Chapter 360: Selection of Recruits
Alexander turned around to leave the counter, but was surrounded by a crowd of female adventurers. Noticing he was alone and without guards, several rushed to offer themselves as escorts.
"Going hunting, handsome? We can protect you," said one of them, winking at him.
"Come with us! Tell us what you need and we’ll help you with anything," added another, stepping closer provocatively.
At any other time, Alexander would have rejected them outright to avoid distractions. However, right now he was looking for useful skills to absorb, so he decided to take advantage of the opportunity.
"Alright, let’s see what skills you have," said Alexander, crossing his arms calmly. "If you convince me, I might accept you into my team."
A murmur of indignation rippled through the crowd. Several adventurers, especially those of silver rank, felt offended. How dared this brat evaluate and look down on them in such a manner?
"My skill is called Divine Hercules," said a woman, pushing through the crowd with firm strides. "It increases my physical power a hundredfold. Why don’t you test it?"
The adventurer was a redhead with striking green eyes; calling her the incarnation of a valkyrie was an understatement for her frame. Alexander smiled at her with genuine interest.
"You’ll be my favorite amazon, hired," said Alexander, gesturing to her. "Step beside me."
The redhead felt taken aback by his swift response. Usually, it was difficult for her to find a group to take her in. She had trained her muscles without rest day and night, but her skill was deceiving: multiplying one by a hundred or two by a hundred wasn’t the same as multiplying a thousand or a million. Not being inherently strong by birth, her multiplier wasn’t as devastating, so most considered her skill rather worthless.
"Are you serious, handsome?" said the redhead, letting out a raspy laugh as she settled beside him and flexed an impressive bicep. "Most of these bitches back off when they see my Divine Hercules doesn’t crush mountains. Fair warning though, I apply that same force in bed... you wouldn’t want me breaking your hips on round one."
"I have pretty sturdy hips, amazon," said Alexander, returning her gaze with a confident smile. "Try not to break yourself first when we test that theory out."
The comment drew several loud chuckles from the surrounding female adventurers, but the atmosphere turned competitive right away.
"Hey, don’t just stick with that big girl!" said a sharp-eyed elf, squeezing through the crowd and brushing her chest against Alexander’s arm. "My skill is Avenger Eye. I can pinpoint the weak spot of any prey from three kilometers away... and believe me, kid, I’ve already got my eye on yours. You measure up quite well."
"Pinpointing weak spots?" said Alexander, raising an eyebrow. "That sounds useful for hunting. You’re in. What’s your name?"
"Lilya, your future favorite hunter," said the elf, winking at him brazenly. "And if you behave during the hunt, I promise to show you how skilled my tongue is at tracking other things."
"Save your tongue for when we find something valuable, Lilya," said Alexander with a chuckle, gesturing for her to line up beside the redhead.
Before he could continue, a dark-haired woman in tight leather armor stepped forward, crossing her arms with full self-assurance.
"My skill is Slippery Shadow," said the woman, lowering her voice to a seductive whisper. "I can move in total stealth and turn intangible for ten seconds. Ideal for slitting beasts’ throats from behind... or sneaking into your tent without any of these cats noticing."
"The stealth convinces me, not so much you sneaking in at midnight unannounced," said Alexander, looking her up and down. "Alright, you’re joining too. Anyone else before we head to the hunting grounds?"
"My skill is Fireball! I can shoot three bursts in a row!" shouted a young woman from the crowd.
"Hire me! I have Water Wall, I can block head-on attacks!" yelled another, raising her hand in desperation.
"I have Fleet Feet! Nobody catches me in open ground!" added a third, pushing her way through.
They were purely bronze-rank skills, simple and common. To everyone’s surprise, Alexander didn’t turn a single one down. He accepted the Fireball user, the Water Wall user, the Fleet Feet user, and every other adventurer who stepped up to him, no matter how basic her power was.
"Wait! I have Iron Claws! I can shred the hide of any minor beast with a single swipe!" shouted a wild-looking catwoman, baring her elongated nails.
"Accepted! Step up front," said Alexander without hesitating for a second.
"My skill is Wind Shield!" another adventurer beside her rushed to say. "I can deflect arrows and light projectiles!"
"Perfect, you’re in too," said Alexander, gesturing to her.
"I have Rock Skin! My body turns hard as stone for three minutes!" yelled a sturdy woman, punching her own chest to prove it.
"Good, you’re coming along too," said Alexander with a satisfied grin.
With those three new additions, the group now totaled nine female adventurers with the most varied and baffling abilities. Lilya, the elf, stared at the motley group of nine women and shook her head dumbfounded. They had fire, water, wind, stealth, physical power, speed, and rock hardness, all mixed together without the slightest logic or combat tactic.
"Seriously, handsome..." said Lilya, tapping Alexander’s shoulder as she surveyed the rest. "This isn’t a hunting party, it’s a traveling circus. There’s no way to coordinate nine people with such contradictory powers without ending up killing each other."
"Don’t worry about coordination," said Alexander, bursting out laughing as he walked toward the guild exit. "Every one of you has exactly what I need."
The silver-ranked adventurers watching from the nearby tables showed not the slightest interest in joining. To them, that group was nothing more than a bad joke and an insurmountable burden.
Alexander noticed their contemptuous stares and stopped before crossing the guild doors, turning around with an amused smirk.
"Seems like you’re underestimating my team," said Alexander aloud, capturing the attention of the entire hall. "How about I show you the real reward so you reconsider?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Alexander pulled down his pants in the middle of the room, exposing his massive, veiny manhood.
"Guaranteed orgasms," said Alexander, winking at the women present.
Absolute silence took over the guild for a split second before the gasped exclamations and stunned stares of the silver-rank adventurers filled the room.