MM - Chapter 203 - HOME DAY

Raine slowly removed his thetadrive headset; his hair, wet with perspiration, clung to the device and his scalp. The aching protest of unhealed injuries, soreness, and a hefty dose of time dilation vertigo battled for his attention: they lost. He blinked repeatedly to clear his sight while accessing his watch's interface. Quick as thought, he dove into the external interface of his ZionLine account. While the internal servers were down, the messaging, trade, and inventory services remained fully functional. With bated breath, he confirmed that the enigmatic entities had indeed returned the Horn of the Galactic Ancient, breathing a sigh of relief upon seeing it in his inventory.

[Horn of the Galactic Ancient: (Heavenly Amethyst) Upon steeping in the Primal Realm’s energies for a millennium, this shattered horn of a Nebula Shifter has evolved into a container capable of storing any form of mystical energy. Stored energy may be withdrawn or added at will (Current Storage: 0 / 1,000,000)]

The loss of the abundant creation energy was a small price to pay for all the boons he'd been given by the entities. And the storage device could now be used for Discipline, covering one of his build's major weaknesses. The Primal Energy had already felt like a massive cheat. Reliance upon such shortcuts could easily stunt a martial path. The fear of running out and never advancing again was no longer relevant. Raine knew full well that real growth was forged through old-fashioned hard work and effort, not being fed whatever he lacked on a golden spoon.

The last thing he’d seen before being kicked from ZionLine was fresh skin growing across the entities' digital bodies, turning them into some twisted simulacrum of a human, or more likely, Vaaterrans.

I finally know who was responsible for erasing my identity… and bringing me back.

For long seconds, Raine struggled to grasp the implications. The entities had invaded his life on Earth to a degree that shouldn't have been possible, leaving a raw, gaping wound in his psyche. They had been watching him, might still be watching him, while influencing every aspect of his life in both worlds. The longer he considered the extent his privacy had been breached, the more terrifying it became.

How long has this been going on? Why did they choose me? Are they done with me now that they got what they wanted? Doubtful. I should have asked how they brought me back. No, I already decided it doesn’t matter. All that matters is making the most of this life, not fixating on immutable events beyond my control.

Raine clenched his good fist, refusing to be swayed by the fear that it might happen again. He would make the most of every day he had, and if he was sent back in time again, he would do things even better. He’d made several mistakes this time, too. Setting them right would be an opportunity he would never shy away from.

What did they mean by Vaateaire being sick? They mentioned it was an incomplete, abandoned world. Did the devs not have a chance to finish? Were the quantum computers that created it interrupted or shut down? Does it have to do with the devs vanishing?

Mysteries for another day. Right now, I need to focus on what happens next.

Everything about ZionLine is going to change. The Vaaterrans won’t be satisfied sitting back in their cities anymore. They’ll spread like a tide; their guilds will contest farming locations, gear, and store inventories. Last time, we Travelers had a solid footing to fight back, and we were led by 4th-tier powerhouses and 5th-tier gods capable of negotiating on even footing.

This time, everyone will be at the mercy of the entrenched Vaaterran regimes.

Is that a bad thing? With the right negotiations, farming areas can be rented and traveling permits secured. The corporations seeking quick and easy expansion are going to hit a wall that will slow them down, giving Astra more time to get ahead. The important thing is not stepping on the wrong toes. If I take the right steps and cultivate the proper connections, this will definitely result in a massive gain! However, making those connections requires capital, capital that I don’t have… yet.

A plan began to form. Raine quickly composed a message to a person who could be instrumental in the coming chaos: Talerra Tafell.

“We need to talk.” For once, she didn’t respond immediately, so he sat up slowly while refusing the instinctive desire to stretch his injured arm and leg. His medical hoverchair brought him to the bathroom, then the living room, where he carefully transitioned to the couch.

In those few short minutes, Raine received a dozen messages from Mel, Celeste, Richtor, and Morty. He ignored them for now. Eyes shut tightly, his attention turned inward, to the lake of blood and bones that was his mental ability. Ever so gently, invisible bloodlust leaked from his skin to spread through his living room. Delicate mental energy misted across the many vegetables and fruits growing nearby.

