I piggybacked the skull knight across the city.
He was strong. More physically capable than any other warrior I had come across, I think. He leaped from rooftop to rooftop, faster than I had ever gone in a car. The wind around us whipped violently, and I wrapped my arms around him tight.
I took satisfaction in knowing I could match this monster in battle.
Nonetheless, I had to stay vigilant. The skull knight had been an enemy moments prior, and letting him take me places was risky. But I had a Cold Grenade planted in an underground parking lot far away, which I used as a hideout of sorts away from home. If things got dicey, I'd detonate the grenade and use the Ring of Pursuit to teleport over.
But if the skull knight had been earnest in wanting me as an ally…what then? What would become of my life here? I now questioned my decision.
"Something's on your mind?" the skull knight asked.
I didn't know how he guessed that. But he was scarily perceptive.
"Just fearing for my life," I quipped.
"A little fear is natural. And healthy. But I promise upon my honor, we mean you no harm."
The knight's armor clanked as we landed on a flat rooftop. He sprinted across it, then with a mighty leap took off into the sky, arcing towards the next building.
"So what's it gonna be like for me in the LCS?" I decided to ask, shouting to raise my words above the wind's roar.
"Most members have decent work-life balance," his bassy voice boomed out of his skull helmet. "Maybe 10 hours of activity a week? Though high-ranking staff like me are full-time."
"What rank will I be?"
"We'll see," he replied.
Now that I thought about it, I probably had the skills to climb the ranks. My experience as co-leader of the Bounty Hall had prepared me. In terms of combat, I was one of the best assassins around with Eye of Odin and Maw of Leviathan. Not to mention I could duel this knight, a high-ranking staff by his own admission, to satisfactory results. If I put in the effort and hours, I could probably get to a comparable position as him. Not bad.
Part of me felt uneasy about getting so invested in joining a crime gang. Sure, I liked their nominal goal of taking over the world from Alice, but still. I wouldn't be the top brass in charge, which meant unlike with the Bounty Hall, I would have more than my own conscience to answer to. Would I need to extort and threaten innocents? Would I be willing to?
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"What's your name, by the way?" I said.
"I thought you'd never ask."
The knight leaped off the roof of a vine-covered apartment and landed in the alley behind. He eased me off his back, scanned the vicinity, and led us towards a slanted, metal-doored hatch that rested against the wall, and seemed to lead into some sort of basement. If I didn't have the means to teleport away, this would be where I'd nope out and run.
"Well? What's your name?" I repeated.
"So now you want to know. After I tell you I'm an important person. I see how it is."
I shrugged. "Fine then, keep your secrets."
"It's Kevin," he conceded.
"That's more generic than I expected."
"You know what? Just because I wear a helmet and you can't see my face, doesn't mean I don't have feelings. You can't dismiss people's feelings just because they're a big bulky melee build, Sophia. That's unconscious bias."
The knight opened the hatch. We walked down a short and well-kept stairway, and arrived at an elevator, which we took to descend several floors. Upon exiting, we came face to face with a double door, wrought of polished metal and carved with floral patterns.
"Look sharp," he said, and pushed it open.
On the other side was a dining hall that screamed money. The entire space had dark marble flooring, which matched the dark marble walls. A massive, white stone table jutted out of the center of the floor, sharply geometric and weighty. A grand and sparkling chandelier hung over it. Baroque pillars of patterned stone flanked the two sides of the hall.
Around the table sat eight or so people. At the head off the table was a bespectacled youth with black hair and a bowl cut. He wore a white suit, and a white dress shirt underneath.
Something about him seemed familiar.
"Everyone, say hi to Sophia," Kevin the skull knight announced. An uncoordinated wave of greetings rose from the table.
"Hi everyone," I replied. This was getting quite uncomfortable. Kevin and I took seats next to each other. The padded chair creaked pitifully as he put his weight upon it.
There was no food on the table yet, but each seat had been given plates, cutlery, and a dark red cup of wine. I didn't feel safe drinking mine, and decided to leave it untouched for the night. Even if it wasn't poisoned, I needed to be as sober as humanly possible for this.
"Make yourself comfortable," the bespectacled youth said. His voice was quiet and wintery-cold, and colored by an accent I guessed to be Chinese.
"Glad to be here," I said with a polite, nervous smile. I looked to Kevin.
"That's our boss," Kevin told me. "You know him?"
Wait. Hold on a second. I did know him.
I remembered now. I had seen him in Twitch clips.
That man was a professional League of Legends player. He had represented Gen.G Esports in the European scene. And with them, he had been crowned one of the best players of his continent.
A chill ran through me. I glanced at Kevin. "Isn't he…"
"Call me Doublerift," the youth said.