Rise Of The Infinite Sovereign-Chapter 372: Exclusive Contract

As Ezra motioned to rise from his seat, Sidal spoke.

"Please wait. There is another matter I would like to discuss with you"

Intrigued, Ezra placed his hands back on the table. "I’m listening"

"Beyond the body of the astral beast. I want to ask about your words about using AlphaNova as your main trade intermediary to the red dragon clan, how true are they?"

"As of this moment, this batch of cultivation enhancing elixirs will be sold to them if they don’t suddenly change their minds" Ezra answered, giving himself a way out in case his plans didn’t work out.

"Do you have contact with other clans too?"

"No, I don’t" Ezra shook his head, lies that were too high profile were very easily exposed.

"I see. Then, I’d like to raise an offer"

"Go on"

Steadying his tone, Sidal laid out his proposition.

"Since you intend to use us as your intermediary. Why not make us your exclusive trading partner?"

"Exclusive trading partner?" Ezra revealed a funny smile. "Explain further"

’Whew’ Sidal sighed within-Ezra wasn’t opposed to the idea.

With a small smile on his face, Sidal presented his offer.

"Through our negotiations, I’m sure that Mr. Sylvester will be a very valuable client to our company going forward, and to avoid having another company snatch you away from us, I would like to offer you an exclusive contract"

"An exclusive contract?"

"Simply put, we want to become your exclusive trading partner. The only trading firm that will have access to any astral beast you kill or anything else of value you would like to sell whilst you reside within the Black Dragon galaxy cluster"

Not letting Ezra speak, he continued.

"In the case where the company cannot pay an appropriate price for an item you have to offer or offers a price you deem insufficient, said item will be put on auction to be sold to capable buyers with only one percent commission as opposed to a seven percent commission you would normally pay"

Ezra nods.

"In return for becoming our exclusive trading partner, you will be provided a thirty percent discount on all our items and services offered in our branches across this galaxy cluster.

Additionally, in the case where we cannot provide the item or service you are in need of, we will outsource it for you at no extra cost.

Lastly, whenever you need it, we will represent you during trade deals and help you gain the best results"

Certainly, this was a mouth-watering deal, but that was why Ezra was skeptical. "You have the power to give out such terms?"

Sidal gave an unexpected answer. "No, I don’t"

"Then...?"

"As of right now, I am merely a head manager of one of countless branches of the AlphaNova Company and will only be able to offer discounts on the items and services provided here. But through the sales of the items you bring to trade in the future, I will be promoted swiftly and in return, gain more power to offer you better services" said Sidal, stretching his hand as his tongue slithered for the umpteenth time.

"I see..." Ezra rubbed his chin heavily. "Can I even refuse such a good deal?"

"I’m glad you think so"

In simpler terms, whilst all those services were to be adhered to, it would only be where Sidal was active-as he didn’t yet have the authority to grant him offers across the entire galaxy cluster.

In essence, if Ezra proved his potential and delivered more astral beast corpses, Sidal’s fame would skyrocket and he would be promoted to higher positions-increasing the amount of stores the contract was then active in.

As such, Ezra would obtain a channel for better items and services as Sidal gained fame and rose in rank, ensuring they would both work with sincerity towards one another.

It was a clean win-win deal that had almost no drawbacks.

But something struck Ezra. "Wait, if I become your exclusive trading partner, won’t there be problems if I join a clan?"

Sidal pushed in his glasses and shook his head, "Not necessarily, you simply have to notify the clan of the contracts existence before gaining entry, though it would prove an obstacle if you intend to get a clan to invest in you"

"I see" Ezra nodded.

Clans were basically academies that nurtured higher beings by granting them different opportunities that abided to contribution from both parties.

In the case of exceptional talents, the clan could take it further by investing in their potential by granting them artifacts, elixirs or pills to make them stronger.

In return, such clansmen are expected to turn a share of their kill and anything of value gained from secret realms and the like.

