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Chapter 299: Gambit
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“There are certain limitations the game is putting in me. If I don’t do what the quest says, I will fail it and this in turn will impact our time table.” Rex put on an exhausted frown. “Unless you’re in a hurry, I wouldn’t imagine that the reason why you’ve put me under a time pressure is because you are after something within this time frame. I want you to know that all of this information came with their own prices. I paid those prices and acquired the information you demanded but as consequences, I made all those buzzing enemies you are seeing is around me.”
“Ahahahahahaha!!!” AG burst into laughter as the pause on Rex’s speech came. His cane on his left hand and his right hand grasping his face; looking up and laughing loudly, AG’s resounding laughter is full of mockery and sheer amusement.
He was really laughing his heart out in jest of what he had just heard from Rex.
When he stopped, he chuckled and said, “Are you trying to bargain with me, Mister Kingsley?”
“Bargain?” Rex didn’t budge but he gripped his hands tighter as he inclined his body straight on the sofa and stared at AG eye to eye.
The gambit is on.
He had to dictate the flow!
Right now, he has two bullets on his gun. He fired the first bullet away; to appeal to AG’s pity.
And the second…. it has something to do with the NanoTech gadgets he saw upstairs.
Though he doubted the second bullet, he still hoped that it will still work.
God will help those who pray and will test those who don’t. He was the second type.
He doesn’t believe in God because this God took away his parents and sent Baron in the edge of hell….
He doesn’t believe in whatever God there is. He only believe himself.
“I’m not bargaining.” Rex said, hard on his tone as he displayed as much of his resolve as possible. “I am merely stating you the facts that the things you are demanding from me are too big a prize to think that nobody will also target them. I started later than my competitors and you still expect me to complete the task within a month’s time alone. It was impossible for the strongest player to collect information regarding an H-Class secret within a month with the help of their Guild, let alone me who were working alone. I am saying that me, joining a guild, is for the sake of your demands. I am asking fairness on the conditions you have imposed on me. I worked hard to get two H-Class Information on the mess in Dragona and Alexandria. Is this still not enough for you?”
“I haven’t even seen these so called two H-Class secret you’re talking about. How can you say that they will satisfy my demand? And to tell you sooo very honestly, Mister Kingsley…” at this point, AG leaned back on his couch and stared straight at Rex, playing with the dragon cane with one hand, pointing it at him.
“…..I hate the fact that you’re talking to me as if I desperately want to have those things you’re keeping in your pockets.”
“!!!”
Could it be?
Could it be that those NanoTech gadgets upstairs had already sent their data on AG by now?
No.
If it has, then he wouldn’t have to play this card in front of me. Even if he wanted to play mindgames with me, he still showed a change in expression earlier…. he still doesn’t know my discoveries!
Every hair on Rex’s body stood on end as he put all his effort into not freezing right there and then.
The leaning Augustus arched his chin as if he was really looking down on Rex from his royal couch, his smile was still the same but in Rex’s vision, it was as if he was really looking at a King.
—a merciless, cruel, heartless king!
AG’s presence was like a mountain and Rex is an ant looking up at its peak.
That humongous presence was brought down on his very being, suffocating him, taking away his liberty to think freely, and snatching his ability to support his very own life.
Only now did Rex realize that from the very start, AG had never cared if he was going to complete his mission or not.
He forgot that everything AG was doing is just for his entertainment.
Rex…… was always dancing at his palm.
“How cruel…” lowering his head, almost seeming to cry because his plan crumbled and his first gambit bit him in the neck instead, Rex murmured at himself as if scolding this stupid idea.
He tried to appeal to AG’s sense of humanity, to his pity to give him a breathing room, a little bit more time so he could complete his mission to free himself of his curse.
But it ultimately failed.
Augustus Laniary is a devil. He was a heartless man who doesn’t care about human lives at all.
No.
He does care, but only to those he had invested his money to. To him, human life is equal to the amount of money he had invested to an interest.
He and his baby brother is nothing more than just breathing collaterals.
“Mister Kingsley… the fact that you can enjoy an easy life while I am spending thousands of cash each and every day to support your brother must have been a small enough reason to push you to take my rules very seriously….”
AG pulled up a window and in it was Graham —in a bloody mess— bruised and seeming to be not conscious, swimming, but still breathing, on his own pool of blood.
