The Final Desperation

3 days passed in a blink of an eye. Because of grinding bosses way above his level, Genji was able to reach level 70 before he logged off. This insane spike in levels, though did not go unnoticed by people. Many people talked about this phenomenon with their friends, wondering how someone could gain so much exp so quickly.

When the party of 6 that invited Genji saw his name on the leaderboard, they were shocked as well. They had personally seen his level 3 days ago and they fully understand the feat this mysterious priest had achieved. The progress that took them years to achieve had been traversed in days by this person.

This unbelievable fact further augmented their thoughts about this priest having a strong background. They started looking forward to meeting Genji and getting acquainted with him. Who knows? They might finally find a way to leave this stupid game. Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact once someone joined the game, they couldn't abandon it, they would have stopped playing long ago. 

Do you think they enjoy risking their lives to level up in hopes of achieving an imaginary goal? Unfortunately, anyone who tried to quit has encountered fatal accidents with no exceptions. After the thousandth causality, everyone eventually stopped trying. But, at least the Psychic Association pays them lavishly for their efforts. 

"Hey, Seer. I'm going to attend a gathering of players. There's going to be some high-level people there so I might be able to make some valuable connections," Genji casually made up an excuse to join this party. Honestly, Genji only wanted to go because he thought it would be fun.

"Sure. Bring Morphling as well. She's good at socializing after all her undercover missions. If you ever need help, you can ask her."

Although Seer put it nicely, Genji knew Morphling was sent to monitor him. This sickly leader didn't trust him to be alone. Not when he could leak their information and ruin their plans.

"Sure. Where can I find her?" Genji asked, not minding the company. He wasn't planning on doing anything outrageous today. Just relax and destress after the boring grinding. As long as he hadn't obtained the wish-granting gem, he didn't have any reason to go against this group. As for after... let's just say every man for himself.

"She's in her room right now," Seer answered.

"Not in the game?"

"No. Her skills are better utilized in the real world. Plus some of us need to stay in the real world to deal with anything unexpected."

"Makes sense. Can I also borrow a car?"

"Key's hanging in the garage. Take your pick."

"Cool." Genji flashed a thumbs-up, headed upstairs, and knocked on Morphling's door. It was a strange door with mismatched colors all over. Genji had once wondered how she managed to make it like this since it represented her abilities perfectly. Shuffling sounds came from behind the door as Morphling came out with half-done makeup.

"Oh, Assassin. Fancy of you to knock on my door. You are the last one I expected. There should be no reason - unless *gasp* No. It can't be that you have a crush on me. Oh, I'm so flattered. I never knew I was so attractive, but I will have to respectfully decline. You see, I prefer partners that-"

"We have a mission." Genji deadpanned and cut the narcissist off before she could continue any further. Genji never liked this attitude of hers. It reminds him too much of his own. Consider this a double standard of his. If he was the one annoying his others, it was fine, but as soon as someone else does it, it's not.

On second thought, double standard is not the phrase for this. A better phrase would be "Opposites attract, but similar things repel." Yes, Genji doesn't have double standards, he simply repels those who are like him...

"Oh. Give me 30 minutes." Morphling closed the door and more shuffling sounds came from behind the door. This time, things the frequency was way higher than before.

'Just what could she be doing to make this much noise? And better yet, why doesn't this house have noise-reduction walls? It's a mansion for god's sake.'

When Morphling came out of her room, Genji discovered her features had completely changed. Not just from makeup or anything, but her entire skeletal figure has changed. Instead of the mature woman that Genji initially met, a younger, more innocent schoolgirl stood before him.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting for long," Morphling smiled widely, showing the dimples on her cheek.

"Let's go." Genji started walking downstairs without waiting to see if she followed.

'Not even a reaction. Hmmmm. Is he impotent?'

Genji took an expensive-looking car and got into the driver's seat. He put in the address and started making his way over. As he was speeding along the highway, Morphling lowered the windows and hollered in a terrified voice, like she wanted everyone to hear her. "Slow down! Too Fast! You going to kill us! AHHHHHHHHH."

Genji rolled his eyes and ignored the fake distress. This speed is nothing. Even if they crash, they can easily jump out before anything happened to them. When Genji slowed down and approached the fancy hotel, Morphling pulled up the windows and burst out laughing. "That was fun. We should do that again sometime."

"I would prefer to keep my hearing." Genji drove into the parking lot downstairs and found an empty spot. When he turned the car off, Morphling hopped out and ran around to his side. 

'What does she want to do now?'

