We were halfway to Sundell when a raider attack sprung up around us.
Fifty men and women riding terrifying and elegant avians, each with claws that could rip open a Humvee like a can opener.
Aggressive and decisive, the raiders immediately shot fire arrow spells, targeting our skywhale’s wings.
“Young master,” Zenith said, turning to me, “should I dispose of these foolish people?”
Thea looked at me and pouted. She had four griffins above us in the clouds, but they were far weaker than her crowls, which Edikus killed while searching for Rorsaka’s meat.
“Let’s have Thea handle this one,” I replied, lighting the cat woman’s eyes up. “I’d rather not kill everyone. They seem like professionals.”
I handed Rema the spatial bag with the auction items. “Protect these. We’ll be back soon.”
Rema nodded, and Thea and Zenith followed me to the deck where mages had cast barrier spells around the skywhale to keep the raiders at bay.
The raiders waited, swooping through the air, chanting spells that crashed into the barriers, leaving purple ripples in the dead space.
“These people are pretty impressive, aren’t they?” I mused, watching our attackers. “They know who I am, but they took the job anyway. Their professionalism is commendable.”
“Young master, is this the time to think like this?” Zenith asked.
“Forgive me, Zenith,” I grinned. “I’m just curious.”
Summoning a light green amplification circle, I spoke clearly for our guests. “Raiders,” I smiled. “You look dedicated to your business. So much so that asking you to join me would be futile.”
They pulled back after hearing my lax demeanor, proving they were already apprehensive.
“That said, you’re raiders, not mercenaries, so no one expects you to be completely virtuous,” I grinned. “So let’s do this instead: I’ll give you three minutes to surrender. After that point, I’ll start traumatizing you into submission. That’s one language you truly understand.”
---
Rutt’s eyes widened when he heard the teenage king’s words.
King Everwood was a merchant with tyrannical power, both in technology and physical strength. He survived the Nightshade Forest at 12 and was now 18, reigning in an empire that was the largest in Novena, if one included the Nightshade Forest.
He wasn’t the type of person Rutt would have ever gone up against. However, the fifty raiders around him—the Wild Kin—had a brand name to uphold: they would attack anyone for any reason, so long as the money matched the job.
It wasn’t something any of his people took lightly.
The Wild Kin were raiders, not bandits. That was a massive difference in Solstice.
Bandits plundered people rather than work. Raiders were criminals, runaways, and asylum seekers who did mercenary work to eat but couldn’t register a legitimate mercenary business.
It was all business, no sadism, and their entire business model was accepting any job for the right price. If they broke that, their business would be in shambles.
So Rutt, Bree, and everyone else came here to set the skywhale’s cargo bay on fire and leave immediately. In the process, they were prepared to die if necessary.
Yet King Everwood….
King Everwood didn’t make death an option. The word he used was “trauma” next to “submission.”
‘When did this guy become a sadist?’ Rutt thought, feeling an icy shiver crawl down his spine. He gripped the leather reins of his Blue Timberline, a wyvern of a bird with neon blue wings ruffling in the breeze.
“What are we gonna do about this, Boss?” Bree yelled, her black, curly ponytail whipping around as she flew up to him. “I have a really bad feeling about this.”
“Yeah, me too.” Rutt gritted his teeth. “I’m not an idiot who thinks we can kill this guy, but I don’t like people toyin’ with us.”
“Calm down, Boss,” she replied. “We need our cool, rational leader with us.”
Rutt panned his gaze to all his troops, surrounding the massive skywhale from top to bottom.
“Let’s just waste that prick,” a gruff voice called out.
Rutt looked down and saw a young man, around 23, flying on a massive bat. He had matching colored spikes on his jacket, showing he was imitating the leader. “Shut up, Kid,” he replied. “You shouldn’t even be here right now. What did I tell you, Thimble?”
“Don’t call me that!” Thimble snarled. “Also, save your words. I get it. The moment that I step on a battlefield, I need to be prepared to die.”
“Yeah, that’s right,” Rutt scoffed. “That’s because we’re trying to kill people and should expect the same from them. And right now, we’re fighting someone that single-handedly seized Goldenspire, you idiot.”