It was a video and he could see Graham dying.
Rex felt his innards churning wildly but he pushed it back with sheer willpower as he stared at the face —no— to AG’s white mask, seeming to want to see through the anti-glare glass eyes and look straight towards the man’s soul to see if there was really a person inside there and not a devil.
“I have no need of people who can’t follow on my demand, especially to people who doesn’t follow my specific orders. Do you understand me, Mister Kingsley? Or is my calm demeanor still look like a cute and cuddly lamb in your eyes?”
How could a person be so heartless like this?
How could he put an innocent boy inside a world filled with monsters, both in skin of beasts and men alike, and then force his brother, the only and last family he had left, to play a game of hunt with strict rules and fixed demands?
“Didn‘t we agree to it, Mister Kingsley?”
Rex was startled.
Is he reading my mind?
“No I am not reading your mind. It’s just that the expression on your face says all that you have in your mind right now.”
AG laughed as if he was looking at a play. And to add more pressure to Rex, he even followed it up with a simple reminder.
“Mister Kingsley. I don’t think you are still aware of who you are dealing with here. Or is it that you were aware but you chose to forget who I am?”
“N-No… I…”
Even if Rex does provide the demands, there was no way to make sure that he will release Baron.
Augustus Laniary is such a cruel person that way.
“Do I really look like a good person in your eyes, Mister Kingsley? Do you think my calmness is a show of kindness and sympathy to your situation? Or do you see me making you play a game just to collect information while I spend thousands of cash to keep your brother alive everyday an act of charity? Or have you forgotten what you have agreed to do for me when you accepted my help back then? Is this relaxed environment making you feel like enjoying your life right now, Mister Kingsley?”
AG was clearly just teasing but every question he threw at him tasted like poison in Rex’s heart.
Despite the fact that AG sounded calm, his diction and his choice of words were like nails that smash him to his feet right through the skull.
Rex’s greatest fear was materializing at a rapid pace right now.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
What if AG abandons Baron?
What if he gives up on him and chooses another person to play his game?
His gambit failed and now, he aroused AG’s anger because he tried to challenge him. AG was the king of this game and he failed in his challenge. If Rex doesn’t provide him the information, then he will surely lose all the cards he had in the end.
Winners are the paragons, losers are the criminals left to be condemned.
Rex had no choice but to divulge what he know.
But in the end, there was a voice telling Rex that he doesn’t have to completely bow down to AG.
Did he not prepare two cards to play a gambit to him before he decided to negotiate?
He might have lost the first gambit but he still felt that his card wasn’t wrong nor was it weak. He just did not play it right.
For the first time ever, he agreed to this voice.
Rex knew that he was important to whatever the reason why AG chose him to be part of his plans with Terroa. The proof of this matter is the fact that there are NanoTech gadgets in the house.
….and perhaps an even bigger part of this small confidence is the fact that he was the son of the makers of RPG: Terroa.
Rex knew that he had lost the first gambit but if he plays his next card right, he might buy another chance for himself.
“Alright.”
Suddenly, AG saw the panic in Rex’s face vanish in a veil of stern expression. He locked eyes with him and AG didn’t like this surging confidence in his gaze very much.
He also became serious.
“Okay. I admit that I am complaining but I will still state you the facts in my hands. What I hold are information worth H-Class standards because this connects to the history of Terroa that dates back more than trillions of trillions of years in history.”
AG beamed a smile, an evil smile. “What a very clever way to play your cards, Mister Kingsley. It is clever but not overly. In fact, it was so very obvious even for a beginner. But everyone has their own firsts… you learn from your mistakes.”
That smile made Rex inwardly grumble but also sigh in relief.
Now that he caught AGs interest, he had to play this right and win this round. If not, then he would have gambled on Baron’s safety for nothing.
It was a test. AG was testing him.
When does Rex collapse?
When does he give up?
What will make Rex Kingsley cry in despair?
Just what is the boy up to now?
AG was testing where his limits lay.
Though his face was covered by a mask, Rex can still feel the narrowed eyes that AG was using to look at his direction.
Everyone has their first? What, so it means AG is expecting for something like this to happen?
Putting himself on AG’s shoes, Rex realized that his attempt to gambit him using his humanity was a child’s play in AG’s hands.
He underestimated him greatly.
Rex can only swallow this mistake. He did learn a bunch of lesson in this harsh experience.
