War, veterans, poverty, alcohol, and black markets; a sector split from the supposed civilized people. It was a recipe for points. A hallmark of opportunity.

Dasha walked the halls of Les Murmures, silently knitting Qi throughout his organs. Beside him was Xavier, his guide. An unnecessary role as he had already memorized the haunted mansion's general layout. Blinking once behind his mask, Dasha shortened his stride. The layout wasn't all that concerning. No, what caught his attention were the creatures of the night.

The cats.

'Too many cats. Someone appears to like them.'

He had noticed a Bombay black cat roaming the halls of Les Murmures before. Its yellow eyes glanced his way and moved on. Now, it was an orange tabby; an American Bobtail, to be exact, that casually went through his legs. Xavier didn't seem to care.

Dasha contemplated their existence. Was there some purpose to them? Were they dangerous monsters cloaking themselves as innocent pets?

Or were they just house cats?

Well, Dasha wouldn't bother them as long as they didn't bother him.

He let Xavier open the door to Daughter, despite not needing it. The hieroglyphics of the goddess Seshat and her worshiping followers and the redness that came after the incantations—Dasha had figured it out. But he would let them think otherwise.

Showing his whole deck of cards, especially to his benefactors, was unwise.

Daughter lay stretched across the hammock, lazy as a koala. Batting her long lashes at him, she peered at him and let out a yawn. "Mmm. Do you have something for me, Jack? No, wait, Dasha? I wonder, did a British man have trouble acclimating to Asian heritage?"

"The strongest aspect of the Heavenly Games has been its greatest strength." Dasha ignored her remark and locked his arms behind him. "Do you know what that is?"

"The many hoards of people that come here," Daughter answered without missing a beat.

She was smarter than he gave credit for. That made this relationship all the more worthwhile.

"I frequent a bar in the Dark Sector quite regularly," said Dasha. "Care to guess why?"

Keep asking, keep prodding, keep the psychological advantage.

"We assumed you were scouting your next victims. Were we wrong?" Daughter said, elbow down, arm in a triangle, and palm on her cheek.

"There is a man recognizable by a faint emblem on his armour, someone whom I believe to have been a part of the Holy Dynasty. His solemn demeanor and the way he instinctively assesses every situation imply war-related stress. He must have been a devoted paladin, renowned for his unwavering dedication to justice and protecting the innocent, before losing that justice."

"So?"

"Here is another," said Dasha. "A wizard found secluded in a left corner, quietly sipping a drink while skimming through a single ancient tome. His elegant robes are riddled with rune symbols, and the keen glances he gives before he reads suggests the wizard once delved into forbidden knowledge. He is proud of what he has learned yet afraid."

Daughter looked at Xavier, who shrugged. Dasha continued anyway.

"Then there is the seasoned war veteran. A classic. He exchanges war stories with fellow veterans, talking of the glory days yet never daring to bring them back. He is an authority at the bar. Yet all of them, from the paladin to the wizard to the veteran all drink madly. They all yearn for satisfaction. So while your answer was not incorrect, it was also incomplete. The biggest strength and weakness of this reality is dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction from their past lives. Dissatisfaction with the results of the Heavenly Games. Dissatisfaction can be mitigated through alcohol, recreational activities, and most of all…medicine."

"You mean drugs," Daughter said. "Go on."

"There is a power vacuum. A hole in the system. The Dark Sector has individuals that sell remedy but there is no massive network. We can become that network. We can create a massive empire that the Dark Sector has never seen before."

Besides pill creation, the second reason why Dasha studied alchemy was to eventually gain transmutation. Specifically, of opioids, cocaine, cannabis and other illicit drugs. In this world, there was a monopoly to be seized. Ordinarily, it would have taken a year to build-up to it. However, with the Whispers, the network was already in place and the resources were there to be discovered and taken.

Daughter frowned and sprawled across the hammock, hugging the pillow. Her voice muffled but he was able to make what she was saying, "We would risk overexposing ourselves."

"You believe we will spread too fast; and you are correct, we will. So you recognize our potential?"

"And the consequences too," Daughter murmured.

"But the amount of points we will gain will be in the millions. Tell me, what is the population of the Dark Sector?"

Daughter sighed and got up. She let out a long yawn and stretched her arms high in the air. "Give or take one hundred, two-hundred thousand. Including the Underground, almost four hundred thousand I would wager. I still don't see that as a reason to give up on what we have been doing for centuries." She looked at him, a small smile. "You must understand why we brought you in; we wish for the respect that we have earned. We wish for things to go back to the way they were."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Then let me start small," Dasha said. "I will take Xavier and Grace and with their help will start this little side-project of ours."

Daughter flicked her Ankh earrings. "Do you truly have the skill necessary? I did not know Jack the Ripper studied subjects besides the human body."

"I have dabbled in science and alchemy. The principles are the same." Then, to hammer in the point, he added, "I have been thinking about this for centuries. Do not believe I have not planned for every eventuality? In the end, you will come to follow and you will come to understand."

"Say that after you gain some success in this little project of yours." Daughter stopped flicking and fell back into her makeshift bed. "Are you ready for the raid?"

"No," Dasha replied. "Not this time."

'Raids. The journal entries I read mentioned them but never in depth. Passages use it in context as some kind of large-scale conflict. Most of my focus has been on scientific journals, not history, so no one specified its meaning.'