By signing an exclusive, Ezra was ensuring all his gains and kills to be sold through and only through the AlphaNova Company and in turn cutting off any chance of clan investment.

Usually, these types of deals were only signed by Nascents who had paid off their debt to their clan and wanted to go independent as that was the perceived stage where one acquired actual strength in the universe.

As only then could one hunt astral beasts single handedly.

With the pros and cons laid out, Ezra went into contemplation.

’For other Transcendents, the inability to receive nurturing would be a fatal blow to their cultivation speed, but I have the sovereign cultivation method that only needs to induct followers to increase my cultivation, giving me a very good alternative’

’But I haven’t tested it to be sure it doesn’t have any drawbacks. Zydrax said powerful cultivation techniques like this usually do’

’At the same, this deal is too good to pass up. I don’t need to worry about the restriction because I don’t know any other trading company anyways and I don’t want to bother looking for one.

Also, I’ll have them handle things anytime I need to trade with third parties in the future, keeping my distance and in turn, retaining my mysteriousness. That would be best to keep up my farce of a hidden background from being discovered until I grow strong enough for it to not matter’

’Also, if I refuse to sign the contract because I want to obtain backing from a clan, my farce will be revealed since it wouldn’t make sense for someone who supposedly has huge backing already to join a clan to obtain resources’

After all, in Sidal’s mind, he was someone who was being nurtured by a certain power, as was the most reasonable explanation for his power.

’At this point, I can’t even refuse’

Ezra let out a chuckle, before giving an affirming nod. "Is the contract ready?"

"Yes?"

Ezra spoke slowly.

"I’ve thought about it. I’ve been banished from my original clan anyway, so it doesn’t matter, and although I intend to join another clan in the future, I don’t intend to seek investments from them"

"So do you have the contract ready? I like to get things done quickly" Ezra continued.

"The contract is ready, but I need a few minutes to adjust its terms" Sidal replied, the excitement in his tone hard to conceal as he tapped on his communicator’s interface with fast hands without even for Ezra’s affirmation.

Ezra gave that little soliloquy as a small insight to what kind of origins he had.

While it seemed Sidal hadn’t thought of it, did it make sense that someone as talented as Ezra, presumably nurtured by a large sect would sign an exclusive contract?!

After all, weren’t his gains supposed to be shared with the huge clan that backed him?

Therefore, by stating that he had been banished, one would be able to gain some semblance of understanding towards his actions, because if it wasn’t so, why was he selling the elixirs to the red dragon clan and not his own?!

With this, he had placed a failsafe to protect his farce from being easily seen through and while some people will inevitably have doubts, so long as he trades through the AlphaNova company and keeps from face to face meetings, they would have no avenue to confirm their suspicions.

All while he would grow stronger.

Regardless of the contract, he had no doubt that these details would eventually reach the ear of others.

After all, a secret known to more than one person was no longer a secret.

After just thirty seconds, a worker arrives and hands two spiral binded booklets to Sidal with Ezra scoping the boldly written ’Exclusive Contract’ heading through the transparent cover.

With a quick glance through, Sidal hand’s him a booklet.

Written below the bold heading were the contract details, highlighting the obligation between parties A and B, with the AlphaNova Cretin branch being party A and Ezra as party B.

It was only six pages long, taking Ezra a minute to read through it twice.

For starters, it stated that the range of party A could change in future based on Sidal’s position.

Then, it also stated that although Ezra was an exclusive contracted to the AlphaNova Company, Sidal was the designated personnel to represent him during trades and in case of unforeseen events was responsible for designating another personnel to represent him.

Likewise, he was also the one responsible for ensuring Ezra’s satisfactory customer experience.

Meaning, Sidal was the go to person when Ezra wanted to purchase any item or needed a particular service rendered.

This clause ensured that the higher ups of the AlphaNova Company couldn’t cheat him out of his own contract, replace him for their own convenience and it would shun his peers from trying to steal his client.