This wasn’t a time to play macho. He had to take a step back and plan again. He still has a card and AG was already hooked on its turn.
“Mistake or not, I still want to hear it.” He said, “As for this second secret…… I want to ask you right now, since you already know that it’s regarding a timeframe that dates trillions of years in the past, I don’t have to say again that it’s regarding entities called Immortals.”
“Immortals!” Unexpectedly, AG’s tone and voice showed a rare amount of agitation in it.
It seems that ‘Immortals’ is one of AG’s main focuses in establishing the “Masked Organization” in Terroa. Rex took note of this tiny fraction of AG’s emotion and thought that the last bullet on his gun succeeded.
Unknowingly, he got a victory over AG!
His heart was beating very fast, his first taste of victory over this devil tasted delicious.
Rex moved fast, he pulled his elbows up, joined his hands to hide the smile threatening to build on his lips at this moment.
He made it so that he seems to brush his face and then look down, putting his hands on his nape.
Thankfully, it all happened while AG was in a state of surprise or he would have noticed Rex’s smile.
AG also felt that he had slipped in a weakness on his earlier shock and thought that it was too late to take back and repair any damages now.
Why wouldn’t he be excited and agitated by it?
Rex is presenting two of the things he was very interested to get in Terroa.
First is the secret to the [LOCKED] abilities.
Second is the very thing that his [Project Genesis] is focused on. He even recruited and persuaded Faust just for the sake of this project.
Rex really hit the nail on his weakness this time.
“Go on.” AG was smiling widely, leaning back to his couch and heaved a long sigh.
He didn’t hide his emotions not because it was too late but because he knew that bearing his fangs in this moment will remind Rex Kingsley that he was still the holder of his and his brother’s fates.
Rex will have no choice but to spill the beans.
“You’ve caught my attention. I won’t allow you to back off now.” he said happily.
“My request.” Rex said raising his head to show a stern and frowning expression. “I want to hear your word. You told me before: a businessman’s words are his weakness and also his weapons. An honest business will be built upon a man’s words and a true businessman dominates his foes with tactics and strategies, not underhanded tricks and cowardly acts. So let me hear your word for it…. I want to have at least a three-month buffer period before I deliver the next H-Class secret to you.”
AG’s smile never waned but his gaze locked into Rex’s and never let go of it.
They were trying to see whose gaze will first turn away…. they were trying to see whose gaze was a little better and whose ‘demands’ weighed more.
“Tell me then, if I give you three months’ time that equates to nine months in Terroa, what are you going to do with it?”
“I’m going to lift up my curse.”
“Your curse?”
“The Malevolent Aura curse….” As soon as this went out of his mouth, Rex thought of something and he did his best to make it so that it also seems like another secret with his hesitation. “It was the curse I received back in the Forest of Anazon, back when I was hunting for the Excalibur. I am not sure yet but this curse was connected to a dead person that lived 20 thousand years ago in Terroa.”
AG was placid. His expression showed that he did not even hear what he just said.
“Based on the information I got from the Quest…. it would seem that I needed to go back in time or at least use something in Terroa that will allow me to talk to that Old Wizard in the past.”
“So you think that’s an H-Class secret?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“Heh… Mister Kingsley, do you remember what we had agreed upon back in Loire?”
Rex thought back to that hateful day and his fists clenched so hard, he felt it go numb from pain.
“Yes. Yes, I remember.”
“And its contents?” AG said playfully.
Rex fixed his jaw, “All H-Class secret should have a material representation; something that you can get or see, or initiate yourself.”
AG laughed loudly, using the cane to point at Rex on the sofa, “Good boy. At least you are aware of the rules of the deal. Let me use this chance to remind you again, Mister Kingsley, that the deal is for you to present FIVE H-Class secrets to me. I did not ask for information. I asked for the very secrets themselves. Meaning, I want to be the one to have it for myself. I gave you chance to give me a lower one back then but that’s the last time I will do it. Do you understand?”
Rex’s eyed balled out widely.
“Wait! Isn’t it down to three now?!!”
AG paused, “Oh, so you want it to be five again?”
Rex swallowed his next words. He really felt like punching him right now. He was shaking in rage and his breathing was short and ragged, even the sounds of it were audible on AG’s speakers.
Unfair…. this is all so unfair.
