Emrin found a quiet corner to log out, and Vince opened his eyes to a brewing headache.

"Oh Lord above. My head." He still hadn't gotten used to the new sleep schedule playing as a Darkblessed necessitated. Probably wouldn't for some time. Not when he jumped straight to playing for twelve hours a day out of the fourteen the game allowed.

As he sat up from the bed and scratched his head, he smiled. It was a jarring change, but a welcome one. When he was still the guild leader of Glimmering Shield, he'd get six hours of play time at best between his other tasks.

"Can't neglect good ol' me too much." Vince lifted his arms above his head and stretched until he heard a crack from his back. "Fuck, that does the trick." He relaxed, before looking around the quiet living room.

"Computer?" he asked timidly.

"Yes, Vince?" The robotic voice that answered gave him shivers.

Vince had insisted that he play from his home, and Lana in turn had insisted that the agency pay for a hardware upgrade.

'Unbelievable,' she'd said. 'You're an investment now, Vince. We have to make sure you're safe at the very least.'

More like ‘we want to keep tabs on you’. Well, that suited him just fine. Hard to escape the SRIA's surveillance either way, and he wouldn't say no to free stuff.

"Order favorite two," he said. An affirmative 'ding' filled his heart with joy. "Oh, and scan my biometrics. You're supposed to be able to do that."

"Your biometrics are observed and logged in real time. If any significant deviance is observed, contact "Xua Yu" will receive a priority one call. Would you like to see a detailed log of your biometrics now?"

"She added Xua Yu as my emergency contact? I thought they cared about my well-being," Vince mumbled before raising his voice. "Just a summary, please. Is there something wrong with me?"

"All vital signs are within the regulated values. You are in perfect health."

"Let's fix that." Vince walked over to his coffee machine and started filling up the handle with ground beans. He'd fought hard to keep it out Lana's reach, might as well use it. "Computer, show me results on the term Mizpix."

"Zero results for Mizpix. Did you perhaps mean MixPiece?"

Vince raised an eyebrow. "A God not on record, eh? Even for Twilight and all its secrets, that's interesting." The coffee machine steamed in agreement. "Computer, can you change your voice generation to Twilight's?"

"Recalibrated." The computer answered with a much more familiar voice.

"Ah, much better. Still unnatural, but better." The first golden brown drops found his cup. "Computer, show me info on Twilight's Red Ravens."

"The Red Raven's are a notorious criminal organization within the virtual world of Twilight. Reports say they've been operating since the game's initial launch. Notably, despite having presence of varying influence in many Darkblessed cities, they are one of the few factions that disallow those blessed by the stars, meaning players, to join their ranks."

Vince sipped his coffee, cringed from the bitterness and sat down on his sofa. He'd hoped they were nobodies, despite the insignia and all. This complicated matters. "Any information on power structure within the organisation?"

"It is said that the Red Ravens operate on a thread based system, with each member having only a single superior and a single subordinate, though this is unconfirmed. Members carry the Red Raven insignia on their bodies to avoid aggression towards one another, and are also reported to form in small bands."

“So if one of them gets found out and caught, they can only drag two more people with them at a time." The guild leader neurons in Vince's head started firing as he mumbled. The coffee really did help in that regard. Could always use more whiskey though. "This system makes it really hard to track or take out the heart of the organisation, but at the same time it must be hell to pass information through such long chains of command. That ought to give me some time, at least."

The delivery drone's buzz made Vince realise he was trying to make conversation with the computer again. Most of his friends and contacts he used to chat with were still tied to the guild, and after what happened and how the media painted it… Yeah, he'd rather not think about it.

He just grabbed his food and plopped down on the couch, the fragrant aroma of noodles inviting him to dig in. "Computer, show me some trending Twilight news."

The TV projection turned on and filled the room as Vince slurped the first noodle.

"-- such an unprecedented event. It is the first time Asire returns from the battlefield wounded." Two news anchors in black suits, one man and one woman, sat surrounded by several Twilight analysts.

Vince went wide-eyed. So someone had succeeded where he failed, huh? His pride made him not want to believe it, but his more rational side thought it positive. At least his current mission wouldn't be impossible. But who could it be? From what he knew, the Darkblessed had no player in the top 10 of the unified rankings. Could someone have risen so quickly in his absence?

The live broadcast continued, with one expert chiming in. "Such extensive injuries as well. Our sources at the Valorous guild managed to secure a picture in-game from last Dusk’s battle, where the guilds of light claimed large swathes of territory."

A rather blurry picture, as it turned out. But it was without a doubt one of Asire, cut and bleeding. He was wearing an unfamiliar plate that was dyed black by soot.

"It's one of the rare instances he's worn his armor," said the other presenter. "And those burn marks…" As he turned to look at the image, the man dropped the TV persona. There was a moment of silence as the whole world stared at an injured Asire.

The news anchor regained her composure first. “Well, this simply goes to prove that Twilight is an exciting, ever-changing game! Nobody can stay at the top forever. Isn’t that righ–”

Vince turned the projection off with a wave of his hand. He stared off into space for a few moments before trapping the last elusive noodle between his chopsticks. If he wanted to be part of the news and not just watch them, he needed to get going.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

The streets of Shantalar manifested around him in all their dark and damp glory, and the smell of wet soil reached his nose. The celebration had moved away from this part of the capital and taken most light with it, leaving sharp corners and narrow alleys in the dark. Ounis bank seemed to have an abundance of those around it, so Emrin picked one and simply waited.

