As Ashton and Mazton walked into the meeting room, he was surprised to see a lot of unfamiliar faces. It seemed all of them were busy chatting, but the room turned eerily silent as soon as he appeared.


    Ashton immediately scanned everyone in the room. Now that he knew how Phantom worked, he wouldn''t have been surprised to find him in the room. Thankfully, Phantom wasn''t present there. However, there was someone Ashton had known for some time.


    "Otiga?"


    "I should have known only you would pick a corny name like Reaper." Otiga smiled as the neers filled the remaining empty seats, "It has been a while!"


    "It seems Lady Shadow already knows you." Mazton raised an eyebrow.


    "Yes, Mr Reaper is an old acquaintance from Euphoria." Otiga replied, "We have worked closely on a few asions."


    "I hope you won''t let your rtionship affect your work, Lady Shadow." Someone from the room''s far end remarked, "The same goes for you, Mr Reaper. Try not to let your rtionships intervene with your business. That''s my advice as a senior."


    "Shut it, Balls. We all know how great you are." Otiga retorted.


    Ashton saw the person and didn''t know how to describe him. His appearance was quite... distinctive, to say the least. His oval-shaped head was oveden with excess skin. Just looking at him reminded Ashton of a man''s balls. Just like what Otiga called him.


    Although Ashton''s assumption was right on point, when Mazton introduced him to the man, Ashton couldn''t help but think it was a prank of some sort. It had to be.


    "Reaper, meet Lord Testickle. He''s one of the seven great generals of the Orion empire." Mazton gracefully introduced him, but Ashton knew Mazton was trying his best to suppress his urge tough.


    [If I were him, I would have sued the living hell out of my parents.]


    ''Didn''t they throw you on the streets because you were born with a Mournde? How about you sue them for that instead?''


    [Although I didn''t, they were in prison thest time I saw them. I''d say karma got the revenge for me.]


    ''I''m surprised something worked out in your life for once.''


    [...me too.]


    While Mazton introduced Ashton to everyone, Ashton could not help but notice their gazes. It felt like they were sizing him up as if they couldn''t believe someone like him fought and survived against Phantom.


    Ashton couldn''t me them. In their eyes, he was a newbie youngster. How could someone like him defeat Phantom when even the brightest minds of the gxy couldn''t devise a n to aplish it?


    But more than that, he could feel their emotions through [Perception]. Despite what they thought, they were afraid of him. Not scared per se, but they were cautious.


    People like Ashton were dangerous. They were only an asset till they were working with them, but the moment such a person turned against them, it would be a catastrophe.


    That was probably why some of the gxy''s most influential people had gathered in the room to meet a low-ranking mercenary. By doing so, they would kill two birds with one stone.


    Firstly, they''ll be able to get first-hand information about Phantom ande up with ways to counter his reign of terror, and finally, they will form crucial connections with someone who was just as dangerous, if not more.


    It was no wonder Mazton said Ashton would get his rewards here. Not only would the mercenary association reward him for his feat and the information he would give them, but so would the remaining six people.


    [Oi, I can almost see the greed within your eyes. Tone it down a bit.]


    ''Yeah, yeah.''


    "Enough greetings. Shall we get to business now?" Mazton ushered the meeting.


    It felt like Otiga was waiting for mazton to say that. As soon as he was done, she jumped to ask a question.


    "Did you manage to uncover the identity of Phantom?"


    "No. The coward used a decoy to attack us." Ashton replied, "However, I have some information about his ss and abilities."


    Everyone''s ears perked up as soon as Ashton said that. So far, Phantom had been aplete enigma, thanks to his 100% fatality rate. That''s why any information regarding his ss and abilities was priceless.


    Ashton knew the value of the information he held and wouldn''t reveal it so quickly. Just like anything in the universe, information, too was tradable for the right amount.


    Being a mercenary, Ashton wanted to benefit as much as possible. That''s why he intended to monopolise the priceless information under his possession.


    [Didn''t you say you wanted to share information with them so that they can help you find Phantom faster?]


    ''I did.'' Ashton smugly replied, ''I don''t have the time or the means to track the bastard down. But they do since they have literal armies under theirmand. However, I never said I''ll give out the information for free, did I?''


    [You sly bastard! I love it, haha!]


