As Alex blankly stares at his acquaintance and friend, Stephen just laughs.
"Oh come on," Stephen finally says. "It's not like I'll get in trouble. Usually, nobody pays attention to me... anyway, I'll shoot you a message if I learn anything. I need to get going. I need to rank up an item and then join another boring meeting. I might as well play their game for a while longer if I can help you out."
"... I... I am grateful," Alex says. "But... don't overdo it. I am confident that I'm fine even without your help. Also... if you ever need something, tell me. I genuinely struck it rich on the last mission."
"No problem," Stephen says, rushing ahead into the building. "Talk to you soon."
That was weird... and almost a little too coincidental? Not like I have a reason to mistrust him... but at the same time... you never know. Well... not like I need to decide or act right now.
Alex then walks straight home, taking the long way through the centre of the Realm before leaving it, until he sees the Player Tower in the distance.
As he enters it, he immediately sees two familiar female players in the distance.
Shit... those two. I forgot their names... but these are the Seeker members who initially invited me. I argued with one of them before the welcome presentation.
Alex quickly grabs his [Jack's Spare Silvery Mask] and puts it on.
Perfect disguise!
However, just as Alex intends to ascend the tower, the two immediately approach him and block his way.
"Where do you think you are going?" one of them asks.
"Do you think you can just walk off?!" the other adds.
"Who might you be? I am just a newbie," Alex lies.
One woman steps forward, crossing her arms defiantly. "Cut the bullshit, who else is walking around with that fucking massive sword on his back? Also, your pet is literally hanging out of your armor, and I don't know anyone else who has a Purple spider as their pet. Do you think we are stupid and your mask makes you invisible or something?"
"Yes... I mean, no," Alex says, trying his best not to laugh. "Lucia and Merve, right? It's been a while and, as always, it's such a pleasu—"
"Stop it already, you liar. We all know what you have done!" Lucia, the more aggressive one, accuses him, pointing her finger at his chest.
If that were true... what do you think I'd do with you if I stumbled across you during a mission, huh?
Shit... anyway, I need to remember the plan. Just ignore them... avoid public stunts that force them to act.
There are times... when a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.
"Isn't that your guild leader, right behind you?" Alex says, pointing behind them.
"Huh?" they ask in unison, turning around.
Alex immediately uses the chance and runs away, deciding to sprint up the stairs of the Player Tower.
Idiots. I'm a master at running away from my problems.
Alex, using his speed, quickly manages to make his escape, leaving them behind in the dust.
Get fucked! Hahahaha.
A minute later, Alex is still dashing up the stairs, though he slows his pace a little, no longer sprinting at full speed now that he is safely out of their reach. Breathing heavily, he does his best to run, suddenly feeling silly.
Using 1337, he finds his new room, which is almost exactly in the same position as it was on the lower floor. Still grinning, he opens the door and steps inside.
As he enters, he can't help but rethink the situation.
These wins are... pretty small. Running away after using such a stereotypical trick, I almost feel like a cheap comic villain, despite them being the criminals. I am innocent, after all. How devious... these people... it's all their fault! That pisses me off... I need to calm down and just ignore them. I shall have my revenge... later down the line.
Stepping onto the platform, Alex intends to return to the real world, but before he can do so, he briefly hesitates.
Might as well send that guy a message.
He swiftly types and sends a message to Rishi.
[Alex: I'm back... a lot happened. Are you back as well? Though it might be a smart idea to keep your distance from me, maybe you still want to talk? If yes, send me a message or call me....]
Now... time to retur—
Immediately, he receives a message in response.
[Rishi: Call me in the Real World.]
"Fine..." Alex says, shrugging, before finally stepping into the portal area.
To his surprise, only Tereza is back. She is lying on the couch, wearing only a shirt and panties, the television on, a laptop in front of her on the couch, and even a smartphone in her hand.
Next to her is a bottle of sparkling wine and a bowl of macadamia nuts.
"Well... looks like you're making yourself comfortable..." Alex says the moment he sees her and her nest.
Is that how women relax? This is quite... embarrassing.
"Yeah, I really needed this..." she says, sighing before stuffing more nuts into her mouth and gulping them down by drinking straight from the bottle.
She then stares at Jewel, who's still asleep. "Jewel is taking a nap?"
