Predators in the Storm IV

Kyren was seriously contemplating on whether or not he should kill or abduct Denmark. He already knew that the boy was a few thousand years old, which explained why he was an A~grade despite his growth potential not being even close to his own.

Due to his reaper training, he wouldn't hesitate to slaughter a child if he truly needed to. So everything depended on what Demark would do next.

Even though they were long gone, they wouldn't be able to escape his grasp.

"S—S-Sir!?!"

He snapped back to reality and noticed a familiar face in front of him. If he remembered correctly, she was the Guild Leader's personal assistant. She looked a little spooked and shaky as she tried to get his attention. It appears as though a little bit of his killing intent spilled out while he was thinking of how to deal with Denmark. Luckily, it didn't seem like a lot because only a few heads turned.

"Is he ready to see me?"

"T-That's right. Please follow me."

Kyren stood up, and those who were previously badmouthing him flinched with uncertainty and fear. They were close enough that they felt his killing intent and they noticed the Guild Leader's secretary personally welcome him, meaning he was both important and dangerous. Why were they so quick to offend someone?

Maya was also within his killing intent's area of effect, but she wasn't too fazed by it. After all, she was aware that there were enemies in their midst.

They both stood up and began to follow the secretary to the Guild Leader's office.

Kyren looked back towards the front entrance where Denmark fled through and ordered Leo with exasperation, 'Keep an eye on him and pin anyone that he comes into contact with. I'll deal with him after I'm done...'

.....

Within Guild Leader's office, Kyren and Fabian sat face to face with his hood down and his face present. Maya sat in a spare chair next to the back wall, completely disinterested in what they were doing. They each solemnly stared at each other until Fabian spoke first.

".....So you're aware?"

"Yes."

"How aware...?"

<I suggest you do something about the "ears in the walls" before you go any further.>

'Don't worry, I have a plan.' Kyren glanced around the room, fully aware that their privacy wasn't being respected. But this was on purpose so he could figure out what the other party's true intentions were.

He maintained a confident tone as if he knew a lot more than what he was letting on, "There are currently five professionals in and around the building, quite a few within your staff that seem to be in on it, and one suspicious person with still unknown intentions."

Fabian's eyes opened wide in astonishment as he had greatly underestimated the enemy and overestimated his staff. He didn't expect such a large quantity of his faculty to have abandoned their morals and accepted bribes, even if it were for their country. He felt slightly embarrassed in front of Kyren for being so incompetent.

"Then do you have a plan? I thought you went into hiding because of the people hunting you."

"I guess you could say I was temporarily hiding, but I can deal with them now. I wish to avoid any annoyance in the future. As for my plan, I'm in need of some double agents and capable manpower... and now they've come knocking on my doorstep. Sorry for using your guildhall as a staging area in advance."

"!!!"

While Fabian went into deep thought about his vague words, Kyren diverted his attention to Leo.

'Has he taken the bait?'

<Nope, he's still eavesdropping. It doesn't look like he knows anything about the information you just released.>

'So he isn't involved? Guess he can live another day...'

Kyren and Leo weren't talking about Fabian, but the person listening in on their conversation. There was some sort of magical bug in the room that he noticed as soon as he entered. It was sending off unique but faint signals of psychic mana to someone else that was currently listening to them. To his surprise, he discovered the assailant to be the suspicious A~grade with a little boy's body, Denmark, who he encountered earlier.

Whether he was listening to them by pure coincidence or he was apart of the Empire's forces and was trying to monitor him, he was trying to figure out through a little test he just conducted. When he mentioned that he knew of the five professionals tailing him and their current positions, who were obviously from the Empire and not the church by the gear they were wearing, and Denmark learned that the mission was compromised, there were two ways he would've reacted.

If he was just an unlucky bystander that got a little too curious and gained Kyren's attention, then Denmark would do nothing and keep listening or hang up.

However, if he was on the Empire's side, he would've immediately contacted the five professionals and the other forces present to warn them.

Leo has been supervising him this whole time and it was beginning to seem like the former was true, making him just an unlucky bystander. There was also the possibility that Denmark and the five professionals were working separately and didn't know of each other's existence, but he ignored that possibility because that wasn't something the Empire would do.

