The perfect kind of villain is like Moriarty, someone who controls everything from the shadows. Leaving no trace behind for anyone to catch him, a puppet master of puppet masters. Webs so far and deep that spiders are tangled by them; that is the ideal villain.

I always liked them more than the hero, because it took more effort to build something like a criminal organization than to destroy it. Though the better it's built the harder it is to destroy, but it is always easier to destroy, and I appreciated the effort they put into building it. Don’t know if I'll make a good villain, though, given you have to spread drugs, murder people opposing you, human trafficking and all other kinds of shit. Human trafficking would be the hardest. Everything else I think I can do with an okay conscience; I'm not really a human trafficking kind of guy. Though I think I can do it, if I have to, to achieve my goals. Well for now let’s solve the few mysteries that have presented itself in the past year.

This estate, the Red King, the Temple that appears, the Shadow Legion - what a corny name - and I'm probably forgetting a few. Also on top of that, I'll have to start increasing my own influence while not being noticed. "Haa~ this is going to be tough."

"What's going to be tough master Verra?" My sweet Rosey, you’re the sweetest NPC I created. Your master is just thinking of how to rule the world from the shadows, and how difficult that's going be. No need to worry your pretty silver head over it, even her eyes are silver, all pearly and silver. I wonder if her blood is silver too, never got to check that in the game. She's so silvery, so cute. I must have stared at her for too long, she blushed like a little girl. "Master Verra, I think it's best if you send one of your clones instead."

I do send my clones out for everything, don't I? It’s become a normal part of my lifestyle.

One of the skills from the Witch's Hero class really reduced the amount of work I have to do personally. Though those bastards refuse to work if I don't want to do it myself. They really are just like me; lazy bastards. There is no point even trying to negotiate with them this time, they're going to refuse.

"It won't work Rosey."

"Is that so? Then how about the ninjas."

We already tried the ninjas, and they still weren't able to find an entrance.

"We tried the ninjas already, right? A spy might be better, but I think I'll do this myself."

It will be good to visit that city myself. I have my clones' memories of going to the city as if they are my own, but nothings like going there yourself.

She has become glum, just because I turned down a few suggestions.

"Those were great suggestions Rosey, and I appreciate them as your master. But today I think I should go myself."

"I understand Master Verra. I know the NPCs could never match your abilities."

That again, no they'll match up fine. She really perks up fast, doesn't she? Today's mission is difficult for me too, I might produce no results.

"Um. Yes. Today I'm trying to find a secret passageway, so it can be quite difficult."

"Of course you mean for the NPCs, for you, this must be child’s play."

Well, when you say it like that… am I that amazing? If you believe in me that much it must be true.

"Ah~ let’s forget about that, first I must give you praise with the great work you have done here. You have turned what was a mere cave into a magnificent 2nd base for our future operations. Amazing, amazing, the only word to describe your work Rosey."

"Thank you, master Verra~ Thank you~ Thank you so much~" She’s getting all teary eyed and her words were getting all mumbled. I know I'm supposed to be used to this by now, but please stop.

"Okay, that's enough, let's get back on topic: The Core Sorcerer’s estate. We know from the blueprint the ninjas were able to get from the Sorcerer’s diary that there are some secret rooms, but the ninjas have still to find the entrance leading to one of these rooms."

"Should I command the ninjas to break down the walls?"

"No, I already told them not to do that, but a good suggestion none the less."

"Thank you, master Verra. I'm sure you'll find the secret passage without needing to break walls."

That is a lot of pressure. If you put that much pressure on me I'll end up torturing the Core Sorcerer into telling me if I can't find it myself.

Then why didn't we just kidnap the Sorcerer, to begin with?

Right, I banned kidnapping till further notice. Let’s just hope I find it without needing to use torture methods.

I spread out the blueprint my NPCs made on the plain wooden table before me. The room I'm in is a nice size, about 21x17 feet. Around my table are 4 of my loyal NPCs: Rosey, Zwanzig, and 2 ninjas I forgot the name of.

"Rosey make this my new office for this base. Get a few bookshelves, also replace this table with a proper desk... with drawers. I still haven't given this place a name have I... this was a real cave we pimped up... I'll call it the 'Cave'."

Rosey became busy writing all of that down.