“You’re thinkin’ about this all wrong,” Thimble grinned, flexing his forearm, checkerboarded with scars from fighting. “King Everwood can’t survive a ten thousand foot fall. So all we have to do is send him flying.”
“Thimble, shut up,” Rutt ordered. “If we could do that easily, we’d be doing it.”
“What’s so hard about it?” Thimble scoffed. “We’ll just knock ‘em off that whale and then teach his women what it means to ‘traumatize someone into submission.’”
“THIMBLE!” Rutt yelled. However, he was stopped when his Blue Timberline started screeching and bucking in the air. “What’s happening?!”
“I don’t know!” Bree yelled, her black and yellow Rorchclaw flailing, making her hold on.
“Spread—” Rutt was cut off by the sound of King Everwood’s voice.
“Your time is up,” King Everwood boomed. “Get your surrender ready.”
“That arrogant prick!” Thimble roared, weaving through the raiders to attack the skywhale.
“STOP, THIM—” Rutt tried to chase after him, but his Blue Timberline let out a blood-curdling screech that made him cover his ears with both hands. A moment later, his body hit five Gs as the bird bolted through the air like lightning, weaving through the raiders toward Thimble.
An icy wave of terror washed over Rutt like an ice bath when he saw the young raider charging a massive magic arrow, accumulating power like a vortex.
Rutt prepared to stop him regardless, but his avian wasn’t listening to him, moving at top speed outside of his control.
“STOP!” Rutt screamed. “I order you to stop!”
The order surprised Thimble, and he turned Rutt at the last second. “But why—”
Rutt could only watch in horror as Thimble’s head entered the massive bird’s beak.
SNAP!
He and the rest of the Wild Kin watched Thimble’s headless body slowly roll off the side of his bat mount and fall to the ground, moving to the ground like a flipping coin.
“Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeew! Talk about your leader being decisive in his surrender,” King Everwood whistled.
Rutt’s eyes trembled as he turned around and found all his people staring at him. They couldn’t hear his words over the loud wind biting at their skin. All they saw was Rutt’s Blue Timberline had bitten Thimble’s head clean off, blood still dripping from its beak. “Wait….”
“Question is, are you all going to follow suit?” King Everwood asked over the booming amplification circle.
With the entire squad in disarray, Rutt tried to start up an amplification circle. However, Bree’s Rorchclaw shot across the battlefield before he could finish, attacking him.
“Wow, your other leader seems betrayed,” King Everwood commented. “Should you withdraw and figure out your internal drama?”
Forty-eight raiders stopped their assault and watched their top two members battling in the sky, unsure what to do.
“What’s going on?!” Bree yelled, watching her Rorchclaw screech and claw at the Blue Timberline, mind pulsing with rage and the desire to kill.
“They have a beast tamer!” Rutt yelled. “I’m not sure how they hijacked B-class beasts in midair, and they’re making them fight against each other, but it’s bad news!”
“Ah!” Bree screamed, strengthening her core to not fall off her beast as Rutt’s beast flew above and clawed at her neck.
The display was like a joke. Whoever was controlling their mounts was planning for one of them to die, and they were getting close to succeeding. “What do we do?! We’ll all die at this rate!”
“Tell the raiders to attack!” Rutt yelled, his heart hammering in his chest. “Distract the beast tamer, and this will stop!”
Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!
“Looks like a bunch of you are getting antsy,” King Everwood remarked from his skywhale. “It looks like some are mad enough to attack their own friends.”
Rutt and Bree turned to the troops in disbelief, seeing their mounts also screeching and howling as foreign contracts started fighting for their minds. Who could handle ten B-class beasts simultaneously?! It was absurd!
Still, it was reality. So the raiders’ faces flashed with horror when they saw their beasts bucking like their Rutt and Bree’s, realizing they’d also lose control and start attacking their friends.
That was the worst nightmare imaginable.
Loss of agency.
Sitting on a beast as it killed your best friend.
Trauma.
Twisted, lovely trauma.
