Celeste Luu Rahn

  Long before the trio entered the tavern, prior to even seeing the town on the horizon, Celeste was forced to drastically re-evaluate her opinion of her companions. Raine, in particular, was a much more complex individual than she previously wanted to admit. He looked similar to her in age, yet his depth of knowledge and experience were so beyond her own that it boggled the mind. In the beginning, she assumed he was limited to barely understood snippets of random information like every other recorded seer. That was clearly not the case.

  The more she learned about the mysterious Mr. KongRu, the further she was drawn down the rabbit hole. His single most disturbing quality was his martial prowess. Growing up, her father spared no expense when it came to her education, and especially her martial training. Over the last fifteen years, she had gone through three instructors—none under forty. Each imparted all of their fundamentals and techniques onto her before they were replaced by the next. Two had even been class four martials, yet Celeste knew to her bones that working together, those three renowned instructors would have been unable to force Raine into using more than one hand.

  In only a few short hours, he identified and easily pointed out flaws her trainers were too lazy to correct, or more likely, hadn't known about in the first place. Much of her rapid improvement was due to the realistic, high-stakes combat, but it was Raine's expert critiques that added an unquantifiable multiplier to her growth. After a single night, she was transformed to the point of easily defeating two of her past selves simultaneously.

  Everyone knew that properly teaching martial arts was an order of magnitude more difficult than fighting. There was only one way it made sense for Raine to be so adept at it. It was as if his prophetic visions were so clear that he gained martial prowess through them, and that was a beyond-terrifying prospect. If true, the governments of the world and the martial families would enter all-out war to obtain him. Worse, the organization she thought was backing him didn’t exist at all. He was entirely self-made, alone, and easily the most dangerous man she had ever encountered.

  At the moment, that very dangerous man was driving her toward a potential future where she as well would become an unopposable existence. Greed, born from her substantial improvement, stoked a desire to absorb everything Raine could impart. Beneath even that, a deep, churning respect had taken root in Celeste’s chest and it squeezed her diaphragm whenever she looked at his ugly face.

  Then, there was Mel. At first sight, Celeste knew the girl was some random arm candy the bastard picked up in the slums. Mel’s wide-eyed wonderment while tip-toeing through Romaxillions was a dead giveaway of her mundane origins. But after their night together, it was clear the girl was the opposite of simple. Multiple times, Celeste caught Mel looking at Raine’s back with a calculating and cunning glint in her eyes.

  Celeste had given their training her all. With her martial background, she should have left the random girl so far behind all she could see was a cloud of dust on the horizon. Yet Mel almost seemed to be taking the training easy, as though she were trying to let Celeste win every little competition between them. She certainly never showed any hints of her pride being hurt when losing. No, there was definitely something disturbing about the girl. Celeste was positive that anyone who underestimated Mel was bound to suffer.

  There was also her brilliant plan with the contract. The moment Raine and Mel finalized their version, Celeste would be using it as a template for her own. That assumed she and Mel lived long enough. Raine was a deadly sharp blade, his every move calculated and meticulous. He could discover their intrusions into his mind from the slightest slip.

  One of those very slips was happening at that very moment.

  Celeste’s arms wrapped around Mel as the girl teetered from the shock of hearing about Raine’s wife. The once floozy—now upgraded to love-struck tramp, was clearly tired of living and Celeste was having none of it. She smacked the back of Mel’s head, drawing a hundred pairs of hungry eyes away from Raine and onto them, “Get it together!” She hissed, ready to hit her again.

  Mel sobered the second she heard the vitriol in Raine’s voice as he responded to his ‘wife,’ “Same old cowardly Vaneese, only enjoying the hunt when your prey lays on its back without a struggle. Happy to disappoint you. If you're truly set on an easy hunt, you can always go fuck one of your worthless little servants like the town-pump you are.”

  Celeste’s brows rose to her hairline.

  Uhh, did I mishear him? No way they’re still married. Oh shit, please tell me she can't read his mind too.

  The woman’s jaw dropped. The sound of a hundred hissing snakes filled the street as the members of her guild sucked air through their teeth. Celeste imagined she could hear the woman’s teeth grinding from across the street.

