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Volume 4
Chapter 9 Siva’s Delight
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Regrettably, all meetings must also have their farewells.
He added the twins on his friend list but he rejected the invitation to add him on theirs. He just told them that if he had some treasure hunting to do he’d contact them, a reason good enough for them to look forward to.
On the bar, he saw Dante enter from the direction of the Inn. He wore his mask back, although manually so to avoid attention, so Dante didn’t recognize Siva until he introduced himself so.
“Oh.” Dante dropped the glass as he was cleaning and studied his appearance, a spark of interest glowed in his eyes.
“I need to speak to you about something.”
“Hmm, you came back in time. This is not the proper place to discuss this. Let’s talk in the lounge.”
Siva followed Dante as they escaped the rowdy scene of the bar, ignoring the curious eyes from the patrons and his new found acquaintances astonished gaze.
Up the stairs, then to the same hallway, the rooms, and finally the gathering area, in the lobby of the Illuminati HQ, as always, were people waiting there in the lounge.
Assuming they’re all members of The Illuminati, either waiting for their clients, for Dante, or was just there to waste time and have a chit chat with the other members, they all glanced over Siva when as soon as they came.
He just ignored them, not even batting a single muscle to look their way.
The luxurious hall was more noticeable to him now than the first time he had visited. And he also noticed the few curious gazes tinged with antagonism directed at him. He’s already used to that. No, more like, theirs were just too light compared to the monsters’ intents.
There were cups served in there and a maid to attend to their needs. It looked like a gathering of high ranking players as there were escorts and guard-looking people standing behind strong looking players in the seat.
As a gift, Siva spent a few moments scanning them for signs of Garin’s group or their members, but he didn’t see anyone familiar so he turned his eyes back to Dante.
Like before, Dante opened the door to the VIP room and motioned for Siva to enter before him.
And, just like before, the people in the lounge who saw this frown over the event and Siva, who had experience on their haughty attitude, could only sigh. Although it came differently to them than what he imagined.
Inside, as always, was the sofa set facing the wall with a small table in the middle. Dimly lit, the room was a bit colder than he remembered it was.
He sat down in the couch while Dante made the call to Augustus. And just like before, as the time expansion began to compress to match the room’s time in the time in the real world, the same sensation he felt when he uses «Lightning Step» came into him.
When the face with a white mask in his elegant white tux seated in the same sofa appeared after a few minutes, Siva’s facade was all bear and so he stood.
He unequipped everything he wore, except his polo and his slacks, surprising both Siva and Augustus who was silent when he went online.
Black skin, like smoke it was evaporating, like water, it was flowing on his body.
His hair was dyed black, his whole self was outlined in the dim light of the room. Like a real ghost story of yore, the silhouette reminded one of the stories that told of a vengeful spirit that takes lives, having skin darker than the night.
What lay before the two men’s eyes was just the exact representation of that folklore.
“I see you found something.” Augustus was grinning.
With the addition of Siva’s antagonistic presence, all the more this impression deepens its impact to the two men.
“Fascinating.” Dante’s excitement couldn’t be hid. “I’m utterly amazed. What is that?”
“Before I answer that,” Siva began his tempo, “I want you two to know I don’t have the Excalibur.”
“I already know.” Said Augustus and Siva glanced over at Dante who did not even show any signs of guilt. Siva knew it himself, Dante knew that Helium had already gone over for the same item and that it only came to him late that he was fooled. But he let it slide.
“Alright.” He said under gritted teeth. “But I have a few more things for you that is way better than the Excalibur or any material items.”
Dante and Augustus exchanged glances and only Dante was the one who displayed honest curiosity.
He urged Siva to continue and so he did.
“Firstly, I will report what happened to the events back in Hagonoy.”
“That’s a rather late thing to do.” Dante said.
“Not quite.” Siva said in all confidence. Only his skin had changed but everything about him, voice included, is still the same. “Did you know that I completed a B-ranked mission in Hagonoy?”
“Oh?” A rare smile beamed from Augustus.
