I walked into a conference room in Rebirth City, and immediately received a few powerful stares from the people seated in the room in front of me.

In a world of magic and martial energy, powerful stares meant something different than in the old world.

In the Old World, I knew people who swore they could tell when someone was staring at the back of their head. Something of a sixth sense.

Now, staring meant something similar, but also multiplied by a thousand. There was a distinct prickling sensation, like the feeling of your hairs raising on your arms, or when you get goosebumps, when somebody tried to Identify you.

When I entered the conference room, I could tell that several people were trying to Identify me. That was fine. I didn’t really mind that.

What I did mind were the angry auras that accompanied several stares. It was surprising, though, where those stares were coming from, and who wasn’t staring at me.

Evangeline wasn’t looking at me, and an Abelino clone offered me a polite nod.

There was a small Chinese woman, about forty years old, who was staring intently at me, and I could tell she was not happy to see me. Black mana was trapped inside her body, almost as if it was trying to burst out at any moment. From my conversations with Samantha, I knew that black mana meant she had a Death affinity. She had a strict, almost constipated look on her face. She had shoulder length black hair that she wore in a tight ponytail, and she wore black mage’s robes that also held dense death-attuned mana. Propped beside her chair was a staff, also black, with a single white gem inset on the very top.

There was also an African man, about 30 years old, who was similarly unhappy at my presence. He wore his hair in long braids that trailed down his shoulders. He looked incredibly muscular, and a massive sword was slung over his back.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice. Jarek, allow me to introduce you to Liling and Absame. I believe you’ve already met Evangeline, and of course you know Abelino.” Dawnbreaker spoke pleasantly, without a hint of irony when she mentioned Evangeline’s name.

I had known it the moment I walked into the room, but Dawnbreaker’s introductions confirmed it. This room was full of Earth’s powerhouses.

Abelino was a leveling monster. He could merge experience from his numerous clones, allowing him to level over fifty times faster than the average person. On top of this, he now had access to the Transcendent Taproot, and as long as he had a clone just standing by the Transcendent Taproot, he would gain experience.

I didn’t know exactly what level Abelino was, but he was likely already nearing the level 50 threshold.

And judging from her aura, which Liling wasn’t bothering to hide, Liling was much stronger than Abelino.

Samantha said.

Damn.

There was an aura of power, almost fear, that radiated around Liling, and I had to force myself not to tremble in her presence. Studying her mana, it was clear her mana was trying to escape—which implied that she was suppressing her aura, and yet I still felt the pressure.

“Dawnbreaker, perhaps you could explain why you have chosen to invite him here,” Liling said. “Evangeline said he tried to kill her after they killed Europe’s Zone Lord. Jarek is not a Hell Mode Challenger, and there are numerous unpleasant rumors about him. Additionally, we joined this meeting under the assumption of one representative per continent. Otherwise, this room would be much more full.”

They killed the Zone Lord? Of course, Evangeline was laying claim to the kill, too. I guess that partially explained why they didn’t seem to like me. Of course, it was also possible they were pissed that I wasn’t selling them enough Mana Shards, or that I was charging too high of a price. Or, maybe they were annoyed that I had agreed to help Evangeline defeat the Zone Lord, when I had been clearly told that the New World Government had already heavily invested in equipment to defeat the Zone Lord.

“Jarek Novak is not part of Daybreak,” Dawnbreaker explained. “The New World Government’s ability to unite three continents is impressive, and unfortunately North America does not share that same unity. Jarek is here as a representative of the Nova Alliance. As the only C-rank Rune Master on the planet, I would think he deserves to be included. And if you are concerned about unpleasant rumors, then I’m afraid you would also be excluded from this meeting, would you not, Liling?”

Dawnbreaker paused and stared intently at Liling, who gazed back unblinkingly at Dawnbreaker. I couldn’t help but respect Dawnbreaker, for having the guts to stand up to Liling. And I was starting to understand how three continents could be united so easily, under Liling’s authority.

Liling’s aura easily dwarfed everybody else’s here. How that was possible considering Abelino’s leveling speed, was anyone’s guess.

“Now, if we may continue?” Everyone at the table nodded, and Dawnbreaker gestured for me to take a seat between her and Abelino.