  Vaneese held her hand high and snapped her fingers, “Group one, escort them out of town. Group two, standby at the graveyard.”

  Celeste’s PVP shield flared without warning. She stumbled forward as a powerful shove slammed her from behind. She hit Raine’s sturdy back and bounced. Looking over her shoulder, she was met by the malicious grins of half the tavern’s occupants. Meanwhile, the encirclement of players closed in from the front, leaving them completely surrounded.

  I have no idea how Raine’s going to get us out of this, but I’m positive he didn’t walk into that tavern without a plan.

  Time froze for Celeste as the thought struck her. The mere idea she could trust someone she had only just met was an entirely alien concept. There was no such thing as friends who weren’t trying to use her for money or renown. Her past attempts at camaraderie proved that all too well. But Raine was different. He didn’t need her for anything. Whatever gain he thought she might accomplish for him, with his advantages, he could easily replace her.

  The magnitude of it swept away the fact they were surrounded by hostile players that could enact any number of horrible fates upon her. The players were closer now, only a few paces away. She did as Raine had taught, inspecting them to find the ones in the closest row were all below level five, while those behind were six and seven.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Again, Celeste was pushed from the back but Raine’s outstretched arms were an unyielding force that caught both her and Mel. Their plan to use the lower level players as a shieldwall to bodily force the three of them out of town was obvious to everyone watching, and finally, to Celeste herself.

  Yet in that surreal moment, it didn’t matter. These idiots had no clue who they were fucking with. Celeste found herself sporting a shit-eating grin, overwhelmed by the bubbling anticipation of how Raine would thoroughly humiliate these scum for daring to touch her.

  A tingling jolt raced down her spine when Raine’s hands came to rest on the nape of her neck. An undignified squeal was pulled from her lips when his grip tightened and her feet lifted from the ground. Mel was held firmly in his other hand, the tramp instantly going limp like a kitten. Celeste kicked and thrashed, achieving absolutely zero results against his unbelievable strength.

  Gravity shifted as she rocketed forward, then, her vision was blocked by her shield’s non-stop flaring. Bodies were thrown from her path as Raine charged through the ranks of players, wielding her and Mel as living shields with laughable ease. When it became clear his grand plan from the very beginning was to utilize her as a human ragdoll, all the positive feelings she began to harbor vanished in a puff of embarrassed fury. She turned her head enough to glare at him with the promise of murder, “I hate you so much!”

  Raine KongRu

  Raine couldn't help himself, and roared with laughter, though not directly at Celeste's outrage. Not once in the past did he dare to rebuke Vaneese. As Master Torune’s top assassin, none who dared oppose her lived for long. Raine was in such good cheer as he crushed her minions aside that even a death couldn't have spoiled his mood. The best part was the use of her real name. He was positive her clever mind would be eating itself like some cancerous ouroboros attempting to discover how he knew her. Since she no doubt had suspicions about his origin, the red herring would do wonders to throw her off his track.

  They broke through the encirclement and Raine kept right on running, easily pushing aside anyone in their way thanks to the PVP shields’ highly complex activation triggers. Being inside its range when another source activated it, Raine was immune to its effects. Since shield activations never summoned the guards, he was free to continue his rampage until running into someone with higher Potency.

  In the past, those who were creative often discovered hilarious ways to manipulate the shield system. The current method he was using gained significant popularity over time and eventually earned the moniker: newbbowling. Having once been responsible for keeping the streets clean of such debauchery, Raine found himself enjoying the activity a little too much, especially since he was using it to outmaneuver the very woman who had cast him into the living hell that was CronGate’s slavery.

  The trio rounded a bend and charged down the next street. Roars and shouts rife with indignant rage followed in their literal wake. The clamor caused by the members of Righteous plowing after them only added to the tumultuous upheaval. Raine didn’t dare look back, lest his excited grin give away the trap they were charging into.

