Cyril

John opened his eyes as Jasmine delicately helped him get to his feet. He was still disorientated and his vision was blurred; the reporter escorted him to a nearby chair. The throbbing feeling in his head made him wish for the feeling he had when he used the Psychometry skill. “What was that pressure? It felt like I was suddenly drowning in an empty void.”

“My father decided to give you one last test. As I told you before, he’s a bit of a worrywart especially with me and my habits. I want to invite you to join the Beacon so that you have a bit of backing to help protect you. He only wanted to test your natural response to being threatened by hitting you with a concentrated focus of his killing intent, probably because your skill set is too irregular even using the standard of known late bloomers.” His vision began to focus on Jasmine as she explained what happened, when a soft male voice responded to her from the far side of the room.

“My daughter, I only wanted to ensure you don’t accidentally end up in one of the many uncomfortable situations I’ve had to deal with.” Looking over to the owner of the voice, John saw an elderly man in a simple black suit missing his left arm. The man was bald with an X shaped scar on the right portion of his forehead that also had prominent wrinkles. He had long white eyebrows with a matching moustache and beard. His beard reached all the way down to his knees and was held in place by a thin wrap that crisscrossed all the way to the bottom. “I’m sorry I scared you, young Mr. Newman, I only wanted to make sure my daughter wasn’t gallivanting with someone unsavoury.” Normally a smile from an elderly man with a soft voice would make John feel relaxed, but the threat was clear as day from the look in the man’s red eyes coupled with a toned-down version of the suffocating feeling that briefly knocked him ****.

John wanted to respond to the man, to hopefully calm his concerns, but the pressure being focused on him made it impossible to talk. The terror overwhelming him made the fight with the Champion feel like a schoolyard scrap.

“Dad, that’s enough. Whom I gallivant with is none of your concern,” Jasmine intervened mocking the elderly man’s choice of words. “Stop intimidating him so that John can breathe. I haven’t explained any of this to him yet, so I can only guess how confused he is. I meant to tell him on the way here, but…” She smiled mischievously while glancing at John’s crotch. “I got a bit distracted while questioning him.”

’Is she trying to get me killed? Even I was able to pick up what she was intending.’ John looked fearfully at the reporter, worried she just sealed his fate.

“Hahaha,” the old man began laughing. “Worry not, Mr. Newman, Jasmine’s nature is well known amongst the family I created. I’m sure any blame could easily be placed on her.”

The Gamer stared at the laughing man. ’Did even her father just call her a slut? And she was annoyed when Gaia did the same. Even if what he said is true, he could still make me disappear with a thought.’ John was cautiously on the defensive. Jasmine may be his ally, but none of her family had any such allegiance toward himself. Especially the elder before him, he finally stopped openly intimidating him, allowing John to relax a tad.

“I’m sorry, it seems my little threat has you on edge. My name is Cyril Lewis, John Newman. I would like to welcome you to my small organization, known to most as the Beacon.” The man strode over confidently to where John was seated and presented his outstretched hand to him.

John decided it was best to go with the flow, so he stood up and accepted the man’s handshake. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Lewis, but why am I suddenly joining your organization? I assumed my being here had something to do with Jasmine assisting me in finding my friend Meadow.”

“Right, your friend, my daughter did tell me about your situation. It is true that we have a lead to finding the man you described, but the reason you were brought here today is for your own safety. Jasmine tells me she gave you a brief rundown on the Abyss and how dangerous it is, especially when dealing with other members of the Abyss. Is that right?” the old man asked with a raised eye.

“If you mean her describing how many inhabitants would trick me or worse, the answer is yes,” John responded after remembering the conversation in the park. “Joining your group would ensure my safety?”

“Nothing can ensure your safety, except getting strong enough yourself. However, having the backing of a guild will make you a bit of a more tedious target than you are now. That school of yours has numerous ties to the Abyss, it’s even a pseudo neutral zone. If you stepped foot in that building, you would be revealing your existence to most of the Springfield Abyss.” Cyril handed John a page with a bunch of unfamiliar names on it. “This is a list of the factions we know that have ties to Ashcroft Academy. It’s safe to assume there are plenty we have no clue about.”

