The Challenger's Return: Rebirth of the Rainbow Mage

Once Otto arrived back at the central ballroom with his disguise intact, Glanes looked at him quizzically.

The challenge portion of the evening had just finished.

A few attendees sported various looks of delight at having ranked up, but most looked either indifferent or slightly disappointed at their own results.

Otto whispered to Glanes,

"Are these people also members of Eternal, then? Or is Eternal different from the Golden Club that you run?"

Glanes shook his head and growled lightly,

"Only a few of the strongest ones are eligible to be inducted into Eternal. The rest just pay for membership to the club."

Glanes grinned, which looked to be closer to a grimace in Otto's eyes,

"You should check your club screen."

Otto did so and realized he was eligible to become a Trainee right off the bat based on the power he showcased.

"How does Eternal make money off of this?"

Glanes's grin/grimace grew wider. He whisper-growled,

"Secret."

Otto felt that something was amiss. He asked again,

"And I can still come to the club each month without paying for membership?"

Glanes nodded slowly and winked at Otto.

"From me to you, because you are highly regarded by the madam, I'll give you a little tip. Don't become a member. Wait until you're inducted into Eternal."

Glanes was no fool.

Based on Verasha's attitude towards Otto, this guy was obviously pretty important.

Especially as Glanes did not see the golden bracelet indicative of Eternal on his wrist.

The fact that he walked out alive from the meeting was telling enough.

Of course he wished to have good relations!

After all, he himself was only a measly half-member, essentially the lowest form of foot soldier in Eternal.

Even as strong as he felt he was, that was all he was qualified for.

He would either have to clear a [Titled I] difficulty mission or ascend to Area 2 to rise in rank.

But if he became friends with Otto before Otto shot up through the organization, maybe his position could change…

Glanes and Otto continued to chat casually for a while as the evening continued.

Neither man was interested in the events, and no one else dared to approach Otto due to Glanes's presence.

Finally, the end of the day approached.

"You may now socialize for 15 minutes before the final event. Following which, the golden card will teleport you back to your original locations."

Otto looked around and cursed inwardly as he realized he could no longer find a man with a wolf's head anywhere in the crowd.

He rubbed his forehead.

Glanes had abandoned him.

It wasn't long before the others realized the same thing.

In no time at all, Otto was swarmed by attendees who wanted to talk to him.

Why wouldn't they?

This Toto character had the most potential of anyone they had seen in over a decade!

Of course they wanted to talk to him.

Otto thought for a second before he smirked.

He rubbed his hands together as a sly expression crossed his face.

Then, he used one of the new spells in his arsenal.

[Imbue Persuasion]

Level 7

Adds persuasive charisma to your words. Caster's words will unconsciously shake the minds of listeners to make them 35% more likely to agree to follow your suggestions.

Mana Cost: 85

Cast Time: Instant

Duration: 1 hour

No Cooldown

This spell did nothing to control the actions of others.

It was less invasive than even the vaguely relaxing hypnosis that was attempted on attendees as the event began.

Instead, its function was actually significantly more complicated.

After he cast the spell, Otto's words would be filled with his 'intent.'

Upon listening to him, others would be unconsciously swayed to his side by hearing and understanding the intention behind his words, conveyed to them through his mana.

The spell was less effective on any who were predisposed not to agree to the viewpoint he presented.

It was also less effective on those who had a negative opinion of Otto, and on those with strong mental barriers.

Still, it was subtle, hard to detect, and could be a powerful tool if Otto ever found himself within a crowd of people.

Like right now.

Before he was surrounded on all sides by various humans and other species who wanted to speak to him for one reason or another, Otto cast this spell and raised his voice.

It was always best to be preemptive in these sorts of situations.

He wore a small smile on his face as he faced the few dozen people trying to sidle up to him.

"Thank you all for your interest in speaking with me."

"Now, we are running out of time to chat for the evening, and I'm assuming you have various motives in getting to know me."

A couple folks looked taken aback by his blunt declaration, but Otto laughed calmly and maintained his smile.

