"But before you do, remember one thing."

  'What is he up to?' Jennifer wondered.

  "You can reminisce about the past as much as you want, but there is only one truth here; right now, you are living on this planet. There's no known way of going back, and there's no guarantee that you will find one before this world is destroyed. So, if this world goes down, so do you."

  Well, technically speaking, they would die pretty horrific deaths while this world will be harvested for its resources.

  In fact, that was the fate of most of those present here.

  But letting them discover that would most probably not be the most tactical decision on Samur's part.

  "Anyway, enough about these topics; let's move on to more productive things," Samur clapped once. "Those who chose to stay till the end of this Seminar and agree to our rules- which, by the way would require your sign another contract- will each get two bottles of Elixir, free of cost."

  "Oh my," Jennifer smiled as the hall erupted with commotion.

  That was a bit unexpected.

  "One of those bottles will be for your personal use, while you can do anything you want with the other; aside from selling it on the black market, of course," he chuckled.

  "So we can use it to save the life of someone else?"

  "Yes," he nodded. "In addition to that, if you ever end up using the Elixir reserved for you, just let us know. We will provide you another."

  "Free of cost?"

  "Free of cost."

  "Woah."

  "Ah, but we will first confirm that the situation was one where you had no choice but to use that Elixir. Can't have you using the Elixir as a damn 3rd grade potion to heal minor scratches now, can we? As a rule of thumb, try not to use the Elixir unless it's the only way to save your life. Because like I said, we can only make so much."

  "Why don't you hire more hands?" Jennifer suggested.

  She really had become the voice of those present here. She might as well give up her job as the Guild Master and become a full-time spokesperson.

  "About that. We won't be sharing the recipe to make the Elixir."

  "Why not?" Jennifer frowned, and so did many others. "What if something happens to you? We wouldn't want to lose our only source of artificial Elixirs, would we?"

  "You don't need to worry about that. I have already made arrangements to ensure smooth operation in the event of my death."

  "…You don't trust us."

  "Well, you haven't exactly done anything to earn our trust, have you? We are not exactly experts at judging the character of others, so we only know that all of you are capable. Nothing more than that."

  "You can't be serious."

  "Oh, but we are. I mean, it's possible that some of you are corporate spies sent by the Aggressors. And it's possible that none of you are. We have no way of knowing, so it's better to take precautions. Prevention is better than cure, as they say."

  "Weren't the Aggressors mere monsters? How could one even work with them?"

  This man was talking bullshit, or he knew something they didn't.

  "Well, they could by, for example, turning into monsters themselves. Or maybe there is an intelligent monster out there which offered a deal so sweet that you simply couldn't reject it."

  "None of us are like that," Jennifer's tone went cold.

  It would seem that she was offended by the implication that some of them might be working with their enemies to destroy their own world.

  "Oh, come on, Ms. Jennifer, you certainly are not so na?ve to actually believe that."

  "…"

  "You want to increase the authority of the Player faction even more and further solidify its position. I get it. But there is a time and place for everything."

  "…" Jennifer rolled her eyes with a sigh and noticed something from the corner of her eyes. "You find this funny, eh?"

  "Huh? Oh, me?" Azell quickly retracted his smile. "No, not at all."

  "Look at this smartass," she scoffed and turned back to the stage.

  She might have to try something else later on.

  "Anyway. That's everything you needed to know. In 30 seconds, we will dim the lights in this hall. Those who want to leave can leave covertly during that."

  As he went silent, those present started to count down.

  After 30 seconds passed, the room dimmed just as Samur had said.

  In fact, it was shrouded in complete darkness. They couldn't even see their own hands.

  Just then, they heard the sounds of footsteps.

  "…" Jennifer quietly took a deep breath.

  Just as Samur had said, there were those who were not willing to put their lives on the line.

  'One, two, three. There are three of them,' Jennifer grinned.

  She now knew what she had to do after going back.

  Hunting was her favourite sport, so she was going to hunt some traitors down.

  They heard the sound of a door opening. As the footsteps faded, the door closed until completely silence descened on the room.

  "Well, there you have it," Samur shrugged.

  Many of those present shook their heads in disdain at those who had abandoned them and the world.

  "Anyway, let's forget about them and move on," he said as he snapped.

  Just like before, a flurry of papers burst out from behind him. They revolved around for some moments, as if showing themselves off, then went up to the ceiling.

  The next moment, they came back down and landed in front of the audience.

  One contract for one person.

  "Please take your time."

  Jennifer picked it up and started reading it. Sure enough, everything that Samur had said was written on it, but in legal terms.

  "I assume the punishment is the same?"

  "Of course."

  "Right," she nodded.

  "Those who sign these contracts can come up to the stage and take their Elixirs. But don't leave immediately. We have organised a party for to celebrate this joyous occasion. Please make sure to attend it."