separately, only together.]

‘The executives told me to get her at any cost. Her talent with the ice element is rarely seen and with the amount of freedom they gave me, I should be able to fulfil a few requirements for her.’ Freya thought to herself.

“I may be able to accept that. But, how do you plan for this to happen? And what you mean by not joining us exactly?”

[What I mean is like a hired mercenary. While my friends join the faction, I’ll be a hired mercenary that will be paid for every task I undertake.]

“How much pay are we talking about? And are you going to be exclusively for us or other factions as well.”

[I’ll be assisting any faction that my friends join. As for the pay, it depends on how hard the task. I want to have the freedom to reject the tasks if I wanted to or if it is too high above my league. And obviously, the pay must be equal to or higher than my rank. No point working hard to E rank mana stones or the such.] Shiro smiled.

“That’s as good as not joining our faction at all. We want a noticeable connection rather than a flimsy promise.” Freya rejected.

‘I expected as much. Now I just need to know their baseline.’ Shiro thought. She never expected her to accept in the first place.

She just wanted to imprint the notion of what she ‘wanted’ so that depending on what they finalise the deal on, Freya would think she got a good deal.

[Then what do you suggest?] Shiro asked, throwing the main question at Freya.

“Core disciple. You’ll be a core disciple of the Winter’s Grace along with your friends. While the restrictions are there, the benefits are much more than what others will offer. You’ll even be allowed to pick a teacher to study under in terms of ice magic.”

[Core Disciple isn’t too bad. However, you must understand that it means tying a permanent link to the faction right? That is the opposite of what I want.] Shiro shook her head.

“How about elite disciple then. Being under the direct tutelage of the upper echelon within Winter’s Grace should be enough of a trade-off.” Freya offered.

[I do not need to be in the shoes of a disciple. Do realise that I was able to surpass several level 50’s to get to my position in the event.]

“That is true. But we can both agree that while your close-quarters combat may be incredible, in the art of magic, you have much to learn.” Freya said seriously.

[No we can’t as there are other sources of knowledge that I can access. But, to make this beneficial for both of us, how about a role that involves both our requirements? I want more freedom to move around and for my friends to join the faction. Whereas you want me to be tied down to the faction.]

“Indeed. So what do you suggest?”

[Guest Elder. Or something of the sorts. I’ll be an elder of your faction and provide you with assistance. However, I am not directly connected to the faction in terms of inner workings. This way, we’ll both get what we want.] Shiro smiled.

Freya thought about it and realised that it isn’t too bad.

‘Hmm… she’s right. It does fulfil what I set out to do. With her being a guest elder, she’ll still have this connection to us. But…’

“We’ll have to sign a contract. In times of need, there is a requirement for you to assist us.” Freya said seriously.

[No problem, however, I need to limit the number of times I can come help. How does five sound? However, I’ll only help if I am able to. So, if it is equal to a suicide mission, you can forget about it.]

“Five is a little… Hmm… Let me ask first.” Freya said as five was a little too low. However, if she imagined the future possibilities, then five was also plenty. 

Seeing Freya walk out of the room, Shiro laid back slightly.

‘With my status as a guest elder, I’ll be able to gain access to a large portion of the resources. Not to mention, I am technically only a half member. I don’t join the faction but have ties with them.’ Shiro thought.

###

Freya, who had left earlier was on the phone to a fellow executive.

“She wants to be a guest elder rather than being a normal member.”

{A guest elder? What kind?}

“The mercenary kind. She’ll undertake tasks with the title of guest elder and get paid depending on how hard the tasks are.”

{Hmm… while the connection is there, she isn’t exactly within our ranks is she?}

“Yeah. Which is why I wanted to see what the rest say to it before I accepted her proposal.”

{I think this is outside of our hands. Perhaps you should forward this to Faction Leader and ask her opinion. She sets the rules after all.}

“Do you think this is important enough for her to step in though? She might just tell us to reject her after all, and both you and I know what the leader is like when she’s interrupted for something meagre.”

{Don’t worry. Even on the frontlines, you would barely see people who’re able to make such a sturdy shield that can block against level 50’s when they’re level 34.}

“Hmm… fine. It’s on you if the leader deems it to be an unneeded worry.”

{Just do it. It’s better to check the leader’s opinion for this.}

Disconnecting the call, Freya sighed before dialling a new number.

###

Somewhere deep in the mountains, a woman was sat on top of a mountain while cold winds blew against her body.

Her hair, sky blue with a hint of green, billowed gently.

Her figure was alluring as she had volume in just the right places. Opening her eyes, her golden iris’s could be seen.

“Fuu… just shy of Tier 5 Attunement…” She muttered. Flicking her wrist, a freezing mist expanded outwards and froze the mountain over in an instant.

Pulling out a phone she kept secured in a crystal box by the side, in case it was destroyed due to a breakthrough, she unlocked the screen.

‘This better be good.’ She thought.

{Leader.}

“Speak.” She said coldly.

{The group that went to the New York Faction Event had sent news about an outstanding recruit.}

“Then recruit them. Why did they disturb me.” She said with a frown.

{That is because the girl wants to be a guest elder. She wants to retain freedom while still being able to use our resources.}

“Hou… Send me some clips of her ‘talent.’ I want to see for myself.”

Receiving the files, the woman narrowed her eyes the moment she saw Shiro.

‘So it’s her…’ She thought.

Watching the clips, interest and shock slowly emerged as she saw Shiro block an attack from a level 50 with her shield.