I could live in this place just fine, really it's a luxury, and only compared to Data-House - my in-game base - would this place look 3rd class. It was a mansion built inside a cave. It had 4 floors, but it wasn't exactly a straight building that could be said to have floors; 4 sections would be more accurate. The four sections connected two openings. An opening in the middle of the mountain where we built a balcony, to an opening at the base of the mountain. The base was made by squaring out the cave as much as possible, getting rid of stalagmite and other irregular sections. Then reinforcing it with concrete, wood, and steel to make the whole thing. The whole process took 6 months with the help of some advanced magic. The finished building is made of rectangular sections mixed up like random Jenga blocks. It's because we didn't hole out the mountain, instead conformed to the naturally made cave.

My real base is in the northern forest of this continent. Built in the game, with the CAD tools available only in the game, so it's much better than this place. It cost real world money… a lot of it. But that was the prize to pay for your own customizable base.

It was built for secrecy since I didn't belong to a guild. If someone found it they would try to take it over so secrecy was everything. I even built the entrance of my base like a broken down outdoor toilet so no one would be interested in breaking in, but if you open it and flush the toilet it converts to an elevator that goes straight down to the first floor of the Data-House. There are 3 floors excluding the treasury. The underground city, underground labs, and my - castle - room; these 3 floors make up Data-House. It’s a place to retreat if this Cave gets discovered.

I gave my next orders to the maid.

"Alright, I'll be going to the city of Tengai to meet the Sorcerer, so prepare something appropriate for me to wear. Also, I'll be going in my old man form so take that into account."

That was another skill obtained from the Witch's Hero class; shape-shifting. I have 8 levels in the Witch's Hero class. Each time I rescued a witch I gained a level and was bestowed a new skill.

The first level allowed me to clone myself. The number of clones increased with each level, one clone with level 1 and two clones with level 2 and so on. With level 2 in the class, I gained a new skill from the second witch I rescued, which allowed me to shape-shift. With level 2 only one form, with level 3 another one. The only downside was that I couldn't make my own character design but had to choose from the ones they allowed.

The old man with a trimmed beard and gray hair down to his shoulder was my favorite out of all the choices I had.

"Also my backstory will be that of a collector that collects very rare things. A very rich auction goer… something along those lines. Take those points into account when you pick my disguise."

"If that's all master Verra, I'll prepare it right away."

Is there something else? No, that’s all.

"That'll be all."

The maid slightly bowed to me and left the room. I had already picked out my room in the Cave, and now I've picked out my office. All there is to be done is pick - build - the appropriate furniture.

Now even if someone were to track me down to my Cave, I can abandon it and escape to my house; building this place was a good idea. This is what I been waiting for, I can finally go out into missions.

"Now Rosey please bring the coachman."

She was in charge of preparing the traveling arrangements, so she should know the driver.

"Understood, Master Verra; I'll do so right away." She ran out the door without even giving a bow.

I'm not sure if that's good or bad. I did tell them, they didn't have to bow. So it's good.

The ninjas kept staring at me, though I can't really tell with their masks.

"Can you guys get me a chair?" They both disappeared into a wisp of shadow.

Hmm… this is nice, quietly standing here by myself.

The first to come back were the ninjas, they just appeared behind me with the chair.

"Thanks."

I sat down and spread out the map of this continent on the table, over the roughly made blueprint of the estate.

The NPCs worked hard to make this. It's well made, unlike maps sold by the merchants in this world. The continent is shaped somewhat like a teardrop, with ridges and weird shapes at the sides. To the south is the pointy bit of the drop, and to the north-east is a lot of islands separating from the main body.

"Master Verra I brought him."

Rosey guided an old man into the room. He had a much-wrinkled face, gray hair, brown eyes, he was twisting his hat with his hands, like a tired worker come to meet the boss.

"Y-yes, Master Verra, you called for me."

He was an NPC made to look like a very poor old man. It's kind of disturbing I made a person like this.

"Yes, come in." He was still standing by the door, so I beckoned him in. "Do you know where you'll be taking me today?"

"Yes, Ms. Rosey told me."

I see then I don't need to explain too much.

"Then you know how to get to Tengai?"

"Yes, I've been there with one of Master's clones before, but... if we have to depart from here..."

"No need to worry there, I'll teleport us closer to the Beast-Road."

"Then there should be no problems!" He spoke very energetically for an old man.

"Do you have any preference to where we are teleported to? As long as it's somewhere people won't notice the teleportation its fine."