“John, I asked my father to allow you to join us so that we could protect you and your family. Like every group written there, we have some influence in the school. If you agree, we would like to get you out of that shark tank. My plan is simple: on paper you are still a member of the school but you won’t actually attend.” She took a long pull on the cigarette she had lit at some point, while sighing. “Personally, I wanted to have you drop out, but given the events with Meadow, your parents would be a difficult hurdle and I doubt you’d be able to separate yourself from your family easily. We have to take things seriously if anyone somehow catches wind of your Psychometry skill, that alone would make you valuable to a lot of the small to mid-sized guilds, and that’s only one part of what makes you unique.” Jasmine seemed visibly concerned to him.

“What about Meadow? Would any of this affect the search for her?” John asked.

The reporter smiled softly at his question. “Predictably you asked about your little girlfriend. Your decision will not have any effect on our contract. The man you described has a pattern of going to the same bar every night. We will ambush him later and have a nice chat,” she said as her smile warped into an evil grin.

“That’s great news that you were able to find that man. Alright, so If I agree, I become a member of the Beacon and will only be considered a student at Ashcroft on paper. What about attendance? I may be eighteen, but eventually, someone would reach out to my parents, right?”

“I don’t get how you overthink some things while being completely oblivious to others,” she said, shaking her head. “To answer your question: officially you will be an off-campus intern that reports to our mundane office. As long as no one goes to your school to find you, everything will be alright.”

“I don’t see any reason to decline your offer, I accept. How do we make this official?” John asked.

“You and Dad will sign another contract.” She gestured to her father who made his way back to his seat at his desk while the pair were chatting. “While you men iron things out, could you pass me your phone? I should bring it to Reimi so she can set it up for you to be able to use it in barriers,” she asked, her hand outstretched. He removed it from his inventory, the idea of someone having access to his phone without him present had him visibly nervous. “If we wanted to it would be easy for us to hack your phone to see whatever you are afraid of being revealed.” Jasmine took it rolling her eyes, before she walked away with his phone leaving the two men alone.

John sat across from the elderly man at his desk. “I don’t mind joining you, but what do you get on your end?”

“This is a job, you will be signing a simple employment contract. With proper training and your talents, I’m sure you will become an asset to us. You’ll get protection and an income out of it. I want to see you use your Psychometry skill on this sword to see its potency,” the old man said, placing a cutlass on the desk between them. “Tell me what you see in this weapon’s history.”

John reached out for the sword and prepared himself for the backlash that ravaged his mind after using the skill the previous night. “Sorry, I’m just getting ready. The flood of information was overwhelming during my first use,” he told Cyril before activating the skill.

Psychometry Lvl 2
Psychometry puts less stress on your mind per use and the cooldown has been reduced to 3 hours and 45 minutes.

At first, John saw different images of the elderly man polishing the sword, then he saw the sword in the hand of another man that was clashing blades with Cyril. His rage was felt clearly by the Gamer. The two men were fighting covered in wounds. At the end, the blade cut off the elderly man’s arm while a burning sword pierced the owner of the sword.

John took a few deep breaths to help calm himself. This time the spell didn’t take as much of a toll on him; he wasn’t sure if it was because the skill levelled up or if it was the smaller amount of information he absorbed. “Most of what I saw was you polishing the sword over a period of time. At the end I saw you in a life and **** battle that cost you your arm, before you slayed its owner,” he told the man.

“So you really have it. Sorry for the last test. I hadn’t told anyone this sword’s origins, John, I am eagerly looking forward to your potential. Look over this contract and make sure it’s to your liking,” Cyril said sliding over a contract that looked similar to the one he signed with Jasmine.

The Gamer used Observe on the contract. It said the same as the first contract he’d signed. He spent a few minutes looking over the contract. It seemed to be a pretty lax contract that either side could end at any time, he was to be given a sizable salary of ten thousand a month with numerous other benefits, and that was with the title of interim member, he couldn’t imagine how high his earnings would be once he was an official member. The only restriction he was able to find in the contract was the sharing of information either side considered sensitive during or after the termination of the contract. When he reached forward with the pen to sign, a message appeared.

Signing this contract will officially make you a member of the level 2 guild “The Beacon.”
Do you accept?

John signed the line beneath Cyril’s signature and the contract split into 2 identical copies that flew into each of their hands.

The Gamer has joined the Beacon as an interim member.
Anytime you are in a party with a member of the Beacon, your stats and skills get a 1% boost.

“Great, welcome aboard, John,”