Thanks to his time in the Primal Realm, where he learned to sense with bloodlust alone, he received a cascade of feedback previously unnoticed. The mist coiled and writhed around some plants, while others greedily gulped the mental energy down. Raine wanted to jump up and shout; his toes tried to curl, and the fine hair on his neck tingled. He held perfectly still, immersing himself in the subtle dialogue between the plants and his power.

Damn, progress feels good!

At random, Raine chose half the room and shifted bloodlust to only that side, not wanting to overly skew Morty’s experiments. There was no way to know if what he was doing was the optimal path, no matter how right it felt.

It took a full hour to satiate all of the chosen plants. Using his watch's interface, Raine made a log of how much each absorbed and sent the data along to Morty. The AI, still residing in Belehorn Tower, responded with a brief, generic acknowledgement.

Must be pretty chaotic over there if he can’t spare me any processing power.

As he was selecting Mel’s Ncode to check in, he received a call from SolemnRiver.

Raine answered, greeting her with a simple, “Talerra.”

No face appeared at the corner of his vision, both of them having chosen to obscure their outside world appearances. “Alaric… This isn’t the best time.”

“Then I’ll be brief. I need two hundred and fifty thousand gold.”

She spluttered and coughed, voice turning curt. “That’s nice. Have a wonderful rest of your day.”

Raine spoke before she could end the call. “Here I was, planning to save you a few million gold for such a low price. Your loss.”

There was no sound on Talerra’s end for several seconds. She eventually released a drawn-out sigh. “Fine, fine! What scam are you planning this time? And how could it possibly save me so much gold?”

There was no reason to hide the grin that pulled at his cheeks.

Gotcha!

“It’s about the content expansion. I know what’s changing, and if you don’t move your people just right, they’re all going to die several times before the dust settles. Of course, that applies to every guild in ZionLine. Correctly navigating the next few days will avoid catastrophic losses.”

Talerra was sucking air through her teeth before he finished. There was another long pause before she spoke, this time choosing her words more carefully. “How certain are you?”

“Certain enough that if I’m wrong, I’ll repay you at 400% interest.”

“Shit,” Talerra cursed through clenched teeth. “How—never mind. The more I know, the worse it will be for you. This isn't something I can afford to keep quiet about. I’ll have to report it to my great-grandfather.”

“If that’s the case, then I want three million.”

“What?!” Talerra sputtered.

“I was giving you a discount that does not extend to the rest of your family, who will absolutely sell the information for even more than I’m asking. Three is still a bargain. How many members of the Phoenix are already in ZL? Two million, five? How much will it set you back if each of them dies a few times? Do the math and get back to me with Tannis’s answer.”

Raine cut Talerra off by ending the call. He’d dangled the bait and yanked the line; now all that was left was patience. 

She messaged him three seconds later. “I’ll talk to him straight away. Please don’t sell the information to anyone else until you hear back from me!”

Raine deliberately took his time composing a contract with precise stipulations that would allow them to confirm the information was valid before payment. If they used or sold it after the fact, ZionLine would be aware and ensure he was paid in full, along with a hefty fine for the breach. He sent the contract along with a tight deadline. “You have two hours.”

Damian’s guild gaining access to the information was a shame. Still, three million gold would go a long way in shoring up Astra’s finances—enough to make helping the little asshole worth it, barely.

He took a few minutes to read through all the updates from Mel and Celeste regarding the guild. They were mostly centered around the preparations to take the fight to CronGate after the disastrous ambush. The loss of over half the recruits was expected. Nobody enjoyed dying repeatedly, and the lack of experienced leadership meant only the most stubborn and determined remained.

Raine gave both girls a mental thumbs-up.

A perfect backbone to build a guild around. Good job, you two.

Raine let them know he was changing their previous plans and would be stopping by headquarters in a few hours to observe their progress. While there, he planned to help Celeste refine her plans for revenge, and give her a few tools that would ensure her success, even if Damian’s disciples interfered again.

