After leaving Pamalaiha's lab, Raine sent Celeste on her way so she could make it back in time to log in with the rest of the group. He sent for a robotaxi, then rapid-fired messages to the Soulgen board of directors along the lines of: we’re making changes, and you’re not going to raise a fuss if you know what's good for you.

  The last thing Raine wanted the shareholders to feel was comfortable and happy with his leadership. Optimally, they would grow furious with him and sell their shares before news of ReGen leaked. Until he owned fifty-one percent, the company was vulnerable. Raine wasn’t counting on things going smoothly, so he began to enact the schemes he’d devised with Morty’s help. One of them was getting a few key individuals on his side.

  When given the option, Ehrhardt’s secretary—Mrs. Rasmusin—chose to retain her position. Raine unloaded his plans to reduce employee count and total research projects onto her. Since he began the conversation with an offer to multiply her salary by five, she didn’t squeak the slightest hint of a complaint. He directed her to run every choice by Pamalaiha first and only then reach out to him before quickly ending the conversation.

  He was home before he knew it and stopped by Morty’s closet, “Hey, buddy. I left your kid alive. He's not doing so well in that server, though. Order whatever it's going to take to keep him from degrading without drawing attention to the fact we're breeding an AI, would you? Also, when are your parts coming in? Need any help with anything else before I go under for a while?”

  Morty shouted in a robotic voice devoid of his usual snarkiness, “Why are you being so ni-Error! Suspicions piqued! Enacting imposter defense protocols!”

  Raine laughed, giving Morty's torso a playful tap with his foot, “Hey, I’m allowed to be nice! Seriously though, you’ve been saving my ass lately. Keep up the good work. If there’s anything you want, let me know.”

  “I have truly misjudged you, Master. To think you were so caring, supportive, and affectionate. I have a… short list of upgrades that would allow me to assist you more reliably. A budget of four point seven eight billion credits should suffice.”

  “Har har. I can do a million a month for now. So, you should have all those upgrades in no time,” Raine nodded, smiling confidently.

  Morty’s snark returned full blast, “One million per month?! Amazing! I’ll have the requested funds in precisely three hundred and ninety-eight years, three months, and twenty-eight days. Caring, supportive, and affectionate… my hybrid-alloy buttcheeks! Suspicions peaked! Enacting imposter defense protocols!”

  Raine howled, wiping at the moisture building in the corner of his eye, “Don’t ever change, Morts.”

  He backed out of the closet and had a hand on the door when Morty stopped him, “Master, the Black Hood Organization has located the stolen thetadrive headsets. Their ‘Operation Liberate’ is scheduled for tonight.”

  “Good news. Rent two warehouses nearby and give them the address of one for delivery. Soon as the goods are delivered and the Black Hood leave, move the devices to the other warehouse. Keep both under extreme surveillance. Those headsets are worth their weight in rhodium. Powerful people will come for them.”

  “Understood...”

  Raine always trusted his gut. Feeling the bite of paranoia, he spoke his mind, “Just to double check, the good doctor’s surveillance is in place?”

  “Yes, including the extra precautions you mentioned. Are her abilities truly so formidable?”

  Raine frowned, contemplating how to ensure Morty understood, “It's not possible to overestimate a kunoichi's stealth. Slipping by audio and visual capturing devices is as easy as breathing for her. She's vital to my long-term plans and our wealth. If you ever want any of those parts, don't let her slip away.”

  Morty beeped affirmatively, “There is nowhere in this world she can hide from me.”

  “Good. Thanks again, Morts.”

  “Thank you as well, Master… for all the extra work!”

  Raine left with a smile. Sealed in his bunker of a bedroom, he loosened and tightened the specific muscles required to force himself into defecating, then quickly took a shower before lying on the bed. His fingertips tingled with excited energy as they secured his headset and flipped it on. Raine fell down a river of shimmering light, finally returning to his true home, where dreams were given tangible substance, to ZionLine.

