My Plunderer System

After setting up the meeting, Milo closed out the messages and finished his night with his friends. They had continued their training in preparation for the in field experiences and were looking more and more like a professional strike squad. Chris had gotten out of his bad habit of trying to go off on his own. Courtney had also started to build chemistry with the group as well and seemed to enjoy talking to Corinna and Maria about girl stuff. In the days leading up to Milo's meeting Zach had also been allowing Waki to absorb the cores Milo had given him and according to Zach he was close to increasing his rank. Overall things were looking good for their team and Milo was excited for when they'd finally begin closing gates.

Before that however Milo was supposed to meet with the guildmasters of the Big 4. Milo had chosen to find out all their intentions and to try and make them throw all their cards on the table by setting up a scenario where they'd all meet with him at once, essentially forcing them into a bidding war. His friends were all asking if that was really the right choice. They were worried that it may offend the guildmasters of the Big 4 and cause them to withdraw their interest in him and maybe even make them hostile to Milo. Mikael on the other hand broke into laughter when he heard about Milo's scheme. He thought Milo's idea was genius because just like Milo he felt that there were things that the Big 4 would keep hidden when trying to recruit him.

Because of their power in the world Mikael was worried that they'd attempt to take advantage of Milo due to his young age and inexperience. Mikael offered to oversee the meeting as a sort of third party, Milo agreed to this, as Milo felt that of all the people he knew, he could trust Mikael to help him make the right choice. Along with this, Mikael was well respected in the gatecrashing community and he hoped that with his presence it would keep the guildmasters from trying anything funny.

The meeting was set to take place at the GAA headquarters on the Acropolis; by having it there, Richard Brand was a small ways away in case any fights happened to have broken out. He also felt that the guildmasters may want to confirm his ability and skills so he could use the training rooms at the Acropolis' GAA headquarters. The only way he was able to do this was by calling in a favor from Richard Brand as well, since he was a new X ranked gatecrasher he figured he should use the privileges he now had.

When arriving, Mikael explained to Milo that the Big 4, or rather the Big 3 at that point since the Olympus Guild hadn't risen to power back then, had tried to recruit him as well. He chose to work alone however and instead opted for a job as a mercenary, it didn't pay as much as joining a guild, but money wasn't what he wanted. He simply wanted to train his swordplay more, and by joining a guild he would be forced to forfeit some of the kills to other gatecrashers.

Mikael was also of the X rank, but chose to live a more secluded life of his own choice. He didn't really take advantage of its perks like others. Milo admired this about Mikael, he was in his position simply through determination and hard work. His work spoke for itself through the stories and nicknames he had gained over the years. The names Sword Demon and Beast Butcher were two of many that were well known throughout the world.

Eventually the first of the Guildmasters had arrived, it was Helena Dempsey of the Striker Guild. When entering the room, she wore her stern expression and showed no emotion as she took a seat across from Milo and Mikael. She was about to begin speaking when Mikael stopped her.

"It'd be best to wait for the others to arrive," he said.

Helena made a puzzled expression as Milo hadn't informed the guildmasters that this would be a meeting between all of the Big 4. The puzzled look disappeared however as a hulking man entered the room soon after. His arms and legs were as thick as tree trunks and his torso resembled that of a grizzly bear, a pale white scar ran over his left eye which was cloudy white after healing from the original wound. His huge, scraggly beard gave him the appearance of someone who was stranded in the wilderness for years.

"Kristoff Jenkins! It has been awhile, hasn't it," Mikael bellowed as he pulled him into a hug. Kristoff said nothing and his face twisted into a smile as he squeezed Mikael back once he recognized him. Milo was sure his head would've popped like a cork from the hug Kristoff gave Mikael, but the latter appeared to be fine. Milo had no idea that Mikael was familiar with any of the Big 4 Guild Masters aside from the information Mikael had mentioned about them trying to recruit him. This was mainly due to Milo not being familiar with the reclamation of Manila.

Mikael and Kristoff were both among the team that recaptured Manila, and if Mikael wasn't a lone wolf, he most likely would've joined the Huntsmen Guild due to his friendship with Kristoff. Seeing who had entered, Helena had a look of enlightenment before going back to her stern expression. After pulling out of the embrace with his friend, Kristoff and Helena made eye contact before he broke it off and took a seat at the table. Helena was very calculating in her moves and believed in keeping all her cards hidden when dealing with things like this, including suppressing her emotions. Seeing that Kristoff entered, she could only assume that Milo had set this up on purpose. This was confirmed as another person entered the room.

Unlike the other two, the woman who entered had a bright smile on her face and seemed to be dressed in fashionable designer clothes which contrasted the business attire of the other people in the room. She went up to Milo without even looking at the other two.

"Hiii, it's great to meet you, my name is Mei Watanabe of the Sakura Guild, your interview was awesome, your ability seems crazy powerful," she said. Mei's personality was exactly what Milo had seen on TV. She was very outgoing and tried to start conversations with both Helena and Kristoff, but when she didn't get a reply, she simply shrugged and started messing around on her holo.

The group sat in silence for around 5 minutes, with the only sound being random noises coming from Mei's holo. When the door opened and the last person finally entered. As they entered a massive pair of wings could be seen tucked close to their back. He yawned as he sauntered in and took a seat at the table.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, not even acknowledging the other guildmasters.

"Oh, hi Steven, long time no see," Mei said, snapping out of her trance of playing on her holo to see who had entered.

Steven nonchalantly waved his hand in her direction as if acknowledging she was there. His eyes were locked on Milo and not wavering, on his face a slight smirk could be seen. Unlike the others who made a point of dressing for the occasion, no matter the difference in how they chose to do so, Steven looked like he had just rolled out of bed. His hair was messy, he was wearing sweatpants and a plain t shirt, with sandals on his feet. Milo could sense a different air about him, as if his intentions were different from the other 3 guildmasters.

Seeing four of the most powerful people on the planet sitting before him, Milo was slightly shaking both from excitement and nervousness. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and while most people wanted to meet just one of them, all 4 of them had requested a meeting with Milo and even came all this way just for him.

Helena was the first to say anything, "To start I would like to see your ability in action, I'm sure all of us would like to, we all saw the interview you did with Marcus Davis, but he likes to be a bit theatrical with his show, this and I'm sure you left some things out." When saying the last part, she had a sly smile on her face, she read Milo as a person very easily. Like her he was secretive about certain things including the extent of his strength.

"Yeah, I'd like to see what you've got," Mei chimed in without even looking up from what she was doing on her holo.

"Do what you want," Steven said, seeming bored. Kristoff was the last to add his thoughts with a simple grunt. Following their request, Mikael looked at Milo, being his proxy he wanted to make sure Milo was okay with it before agreeing. Milo simply nodded as he was expecting something like this. He wasn't showing it but his nervousness jumped higher following their request. Besides Mei, the other three's eyes seemed to be piercing his soul trying to read him. It was the instinct of the Guildmasters to do so, especially when meeting the new so called "super rookie."