Rebirth: Rise of the Slave Master

Chapter Thirty-Three: Different Paths

“Ugh… how embarrassing can you get…” Rick rubbed his head as he removed the Lucid Lock helmet.

He was actually sweating. That battle had just been too close for comfort. In the end, it was luck that ultimately allowed him to get out of the situation with his fragile life intact. Winning a fight against a higher level opponent when he didn’t have all of the necessary skills was too much to hope for. What he wouldn’t give for the chance to learn Meatshield’s [Adaptability] skill. It was already a miracle that his [Lesser Polearm Mastery] was level 10 and ready to rank up at any time, but he was faced with enemies beyond even that.

“That bastard is probably throwing a tantrum right now,” Rick mumbled, thinking of the look in the Shapeshifter’s eyes when he suddenly disappeared.

There were plenty of space warping magics and special items in the game that could be used for a sudden escape. Of course, the unexpected logout was going to be rationalized away with such an explanation by the AI, since that was just way the system worked. NPCs would always manage to come up with a convenient explanation, even if it was one that made absolutely no sense. It only meant that the Shapeshifter would be coming after him more viciously than before.

That thing had a crazy amount of pride for a slave, and wouldn’t take this insult lying down. It was only a wonder what kind of Hell it was going to raise as a result of the repeated failures. Rick was good at planning things far ahead, but when it came to predicting the behaviors of others, he simply didn’t have enough experience outside of programmed NPCs. He excelled at one on one conversations, though.

Just to be safe, Rick decided not to log on for a while. Although the Shapeshifter wasn’t likely to hang around the site of his disappearance, there was still a chance it would be waiting to ambush him when he returned. The day was still early, and there wouldn’t be anything wrong with taking care of some chores in the real world while he had downtime. He was starting to run short on groceries, and would have to visit a few specialty shops to get everything he needed to maintain his strict diet.

“It’s annoying not having a car,” Rick said to himself, sighing as he was forced to walk all over the city, “I miss Luke.”

Luke had been his virtual chauffeur in his past life, one of many standard issue self-driving programs that came pre-packaged in new vehicles. If he’d had the good sense to let the AI drive him back and forth to the bar that night of the incident, he wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place. He’d probably still be alive and kicking in the future. Rick had already been tipsy before he left though, and didn’t even give it a thought.

Right now, he could afford the public transportation instead of walking, but why waste the money when the goal was to pass the time in the first place? He wasn’t suffering to get by anymore, but he still didn’t have enough petty cash to spend it flippantly.

When he walked the streets of Aleside, Rick had to keep his guard up at all times. He had powerful enemies, and Orpheum was a far cry from the peace and comfort of the modern world. Just the ability to leave his home and go to the grocery store without the risk of being attacked was a luxury for which he felt very grateful. Peace was something that most people might take for granted, but even in the real world there were places where danger was waiting around every corner.

That sense of safety immediately fled him when he saw a pack of young adults walking in his direction. His first thought was to run into the nearest store, but the person in the lead had already taken notice of him.

“Is that Rick?” the girl who spoke pointed a damning finger in his direction.

University students! This was a city with no less than three major campuses and various other high-level programs of study. It wasn't a stretch to say the young people easily outnumbered the elderly, especially in the parts of town that Rick frequented. In his superficial sense of security, he had ignored the fact that many of these people still knew his face. Although he couldn't dare hope to recall the majority of these students after the years spent apart, there was a face he wouldn't be able to forget no matter how hard he tried.

“Rick!” a tall young man with a slightly heavy build immediately waved and approached him.

The glasses he was wearing framed his somewhat square face nicely, giving him a mature look that made him stand out like a sore thumb when surrounded by the flock of youngsters. He just barely managed to blend in thanks to the baggy collared shirt he was wearing, which was gaudily decorated with an ink-painting dragon and thunderbolts motif.

Rick nearly flushed with embarrassment as memories from his past life, and his many childish antics, came flooding back to him. Desmond Carter had been Rick’s best friend since diapers. He was an unapologetic consumer of all things geek culture, and had shared that love with Rick for as long they had known each other. They had even gone off to the same college and become roommates. If Rick had a brother, he couldn’t possibly have been any closer to him than Desmond.

While the two hadn’t parted on necessarily bad terms, Rick had become something of a recluse after dropping out. It was a time when he had closed off all connections to the outside world, and it was only natural the two had drifted apart. It wasn't until years later that Rick found out what had happened to his friend.

Desmond had gone on to be something of an internet celebrity. He followed his long-time dream of being a journalist who wrote articles about his favorite games and TV shows. The revelation had given Rick the kind of closure he needed to close the book on that chapter of his life, focusing on his career in the game instead. It had been a long time since he’d thought about Desmond, but seeing that smiling and all too welcoming face was more than Rick could handle.

