The blade of the red dagger vanished for a second and reappeared again with blood dripping from it. Todd didn’t understand what was happening, but if Ethan’s teasing smile and calm eyes weren’t enough, Tyrell’s stiff body was enough to tell him that it was worse than he’d guessed.

‘’Diane!’’ Simon yelled, but there was no reply. ‘’Diane, are you okay!? Say something!’’

Then, it clicked. There weren’t four of them but five. Well, it had been five. That didn’t seem to be the case anymore. Without a second thought, Todd turned around and ran.

Sadly, he didn’t even manage to get far before a terrifying aura descended on his shoulders, pushing him down. Though, it wasn’t the overwhelming mana that was terrifying, but the killing intent inside of it.

A chill ran through his entire body, making him stop instantly. He didn’t just want to stop, he wanted to cry and beg for mercy, but his instincts were screaming at him that if he moved, he would die.

Like all this wasn’t enough, he noticed something on his left side. A shadowy figure was taking shape with a spear in its hand, but regardless of noticing this, his body was still determined that moving was worse. During his hesitation, the figure didn’t even halt for a moment and moved its spear toward his neck.

Todd closed his eyes and waited, but the inevitable didn’t happen. He was still hearing the sounds of battle. As he opened a single eye cautiously, he saw the tip of the spear, which somehow stopped an inch away from his neck, started to dissolve along with its user. It became like a hazy smoke and returned to his own shadow in an instant.

Trying to not think what the fuck was living inside his shadow, he snapped his head back to see the situation.

There were two bodies on the ground. He only recognized one of them. Simon, who was at mid tier-5, and someone else had already been dead, while Tyrell and the other guy were going all out. When he saw a huge seal symbol appear in the air with a yellow gleam, he identified the guy immediately. Zephyr, another mid tier-5 with a unique build.

Yet, no matter how confident he was with his side, he whirled around and resumed his escape without a shred of hesitation. This time, he managed to get further away and even saw a few people’s silhouettes on the bigger street, but there wasn’t any noise coming from. The only sound was the clashes behind him and the stumping noise that was getting closer and closer. Also behind him.

In a mix of alarm and trepidation, Todd tried to spot his chaser, but it was too late. A strong force pounded to his side and threw him to the building’s wall. He almost lost consciousness in the crash, but the pain in his broken ribs kept him stay awake. Coughing up some blood, he gritted his teeth and lifted his head to see what just almost killed him.

It was another shadowy creature. Different from the other’s smoky trait, this one’s skin was smooth and firm. Though, Todd would definitely prefer the other one. With its well-defined muscles, scary horns, sharp teeth, big claws, and eyes like the abyss itself, this creature seemed to just crawl up from hell.

Thankfully, it wasn’t moving. It was just staring at him eerily.

‘’Of course they will thrive,’’ he murmured, absentmindedly looking at the manifestation of horror. ‘’I knew they would thrive.’’

As one of the most important people responsible for public relationships, Todd naturally investigated everyone on their team before the mission had started. They didn’t have much time to get to know each other since many decided to freeze their bodies right away, but almost all of the diplomats spent a good time learning more about their future companions.

After all, that was their job.

At first, he found it very puzzling that Ani chose to fill almost half of the crew with VR players. Why not pick battle-hardened soldiers? Or the best agents of intelligent bureaus? Surely, there must’ve been much better options than a bunch of kids who play games all day, right?

Although they didn’t have much to say about Ani’s operation, many debated about this and some strongly argued against it until the last day. However, after concluding his research, Todd understood the logic behind it. These people were competing against each other on equal grounds and they managed to rise to the top among hundreds of millions of others.

No matter the challenges, they were adapting faster than anyone else, finding weaknesses to exploit when it seemed impossible, and constantly improving themselves when there was no need.

Without a doubt, they lacked certain expertise in some areas, but since there was a source like Ani in the reach, why bother with limited people when there are ones with limitless potential?

Afraid that he would be ostracized in his community, he never shared these opinions with others, but he knew it. After coming to this world and seeing that its society was being ruled by the strong, the magic that opened countless possibilities, and the realm itself rewarding the ones who take risks, he became fucking sure of it.

In such an environment, given enough time, these people would thrive.

