Chapter 11 – Predator vs Prey

Arbiter Allie

Somewhere deep in space, far beyond the reach of any multiversal power, there existed a room that was its own dimension. It was a quaint looking office, housing a warm fireplace, and shelves upon shelves of books. Allie always loved coming to this room, no matter how infrequent her visits were. She enjoyed her tea while looking at the man sitting across from her. He had removed his identity concealing mask, which he rarely did. His pleasant grandfatherly smile brought back a lot of fond memories.

“And to what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from my favorite granddaughter?” he smiled amiably while sipping on his own tea.

“You know damn well why I am here, you wily old man,” she smirked as she withdrew a disk from her inventory. When placed on the table between them, it projected a hologram showing an unassuming young man unleashing carnage within a goblin cave.

“Ah. Such harsh language. What happened to my sweet little child who used to run around my room with not a care in the world,” he said in a mock hurt tone. He fixated on the hologram with interest. The boy was doing a phenomenal job of sowing discord between the goblin shamans and scouts, while taking them out by the dozens using improvised traps and guerilla tactics.

“You know this boy, don’t you? You are the one who sent out the System quest to me?” she pressed on for more details while admiring the show. Not a single goblin had realized who the assailant targeting them was. The arrogant brat even used her precious trinket as a makeshift wrist guard to block attacks. Not that anything on that planet could scratch it, but his confidence was extraordinary.

The old man merely smiled without comment. But she did pick up a twinkle in his eye when their gazes met. She knew her grandfather better than most, and his schemes always ran deep. But she knew he meant well, in her case at least. So, she was not worried, merely curious.

“Quite an extraordinary player, isn’t he? Classless but still managing to solo a horde of goblins,” the old man said.

“So? Out with it, what are you scheming this time?” she asked with a smirk. “Going to send him on some grand System quest to slay a dragon?”

“Well, I could. But I won’t. Wouldn’t want to spoil my relationship with my future grandson-in-law, would I?”

Allie nearly choked as the tea went down the wrong pipe as she spluttered and sprayed her tea out.

“Cough… cough… Your… cough… what now?” she managed to wheeze out the words.

Her grandfather chuckled mildly before breaking out into a full-blown laugh. He kept laughing harder the redder her face got. She was on the verge of using a fire spell to light his beard on fire if he didn’t stop laughing and explain himself.

“Forgive me love. Haven’t had a laugh that good in decades. It’s good to see I can still shock you,” he said in between his laughing fit.

“So, this was all a joke?”

“Oh dear no. I was serious about his candidacy to be my future in grandson-in-law,” the old man said with a mischievous smile.

Allie’s left eye twitched as she started gathering mana in her right palm. That beard needed to go. She was just about to unleash her vengeance, when he held out his hands in a placating gesture.

“Calm down my child. I am not fixing your wedding date or anything. I am not even telling you to do something you don’t want to. I am merely asking you to get to know the boy. You both are too young anyway to have such a conversation. In a century or two, who knows”

“You do realize I am more than 2 evolution grades stronger than him,” she said with annoyance.

“You are stronger now, yes,” he remarked with a mischievous smile. Leaving some things unsaid was his way of teasing her.

“The answer is still no. I will not let you decide who I marry. I don’t even like that arrogant boy. Did you look at how he is using my trinket. And that is after I told him not to scratch it,” she said with a frown.

It was not like her to get flustered so easily. This was not even the first proposal she received. She had turned down hundreds of proposals from big and powerful families. Each suitor was a genius in his own right. But the fact that her favorite grandfather brought this forward is what irked her. That too regarding a level zero nobody.

“Ah well. An old man can dream I suppose,” her grandfather sighed and turned back to the hologram, not explaining further, which annoyed her. She expected him to push a bit, explaining to her why he felt the brat was a good candidate. All the previous proposals were like that.

“So, that’s it? You are just going drop this on me and give no explanation? Like why him? What makes him so special?”

“Well, if you have already made up your mind then what is there to explain. Besides, I was just rambling out my thoughts. Even if you had agreed, who is to say the boy would consent,” the old man said that without looking away from the projection. For some weird reason that last line angered her the most.