“And I defeated a Dragon.”
“A Dragon?” Dante seemed amused. “Oh! So the great Volume Hunter is also The Destroyer? How amusing to know that.”
Although he said he was amused, the emotion was not as visible to his expression as it should be.
But when Siva pulled out the book he received from the said Mission, Dante’s eyes sparkled the same way he’d shown interest the first time he laid eyes on it.
And then he opened up the Quest Index Window, pulls out a certain information Panel, and swiped it across so that it also shows on to the two men’s visions. In the panel was the Information Prompt he received when he got the H-Class Information.
“The Founding of an Empire”
Long ago, there was the Legendary Hero, Clemente, who had so many achievements, including the founding of The Empire of Tiara.
Rumors of his dark ambitions were scattered and the link on his mysterious death had been shrouded in darkness. But throughout the history, there was one clan who held the secret on these rumors and now, that secret is ready to be revealed in the world.
Augustus was still stolid.
“I’ve already seen this.”
“But you don’t know the rest of the story that revolves around that information.”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Contrary to the serious reaction that Siva anticipated the man in white tux would give, he smiled at Siva upon the mention of ‘the rest of the story’.
“Amuse me.” Augustus challenged with a relaxed grin.
“H-Class Information, ranging from, perhaps, B-rank to anything higher than that, needs three specific rules for it to be accessed by a player.”
After his pause, a change in expression dawned on the impassive front of the white tied man. Siva’s eyes gone off to the cane that sat beside him and to the shoulder of his body guard that stood behind.
“Are you referring to the rumours of how the guild Riddler’s Guise gained access to rare missions?”
“Yes.” Siva said firmly.
“Oh?” Dante showed a look of challenge. “So what’s the third rule?” He asked and took a step forth.
Siva swiped the air and a window popped up in front of them. In the window, displayed, were his current stats, his skills, equipments, and his current active missions.
It was his Player Info Window.
Normally, showing one’s Player Window is basically asking for assassination. But Siva assumed that they’d actually do that as he firmed his resolve to face anyone that will stand in his way head on.
In his mind, he steeled his decision, the more players he defeated, the stronger and more weapons and items he could get. He wasn’t going to sell them, he will use any and all that he can to make himself stronger in the shortest of possible ways.
“Interesting.” Dante massaged his thick mustache. “It is an interesting set of skills, your stats…” He pressed a button and Dante’s eyes squinted in delight. “I see. It’s indeed a plausible conclusion as to why Riddler’s Guise can do rare missions one at a time.”
“Unique Ability.” Augustus spoke. And the moment he did, the calm in Siva’s storm riddled chest vanished and the calamity came back. “And you have Free Stat Points despite… ah, this is indeed great news.”
Finally, the smile of satisfaction, wider than any smiles Siva had seen from Augustus beamed out of his lips.
This made his heart excited.
Finally! He might get to meet the promised standard of his deal with him. But still, the big reason he was in seat is because the nervousness just doesn’t die out.
“I have a Unique Ability myself.” Siva said and Dante looked at him.
“The Killing Zone?”
“Yes.” He replied securely. “My Spirit Stat is in 100%”
The men’s eyes hovered and they showed what he could only say as pure surprise.
“Who would have thought?” Dante was now caressing his chin. “So it wasn’t a useless stat after all.”
“I believe it is the reason why I am not affected by the «Pose of the King» abilities of the Dragons and Lapis.”
“It fits.” Augustus said. “A-ranked monsters and the ones that stand above them are all capable of that. It is an ability that paralyzes everything around them, like a sense of fear a mouse gets when stared upon by a cat.”
“This explains why.” Dante added. “I already have the theory for their almost unreasonable prowess but with this proof, it serves right to suppose that the «Pose of the King» is an ability that directly attacks one’s spirit.”
“So how many seconds are you paralyzed?”
“None.” Siva’s reply to Augustus was rather sharp. He wanted him to announce that he passed his first item so he needed to go now to look for the rest of the deal.