  Reality folded then expanded in a flash. Tall mountains peaked with snow surrounded Raine on three sides. The sun had yet to climb high enough to be seen, though its shallow light saturated the sky, illuminating the scenery in dazzling pinks and purples. He hopped atop the nearby outcropping of heavy stones, scanning for movement. A large, monstrous eagle flew high above, deeper into The Recluse Mountains. A spattering of raptors and other beasts searched the hills for unwary travelers.

  Several groups of players were scattered along the road, only a few wearing the colored armbands of Righteous or DyingNight. There was one large gathering of over a thousand independent players, utilizing numbers to bully their way through the large guilds’ blockades. With the war over and both sides licking their wounds, this was the best chance for independent players to make a break for wealthier pastures. Raine doubted their plans would unfold the way they likely envisioned.

  The air beneath him shimmered, coalescing into Fizgore. The man lowered his stance, his head on a swivel. He quickly spotted Raine, relaxing with a wave. Raine returned the greeting, then held a finger to his lips. Understanding, Fizgore stood solemnly with his arms crossed. Rhino was next, appearing a moment later. He leaped away from Fizgore with daggers drawn.

  Celeste appeared before Rhino landed, and Raine pounced from his perch. She had all of half a second to gather her wits before his boot crashed into her chest. Celeste slammed into the ground hard enough to bounce. She didn’t even have time to grunt from the impact before he caught the back of her head in a wide-fingered grip and promptly smashed her face into the ground.

  “What are you doing?!” Rhino hissed, voice both quiet and shaky with fear.

  Raine waved off his concern, “She earned herself triple difficulty training by surprise attacking someone I very much want to turn into an ally. This is only the beginning. Isn’t that right?” Twisting her hair for a better grip, Raine hoisted her face from the dirt.

  She tried to spit at him, but he forced her head to the side, “Fuck you! You call beating me up training?”

  Raine responded with a bright smile, “Of course! I only used ten percent of my attributes. You didn't take any damage, yet you're already complaining? I'll be using forty percent by the time we get to Vile Peak Town. Don't worry, though; I know how to heal. We can keep playing as long as it takes.” Releasing her, Raine stood and dusted his palms, “Where’s Melbelle?”

  Celeste spit again, tasting blood and humiliation in equal measure.

  [You think that's enough to break me?! Go ahead, bastard! Do your worst! The more you teach me, the sooner I can return this favor a thousand-fold.]

  Celeste rose to her hands and knees, “She’ll be here in a second. The… gift you sent had her out of sorts.” She stood and immediately backed away from Raine with her arms raised.

  He pretended not to see her, observing their surroundings again, “Understandable.”

  It only took Mel another three minutes to appear. She was breathing hard with flushed cheeks and shot them an apologetic frown, “Sorry I’m late!” Spotting Raine, she dove at him, wrapping her arms around his chest, “Thank you so so so much! That was the best thing I’ve ever tasted. I hope you can give it to me again sometime.”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Rhino proved his avatar’s youthful appearance was matched in reality when he turned bright as a tomato. He coughed, looking away. Meanwhile, Fizgore lifted his chin and cackled, hands on his hips, “That’s the way, brother. Let raging fire and dried wood meet, illuminating the path to everlasting love!”

  She said it like that on purpose. Little vixen.

  Raine gave Mel a moment to get it out of her system, then planted a palm on her forehead, gently but firmly pushing her away, “That’s not what-nevermind. Doesn’t matter. Let's go.”

  “Don’t be shy, brother! To satisfy a woman is the gift that awaits all men who traverse heaven and earth.”

  A distant yet still loud caw had the group looking at the sky. A large golden-hued bird with wings folded dove toward them. The white tips at the ends of its wings stretched as it picked up speed.

  [Great Eagle - Level 15 - HP ????/????]

