The gain from the convoluted plot was minimal. Even with the oath, messing with Level 5s was dangerous. Wouldn't banning Tanael’s investigation in Regidana be the same as telling others Tanael was here? What was the point in giving Oscar back?
These were the concerns of the executives directed at the CEO of Viers Corporation.
Viers had no intention of depending on Marlin or the Governor. While oaths upon one’s Intio were binding, they were not absolute. Even a Level 2 like Viers was able to break magical promises, who knew what methods those Level 5s had?
Viers wanted to test how much folks wanted to find him, who they were, and if his concealment would be enough to stay hidden from the investigation of those strong people. And, while he indeed would be in the city, he also wouldn't.
As for Oscar, Viers was not worried. He was an Arrogant Young Master like Jaime only with different paint. Without someone like Viers, they would crash and burn on their own. Also, Viers had soul-searched him completely and knew Oscar to his core. Viers had firmly grasped his weaknesses. While letting an enemy live was against Viers’ principles, it was the process of Oscar’s revival that interested him. How would the daddy and uncle dear reconstruct his body? Would it also be applicable to Farley and the others? Viers wouldn't look into it on his end, he delegated the job to Izabella who also needed the body reconstructing method for Alan.
Viers had many months in Stage 5 to plan for the aftermath.
“Alright, I’ll take the reins from here,” Arsène said.
“I leave it to you. Good luck,” Viers waved his other self goodbye as he passed through the portal to Regidana. Viers himself stayed in Dia’s Biome.
Arsène was a unique existence. He was basically Viers himself. He was not a soul being, he was corporeal but could stay inside Viers' soulspace, he couldn't be killed as long as Viers was alive, he could do what Viers could, and his persona was exactly the same as Viers.
‘I am thou and thou art I’, hm? Truly fitting words… Damn, I love having two of me!
There were some limitations, such as Arsène could not cultivate and since Arsène didn't have Victa, Viers must give it to him first before he could use any Arte. There were other things too but Arsène was fully capable of serving as a red herring until things calmed down.
Naturally, Viers was well aware of the trope of a clone or a copy going rogue and replacing the original. He had measures for that.
Viers turned to the dryad girl that still looked around ten years old on his right. Dia had only started re-walking the Path of Power and became a Level 1 but as a Biome Master, her strength was on a whole other level in her territory.
A safe haven for Viers while he engaged in an earnest closed cultivation session.
“We got to train later but there’s some free time. Do you wanna play?”
“Yaaaaaay! It’s been so boring… Oh, oh! Let’s visit Luca later,” Dia jumped and threw her hands in the air.
“I plan on it. I brought a lot of gifts for you all.”
Thus began Viers’ stay in the Biome. He would become a Level 3, absorb Aletro’s soul attainment, and make all sorts of improvements in his cultivation and techniques.
When he emerged, he would be magnitudes stronger than before.
***
Awright, time to go masquerading as Avel. My other me’s yet another alter ego. Wow… How many will he have in the end?
Arsène shook his head. His appearance was exactly like Avel's. Although, wearing the knight helmet was pretty much enough to pass as Avel of Javia, the Slayer.
Two things to do. Cooperate with the investigations about the kidnapping and Aletro trials. Then, solve the lawsuit… I’m not thrilled about the inevitable boring long-ass procedures.
As Arsène walked the streets with Boram towards the guard station to give their testimony, he heard a crier in the streets.
“Hear ye, hear ye! In light of the sudden attack by the merfolk yesterday, all adventurers are required to report to the guild immediately to participate in the city’s defense. Failure to do so shall result in your adventuring license getting revoked.”
Oh, that’s just great! Yet another shit fell from the sky right on top of my head!
Arsène resisted the urge to swear on the busy streets.
***
Arsène took things one step at a time, starting from the easiest.
The investigation was complete in half a day and he was cleared of suspicion. Arsène didn't need to lie about what he was doing to rescue Harry’s friends, giving details on the adversaries. They already identified the assailant to be members of Teorph’s devil cult. But about the matters inside the Book World, Arsène mixed in truths and lies. Since ‘officially’ he retired in Stage 3 because of an unfortunate encounter with Tanael, the story need not be complex.
The woman that got forgotten in the basement was in the city guard’s custody and Arsène got no problem with that. When that was over, he and Boram went to a ranch where Brownie the mare was sent for temporary care.
After giving it some thought and seeing the horse was pretty happy among her kind, he decided to leave Brownie with the ranch. Arsène’s main body had no plan to travel with horses at the moment. The next stop was Valkut city and they would use a ship to get there. Rather than keeping Brownie penned up in some stable, she might have a better life here.
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And he also got a flying carpet if it came down to it.
Arsène gave the ranch owner some money so the horse would be well taken care of. Boram hugged Brownie and was reluctant to separate but he understood it might be for the best. As their Levels as Pathseekers rose, the places they traveled would also become more dangerous, stronger monsters. It was no place for an ordinary animal.
“Goodbye, girl. It’s been fun. Live well,” Arsène patted the horse’s brown neck.
The two went to the Adventurer’s Guild in the late afternoon. The topic of Tanael was pretty wild. In a world without television or the internet, gossip was entertainment. Understandable, after his feat of blackmailing a Level 5 yesterday. As they went closer to the guild, more adventurers walked in the same direction as the master-disciple pair. Some were even stronger than Arsène, Level 3s.
“Baster?” Boram recognized the white horse in front of the guild. Unlike Brownie, which was a normal animal, Baster was not. It should be on par with a Rank 2 monster.
“Squire’s familiar horse? I didn't know he was an adventurer.”
“He’s not,” Boram answered. “I wonder why he’s here.”