"Then how about here Master Verra."

On the map, he pointed a bit east of where we are now. Still, within the forest we command, and far enough from the highway we won't be noticed.

"Alright, that'll be fine… I can teleport us closer to the highway if you like."

A little bit closer should be fine.

"No that'll be fine Master Verra. From there we can head southeast, that'll allow us to merge into the road without notice."

This will be a longer journey, though, I was hoping to get to the city of Tengai much faster. After getting there we’ll still need to go to the sorcerer’s estate.

If we do this, after we reach the Beast-Road we'll have to keep heading south for at least an hour. He looks so confident, god dammit fine.

"Alright, then we'll head out..." When's the maid going to be finished with picking out my clothes? "Rosey... No. I'll go check with the maid... You guys wait here... No. We'll meet again in an hour. Prepare yourself to depart, and come back here in an hour."

"Understood, Master Verra."

▼▼▼

The city of Tengai is to the east of the continent. It's called a city, but it's a whole country as well. The country is shaped like a round spatter blot, with the most eastern part meeting the ocean. To its far north-west is the mountain range our Cave is based on. Directly north of Tengai is a mountain range which separates human settlements from the Beastman Nation: Jak. The Beast-Road connects the bestman nation with Tengai through the mountain range. The road goes beyond the beastman nation, and connects smaller city states as well, but it's well known for connecting a beastman nation with human settlements. Even though these human cities connect with the Beast-Road, it has nothing to do with friendly relations between humans and beastman. It wasn't even made by the countries, they were built by third-parties.

"Master you look dashing."

Is that sarcasm?

"He looks good in everything." Rosey chimed in, correcting the maid.

"That's true."

They were both appraising me and nodding along.

"It would look better if he went in his normal form instead. Don't you think so Peter?" Rosey was now trying to get the coachman in the conversation.

"Yes, his messy black hair, and cold-dead black eyes are the best."

What the hell are you saying old man?

"How I look doesn't matter!" I have to stop these fools from saying anything more. "And if I go as myself, it wouldn't be a disguise now would it."

"Then maybe we should get a longer trench coat?" Rosey maybe you should be quite.

"This is fine." It goes down to my knees, that's how it's supposed to be right. "Anyway if you're prepared we'll head out."

"I'm all set Master Verra."

▼▼▼

The city of Tengai doesn’t have walls, or any protective barriers, but does have watchtowers all over the country. And the country is split up into the villages, the towns, and the city. It’s a gradual build when entering from the outside. The village slowly turns into the town, and then into a large city at the center.

The hustle and bustle of the city is great from an aesthetic perspective. To watch the many people running around energizes you along with the city, but that said it's terrible when you're trying to drive a coach through. The coach was moving slow enough for people to walk past us.

The people were a range of races, this can only be seen in this country. A country of mixed races, it's a beautiful sight, and that isn’t just because of the hot elven girls. I really haven't seen one ugly looking elf... Unless you have something against big ears.

With the traffic, getting a visa, and signing into this hotel, robbed me of all my time. The sun's setting, so I might as well go to the estate tomorrow.

Maybe I should have gone with an adventurer’s card; this visa is much more expensive and limits the amount of time I can spend here.

You’re not here as an adventurer.

True, well… whatever, it's not like money is much of a problem. There’s no real way to kick me even if I didn’t get a visa, since I’m not going to be working here I don’t need an ID, but it’s better to have it.

"Is this fine without any servants?"

This old man; why don’t you go to your own room? I got it specifically so you won’t be in mine, and I don’t want servants.

"Yeah, I'm fine on my own. After tomorrow you should go home as well. I'll be staying here for a little bit longer."

He's acting way too shocked by that.

"B-bbut how will you get around?"

"There are taxies no? They should be fine."

"Those filthy carriages can't possibly carry someone like you Master Verra."

"They’re fine, you’re going back tomorrow… That's an order."

That stopped him. After a year I finally know how to deal with them a bit better.

"If that is your wish Master Verra."

Don't act sad, and you don't need to bow either. Fucking Christ.

"You have something else to wear?" He gives me a confused look. "Do you have a proper suit or something?"

Even NPCs have Slots they can put things in, and I'm sure I gave each NPC something to put in them.

"No, I'm afraid I don't Master Verra. But I have many hats, even a cowboy hat."

Yeah, I might’ve given them useless stuff.

