Chapter 54

The Angel Express, Etson - 8:22 AM

“The evidence is pretty damning, isn’t it?” the alligator asked.

I only grunted in response. My hands were still on the counter, but it was invisible to my eyes. Everything was different, actually. The room around us changed entirely as the hologram overlaid itself with reality. Instead of the classy dining car, we were back in Etson College Library. I looked down at a prone Anthony Franklin, still scrawny from a time before the Wondrous Beginner’s Stat Kit.

This version of me had clearly overexerted himself, but looked disturbingly elated as he raised a middle finger towards the sky. We watched as the hologram showed the entire library run from start to finish. Then, we watched it again. This was the third time, and the Dealer had paused it just before I stopped flicking off the sky to open the Book of the Warmongering Mystic, my class change book. A few seconds later my body would disappear as the Administrator Black-out was applied.

I recalled the message that I should have paid more attention to.

[[Notice]]

The Administrator Black-Out [intermediate] has been added to your inventory. It will automatically be applied after the system announcement.

After the system announcement. I didn’t even read the notice after my victory over the Medallion of Uuska because I already knew what it said. It was Esaraphelscion’s Kiss that let me arrive early enough to get caught. My complacency and excitement to get my class before it got wrecked was my undoing. I should have been more careful, but it had been ruined from the beginning.

I didn’t allow myself to dwell on it. There was something strange that caught my eye almost immediately.

“So, what’s going on here?” I asked innocently. Thankfully, I had been in long sleeves that day, wearing my nicest shirt for the job interview.  My arms were covered up to the wrists. The two Ouroboros Tattoos that should have been on the back of my hands were missing from the hologram.

“Don’t play dumb, kid,” the Dealer said with a chuckle. “Let’s run through the arguments, shall we? You obviously knew about the book from the beginning, long before the Patrons would be able to talk to you. Plus, that early? All you’re going to get are the ones who are interested in death and destruction. And the way you moved through the library? You don’t have the body for that level of expertise.”

“Hey, uncalled for,” I said, crossing my arms.

“But it's true whether it hurts your feelings or not. You knew exactly where you were going and you got there in, what? Less than two minutes? Aside from the times you had to avoid tables or chairs or whatever, you made a mad dash towards that book from the start. You were bold, practiced. Pretty badass, but most importantly, you knew.”

I was ready to deflect again when I shut my mouth. The Administrator Black-out was still in effect. Until it wore off, any mention of me would be censored by the system itself. The Dealer wouldn’t be able to spill any of my secrets whether he wanted to or not.

The treasure hunters had a lot of tricks to keep under the radar when their clients' wants and needs were less than savory and he had even added an Administrator Black-out for himself when meeting with me. That had to be expensive for him to maintain, but he was right that I was a golden goose. I would just have to make sure I provided enough golden eggs to keep him satisfied, not that he could back out of the deal while I was still alive.

“How come the tattoo is missing?” I asked,  gesturing towards holographic Anthony's hands.

“So glad you asked because that’s really interesting,” the Dealer said with a grin. “This footage has been tampered with. A really good job at it, actually, but nothing gets by the Dealer when it comes to sniffing out information. The tattoos on both hands have been scrubbed clean, but I suspect you’ve done this more than twice, haven’t you?”

“This is my fourth attempt,” I lied. I didn’t have to give away all of my secrets. He lowered his long snout to look at me over his glasses. “Fine, seventh.”

The Dealer nodded. “That explains a lot. You’ve been in it for a while now, how old are you?”

“At least forty,” I said with a huff. Before he could pry any further, I felt a change in subject was prudent. “You said the footage was tampered with. Why was it altered?”

“Do you understand how rare a regressor is? Someone has to make it to the end, then decide to do it again. To Seraphim, you’ve done it at least twice before. Can you imagine the kind of clout he’d get if he managed to kill you? The whole Writhing Zeppelin thing would have been water under the bridge.”

Ice ran through my veins as he spoke. “He’s protecting me so that he can claim victory later.”

“Fishing for a promotion, yeah,” the Dealer scoffed. “It doesn’t matter that he’s being punished for awakening a raid boss this early, it’ll all be worth it if he manages to kill you. You obviously already know what he’s like.”

“Yeah, I figured he'd likely kill me just because I know he’s not a real angel so he can keep his farce going,” I sighed. “I was warned that I would be targeted if the administrators found out.”

The Dealer shrugged. “You know what it’s like when an organization is all about nepotism, narcissism,  and power trips. Never mind how interesting you can make things, the boss will always try to slam you down if you try to get uppity.”

“It’s retail all over again,” I said with a humorless snort. Leaning back against the counter, I chewed on this knowledge. If Seraphim was trying to keep me to himself then that meant he hadn’t ratted me out to his higher ups yet. If he hadn’t ratted me out, then he wasn’t likely to do so unless he was sure that killing me was out of reach. There would be plenty of opportunities, though it would be more prudent to leave his area of operation before he got back.

“Whatcha thinking about, kid?”

