Part 1

Flesh beating against flesh echoed in the silent room. If one listened closely then you’d hear frequent whimpering. However, it was so small and soft that one would assume it was that of a small animal.

The man was in his late thirties. He had short black hair and a black beard. His body wasn’t as muscular as it were in his prime but it was still filled with vigor and power.

Sweat flew as the man pulled back his fist. Then he struck. Another punch landed on the woman’s face beneath him.

“….H…n…” The young woman was a low class prostitute he had picked off the street. Many wouldn’t really involve themselves with such a prostitute as there were concerns of them having diseases and hygiene problems. The only reason he picked her off the street was because she was fairly beautiful.

The man loved beating the faces of pitiful woman. It was like an artist destroying the piece he devoted his life to painting. What was once radiant, unblemished skin was now mangled up and bruised.

“Dammit. I need to get a potion since this thing isn’t working right now.” He looked at his flaccid tool in anger.

Old age seemed to be getting to him. Despite being a gang leader with many connections and lots of wealth, he won’t be able to keep it to himself. He considered starting a family of his own but forced the idea down.

If his wife found out about his fetishes and desires then she’d leave him in a blink of an eye.

When he looked down, he saw the woman stare at him. There was no hate in her eyes, only revulsion.

“Oi! Don’t look at me like that, you bitch!” He struck her again, using aura this time. Three of her teeth flew out of her mouth.

As a former 6th star knight, his hits filled with aura were packed with lots of power. An ordinary human like the girl beneath him wouldn’t survive for long.

He stopped as he thought about it.

‘Damn. I’ll have to find another girl if she dies here. I guess I’ll give her a potion and continue later.’

When he was about to open his closet, an intercom went off inside the room.

---Boss, we got her.

Ruduli Felix’s eyes brightened as a big smile emerged on his face.

“Perfect timing. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He looked towards the bed.

“Hmm…You’re free to go. If you tell anyone what happened here then I’m going to kill you for real.”

The woman sobbed silently as she tried to lift her aching naked body.

◇◇◇

“Good job, boys!” Ruduli entered a room where all of his henchmen were gathered. It was a large gathering room that was usually used for parties in the past.

There were about thirty men present around him. All of them were standing to the side and near the wall.

In the middle of the room stood a single chair. On the chair was a girl with flaming red hair and the most beautiful blue eyes that gleamed in the light of the room.

Her face twisted when she heard a rather unpleasant, but familiar voice.

When she looked up, her mind blanked.

Her mouth quivered and her pupils shook. She drew in quick breaths when she saw that man.

He was the cause of her trauma. The resentment she had in her heart was all his doing.

“…You…” Lauran had always dreamt of killing him with her own hands. However, right in this moment, she felt powerless. It was like her body refused to listen to her.

“Hehehe. Well, brother?” The one who brought her here, Tobias called out to Ruduli. The large man with a bald head and a tattoo on his face smiled triumphantly. “Does this mean my pay gets a raise? Can I also book a night with a high-class whore from the Flower Brothel?”

“Yeah, yeah. Take however much you need for the night.” Ruduli waved nonchalantly as he approached Lauran. Lauran was bound to the chair with shackles so she could do nothing to resist.

It would’ve been easy for her to just freeze the shackles and cast a spell that created a diversion before escaping. However, in this situation where she met the demon of her nightmares, she couldn’t think rationally.

Although she was a capable mage, fending off thirty plus men was impossible for her.

“….!” She resisted the urge to scream as his pudgy fingers went up and down her thighs. He was savouring her by touching her before the real fun began.

“Well, Lauran…. Didn’t I say that sooner or later you’ll become mine? And look now! I have you in my grasp now. You must’ve missed me, yeah?” He held Lauran’s face and licked her on the cheek. All she smelled was alcohol and cigarettes.

She held down the vomit that accumulated in her throat.

“Even the way you squirm under my touch is giving me shivers. Goodness, why am I feeling lightheaded? Hahaha! Is this true love!?” Ruduli broke into a hearty laughter.

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His gang members began laughing as well. Some eyed Lauran with perverted gazes. Ruduli saw this but he decided to let it be. Since they weren’t touching his woman, it was fine if they watched.

That’s right. She’s my woman, you fools, he thought.

Lauran could only tremble and grit her teeth. Urine started coming down her legs, soaking her socks and shoes. The chair was also soaked. One could tell by the look in her face that she was horrified. Her eyes had lost the light that made them shine a vibrant blue.

“Oho! Kinky. I like that!” Ruduli didn’t show revulsion even as he saw her wet herself in terror. Then again, he was into weirder things.

“So boss, what should we do with the girl’s parents?” One of the gang members asked. As with the rest of them, he also wore a black cloak.

“Ah?” Ruduli was so immersed with Lauran’s beauty and feminine charm that he had completely forgotten about the most important matter.

“Since you have her, there’s no need to torment them anymore, right?” The man felt everyone’s gazes on him. “W-Wasn’t the whole point for tormenting them because you wanted her?”

Ruduli pondered his subordinate’s words. Lauran slowly lifted her hands after his silence.

She saw a wicked grin on his face. His eyes were like those of a predator gawking at its prey.

“Kill them all.”

“!!!!” Not just the man who asked the question but all the others gasped.

“I-Isn’t that a little---” The man was about to argue before a knife went through his eye and pierced his brain. He fell down onto the ground silently.

Lauran screamed.

Ruduli lowered the arm that threw the knife. He kicked the man who kept interrupting him and took out his knife from the eye that it pierced.