"Guess there's no need to have him listen anymore."

He stood up and waltzed over to a potted plant right behind the Guild Leader's desk and rummaged through the leaves. After swiftly snatching an insect that was half the size of a marble ball, he came back to his seat and sat down while studying the squirming creature in his hand.

Fabian was mystified as to what was happening. Why would he grab a bug? He was at that age where he engined the beauty of life so he tended to open the windows frequently to get fresh air. Why would Kyren be bothered by a bug that must've flown in here at some point?

Kyren then leaned in and whispered something incoherent to the small bug that no one else could hear.

[Gate]

He stuffed the unwilling creature into his personal dimension and the connection between it and the other party was immediately severed.

"Now we can speak freely."

"Hm? What do you-"

Realization struck Fabian like a lightning bolt as he realized why he did what he did. The notion that his room was tampered with never even crossed his mind. He made sure that the imperial soldiers that approached him believed he was adamantly neutral.

Then he was suddenly aware of how this situation might've looked in Kyren's eyes and internally panicked.

Before Fabian could explain that he had no part of this, Kyren interjected with a reassuring voice, "I trust my eyes and intuition, especially when it comes to other people. If there was even a hint that you also took my enemy's offer, I wouldn't have entered this room."

Kyren wholeheartedly trusted Fabian, not thinking once that he sold him out like the rest. This was because he could constantly monitor the Social Connection between them, and if something sketchy presented itself, he would know.

This was another overwhelming advantage that players had over an Npc, making it virtually impossible to majorly betray them. However, this was only valid if the player established a Social Connection with the other individual. Kyren on the other hand, with his very generalized and powerful appraisal/observation ability, wouldn't need a Social Connection so long as he could physically see the other party.

Nothing changed in the Social Connection tab for Fabian other than his opinion of him rising. He already knew that Fabian stood up against the Empire's request to bait him into a trap and maintained a facade of total neutrality. In fact, the {Benefits} section got updated as soon as the Empire approached him, and it said that he would stand by his side in this matter, to an extent. Fabian's opinion level of him rose to the peak of [Friendly] in a flash and he was also now [Curious] about him and his many secrets.

There were three main opinion rankings that an Npc or faction could have of you. The first was "general opinion" or their overall feelings toward you, which went along the lines of: Nemesis, hostile, hated, disgusted, disdained, disliked, neutral/nonexistent, friendly, respected, revered, idolized, worshiped, and fanaticism (bad to good).

Then there was their "affection opinion" of you, or their overall love and attraction towards you, which started at: Interest, desire, crush, love, intimate, and obsessed (low to high). If an opinion like this is generated, the general opinion would be easier to raise and there would be far more benefits that one could gain from their Social Connection. This opinion ranking would usually never appear for a faction unless under special circumstances, so it was more for the non-player characters.

Finally, there was the other's "suspicion opinion" of you, which was: Vigilant, cautious, wary, curious, and perplexed (bad to good). Suspicion was a little more complicated though because some rules had to be followed. "Vigilant" and "cautious" opinions could only be achieved if the other party's general opinion of you was negative. "Wary" could only be paired with neutral opinions while "curious" and "perplexed" could only be achieved through a positive general opinion.

In this case, Fabian's general opinion of him was positive, so any suspicion towards him due to his background, true strength, or intentions could only ever be curiosity.

Fabian was touched by his previous words and nodded in satisfaction, "That's right, I only wish to help. I believe that what the Empire is doing is immoral, and I'd typically take a stance of complete neutrality when situations like these present themselves, but I also can't have anything happen to that silly girl's first crush... or perhaps lover? How have things been with Krista lately? Is she doing well?"

Maya, who was previously disinterested in everything that was happening, perked up at the mention of her fellow sister. Krista was cold and aloof, always saying one thing but meaning something else. The way she acted in Kyren's presence was comical to her, so she had a good opinion and relationship with her. She was just too fun to tease and if this old man knew anything interesting about her, she would jump at the chance for some new material.

"We're not lovers... yet."

"Hoho, you think you can break through that prideful charade of hers? I swear, that silly girl can't say her true feelings to save her life..."