“He’d be blessed to be my partner. Do you know how many geniuses are desperate to court me? What is so special about this kid? And you think he would turn me down?” she puffed out her cheeks in anger.

“My dear, I have met the boy. I don’t think he’ll turn you down. I know he’ll turn you down,” her grandfather said seriously. His jovial and happy tone was gone. There was something in his eyes she rarely saw as he gazed at the boy fighting 4 goblins at once while being heavily injured. Sadness.

The sudden change in mood left her reeling for an explanation. Her gaze was drawn to the fight again. Trying desperately to see what her grandfather saw. At some point, the goblins had found him and had all united to take him down. But not before he had whittled their numbers down by half. He was surrounded on three sides, with his back to the throne. The only saving grace was that all the shamans were dead. He was now faced up against a sea of goblin warriors and scouts.

Yet, none of the goblins charged him. Even when he collapsed on the throne, exhausted and bleeding. Even in this situation he had the same calm and confident look that infuriated her. It didn’t make sense why he was always so calm.

“I don’t get it,” she finally spoke up when the impasse went on. The boy being too tired to attack, while the goblins were too scared to.

“What don’t you get, my dear,” her grandfather asked without looking away from the incredible scene.

“None of it. The goblins, they should be charging him right now. They are mindless beasts who do not care for their lives, and yet they are frozen in fear. And the boy, he is on death’s door, against an army, and yet so calm. I mean look at him relaxing on the throne like a king. Once he recovers, he can fight afresh. Surely the goblins realize that.”

The old man merely smiled before replying, “Now do you see what I see in him?”

“I… I don’t, grandfather,” she said getting further confused by the cryptic question.

Her grandfather stayed silent, giving all his attention to the stalemate. The boy leaned back on the throne and faced upwards with his eyes closed. His hands were resting on the armrests, daggers dripping with blood in each hand. If there ever was a time to attack, this would be it. With his eyes closed, at least one of the warriors could safely close the distance. Yet the only movement she detected was of a few goblins in the backlines retreating.

After a few moments the boy leaned forward and stood up. His eyes were still closed. He cracked his neck before finally opening his eyes. The moment he did, all goblins dropped their weapons and ran for the exit. The boy smiled eerily before charging. The cave had only one exit, so a stampede followed. And thus, with relative ease, he started hunting the goblins one by one.

Allie was flabbergasted. She had no idea what was going on. He was obviously level zero, which meant he had no class spells like Fear. So, what was going on. She looked up to her grandfather who had a mysterious smile on his face.

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“It seems you still don’t get it, do you?”

Allie merely shook her head in silence. Nothing about the boy had ever made sense, but the scene before her went beyond that. Her grandfather smiled sadly before turning back to the boy, who was now chasing down goblins through the forest. And if he was deadly in the cave, he was a devil incarnate in the forest. None of the terrified goblins saw him coming before they met their end.

“My dear, your mistake was feeling that this boy is not good enough for you. The truth is you are not good enough for him,” her grandfather said calmly.

Even though it stung to hear such words from her doting grandfather, she had an inkling as to why he said it. She was born into a very powerful family and had gotten the best resources the multiverse had to offer. And using her extraordinary aptitude, she had catapulted herself to her current level of 205 in the span of a mere 5 years. No one could question her skill. But at no point in her life had she instilled such a reaction from creatures above her level.

When she had unleashed her presence to make everyone submit during the orientation, she knew she was stronger. Yet the only person who didn’t collapse was the boy. She had chalked it up to a fluke. But now she doubted that. She stood up and bowed to her grandfather formally.

“Venerable Overseer, please teach this inexperienced one. What am I missing here? Surely this boy can’t be using his presence. It doesn’t unlock till you reach level 200,” she stayed bent over till her teacher started talking.

“It is quite simple my apprentice. This boy is a predator,” the Overseer said with an air of authority.

“But…he’s weak. They had him outnumbered and outmatched,” Allie was stunned, but managed to ask what was bothering her.