Ezra would also not have it any other way, as getting close to unfamiliar faces was an unnecessary risk factor.

Then, the company’s obligations came next, namely providing all goods or services party B-Ezra-needed and also providing an adequate price to take any valuable things he had for sale off his hands.

In the event where AlphaNova cannot pay the appropriate price or for some reason deigns to purchase what Ezra offers, he could request that item be auctioned, with Ezra having to pay only 1 percent commission per item as opposed to the normal seven percent.

The ’appropriate’ price for any item Ezra would want to sell was up to his discretion to decide, but AlphaNova has right to first priority.

Meaning they are entitled to the first bid, in which if party B-Ezra-deem their bid price insufficient, he is then permitted to ask that the item be auctioned or he finds another buyer to sell it to.

On the other hand, in the event they cannot provide a particular item or service, Ezra is permitted to outsource it from whoever he wills.

Then, if Ezra was to find himself in a part of the galaxy cluster where no branch of AlphaNova was located, he had free reign of his purchase decisions during his time there and would not be held responsible for breaching contract terms.

Amongst other details was that the contract was only active whilst Ezra remained within the bounds of Black Dragon Galaxy Cluster.

It also claimed that party A-AlphaNova-made sure that Ezra had a way to contact them at any time whilst he remained in the galaxy cluster and in the case of unforeseen circumstances that prove party A-AlphaNova-unable to provide the needed item or service at that time, party B-Ezra-is therefore allowed to purchase items from others places.

In addition Ezra could not get into trade with third parties without giving AlphaNova prior notice. This was just another function of their right to priority.

Lastly, this contract was to be in effect till both parties agree to nullify it or one party breaches the contract, thereby nullifying it and will be forced to pay a penalty fee.

The penalty for breaching the price was 120 million Cryst.

If nothing else, the penalty fee was more than enough to make Ezra hesitate, but it had to be this much to make sure neither party would try anything funny.

Then, as he grew stronger, this amount would cease to faze him.

After all, even at this time, he would have to spend at least 30 million Cryst to have the astral beast processed.

In retrospect, 120 million didn’t seem like too much anymore.

But beyond that, the rest of the clauses were more or less to his satisfaction, but he still haggled a few terms, earning himself freedom in terms of purchasing items.

It was adjusted so that if an item didn’t cost beyond twenty thousand Cryst, Ezra was free to purchase it from any store.

Of course, the company wouldn’t push charges if he bought a beverage or some snacks, but Ezra preferred it’d be included in the terms to avoid annoying situations in the future.

This meant he wouldn’t have a thirty percent discount.

Likewise, it was written that if the market price of an item didn’t surpass beyond twenty thousand Cryst, Ezra was free to sell it to other parties.

Additionally, the clause for auctioning items was adjusted to make sure Ezra couldn’t auction just any random artifact, its quality had to be certified.

This made sure AlphaNova would be able to protect its reputation and not auction subpar items.

The contract adjustment took a whole hour, as both sides haggled till a consensus was reached.

At the end of it, the ’appropriate price’ was shifted from being Ezra’s discretion to ten percent added to the market price.

This way, Ezra wouldn’t be able to hold the company hostage if he suddenly decided to be unreasonable.

At the same time, he could still choose to reject their amount and auction it or even bring a third party with a bigger bid.

In this way, Ezra was also safeguarded from any form of extortion.

Ready to sign the contract, Sidal snaps his finger before using his communicator to scan the adjusted contract and projects it in 3D.

Ezra made a surprised expression before noticing the worker from earlier approaching their table.

The worker then places a small black box on the table before nudging towards Ezra.

"Hmm?"

This act caught him by surprise.

"This is a gift from me to commemorate our successful deal"

Sidal’s voice rang out, clarifying the situation.

Ezra picked up the black...paper box? He was intrigued, in Orion, presents from royalty were usually placed in glass boxes, but this was encased in some kind of hard paper.