He hadn't even been this stumped when Mary Ann showed up at his apartment with dubious intentions, “Des… that's… how are you?”

Des was the shorthand his friend had always gone by.

As someone who had already lived and died beyond his years, Rick compensated for his awkwardness with overt formality. The group of college students staring at him like they were meeting for the first time, and even Desmond seemed bothered. If one had asked Rick to act like his nineteen-year-old self, he wouldn't have been able to do it. He didn't even really remember what it was like.

There was a heaviness in the air before the girl who had pointed earlier, a shorter than average young woman with bleached blonde hair, broke the silence, “Rick, we haven't seen you in forever, what's up?”

For the life of him, Rick couldn't recall this girl’s name, but he couldn't very well say that out loud. He could only smile blankly and say, “Things are fine. Getting by and all that. I’ve been making money playing Dream World Online lately,” although it wasn’t the most socially acceptable thing to say at this point in time, Rick would never feel ashamed of his work in the game.

One of the guys in the back who was standing around and checking something on his phone looked up for a moment, but after taking a glance at the unfamiliar face, quickly went back to what he was doing. The motion didn’t go unnoticed by Rick, who assumed this was the only one of this group who had a vested interest in Dream World Online. Although Desmond was an avid gamer, he was serious enough about his education not to mix work and play. He’d grown up in a fairly impoverished household, but maybe the taste of the good life he’d gotten from befriending Rick was what motivated him so much.

Rick’s family had always been well off, at least on the surface.

“That’s awesome,” the cheerful young woman quickly recovered from Rick’s words and said, “We were just about to hit up this great Greek place, did you want to go with?”

Rick felt a little worse about not remembering this person.

“I’m sure Rick’s busy right now, guys, let’s not hold him up any longer,” it was Desmond who had spoken first.

Contrary to the way it may have sounded, Rick’s friend wasn’t trying to brush him off. Out of everyone here, Desmond was the only one who understood how difficult things were supposed to be for the current Rick, who was, as of their last conversation, still struggling just to find a home. He was trying to give him an easy way out of an awkward situation. How could he know that Rick really was making good money out of playing an online game? Even if that was the case, Rick honestly didn’t feel like going out with a bunch of kids.

The unnamed girl frowned, but didn’t argue, and led the other two guys away with her. Nobody said anything when Desmond hung back to talk a little longer with Rick, since they were all at least vaguely aware of the relationship between the two.

“Is everything alright, man?” Desmond asked, his brows scrunching up tightly as he spoke.

Rick laughed it off, “It’s fine… I’m not doing too bad, so don’t worry about it.”

The taller man couldn’t help but add, “And your old man?”

Hearing the words made the surreal situation sink into Rick’s stomach like a heavy boulder, “Not yet…” all he could manage was a mumble, “Anyway, I - uh, have to get going.”

“Hey, Rick, keep in touch okay? You don’t have to do everything alone,” Desmond said the words as if he was trying to lighten the mood, but Rick’s expression only sank further.

It wasn’t like he didn’t appreciate the sentiment, but there were some things in life that you never wanted to experience twice. Rather, there were some things in life that were impossible to experience twice. Rick wasn’t sure what he was going to do with himself when that time came, but he didn’t want to think about it right now either. All he could do was smile and nod his head. The group of students were standing just out of earshot, and Rick couldn’t help but look over at them.

“You should get going, I just need a bit of time,” he forced the words out with the same ease as when he was lying to an NPC.

It wasn’t a skill he was grateful to have right now. Rick really would have liked to reconnect with his old friend and fix the relationship he had let fall apart in the past, but that wasn’t something he could do anymore. He was a different man now, who had vastly different opinions and experiences and six year of growing up. That fact would only grow more obvious the longer he stayed around his friend, who seemed to Rick as if frozen in time. Desmond would manage to get along just fine without Rick in his life, or rather, he would prosper and eventually end up right where he had always wanted to be.

Who was Rick to try and take that away from him? How selfish could he possibly be to try and change the future that would be the best for the man who had always been his best friend? Sentimentality never seemed to suit Rick very well, but he was somehow certain that they had always been meant to part ways here.

“Yeah, I’ll see you later,” Desmond said, sauntering off after the group with a final wave of his hand.

Rick had to swallow a lump in his throat.

All the way to the grocery store, and even after he had arrived, Rick felt like one of the NPCs in Dream World Online. He was on autopilot, with only the sense of purpose and direction he had given himself when he first stepped foot out of his home. Rick didn’t want to think about any of the thoughts that were weighing on his mind, and so he ignored them. Despite the world moving around him, he seemed to finish his chores without any time passing at all. It wasn’t until he was standing in the small, chilly apartment that he finally put away the annoying feelings buzzing around his skull.