“Matt!” One yelled, seeing their avian mount screeching toward their raiding partner.
“What are you doing?!” Matt yelled. Unfortunately, it was too late. The bird with mammalian canines chomped into the man’s shoulder, ripping it clean off and sending him flying 10,000 feet to his death.
“Reba!”
“Mary!”
“Thomas!”
“Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeew! Are you sure you don’t want to deal with your drama on land?” King Everwood remarked, fanning the flames. “You’re looking rather testy.”
Rutt and Bree cried out in pain, but their words were in vain.
“What do we do, Rutt?!” Bree yelled, tears welling in her eyes.
“Call it off!” Rutt yelled. “I refuse to let our people kill each other!”
---
I stood behind Thea on the skywhale’s deck, massaging Thea’s ears as I overlooked the chaos. “They surrendered quite quickly. The leader must care about his people,” I remarked. “I think we’ll let him have it.”
Rutt and Bree’s beasts were fighting, so they couldn’t surrender, so Thea had to let them.
“But Ryker, I still haven’t killed those who said disgusting things about us,” Thea pouted. “Are you really going to allow such people to live?”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
My lips curved into a smile, and I kneaded the tips of her ears, making her squirm and screech and squeal until all the beasts in the air suddenly lost focus and attacked each other absentmindedly instead of with precision.
“The world’s a twisted place,” I said gently. “There will be countless people who will say terrible things about us. It’s our job to flip those people into believers.”
“Even if they said….” Thea recounted a few things she heard when she synced with the raiders’ avians and used their ears to listen.
My face's slight smile contorted into a deep scowl. “Okay, you have permission to kill those three,” I said. “After that, we’ll let the leaders surrender.”
Thea’s face lit up excitedly. “Okay!”
Most beasts slowed down, flying in circles to prevent deaths. However, three birds sped up with lethal precision, fighting the others.
One snapped off both of a man’s arms, another bit off a man’s head, and a third snapped a woman’s leg in its beak, dangling by her leg for ten gruesome seconds before snapping it off and sending her huddling 10,000 feet to the ground.
The beasts stopped moving, waiting for 25 gruesome seconds until she finally hit the ground.
Everything was dead silent when Rutt’s amplification circle started up.
“We surrender!” Rutt yelled.
I started up another amplification circle. “What is your group’s name?”
Rutt gritted his teeth, holding it in until he finally broke. “Wild Kin.”
“Okay, Wild Kin. As of this moment, I’m your sole employer,” I announced. “You are to meet me in Sundell. Do not attack anyone, as we have 500 ballistae that will turn your beasts into pincushions before you lift a bow.”
The area fell silent.
“Now move!” I commanded. “We only killed those who declared overly hostile statements. But in the future, if you try to betray us, harm us, or run, I’ll block all your client contracts, put out bounties on you, and will find past enemies to torture and mutilate you.”
My eyes turned ice cold. “Don’t fuck with me.”
Rutt and Bree swallowed hard, then responded in the affirmative.
As we flew away, we could hear them explaining what happened with amplification circles.
No one attacked us.
No one flew after us.
They sat there for twenty minutes under the watch of Thea’s spy birds. However, they finally started moving toward Sundell after we got a far distance from them, their paces slow.
“Wow, young master,” Zenith smirked. “Only five casualties and three injuries. That’s impressive.”
“Say that to Thea,” I said, wrapping my arms around the cat woman and hugging her tight. “She’s a demon, but she saves lives.”
Zenith frowned. “Great work, Thea.”
“Thank~you,” Thea chimed, giving the divine dragonkin a competitive smile.
I smiled at their petty exchange and turned back to Sundell, where the auction awaited.
Thankfully, the trip was smooth as silk, only interrupted by Rema gawking at what happened and Thea antagonizing her.
Once we arrived, we enjoyed a lavish welcome home.
Thea’s eyes sparkled like stars when my people gave me a Roman-style triumph, with the whole city celebrating upon my return.
It was a perfect way to impress our guests from all around the world.
Maximilian was here, so it was best to show this level of support.
Having him take me seriously was very important.