“I need to leave before that scum sucker comes back,” I said slowly, looking at the ceiling thoughtfully. “Am I right in assuming that he’ll be back in time for the war?”

“Earlier. About noon tomorrow? Thereabouts. The boss was supposed to destroy the safe zone and then disappear according to the system reports I swiped. He started its evolution before you killed it as a Writhing Juggernaut which was why it revived, it just took a while. Should have been punished more harshly if you ask me. Are you thinking of breaking the scenario?”

“Wide open.” Breaking a scenario was the system denizen's way of referring to a situation where a player inadvertently skips over several scenario plot points and finishes early. Whether it was deduced or stumbled upon it was something the administrators normally scorned. Especially if it was a scenario that they had a hand in.

“You would be harder to deal with if you had a Patron on your side,” the Dealer mused while scratching under his chin. “Break the first scenario, which I assume you already know how to do?”

“Kill the Vespae queen, obviously.”

“Obviously. Finish the scenario early, get a Patron, and then get out of town? I’d say just get out of town and finish up a scenario somewhere else, personally. You have a train, use it.”

I nodded as I thought it over. Leaving would be the safest thing for me. Seraphim’s territory included most of northern Florida, stopping just a few miles from Orlando, and leaving would be easy. His territory would expand later so there wouldn’t be any rush for him to chase after me, either. Keep tabs on me, of course, but the moment he outs me in someone else’s territory then I’ll be free game for them. If there was one thing I could count on, it was Seraphim’s selfish tendencies. Why should someone else get his glory, after all?

That was what I hoped for, anyway. I would have crossed my fingers if I thought it would do any good. Still, running was not an option.

“Can’t leave early,” I said as I shook my head. “There’s too many things to do here with the people.”

“Then you need to be fast, you only have a day and a half.”

“I know,” I grumbled. Corwin, who had been laying near my feet and snoring softly, suddenly lifted his head.

“ANTHONY!” Kayla’s voice rang through the sleeping car. Corwin ran off in her direction and I sighed.

“This might get awkward,” I told the Dealer quietly. “She and her husband found out, a little late, that the alternative to sex with a Dryad was ritualistic animal sacrifice.”

The alligator chortled and sniffed the air. “I barely smell blood, but there is an overabundance of apples. You trust them?”

“Yeah, I do. They're exempt from my secret keeping, so you know, but be discreet.” I couldn’t help but chuckle before calling out. “I’m in the dining car with a friend. Don’t freak out!”

“I’m freaking out, Anthony Franklin!” I could hear her stomping down the hall. “Serranras wanted Jeff to sacrifice little buddy the cat, can you-“ A very disheveled looking Kayla stormed into the dining car and came to a stop as she met the Dealer’s eyes.

All of her anger and bluster dropped from her face. “It’s an alligator. You said you had to see an alligator, you really meant an alligator?”

“I get that a lot. Hello,” the Dealer said with a wave.

“Kayla, this is the Dealer. Dealer, this is Kayla Mills. Her husband, Jeff, shouldn’t be too far behind her. He’s the one who owns Corwin.”

“I’ve got gator right here, what are you-“ As he came up behind his wife, Jeff fell silent holding a container with the name Tail-Gator’s Gator Tail on the side.

“You parked outside?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Couple of blocks down the way,” he said with a shrug before standing up and facing them. “I’m a treasure hunter, and I’m going to be helping our friend Anthony here every now and again. I trust that you will be discreet about our arrangement.”

“Any friend of Ant’s is a friend of ours,” Jeff said as he gently pushed Kayla forward. She allowed herself to be guided, but shot me a glare that told me in no uncertain terms that the topic of Serranras would be brought back up again later. Jeff offered the Dealer his hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise,” the alligator said, shaking their hands. “I’d also like to buy your dog. Fifteen thousand points.”

“He’s a really good boy, but no thank you. He’s not for sale.”

“Twenty thousand.”

“Still, no.”

“Twenty five thousand, and an item that lets you swap out the dog for your little buddy,” the Dealer urged. “Provided he’s still alive?”

The Mills both stiffened at that question. Kayla broke first. “I’m going to go take a shower,” she said.

“Before that, sorry,” I interjected. “We need to move up the schedule and attack the Vespae early enough that the queen will be dead by noon. I’ll be able to explain it in detail later, but I have some errands for you guys if it’s okay.”

“You mean slay the queen by noon tomorrow, right?”

“Yes,” I said quickly. “Noon tomorrow, we’d never get it done by noon today.”

Kayla looked like she was fighting with herself, but slowly nodded. “What do you need?”

“Okay, so Kayla, I need you to infiltrate the Faithful and find Gabrielle. Take her and anyone she deems necessary to meet with Elder Tet,” I said. “She needs to see what kind of fear the Vespae put on people who ally with them.”

"What should I do if she's off hunting?"

"She won't be. Father Alexander keeps the best healers under lock and key. Think you can do it?"

“Sure, but what will that accomplish?”