When Genji got out of the car, Morphling ran over and wrapped her arms around his hand before pressing it between her two melons. 

"Come on Nico. Let's get started on our date." Genji froze for a brief moment before a mischievous thought appeared in his mind. 'You want to play it this way? Fine. Let's see who gives up first.'

"Yeah. Let's go, Sarah." Genji smiled and slowly walked Morphling out as if the public display of intimateness was natural. Seeing this sudden change in Genji, doubts started forming in Morphling's head.

'Is this the same stoic Assassin? It can't be. He must be an imposter. There's no other explanation.'

"Hello, sir. May I see your invitation?" A greeter at the entrance stopped them before they could enter.

"Nope. I don't have one. Rackerdack told me to come."

Rackerdack was the name of the tank that notified Genji of this event. Hearing this name, the greeter picked up the phone at the desk and dialed a number. "Mr. Rackerdack? I have a..." The greeter paused as he realized he never asked for the guest's name.

"Assassin."

When Morphling heard him give out his codename so casually, she had a mini panic attack. Wasn't this an infiltration mission? Weren't they supposed to be secretive?

"I have a Mr. Assassin who said was invited by you. Can you verify that? Thank you, that's everything." The greeter hung up and smiled at Genji.

"You're all set. Mr. Rackerdack said he will be down shortly to show you around."

"Then we will stand by the side." Genji snaked his arm around Morphling's waist and pushed her along as he walked to a wall. "You are going to keep up the act, right?" Genji whispered into her ear as he pretended to be intimate with her. "Well too late. You don't have a choice. Not when the greeter saw you. If you were to back out now, you would draw more attention than necessary."

"You set me up," Morphling hissed through gritted teeth.

"Correct. If it makes you feel better, I believe in you. Acting is your thing after all. Though, it would be ironic if the actor in the group failed to act, wouldn't it?"

"I will get you back for this. I swear."

"Sure. I'll await your attempt. Now the guy's here so smile." Genji separated from her as he saw Rackerdack come out for the elevator. He looked to the greeter, who pointed to Genji's location.

"I'm glad you made it, Assassin. By the way, who's this?" Rackerdack was not expecting a second guest so he had to make sure this wasn't a problematic guest. If anything bad happened, it would be his fault for bringing her in.

"Oh, let me introduce you. This is my girlfriend, Jocelyn. She also plays Etheria, though she's not that focused on it."

"I see. Lady Jocelyn must be extraordinary if she can catch Assassin's attention. Nice to meet you." As Rackerdack reached out his hand for a handshake, Genji moved in front of Morphling to accept the handshake. 

"Nice to meet you as well, tank guy."

Rackerdack paid no heed to Genji's abrupt actions. Some people were very possessive of their partners so he wouldn't push any further. Not when he wanted to build relations with Genji. He will simply assume it's a trait of this young master. 

As for why Genji did this, it was to establish grounds for keeping Morphling near him. Anything weird could be attributed to his flawed personality. What was there not to like about that?

Rackerdack led them to the elevator and clicked the 11th floor. When they arrived, a few people approached them. Genji recognized them as the party members with Rackerdack when they met 3 days ago.

"Hey weird priest guy," one of the mages greeted him.

"Hey, mage one." The two of them looked at each other for a few moments before bursting out laughing.

"I guess I never introduced myself. I am Connor, a fire mage."

"And you should know who I am," Genji said.

"Haha. At this point, who doesn't? Well, enjoy the party. We're going to another floor to meet another friend." The rest of the team tactically found a reason to leave, giving Rackerdack a better chance at making a new friend.

"Okay. I'll come to find you after I finish showing Assassin around." Once the group left, Rackerdack gave them the rundown on what they could do. It seemed the whole hotel was booked for the event and different people could be found on varying floors.

The current floor they were on was where most people got their quiet time. If they go up, they will encounter various social gatherings between psychics. If they go down, they will meet anyone influential enough to receive an invitation and get some food.

After some thinking, Genji decided to visit the food area. As the three of them walked out of the elevator, someone with blue hair started walking toward them.

"Rackerdeck. How are you, man? I haven't seen you in so long," the man said, hugging Rackerdeck and tapping his back.

"Hoffman. Same here. Come. Let me introduce you. This is the famous Assassin and his girlfriend J-"

"Titania. Her name is Titania," Genji interrupted. 

"Titania? That's a rare name."

Morphling was sure before, but this time, she was confident. Genji was messing with her! This was already the third name Genji had introduced her with.