“We owe the timely warning about the sea monsters’ invasion to Jarek,” Dawnbreaker said. “And he was right, that the invasion should have been worse. It will get worse, once the Zone Lords break out of seclusion.”

Dawnbreaker glanced at me. “This morning, the New World Government killed a level 98 Zone Lord off the coast of Old-World Namibia. Several members of the New World Government died in the battle.

“The recent battle led us to conclude that the remaining Zone Lords are biding their time in the oceans, likely residing near deep sea Aether deposits, until they reach level 100. We are gathered here today to discuss ways to take the fight to them, and kill the sea monsters before they reach C-rank.

“Our information purchased from the Merchants’ Faction says that if we can kill all the Zone Lords before tonight—when the sentient species invade—then we will be able to gain a World Capital token, and also every native human would gain a perk of some sort.”

Dawnbreaker paused, as if she expected me to say something. True, I had given her a lot of information in the past, but I had no idea what was going on. What do you know about this Samantha?

Dawnbreaker was still waiting for me to say something, so I said, “I wholeheartedly support this idea. How will we cooperate, though?

Liling spoke up. “I have access to the Schema’s C-rank treasury.” She paused, as if I should be impressed by the announcement. “I purchased a scouting tool—something that can pinpoint the locations of Zone Lords. But using this would be a big expense—the opportunity cost would be immense, and hopefully you can all contribute.”

“We will happily contribute,” Dawnbreaker said. “But 10 million coins just to use this device a few times is too much. Not to mention I don’t even have access to that kind of wealth. One million.”

“Ten million each. And since, as you say, Jarek represents his own alliance, he pays too.”

Liling smiled faintly. “Of course, the New World Government is certainly capable of defeating these Zone Lords. It is out of our own generosity that we are willing to invite you to the battle, and it is our dedication to the good of mankind that we wish to finish the battles in a timely manner. Abelino, what do you say? Do not pretend you don’t have the money.”

“You are charging us to help you,” Abelino said. “At this point, it is not a question of if I have the money. It is a question of if you deserve it.”

It was the first time I had heard Abelino speak in Liling’s presence, and I could tell that Abelino strongly disliked Liling.

I had almost forgotten I had a C-rank Schema Treasury Token in my Interdimensional Pouch.

Samantha said.

It would be funny.

It was annoying, though, having to second-guess myself every time I found myself agreeing with Samantha about something. But the reasoning made sense—this was essentially spending money to make money. I could use a C-rank Treasury Token to buy a compass which would point to more Zone Lords, which I would then use to gain more C-rank Treasury Tokens.

I reached into my Interdimensional Pouch, and everyone reacted immediately. Liling pointed her staff at me, and I sensed a pitch-black cluster of mana gathering at the tip of the staff, centered inside the staff’s jewel, just yearning to fly my direction.

Dawnbreaker frowned. “That is bad etiquette.” It wasn’t clear if she was talking to me, for reaching unannounced into my Interdimensional Pouch, or talking to Liling for getting ready to attack me.

I took out my C-rank Schema Treasury Token, and placed it on the table, forcing myself to ignore what I knew was the lethal threat in front of me. Then I activated the token.

The blue panels that appeared in my vision were visible only to me, and Samantha helped me pick out the item that I wanted.

Zone Surveyor (C-rank): When activated, identifies the locations of the largest energy densities in the Zone (Mana, Aether and Life Force). Can filter for living creatures, plants, or mineral deposits. Requires: 1 Mana Crystal per use.

The actual item was something like an Old World tablet. There were some very intricate runes on it, and according to Samantha’s description, its screen would indicate the direction, distance, and type of various locations with high energy density.

I bought it, of course, and a second later, the massive tablet appeared in my hands.

“10 million coins, if you want to join in,” I said, smiling at Liling, Absame, and Evangeline.

“Wasteful,” Liling said. “I already bought my own. We can reconvene when the other Zone Lords are killed, and it is just the World Emperor left. I doubt any of us could solo the World Emperor. We should also keep in mind that the World Emperor will drop the World Capital Token. It is the New World Government’s belief that we are best suited to defend a World Capital. We have by far the most Hell Mode Challengers. We are certainly better suited than Daybreak. Of course, we would be willing to grant you each unrestricted access to the capital.”