Chapter 74

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The round Is ending, all players are logging out...

Ranking:

1. Dark Vengeance(Karma's team name)

2. Snechzer

3. Snechzer

4. TEAM 71

--------------

Snechzer is Jacob's guild name.

It sounds very... Umm..."Russian"?

Or am I talking about the wrong country?

I look at Jacob as my body fades away.

I manage to torture him until he fainted.

Because of time constraints, I didn't hold back and this is the result.

I spawn back in the main "reality" of stage 5. In a distance, I can see groups of reporters and robot cameras aiming at the girls.

"Ma'am! May I ask how your group managed to collect so many points in such a short time!!" Shouts one of the reporters.

The flickering and clicking Of cameras are annoying and are muffling everyone.

"Uh... It's not us who collected it, it was Karma." Says Ika.

"Karma? Who is that?" Mumbles the reporters.

Tch.

I quickly went ahead and grab Ika's arm before guiding them and escaping from the reporters.

Hiding in a dark alley, we continuously pant for the escape.

"T-They are persistent..." Says Yumiko.

"Yeah... At least we can take a break

now."

Suddenly a shadow looms over in a distance. There is a T junction in this alley and the Shadow seems to be coming from the right.

"Karma, you there?" Says a familiar voice.

"Joseph?"

I reveal myself as he stares at the girls behind me.

"Don't worry, the reporters are gone, all of you follow me. I somehow have a private condominium in this world, I want to talk with you, Karma." Says Joseph.

...

"Alright, lead the way."

--------------

What the fuck...

This is unfair...

After alighting from the limousine, I was greeted with a shiny gate with a texture of black polished rock with traces of polished gold surrounding it.

...

I feel pissed, I don't know why.

"Please enter." Says Joseph, welcoming us.

"Woah..."

The girls stare in awe.

"It might be just a hypothesis, but our status in this world may reflect our status in the real world." Says Joseph.

Oh? So this SOB is a rich kid? Fuck...

Joseph gave me a confused look once he notices my threatening aura.

"Anyway, all of you can wait in the guest room, I will talk to Karma personally in the lounge area."

Joseph guides me up a few stairs and I am greeted with a fancy hallway which looks like a hallway of a five-star hotel or restaurant. With fancy golden chandeliers and pricey noticeable famous artworks hang...

This is pissing me off more than I intended...

Joseph guides me into one of the rooms. It looks like a private bar, very fancy too. Dim yet perfect lights illuminate the "fancy" atmosphere.

The bar seems to be in a hexagon layout, to the right are the counter and the bartender. To the left, is a fancy couch and table with a good fragrance. To the front, the entire wall is being replaced with glass. I can see the entire city from up here... It's beautiful and the eternal night enhances it.

Joseph went ahead and took a seat on the couch.

Relaxing music is playing softly in the background.

"Take a seat," Joseph says.

I did as instructed.

"Do you want anything?" Asks Joseph.

...

"You will give me anything?"

"Yes, I will order you anything but I mostly just have wine."

I smirk at that sentence.

"Then I want a Domaine Leroy Chambertin Grand Cru!" I say.

!!!!

Joseph smirks. "Going for the expensive one eh... No mercy... Suits your behaviour. Alright, bring it over."

"Yes." Says the butler.

Wait... Joseph is going to treat me to that wine? How rich is this guy?!! To throw away... Around 6000 USD or so so easily?!

After a while, the butler comes back with a bottle of wine and hands it to me.

My hand starts to tremble to hold it.

T-T-This is the power of money!!

This dangerous aura and pressure, it's similar to an "all-out" duel with that old geezer who trained me!!

I-I can't believe I'm holding 6000 USD!!

Uh...

Joseph stares at me. "What's wrong?"

"Ah... Nothing."

I carefully and lightly place the bottle on the glass table.

Joseph swiftly grabs the wine and pours it into two cups.

!!!!

I almost had a heart attack with how Joseph handled the bottle as If it is some 100 yen can of beer...