Since it wasn’t an official meeting, we would meet the diplomats and leaders after the auction. That would give us time for our power play.
After giving orders to all of our people and handing off auction materials to a regiment of Thorns, the original Immortal soldiers who gained immortality from eating B-class mana meat for breakfast, we went to Lockheart Castle to eat and get ready.
Upon getting there, I gave orders to the staff to prepare the reception hall and gave them specialty meats, spices, and recipes to use for the meal.
When I returned to the room, I smiled, gazing at something that made my blood rush.
I grabbed a charcoal gray suit made from the finest wool fibers, waiting on my bed. “In my past world, this was the clothing of power,” I muttered. “Now, I’m powerful in both worlds….”
Slightly sentimental, I grinned, dressed in a crisp button-up shirt, tied a black skinny tie around my neck, and put on my vest and blazer. Tucking my shirt into slacks, I wrapped a black leather belt around them to match my black shoes.
“God damn, I look good,” I smiled, looking into a mirror. “It took me 19 years and some Earthly change, but I’m finally wearing a suit outside of an interview.”
“And you look super handsome.” Thea walked into the room with a cheery voice. I turned to her, and my eyes widened, looking at her black cocktail dress that made her teal hair pop and accentuated her toned physique and hips. “Well?”
“You’re going to be the talk of the world tonight,” I smiled, opening my arms. She immediately pounced, hugging me. “Now, it’s time to make our entrance.”
“Then let’s go,” she smiled, looking at herself in the mirror and then linking her arm with mine.
***
Thea and I left the castle by carriage, arriving at the auction hall, which was a madhouse. Hundreds of people in business class and noble attire stood out at the front, lining the red carpet we had set up.
“It’s almost sad that they’ll show deference to us now,” Zenith sighed, gazing out the window. “Things were more fun when people underestimated you at every turn.”
I wanted to sass her, but thinking back, it was a lot more amusing. “Yeah. Those were… fun… days, in retrospect.”
Lyssa blinked twice. “Did you just say the word fun?”
My face immediately twisted into a grumpy scowl. “Exciting.”
All their eyes widened, and they burst into giggles, making me roll my eyes.
“We’re here, Your Majesty,” the driver said.
I nodded and released the circle of privacy on the carriage. The moment I did, an explosion of sound assaulted our ears.
“I guess it’s time to play king,” I noted.
“Take your sword first this time,” Lyssa commanded, seeing me reach for the door.
I turned to her with a wry smile. “But then, how can I make a bigger impact on rowdy people?”
Lyssa frowned. “Intimidate them from the start, you fool. No one is foolish enough to….” She stopped at the sight of my and Thea’s mocking smiles. “Just bring your damn sword.”
I nodded and attached it to my hip as the two drivers made an announcement and opened the door.
Unlike last time, when Thea and I exited, everyone knew who we were. Hundreds burst into cheering and clapping at our sight, increasing it when they saw Zenith and Lyssa.
“Now, this is the greeting I deserve,” Zenith harrumphed, a smug smile on her lips as she walked to my side. Lyssa did the same for Thea’s side, hovering like a seatbelt.
It was necessary. 95% of the people surrounding the auction hall were merchants and were ecstatic to see the legendary merchant who made them their fortunes. However, a few dozen hovered around salty nobles, sneering at us.
“How dare you show up!”
“I can’t wait to expose you in front of the world!”
“Don’t think your treason to humankind won’t be revealed tonight!”
“Look, it’s his beast from the demon continent. I bet he got his designs from her.”
Thea’s body trembled, rattling like a possessed teakettle. However, I gently grabbed her hand and smiled, reminding her everything was fine.
Her bristled tail hairs lowered, and she smirked at the people with a malevolent gaze.
The designers who leveled false allegations against me and the salty nobles who were angry they couldn’t get in seized up when they saw it.
Then, as we passed, they got ahold of themselves and yelled allegations of intimidation. However, we ignored them and walked into the Ellington Auction House, now Novena's most famous auction house.
Inside, Thea, Zenith, Lyssa, and I parted ways. I moved to the back of the stage and put a robe over my suit, preparing to host the event personally.