“You see, I respect the opinions of my loyal subordinate but there are just some lines you can’t cross. Now that guy I just killed crossed it.”

Ruduli looked at all of his gang members and released his aura.

“DON’T YOU DARE TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!” He bellowed furiously. His voice boomed through the entire mansion. Many cowered from his pressure.

Lauran, who was right next to him cried.

Although Ruduli was out of shape and a little plump, he was still a warrior who was once a knight. He was also an experienced martial artist. No one would dare defy him.

Even his little brothers; Tobias and Kon.

After looking at Lauran, he smiled.

“Let’s go, Lauran. My sweetheart~”

◇◇

Part 2

Arnold and Flora had decided to go to a nearby skewer stand since Liumiala was taking so long.

He had received a message from her a few minutes ago which was only one line.

Almost done.

She had cut off the communication a moment’s later. It was probably because she was afraid someone could use magic to listen in on their conversation.

‘Should I have taken the request to find the essence?’

He didn’t want any loose ends on his name so he was hesitant. If he agreed to find it then they would’ve had Lauran’s location by now. It was a truly difficult choice to make.

Problem was that he didn’t know if Dryads still spawned the same way as in Star Fantasy. They were usually tree avatars who bathed in the radiance of the World Tree whenever it had its Annual Flower Blooming which happened in the Lirea(3rd) and Relec(9th) months. Many essence-spewing flowers would grow out of the tree, thus making it the densest mana field in the entire world.

To spawn them, you had to use a Divine Fertilizer that sped up the World Tree’s flower blooming. As Dryads weren’t intelligent, the chances of the trap working was always ninety-nine percent. Most players did this trap so they could also benefit from the World Tree’s blooming.

It was believed that if you were to enter the mana field around the tree and stay there for several days then your MP would rise by +2 daily. Arnold didn’t necessarily need this before since he was already at max level and couldn’t go further. At best, he could harvest the mana and create potions out of it by adding other materials.

Then again, the trap glitch didn’t exist in the earlier patches of the game so he never got a chance to try it out. For all the noob mages in the game, it was an easy way to level up.

The DOP’s hated this and frequently complained about the patch. Out of spite, the higher ranked players would attack the camps and bases of lower ranked players. Even after updating countless times, the glitch was never able to be fixed. It stayed in the game, forever serving as a cheat. The insects who didn’t devote blood and sweat into the game rose to the levels of the top players who actually worked for it.

The pay-to-win players were the most furious with the glitch. Arnold thought they were hypocrites. Then again, he also bought things sometimes.

‘The trap shouldn’t be in this world. Unless I can find the Divine Fertilizer….Hmm…’

If he failed to find the creature and extract its fluids then he’d have a whole organization on his behind. Serz wouldn’t just leave him be.

He wasn’t yet sure how big the project was that they were doing. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to find out.

“Didn’t you say you found someone who can help us? It’s been five hours already!” Flora grumbled and chewed her tenth skewer.

‘She’s already this lively despite the fact that she looked like a corpse this morning.’ Arnold thought and smiled wryly.

It was as expected of a swordsman who could adept to any given situation so fast.

“Patience is a virtue, Your Highness.”

“Don’t call me that in public, you idiot.”

“By the way, where did you get that sword?” Arnold pointed at the rusty sword at her waist. “You said earlier that you used it since your other weapon broke, right?”

“I found it near the corpse of some merchant. That was when I was fleeing using the highway. Although the sword isn’t a magic weapon like my previous one, it’s pretty sharp.” Flora did a few practice swings.

It sounded like the air itself would be cut as she swung the sword.

“I see. Then that guard brought you to this city, huh?"

Arnold was referring to the one who had the sword.

“Yeah. I couldn’t fight back since I was completely exhausted.” Flora looked at Arnold and asked the question she had on her mind. “You must be a spy or something, right? How did you know that I was the last princess?”

Flora whispered that last part as she glanced around.

“I can assure you, I am not a spy. Although my information network is very strong."

Arnold couldn’t just blurt out the fact that he was once a player. Not only would he seem plain stupid, no one would believe his words. Plus, there was no reason for him to reveal himself.

“Ah.” Flora had a look of understanding on her face. “You’re the cunning kind. I hate guys like you. Always snooping around with your nose in everyone’s business. And using their past against them.”

A pout emerged on her face. In response to Flora’s words, Arnold shrugged.

“Being strong won’t be the only thing that’ll guarantee my survival.”

“What’s up with that? I managed to survive so far on strength alone.” Flora said proudly as she puffed out her non-existent chest.

‘You really shouldn’t compare the two of us.’ Arnold thought and sighed.

Although Flora was a genius when it came to swordsmanship, she wasn’t the kind who really used her brains much. No matter how many times she used to study during her time as a princess, she was never be able to change that. At this point she could barely read and calculate basic equations that even 12 year olds should know.

But what she said was right. Her swordsmanship more than made up for her lack of intelligence. Rather, you could say she was smart with the sword. During life or death situations in a fight, she could reverse the situation by analysing her opponent.

It had happened many times in the past. That was why she was a prodigy in swordsmanship.

Few could compare to her.

“Are you going to tell me now what this task is?” Flora asked as they headed back to the guild.

“Let’s find Lauran first. This is more important.” Arnold answered without looking at her.

Flora sighed but nodded in the end.

“Right.”

The Guild’s front door opened just as they were about to climb the stairs. Arnold saw the same woman he had met with earlier.

“I found them. Follow me.”