Joseph looks at me and misunderstands. "Don't worry, I am not going to start a fight with you. Although I am curious about the outcome. Besides, if you can defeat Jacob, I would say there's a high chance you will win too."

No, it's not about that...

Never mind, I should shut up.

Suddenly the atmosphere becomes tense all of a sudden.

"Speak... What do you want?" Says Joseph.

???

What???

"The reason you saved me from that explosion in the underwater base, I don't care if it is out of kindness or pity but I am inclined to repay it. I don't accept help without repaying my benefactor... It has been quite a long time since anyone helped. You broke my streak of being independent and I will have to pay the price, speak."

Joseph... Is hellbent on repaying me huh...

Hmmm...

"How about working for me then?" I say.

"Tch... I meant repayment, not a contract." Says Joseph.

That proposal I said seems to piss Joseph off more.

I sigh.

"Fine then, you can repay by telling me how I can win you over," I say.

"... Are you that desperate?"

"Of course, who wouldn't be."

Joseph sighs.

"Other than me and Jacob, there's still 3 more prodigies, prove to me that you are the best of the best, and then I will work for you." Says Joseph.

"Understood," I say.

...

I proceed to take a sip of wine, it tastes... Slightly sour, mostly bitter.

"Alright now that it is out of the way, let's just have a chat." Says Joseph, smiling.

...

Incredible, Joseph can change the atmosphere so easily, as expected of a prodigy.

Afterwards, We talk about casual everyday stuff. He asked me about my real life, and I answered vaguely. I ask Joseph about his real life, he gave me an incredibly long and elaborate "lecture" on that topic...

I will be lying if I say that I don't regret asking those questions.

Once we had a nice chat, I look at my watch. "It's late, I should go."

"Wait, Karma... Let me tell you something. The time I spent with the girls... I can only see and say that some of them are useless... Not even the slightest reliable. You should probably reconsider your team. Judging by the clips of your gameplay, everything you achieved was done alone. Or at the very least you played the major role in every." Says Joseph.

...

"I will keep that in mind."

Joseph guide me back down to the guest room where the girls are happily playing some sort of board games with the servant.

They look at me and decided to end the game.

We exit the condominium.

"Phew... That was fun."

...

They notice something wrong with me.

I smile at the girls and ask them to follow me to an empty park.

"Reina, Ika, please use your blessing on me," I say.

?

"Okay..."

They did so and my stats were boosted to a monstrous level.

"Alright, now... Let's kick out some members."

!!!!!

"W-Why?!" Exclaims Ika.

"I will just be honest here. The only ones I find the most useful among all of you are En and Ika." I say. "Reina and Yumiko, you are just dead weight."

...

The girls stare at me, shocked.

"W-What do you mean useless? I have the blessing skill and I can also use a sniper rifle!" Exclaims Reina.

"It doesn't matter because the distance you can cover with that rifle, I can cover that distance faster than you can. Besides, my firepower is better than yours too." I replied.

"W-What? I can cover a large area using my axe and also have great firepower!!" Says Yumiko.

"Then why were you so easily overpowered and captured by people associated with Jacob? Yes, you may have those traits but once faced with a stronger or faster opponent, you have almost zero chance of winning." I reply.

Ika grabs my arm. "Aren't that a bit too cruel?"

"Cruel? Who and what do you think I am? A tool for all of you to become famous and succeed in BOG? All of my feats are done mostly alone yet all of you get to enjoy the rewards as well. Besides, Yumiko was just about to ask me to introduce her to Joseph! Do all of you think I'm some sort of mere tool?! IS THAT THE CASE?!"

"H-How do you even know that?" Says Yumiko.

...

Tch.

"At the very least, Ika can support and En can think up better and unexpected strategies more efficiently than me. En is also sharper and Ika is kinder. Tell me, what roles do the both of you have in this team that truly benefits everyone including me?" I say.

Reina and Yumiko were silent.