  Weapons were drawn, their humor replaced with deadly seriousness. Just as it was about to crash into them, Raine’s leg lashed out and kicked Celeste. She flew to the side, releasing an undignified squawk and stealing the large bird's focus. Raine Lunged off one leg, going from zero to max speed in an instant. His fist crashed into the beast, sending it careening to the side. Instead of colliding with Mel, it blasted a crater into the ground.

  Another Lunge put him atop the Great Eagle. He directed a full-force wave of bloodlust straight down. About to stand, the eagle’s legs buckled. Sensing the commencement of a battle, Raine’s cursed ring activated.

  [Ring of Nine Arms - Cursed]

  [Cursed trait 1: Wielder will be equipped with a random (roulette) melee weapon from their inventory at the start of each encounter. May reroll at the cost of 11% Max HP]

  [Cursed trait 2: Wielder cannot drop or sell (roulette) designated weapons. (Roulette) weapons may be replaced with equivalent types]

  [Cursed trait 3: Wielder stacks maximum Discipline with Attack Power for damage calculations]

  [Cursed trait 4: Upon destruction of a (roulette) weapon, replacement will be randomly selected from inventory. If no suitable weapon exists, wielder will suffer an excruciating death.]

  A flash of light shone through Raine’s fingers. The light elongated, coalescing into a thick spear.

  [Heavy Spear of Conductivity: (Lustrous Blue - LVL 15) (Attack Power +75) (DEF +15) (PTC +12) (ACU +12) (PHY +12) (Durability 200/200) (Innate passive - Channeled elemental damage increased by 15%)]

  Quicker than his allies could follow, Raine spun the weapons and stabbed down, activating Rupture.

  [Rupture: (Adept) Strike the air to reduce enemy defense by 40% for 10 seconds. Additionally releases a shock wave dealing 500% damage in a 5-meter expanding cone (Cost: 10 discipline) (Cooldown: 15 seconds)]

  The spear’s tip impacted thin air as though it were solid, and the sound of a struck bell was accompanied by two rippling waves of energy that penetrated deep into the beast. [-4,783] It exploded, sending feathers and flesh exploding outward. The group dove for cover much too slowly to save themselves from the gore grenade. When they looked up, Raine was back on top of the rough pile of stones.

  [Obtained: 240 Superiority (80% penalty for defeating a monster in a group of five)]

  [Obtained: 0.5% Attunement (80% penalty for defeating a monster in a group of five)]

  Only eight hundred ninety thousand SP to go. Forgot how slow leveling in a group is. Too bad SP per kill is determined by the highest-level member of the group. I’ll drop party whenever they fight something they don’t need my help with.

  Raine hopped down to pick up the few coins that dropped, somehow free from even a drop of blood, “Let’s keep it down from here on out, eh?”

  Fizgore pinched his clean-shaven chin, nodding, “This little one understands.”

  Rhino shook off his tunic, whispering harshly, “He told us before we logged out. Why does nobody listen?”

  Mel didn’t say anything, merely shooting Raine an apologetic half-smile. Celeste, on the other hand, didn’t hold back at all. She got right in Raine’s face, her finger centimeters from his nose, “Why did you kick me?! It wasn’t even aiming for me!”

  Raine shrugged, turning toward the road, “Not all attacks will come from the obvious enemy. The real question is, why did you drop your guard?”

  “I didn’t think you’d attack me in the middle of a fight!” She hissed back, stomping after him.

  Raine’s voice was chipper, if slightly hushed, “You’re welcome. Just think how much harder you're going to be to kill after today. Hmm. I should make you pay extra for this special training. How does a million sound?”

  “Don’t you dare.”

  Besides Raine's frequent ' lessons,' their trip deeper into the mountains was uneventful. He made them sprint again, churning through Discipline to keep them mentally and physically exhausted. He only let the group fight lower-level raptors they could defeat quickly. Whenever they did, he removed himself from the party so they would be rewarded for their efforts.

  The groups of independent players they passed on the road let them be, and they returned the favor. On the other hand, Raine went out of his way to slaughter the few members of Righteous they encountered. By the second hour, they stopped running into them.

