James was having the time of his life shopping for suits, food, and buying new laptops and phones. When he checked his bank account, he was surprised that he had blown over 40 thousand dollars in a single day.

  Nevertheless, such expenses were mere drops in a bucket for him now. He wondered how he could even exhaust the ten million dollars the government had given him. His huge body had garnered attention, and a few people had actually recognized him as a dungeon clearer. Pride for being recognized filled him.

  When the sun set, he went back to his hotel only to find Silas there.

  “Greetings, Mr. James.”

  “Yes? What's up? This is my money, right?” James said. He was feeling uncomfortable with the way Silas greeted him. He didn't like the demeaning way his old boss ordered him around, but the overly polite Silas also rubbed him the wrong way. He couldn't help but feel as if Silas had hidden schemes against him.

  “Ahem… I was wondering if you would give your dungeon core to the guild. And I remembered you wanted to give that metallic ball, which happened to be some kind of dungeon relic? You haven't explained its use to me, so I didn't know. Did it happen to be a particularly useful relic?”

  “Ah. Yes, I forgot. Wait here while I grab my stuff. I did not promise to give you the dungeon core. Understand? I will let you borrow or safekeep it, understand?” James went up to his room. After bringing down his usual leather bag, he came back to Silas, only to find several more men in suits along with Andrew. Andrew leaned on his chair while pouring wine into a glass.

  “Hm? What's with the party?” James asked. Andrew looked relaxed, but he had failed to hide his tired eyes from him. Andrew couldn't help himself and leaked a tear when he remembered his dead colleagues.

  “James, it has been a long time. I wanted to thank you for saving Kouki. I heard that without your help, Kouki might not have survived that dungeon. You certainly have changed a lot. How long has it been? Five years?”

  “Eight years, boss,” James smirked.

  “You are the boss now, I heard from Andrew. Time does fly. Care for a drink?” James offered a wine glass. “Don't mind these bystanders. If you want to know why they are here—well, I heard you are donating to the guild, so many wished to witness it. Moreover, since we now know that dungeon cores are important, we wish to have it.”

  “I'll let you safekeep it. But if I find another use for it, I want you to return it.”

  “I see. You’ve changed a lot. Back in the day, you were always so obedient it made me worry for you. Now, you stand up for yourself.”

  “Sir…” Silas interjected.

  “If he said he didn't want to, we shouldn't force it,” Andrew answered Silas. “You shouldn't be greedy. James had brought priceless intel to us. Besides, he has already shared a dungeon core with us, right? He has helped us a lot. He even donated some tools to us, right now.”

  “Understood.” Silas bowed and sighed. He was not satisfied; he believed he could persuade James to give up the core, but on Andrew's behalf, he held himself back.

  Silas wanted everything the survivors in the guild had to be donated to the guild. Andrew agreed to give his weapons to the guild, but others weren't so enthusiastic. James had a lot in his leather bag. Silas knew this and wished to use it so the guild could grow.

  He knew James was against the idea, so he wished to merely register the belongings to be in the guild while James could keep them physically. But Andrew had stopped his advances. He feared that, in the worst-case scenario, James could defect from the guild if he sensed he was being tricked. Dungeon cores were important, but James was even more so. He had cleared two dungeons, after all.

  “Well, so, what will you donate to the guild?”

  “This is the Sphere of Fethusiane. It spews corrosive liquid, level 2. Have you encountered this status effect?” James asked.

  “Well, there was a water balloon filled with corrosive level 8 in the dungeon I visited. Lambard used it on a boss monster as a suicide bomb…” Andrew answered. “Does this device have a usage limit?”

  “I don't think so. I didn't use it much anyway. It was a bit too unwieldy. There weren't any water balloons that could handle the corrosiveness.”

  “I see. Well, I said it was a water balloon, but it was only similar in nature. Moreover, you also donated guns, bullets, and even grenades, huh?”

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  “They can be used—if you have the points,” James answered. Guns were not cost-effective. Arrows could be reused, but bullets couldn't. So, James didn't use them much—he had a crossbow anyway. But it certainly could kill a monster in a dungeon.

  “I see. We shall see whether we can use it or not.” Andrew nodded.

  “The flavor text said that this Sphere could turn trash into fertilizer. You should check on that,” James shrugged.

  “Pft. Flavor text. Well, our world certainly has turned into something game-like. Your experience with gaming has put you on top, I suppose. Kouki was similar too. Gamers were once outcasts, but now, they are the top of the food chain.” Andrew laughed. He then gave the ball to Silas. “We shall check whether that was true or not.”

  “Alright. Good night.” James waved to him, but Andrew stopped him.

  “James, I heard from Silas that you will still conquer dungeons, right? Here is something I will give you in return. It is a list of dungeons and their information and locations. Of course, the information is basic—any survivors could open the window. Nevertheless, instead of going to a random dungeon, some dungeons are more valuable than others, despite them being easy.”

