Ignis stopped mid-wave, his gaze dropping low on the board. The smile didn't exactly drop, but it stiffened slightly, turning from charming to sharp. He walked toward the board, the crowd parting for him like the sea.
Julien swallowed hard.
Up close, Ignis was even more intimidating.
He was a head taller than Julien, with hair the colour of a weak sun, bright, unnatural orange, swept back to reveal a crooked, white scar running down his left cheek. It didn't damage his face; if anything, it made him look more dangerous, more seasoned. His armor filled with heat, the air around him shimmering like a mirage on a hot spot.
Ignis reached out and tapped the poster with a gauntleted finger.
"Financial Wizard," he read aloud, his voice smooth and carrying effortlessly over the room's silence. "Tired of Stronger Guilds? Cute wording."
He turned slowly.
His eyes neither landed on the crowd nor on Julien.
He looked straight at Chris.
"So," Ignis said, his golden eyes narrowing on him. "This is why you quit the party. To post revolutionary fanfiction on a corkboard in the ruined district."
The Hub went deathly silent.
Hundreds of eyes turned to their corner.
Chris stood up straight.
In his glittery 'MOMMY'S LITTLE BOY' shirt, facing down a man wearing the GDP of a small country in armor, he looked ridiculous. But he didn't back off. His B-Rank aura flared just enough to stop the pressure coming off Ignis.
"It's not fanfiction, Ignis," Chris said, his voice surprisingly steady, though Julien saw his fists clench. "It's a business plan."
A girl stepped out from behind Ignis.
She was small, barely reaching Ignis's shoulder, with short, choppy orange hair that matched his, and piercing golden eyes. She wore light leather armour that looked expensive and flexible, and she spun a knife between her fingers with bored precision.
"A business plan?" she scoffed. Her voice was lighter than Ignis's but carried the same edge of arrogance. "Chris, you left the Blaze team. We were clearing B-Rank gates and on the cover of Hunter Weekly from the adventure guild. And you left us for... this? To play shopkeeper with a cripple in the slums?"
"Careful, Lyra," Chris rumbled. "Watch your mouth."
"I'm just stating facts," Lyra shrugged, leaning against a table. "We liked you, Chris. You were a good meat shield. Dumb as a rock, but sturdy when necessary. We were going to make you rich. But you threw a tantrum because we wouldn't let your little friend tag along."
She glanced at Julien, her eyes sliding over him like he was a piece of furniture that didn't deserve any polish.
"And now look at you," she sneered, pointing at his yellow shirt. "You look like a banana that gave up on life."
The crowd snickered.
Julien felt the heat rising in his neck. Not from embarrassment, but from anger.
He knew Chris had left a party to help him, but he didn't know it was this party. He didn't know Chris had walked away from the top tier of District 9 just to babysit an F-Rank weakling like him.
Ignis stepped closer, ignoring Lyra. He looked at Chris with a mix of disappointment and pity.
"You're wasting your talent, Chris," Ignis said, his voice lowering to a lecture. "Do you know what's happening out there? The mana density in District 9 is spiking. The Guilds are predicting a Red Gate opening within the month."
A gasp went through the crowd.
The Red Gate meant an A-Rank portal break. It would lead to the destruction of the city since it did not lead to a dungeon, but rather allowed monsters to surge in.
"When that happens," Ignis continued, gesturing to the room of drunk, desperate hunters. "This place turns to ash. Only the strong survive. Only we survive. And you... You're going to be down here, selling potions and counting copper coins, while the city burns."
"We won't be counting copper," Chris said firmly. "We'll be ready when it happens."
"Ready?" Ignis laughed.
It was a harsh, irritating sound. "With what? A poster asking for a criminal accountant? You're being childish, Chris. Come back. The spot is still open. We haven't found a Tank as durable as you yet."
Chris didn't speak.
He looked at Ignis, then he looked at Julien.
The silence stretched for a long time. Ignis was offering him a lifeline back to glory. Back to safety.
Julien knew he should stay quiet. He was the F-Rank and a liability. He should let the big boys talk while he should just go back to his place.
But then he remembered the 5,000 credits he owed a ghost, the look on Viper's face when the dagger broke, and the smell of the slime monster burning.
He wasn't a liability anymore, but a partner.
"He's not going back," Julien said.
His voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the tension like a knife.
Ignis stopped.
He turned his head slowly, as if he had just heard a mosquito buzz. For the first time, he looked directly at Julien. Really looked at him.
"Excuse me?" Ignis asked, an amused smile playing on his lips. "Did the furniture just speak?"
"I said," Julien stood up, smoothing his second-hand jacket with his good hand. He met Ignis's golden gaze without flinching. "He's not going back. Because he's not your meat shield anymore. He's my partner."
Lyra laughed out loud. "Partner? You? The guy who can't even hold a sword?"
"I don't need to hold a sword," Julien said calmly. "I can hold something important."
Ignis's smile faded slightly. He took a step toward Julien.
The heat coming off him was intense now, like standing next to an open oven. It was an intimidation tactic, flaring his mana to crush the will of a weaker hunter.
Julien's [Streetwise] screamed in his head.
[WARNING: Hostile Mana Pressure Detected.]
[Target: Ignis.]
[Threat Level: High.]
[Action: DO NOT BLINK.]
Julien didn't blink.
He activated [Silver Gaze].
His brown eyes flashed with a momentary, silver sheen. To Ignis, it must have looked like a trick of the light, but for a second, the crushing pressure washed over Julien and broke apart. Julien stood there, unimpressed, as if Ignis was just a man with a bad spray tan.
"You're the friend," Ignis realised, his eyes narrowing. "The one he kept talking about. The 'genius'."
"I prefer 'Entrepreneur'," Julien corrected.
"Entrepreneur," Ignis tested the word like it was poison. "Right. The guy who drags down a B-Rank talent because he's too weak to climb on his own."
"Ignis," Chris warned, stepping forward.
"No, Chris," Ignis held up a hand. He stared at Julien. "Let the entrepreneur speak. Tell me, genius. What is your rank? Since you're so confident, you can survive a Red Gate."
The room held its breath.
Everyone knew Julien was the weak link. He had a broken arm and looked like he hadn't slept in a week.
"F-Rank?" someone whispered. "Civilian?"
Julien looked at Ignis. His gaze landed on Lyra, who was smirking, and the crowd of hunters waiting for him to crumble.
He thought about the [Dimensional Merchant] class. It didn't fit into their neat little boxes of letters.
"My rank?" Julien smiled.
It was the same smile he gave when he sold a potion for a 900% markup.
"I'm E-Rank," Julien lied.
Silence.