    People seemed to notice what was happening inside his head and immediately put their offers on the table. Testickle offered the Orion army''s support and priority treatment regarding missions associated with them at whatever rate Ashton wanted.


    Lord Nix, a prominent figure representing Perseus''s arm, offered him one of the fastest spaceships at his disposal for Ashton and his team. Ashton was incredibly thankful to him because he was nning on getting a ship either way.


    As for Mazton, well, he lifted any and all restrictions imposed on Ashton as a new Rank 2 mercenary. In other words, Ashton was promoted to the highest ranks of a Mercenary unofficially since it wouldn''t be fair to the rest of the mercenaries working under the association.


    This meant he would have to progress like the other mercenaries to improve his rank; Ashton would still receive all the benefits a rank 7 mercenary would, despite being at rank 2.


    Ashton didn''t ask for anything from Otiga. But even then, she offered to join his crew and her intelligence association. In a gist, Ashton would be the new leader of one of the most sought-after intelligence associations.


    The gifts didn''t stoping. From money to soldiers and close working rtionships offers. Whatever Ashton wanted, he got it within seconds of mentioning it. Honestly, he got a lot more than he wanted, but he wasn''tining.


    By the time Ashton gave them what they wanted, he was one of the most decorated mercenaries in the Kernel Tower. The meetingsted a little over an hour.


    Once the promised money was transferred to Ashton and the delivery of the spaceships scheduled, he left to do what he had wanted to do for a long time. Before someone asks, no, it wasn''t Anna but something rted to work.


    ***


    "Are you sure you want to create your own mercenary faction?" Ena-bot asked Ashton for confirmation.


    Joining a mercenary faction was one of the fastest-growing methods. Most of the valuable requestion often requested to be assigned to a faction rather than an unknown group of mercenaries.


    However, only some could create a faction. Generally, mercenaries ranked 6 or above are allowed to make a faction. But none of those restrictions applied to Ashton, so he didn''t waste time creating his army.


    Even E''s request was one asking to be assigned to a mercenary faction. However, most factions refused to take on the deadly request, and those who did weren''t up to the mark. That''s why Mazton had to create a group of mercs by himself to help E out.


    "Yes, please," Ashton replied, and he was handed a ton of documents to go through within moments.


    Had it not been for [Detection], he would have gone through the texts for hours. After signing the necessary documents, Ashton was handed a new mercenary card that reflected his new rank and the new faction he had created, known as Ghosts.


    So far, it was a fairly small faction. Along with the ten guards he picked up from Eva, Vimur and Laihud joined his faction. Anna was a part of it as well, and so was Vulcan. However, he was not listed as a fighter but as a technician. It was to maintain his secret identity as Thori.


    __


    Faction Name: Ghosts


    Faction Captain: Reaper <Click to view more information>


    Faction Rank: 3


    Members Information:


    - A Grade Members: 0


    - B Grade Members: 3 <Click to view more details>


    - C Grade Members: 3 <Click to view more details>


    - D Grade Members: 5 <Click to view more details>


    - E Grade Members: 4 <Click to view more details>


    Mission Completed: 0


    Reputation: Trusted by the association.


    References:


    Association VP Mazton.


    - Gctical Performer E Mendova.


    - Lady Shadow, ONI.


    - Lord Testickle, General of the Orion Empire.


    - <Click to view three more.>


    Rating: Will be avable upon sessfulpletion of a mission.


    __


    "Not bad," Ashton mumbled to himself.


    "You can ept missions from counter 7." Ena-bot remarked, "Have a nice day, Captain."


    Ashton nodded and left for the mentioned counter to seek a mission suitable for them.


    Usually, a newbie faction would only get a few opportunities to get contracted. That''s why there was a need to get some references. The more well-known the referee was, the higher the chances of getting employed.


    The reference system was one of the reasons why Ashton wanted to get rmendations from as many influential people as possible.


    Rmendations from Mazton, E and Otiga were more than enough for him to garner attention. But Ashton decided to go all out and mentioned everyone he had met in the previous hour.


    "Let''s see if there''s any mission- what the fuck?"


    Ashton stood dumbfounded in front of the holographic screen. It hadn''t been ten minutes since he created the faction, yet he had received over a dozen job requests!


    "Maybe I should have toned down my references a bit..."