A sound of a cry woke him up from his daze and also made him recall how much pain he was in. However, he had no intention to drink any potion whatsoever. He was well aware that he had to meet Ethan as miserably as possible.

At the reminder of the devil, he turned to look at the battlefield grudgingly. Zephyr’s body was nailed to the building’s wall by two bone spears. His lifeless eyes were blankly staring at the ground, where a pool of blood started to gather.

Tyrell was fighting an impossible fight against three nightmares just like the one guarding him. He had a red hue around his bloodied body, expanding as he swung his double axes and shrinking when he switched to defense. Yet, despite the expensive artifacts and all the boost he had, the dark creatures were rebuilding their bodies at a fast pace and continuing the fight with a small delay.

In the meantime, Ethan, who was nowhere to be seen just a while ago, was sitting on his flying carpet once again, watching Tyrell with mild interest.

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Todd studied his uncaring and composed figure while thinking about the rumors he heard on the ship.

There were those who climbed to the top among the VR players. They all had this air of confidence in everything they do. Every challenge was a new way to make progress for them, and after overcoming many trials, their self-importance naturally peaked. The arrogance had settled on their character long ago, and it wasn’t something groundless either.

And then, there were those like Ethan. One of the few that all the others seemed to be afraid of.

Suddenly, Tyrell, who was on his last breath, started to glimmer in crimson and the blood stains on his clothes began to move in a pattern. Almost like the pieces of a puzzle, they were shaping into something like ancient symbols.

The moment this mysterious spectacle started, Ethan appeared behind him and swung his dagger horizontally, swiftly removing Tyrell’s head. On top of his left heel, he spun around himself a few rounds and slumped to the floor rather adroitly.

Todd blinked his eyes, hardly surprised. I wonder what took his leg? He said, I sow the wind, reap the whirlwind. Did the bastard poke a dragon and get bitten?

The flying carpet moved toward Ethan and lowered its altitude, allowing him to jump on it easily. Then, it slowly carried him toward Todd.

‘’Well, color me impressed, Todd,’’ Ethan said, raising an eyebrow. ‘’Where did you find these guys?’’

Todd smiled wryly. ‘’From the nobles I’ve been in contact with.’’

Ethan nodded thoughtfully. ‘’Still, if it was any other time, I’d definitely wait and see that guy’s trump card. And did you know that dude’s ability?’’ he asked, pointing at Zephyr’s body. ‘’He actually restricted my movement in a bizarre way. I wasn’t able to turn to the right at all. It was like the concept of the right side didn’t exist and there was only left. Not just my bodily movements either, he even hindered my skill, [Blink]. What’s up with that?’’

Looking at Ethan’s eager and curious eyes, Todd really wanted to offer him something, but he didn’t have anything on the subject. ‘’I-I am not sure about the details. M-Maybe it’s a mental thing?’’

‘’Maybe.’’ Ethan hummed with a nod. ‘’Anyway, no one heard anything, but I’d rather not stay here too long. Now it’s your turn to tell me what’s going on, and give me the short version.’’

Todd didn’t hesitate to spill everything, but Ethan raised his hand to stop him from the start.

‘’Just a little warning,’’ he said with a placid face, his words turning cold as ice. ‘’I’m not in the best mood lately. So, my bullshit tolerance level is rather low at the moment.’’

A light shiver ran through Todd’s body. ‘’Good to know. I didn’t have any intentions, anyway. I swear. The truth is, I-I… sold… everyone.’’

‘’Everyone?’’

‘’Everything! I told them everything about the earth, our group, our mission, everything.’’

Ethan’s face darkened. ‘’Ani?’’

Todd nodded, not looking into his eyes.

‘’To whom?’’

‘’To Count Reinhardt.’’

‘’A Count!?’’ Ethan exclaimed. ‘’Why not go to the king himself?’’

Todd lifted his head warily. ‘’I-It’s not easy to see the k-king.’’ When the corner of Ethan’s eye twitched, he realized it wasn’t really a question he needed to answer. Panic took over his body as he started explaining in haste, ‘’It wasn’t like that in the beginning, Ethan! I swear! I-I just wanted to sell our t-technology and find myself a backer. I never thought it would come to this. It wasn’t even–’’

‘’Enough!’’ Ethan growled and took a few seconds to calm himself down. ‘’How many people did you lure to this Reinhardt and what happened to them?’’

