Chapter 19

Adeiv Strinde was a principled man, perhaps due to the influence of his parents, who drafted regulations and laws in the government. When he was an adventurer, he always distributed the loot fairly, and at his mana workshop, he made sure to treat his employees well. Adeiv even informed them of their rights upon hiring them.

Whether it be Adeiv’s strength as a level 380+ former adventurer or how he conducted his business, it didn’t take long to become the best in the industry. Long gone were the days when he needed to calculate finances or seek clients personally. Now, he had specialists for that. Besides creating contracts, Adeiv no longer needed to manage his business as much as he did.

That left him with a lot of time to think.

In his office, he ruminated about the world: how it was fair to some and unfair to others. He contemplated the differences between elves, humans, dwarves, orcs, and demons. How did their societies differ? What values did they have? Or what of the System? Why did it function the way it did?

Of all these questions, Adeiv always found himself drifting back to a particular one: what would he do about it? He became an adventurer for power, started a business for wealth, and now that he had both, what now? There were problems in this world he thought needed solving. For one, the value of venerating the strong and dismissing the weak needed to go. Second, a better way for peopl-

“Mr. Strinde? Your next appointment is here.” The receptionist's voice pulled him from his thoughts. Focusing on the present, Adeiv stood up to greet his next client, an older man named Frod.

“I’m Adeiv Strinde. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Adeiv introduced himself as he tried to keep a straight face due to Frod’s sense of style. For some reason, the older gentleman wore a set of clothes you’d only see at the beach. The pair of sunglasses on his bald head, along with the colorful t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops, contrasted greatly with his long, well-groomed beard.

“How’s it hangin’, yo?” Frod clasped Adeiv’s hand with a pearly white smile.

Adeiv nearly tripped when he heard Frod speak, but as a professional, he smoothly recovered with a laugh. "I’m fine, just fine. Come, please sit.”

Returning to his desk, Adeiv made some small talk before asking, “So, you’re here to inspect my business, correct?”

Unlike Adeiv’s usual clients, Frod was an inspector from the government. When Adeiv received the notice, he wasn’t alarmed in the slightest. There was nothing for him to hide, unlike his competitors.

Frod cleared his throat. “Bruh, don’t trip. That was only a front, yo.”

“What do you mean?” Adeiv’s amicable expression disappeared.

“Check this out, yo.” Frod retrieved a badge from his inventory and handed it over. “You recognize this?”

Adeiv forced back his frustration as he glanced down, only to freeze upon seeing the cloaked figure etched onto the onyx badge. While onyx was rare and a near-indestructible metal, the cloaked figure was more important.

As a high leveled individual, Adeiv was privy to some secrets. According to what he knew, anyone possessing this badge belonged to an elite force directly under the command of the four families. Each member had a level well over 400 and mastery over several legacy skills.

Adeiv looked up at Frod with a solemn face. “It’s an honor to meet you, sir.”

As Adeiv prepared to hand the badge back over, Frod held up a hand. “Hold up, yo. That’s yours if ya dig?”

“Is this related to a few years ago?” Adeiv cocked an eyebrow. “If I remember correctly, I failed the application process.”

“Everyone does, yo.” Frod scrubbed an ear with his pinky as he explained, “We’ve been snooping on you, you hear?”

While Adeiv was getting irritated with Frod’s manner of speaking, the realization of the situation suddenly set in. He actually passed the strict requirements to enter Umbra? Holy crap, was this really happening?

“Um,” Frod coughed awkwardly. “Actually, we still wanted to wait a bit, but you got luck on your side, yo.”

“How do you mean?” Adeiv was confused. Did he pass or not?

“Your client, Mr. K? Real name’s Keith Walker.” Frod’s presence suddenly grew heavy. “He’s special, yo. Very special. We want you to be our liaison with him. If cool, you're in. If not, maybe later. No sweat.”

Adeiv thought back to the young man he met a few weeks ago. Sure enough, he guessed correctly. Mr. K was a descendent of one of the four families. Although it hurt his ego a little that he wasn’t exactly qualified to enter Umbra on his own, he would take this chance to move up in the world.

Clasping Umbra’s badge tightly, Adeiv said, “Tell me what I need to do.”

“Sweet, bro.” Frod stood up and made a gesture with his fingers. “I’ll let Robi fill you in on the details, peace.”

To Adeiv’s surprise, another person became visible just behind where Frod teleported away, presumably Robi. A black cloak hid her armor as she sat down and pulled off her hood, revealing a charming young woman.

She observed Adeiv for a moment before saying, “Adeiv, I’ll be straight with you. If not for your unique innate gift, integrity, and the way you handled your affairs over the past few years, you wouldn’t meet our standards. Your level is low, but that’s easily resolvable. What matters is your lack of legacy skills.”

Adeiv quickly approved of Robi. She was candid and straightforward, albeit a bit harsh. He responded with a nod. “I know. I’ve had the opportunity to learn a few, but they didn’t appeal to me.”

“So be it.” Robi sighed. “Frod likes your character, so we’re giving you a chance. As long as you can reach level 200 in two legacy skills within a year, you’ll become a full member of Umbra. If not, then you’ll remain a liaison. We have a few hundred options to choose from, so you can only blame your lack of talent if you fail.”

“I understand. Thank you for the opportunity,” Adeiv paused before asking, “What’s Frod’s position in Umbra? He seems like an interesting person.”

Robi looked at Adeiv as she considered how much to reveal before this new comrade of hers. After a moment, she answered with a half-truth. “He’s our boss, get it?”

It took a second for Adeiv to register what she meant. If anyone were Umbra’s boss, it would be the four families. If that was the case, considering Frod’s age, didn’t that mean he just talked with the head of one of the four families?

As Adeiv struggled to contain his excitement, Robi began the tiresome job of explaining everything Adeiv needed to know. “You’ll learn of many secrets in due time. For now, we want you to maintain your current relationship with Keith….”