Using both deduction and intuition, Ezra used his hand to pry off the top part of the box, revealing the item within.

A wide metal bracelet fit with a glass screen in the middle was cushioned by a small black pillow within the box’s white interior.

Ezra’s eyes perked up, he recognized the bracelet.

"Mr. Sylvester" Sidal’s voice rang loud and clear. "How do you like the present? I noticed that for some reason, you’re using an outdated communicator so I decided to get you the most advanced version"

Beyond that, he was also fulfilling the contract terms as to maintaining means of communication with Ezra at all times.

Killing two birds with one stone.

"Haha, thank you for the consideration" Ezra looked joyful. "I actually intended to get one myself when my remuneration is paid, but this saves me the trouble"

But inwardly, he was panicking.

’How problematic’

In Sidal’s eyes, Ezra is a mysterious figure with ties to a clan of astonishing origins, meaning he ought to have come across similar levels of technology many times in his life.

But in reality, Ezra hasn’t and doesn’t know how to use the communicator!

No matter what lie he tried to tell at this juncture, being unable to use this communicator would definitely wave a red flag for someone with his supposed identity.

Racking his brain, Ezra came to one conclusion within milliseconds, he needed Zydrax’s help!

So he shouted in his mind.

’Zydrax!’

’Zydrax!’

’ZYDRAX!’

[What is it?!]

On the third attempt, Zydrax replied back, undoubtedly annoyed.

’Help! Quickly! How do I use this thing?!’

In the seconds, he was screaming for Zydrax’s, he had placed the bracelet on his left wrist, taking the example from Sidal; his communicating bracelet was placed on his left wrist.

Ezra did it as slow as possible putting on a façade of leisure.

By the time the bracelet set in place around his wrist, Zydrax had grasped the situation.

[Tap the glass]

Zydrax threw out orders like a superior to his subordinate and Ezra followed them to the letter.

While having Zydrax’s instructions didn’t suddenly make him proficient in using unfamiliar technology, it made it look like he knew what he was doing-and that was what mattered!

As such, he successfully fooled the eyes of both the worker and Sidal.

Especially Sidal.

’It took me a few days to get the hang of it, but he seems to be familiar with its functions. As I thought, his background is definitely not ordinary’

Crediting himself for having such good eyes, Sidal was elated.

His last shred of doubt towards Ezra was washed away with joy.

He had truly caught a big fish this time!

Meanwhile, Ezra made sure to take his time and get preliminary experience with his new communicator.

With Zydrax’s help, he avoided the danger, but Ezra still asked Zydrax to stay until the contract signing was over.

Once Ezra affirmed to Sidal that he had set up his communicator, Sidal swiped the 3D contract and it appeared over Ezra’s bracelet as well.

Ezra’s body shook slightly in surprise, as 3D felt surreal, but he forcefully held his expression.

He skimmed over the contents of this digital contract, affirming that the terms were written as they were agreed to before clicking on a function highlighted in green that wrote ’Tap to confirm content’ located at the bottom right corner of the page.

Did I mention that the contract is certified by the intergalactic council?

Welp, now you know.

Ezra clicked the button. The contract receded and the communicator screen switched to blank blue with a circle in the middle with a ’place thumb or index finger to confirm contract’ written below it.

Having done the same procedure with the first communicator, there was no suspense.

Ezra placed his thumb to confirm both the contract and his identity, to which a percentage popped up.

But it only took three seconds for it to go straight 0 to 100%, to which the blank blue screen turned green, and Ezra removed his finger.

[Confirming Identity...Identity Confirmed]

[Verifying Contract...Contract verified]

[You are now an Exclusive client of the AlphaNova trading company]

Only now and only now was the deal truly sealed.

Taking a breather, both men sat in silence, reeling in the reality of their success.

Sidal stretched out his hand for a handshake.

"Cheers to a successful partnership"

"Likewise"