Three days had passed since the Guilds of the World entered the portal. They decided to end their hunt because they couldnât handle the heat no matter how high their [Heat Resistance] skill was. It stressed them out because they couldnât sleep since there wasnât a day or night there, not to mention the Sandworms that kept attacking them and terrorizing them.
It was a huge success and the whole world heard about it, and now all the Guilds around the world wanted to do the same thing. That was when Richard decided to speak up about the portal which shocked the world.
"What the fuck is he talking about?" Ren asked as he listened to Richard who suddenly came to Montana and gave a statement to all the reporters. "The portal belongs to the Rebirth Guild and everyone should pay millions of dollars to enter?! How could he approve that?!" Ren asked again.
It wasnât just him or all the guildmasters who were shocked by the statement. Jeanne and the others didnât even know that the portal belonged to them because Mykel didnât say anything about it. They didnât even know how Mykel could persuade Richard no matter how close he was to Richard because it would be a huge loss to give it to the Rebirth Guild.
"This is really bad. What if Poland, China, Australia, South America, and Africa decided to do the same?" Magnus asked with his arms crossed.
"They wonât," Darius answered as he shook his head with confidence. Everyone looked at him with confused and curious looks on their faces. "Mykel could do it because he could clear the portal, but what about those countries? Theyâre still living in terror, and if they tried to clear it, they will risk their countries when sending countless Chosen Ones if they failed miserably. Knowing how high the risk is, I donât think they can do it now or anytime soon," Darius explained as he looked at Richard.
"I donât know if I should be impressed or terrified with Mykelâs way of thinking," Lazarus said and kept listening to Richardâs speech.
"First he was just a nobody. Someone that we donât know existed. Then we met him, and we thought he was just a strong Awakener, but then not long after that he took New York, and befriend President Richard. Mykel and Rebirth Guild can be called the face of the United States now. Everyone that lives here is looking up to him," James said and remembered how time seemed to fly really fast even though it all happened in less than three months.
"Then he gathered all of us here, showing his scheme and how genius he is. I donât know if I should be suspicious of him or admire him because of how easy it is for him to change the world," Zhang said. "He said of equality among all of us, but itâs obvious that heâs showing us what heâs capable of," Zhang continued.
"But he looks so pissed though, that Richard guy. It seems he didnât approve it, but Mykel might have something that made him canât do anything about it. If we want an answer, letâs meet him in person and ask what this is all about," Shanka said.
All of them nodded their heads with understanding and then went back to New York.
Mykel was watching the news with Lyneth, Edith, and Elena in the penthouse. They were shocked about it as well, and when they looked at Mykel, he was smiling as he drank his vodka.
"How? And when did this happen?" Lyneth asked in disbelief and excitement at the same time.
"Since I have become an Exclusive Member of the Illuminati, I gained a lot of authority and power. Alfredo is convinced that Iâm the future and that I can bring him what he wants. With that being said, Richard whoâs just a normal member of the society, he has to listen to Alfredo and approved this deal, if Alfredo wants me to stay," Mykel answered.
"So basically President Richard is your underling?" Lyneth asked.
"Something like that. I can tell heâs pissed because he just realized that I have been using him this whole time, but itâs already too late for him to change it. If he decided to do something funny, someone will come and kill him for jeopardizing Alfredoâs position," Mykel answered as he nodded his head.
"Are you now the leader of this country?" Elena asked as she looked at Mykel.
"For now," Mykel answered as he poured another glass of vodka.
"For now?" Elena asked.
"For now Iâm just the true ruler of this country. Soon, there will be more countries that will be mine," Mykel answered and emptied the glass in a single shot. "We will rule the world from behind the curtain just like Alfredo, and we will do it very carefully," Mykel continued.
Jeanne and the others arrived at Rebirth Guild headquarters, and they were welcomed with a feast again. They were given time to wash themselves before they went to the main hall. They were invited to the main hall by Mykel because he knew that they were curious about what happened yesterday.
After everyone gathered in the main hall with food and drink in their hands, Mykel entered the main hall with all of his team. One thing that surprised them was Elenaâs sudden change of appearance. They saw her new hairstyle and the new tattoos on her chest and neck, and she wore a tight leather jacket and tight jeans that made her look like a totally different person.
"I know that all of you are exhausted from the long journey and from the hunt, so Iâll make it quick," Mykel said as he looked at each one of them. "You must be shocked when President Richard stated that the portal now belongs to the Rebirth Guild and anyone who want to hunt there should pay their fees to enter," Mykel continued.
"I know your concern, each one of you, but you donât have to worry. We are the Guilds of the World, and that rule doesnât apply to any of you. You can come and go whenever you want without reservation or pay any fee. Also, we have sent a team to take all your games from inside the portal for free so you can use them or sell them," Mykel explained.
Everyone looked at each other because they didnât know Mykel would go that far for them. It was great to hear that Mykel thought about them even for the slightest, but that only made them even more suspicious.
"I can see in your eyes that youâre suspicious, concerned, and afraid, but thatâs already obvious since you have witnessed what I did back then in the castle. You should be concerned and afraid, but not suspicious because Iâm a man of my word. When I said I want equality, I mean it and what Iâm doing right now is to show you that Iâm being honest," Mykel said. "Thatâs all I have to say, you can enjoy the rest of the day here and we have prepared everything to fulfill your needs, cheers!" Mykel continued and raised his glass at them.
Everyone raised their glasses and took a shot of their drink.
Jeanne suddenly leaned toward Mykel and whispered something to him. Eun was watching from her table, and suddenly Mykel glanced at her which gave her a chill down her spine. She was frozen still when Mykel kept staring at her, but then her hands started to tremble when Mykel decided to walk toward her.
"Youâre Eun Soo?" Mykel asked and noticed her trembling hands. "Donât be scared, Iâm not going to do anything to you. I just want to confirm something," Mykel said.
Mykel suddenly crushed the glass in his hand as hard as he could until his hand bled. Everyone looked at him and silently watched him offer his hand to Eun Soo.
"Can you heal my wound?" Mykel asked.
"Ye-yes..." Eun answered as she slowly reached Mykelâs hand with her trembling hands.
Eun carefully touched Mykelâs hand and used her skill, but nothing happened. Mykel was surprised that she couldnât heal his wound as well, but then Eun shook her head as she took a deep breath. She then tried it again, and this time she healed the wound in Mykelâs hand. The reason why she couldnât heal his wound the first time was that she had to show her kindness to be able to heal the wound, but since she was scared of Mykel, the skill failed.
"Thatâs interesting," Mykel said as he looked at his palm. "Itâs truly interesting. Thank you for opening my eyes, Miss Eun Soo," Mykel smiled and left the main hall.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"What do you mean by Eun Soo opening your eyes?" Aurea asked after they went far enough from the main hall.
"I just found an upper hand. The only upper hand that I needed the most," Mykel answered with a big smile.