The Lucid Lock was sitting on his coffee table in the same place he always left it. The little LED light showing that it was powered on still blinked the same heart-warming blue as always. That’s right, this was a new life, and he had already decided what he was going to do with it. Rick didn’t know what the motivation behind whatever power that sent him back in time was, but it didn’t affect his plans. Changing his mind? That was just another way for him to be selfish.

Rick restocked his pantry and folded his body into the creaking old futon. The Lucid Lock started up with its usual siren-song chime and invited him into the world of Orpheum. Theo was waiting for him.

He logged in.

To put the situation bluntly, the entire area had been torn to pieces. It looked like something had attempted to claw up all of the dirt around the place where Theo vanished. Without stopping to enjoy the sight of the wanton carnage, the Slave Master bolted towards the safety of Aleside. His HP was still in critical condition, and all of his efforts would be wasted if he got punked by a random mob on the way back. Thankfully, that didn’t happen to him... this time.

By the time he reached the safety of the port city’s walls, his HP had regenerated most of the way, and any chance of meeting a grisly end at the hands of the Shapeshifter was put off for the time being. The guards, seeing the familiar face of the adventurer who had been traveling back and forth lately, greeted Theo with a hearty smile. Even though his alignment was Neutral, Aleside was a city where that was the case for a majority of its denizens. He had also built up a decent amount of reputation after monopolizing the monster hunting in the region for the past few days.

It was going to be another day or two before any of the other players made their way here, so he had to wring all he could out of Aleside before that happened. At Level 14, he was still in the lead, but the players were reaching the point where they would be forced to travel this far out to hunt. Those who followed the spoon-fed beginner quests would end up in the far more popular city of Trinity, but that didn’t mean this place would be completely neglected.

Almost as soon as he arrived, he was met by a large, armed force. The Aleside guards weren’t as well-equipped as the Oasis guards, and had much lower levels. If he was forced, Theo wouldn’t have any trouble dispatching a few of them by himself, but that would mean making an enemy of the Merchant Alliance which ruled the area. Angering those greedy bastards would be a hundred times worse than pissing off Old Man Snake Eyes or Castle. Theo was already risking the wrath of one superpower if Meatshield’s secret got out, and he certainly didn’t need two of them after his head.

Behind the group of armed men, Theo could make out the shapes of Meatshield and Gobthnora, who were both thankfully still cloaked. For a moment, he was worried one or both of their secret identities had been leaked, but that didn’t appear to be the case. The guards moved aside to let the pair through, but instead of the heartfelt reunion they might have expected, the women walked up to Theo without saying a word and took up positions behind him on either flank.

It was like two stoic knights returning to the side of their liege, rather than a pair of innocent girls seeing their benefactor well and out of harm's way. Of course, neither of the slaves were particularly worried about their unnaturally strong master, who had never shown himself to be anything but indomitable.

After recovering from his shattered expectations, a man with a slightly more grizzled appearance approached the trio with measured steps. Theo recognized him as Guard Captain Alaine, who he had seen a few times around the town hall when he was turning in subjugation missions. Alaine was a strong and experienced Elite NPC, and he was no less threatening than the Shapeshifter. It was good that he didn’t appear to be hostile.

“D-rank Adventurer Theo,” the man said in a surprisingly tepid voice, “It’s good to see you return safely. I’ve heard you’ve been a great aid to the Monster Subjugation Office as of late.”

Theo nodded, saying casually, “As an adventurer, it’s only natural.”

“Good. Good. I’m glad to hear it,” Alaine seemed relieved at Theo’s unpretentious attitude, and continued, “Although I wish we could meet under better circumstances, I’m afraid I come as a bearer of bad news.”

“So that was what the guards were for…” Theo thought, before saying, “Then we shouldn’t waste time. I assume you want me to accompany you somewhere more private?”

[Lesser Persuasion] was used successfully! Guard Captain Alaine’s affinity for Slave Master Theo increases slightly.

The guard captain coughed and rubbed his stubbly face. His eyes, which were sunken and tired-looking, blinked in shock. It wasn’t rare to meet an adventurer who was compliant to the law, but there was always the chance they wouldn’t be. What’s more, it was refreshing to see one who didn’t need to have every last thing explained to them. Although the only adventurer the NPC had ever met was in fact Theo, his opinion of them had long since been hardwired into his programming.

“Very well, follow me then,” he said with a bit more energy, and turned with a flourish of his sandy brown cape.

Theo suppressed a sigh of exasperation at the sudden news. When NPCs behaved this way, it almost always meant one thing: a forced quest!