Chimaera's Conquest: The Legend Of The Devourer
Chapter 278: Storm Tamer (1)

Chapter 278: Storm Tamer (1)

A week later, things had calmed down a bit. Well, as well as they could have. People were still concerned about anonymous terror attacks that had shaken Miami to its core. Their belief in the system was shaken.

Who could have blamed them when the hunters, their heroes were absolutely demolished by a bunch of goons? It gave birth to another problem: Activists.

It was a golden opportunity for the people who had been worried about the influence of the awakened. They went to action, framing the hunters as worthless soldiers who couldn’t even protect them.

Thankfully, the public had too many problems to pay attention to the activists, and soon enough, their movement was squashed by the megacorps that owned most of the guilds.

Still, the public’s belief in the system remained shaken. However, the DRA seized the opportunity to take the lead. Despite the situation, they emerged victorious by prioritising the public’s protection, a bold move that the private guilds would never have made.

The DRA deployed its agents on the streets, helping the people in whatever way they could. Slowly, people began having more faith in the DRA than in the guilds, which didn’t sit right with the investors.

They wanted to do something similar and help the people on the ground level. But they couldn’t.

Despite their portrayal as heroes, the hunters associated with Private guilds were ultimately an asset. The sole reason they mobilised along with DRA in the convoy was to increase their reputation.

However, after losing quite a few rising stars in the battle that followed, none of them were willing to join any other operation like that.

The guilds were afraid of any more losses but couldn’t openly refuse the request, as the investors could withdraw their support, which would have effectively ended their guilds.

It was the same with the Misty Swords. Following A’Mila’s death, along with a few others, including Lucas, John wasn’t in a place to argue with the investors.

Thankfully, they wanted him to play it safe and stick to clearing dungeons. After all, if a hunter died inside a dungeon, they could twist the story without any problems. Hell, it often worked in their favour as the public was quite appreciative of fallen heroes, boosting their stocks.

Besides, dying to monsters seemed more honourable than dying at other hunters’ hands, and it was good for business. John agreed and got the hint. The board didn’t want more hunters to die, but they would prefer them to die in a dungeon if they did.

After the meeting, John sunk into his chair. He wasn’t used to seeing the investors angry, but now it was the third time they had criticised him. If only they hadn’t had the money, he wouldn’t have hesitated before giving them a piece of his mind.

"Call Adrian," John informed Michaela. "We need to make something big happen to make the investors happy-"

"Sir, he has requested some days off to deal with-"

"I don’t care what he has requested!" John got irritated and slammed his table, breaking it. "We are in this mess because of him. Someone like him shouldn’t have any complaints when I’m calling him to settle the problem that he created."

"...I’ll call him," Michaela mumbled and hurried out of the office.

***

An hour later, Adrian was sitting across from John. But, neither of them looked pleased with the other.

"I hope you know," Adrian started, "you’re breaking the deal we made?"

"Yes, I’m well aware of that," John scoffed. "But as a businessman, I have to consider the guild too. Besides, letting you do whatever you want has caused more harm than good. What do you have to say about that?"

John’s tone irked Adrian. Everything was fine when John got all the benefits from Adrian’s work. John never even thanked him for the publicity and investors Adrian and the team brought when they joined the Misty Swords.

Mere news of him joining the Mist Swords was enough to make people forget about the mess Eudora caused. And now John had the nerve to turn against him?

Adrian had almost made up his mind to take control of the guild right then and there. One little illusion should’ve been enough to make John do something heinous and get him kicked off the guild by the investors.

But Adrian decided it was not worth the trouble. If John somehow saw through the illusions, things could get messy for Adrian, and that was the last thing he wanted.

"What is it?" Adrian asked, changing the topic before he lost his temper.

"A joint exercise," John replied, pushing a file towards Adrian. "The Sons of the Moon is a famous guild from Brazil. They were the ones who helped me recruit Lucas-"

"I’m not here to listen to your yapping," Adrian interrupted, his gaze fixed on the file’s content. "Just get to the point."

John made a face as if he were controlling his rage, just like Adrian. But it was becoming increasingly challenging to do so with each passing moment.

"The investors want to do something big to improve our image," John replied. "I’ve invited them over so your team can join them and clear a dungeon in Hawaii."

"Dungeon of storms," Adrian mumbled, reading the name of the dungeon John had chosen for them. "Who came up with such a lame-ass name for a grade-A+ dungeon?"

"..."

John didn’t reply, and Michaela was having a difficult time holding her laugh. After all, John had suggested the name, and the DRA just went with it.

It was supposed to be a joke, but now it had stuck, and it wasn’t the first time someone had made fun of that name. Making it a sore topic for John.

"...no matter who named the dungeon," John said after clearing his throat. "Your team will go there in two days and meet up with the Brazilian team.

Your job is to clear the dungeon with as few losses as possible. I’ll give you a bonus if there are no losses. How does that sound?"

"Yeah, whatever," Adrian replied, getting up. "Send me the deets later. Can’t believe I wasted my time on this crap..."