章 44: Chapter 43: The Executives.
"Fucking damn it!" Madam slammed her hand against the wall, making a wide wall crack all the way to its corners.
"You underestimated your opponents this time," The woman from the Executive said as she looked at the crack in the wall. She kept staring at it until the wall suddenly fixed itself like it was brand new. "That person's name is Aria, and you were lucky he spared your life there," she added and took a sip of her tea.
"Checil, I don't need you to open your mouth right now. I lost 5 of my men in total, they're not just some meat that can be replaced," Madam looked at the woman as she tried to hold back her anger.
Checil sighed as she stood up, staring out the window of the empire that she built in a single night. She saw Players walking in the city, and those Players were at least in the top million Players on the leaderboard.
"Aria is one of the rare races that existed here before Players came. He, or you can also say she, is the best and purest breed of that race. He has the Royal Blood in his body, that's why you can't underestimate her," Checil explained, leaning her back on the massive glass wall. "We lost the majority of Players from my generation. If it wasn't because of them, there should be thousands of us here still," she added and reminisced about the Big War.
Madam heard a lot about the Big War and about Royal Blood, but all the information about them was hidden from everyone. Those who tried to uncover it were dead, and the one who caused those deaths was Madam herself. That was why Madam got her title as Headhunter who killed not only Non-Players, but also Players.
"This Royal Blood, what the fuck is it? How can someone who isn't gifted by the system be that strong," Madam looked at Checil because she wanted to know everything about it now after she experienced it herself.
"We don't know much about it either, only he knows everything about it and the truth about this whole thing. The name itself is enough to explain why they're so powerful, but the origin and who bestowed them the power, we don't know about it," Checil answered as she walked to her desk and sat down. "It's taboo even for us to speak about it," she looked at Madam seriously.
"So Arsen knows everything?" Madam looked at Checil.
"Yes. He's the only one who knows everything since he's the first Player," Checil answered as she nodded. "Enough about that. I need Vania's dead body so I can see everything," she said.
Madam forgot about that because her life was at risk and she forgot about Vania's dead body. She was planning to give it to Checil so they would know Rigel's name. Vania was their only lead, but she messed it up and lost it.
"I didn't bring her body..." Madam responded and shook her head, disappointed in herself.
"That's a shame, but it's fine. Next time you encounter that kind of situation, we will send someone to help you," Checil said, and she wasn't bothered by the fact Madam made a mistake. "Thank you for your report. You can leave now."
Madam left the room and not long after that, a man came out of thin air and sat across Checil. A man with medium-length curly brown hair and he had dark green eyes. He wore a dark blue frock coat and pants, putting his blue cane with a gold lion head carving on top.
"It was a total mess down there. He killed everyone, leaving only a dozen people," The man fixed his coat and looked at the window behind Checil. "Somehow it reminds me of back then," he raised his eyebrows.
"What comes around, goes around," Checil responded as she made herself comfortable in the chair. "Are the others here? We need to discuss this matter. You and I are thinking the same thing, right? Clive?" She looked at the man with a serious expression.
"I do...." Clive paused as portals opened behind him. "They're also thinking the same thing," he continued and 3 people came out of the portals.
A man in a simple white long turtle neck sweater and black pants sat on the couch. He crossed his legs and looked at Checil and Clive with his left eye covered in his white hair, but they still could see the black pupil underneath.
A man in a black cloak, hiding his body and down to his foot. He sat next to Clive as he fixed his long dark red hair and eyes that matched his hair color. He made himself comfortable on the seat and looked at Checil with a cold expression.
The last one was a man in a tuxedo with a butterfly tie on his neck. He had slick undercut black hair with a thin beard and mustache. He went behind the desk and stood behind Checil as he rested his hands on the top rail of the chair.
The 5 of them were the Executives of the Player Association, the ones who controlled the Players inside the tower. They were the top Players on the leaderboard after Arsen, and nobody was close enough to them in terms of power. If Players had to compare the 7th rank on the leaderboard with the 6th, the difference would be comparing an ant with a giant.
"You know it's your fault for approving Madam's request. You both killed thousands of Players on the 1st floor because of that. Now that you have approved it, everything is going to be a mess," The man in the tuxedo said as he looked down at Checil with his bright green eyes. "I don't understand why would you do that," he added.
"They're the least favored Players anyway. They can't even taste the breadcrumbs because the previous generation took the last bit of the resource. They won't be able to reach the 50th floor," Checil answered as she rested her head on her left fist. "Also, I'm not the one who gave her the green light, Navel," she pointed out and looked at the white-haired man who sat on the couch.
Everyone agreed with Navel when they listened to Navel's words, but when Checil explained to them that the man in white was the one who gave the green light, they all went quiet.
"That's the last thing we should be worried about. We need to talk about the prophecy because right now, I think the time has finally come," Checil said and looked at the others in front of her. "And I remember that Arsen is going to descend to deal with it," she added.
Everyone turned their heads toward the white-haired man who barely paid any attention.
"Alwin. You're his trusted friend, so you should let him know about the situation down here," Clive said. "The longer that Non-Player is left alone, the more problems that will occur in the tower. They don't want that," he warned calmly, and yet there was a slight fear in his voice.
"He won't descend anytime soon because he's trying to climb up to the 90th floor," Alwin answered and he looked stoic like a robot. "Also, he already knew about it, and he told me one thing for all of us. If any of us dare to touch that Non-Player, he will get rid of us no matter who did it," he warned and glanced at them.
They were shocked by the warning, but who were they to judge or complain because they were like pebbles in Arsen's eyes. They didn't want to be on his bad side, especially to be an eyesore.
"So, we just have to watch all the things that will happen?" The man in a cloak asked Alwin and he also stared at Alwin with a cold expression as if he had a grudge against whoever he stared at.
"If you value your life, I suggest you play along with it. I don't like it either, but he's the favored one, not us. The Gods are his eyes down here, and you don't want to get yourself in that position, don't you? Basmen," Alwin responded.
Alwin stood up because he believed the discussion was over after he closed it with Arsen's message. He then looked at Clive and noticed the sudden change around Clive's body.
"The 2nd floor..." Clive paused as he stared blankly at the distance. "That Non-Player is there now, and he killed all the Players in town," he added.
"And? Is that a problem?" Alwin raised his eyebrows, staring at Clive with curiosity and intimidation.
"No. That's none of our business," Clive responded as he stood up. "Well then. Since it's over, I'll send everyone back. Have a good day, Checil," he said and opened a portal for everyone.
They all left, leaving Checil on her own in her office.
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