‘’13 people. They are being interrogated in his estate. The, uh, interrogations might be brutal,’’ Todd replied with a low voice and added, ‘’But I heard that most of them decided to cooperate, so they should be okay.’’

‘’Vince, Wu, or Adrian,’’ Ethan said with a heavy tone. ‘’Are any of them among these 13?’’

Despite the intensity of the question, Todd found himself relaxing. This was the moment he was waiting for. According to his information, seven people, including Ethan, had made a special deal with Ani. After everyone settled down in this world, they were able to leave on their own. These people didn’t give a shit about the mission. They had their own plans, and their help at the beginning was only a payment for the trip.

He also knew that while Ethan wasn’t some kind of hero, he cared for his friends and underlings. So, he might’ve still lost his life since his betrayal risked the lives of Ethan and his friends, but it still wasn’t at the point of no return.

‘’No!’’ Todd said, shaking his head furiously. ‘’They aren't, and there is no one from Cut-Throat either.’’

‘’Turn off your biochip signal.’’

‘’Huh?’’

‘’Turn your signal off. Now. Is there any other way they can track you?’’

‘’I-I don’t think so? You never know with these nobles.’’

‘’We’ll take the chances,’’ Ethan said before turning to his beast companion. ‘’Beet, collect the bodies into your necklace and make a mess with your shades. Do it swiftly, we leave right after.’’

Todd watched the cute nod of the scary mantis as he closed his AI’s location. ‘’Then, you won’t kill me?’’

‘’Oh, no. You will most likely die.’’

Todd’s face lost some color. ‘’M-Most likely?’’

‘’You will help me deal with this Count with everything you have and once it’s all over, I’ll still kill you,’’ Ethan explained casually. ‘’Don’t look at me like that. You know you deserve it and that I’m not stupid enough to release you, only to clean your mess again. Though, you still have a chance to survive, albeit very small. Overmerit in operation. Surprise me again and again, until I believe you deserve a second chance, and, this is a bit harder to achieve, gain my trust that you’ll never do such a thing a second time. Oh, if anyone among those 13 would want to kill you, that’s still their business.’’

The shadow creatures started to go berserk in the background. They were tearing the tiles from the street and making claw marks on the walls, running everywhere chaotically.

Yet, Todd’s attention wasn’t on the lively scene. ‘’Um, when you say deal with the Count…’’

‘’Until everyone who had heard of your blabbing dies.’’

‘’B-But, the Count is at the p-peak of tier-7!’’

Ethan raised an eyebrow in surprise. ‘’Only tier-7? Any ancestors in his estate? Don’t tell me he has the highest cultivation.’’

‘’I mean, there is another warrior at tier-7, but he should be the highest. Their house has been declining for decades. That’s why I chose them. Still, there are quite a few tier-6s and dozens of tier-5s,’’ Todd explained, his eyes widening by the seconds. ‘’Declining or not, this is a Count for god sake!’’

‘’Huh…’’ Ethan uttered in deep thought. ‘’Maybe we don’t need to wait for too long. I was looking for some investing options anyways.’’

The mantis returned and landed on Ethan’s carpet while Ethan called a flying ship next to Todd. ‘’Hop in.’’

With one last look at the wrecked dark alley, Todd entered the ship’s cabin reluctantly. A giant screen appeared on the luxurious cabin’s wall and showed the scenery of Marah with a panoramic view.

Not even a minute after their departure, Ethan made the ship descend to the main street and left with a friendly reminder to his beast companion, ‘’I’ll be right back, bud. Kill this guy if he tries to escape.’’

Todd looked at the mantis, who seemed to be curious if he would really try something, and smiled wryly before taking out some meat jerky from his pouch. ‘’Hey there. Beet was it? Would you like some snack?’’

Beet jumped on the table next to Todd and helped itself with the jerkies.

‘’Overmerit and gain his trust,’’ Todd murmured to himself with his desperate eyes fixed on the table, searching for a way out. ‘’Overmerit and gain his trust…’’