Loot secured.

Fracture explored.

Levels gained.

A whopping ten levels to each of my tamed beasts, and Prometheus is now level 100. I wonder how much more experience we would get if the exp weren't being split six ways.

Gunning for another evolution so close to the last one might have lasting consequences. I'll talk to Master Giles about this. I can also ask him about some other things about my tamed beasts.

I need him to evolve again to meet the prerequisite to change my class... I would rather wait even longer than do something detrimental to Prometheus.

The [Star of Nature] is acting weird. I can hear it hitting the roof of the box. It really wants out.

I'm not freeing it until I'm sure that it won't fuck everything up.

If I bring in the people I care about in here and they turn into monkeys, I'd be peeved.

If it ruins Rob's territory and he has to go through that whole ordeal again, I'd be peeved.

Once the holidays are over, I'll study it further and let it out of the box. Maybe a boon is expected. I should hire a druid or something.

Before sleeping like a rock for the rest of the day, I washed myself and my tamed beasts, shaved off all the excess hair this fracture caused me to grow, and fixed my items. I woke up in the morning the next day.

Tomorrow is the day of Remembrance, the anniversary of the Collision, and the day between the end of the year and the beginning of a new one.

"You have any plans for the holidays?"

[Where would thisss one go?]

"I was asking Flash Gordon, but you have a point."

[What are your plans then?]

"I'm going to spend the entire day with my family, so today I'm going to visit my masters or whoever else I need to go through the motions with. I also need to buy presents for my parent."

[Is the real estate not an appropriate gift?]

"I'm going to buy magic shit for them. Self-defense, self-preservation, self-medicating, whatever is available. I have 23 million credits to spend plus the money earned from this fracture."

I examine the exit of the fracture. I finish the final touches on my report and prepare to walk out. There are a lot more creatures in the fracture now.

I walk out. The air stinks. This concrete jungle has much worse air quality than the other one.

[Advancement Requirements.

Have three tamed beasts be nobility, have dominion, or "rule" over something. (5/3) ↑

Have adequate leadership skills. (D/C)

Unique Servitude to rank A (Not Completed)

Have at least six "Master" skills. (Completed)

Be nobility. (Completed)]

Oh. Neat. I guess the landlording plan worked. My beasts either met the prerequisite before or is now a landowner. I even gave Khan ownership of a building because I thought it was funny.

Right next to a busy street, I stroll to the nearest FIB agent and dump my files on him.

Refusing any questions, I leave as soon as humanly possible. I look like a mess.

My Gi is shredded, and my upper body is completely exposed. The rest of my clothes, previously dyed black from blood, now has a green tint. At least I smell minty fresh.

I walk down the street and scroll through my phone. Ignoring the messages from people I don't care about, the assistant and Free Chains added me to a group chat labeled [Vincere Incorporated].

I skim through the messages, and it's very uneventful. Since those two are my only "employees," the group chat is very formal. I message in it.

[Big Boss: I'm out. What happened when I was gone.]

[Public Relations: Mr. Vincere. I hope you are in good health. You got even more famous in the time you were gone. The film you and your team provided was handy in building your brand.]

[Big Boss: I have a brand?]

[Legal Department: She means your image. I got the buildings you wanted. I got most of them on the cheap.]

[Public Relations: He offered pro-bono work for a discount.]

[Legal Department: I pumped the rest of the money into your requirements. Our boss is quite the paranoid one, no?]

"Make accounts on Rankable. I'm going to add you two to [Vincere Incorporated]."

[Thisss one and the skeleton already have accounts.]

[Big Boss: I'm adding my tamed beasts to the chat.]

[Big Boss has added Duchess and Rob to the chat]

[Duchess has changed their nickname to Divine Ruler].

[Rob has changed their nickname to Lord Rob].

[Big Boss has changed Divine Ruler's nickname to Thisss One].

[Thisss One has changed their nickname to The Duchess].

[Legal Department: Not only do your tame beasts have phones, but they can navigate a group chat?]

[Lord Rob: 😸]

[Big Boss: Since this group chat is already named as such, and I thought about it before, let's start a business or something. Figure it out. Hire people if you need to. We have real estate. Don't touch the buildings for my family.]

[Public Relations: A business is a good idea. If anything, we can have a hybrid. A guild+company to support you further. You are still a student and a representative. Joining a preestablished guild would be a waste.]

[Big Boss: Sure, I don't care.]

[Legal Department: We'll register ourselves with the church of Merita to use a new "corporation" wallet function. It's intuitive. I'll send you a document about it later.]

[Big Boss: Happy Remembrance. @ me if you need to talk to me. I'm muting the chat.]

[Legal Department: Is there an end-of-year bonus? Boss? Ellis?]

[Lord Rob: 🥳]

I look around, and people are taking notice of me more than they should.

I should buy more phones. Flash Gordon, Prometheus, and Khan would be excluded from the conversation without one. I still have that family plan going on.

Something about me keeps people from coming up to me. Either that, or I'm not at the level of fame to hand out autographs or take selfies or whatever famous people do. What do you think, Duchess?

[Thisss one finds being popular vain.]

Okay. Miss "Divine Ruler."

I find myself traveling to the FIB headquarters, a massive multi-story compound that puts the Bluefield branch to shame. It took a while, but I eventually met up with Michael, the overseer of the jungle fracture, and got my payment.