They both chuckled and Maya jumped into the conversation with enthusiasm, "So you know a lot of stuff about Sister Krista?!"

"Of course I know a lot about her. I raised her for a large portion of her life after all. She's like a granddaughter to me."

"Really! Then-"

Kyren's hand patted her on the head as if to remind her of his presence, "Now, now, I have a few more things to talk about with him. Then you can ask a few questions."

Maya harrumphed and obediently dialed it down, twirling her hair with her index finger while waiting.

"I'll make this brief because I have a feeling that something is going to happen. A small boy with A~grade strength came from the direction of your office, tell me about him."

"You couldn't mean... Are you perhaps referring to our Guild Grandmaster!"

Grandmaster of the Adventurers Guild? He didn't have time to look through all the information on Denmark so he was unaware. He got distracted so he only noticed a few decisions

"One could say that he's my boss's boss, so don't let his appearance fool you. He and the other two major Grandmasters were in the area because of this event, and he was visiting Kassio's guildhall.

I seriously can't believe the three major Grandmasters of humanity are participating in this event..."

'Do you know what a Grandmaster is?'

<You haven't read enough books for me to tell you for sure. I don't have a lot of knowledge of this world.>

Despite Leo's relationship with the system, he was just as ignorant on certain topics as any other. The only information he was given from the start was the game's mechanics and other necessary facts, just nothing about the world itself. Leo would need to come into contact with every book in the Noble District's library to understand this unimaginably vast world just a little bit more. Kyren was already making plans to do just that, so if he required some information, Leo could answer it.

'Should I ask him? No, that would seem too suspicious. I'll just do my research later—'

"Are Grandmasters super important or something? I'm a little ignorant of certain things about surface dwellers because of my race's voluntary seclusion, so could you enlighten me?" Genuine confusion could be heard in her voice as she scratched her head.

Kyren internally praised her. He was glad he didn't have to ask and look strange for not knowing.

"Surface dwellers? There are only a few races that refer to us in like that. Who might you be?"

Although he noticed her presence, he was so focused on Kyren that he neglected to ask who she was.

Maya looked to Kyren for approval before pulling her hood down and giving Fabian an award-winning smile that would make the hearts of countless men falter.

"I'm Maya SekDosa, a companion of Kyren and a friend of Krista." She gave a slight but courteous bow with her head and her social charisma shined as no star could. Anyone could tell she was a natural with conversations just by the few words that escaped her delicate lips.

"A Mermaid!! That explains it..." Fabian looked elsewhere and then back to her with slight concern, "Some friendly advice, be careful of revealing your race to others. I'm sure your aware of what your ancestors have done to the rest of the overworld and mankind, and if someone with a grudge discovers you..."

"....." She immediately became downcast and guilt-ridden. She knew of her race's sins and she wasn't proud of it.

Kyren's player senses tingled and he smelled a good storyline. He subconsciously asked Leo about what they were talking about, but like before, he didn't know anything either. Another thing was added to the list of things to investigate.

Maya couldn't help being born in such a cowardly race and what happened in the past, during the war, wasn't her fault. But the sin was just too great not to feel guilty and ashamed.

Fabian stared unblinkingly into the mermaid's eyes as if searching for authentic feelings of shame. Not many knew the truth about what happened to the Merfolk and Atlantis in the past, but he knew it.

"*Sigh* Forget it, just be careful alright... Anyway, you wanted to know about the Grandmasters? That's right, your race wasn't present for the creation of the Adventurers Guild, Magic Association, and Merchants League. Besides the Emperor and the church's people, they're the most powerful and influential humans on the entire continent.

This only applies to the Adventurers Guild, but Guild Leaders, such as myself, have jurisdiction over a major city and the surrounding regions, towns, villages, etc.

Guild Masters are the level above, and they maintain all the Guild Leaders in a country. They sometimes employ the help of other Guild Masters if a country is too big for them to handle.

A Guild Grandmaster on the other hand controls all the Guild Masters throughout the entire human race. In other words, he's humanity's most influential existence, and in some cases, he can even make entire nations back down in fear.

With the power of the three major Grandmasters combined, they could even give the church a run for its money. It's even speculated that they could fight the current church of Lumeria on equal grounds if they combined their forces!!"