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"Thank you for coming today." Said Hasan. "I just had an interview with the rest of your classmates. Sorry for calling you here out of the blue, everyone, but before you were to go to your small break, I wanted to have a small talk with everyone."

"Is it regarding what happened in that place, right?" I asked, sitting over the chair. "What do you want to know?"

"Blake! Don't treat the director like that! Be more respectful please!" Said Evelyn.

"Respect?" I asked. "This man hasn't earned mine. Why would I respect someone with so much power, that lets such incidents happen right below his nose?"

"Hah! He is quite bold." Laughed Hasan. "Don't mind it, Evelyn. I am partially in fault for what happened… Hasan sighed, his eyes seemed regretful. I wanted to apologize as well, giving you excuses might only make you angrier, but I was busy with the entire city. What happened in that place was out of nowhere."

"Out of nowhere you say?" I wondered. "I guess it was for us, who walked straight into danger. If it wasn't for my summons everyone would had died."

Hasan sighed.

"I am well aware of your feats, Blake. Thank you for having helped and saved everyone, and for having taken down the vessel of Beelzebub. What you've done was an incredible feat, something… that only Heroes could truly do." Hasan said in surprise.

"Praising me won't bring you anywhere." I sighed. "If you want me to have a better opinion of you, Director, you better give us enough compensation."

The director glanced at me with sharp eyes.

"Such as…?"

He seemed willing to negotiate.

"You've seen what we are capable of, what we can do. What I can do. I want our whole class to skip to the second year." I said. "And also, we want to freely enter as many dungeons as we want."

"E-Eh?!" Everyone else at my side reacted in shock.

"Blake, what are you even talking about?!" Asked Eric.

"Skip a whole year?!" Chris asked.

"That's nuts…" Said Erdrich.

"Well, what they're teaching us in the first year is pretty boring, and even the swordsmanship classes are boring~" Erika sighed. "I'm with him on this one!"

"I agree… The classes for first year don't suit our strength." Elizabeth said. "Carrying the rest of the class with us though… Well, the ones that have lasted this long are incredibly talented, forcing them into new environments might just help them grow enough."

"Hah… You're asking some ridiculous things, kids." Laughed Hasan.

"I heard that in the second year, we are allowed to visit Haunts and Cities within the continent, or to even briefly visit warzones." I said. "So we can grow much stronger, I want that."

"You're just thirteen and you're asking me to send you to a warzone?!" Asked Hasan.

"I've killed an archdemon vessel, if I want to grow stronger, I'll need bigger and stronger prey." I said. "Might as well grind while helping your pitiful soldiers."

Evelyn was panicking.

"D-Director please don't listen to him! He is really bad! He is a bad boy that was spoiled! He's a bit of a thug too but he has a good heart so please don't put him into detention!" She cried.

"Hah… HAHAHAHAHA!"

However, Hasan just laughed.

Once he finished laughing, he hit the table and his eyes glowed brightly, emanating an enormous quantity of spiritual energy.

"I like that attitude of yours, it has been a while since we've had someone like Dylan in here. Prepared to jump into battle at any moment, a true warrior." Said Hasan. "Some of your friends might not look like it, but they do seem prepared to accompany you, even if you drag them to hell itself."

"We need to find clues for the cultists left behind. Lady Sathan is also part of them, but we cannot confront her without enough strength." I revealed him. "Also, I am suspecting there might be a few traitors within your own ranks, Hasan. You're too relaxed."

"Hah… So you're trying to sell me information now?" Asked Hasan. "I like your attitude more and more… Fine."

"Eh?!" Evelyn cried.

"Fine! Good! Alright! I will use my power as the Director and attempt something that has never happened before." Laughed Hasan. "For your next semester, you will be joining the second semester of the second year! With your whole class as well. The first test will include completing a C Rank Dungeon with your whole class, are you prepared for that?"

"More than ready." I nodded. "In fact, I would even go for a B Rank if I could, but whatever."

"B-Blake are you hearing what you're talking right now?! We struggled so much against D Rank Monsters and you want to go against a dungeon filled with C Ranks?!" Chris asked.

"Don't be cowardly, Chris, I didn't taught you to be that way." I said, glaring at him.

"Geh… Don't call me coward… It feels like I am the only one with common sense now." He crossed his arms.

"Without being a bit reckless, how exactly do you expect to grow strong enough to confront the demons and cultists that constantly want our lives? It might only get worse from now on." I said. "I am doing this for everyone here. I just want us to become stronger."

Everyone fell into silent, some gritted their teeth, others clenched their fists, but nobody refuted me.

"It seems they agree. Very well then…" Hasan nodded.

"And." I said.

"And?" Hasan wondered.

"Of course, you're giving us more than that. We took care of a threat that could have destroyed Stronghold City after all." I smiled.

"Hoh… I was thinking on giving you some gold, but what do you want?" Hasan asked.

A smile surged in my lips.

"Give me some Spirit Orbs." I asked with a smile.

"How many?" Hasan raised an eyebrow.

"A few hundred, C Rank for now." I said.

"Hah…" Hasan laughed. "Your confidence and greed knows no limits, kiddo."

I knew I was someone important now, I possessed the strength to fight back against vessels, and more than anything, I could become Hasan's greatest supporter if I grow strong enough.

After all, he already knows there are traitors among his own allies within Stronghold. In the worst case that he has to fight those powerful people, he need someone equally ridiculous.

And that's where I enter, I am my own bargaining chip.

If he wants me to help him, he'll have to invest on me.

"Very well, I will get these for you once you're back from your break." He sighed. "And a few other things for your friends too. However, you've gotta promise me you won't fail the second semester, or I'll expel all of you."

"That's not even a hard promise to keep, old man." I laughed. "We're going to destroy that second-year class and show them who are the real prodigies here."

"You better do, brat!" Hasan laughed. "Now get out of here! I'll be busy managing to do all the ridiculous things you want out of me."

Like that, we left. Time to take a small break before crushing more demons, and whatever other bastards that might get in my way.

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