Lily was sweating bullets beside me, listening to the anxious nobles behind the curtains.
“It’ll be okay,” I chuckled, touching her shoulder. “They’re just nobles.”
Lily knitted her brows. “Oh, yeah? They’re just nobles?”
I smirked. “Yes, they’re nobles, the same status as you. Moreover, you have your king and host beside you.”
The light-haired brunette looked at her blue dress with lace accents and then back at me. It was distinctly Earthian, not something that belonged as part of the Novenan aristocracy. “I’m a noble now?” she asked.
“You were untouchable the moment you became my seamstress at 12,” I smiled. “I just don’t give people the name noble because I find it pointless. Now, let’s go.”
Lily’s eyes glittered, and she smiled brightly. “Okay!”
***
Upon hearing our names called by the announcer, I exited the bright red curtains on stage wearing a robe and an electric spotlight turned on, triggering gasps.
“What’s that?”
“I’m not sure, is it magic?”
“I don’t feel magic.”
I panned the auditorium with a slight smile, seeing everyone’s face lit up by light from sky windows. Lit candle chandeliers hung in the room, anticipating sun blockages.
“Welcome to Sundell,” I said in a low, magnetic tone that captured the auditorium’s full attention. “The city that shines in the darkness!”
On my cue, light bulbs lit up around the room in a chain reaction, illuminating the space with bright light. Nobles, merchants, and royals gawked and chuckled in amazement. A moment later, they met the sight with a standing ovation.
I chuckled. The auction hadn’t even started, and there was already an ovation.
It would be a long night.
“My name is Ryker Alexander Everwood,” I introduced myself. “Many of you know me as King Everwood. But all of you know me as the head of the Everwood Company.”
More applause met my words, starting to bug me.
“The entire world knows me as the person who introduced Carter’s Steelworks to the world,” I continued. “Zenith’s Cosmetics, Peggy’s Soap, Timothy’s Woodworks and Construction, and Riley’s Printing Press.”
Lily shook from a dark part of the stage, knowing she would be following me up. However, I smirked when I saw her gaze.
“Well, tonight, I’m introducing someone new to this world!” I roared, building anticipation. “I bring to you Lily Filon of Lily’s Textiles and Filon Fashion!”
A light turned on right under Lily’s hidden body, revealing her beautiful blue dress.
The crowd stared at her in amazement, seeing her bridesmaid dress with white lace patterns.
It also incorporated a daring semi-transparent mesh section at the knees, which was tantalizing but ultimately not too revealing.
No matter what people thought, it was new and exciting.
“Greetings,” Lily said, her eyes trembling with terror. She bowed shyly, and the stunned nobles and merchants responded with amused laughter and vigorous applause, making the characteristically sassy woman turn bright red.
“Lily Filon has led the textile guilds in my territories since I lived in Elderthorn,” I explained. “Now, after decades of her craft, Lily is bringing a revolution in fashion to the world!”
I grabbed my robe and ripped it off, unveiling my charcoal gray suit.
A deafening silence befell the audience as they looked at it.
There was nothing like a modern wool suit in this continent or the next. It was so crisp and decisive compared to the frilly wear of nobles.
Moreover, my black skinny tie captivated them, giving the illusion of sharp lines on my chest.
The nobles and merchants could even see the sharp creases in my trousers, which left a sharp look that contrasted with conventionally rounded clothing.
It was bold.
Exciting.
Revolutionary.
“You stand before the new look of power in this world,” I smiled. “Whether you’re a noble or a successful merchant, you will now be able to look like a titan amongst men!”
After a sharp gasp, the merchants exploded in overwhelming applause. Confused nobles, hearing my implicit threat to their status, felt awkward. However, countless people in the room were nobles I helped make rich through my products, technology, and reforms. As a result, they started cheering loudly, and the other nobles followed suit.
“Hear me, Solstian nobles!” I yelled. “We are entering a new era where your current wealth will feel like spare change. Soon, you will be wealthy beyond your imaginations and enjoy luxuries that most could never even dream of….”
I scanned their faces with a mysterious smile, then reached out my hands. “Do you like the lights?”