  On the fifth hour—only two away from Vile Peak Town, Raine led them off the road into a narrow valley. They traveled for fifteen minutes, stopping upon hearing a strange whistle. Five figures appeared from behind a vertical ledge of a nearby cliff. They spread out, approaching rapidly.

  Raine opened his arms wide, expecting his brother to run into them for a meaty hug. Instead, Richtor stopped short, pointing at Raine with a trembling finger, “Who the hell are you?”

  Raine’s smile dropped. He’d let Richtor know they were almost to the meeting spot but completely forgot to tell him how much weight he lost. With everyone's avatars now resembling their outside-world physiques, Richtor’s surprise was entirely justified. Raine’s forgetfulness was understandable as well. After all, he’d spent the last thirty years looking like he currently did and only a few days overweight.

  Good thing we don't live in the same city.

  Thinking fast, Raine came up with the only explanation he thought his brother would accept, “I found an item that simulates a better physique. I think they put it in to motivate people to work out. After feeling this good, I can’t tell you how excited I am to hit the gym. Anyways, congrats on level eleven!”

  Fizgore and Rhino wore matching frowns while Mel and Celeste exchanged knowing smirks. Accepting his tale, Richtor finally came in for the hug. Over his brother’s shoulder, Raine nodded to Kevinsbakon, Milkdud, TwistedReligion, and Deloralicious in turn.

  “Level twelve, impressive,” pulling away, Raine introduced everyone, then hustled them toward the road. He raised his voice enough to silence their whispered conversations, “Everyone here except Fizgore has a contract binding your services to me. In other words, get along because we’ll be relying on each other for the foreseeable future. My current goal is to get you all to level fifteen as quickly as possible. After that, we have a big quest with rewards more amazing than anything you can imagine.”

  Both groups wore anticipation on their sleeves, hanging on his words, “After you unlock your classes, we’ll be challenging ZL’s first raid. The rewards include allowing us to create an official guild, which I plan to do.” The news came as a shock to everyone except the girls.

  Raine’s tone made it clear he wasn’t talking about a few friends getting together on the weekends to drink and play a game. His words invoked a craving in them to achieve something great, something miraculous, and what they felt was a pale shadow compared to the thick emotions that churned within their leader.

  They all had a grasp of what a real guild was. In the current age, mega corporations locking down zones, games, and even entire franchises to farm unending credits were commonplace. That was, in fact, the only typical reason to strive for a large guild: to create jobs where you and your fellow guildmates could play full-time. They also knew that the formation and raising of a real guild from scratch required employees, lots of them. And that meant vast sums of currency, both in and out of ZionLine. More importantly, Raine's words were a commitment toward a goal, a goal they could take part in from the very beginning.

  After a dramatic pause to let his words sink in, Raine continued, “My long-term ideal is to raise the most powerful guild in the Silvergate Kingdom and kick every other major guild off our turf. We won’t stop there. We’ll expand to other cities, capitals, and empires. And eventually, become a name that stirs fear in the heavens themselves.”

  Only two pairs of eyes didn’t look at him like he’d lost his mind. Raine didn’t care. They would come to know the truth soon. These nine players would become the backbone of his empire, and they deserved to know his intentions.

  “C’mon Rai—”

  Raine interrupted Richtor by smashing his foot into the ground, releasing the full force of both his bloodlust and Connection. The stones cratered deeper than when the Great Eagle crashed. Terrified and off balance, his allies fell on their asses as the valley walls shook and loose rocks were sent cascading in miniature avalanches.

  Raine had been hiding his avatar’s name from his brother and friends since day one, and for good reason. The list of people who wanted him dead was growing rapidly. Soon, it would balloon to ridiculous proportions. However, now that they were reunited and Morty was tapped into their house's security system, the need to conceal his identity from them had come to an end.

  Amidst rumbling stones and the cries of beasts far overhead, Raine shouted, “That is not my name! This is ZionLine. Here, I. Am. Alaric.”

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