He saw my report.

I didn't mention the dragon or start. I briefly mentioned that I managed to fix the curse problem with my wide-spanning skill set, and he should pay me more.

It makes the fracture multiple times more profitable without a wide-spanning curse. I also mentioned how you can control the population size of the entire fracture just by controlling the population of one species.

"Mr. Vincere. My boss wants to see you."

"Who's your boss?"

"He directly answers to the Director of the FIB. He is the head of one of the eight departments of the FIB."

"Do I even want to know what the eight departments are?"

"Containment. Exploration. Maintenance. Logistics. Human Resources. Legal. Research. Accounting."

"Uh-huh."

"Containment, exploration, and research are the big three. Guess which one my boss helms."

"You started with containment both times, containment? It lines up with what I've seen you do."

"...Not bad."

"Wouldn't I fall under the 'exploration' department? What does the containment head want with me?"

"Although the Hazard branch sounds like it would fall under exploration's department, it's its own beast."

"So, it's the hidden ninth department?"

"Notice how I didn't mention the hazard "branch." It's because it's legally distinct from the FIB enough that HR and every other department don't get massive headaches from the constant injury and loss of life."

"Sounds like a way to legally get out of trouble or pay money. Insurance scam?"

"Hey, it's neither here nor there. You also didn't hear it from me."

"Sure."

"I'll lead you over when you're ready."

"Where's my money."

"He will pay you directly."

"Lead the way."

Michael leads me to an extraordinarily buff tanned skin man in a suit sitting at a desk in a massive office. His hair is cut military style, and a sword rests on his wall.

He uses a pen that looks tiny in his hands to sign some papers. It quivers under his grip.

He's so muscular that the suit looks comical.

"Can't you use a bigger pen?" He places the pen down and looks at me. Michael takes this time to leave silently.

"Oh, Mr. Vincere. Please, sit down."

"I'm going shopping in a minute."

"Then stay standing." He chuckles to himself, not taking my blatant disregard to heart. Even while I stand, this man still looks taller than me while seated.

"Mr. Vincere." The man looked me in the eye and addressed me seriously.

"Yes."

"I am the head of the containment department here at the FIB. You can call me executive assistant director Mahog. Or department head Mahog. Are you interested in an opportunity?"

"No, not really."

"Are you sure? You don't even know what I'm offering?"

"Then what are you offering." I hope it's not a timeshare.

"I'll give you any fracture under a certain clearance level for you to do what you wish, as long as that doesn't danger the people and fine citizens of our Prime Territories."

"Can I have my money instead? That sounds like there will be many strings attached."

"You will get your payment as well. Do not worry. You can see this as a prepayment for something else, and if that's too concerning, I can pay you that fracture after the job in question."

"What is the job in question? You sure are beating around the bush."

"We have a fracture safely contained, but even the hazard branch can't venture within. Entire squads immediately die without a word after a certain point. We have no information, and the fragments we can acquire are contradictory."

"Sounds like a job for the exploration department to tackle."

"It got passed onto my department."

"Okay."

"It was originally the exploration department's obligation, as you said, but they used FIB procedures to pass the responsibility to my department since it's 'quote un quote' contained."

"Alright."

"We tried pawning it off to the maintenance people since they maintain fractures, but they claim it isn't 'cleared' and shouldn't be passed off to them."

"Got it."

"So you must be wondering why you. Specifically."

No, not really.

"No, not really."

"It's because our lead research strategists believe that someone who traveled to ten or fewer different fractures has the chance to survive such an inhabitable hellscape. Which leads us to a headache."

"I'm assuming you have no one like that in the FIB."

"No one qualified. No one is tenacious enough. No one powerful enough."

I haven't checked my mansion's trophy room in a while, which showcases the fractures I've ventured into, but I have only been into nine fractures. Ah, unless my mansion counts. It's considered a "man" made one, right?

"We can train personnel from the ground up, but they wouldn't be as good as you are... You do meet the criteria, correct?"

"Man-made fractures don't count, right?"

"Correct."

"Then yes."

Even if it does, it still falls within the confines of "ten or less."

"Then you qualify. Are you up for the task?"

"I have a few conditions."

"Alright, let's negotiate."

"This isn't a negotiation. First, get me all the information the previous teams gathered. Then I'll consider taking on the request."

"We won't be able to give everything, but we won't redact any useful information. Anything irrelevant involving the FIB wouldn't be available."

"Sure, I don't care about your dirty laundry. Second, I'll need to know why the researchers believe ten is the limit."

"Sure, you'd get a full briefing. On paper."

"Finally, I'm visiting family for the holidays, so it must be after that. Also, I'll need my money."

Mohog pulls a stack of papers from underneath his desk and slams it down.

"Here is prepared information on the fracture, notes from researchers, legible drone information, paperwork allowing you to access that fracture whenever from our containment facility, location of said containment facility, and a VIP status."

"..."

"I read that you've secured a zerg fracture with a noticeable and confirmed source of creatures. Not only is cause for celebration by our research personnel, but you've done the people of the Prime Territories a service. Who knows if a curse of pandemic proportions would've spread."

He places down a crystal cube, something I recall from the auction house. This should be a container for a large sum of credits.

"Now, we have questions for the guild who 'sold' this fracture to us, but that doesn't concern you. Take your things and head on out."

"..."

"I'm no rookie, kid."