"Just the usual... don't pay any mind to it," Alex replies, placing her on the sofa in the very back. "In any case... time to call the God of the new world."
"Really?" Tereza asks, perking up a little. "I guess it would be appropriate to call him. Though he likes to ghost us, apparently."
"I just messaged him," Alex says, grabbing his phone from the nearby wardrobe and pulling out the charger first.
A second later, he calls Rishi, who picks up immediately.
"Greetings, Alex," Rishi says. "I've heard a lot about your actions already."
"... Hi... yeah, it wasn't my fault," Alex replies, slightly annoyed that his actions have already leaked to him. "Anyway, not good that even you know about it already... I'm actually trying to keep it on the down low... if you know about it, that spells trouble. In any case... listen, this is what happened."
Alex quickly narrates the events of his last mission, going into as much detail as possible, even going over all of his items.
"But now I'm already in trouble... it looks like..."
"Let me have a try at guessing," Rishi interjects. "Someone is openly spreading rumors... maybe someone has a grudge against you? This is clearly neither in your nor in the Seekers' favor. If you ask me, someone is acting out of pure malice."
Could it be?! That fucker!
Alex can't help but think of Jason, his smug face appearing before Alex, causing him to clench his fist.
"Motherfucker.....!" Alex says in an icy cold glare. "Could it be... that fucker?!"
"You are most likely correct. In any case, you did a phenomenal job during your mission. I wish I could join up with you, seeing as you managed to profit so much, but it's not the time for quite a while."
Another vision, huh?
"You... you still depend on these vague visions?" Alex asks, slightly annoyed.
Rishi pauses before he replies. "Indeed, it would be unwise to go against them. If I joined with you, we would all suffer—you can be sure of that. When it's in our common best interest to join up, I'll immediately contact you. As far as your situation is concerned, you are smart to just avoid the Seekers, which includes every member. Just walk away from any conflict and do not argue."
"I... actually did that earlier," Alex replies.
Though I kinda tricked them and ran. I could have done it in a little more dignified manner, I guess.
While that worked for me, I doubt Benezia and Menchi can do that on the market....
"In any case, we are holding an auction soon. Do you want any items I told you about? I can give them to you... you can pay me back whenever, I trust you," Alex offers.
"I'm thinking about it. To be honest, the pet seems interesting. It's exactly what I require, and I will be able to communicate with it using my mind arts," Rishi notes, showing clear interest. "It's very suitable for me."
"The Light Gold [Cage of Hattori (Pet)]???!!!" Alex asks, pretending to be surprised, even shocked.
Tereza laughs in the background, taking another gulp from the bottle.
"No need to mention its quality again; I'll compensate you fairly," Rishi says, clearly amused.
"Well, that pet comes with an additional risk... a certain spider has threatened to eat it... a bunch of times now, now that I think about it," Alex explains.
"That spider will learn how to behave," Rishi states. "I believe it won't be an issue."
"Well, I'll tell you when the auction starts, and we can meet up before that," Alex says, already yawning.
"Thank you, I won't bother you anymore then. Let's meet up soon," Rishi replies. "I'll try to come up with compensation. See you soon."
As Alex ends the call, he is stumped. He sits down on one of the other free couches and lies down. "Doesn't look good... I hate trouble like that..."
"Oh come on," Tereza yells, holding up the bottle. "Drink something and relax."
"Why do you seem drunk? It's just one bottle..." Alex mutters to her, before noticing two more empty bottles lying on the floor under the couch.
"..."
Damn drunk!
"Hey..." she says, standing up and walking over to Alex. "This is a good chance, isn't it... the food fanatic and the space mommy are away, and even the annoying spider is asleep."
Alex gulps before smiling in agreement.
Yes... it is!
But wait...
"With my LUK, which only seems to affect in-world events and loot, this is bound to end in a bad way..." Alex replies, sounding sceptical. "Let's not risk it..."
"Oh come on," Tereza says, emptying the bottle, dropping it, and kissing him, grabbing his head from behind.
Damn, tastes like fucking sparkling wine. I hate that stuff.
Still, despite his apparent annoyance, Alex can't help but immediately drop his resistance.
No... better safe than sorry. Let's move first.
Unable to hold back, but thinking clearly for a brief moment, he grabs her, carries her in a princess carry, and walks towards his bedroom while she giggles.
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