“We need to break the Faithful before we leave, and Gabrielle is the one we’re going to need in charge.”

“Break them?" Kayla wrinkled her nose. "You already know how we feel about killing people.”

I shook my head. “Splinter, then. We need to remove Father Alexander’s hold on them as soon as possible. I’m planning on standing up to him later today, but it’s not going to be worth a damn if I don’t have people on the inside.”

It took her a few seconds to process, but Kayla nodded. “Okay, I can do that.”

“Jeff, I need you to go to the Bacon Shack and pick up a sandwich,” I said, turning to him.

“You know I barely visit Etson, right?” he asked before recognition flashed in his eyes. “Oh wait, we passed that place, didn’t we? From the interstate to the resort.”

“That’s right. The boss there is a deranged chef; a llot of cutlery, but you should be able to take him. The sandwich he drops will be imperative for making sure the battle tomorrow goes in our favor.”

“What does the sandwich do?” Kayla asked before Jeff could agree.

"Resets a cooldown. It’s not for me, it’s for Thomas. We’re going to need his Judgment of the People buff, but it’s a week long cooldown and he used it on me.”

“I can do it,” Jeff said as his wife hesitated, and he kissed her on the top of her head. “You want to go take that shower, Kay?”

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Dealer,” Kayla said pleasantly, but quickly, before looking at me. “And we will be talking later.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said as the Dealer gave her a polite nod. She walked back to her room, and I addressed Jeff. “So how screwed am I?”

Jeff released a deep breath and shook his head. “It wouldn’t have been so bad if she could get drunk,” he admitted. “It wasn’t until afterwards that she realized she wasn’t tipsy at all. Apparently, having a higher constitution means that it’s harder to get drunk.”

“Merchants and Brewer class players should be getting alcohol soon that has a number on it to match constitution scores,” the Dealer offered. “But if her constitution is eight or higher, most anything she’d have nabbed from a pre-system store wouldn’t work.”

“That’s good to know now,” Jeff said. “But she’s got the Queen of the Forest passive so I think it’s worth it.”

“She does?” I asked in surprise. “What does that leave you with?”

“Champion of the Forest,” he said with a shrug. “Does most of the same stuff as what you mentioned, but Dryads and Nymphs won’t take me as seriously as Kayla.”

“Huh, alright. Makes sense, I suppose” I said while the Dealer chuckled. “Also, getting off of that topic, Corwin’s an Evolution Hound. He can evolve after eating skill books. Because I know you’ll ask, yes, he will be able to revert to this base form.”

“Oh, neat.” Jeff went down on one knee and started rubbing Corwin with both hands. “You’re a super special boy, aren’t you? Yes you are, Corwin, yes you are.”

“You know, you didn’t decl-“

“I respectfully decline your offer,” Jeff said to the Dealer as he doted on his dog.

“If you want, I have a skill book for demonic resistance,” I offered. “It won’t make him go crazy like becoming a demon normally would, just a little more aggressive. It can lead him down a path that could have him end as a Hellhound, or as a Cerberus.”

“I’ll think about it,” he said. “Remind me later, okay? I’m going to go get ready to shower. If we don’t see you, and I recommend Kayla doesn’t see you, then keep yourself safe out there.”

“Wise words. I’ll be visiting the Safari Resort after this, but unless something comes up I should be visiting Etson Square in the afternoon.”

“Roger that, boss,” Jeff said. He offered the Dealer a fist bump, which was reciprocated, and headed back to his room with Corwin.

“Interesting companions you have,” the Dealer mused.

“Yeah, I really like them.”

“But not enough to tell them that a Dryad needs life force to strengthen their tree?”

I shrugged. “We needed the passive and I didn’t think they’d go otherwise. It’s a little manipulative, but they know what’s at stake.”

“In my experience, people usually would prefer to make their own choices about things like that. Have the option.”

“They could have said no at any time.”

“Could they have? With someone like you at their back? Do they know?”

“They… know I can see the future,” I said as a frown formed on my lips. “I get what you’re saying, and I'll apologize to them properly later. They’re not pawns, they’re people, and they need to know they can keep their agency.”

“Speaking of people and not pawns,” the Dealer said, giving me a sideways glance. “You know that this information wasn’t free, right?”

I snorted and pulled a pad of paper and pen from under the bar. Scribbling down some coordinates, I ripped the page free and set it down. "Follow this and you'll find the very specific path you have to take to get to El Dorado. All I ask is that you leave the non-gold equipment for the people who will follow in your tracks.”

The Dealer grumbled and took the offered paper. “This’ll do for now, but I’ll be back.” Even though he didn’t say it, I knew he’d leave what I asked for. It wouldn’t fetch a buyer, anyway. “I’ll be off, then.”

“There’s one more thing that I need,” I said slowly. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but if things had already gone this far then I wouldn’t mind pushing it a little further. “Would you, by chance, have a spare System Contract laying around?”

He eyed me curiously. “What for?”

I smiled. “Mischief, Dealer, and a lot of tomfoolery.”