"Okay... Pick out something you like from my luggage. You and I are about the same size so it should be fine. I’ll wait in the lobby, get dressed and come down."

"B-bbb-"

I left the room before he could respond, giving him only one choice. Seeing that look on an old man is annoying.

Why did I make poor people?

▼▼▼

"You look good, I'll get the tailors in Data-House to make you some of your own suits." I said giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"That's not necessary Maste-"

"Not Master. Call me William remember. I'm not your master, and I'm not Verra either." Its good no one heard it. "Now let’s go to the Golden Dionys."

The moment I mentioned the most famous restaurant in the city, he starts mumbling 'if it's fine'. I calmed him down a bit, and ordered a coach with the hotel. Again I was met with protest from the old man.

"You can't be the coachman if you're going to be accompanying me into the restaurant now can you."

Finally I was able to shut him up. That didn't last for long before he started mumbling about one thing or another.

The restaurant looked like if someone spilled gold all over it. It was distastefully gold, with the furniture all shining with gems and some form of glitter. It's too much, it’s designed ugly by someone who clearly has no taste. This would only look good to a child or a crow attracted by shiny things.

"What would you gentlemen like to order?"

A very sexy elf was our waitress. She has a bright smile, and her blond hair was in a bun; that olden timey look on someone young is just hot.

"I'll have an Onipo Legna."

"Alright one Onipo Legna, and what about you sir."

She turned to Peter, and I noticed a marking on her neck. That reminds me of my second objective here; the Red King.

This country still allowed the owning of slaves just a year ago; when this new king took over a year ago and changed everything. The Red King Tinkula, who single handily took down the royal army and crowned himself king.

He's most probably a player. He took over this country at about the same time I got transported to this world. It's highly likely he got transported around the same time.

The old man was still trying to decide, so I gave him a look.

"I'll have the same as Ma- William. I mean William"

She looked to me, and understood what he meant. She took down the note while mumbling, 'two Onipo Legna', and took off with a smile.

I can't say the food was anything amazing, especially compared to what my chefs can make. From the food it might be that they didn't even have a single level 10 cook; while my chefs have level 10 in Master Chef. I guess that's the difference between NPCs I made in the game, and normal people who have to study hard to get here.

▼▼▼

"Master Verra will you be fine here?"

I told you to call me William, its good no one is around.

"Yes I'll be fine, I can walk to the estate from here. You can go back to the Cave now. I'll tell Rosey to help with the teleportation at the prearranged spot."

"But how'll you get back to the hotel." You have a point. I'll figure something out, I can't deal with you anymore; sorry. I'm going to have to get a different coachman the next time I go anywhere. I know you mean well, but you're just too annoying old man. "I'll figure something out Peter. Now please go back."

After he left, I found a good cafe and ordered some tea and snacks. I made sure to send Rosey a Message without anyone noticing. I probably just looked like some old man staring into space, maybe reminiscing about his old days or something. Or maybe I'm being too self-conscious and nobody was even paying attention.

Since that seemed to be the case, I took out the Book of Thoth, Volume 1 from my Slot. I have 1, 2, and 5; there are 40 in total; it's a rare item so it should catch the sorcerer’s attention.

This magic spell book contains only level 10 spells, and I don't think this sorcerer can even cast one of them, but he should realize what it is. This is worthy enough for a collector to travel 100s of kilometers to get apprised by a well-known sorcerer. He shouldn't suspect any ill motives when he sees this book.

How should I proceed after I get in?

You could ask him to analyze these spells to find out what they mean, or find out where this book is from or something and get him to let you stay over for a day or something.

That should be more than enough time to find the secret entrance.

It’s normal for someone to come out of the blue with an item to have it appraised right?

The spies did say he did this with some merchants before, so it should be fine. But without an appointment; screw it, it doesn't matter. The hard part is getting him to let me stay the night.

"Here's the tea and snacks you ordered. You said anything was fine, so I hope Apple Pie is okay."

"Yeah, that's fine. Thanks."

This waitress has a branding on her neck too. It looks like a lot of the citizens in this country were slaves.

I have to hand it to the king for doing what he did, this is what the power of a player can do in this world. Easily take over an entire country. I bet these citizens love him.

This does raise a few questions though.

Did you come here at the same time as me, then he only waited a month before revealing his powers and taking over this country. Or did he wait years before taking over this country; if so then how deep is his influence?

