A Black Market LitRPG

The next day…

“Did you hear? The Seven Snakes lost to the Red Lions and had to pay reparations?”

“Nah, no way. I saw them fight each other – they were at a draw! Sure, the Seven Snakes were beaten up slightly more, but they were extremely tenacious.”

“Their new gang leader seems to be much more competent than Ulon, but I guess a small-time gang will always be a small-time gang.”

Such were the types of rumours going around the food market and the South Sector, but it was drowned out in a sea of other conflicts. The Seven Snakes were not the only gang fighting at the time – it was the city of Raktor, after all. A fight was around every corner.

However, the morale of the Seven Snakes was much higher. Everyone was extremely clear that it was their victory, and they had never won against another gang like this in the past five years under Ulon.

“Are we going to be the next dominator of the South Sector?” One of the more overtly excited gang members discussed.

“Idiot, no way! How the hell are we going to overtake the Ardent Cretins? Wait, fuck that. We can’t even go against the main force of the Red Lions!”

“Nah, believe in Kyle! I like him much better than his Alvin persona.”

“Can’t wait to have my own underlings; I’ll put them through the same training routine!”

The mood in the base was festive, but Kyle was not. At least not until the waves had died down. He sat in his office, waiting patiently until Keith came in, his face clearly shaken.

“Sir, there’s someone here to see you.”

“Alone?”

“Yes.”

Kyle’s expression darkened slightly. “Have him come in. Prepare the best tea we have.”

“Yes, sir.”

Soon, a well-dress gentleman in a butler outfit walked in. He did not bow nor show any sign of respect towards Kyle, simply walking around the office and looking at the bookshelves and furniture. “Hmm, how quaint. I am a bit sad to see Ulon’s hallmark ornaments missing.”

“They were quite a distracting sight, so I had them auctioned off.”

“A pity.” The man finally locked eyes with Kyle before sitting in a chair meant for guests, relaxing as though he had just arrived home.

“You’re doing much better than Ulon did. When I first met him, he could barely reply to me or look me in the eyes. I recall him trembling continuously, nearly unable to form a coherent sentence.” The man remarked. Keith soon entered the room with a teapot and cup on a delicate tray, placing it down and pouring a cup for the guest.

“Ah, I was expecting you to deliver one of your ‘special’ potions.” The man chuckled, before examining Keith closely, looking at him from head to toe. “A gait of a scholar. Your abilities seemed to be far wasted here. Perhaps I can offer you another form of employ-.”

“Get to the point,” Kyle challenged. The man did not seem irked in the slightest at being interrupted, merely smiling gently as he crossed his legs.

“I’m here to deliver a form of greeting from our leader, Ares UIras. He has only the best wishes for the future of the Seven Snakes and hopes to potentially forge relationships where possible.”

Kyle nodded. “You may give him my thanks, Sebastian. I will surely take him up on his offer.”

“Ah, a man who has done his research. Consider me surprised that even an amnesiac knows about me.”

“It is hard not to notice legends and myths about the vice-leader of the Ardent Cretins.”

“Oh, don’t flatter me. I’m simply doing my job. I’m sure that you will have your own myths in the future if given enough time.”

“Only if I am allowed to.”

Sebastian’s smile got wider. “I knew we would understand each other. A big improvement over the oaf Ulon. Seems like being amnesiac is a gift of sorts; perhaps I should try it one day?”

“I can have an alchemist prepare a memory-erasing potion if you so wish.”

Sebastian laughed while Kyle maintained a stoic expression. “Maybe sometime in the future, when I’m retired. For now, I still have to manage a group of naughty children who only get rowdier as they grow up. Always aiming to become the parent. Do you have any tips for handling them?”

“Some sweets or cake would make them easy to handle. A gift goes a long way.”

“Ah, but children forget very fast, especially when another carrot is dangled in front of them. That reminds me.” He stood up, rummaging through his suit’s inner pocket.

“Here, a token of goodwill from the Ardent Cretins.” Sebastian retrieved a transparent glass bottle holding a miniature galleon suspended by wood inside. “An exquisite gift, handcrafted by one of our patrons.”

He stood up and placed it on the table in front of Kyle. The boat was extremely intricate and fragile. Keith looked at it and could tell that even a slight sudden jerk could cause the boat to collapse. For Sebastian to be able to carry it in his suit without breaking it was stupendous.