"Have you forgotten about raid rewards?" Leaning on the wall, arms crossed and hat tipped, Xavier said, "Every player is involved and the gods are keenly watching. Why not prepare?"

"Because…"

In a fraction of a second, Dasha connected the dots.

"...raids occur at every tenth gate, correct?"

Sounds of agreement. Excellent.

"So why waste this one? Why reveal myself and burn the secrecy we have? It won't take long for the big guilds to know who is sponsoring me. Unless…" Dasha stopped. "...you want me to indiscriminately murder every player in the raid?"

"No." Daughter was surprisingly firm. "The heavens themselves would target us if we did something as foolish as that."

"Then we are in agreement. I will participate but I will not make a show of myself. We will stay in the shadows and we will bide our time." Dasha unclasped his arms. "I will work on Operation Eclipse."

Daughter chortled. "Is that what we are calling it? I suppose it sounds mystic. Fine. But remember, keep to the shadows. Until the remaining Whispers come together and vote on it, keep it small-scale."

The white cloak fluttered as Dasha approached Xavier and extended a hand. "Come. Let us go."

Xavier didn't meet his eyes. His hat tipped lower and his gloved hand grabbed on. "Of course, sir."

[ You have invited Xavier to your dimension. Are you sure? ]

[ Yes or no? ]

An identical invitation appeared in Xavier's view, who promptly accepted. In the back, he heard Daughter snapping her fingers, almost as if she were granting them the permission to leave.

***

The cube that functioned as his home would have been blank if not for his lab. A smell permeated the air, a quick blend of smoke and sulfur. Xavier's gaze swept the alchemy lab.

At the center stood Hermes' Distillation Apparatus. To its right on a marble table was Mary the Jewess' Mortar and Pestle. To the opposite side, Hermes' Alembic Stand and Jābir ibn Hayyān's Alembic Cooler. In a corner, away from the arrangement of tables and tools, was the Meteorite Iron Athanor.

"Impressive. To think you have created a alchemy lab of this scale in such a short time," Xavier said.

"Of course I did."

Between the space of the distillation apparatus—a condenser to cool and contain gas—and the mortar and pestle was an array of bubbling flasks and swirling vials. Dasha instantly got to work. He meticulously measured out specific quantities of ethereal pink powder, each grain pulsating with latent magical potential.

"What is that?" Xavier asked.

Dasha added the measured powder to a concocted beaker, its surface aglow with an otherworldly luminescence. The powder dissolved gradually, merging with the contents of the beaker in an intricate dance of alchemical harmony. "The powder is Dreamweaver's Dust. Physical remnants of Oneiros, the Greek personification of dreams."

"Grace took it from the treasury?"

"That she did."

For thirty minutes, he tended to the concoction, adjusting the flames beneath the beaker to maintain a precise temperature. As the mixture reached a critical point, Dasha readied himself for the transmutation phase.

The Intermediate Alchemist Class skill path went as followed: Superb Ingredient Recognition, Advanced Transmutation, Circle Mastery, Elixirs of Enhancement, and Knowledge of Herbology. Luckily, there were two types of skill trees: one that forced a strict path, and one that was flexible and allowed a player to pick and choose. The Alchemist Class was the latter and he chose to learn Advanced Transmutation and Circle Mastery.

[ Advanced Transmutation

Subtype: Support

Rank: B

Cost: —

Transmutation! The ability to change matter through an equal exchange! ]

[ Circle Mastery

Subtype: Support

Rank: B

Cost: —

Learn to draw and activate magic circles! A new world of magic has opened in your horizons! ]

Circle Mastery was a skill that went beyond alchemy. In battle, it was wielded by wizards to bolster their spells. However, alchemists had a use for them that focused on transmutation. It served as the magical bridge to conduct higher-level transmutations. Turning water into wine was simple, but turning magical materials into meth to create a whole new property? To create a drug that broke the bounds of chemistry? That took skill and careful planning.

Planning that Dasha had already done.

To execute the skill necessary to turn theory into reality, he was assisted by the Game System's Intermediate Alchemist Class which contained three Class Skills: Alchemy Synergy, Elemental Manipulation, and Advanced Potion Brewing. Alchemy Synergy was a skill he had already converted into a General Skill. Elemental Manipulation, however, increased the effectiveness of the seven elements by 25%.

"Fire Finger." His index finger went aflame and he was able to trace precise sigils in the air. The elixir responded to the summoned circle, pulsating with a radiant magical aura that intensified with the completion of the magic circle.

The floating symbol of fire complete, it pulsed and flew into the open elixir. The bottle shook and pulsed bright red, as if a great battle of mixtures was occurring. Then, the bottle simmered and all that remained were pink crystals.

"There it is," Dasha said. "I like to call…Dream Meth."

With reverence, Dasha lifted the bottle, observing the glowing pink meth crystals, now suffused with a powerful magical aura, and tipped them over into a container.

"I do not understand alchemy too well. However, I take it that this is not normal meth?"

"Not at all. Theoretically, it's a stimulant that will help people enter and control their dreams. They can create the reality they desire."

"Theoretically," Xavier repeated.

"That's right." Dasha turned and thrusted the container at him. "We need test subjects to confirm, no? This is my first dose, so go on. Spread the word a little. Let some of the old veterans know that their dreams can come true. Ah, though I do have one name in particular that you should go for."

Dasha casually handed him a note. Xavier, looking the name over, lowered his hat. "Are you insane?"

"I am perfectly sane."