Then am I being naive in my own plans.

My plans... should I tell my NPCs... No~ I shouldn't, if they know too much and I fail, I'll look like an idiot in their eyes. If I tell them nothing that way I can play it off.

Everything only came out to be a few Bronze coins; I don't even have Bronze coins. I paid with a copper.

“No, you can keep the change.”

“Thank you, come again!”

This is probably why I don't have any Bronze coins. I’m good in terms of money right now anyway.

If it comes down to it we (my NPCs and I) can go back to the old ways of robbing banks, adventurers, and countries.

That’s not needed though with the mines, and forests in our control, and the great trade deals we were able to get for the goods in those areas.

That reminds me we have to deal with Violet Wood’s ownership at some point, and we use it as a buffer to sell our products, but it could become dangerous. Maybe I can let the NPCs deal with it, they already deal with most of the business stuff.

▼▼▼

The estate was protected by stone walls. The front gates were made of steel plates, which completely closed off the outside world from the estate.

There were two guards, one on each side of the gate, they both held a spear. Private guards that wore the crest of the sorcerer they were serving; a green dragon's head.

"Halt! State your purpose."

"My name's William Shipudan, and I'm here to get this book appraised." They saw the book, and one of the guards held out his hand, for me to hand it to him. "Can I see the Core Sorcerer first, this book might be very expensive. I can't just hand it out to anyone."

"We just want to check if you have anything hidden."

What would I hide within the book?

"Fine, don't damage it."

They took the book and flipped through it and gave it back.

"We'll have to check your person as well."

What the fuck.

"Fine."

They patted me down first, and told me to wait while one of them went inside to ask permission. After a few minutes he came back, and they let me inside. The maids offered some tea, and I accepted even though I just had some before coming here.

I was flipping through the pages, trying not to drink too much of the tea.

The maids left the room for some reason, so I took the opportunity to check my map. They wouldn't be able to see even if they were beside me, but they might notice me acting strange. According to the blueprint, there's a secret hallway between this room and the next room to my right. It should be about 3 ft. wide, and this hallway should lead to some underground passage. But the first problem is getting into this hallway.

I took another sip of the tea, and the maid returned with some snacks along with the Core Sorcerer.

He wore a dark green robe, with strange designs of gold on his sleeves and around the edges of his robe.

"Core Sorcerer Danial, it's an honor to meet you." I said with a fake laughish-smile that I was able to perform by thinking of a funny monkey.

"Thanks." He said shaking my hand, and took a seat. "I he- ber* Excuse me," he burped into his mouth while covering it with his fist, "I heard that you had a spell book for me to appraise."

Sounding arrogant and self-important, he took the book away from me. He seemed like a serious man none the less, and looked over the book very closely. His wrinkles deepened the more pages he flipped, his yellowish eyes widened, as he brushed his gray hair to the side. He closed the book to stare at the title once more, and turned to me to give a look that said 'who are you?' Then he turned to the maids and said: "All of you out."

"Master Danial?"

The maids seemed confused more by his look, than by his words. That didn't seem to get through to him as he shouted: "All of you OUT! Out! Out!"

The man seemed to have turned insane almost instantaneously. It almost made me get up and leave. The maids rushed out, a bit afraid.

He turned his gaze to me.

"You have the 1st volume. You know what you hold don't you? This is an advanced spell book. You must have hired other wizards or sorcerers to look at this before, so you must know this is an advanced spell book." He got up and walked back and forth repeating the phrase. "So you know." Over and over again, then he stopped and turned to me like a detective pointing out the criminal's flaw. "But how much do you know?"

What's surprising is you sorcerer. You know this is the first volume, did you discern it just now or do you have insider info. This is a very rare book with only 40 others like it; I had to spend a lot of time just to find 3.

In the game to cast a spell you need to memorize the sequence of mind-notes, while making sure to also time the notes correctly. For casting fireball you need to mind-note Z once within a second, for waterball you need to note Z twice within a second, and so on. As the spell becomes more powerful, the sequencing and timing become harder to memorize and preform. But this book negates all that, and allows you to use any of the spells within it without memorizing anything; as long as you have the amount of mana needed for the spells.

This has all changed now though, even casting spells normally feels natural. When I hold this book it's even easier; information about all the spells in the book appear in my head, and I can simply choose.