But before he could even say something, Dante spoke up that interrupted his momentum.
“Are we the first people to know this?”
Siva paused to measure the reason for the question.
“Yes.”
But as he failed to deduce what reason made Dante ask such an obvious trivial fact, he looked at Augustus who then gave Dante a nod.
“Truly you did quite a work out there.” Dante’s words almost made Siva smile. If not for the austere look that came from the masked man in white tux seated in front of him, he would have also smiled back.
“Impressive.” Said Augustus and sipped a liquid from his cup in his table. “Although it is far from the item you’ve promised, I’ll treat this as a one time misplay on your part and hope that you’ve learned a lesson.”
“…”
Dante behind Siva remained silent. His businessman aura and excited cries seized into a stop.
“Have you learned your lesson yet, Rex?”
“Lesson?” The question caught Siva off guard. He was ready to burst off any second but the words he heard made all his mental preparation evaporate. “What I felt when you gave me that condition was that it is a test of my skills. But now I see that it was something for a different reason. Why?”
Augustus’ smile was cold and icy. Siva could feel the fangs hanging on his neck. He barely stopped his anger from exploding on Augustus and from his tone, the man may have sensed it so he showed his fangs to be as oppressive as possible.
He retreated into his mental bed in defeat.
The man’s presence, even in this virtual rendering, was just too great for him to make clash. The fear of him abandoning Baron in just a wave of a hand sips in on his subconsciousness making him weak inside.
As the message seemed to have been delivered, the man in white tux in front of Siva elegantly, calmly took the cup on the table and sipped the liquid inside.
When he returned the cup on the saucer in his other hand, Augustus mildly read the information on the info panel on his vision.
“I am reading a few locked things here and I assume that you are planning on uncovering them?”
“It’s a quest requirement.” Siva replied to Augustus.
At the time, a latte was served to him by Dante and the latter came back to his position behind.
The main man crossed his leg over and made a firm businessman sit on his sofa as he slightly inclined his body to massage his chin with his gloved hand.
His mask had a red glint on it, much like the one he had worn on the day he was taken into Goldwyn City, and it was what made Siva’s skin crisp in tension. He couldn’t read his expression, he couldn’t decipher his intentions. Siva was lost as to how to plan out the proper reactions to the man’s play that it was irritating.
“This… «Glorious Zeta» quest…”
“I can’t stay like this forever.” Siva motioned to his self as to emphasize the color of his skin. “If I don’t wear a full disguise and still look like a devil, I’d be subjected to a devil hunt of every country I go. Besides, if I don’t do it, I’ll just be summoning the Blood Dragon God back to life. And by the name alone and the difficulty of the mission where I received it, I could say it’s a force that can eradicate Terroa.”
A smile broadened on Augustus’ lips and Siva swear it somehow meant as if he was being told ‘Isn’t that a good thing?’ like a chap.
“To be sure,” he added, “It’s on the Activity Logs.”
A pause came to the two men but Dante still made his remark. “But it’s true that it’s the first time we’ve encountered a ‘Set Item’.”
“Yes, indeed.” a calm answer came from Augustus.
Set item, Siva lowered his eyes to the Chalice.
Apparently, it wasn’t just an item but also an accessory and although the Player Information Window is laid bare for the two, his inventory is not. The chalice was an accessory as it gives off an ‘effect’ to the player who owned it so it was included in his Player Window.
But what would happen if he wasn’t able to accomplish the mission that The Keeper’s Quest entails?
Thinking about it just makes him feel more awful.
Dante sat down on the single back rest sofa beside the long one where Siva sat, and he knew then that a long conversation was at hand.
“So Rex, I mean, Destroyer, can you present us this quest so we can discuss it?”
Rex presented them the info window summoned in his vision and waited for a few moments for them to finish reading while he enjoyed the latte.
Surprisingly enough, the caffè latte was good that he’d almost forgotten about the topic of the two’s silence.
Not until Dante broke it with an “Intriguing indeed.”