  He kept their pace slow, prolonging Celeste’s suffering which she was still being obnoxiously vocal about. The members of Righteous were right on his heels when he took a sharp turn through an open gate, entering the yard of a walled complex. A large and decadent three-story building—rivaling a small palace—loomed above their heads and Raine barreled straight up to its front doors. Between one blink and the next, a man in the perfect rendition of a western sheriff appeared before him. The three slammed into him and bounced back. Unfazed, the new arrival merely squinted his eyes questioningly. Raine dropped the girls and swept into a deep bow.

  [Butler Champion (Noble): (Level ???) (HP ?????/?????)]

  Before Raine could politely introduce himself, a gloating taunt from behind pulled the attention of the powerful Vaaterran, “Dead end, helmet!” A member of Righteous with the orange and purple sash of a captain stood with his hands on hips, fifty of his companions at his back. “You’re trapped! I’d tell you to surrender, but that isn’t an option anymore.” They spread out to block the only entrance to the compound and Raine could only shake his head at their idiocy.

  The other players crowding the yard couldn’t believe their audacity, “What is Righteous thinking? The last guy who caused a scene here died instantly.”

  “There’s so many of them, though. Maybe they can actually pressure the auction house. This is going to be awesome!”

  The butler’s hand landed on Raine’s shoulder, the strength behind its grip overbearing. His other hand followed, reaching Raine’s opposite arm where he gently wiped off a bit of dust, “Esteemed VIP. How gracious of you to grant our humble auction house your patronage. My name is Flavell. Please consider my services at your disposal.”

  The captain from Righteous pointed, his voice high and sharp, “Hey! That’s our prey, you dumbass NPC. Throw him over here all nice-like or we’ll blockade the entrance. Good luck running your business without any customers!”

  Holy wow. Room-temp IQ much?

  Only two of the captain's lackeys appeared unsure of the situation. Raine acted quickly, making sure none would have a chance to escape. He stepped back, and the butler’s grip loosened instantly. He bowed respectfully, pitching his voice to make sure he was heard, “Champion Flavell, the pleasure is entirely mine. I apologize for their intrusion. They followed me here against my will and truly don’t know their place. Perhaps that’s only because there has yet to be a proper example set for those who disrespect the auction houses’ sanctity.”

  A twinkle was born in Flavell’s eyes and he peered around Raine, sweeping his gaze over the members of Righteous. Wherever those flinty, golden-hued eyes passed, men and women received a notification that would have caused their jaws to drop if they were capable of moving at all.

  [Negative affliction received -Paralyze: Renders willful movement through physical means inoperable (Duration 2.5 hours)]

  With a blink from the overpowered butler, every member of Righteous that came to cause trouble exploded into floating clouds of light. Over fifty pieces of equipment fell from the little clouds, impacting the ground with soft thuds. Only one of the several hundred people in the auction house’s yard dared to move. Raine casually walked among the loot, tapping each piece with his toe and storing it.

  Seeing him, some of the patrons waiting in lines to access the kiosks grew brave enough to restart their chatter, “Okay, new rule: do not fuck with that NPC."

  “Who is that guy though? How does he have the stones to steal those drops?”

  “No way he’s going to get away with giving Righteous a black eye?!”

  “He has to leave here eventually. Look, they’re waiting outside the gate!”

  Sure enough, many members of Righteous were gathered outside. Among them was a familiar serpent of a woman. She snapped a command to one of her underlings and the man rushed inside, only to instantly pop, dropping another piece of gear. Raine grinned and waved, causing Vaneese to seethe in crimson-faced helplessness.

  Thanks so much for playing along, Vaneese. After all the suffering you put me through, I’ll consider this a long overdue alimony.

  Raine returned to the butler wearing an easy smile, “Thank you for your assistance in this matter, Flavell. Is there anything I can do to repay your kindness?”

  The butler dipped his chin, “Put in a good word with Mrs. Stonewhall and I’ll consider us even.”

  “You have my word,” Raine bowed with a hand over his heart.

  Flavell cleared his throat, ready to move on to more interesting topics, “Is there any further service I can provide?”

  Rubbing his hands together, Raine nodded vigorously, “Absolutely!”