They stare at the ground and Reina looks like she was about to say something until Yumiko says "Fine. I will prove to you that I can be the defensive vanguard!"

Oh? Does she want to be the defensive vanguard? That's a weird combo but it is effective because I cannot possibly protect both Ika and En at the same time, I will need a helper.

"Fair enough. The next round, prove yourself to me." I say.

Yumiko smiles and nods.

"Tch."

??

Did Reina just click her tongue?

"Reina, what about you?" I say.

"Oh? Me? Uhm... I will be on the defensive as well then, something like a defensive sniper? Just in case the enemy also has a long-range teammate, I can help in that area." She says.

...

"Okay."

Afterwards, we split up and went back to our homes.

...

I take a shower and change into another set Of clothes. It feels better now.

Afterwards, I lay down on the bed and stare at the ceiling.

...

Sakura, you there?

"Yes?"

She suddenly appears, standing beside my bed.

"... What time is it now?"

"The time in this world is now 1 am, why?" Says Sakura.

I got up from my bed and stood up. "Let's go, we have things we need to finish."

Sakura nods as if she understood what I meant... Maybe she does because she can read my mind.

I leave the apartment and lock the door before going back to Roger's mansion.

There's tight security all around the perimeter of the mansion. Roger is afraid of him being next after what I did to his properties.

But still...

I easily charge in from one blind spot and knock the security guard unconscious before dragging the body into the nearby woods and covering it with leaves.

Going in, the mansion is dark except for one single room. Sakura and I silently travel to the top level and visit the master room, the only room with the lights on.

Before we manage to even peek inside the room, we can already hear a commotion.

"You useless fucker!! You said that you will guarantee a win!! Now, look at your pathetic state!!" Shouts Roger.

"..."

"Tch! I can't believe I wasted so much investment on you, fuck off!! I never want to see you again, loser."

!!!!!

*Bang!!!*

Something happened in the room. I peek in to see Jacob grabbing Roger by the collar and slamming him against the wall.

"LOSER?! YOU ARE THE ONE WHO HIRED TRASH AND PROVIDED BAD RESOURCES AND YOU CALL ME A LOSER? HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO CARRY A FULL TEAM OF IDIOTS WHILE FACING AGAINST TWO STRONG OPPONENTS? HUH?! FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT, I WOULD HAVE NEVER TO COME TO A TRASHY AND WORTHLESS PERSON LIKE YOU IF I FORESEEN THIS FROM THE START!!!" Shouts Jacob.

"W-What do you mean trash?! They were top tier players and NPC's who have over 300 levels." Says Roger.

Hmm? There's something off about this Roger. It is not uncommon for NPCs to be aware of the existence of players but Roger sounded like he knew that long ago...

"...PFFFT!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! FUCK FUCK...fuck..." Jacob starts to go out of control as he hears that.

"Yeah... I shouldn't have come to you in the first place, I didn't expect you to be so short-sighted." Says Jacob

"Interesting conversation..." I suddenly say.

!!!!

Jacob quickly turns around to see me leaning against the door.

"Sup Jacob, still salty over your loss?"

"Tch! You..."

Jacob looks like he wants to do something to me but his body isn't listening to him. He is trembling. Remembering the pain of a mere 5-minute quick torture did not affect him psychologically very much but his body will remember.

I smirk at Jacob.

"Tch..."

Jacob clicks his tongue again and proceeds to leave.

"The next round, I will crush you," Jacob says before leaving.

"Next round huh... There won't be any next round for you." I say.

??...

...

!!!

"What are you planning to do?!" Says Jacob, taking out a gun and pointing it at me.

I spawn a clone behind him and stab through Jacob's lung with a Katana.

!!!!

"H-How?! Another Karma?!"

Slowly he starts coughing out blood and grasping his wound before losing strength in his legs.

"Sakura, deal with Roger however you want. I will deal with Jacob. I sealed the entire mansion with a noise barrier so nobody will come for their help. Go wild all you want." I say.

Sakura suddenly grins like a sadist and says "Understood, my love~"