“I’ve heard of chain quests before but it never was in a scale bigger than this one. No, it’s not even bigger than an event ranking in C. I vote for pass in this one, what do you think, A.G.?”
The man spoken to just smiled at them and he leaned back to the sofa, playing with the cup on the saucer on his left hand.
“Alright. You passed. This is something new.”
The words made Siva blinked.
“These are all good. Worthy of being called secrets.”
Siva closed his eyes for a moment, hidden in the dim light and the shadows of his hair. He savored the words that entered his ears.
“—not only you were able to find a secret regarding a very special Quest in the game, you also presented me with this extraordinary find. You pass, Rex Kingsley.”
No words came from Siva. He was shaking but it was hid by his black smoke skin and so he was spared by the judgment on his joyous heart.
“Four more to go.” But the following words made him wide eyed. He gasped as to process the last four words he just heard. “I expect the next secret to be presented to me three in-game months from now. Oh, and please, do enjoy your reward from Dante.”
The man in white tux smiled at him before the Real@D of his image vanished in the dim light of the room.
“Four more?” He repeated, seemingly unable to think properly after hearing such great news. “Reward?”
Siva looked at the man beside his sofa, smiling at him and sipping his latte. Dante flipped his finger and Rex saw a message.
It was a file transfer completion info panel.
An ID file was transferred to his personal databank in the internet. The name was his, Rex Adam Kingsley, but the location of the ID pass’ effectivity was the one he almost couldn’t comprehend.
“This…”
“It’s tomorrow, 1pm. Graham will go and get you at 6 in the morning since travel time might get you there by noon. You’ll be seeing your brother.”
Siva’s lips trembled and he knew he was crying in joy.
He calls his Uncle Faust three times a week to check baron’s condition, secretly, because he knew that there was a 24hr-hacking threat that consistently attacks his established personalized Fire Wall everyday.
Although he set a Video Message Link when he’s online, calling Faust was the closest thing he got to knowing Baron’s latest condition.
Now, his wish to see his brother was just granted.
He couldn’t be even more happier than this.
“You’ll meet Augustus there.” Dante’s words stopped Siva’s further drifting to happy land. He turned eyes to him as he felt that there was more. “He wants you to be there to discuss an important matter concerning your baby brother.”
He frowned, although it wasn’t visible.
“I take it that you’re not told?”
“Indeed.”
And trusting the impression he had of Dante, he knew that this information wasn’t allowed to be spoken to him. So he knew that after telling him this warning, the host of the Angel Café would not give out free information. After all, it’s his business.
“What do you want?” he asked angrily.
Dante was pleased at Siva’s sharpness. “You’re indeed the man AG said you were. Very sharp. Like a blade ready to cut anything.”
“I don’t need pleasantries and compliments. What do you want in return of this warning?”
“A simple matter. I just want to examine the items you received from your adventure in the forest of Anazon.”
“That’s all?”
“That’s all. I’m just borrowing it for at least two hours, if I may. You can enjoy yourself on the lounge for the time being.”
Siva thought for a moment, but then raised his head to face Dante. He totally ignored the temptation of the hot latte waiting on his table.
“You can study it for four hours.” He said and Dante smiled, seemingly delighted. “But I want to a favor.”
Dante was taken curiously. A mischievous smile beams out on his mustached covered lips. It made him look like Janus, impression-wise, something that told Siva it was just his honest curiosity kicking in.
Dante wasn’t like Augustus, a plotter, but he is a businessman and people like him are honest about the things that they business for.
That said, Siva understood the principles that makes people like Dante tick.
“Favors are expensive, you know? But before I say the price, I want to know what your favor is.”
“Tell me where Cassiopeia is.”
Dante showed Siva a measuring look, both telling him that he’s reluctant to give out information about his agents and also tempted to catch the bait.
He drew the outline of his lips as he gestured smilingly.
“That’s an expensive favor. You—”
But before he could finish, “—I’ll let you read my copy of the Clemente’s Demise.”
And so it was decided.
“Wait in the lounge, I’ll call her.”