Back in his apartment, Moon settled onto his comfortable sofa, thinking about the complications that had emerged from the entire beast horde incident.

"...Ahh. Why do these people need to have such inflated egos?" He sighed to himself, a gust of wind escaping his mouth in frustration.

He'd wanted his life on Earth to be peaceful and uncomplicated. Focus on development, hunt beasts, accumulate power without drawing excessive attention. But it seemed like maintaining a low profile was practically impossible once you demonstrated your power.

Powerful families had eyes everywhere. Intelligence networks that tracked promising awakeners. Recruiters who moved quickly to secure talent before competitors could. And once their attention landed on you, trouble inevitably followed, whether through recruitment pressure, political manipulation, or outright threats if you refused their offers.

Moon wasn't particularly afraid of ambushes or assassination attempts in the First Sanctuary. The environment there favored his skills and power. He could defend himself, had substantial life reserves, and could re-spawn with manageable debuffs. Moon was confident enough that he could hold his own against the most powerful awakeners with his new skill.

But Earth was an entirely different situation. To address this vulnerability, Moon had very limited options available.

As a lone awakener without family backing or organizational affiliation, Moon had essentially no support structure. No one would intervene if he was targeted. No political pressure would protect him preemptively. If the Awakener's Association discovered he'd been killed, they'd open an investigation. If evidence clearly implicated someone, that person or organization might face prosecution.

But that didn't help Moon. Once you were permanently dead, it became irrelevant. Moon needed protection before threats became lethal action.

Based on his developing relationship with Kael, the Glassy heir, Moon could potentially form some sort of strategic alliance. He could work with the Glassy family on reasonable requests and assignments, establishing himself as a valuable affiliated awakener without becoming a direct employee. This arrangement would give him someone to back him—a powerful organization representing his interests, making the Richter family think twice before attempting anything overtly hostile.

The Glassys weren't as individually powerful as the Richters in terms of raw combat strength, but their economic influence and extensive connections provided a different kind of deterrence. Attacking a Glassy-affiliated awakener could trigger commercial retaliation, frozen assets, blocked trade routes, and diplomatic complications that even combat-focused families wanted to avoid.

His second option was joining the Awakener's Association as a private contractor rather than a full employee. This would place him under their protective umbrella while maintaining more autonomy than standard membership allowed. The Association took threats against their personnel extremely seriously, which was precisely why they remained such a popular choice among awakeners who wanted security without complete organizational control.

Nobody wanted to provoke the Association unnecessarily. Their leadership consisted of terrifying old foxes at the absolute peak of human power—Those who'd reached levels that made even Second Sanctuary veterans look weak by comparison.

Once someone affiliated with the Association was killed and the subsequent investigation led back to a specific family or organization, that entity would face consequences severe enough to threaten their complete extinction. The Association didn't tolerate attacks on their people. They responded with overwhelming force that made examples of transgressors.

While the Richter family was undeniably powerful with their patriarch's legendary combat capabilities, they were absolutely nothing compared to the vast, established might of the Awakener's Association. The comparison wasn't even close. Provoking the Association over one recruitment rejection would be strategic suicide.

Moon leaned back on his sofa, weighing both options carefully.

'The Glassy connection is already established. Kael respects my capabilities and benefits from having me as an occasional ally. The relationship is transactional but functional. That's the easier path.

But the Association provides broader, more reliable protection. Once I'm under their umbrella, even powerful families would hesitate before moving against me directly.'

Both had advantages, and both had their own limitations.

Moon closed his eyes, his analytical running through different scenarios and outcomes.

'I need to decide soon. Oliver Snack will report my rejection. The Richter patriarch will learn I turned him down. How he responds depends on his personality and how much he values acquiring me versus the cost of retaliation.'

Moon didn't know which category the Richter patriarch fell into, which made the situation more dangerous.

He needed protection established before finding out the hard way.

During his phone browsing session, Moon realized that he hadn't spoken to Selene yet.

"I should contact her. I did say I would, after all," he muttered, retrieving a small piece of paper with her number written on it from his storage ring.

Ding! Ding!

The noise of the keypad being tapped echoed in the quiet room for a brief moment as Moon entered the digits.

Ring-Ring.

The phone rang several times. Moon waited patiently, wondering if she'd even answer an unknown number.

After a few moments, the call connected.

"Hello?" Selene's voice came through the speaker, carrying a note of cautious uncertainty. It was clear she didn't recognize the number calling her.

"Hey, it's Moon," he said simply.

There was a brief pause on the other end, followed by what sounded like genuine surprise.

"Moon? I... honestly wasn't sure if you'd actually call," Selene admitted, her tone warming slightly. "How have you been? Are you doing well?"

"I'm doing just fine. What about you?"

"I'm glad that you are doing well. I'm also doing fine, I took a break for a few days after leaving that place. Just thinking about everything we've been through, you know…it was tough."

"Yeah…" Moon said, his voice trailing off as he remembered the horrors of the hidden realm and the biting cold that penetrated his bones.

Silence took over there call for a brief moment before Selene spoke once again. "Moon…I need to talk to you about something important in person. Can we meet up?"

Moon's ears perked up at her words. "How important is it?"

"It is really important." Selene responded.

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