“Have you ever seen prey attack a predator unless they are cornered? Have you ever seen a predator cower in fear of its prey? Is a predator always stronger, faster or smarter than its prey? Can prey not take down their predator if they join forces?” her master asked the questions in quick succession with a smile.

“I understand, Master. Thank you for your guidance,” Allie gave a deep bow before standing up and looking down at the table. They continued watching the utter annihilation of the goblin horde for the next several hours.

Finally, after about 12 hours the boy had finished his hunt and was dragging his injured body back to the cave. He was covered in blood from head to toe and was exhausted beyond words. Even then, his eyes exuded the same calm that she had mistaken for arrogance. She grew up watching heirs to powerful families with similar looks, and so had wrongly assumed that is what it was.

“Grandfather, do you know of his past?” she asked sheepishly.

“Why do you ask?” her grandfather asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I, umm, may have angered him by calling him a selfish jerk who cared nothing of his family and friends,” she whispered in embarrassment.

“Why would you do such a thing?” he frowned as he asked.

“He, umm… reminded me of… older sister. She had also gone charging ahead when she turned 10 to get her first kill bonus…,” her voice trailed off. Her grandfather closed his eyes in thought, no doubt reliving the same scene she was. After a few moments of silence, he spoke up in disappointment.

“I thought I had taught you not to judge someone based on your own past. Seems my instruction was lacking. But no. I do not know his past. I have gazed upon his soul, but that does not give me an insight on what happened to him before the System integration.”

“What did you see in his soul?” she asked curiously.

“Are you sure you want to know?” he asked firmly.

Allie nodded gently. She was starting to get very curious about this boy. She wanted to know what molded him into what he was today. After some contemplation, her grandfather just said one word with sadness.

“Pain.”

She looked on with confusion, hoping he would elaborate but he didn’t. They both looked on in silence as the boy climbed back into his earlier hiding spot within the cave and lay down. He lifted his left hand to look at her trinket and smiled. But the words that came out next shocked both people in the small room at the edge of existence.

“Hope you enjoyed the view. Arbiter Allie and Overseer.”

………………..

Aenon

After a good night’s sleep, Aenon woke up the next day and climbed down from his perch. He collapsed on the stone throne the hobgoblins had used. He was mentally exhausted beyond belief. His original plan was to assassinate the hobgoblins and escape. But after studying the goblins for a full week, he knew their patterns well. So, he decided to take them all out instead.

Using guerilla tactics, and improvised traps, he managed to whittle them down. The last few groups were not worth his time. He had not checked his interface in about a week and hence there were a bunch of notifications that were demanding his attention, but he did not have the energy to go over them.

As he leaned back and closed his eyes, he detected Harley moving about the cave freely. He let her explore while recovering his strength. Eventually she returned to him, and he could practically feel her impatience in the air. She had questions, a lot of them. Mentally bracing himself, he opened his eyes and looked at her.

“Had your fill of spilled blood, Harl? Told you to have patience, was it worth it?” he smirked while looking at the shard practically vibrating with excitement.

Oh, it was beyond worth it. You haven’t checked your notifications yet, but the amount of XP you got is insane. This will help me level up a bunch and give me the ability to have a body. I can’t get titles like players, and can only get one class, but I am so excited to see what I can do.

Since I am a System construct with no history, I can only go for the basic classes for now and so I chose to be a healer.

He smiled at the shard that was now rubbing itself on his chest. Stroking her gently, he turned over to the snake that was wrapped around his left hand. He didn’t say a word, merely observing as she kept pretending like she wasn’t there. He eventually asked, “And what about you? Satisfied that I didn’t scratch your trinket?”

“Huh? So, it was not a guess then. You really can sense me through the trinket,” she jolted at being confronted by him.

“Oh, come on Arbiter. No need to panic. I don’t bite,” he said mischievously, giving her the same sadistic grin she had given the crowd a few weeks ago. She stared dumbfounded for a few seconds before turning red, which was impressive, since she was a snake now. Looking at her getting embarrassed, he started laughing, which further annoyed her.

She slithered off him and transformed to her elf form. She had a deep frown as she glared at him.

“How are you sensing us?”