“Do be careful with it. If one were to rock the boat too much, the pieces within would begin to crumble. I hope to see you again from time to time under similar circumstances.” Sebastian took his leave, with Keith escorting him out of the base.

Keith soon returned, only seeing Kyle continue to stare at the ship. “Wow, I didn’t know the vice leader of the Ardent Cretins was so nice! That boat looks really expensive.” Keith exclaimed.

“It was not a nice conversation. Far from it. It’s a threat.” Kyle responded grimly. After all that he had done to make sure he remained as low as possible, somehow, the big fish of the South Sector had locked onto him. He was expecting someone of note to visit but never expected the vice leader himself to come in person.

Don’t rock the boat, lest you want your gang to crumble into pieces. Kyle knew what the warning was, clear as day. He gripped his fist tightly.

With the Ardent Cretins having their eye on him now, any sort of expansion or scaling up from him will be heavily scrutinized. The moment Sebastian detected a threat, Kyle knew he was the type to use everything he had to eliminate it immediately. That was the privilege of the strong, after all. Kyle himself used to do that in his former life.

“Keith, call Damian in. We will have to restructure the plan moving forward.”

The central sector of the city of Raktor was the most prosperous. Buildings made of arcia-infused glass towered over streets filled with automatic carriages, guided by the roads as they ferried aristocrats, nobles and the general upper class to and fro.

An opulent and intricately detailed building reminiscent of a temple was one of the key features of the sector. While many of the locals and tourists would admire it as a work of beauty, it was equally feared by many of the gang leaders.

A lone girl walked up the marble steps, clearly excited as her cobalt blue eyes darted around. She checked her pearlish-white cloak, rubbing a small stain off the shiny silver pauldrons. The long golden rims of the cloak fluttered as she continued climbing, wearing straight dress pants and a buttoned shirt under.

“Priestess Kitana Reao, here under orders from the Archbishop.” Kitana bowed to the guards at the entrance, who bowed respectfully back. They performed a simple check on her belongings before allowing her in.

She entered the vast temple, the ceiling and pillars adorned with paintings that were completed over generations. At the height of it, all in prime view was a portrait of Yual, the Emperor of the Yual Dominion that ruled over the city of Raktor and others.

As she walked, she could hear whispers from local enforcers and clerks who stared at her, their echoes bouncing off the concave ceiling and domes.

“The Inquisitors are here? Finally, we get some much needed help.”

“Yes, the bloodbath in the West Sector between the Veiled Angels and the Violet Devils is escalating far beyond our control. If the Inquisitors did not show up, we might have had to call in the military.”

“The military would never agree to intervene in civil affairs unless ordered by the Emperor himself.”

A servant led her to a smaller audience chamber, where an old priest was kneeling in front of a statue of the emperor. Already there were nine others like her, lined up and standing behind rows of pews and praying as well. Kitana quickly joined an empty spot, clasping her hands in prayer as well.

The old priest finally stood up after five more minutes, turning to face them. “My fellow priests and priestesses. It is with great honour that you have come before me and the Emperor today, to be given a special role.”

“Crime has infiltrated the streets of Raktor, defiling the bans set forth by the Archbishop himself. The citizens of this city do not know what true purity is and are unwilling to adhere to the law. While the Archbishop has turned a blind eye to it in the past, he can no longer divert his eyes away from the stray sheep that are running amok.”

The old priest retrieved a scroll before he rolled it out and read it. “As such, under holy appointment and orders direct from the Archbishop himself, you are all now appointed as Inquisitors of the Yual Reign. Go forth and cleanse this city of filth, and bring glory to the Emperor!”

“Glory to the Emperor! Glory to Yual!” The ten priests and priestesses bowed.

They remained bowed as a few servants brought out a series of peaked caps, with the priest bestowing one to each individual, the symbol of the Inquisitors clearly shown.

Kitana received the cap with much excitement, a fire lighting up in her eyes. The old priest chuckled before placing his hand on Kitana’s shoulder. “Keep that enthusiasm strong and steadfast.”

“Yes, Bishop.” Kitana bowed even lower.

Soon the ceremony was over, and Kitana was already ordered to head towards another room to meet the department that she would be in charge of. Each pair of inquisitors was to oversee the purification of a different sector to not clash with each other.

However, Kitana instead headed to a secluded area, grinning as she placed the cap on her head, the cap fitting snugly. She then glanced around her shoulders, making sure no one was looking around before she hunkered down and whispered to herself.

“Statistics.”