His expression made people subconsciously relax.

"It's okay! I don't mind, I promise."

"But, as we don't have much time, here's what we can do. I can only talk to five people for three minutes each."

Otto's expression abruptly turned serious.

"Those five spots will go to whoever is willing to pay me 100 Brocks."

"In return, if you have a serious non-investment proposal to come to me with, I can personally guarantee to think it over seriously."

"If you just wish to build a connection, that's also no problem."

"I would be happy to save your communication details as well."

"The five spots will be first come, first serve."

Otto didn't know how much of it was the attendees already being willing to pay or how much of it was his magic slightly swaying their minds, but he received 500 Brocks in barely a minute.

Actually, Otto was internally sweating.

Had he even needed to use the spell here?

Was merely having a conversation with him really worth this much money?

Then, he said to the dejected folks who were unwilling to spend so much.

"Don't worry, I should also be here next month."

"Please disperse so we don't feel crowded."

Of course, there were always a few who were unwilling to leave, either with bad intentions, or just unwilling to accept their 'loss.'

One such man with six inch ears and blue-grey tinted fur that covered his body immediately slid up to Otto.

His posture was confident as he spoke with a raspy voice,

"I believe you will be very interested in my proposal. It's more than worth the price of 100 Bro…"

But he didn't get within five meters before he was blasted back with a [Rock Bullet].

Otto gazed at him indifferently.

"If you don't wish to follow the rules, I'd be happy to have a fight…but I'm not sure the folks who already paid would be willing to see their time decrease…"

Immediately, all five looked at the furred man on the ground with hostility.

Thankfully, this man was not particularly willing to offend all five for the sake of his investment scam, so he lowered his head and left, his tail literally tucked between his legs.

Otto's first new 'customer' was a short, plump woman about half his height.

She simply handed him a business card, and pitched in a professional tone,

"If you are ever in need of an additional temporary team member, please choose my company first."

"We have members who can handle all difficulty levels of the 5th floor. All our members will be able to carry their own weight, and are specifically selected to be easy to get along with and decisive in critical situations."

"Of course, for our better teammates, the fees also increase correspondingly, but…" she looked at him knowingly,

"It shouldn't be a problem for you, Mr. Toto."

Her card read "Micross Talent Agency: High-End Challengers for Hire"

Then, she left after saying her piece.

The next person was a slim man who kept fading in and out of Otto's view, as if he had to struggle to maintain a corporeal form.

His voice was high, his diction precise.

"Thank you for speaking with me. I have come with a proposal."

"I hope to build a series of resorts on Planet XXX within the next four years, and,"

Otto interrupted him,

"Thank you for coming to me, but I'm afraid I'm not interested in investments at the moment. I would be happy to refund your money."

The man sighed and nodded, but he did not make trouble for Otto. He quickly went on his way.

What a joke.

Invest? Now? Maybe after the apocalypse hit, he'd have to see….but Otto, quite frankly, didn't plan to spend too much time in Area 1 in any case.

Otto spoke to the next three people one by one.

One man wanted to source him alchemy materials, potion recipes and pill prescriptions, a proposal to which Otto agreed almost instantly.

Though Otto knew that most of his needs would likely be taken care of by Clatenis free of charge due to their deal, Otto, quite frankly, had a glut of money.

And this man worked in quantity.

Before the apocalypse, Otto intended to suck every bit of value out of Area 1.

He told the man to contact Aeselvell.

The next person had to be sent away, another prospective investor, and the final woman had a rather unusual request.

She wanted to be added to Otto's team when he reached the fifth floor.

Obviously, Otto would never agree to something as important as this so quickly.

Since he didn't have enough information, he promised to seriously consider her proposal, meet her in the outside world, and then make his decision.

Frankly, he didn't have high hopes for her.

Her aura wasn't even as strong as Jeremy's, and Jeremy had only passed the first floor.

If she thought she could buy her way into Otto's team, she was sorely mistaken.

Otto sighed lightly and looked around.

There was only one event remaining.