  “Hm?” James tilted his head.

  “The government wanted these dungeons cleared ASAP. Some dungeons held critical facilities such as water pumps, dams, etc.”

  “Will I get paid?”

  “Of course.”

  “How much?”

  “Well, ten million per dungeon sounds reasonable? But all relics found inside will be for the guild.” Silas smiled.

  “No. That's impossible. Most chests contain coins and scrolls. I can't give them to you,” James shrugged. Again, James wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. He could’ve just shut up and given them whatever he found, but he had to mention scrolls and coins.

  “Coins are transferable with one of our survivors' unique skills. As for exp scrolls, since they have an expiration date, I guess that's fine for you not to give any to us.”

  “...No.” James glared at Silas and refused. Silas widened his eyes at the refusal. He didn't expect to be refused. Ten million dollars was a lot of money. He tried to find a cause, then he found one. James was probably thinking the money would be split with his teammates.

  “Ahem. There seems to be a misunderstanding. Ten million dollars is for you alone. Other members will be paid differently, according to their skills. Surely this would be a fine proposal for you?” Silas smiled. “I can't recall any job in the world that pays so much, Mr. James.”

  “I refuse. I don't need the pay. If I go to any dungeon, that dungeon is mine. All chests inside are mine. You may have them only if I sell them to you,” James said.

  “Hm? I didn’t expect you to make such a request. I heard that you share with your teammates.” Andrew raised an eyebrow at James' declaration.

  “Then, we shall discuss it there. But I won’t hand it to you or the guild. You may purchase it from me when I feel like it,” James said.

  “I see… well, that’s how it is, Mr. Silas.”

  “Very well. We will still pay you. After all, the goal was to free the dungeon. The relics were only important for our future endeavors against dungeons. But I shall reduce the pay to five hundred thousand dollars per dungeon. How does that sound?” Silas sighed.

  He couldn’t afford not to pay James. If he was not bound by contract, that meant he was free to move to another guild. If the world knew the guild didn’t pay its members—especially someone as renowned as James—the guild would receive a massive backlash.

  “I see. Agreed. But I will choose which dungeon I will conquer. You may give recommendations, but I have the right to refuse.”

  “Agreed.” Silas nodded.

  “Hm… You’ve been through a lot. I’m sorry for leaving you guys in that company.” Andrew nodded. James widened his eyes at the remark. He then grabbed one of the lists while smiling. “Well, I shall earn my keep too then. I can’t be the guild leader when I haven't conquered any dungeons, can I?”

  “Thank you, Mr. Andrew.”

  “See you soon, James. We have branches around the world. With your pay, it should be easy to arrange a flight. Silas and Gwen shall make some adjustments for your visa. Give him a call, and maybe we can host some party after I conquer some dungeons.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Douglas left you a message, James. He said he wanted to call you. Shall I give him your new phone number?”

  “Were you spying on me?” James reeled back. How did Silas even know his phone number?

  “Well, you aren’t exactly stealthy. We didn’t even need to look…” Silas looked away. He wasn’t lying. The phone booth James went into bragged that James had bought from his store. All Silas had to do was give them a call, and they willingly gave him all of James' information. His pride wouldn’t let him call such a simple act spying.

  “Well, whatever. Give me the phone,” James asked Silas.

  “You want to talk to him now?” James nodded.

  “Here you go.” Silas called Douglas. After the call connected, he gave him his phone.

  “So, what’s your business?”

  “Ah, James. How are you? I heard about your recent success. As expected of California’s Hero! If you have time, could you liberate some of our facilities? Or will you go after that reactor that’s been occupied by a medium dungeon?”

  “Nah. I’m free. What’s the dungeon?”

  “I have submitted the list to Mr. Silas already. You may ask him.”

  “Done. Get me two novice dungeons. I will try to conquer them in six months.” James nodded. He had been looking for some dungeons to conquer. Silas kindly pointed him toward some dungeons that were in California.

  “Wonderful. I ordered some of my henchmen to ask about your rented room. We found a laptop in secondhand stores and some photos in the trash bin. Would you like to retrieve them?” Douglas was trying to use these as a bargaining chip. However, since James was agreeing to his demand for free, he had no more use for the junk and gave it to him as a freebie.

  James' impression of this mayor skyrocketed at once. He then opened his new phone.

  “Ahem. If I may interrupt, you do not need to book tickets. We will get you there with our guild plane,” Silas smiled.

  “Alright,” James nodded. He was thankful that the Guild still helped him even though he had been rude and denied their proposals. Unbeknownst to him, the Guild was secretly receiving money from the government for every dungeon they had conquered. But that wasn't James’ business. All that he wanted was to level up and grow stronger.