I should say something, it'll only look weirder the longer I wait.

"I did know this is an advanced spell book. The guards might not have introduced me well, so let me say it again; I am William Shipudan and I'm a collector of rare things. This is a book I got a few months ago from an old friend; he left without giving me too much information. And it's hard to get in touch with him if he doesn't want to. So I came to an expert in magic to understand a bit more. I usually ask someone else for this kind of stuff, but he has passed away recently."

I covered all my bases right. I should write down all my lies, so I don't forget.

"I see."

He looked a bit doubtful, well if he didn't buy it I'll just have to kidnap him and torture him till he tells me everything I want. Before that there is something I want to clear up.

"From how you said I have volume 1; can I assume you have other volumes."

He sounded like he knew there were other volumes; it won’t be that unusual to have some items from the game world here. From his level alone he doesn’t seem like a player, but could he have a friend who's a player or something.

"Um. No, I have volume 19; it’s something passed down from master to student since ancient times. It's said that our great-great-great-great-master was able to use the spells." He seemed to have calmed down a bit having absorbed the information. "Is it fine if I keep this for a few days?" He said flipping through the book again. "Or maybe you're willing to sell it, if you are, I can pay twice the market price."

What would be the market price for something that can't even be used by anyone form this world.

"No, it's not for sale, but... if you're willing to sell yours I can offer the same."

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" The old man had a field day with that one, he was laughing like a madman. Finally he stopped to rub his eyes. "It really is too valuable to sell, isn't it? Do you mind reminding me of your name again?"

"William Shipudan."

"William then; can I give it a once over?"

This is going better than planned, now I just need to tell him sure if I can stay the night here.

He put the book down, and closed it; before I could answer he gave me this stare. That laugh completely dissolved with his wrinkled face. His words were spoken with a very serious tone.

"I can understand why you wouldn't want to sell this... You said you were a collector yes?" I nodded my head. "Then can I ask if you have any other items that might be as rare as this book?"

"Well some. Yes, you could consider them as rare as this, but it's hard to compare."

"Hum. Hum." He said nodding his head. "I understand." He looked over his shoulder, at the door, and then straight into my eyes. "Do you like this country? Especially how it is right now?"

He was looking at my face very carefully to read my expression; he nervously and impatiently played with his finger. He brought his ugly face closer, it was just old but those liver spots on the face didn't help.

"It's okay I suppose."

I wasn't sure how to answer, so I answered in a neutral way; what was I supposed to say about this country.

"Where are you from?"

He fired off his next question immediately as I finished answering the previous. It was a complicated question, answering one country or another would be bad if he decided to look into it. If he asks for an address I'll be screwed.

"I don't live in a single country, I travel around quite a bit, and I'm afraid I can't tell you where I keep my collection. If people were to find out it'll be subject to thieves."

He seemed a bit disappointed with the answer, but soon relaxed.

"Haa~ No no please don't get the wrong idea. Okay, how about this… The country you were born in..." He twisted his neck to get a quick look at the door, and getting real close he whispered: "Do they still have slaves?"

Most human countries outside of this one had slaves.

"Yes, of course."

This is the only country in the continent that doesn't have slaves. The Dwarf country has beastman slaves, Kingdom of Nolybab has everything other than humans as slaves, and beastman nation has everything other than beastman as slaves. It's the natural thing in this world. Even this country only has a year history of no slaves.

"Half-elfs, and bestman are slaves right?" There was strong hatred in those words.

"Yes, that's right."

"I have to pay them now, all my slaves left, and now to get service I have to pay them; my hard earned money."

Now that I think about it, none of your maids had any marks, there weren't any elves or other races either. I get it, this guy's a racist. If he has to pay, better humans than demi-humans is probably his logic. I understand his thinking but...

If you don’t like it so much, why don’t you leave? But that would make me seem like I'm against him.

"Why don't you move?"

"This was just a small town before I came here. I knew the previous king, his father, and his father’s father. I helped make this country what it is today. I can't and won't abandon everything I created."

He was taking a gamble with this. It’s clear he's hoping I'm on his side, but he can't fully trust me; that's understandable. He repeatedly checked the door to see if someone was going to come in, or maybe he's nervous someone might be listening. They might all be humans he hired, but he probably can't trust all of them either. How do I persuade him to trust me though?

