DC: The Gamer

[3rd POV]

Ra's al Ghul sat on his throne, and surrounding him were his closest allies and the commanders of the surviving divisions after the "raid."

The commanders reported the losses, both financial and material, and casualties.

The raid killed three hundred seventy-six assassins and severely injured several dozen more.

Ra's al Ghul frowned but remained silent.

After a long pause, he ordered everyone to leave except his daughter and Lady Shiva, his loyal servant.

"Father!"

Talia was the first to break the silence, "Are you really going to let this go? He rejected your offer, and moreover, he showed he's stronger than you. He even dared to threaten us!"

"Calm yourself, Talia,"

Ra's reprimanded her, "He may have beaten me, but he had no desire to kill me or provoke a personal conflict. Did you truly failed to understand his motives? To see what kind of man he is?"

"I'm afraid I am not as wise as you are."

"He is neither a hero nor a villain in the understanding of the human mind. His actions are not driven by deliberate malice. He fully comprehends his choices and their consequences—at least, for the most part. Yes, he lacks experience, but experience comes with practice. Moreover, he has no 'hero complex' or regard for humanity's conventional 'humane ideals' or morals. Isaac Dinklage killed everyone who stood in his way because he needed to save his... stepdaughter. He did it out of necessity. Batman, in contrast, would risk everyone for the sake of his moral code, born out of childhood trauma. He is, of course, a genius but constrained by his limitations. For Batman, his greatest danger is himself. Dinklage, on the other hand, acts according to his personal sense of honor and morality, which differ from those of others. The most important thing for him is the people close to him: family, friends, and allies such a man is the perfect candidate to be my successor, Talia. I believe I have made my final decision on the matter."

Talia gritted her teeth. Once again, no one asked her opinion, and her father didn't care about her thoughts or capabilities.

After all, she was intelligent and strong enough to take his place, but Ra's al Ghul could not bring himself to entrust the leadership of such a vast organization to a woman.

"So once again, I'm not even considered worthy of replacing you?"

Talia asked, her eyes narrowing as she glared up at him.

Lady Shiva sighed heavily.

"You will never lead the League of Assassins."

"This man has impressed you so much in such a short time... I even envy him. In my century of existence, I couldn't achieve that. He may be truly better than me. May I leave? I have some obligations to attend to."

"Go."

Ra's said dismissively.

Talia walked away in a bad mood, and her frustration wasn't about the losses among their forces.

Death was a normal in the League of Assassins.

Despite the existence of the Lazarus Pit, neither she nor her father was immune to mortality, and she had accepted that long ago with dignity.

What gnawed at her was her father's attitude toward her.

Lost in these thoughts, she decided to retreat to her quarters to be alone.

As she entered, she noticed one of her wardrobes had been completely raided, and several items were missing.

She knew that Isaac had taken some weapons from the battlefield and even went himself to a few hidden supplies at the base.

She understood that the rights of the victor and the spoils of war were sacred, but she couldn't figure out why he had taken her underwear.

...

[1st POV]

Right now, my "Inventory" is overflowing with underwear of various styles and colors that my clone stole "as a joke" from none other than Talia al Ghul herself.

She's definitely going to brand me as a pervert when she finds out...

In addition to this "gift," I managed to obtain a couple of million dollars, several kilograms of gold, a pouch of diamonds, a mixture of weapons, and even some rare manuscripts and valuable books from the library.

We were now far away from Nanda Parbat and on our way back to familiar Gotham.

That's when I decided to release Jade.

At first, she silently listened to my explanation with my "Fear Aura" and chakra pressure.

Then, she dared to argue back.

I resorted to an old, time-tested method. Ultimately, she fell silent for the rest of the journey with tears of anger as she listened to me silently.

I gave her some time to think things through and come to the logical conclusion that running away from home and leaving her little sister alone with their lunatic father was not an option.

Meanwhile, I checked my system notifications:

[+4 Level Up]

[+5 Strength]

[+9 Agility]

[+7 Endurance]

[+1 Intelligence]

[+3 Intuition]

[+5 Luck]

[+4 Charisma]

[+2 Leadership]

[+7 Willpower]

[+3 Strategist]

[+30 AP]

[+3% chance of encountering a "celebrity"]

[+2% chance of surviving in any conditions]

...

Speaking of classes, I'm now level 78, which means I can unlock "Bard."

However, I'll have to think about which subclass to pick later, but first, I need to gain two more levels.

Meanwhile, we're going to Gotham.

...

Two weeks had passed since I "rescued" Jade from the League of Shadows.

Jade quickly adapted to her new life but started fighting with Harley over jealousy toward her sister.

Harley had decided to shower Artemis with love and affection.

The little girl might have made her think of her own childhood, and Harley wanted to give this child everything she hadn't had as a child.

Artemis, in turn, responded with joy and warmth, forming a close bond with Harley.

Pamela also grew attached to both girls even though she showed a special fondness for the younger one.

However, this peaceful life of mine was only at home.

At work, Sarah was practically skinning me alive.

What's also bothering me is the rise of the "Black Cross."

We've already captured a few couriers with jewelry for distribution in the city, but the couriers didn't know much.

This group is very clever and has set up a system that works anonymously.

They don't know each other.

We tried pressuring the post office and looking into all the workers' pasts—nothing.

They're clean.

The fact that the packages end up there indicates no direct ties to the criminal world.

It seems like they're just part of an elaborate scheme.

These cases with the gemstones or jewelry are just the tip of the iceberg.

We are informed from the "dark side" and have reported reliable information that the "Crosses" are involved in almost everything except for contract killings and drugs.

The real problem is that they're so strong and smart that they've started to exert pressure on heavy villains like Black Mask, Penguin, the Russian Mafia, and other big players.

Their unofficial "territory" is already stretching into the "Crime Alley" neither we, nor the gangsters, nor even Batman can do anything about it.

Who could have imagined?

The great Batman can't figure out who's hiding behind the "Boss" persona.

I was present at one of the interrogations of captured gang members, and I began to understand how the leader managed to keep their identities secret.

Magic!

We've got a very clever bastard at the top of this gang with a wide network of operatives and magicians who cover for them and assist.

This is just what I can see.

There's a chance I'm missing something or don't see the full picture.

 In short, it's a complete mess.

After another day at work, I was in such a terrible mood that I was walking home, and my car broke down too.

I could have used Flying Thunder God Technique to get there in a second, but I wanted to breathe fresh air and clear my head a bit.

I'd managed to stay awake for the last five days straight thanks to my endurance, but my logical thinking was starting to slow because of it.

I was walking along when I suddenly realized something was off.

The wind was too strong, and I wasn't standing on my feet—I was floating in the air, being carried by some blonde.

That's when I realized I was being taken somewhere by someone whose face I couldn't quite remember, but it seemed strangely familiar.

To be continued…