Seven hours till the Soulgen board meeting. Plenty of time to get in a good workout.

Of course, Raine’s body was in no shape for the kind of workouts he usually preferred. After making so much progress on killing intent in the Mystic Realm, he desperately needed time to solidify his understanding of bloodlust. Mental abilities not only revolved around an ideal, but somehow forced reality to reshape itself to accommodate that ideal’s presence. Diving into those mysteries called to him in a way that nothing in his past ever had. Every fiber of his being demanded answers, no matter the cost.

Instead of a gentle misting, pure, unmitigated murderous intent exploded from Raine. He directed it upwards, in a rotating circle. The mental strain from going all out instantly gave rise to a headache, and simultaneously, a whole new set of sensations. Raine pushed through, diving deeper, needing to know more, to feel more. He plunged into the lake of blood in his mind’s eye. Sinking into the center, he became the murky, crimson waters, and they stirred at his bidding.

Each urging of his mentality created waves that pulsed out from the center of the lake. Upon reaching the shore, they crashed against what felt like an impassable barrier. Raine refused to be constrained. With a vicious growl, he sucked the bloody water into the center of the lake. A tidal wave of mental pressure swarmed outward, crashing into the barrier. With a shattering boom that echoed through his thoughts, a tiny crack appeared, and his bloodlust swarmed through: free. For a brief moment, his hair rustled, caught in the center of a raging storm of violence made manifest. Then, the crack sealed itself, blocking his energies.

Raine threw his head back and roared with laughter.

I did it! I affected physical reality with bloodlust alone. It was only a little, but I really did it! How freaky powerful are grandmasters if they can kill someone like that? Insanity. Well, I’m one step closer to them now.

For the next thirty minutes, Raine held the throttle wide open, repeatedly gathering his mental strength and slamming it against that wall, determined to turn the small cracks into gaping fissures. Sweat and tears streamed down his skin. His breathing was labored, and the pounding in his head was like an entire construction crew of Gromglenns utilizing heavy-duty industrial equipment to crack open his skull.

Again and again, Raine dove back into the lake with absolute relish, milking his sore brain for all it was worth. He could have gone a little longer, but allowed himself to be interrupted by an unexpected message. He’d set the recipient to the highest priority; they were, in fact, the only person whose communications produced an audible buzz from his watch.

“Good day, Champion KongRu. It is I, Mason Mnemonic. I truly hope this invitation finds you well. Due to server downtime, we have rescheduled the date and time of the next Societies' Auction. It will be held in precisely twelve hours. Carter City’s Romaxillions has reserved its most premier booth for yourself and up to five guests. It would be my honor if you were to attend. Please use the attached ZionLine Ncode to book any items, equipment, or materials you wish to sell. As promised, I have gone through great efforts to ensure there will be several items that are sure to interest you.”

Perfect timing, so long as I can finish with Vought’s little interrogation in less than a couple hours.

There was no need to respond directly. Raine immediately began linking items to the provided account, each with an initial price and a hoped-for ending bid. He had tens of thousands of pieces of low-level equipment to sell in batches. He even booked a few of his strategic resources, recipes, and more valuable gear. Currently, his top priority was increasing the capital he had available to negotiate with the Vaaterrans.

Even a hundred million gold wouldn’t be enough to cover all the projects I have planned. If the deal with the Phoenix falls through… Well, no point thinking about that until it happens.

While in the middle of sorting through his inventory, the house's proximity alarm triggered. Raine’s head snapped toward the nearest smartwall. It displayed a flock of armed drones escorting a single armored courier drone. His heart immediately thundered in his chest: The first delivery of vital nutrients from Vought had arrived.

Negotiating with the grandmaster had been brutal, and in the end, Raine wasn’t able to secure a single gram of premium vital nutrients. However, he had managed to force Vought into delivering the first shipment of regular Vital Nutrients in advance. If Pamalaiha was right, the contents of the incoming package would allow Raine’s body to recover at a supernatural pace.

I sure hope so, because the board meeting is definitely a trap, and facing Vought again will be several times more dangerous.