"Do you like this new king who wants humans and beasts to eat at the same table? Never in my 532 years have I ever seen anything like it. You're a youngster to me William, and youngsters these days are a bit... William do you approve of this, this country the Red King has created?"

I have decided old man, I'm going to kill you one day soon. You've lived too long. Using magic to prolong your life has left you a relic in the progress of time, but for now I'll play along.

"Well I can't say I approve, but when you're in a foreign country you must respect its laws. But if you ask me honestly..." I looked at the door just like he did, a fake gesture for him and a good joke for me. "It's disgusting." I finished my sentence with the face to match what I said, with the right amount of anger to give it that spice.

"Yes!" The old man barked, overjoyed and excited he slides the book back to me and leans back into his seat. "Yes. It's ‘disgusting’, no other word describes it better. It's the king... There are a lot like us who agree, but we can't make a move right now. I want your help William, lend me anything that can help us get close to defeating the-" He stopped in the middle of his sentence to look at the door again. "We should talk somewhere more private about these matters."

I nodded to his suggestion. This might work out for me. The player sounds like a good guy, so he won't like what I'm doing; or at least what I'm trying to do. Taking care of him would eliminate a possible threat to my future. I didn't like Player Killing in the game, because adventuring was more fun and I wasn't really good at it. Now that my goals have changed I'll have to PK sooner or later.

He gave me the book back though, does this mean he wants to meet up some other time.

"I thought you wanted to analyze the book."

"Ah~ Yes I do, but first I thought I'll invite you for some lunch."

It was noon before I noticed, did I spend too much time in the cafe? Or were we talking for that long?

"It's already lunch, I didn't notice, eating all these biscuits."

"Too much sugar at your age isn't good William."

It feels strange being lectured in this old man form, by a much older man, talking to you like if you're a kid.

"True..."

He opened the door while I was thinking pointless thoughts, and there were the maids waiting at his beck and call.

"Has lunch been prepared?"

"Yes Master Danial."

"Prepare a plate for one more, and change the location from the dining room to the garden. Since the weather is quite nice today."

The topics varied widely, from world politics, The Omron Church, legendry figures, and of course items, powerful items. He asked me about various items I had, and curiously listened to all my answers. I tried to tell the truth as much as possible, a good lie always has a hint of truth. Then he would pitch some of his theories about what The Books of Thoth; they were the conclusions he reached after studying his own book. When I kill him I'll make sure to take it, but currently he might be more useful as an ally.

To become a puppet master of puppet masters, the first thing I need to do is know all the important mysteries in the areas I control. To think you're a puppet master, only to find out there are strings tied to you would be the worst case scenario. You have to be wary of anything further in the shadows. Then there's removing anyone that can appose me, that’s where getting rid of the king comes in. All players will be dangerous to me, so they need to be removed if I want to succeed. But that means...

"And this Golem can it be activated?"

"Hmm... Yeah, I got it at a sunken ancient city but I should be able to activate it."

The legendry golem is something I made using my Craftsman of Taboo levels, he got very interested at the mention of it beating an army of 100,000 in the legends. The old man was deep in thought, rubbing his beard. Telling him that it can take on an army of 100,000 might have been a bad idea.

"Do you think it can take on the Red King?"

Can it? It's a level 600 golem I created, it's stronger than me... it depends on the player's level.

"Maybe… I'll have to check."

"And how can you check?"

"Ah~" How can I check, well I can use my God's Eye skill, but can't tell you that. "I-I have an item that can check a person's strength?"

"Like the magic card adventures use?"

"No~ this gives a better reading of the person’s level... not just the mana amount. It's called Inspector." I deserve at least a pat in the back for making that up on the spot.

"I see... Where are you staying William, you said you just arrived in town yesterday."

"I'm staying at the Nile."

"Oh that's a nice place... How would you like to stay here for the night? I still haven't looked over the book, and you can be much more at calm staying here. You especially won't have to deal with those Beastman type here, so what do you say."

This guy really makes everything easy for me.

"Sure, I'd love to."

Stage one complete, now I gotta find that secret entrance.

▼▼▼

After the maid closed the door, I jumped on the bed; completely unfit action for an old man.

The dinner was nice here too, there must be a level 10 cook working here.

The sorcerer’s analyzing the book; should I be worried. Naa~ He won't even be able to cast the basic spells in that book, let alone the advanced spells. All he has is level 10 in sorcery. More importantly, I should figure out a way to get into the hidden rooms.