“Challenging me has their consequences, Mister Kingsley. I am not a good person. I am a business oriented noble man.”
AG spoke like a righteous poet, complete with a set of actions as if he was on a stage. After that, he laughed and waited for Rex. He was mocking his feeble attempt earlier.
“Do you understand my point?”
Your point?
YOUR POINT?!!
Rex wanted to scream in rage but he couldn’t. He bit his lower lip and swallowed his anger. He can only look down to clench his fists and then grit his teeth, nodding with bitterness in his heart.
“Yes. I understand.” He had to do this because he was defeated in his gamble earlier. Although he managed to recover and give AG something to look forward to in this meeting, it was still a fact that he tried to challenge his authority.
It wasn’t a wise decision on his side.
“Good. Well then, if I decided that your items are worthy of my demand, then I will grant you all the time you saved recovering one secret to be added to your next goal. If these two are indeed worthy of a single item of the last four I want from you, then yes, you can do whatever you want in the next three months…. provided… that you will present me another item until our next meeting. Am I clear?”
“Yes.” Rex could taste the acid on his lips. If this pair of information does not suit AG’s demands, he will have wasted everything.
AG looked at Rex’s tamed wolf demeanor and he couldn’t help but smile. Wolves will always bite the enemy, no matter how much they pretend to be a weak and docile dog. He knew that Rex was just bidding his time, waiting for a chance to take him down at the slightest of gap in his armor.
He couldn’t help but become happy because this was a development that he wanted to see from the boy.
The brighter his burning passion, the better the results of his Project Genesis will be.
He was against The Father’s [Salvation] plan since to him, it was a short-sighted venture. In fact, he already told The Father that is he succeeds with his [Project Genesis], then his ‘Mortal God’ would be born from the other subjects as well.
Why is he pushing Rex to be the ‘God’ amongst all men? No. In fact, anyone would fit the bill to be an easily manipulated ‘God’ but why is he pushing it to happen as soon as possible?
As much as AG understood the Father’s reason in this regard, he couldn’t do anything about it.
Of all the people he accepted to be able to do a thing or two on his investments, it was The Father whose power he was wary of.
If Rex can’t challenge him, then AG, as powerful as he was, still can’t challenge the old man.
This was their hierarchy so he could only vent his frustrations on the poor Graham who was but a middleman.
“Alright then. Since this secret regarding the EXP Points is something tangible, then I can promise that with your two secrets combined, I will slash one item of the last four. Or do you not like this arrangement?”
Rex looked at AG and fought with himself if he had to point out this unfair treatment.
On the other hand, the second gambit was still on.
“Yes.” He finally said after much deliberation. “It is not to my liking. I will only provide you with the second secret then. I will keep the first item I spoke about to myself. Besides, I still have one month. I can still find a secret if I focus my effort on this task.”
AG amusingly grinned, “Fine. Go on then.”
Both of them knew that the reason why AG was this positive is because he had that NanoTech in the room upstairs.
Rex sighed in relief.
One of his gambits succeeded.
Since AG took the time to call first and let him tell him only the second item on his repertoire, he knew that there are only two ways on how to get the information from his NLD Console.
It is either by physically accessing the NanoTech from the room upstairs, or by remote access.
What he feared is that the remote access works 24hrs. But now that he confirmed AG’s reactions, he discovered that the NanoTech upstairs is only accessible physically.
At least, by knowing this fact, although he might lose the first information, he at least lost it with AG and not to any other people.
He knew that AG will keep it to himself as well. it will serve as the Masked Organization’s asset.
Also, he now knew how and why AG was always aware of some of his activities inside Terroa.
It was because he was sending someone to sneak in the house when he was online. He now realize why Graham kept his breakthrough in the twins’ meditation thing a secret to everybody, and why Graham was punished by AG as he saw earlier.
Knowing this, though it was a losing gambit, he still got valuable information he could use to get the lead ahead next time.
After all, Volt is just in front of his house…… and, back in the Apus Epirus, the ultimate form of his iconic puppet weapon, Erebus, is being reborn.
There was nothing more reassuring than knowing how your devil gets ahold of you. By knowing how you are being threatened, you can plan ahead on how to properly defend.
I won.
Rex thought. It was true. In this gambit, he lost the battle but he won the war.
.
.
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A risky gamble won him a valuable intel while he learns of his pros and cons!!!
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