Continuing to watch the clips, she smiled mysteriously before turning to the phone.

“Accept the proposal. Let her become a guest elder but put a limit on the amount of resources she can obtain. Make it so that she can only increase the upper limit after doing tasks for us.” She said with a small smile.

The caller was slightly surprised by the fact that the leader accepted but nodded her head. It wasn’t her role to decide what goes on in the faction.

###

“The faction leader has agreed to your proposal. However, there will be a limit on how many resources you can obtain. The limit will naturally be increased the more deeds you do for the faction.” Freya said as Shiro nodded.

She expected that the resources will be limited since she wasn’t part of the faction.

[Let me get this right first. Is the pay I get is equal or above my rank?]

“It is.” Freya nodded.

[I am allowed to reject a mission if it is above my capabilities?]

“Yes.”

[And if I don’t want to do certain missions, I can also reject the task. Is that correct?]

“You’ll be equal to a mercenary that will do tasks for more resources. Just that you have the title of guest elder.” Freya replied. Inwardly, she was still surprised at how lenient the leader was towards Shiro.

[Since that is confirmed, what do we do next?] Shiro asked as she gestured for Freya to finalise the deal.

“I just need you to sign a contract to confirm that you are indeed a guest elder and that your two friends become members of Winter’s Grace.” Freya said as she handed them a contract. This contract was printed using a portable printer so everything was legalised.

Scanning through the contract and making sure everything was indeed how she wanted it to be, Shiro nodded and signed her name along with her adventurer ID.

[You two need to sign it too.] Shiro said as Lyrica and Madison nodded.

Signing the contract, they shook hands with each other.

“We’ll be leaving for the branch office of the Winter’s Grace in a week or so after the event is finished. I’ll get you once we are ready to depart. Here is my number in case you need to contact me and vice versa.” Freya said handing Shiro a line of numbers.

[Alright. Since I am a guest elder now, I suppose you’re my senior?] Shiro asked with a slight chuckle.

“Hahahaha, indeed. I still have other things I need to do so I’ll leave first.” Freya said standing up.

[See you later.]

Watching Freya leave, Lyrica and Madison finally decided to speak up.

“Oh my god! Shiro, could you not feel the aura she had!” Madison asked as cold sweat ran down her back.

During the negotiation, they had constantly felt this aura from Freya that they could barely breathe.

“Yeah! I had the thought of just agreeing to whatever so that we can go sooner.” Lyrica said wiping her forehead.

[I did feel it. But, I was countering it myself. What she was doing was making her presence known. If they do this during a negotiation, they’ll be able to tip things in their favour.]

“Wait, so you were doing it too?” They both asked surprised.

[Yeah. Just enough to intimidate her a little but not make her lose her composure. We don’t want her to be losing face now, do we? Or else this negotiation would have been long over.] Shiro smiled.

“Eh? How much ‘intimidation’ did you output then?” Madison asked curiously.

[Tap the seat she was sat on.] Shiro smiled.

*Dang

“!!!” Seeing the seat frozen, they looked back at Shiro who had a soft smile.

[Overall, I’d say I used around 5% of what I can output.]

“5%?”

[Let me demonstrate. I have a skill where I can freeze things depending on how much ‘intimidation’ I output. This is only a small amount of ‘intimidation’ I can output.]

Tapping the table, Shiro froze it almost instantly.

“THAT’S A SMALL AMOUNT?!” Madison cried out. Looking at the frozen-over table, she wondered how much Freya felt.

[Naturally, since her level was high, I needed to make sure my output was a lot higher.] Shiro smiled and walked out of the room.

Madison and Lyrica looked at each other and sighed.

“You should get used to it soon.” Lyrica said, patting Madison’s shoulder.

“I do. BUT, every time I think I got used to it she one-ups it.” Madison shook her head.

“You think she’s part of some super-secret inhuman hit squad?” She asked.

“Inhuman yes. Hit squad? Probably not.” Lyrica shrugged and walked out.

Madison shook her head and followed after her.

Walking back to the dorms, Shiro entered her room just to find Nan Tian giving her a wave outside her window.

‘Oh f*ck me… not him again.’ Shiro thought with a roll of her eyes.

Opening the window, Shiro sighed and sat on a chair.

[So what do you want now?] Shiro replied already feeling tired.

“I’m just feeling hurt that you half joined another faction before mine. You’re gonna hurt the poor heart of your future branch leader.” Nan Tian acted as he sat in his usual spot.

[You said it yourself. I half joined. And also, how the hell did you get info so fast? Did your stalking abilities level up?]

“Hahaha you flatter me.” Nan Tian laughed.

[It wasn’t a compliment.]

“Would you join my faction if I gave better benefits?” Nan Tian offered.

“Not only that, we allow you to join other factions as well. Plus, since you’re going to be in my branch, I’ll cut you a better deal how’s that little snow?”

‘A better deal huh? I should be able to ask him about the materials needed for my broken links.’ Shiro thought as this was a golden opportunity to scam someone else.

“Ahem, little snow? No need to think of ways to scam me. Hahaha, since you’re going to be in my branch, the resources are naturally open to you.” Nan Tian said, reading her expression.

Shiro was about to ask him about the items when she realised a crucial fact.

‘Knowledge of these items isn’t something a low ranked adventurer should know. Plus, I’ve only been ‘alive’ in this world for a few weeks and he knows it too. I’ll have to make him say the materials instead of me asking for them.’