The map records everywhere I've gone, and it also shows the in-game base, Data-House, as a green home symbol. I opened it up and zoomed into where I'm right now. The dark areas in the map formed a proper structure. That’s the areas I hadn’t been to within the estate, and they’re probably the hidden rooms within the walls. "I'll wait till everyone's asleep and then look around." If the ninjas haven't found it... this is going to be tough.

While I was lying in bed, watching the moon rise higher. Browsing through the map for the 100th time; the door clicked open. The maids should have knocked. I quickly closed the map, and sat up. It was the sorcerer holding a 3 branch candlestick.

"Good you're up." He said, his eyes reflecting the candle light, his body still in the shadow, with only the right part of his face painted by the candle light. He slid in the door, and slowly closed it, careful not to make a sound. I got off the bed, and he came next to me, almost shoving the candle in my face. He grabbed my shoulder without warning. "[Sorcery: Spatial-shift]" Everything turned black, and the candles instantly flickered out, like a large breeze had just run through, but nothing was felt. "[Sorcery: Fire]" The three candles lit again with a spark, like a lighter. Then torches beside us lit in the same way, going down a hall, incrementing one after another. Puf*puf*puf* down the narrow passage.

I don't think I’m in Kansas anymore.

I had the sudden urge to open up the map and check where I am. My suspicions were confirmed by the sorcerer himself.

"This is a secret dimension only I know of, I only invite those I trust William." He leaned in real close and looked into my eyes. "I trust you William." There was some hidden undertone there, a clear hidden undertone. "Now come." He led the way further down. If my guess is correct, this is the hidden areas within the estate.

He teleported in here without showing me the entrance, is that a way to make sure I won't be able to return here. I have the map so I can return here whenever I want easily. Maybe he does this with everyone, the people here wouldn't even know where this is, and he even said this is another dimension, a clear lie.

Maybe it doesn't have an entrance, or it's sealed off and only the sorcerer can get in by knowing its location. Since if you don't know the location, you can't teleport to it…

I'm an idiot, of course that's why the ninjas couldn't find an entrance, because there isn't one. I should have just allowed them to break down the wall. I'm an idiot.

He led me downstairs, an underground estate. It's quite large and well built. Unlike the narrow passages between the walls, these hallways were well spaced. He led me to a very well designed and elegant ebony doors. He pushed the doors open, and placed the candlestick to a side table.

It was a large office, with bookshelves on both sides, which were fully completed with books. Even plain books are a rarity in this world, so you can imagine his wealth.

"Your book is authentic, as I thought. Even the most basic spells in this use too much mana for it to be useful, just like this one." He held up two grimoires with a similar cover. That must be his, volume 19. It's only useless to a 3rd rate magician like you; I can use it just fine. Well not some of the advanced spells, but none the less I can use most of the book. "I'm going to analyze these spells a little bit more. How long will you be staying?"

Now that I've figured out how to get in here, I'd like to leave tomorrow.

"I'm thinking of returning to my hotel tomorrow."

"What!? Already."

"Ah~ yes, I decided to help you. And I remembered I left my Lithawk alone. I'll go back and send a message to bring my Inspector."

"I see..."

"You can keep the book till the next time we meet. I trust you as well."

I'm not good with fake smiles, hope I'm doing it right.

"Oh~ that’s great. When can we meet up again? … How about the 3rd?"

"Sure."

"William I'm very glad to have met you, I just wanted you as an ally, but if you can really help… I have a good feeling about this."

Alright asshole.

"Thank you."

"Alright! I'll try teaching you a bit of this. You aren't a sorcerer right?"

"No."

I have a better class than shitty sorcerer, but can't say that, can I?

"Ha ha ha... I didn't think so."

What's with the laugh asshole?

Then he went on to explain the spells in the books. Basic stuff I already know being explained to me with a patronizing attitude is the best. Some of the stuff he said was wrong too.

The next day I went back to my hotel and teleported back to my Cave. Now I need to figure out how to show up on the 3rd with a made up item called Inspector. And I should probably get a Lithawk too; in case he shows up at the hotel.

If this all goes well I'll be able to kill the player incognito, and blame it on the sorcerer. The other players that might be hiding somewhere might notice something is up though. That’s too many mights, one thing at a time. Baby steps Verra. Baby steps.