The guild was a full house. The five guild receptionists were swamped with work, the back staff was moving around like bees, and the waiting seats were full of people. Arsène took a queue number ticket then waited for his turn, after fifteen more people.
Ah, that’s Peanut, Arsène saw the sullen girl attending an adventurer. Oh yeah, there was a matter of some nasty rumors between the other me and her before the Book World debacle. Better keep my distance so she won't suffer then.
Viers, and by extension Arsène, was not in the habit of causing hardships and misery without reason.
“Boram, over here.”
Eugene called out, he was being surrounded by people that were offering him drinks. He was in the middle of telling stories about the wondrous Book World and the struggle they all experienced. With 382 people gone so suddenly and the pillar of light that reached the sky, it was not possible to keep things under wraps.
“Go,” Arsène said to Boram who was looking at him while seeking permission.
“Avel, my favorite metalhead! Look at you, still kicking after getting swallowed by the book! You're one lucky bastard, hahaha!”
Arsène socialized with Forss, a fellow adventurer that had been quite friendly with him since the start of his arrival in Regidana. The man in his middle twenties was drinking with his buddies before Arsène came in. He was not whisked away by Aletro for the trial so he was a mediocre adventurer, but he didn't seem to mind and remained his cheerful self.
The same couldn't be said for other adventurers though, some were looking at him with envy or annoyance.
“Hooo, your little apprentice is one of the Aletro Nine Stars while you’re not. What does that say about you? By the way, the Nine is a big deal, they are celebrities. That’s Eugene, Khalmar was here earlier, but no one has seen Max since the Return.”
Arsène waited his turn by catching up and being a good listener to Forss.
When his turn was called, he got Peanut’s counter as if it was fate. The sullen guild girl looked tired which made her look more aloof than usual.
“Ahh, it’s you. Have you understood the outline?”
“Hello, and yes to your question.”
“Good. Then fill out the forms and we’ll inform you about your placement and duties tomorrow.”
To not raise any flag Arsène was being simple and polite. He’d soon gotten out of her hair.
Since he was an Obsidian-ranked adventurer, Avel had to do mandatory quests every now and then. In Marakkus he encountered something similar but the merfolk incursion was an emergency so he must participate. Simply put he got two weeks of defense duty, guarding Regidana from coastal attacks.
Arsène frowned hearing the words ‘two weeks.’ That time frame was potentially a problem.
Boram was not an adventurer but he would bring him anyway. Eugene wanted to say goodbye before he returned to Latias but because yesterday’s gathering turned into a mess after Tanael's scheme, he didn't have the chance so he haunted the Adventurer’s Guild after hearing all adventurers were required to come.
Arsène also conversed a while with the squire before they went on to their separate ways.
***
In the next weeks, other than the defense duty, Viers -using Arsène as a proxy- was also engaged in a legal battle.
During the hearing, Viers told the truth that he blew up a warehouse as a distraction to save Harry’s friends. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to Viers at the time, among the items destroyed were some high-valued items. His actions resulted in the kids’ rescue and the failure of the kidnappers’ plot of using the mystical book. Viers argued that what he did benefited the city and he had no harmful intentions.
The sentence of the hearing was he must shoulder the debt of losses that he incurred but the amount had been reduced by half. Still a great sum but while Viers could pay, Avel could not! How could an ordinary Level 2 adventurer pay that amount? Anyone with a head would think it was suspicious.
Thus ‘Avel’ was now a contracted worker to the Rushton Trading Company until his debt was paid. Which was around three years of honest work which was a little better than a slave. During the time he was prohibited from leaving Regidana.
The Governor-King, whose kid Viers helped, didn't intervene. It was the law he raised.
So much for gratitude… Wait, the Arte was the compensation. So that's why he overcharged the reward.
Needless to say, Viers felt it was unacceptable so Viers got creative.
First, Viers gathered all the info about the Rushton company’s owner, Trask. And then…
“Pssst. Do you wanna become the president?”
Viers approached the number two in the company, Ned.
Rushton was a fairly successful, medium-sized company.
Trask, the second-generation owner, was a greedy merchant type; he should be in his sixth decade but looked to be in his forties. He cultivated to Level 3, not because of effort but using money thus resulting in a trash foundation but the aim was so he could live longer so it was not a problem. The man lived in excess. After decades of operating in Regidana, a place of law and order, he believed money and status could make him untouchable.
Proof of decades of shady dealings, tax evasions, forged documents, and the likes fell on Viers' lap one after another. He also did not forget to acquire personal dirt on Trask himself. Scandals, mistresses, bastards, how he murdered his rival cousin and made it look like an accident, one dark secret after another was unearthed by Viers mercilessly.
The light ones were leaked to the public, the heavy ones were used as blackmail material.
The Heavenly Thief Arsène’s debut was a blast. Keys, stashes, secrets, one’s own thoughts, none were safe from him! Level 4 guards? Minor difficulties, nothing more.
He cast a wide net with soul search, going from the unremarkable janitor to Trask’s son and grandson. All for creating sure-kill weapons aimed at Trask.
By the end of the third week, Trask retired and Ned took over.
On paper, ‘Avel’ was still working for Rushton company, slaving away to pay his debt. In reality, the original owner had been driven out of his own company and his replacement was eating from Viers’ hand because the villain had loads of extortion material on him too.
In less than a month, Viers became the shadow ruler of a trading company in one of the largest mercantile cities on the continent.
Since he was busy, he let Ned steer the company as he saw fit. Viers had a hands-off approach and became a shareholder. If the company profited, so would he.
The company was not large but who knew what the future might bring.
Ha! I really become ‘a power in the shadows’! Man, I love legal battles.