Ounis, the God of Greed, was one of the few deities worshipped by the Darkblessed to have found footing in the lands of light as well. His churches were banks and his prayers came in gold, so it was no wonder. Despite the strict regulations and ceaseless audits, the crown had never found anything unlawful. Emrin doubted they had anything to do with RR, but observed everyone going in and out closely.

It wasn't long until he spotted something. A white haired man came out of the bank and swiftly went down an alleyway with half an arm under his long jacket and a pouch-filled-with-coins shaped bulge underneath it. Almost in unison, three separate figures went after him, staying far from the torchlight until they met up. Emrin went after them in turn.

Not two minutes later, he heard the clinking of coins against the cobblestone road, so he backtracked a little and hid behind some rubble.

"Silver fucking coins!" A woman screeched. "Seas be still, who withdraws silver?"

Three of them surrounded the desperate old man, with two more keeping him pinned against the wall as he whispered something too quietly for Emrin to hear.

"Save it…" The man spoke with a raspy voice Emrin recognised. The same one used to threaten him not two days ago. Definitely RR.

"Look at him." The bandit spit as he looked down. "Going around with silver coins this close to death. He's not worth sparing, and I doubt anybody's gonna come looking."

Emrin tightened his grip on the hilt, but didn't move from his spot.

Another bandit, a shorter one with claws poking out the bottom of his cloak, started giggling. "Claim his soul for master! Then we get the coin anyway!"

The man simply nodded and drew a blade hidden in his sleeve, an ugly thing of jagged, rusted bronze. He glanced at it testingly, then plunged it straight into the poor geezer's throat.

Emrin frowned a little. He didn't care much about NPCs. They were just glorified graphics after all, but that burly bastard just rubbed him the wrong way. He'd be left for last.

As the old man's last woes faded, a scarlet light briefly lit up the streets. A wisp of misty red drawn to the rusty dagger, lingering on the edge of the metal before it was hidden back in its sheathe. Emrin frowned a little. Bandits and thieves were common, even in the cities touched by sunlight, but he'd not seen that before.

As the bandits turned to leave after picking up the coins, Emrin wrote in his notebook. 'Any info on the light?' He stared at it for a few moments, but there was no response. Either the system considered him in combat, or nobody was on the other end to help him.

Emrin rose to his feet and followed after them, only glancing at the crimson spreading between the cobblestone.The Red Ravens seemed to be moving with a purpose now, fast but measured movements between the narrow alleys of a Shantalar district Emrin had not been to before. It was hard to follow them at times as they turned, and he had to stick so close he could almost hear their laboured breaths.

After an unnatural number of right turns, the Ravens came to a stop before the door of an unassuming, many-storied building. Emrin was close enough to hear the key click and the hinges complaining as the group entered and shut the door behind them. Moments later, he heard the click again.

"Shit. What sort of insecure bandit locks up behind them?" Emrin glanced up at the brick roof and tried to discern a path up. "Guess I'll take the long way in." After more surveying, he jumped and grabbed two metal bars sticking out of an unfinished balcony and pulled himself up. Shantalar was colorful like that, despite its faded tones, full of incomplete or abandoned buildings, temples and parks. Lots of places safe from prying eyes, where the city's underbelly could act unhindered.

"Ugh." Emrin wiped away the brown rust left on his palms by the metal. Was it too pretentious to think that he prefered blood on his hands? Glancing up, the bottom of the vertical ladder he planned to grab onto next seemed just as rusty. "Note to self: bring gloves next time." He decided to make his way up slowly and not risk a fall. The night was still young.

Emrin turned around on the roof of an opposing building and bent his knees. Thankfully, the houses in Shantalar were as close as its streets were narrow. He'd listen in, gather some intel and wait until one of the Ravens left the building alone. That way, he'd pick them off one by one. He jumped, and his boots went right through the mouldy wooden roof, followed by his legs.

[You have entered the Red Raven hideout]

"Huh?" Emrin looked down to see broken wood up to his waist, and made the horrible realisation that he was slipping down further. He tried to push against the slippery wood and wiggled his legs… which resulted in part of the roof collapsing and him plunging into the floor below.

[You have taken 8 fall damage.]

Emrin coughed through the cloud of dust and winced from the numbed pain coming from his arm and back. And worst of all, he heard familiar voices.

"What the fuck was that? I think it came from upstairs. Oi, you, go check it out!"

"Shit," Emrin stood from the rubble and let out a dry laugh. Ten clean kills, without being seen and with one hit point remaining? “Damned Mizpix passive. From one curse to another, huh?”

Name : Emrin Sua Class: Rogue Level: 2 (13.6% Experience points to next level)

Status:

Normal

Strength: 11

Physical Power multiplier: 1.1

Dexterity: 24

Movement Speed: 6.4 ft/s

Constitution: 11

Hit Points: 1/9

Magicka: 11

Magic Power multiplier : 1.1

Willpower: 0

Enemy Debuff Duration: 100%

Consecration: 0

Buff Duration: 100%

Luck: 0

Magic Find: 8%

[Backstab.] Class Passive

Level 1 (12.2% Experience points to next level)

You have learned how to catch foes by surprise and cut deep into their vital areas. As a rogue, you have -20% Maximum hit points but deal an additional 10% damage when striking foes from behind.