The nervous nobles looked at the light bulbs around the room with fascinated expressions before cheering in amazement.
“Soon, you’ll be able to adjust the temperature in your estates to the amount you’d like,” I said. “You’ll enjoy exotic foods daily, and enjoy hot water to clean yourselves daily. I’m sure that you’ve enjoyed a few of these things staying at The Ellington, correct?”
Delighted chuckles spread through the room like wildfire. While people in Sundell were accustomed to showers and strange food, most nobles and merchants here were not.
Sundell was the future, a budding modern city in a medieval world. So everyone here lit up when they realized the future that awaited them.
“That’s right,” I smiled. “This is the new world—your world—and the first step is to dress the part outside of your official duties! So tonight, I bring you that fashion!”
Anticipation built up like a pressure cooker, spewing out steam on the verge of exploding.
“Whether you’re here to capitalize on the future or to collect items that have never been seen in Novena before, we—”
“THAT’S A LIE!”
A sharp voice cut me off from the center. It belonged to a man around fifty with a curled mustache and a smug expression.
“Is that Lord Rittin?”
“Can’t be. King Everwood wouldn’t let one of the accusers in.”
“No, it definitely is him. It’s strange.”
I gazed at the accuser in disbelief. He had publicly rescinded his allegation, so I let him in, but now he was repeating it in public. ‘This isn’t natural. Someone has organized these idiots to show up. But for what reason?’ I thought. My eyes drifted to a certain skybox. ‘Unless….’
Understanding that speculation was pointless, I turned to the man. “Can you elaborate?”
“These designs already exist!” Lord Rittin said, swallowing his fear. “There are 21 designers that claim that Lilith Filon stole their work!”
Tension multiplied in the room, looming over everyone like a guillotine. I turned to Lily, trembling and confused under the weight of people with power, and then back at the crowd.
“Every design I bring to you tonight comes from another world,” I said bluntly. “That makes me a co-designer. Tell me, Lord Rittin. Are you saying that I’m a fraud?”
The atmosphere became suffocating as everyone awaited his response.
Lord Rittin started to turn but stopped, wisely not outing the person who put him up to this. “While there is no doubt that your influence is genuine, King Everwood, I stand behind my statement,” he said. “That woman’s influence in these co-designs is stolen!”
Lily turned away, giving the impression that she was guilty.
“Turn back to the crowd, Lily,” I ordered. “You’re a noble now, too.”
A ripple of whispers spread through the room as she followed my orders.
“Tell me, Mr. Rittin,” I requested. “Do you know what this suit is made from?”
Lord Rittin gulped, sweating. “I’m not sure what difference that makes. You can make a design out of anything. So this is a test designed to make me fail.”
“Incorrect,” I replied. “You cannot make certain clothing with the same fibers. They have different properties, and some have harder to create fibers than others. What type of designer are you? You should know fibers on sight.”
Lord Rittin stared at my suit with trembling eyes, a tear of cold sweat streaking down his face. “That’s Lara Beast fibers.”
“Wrong,” I answered. “Lily, what is this suit made of?”
Lily swallowed hard. “Wool from the Lisha Sheep.”
Her words sparked a cataclysmic chain reaction of whispers and speculation.
“Nonsense!” Lord Rittin yelled. “You can’t spin wool that thin!”
“I can’t,” Lily sneered, trembling with anger. “But King Everwood’s technology can.”
“This is ridiculous!” he roared, standing up. “I’ve had enough of these lies!”
Lily reached into a spatial pouch, pulled out a basket, and handed it to an attendant on the stage. “As we conduct the auction tonight, Lily’s Fashion will be handing out cloth samples,” she said. “You’ll be able to make orders for this cloth next month.”
Excitement spread through the room as the attendant passed around the basket filled with wool handkerchiefs.
“Is there anyone else who wants to challenge us?” I asked. “I’m rooting out and banning all conspirators from Lily’s Textiles. Once you feel one of these samples, you’ll know your career is over. So you might as well put on a show before an audience.”
As if accepting my challenge, two dozen people immediately exploded with accusations.