“Us?” Aenon asked with a smirk.

“Me and my grandfather,” she blurted out before slapping her mouth closed.

“Ah, so the Overseer is related to you. So that’s why you had the quest to fix my soul space. Isn’t this considered nepotism?” he teased her with an innocent smile. The Overseer’s laugh filled the cave at that moment. Aenon stood up in respect as he materialized out of thin air.

“Come now. Stop teasing my apprentice,” the overseer said jovially while standing next to her now beet red granddaughter.

Aenon gave a courteous bow and looked up at the man’s face for the first time. He looked ancient with a long beard but had a firm build.

“Although please do satisfy an old man’s curiosity. How did you know we were watching you?” the Overseer asked.

“The same way I knew she was following me ever since we left my soul space,” he stated simply. “I can’t explain why, but I can sense the presence of beings in my vicinity. That includes goblins. During my fight, I suddenly sensed something from the trinket.”

“Huh. Most curious. Soul sense, unlike mana sense, is linked to Titles. But I don’t see any such Titles on you.”

“Ah maybe because I am hiding it. Hold on a second,” Aenon said.

“As if you can hide a Title from an Overseer. You may be mysterious, but not that myster…”, Allie trailed off as he unhid his Unfettered Title. Her jaw dropped again.

To his credit, the Overseer simply had an amused look. “Well, would you look at that.”

“Well, what does it mean? It is the only Title I have with question marks, so I didn’t share it with her. But you are like the top guy, right below the System. So could you explain what it does?” Aenon asked while Allie struggled to comprehend what was going on.

“I can. But I won’t. If the System deems it is not time for you to know it, then so be it. Just know it is something good,” the old man said with a warm smile and a chuckle.

Aenon held in his frustration at not knowing the details of his strongest Title. He looked over at Harley who was vibrating with excitement to the side, and then at Allie.

“You think it would be alright to introduce them? If she is your apprentice, then it should be ok, right?” he questioned the Overseer.

“Are you sure you trust my granddaughter enough to reveal something so close to you?” the Overseer gave an appreciative smile at the show of respect and trust.

“Well, she has saved my life twice. I don’t see why not,” he shrugged his shoulders while replying.

The Overseer had a twinkle in his eye, as he nodded and stepped to the side. Allie on the other hand was baffled.

“Introduce me? To whom?” she looked around in confusion.

Hello. Nice to meet you Arbiter Allie. I am Harlequin.

Allie jumped to the side in shock as Harley spoke up in a loud cheerful voice, right next to Allie’s ear. The crystal looked more blue than red when it appeared before the Overseer and the confounded Arbiter for the first time. Instead of a red rock with blue splotches, it was the other way around.

“What the… what is this?” Allie exclaimed.

I am Aenon’s…

The shard glitched out again, making the Overseer raise an eyebrow while Aenon ignored it.

I am Aenon’s very own System assigned assistant.

“Huh?” Allie remarked while turning to her grandfather, who merely shrugged in response.

“It’s a long story. I will explain it to you later,” Aenon helpfully commented.

“What about the weird interruption…,” she started to ask before Aenon cut her off.

“Well, I am starving after that ordeal. Is there anything else you need to know, Overseer sir,” he asked politely with a bow.

“Nothing I can think of. Oh wait, there is this one thing. Would you care to indulge this old man’s curiosity a little more. What did you mean when you said we left my soul space? You and who else?”

Aenon gave him a confused look before pointing at Allie, “Her of course. She did not know about Harley at the time.”

The look of utter horror on Allie’s face was something to behold, while the broad smile growing on the old man’s face made him shudder for some reason.

“So, she saw everything in your soul space?” he asked plainly.

“Well yeah. It’s not like there is much to…Oh,” It was Aenon’s turn to blush as he recalled what Allie was doing in his soul space when they first met there.

Allie screamed loudly as her grandfather started to laugh. His laugh was interrupted by a small explosion on his face which burnt off his pristine beard within seconds. Even so, he didn’t stop laughing as he disappeared.

Slowly, Allie turned to him with menacing eyes. And for the first time in his life, he wanted to flee from someone.