"Well, I see that both of you want to catch up. How about you do that, Rackerdack? You don't have to show me around everywhere. I'll manage." Genji gave him a polite smile before dragging Morphling to get a plate to load up. As for Rackerdack's reaction, that was not Genji's problem.

"What was that all about?" Hoffman asked Rackerdack as the weirdo walked off. Rackderdack sighed but didn't respond.

 

---

 

"This is decent," Genji said, finishing one of the many plates.

"Can you tell me what the mission is now?" While Genji was having a good time, Morphling was in the complete opposite mood.

"What's wrong? You don't like the party?"

"It's one thing to enjoy it and another to mess around during a mission."

"I see. Well if you want to know, there are two. One would be to make some connections with the top players and the other is to monitor me. Take your pick, but I'll let you know, I'm not going to make it easy for you. In fact, I plan on staying as far away from the psychics as possible and just enjoy the food. You're going to have to choose one of them."

Morphling was speechless at how blunt this guy was. "Why are you like this?"

"No one likes being monitored so I have to find my ways. Now goodbye."

"Why are you talking as if I will pick the first option? What happens if I want to monitor you instead?" Genji shrugged as if he was not the one getting pestered. "That's fine as well. I have plenty of things I want to try with you."

Genji's tone didn't change, but Morphling's instinct was screaming at her to get away from him. This guy's crazy and you can't predict his actions. Don't try and do the mission property.

"I-I'll get going then," she stiffly uttered before entering the elevator. 

At this sight, Genji smiled to himself and continued eating. 'Seems like I managed to bluff her.'

 

---

 

"Is this seat taken?"

As Genji was enjoying his meal, someone approached him and stood across from him. He looked up and saw a familiar face from the auction. "Nope. Fancy seeing you here, rich lady."

"I knew you were extortionary, but this too much," Lina, who brought Genji the game cartridge, sat down and took a plate from him.

"Oh? Do elaborate."

"Etheria Offline. In 3 days, you shot through the leaderboards at record speeds."

"I thought I told you to not get involved?"

"I didn't want to, but my family had no choice."

"I see. It's a shame. There's going to be a bloodbath once the game's cleared. Anyone that tries to get a piece of that pie will encounter the ruthless attacks of certain groups."

Lina fell silent. She might not want to admit it, but it was true. If the wish-granting gem was real, then many would do anything to get their hands on it. Honestly, everything felt like a giant conspiracy to her. Out of nowhere, this information was leaked to the public, and then, the cartridges that were needed to enter the game showed up in large batches. Things were too coincidental.

"Is that him?" While the two of them were talking a young man asked a man with a scar on his face. "Yes. There's no mistaking him. He completely overwhelmed us despite all of us working together."

"Didn't he simply abuse his cards and levels?" The young man said dismissively. 

"I wish that was the case." His correspondent answered.

"No matter. I'll put him in his place." The young man got up from his seat and walked toward Genji.

"Wait! He's not someone you can provoke!"

Yet the young man ignored the person's warnings. Once he arrived next to Genji's table he slammed his hand down.

"Hey! I was eating that," Genji said, still relaxed despite this sudden disruption. From what he could tell, this youngster was at best a common psychic. There was no reason to get worked up over such a weakling.

"Assassin, I presume?" The young man asked arrogantly.

"That's me. What do you want?"

"I'll tell you what I want. Give up on half of your boss cards and compensate the Yorkshire family for our losses."

"Oh? And why would I do that?" Genji asked, the corners of his mouth curving upward.

"Heard of Eon? Well, we're the family that backed that guild. I heard from my subordinates that you killed a lot of them. Now I want compensation."

"Again. Why would I do that?"

"Because we will make your life hell if you don't. Do you think you're all that with your level? Let me tell you. We've got tens of psychics under our payroll. Just a single word from me and you will never get a moment's rest in both worlds!"

"Cool. Now can I ask you to go away so I can continue eating?" Genji picked up another plate, but the young man smacked it out of his hands before he could pick up his utensils. The plate tilted over and food spilled all over Genji's clothes before shattering on the ground. "Now that's not very nice."

"I don't care! Just for that, I won't let you go unless you kowtow and slap yourself 100 times in the face. Let me tell you, the Yorkshire family has lots of power in both the underground world and politics. A single word from us and countless killers will aim for your throat. Your entire family will be killed and I will bathe in their blood if you don't do what I say!"

"You know? There's one thing I don't get." Genji picked up a napkin to clean himself before standing up.

"Who the fuck cares about what you get? Are you going to kowtow or will I have to order your death?"

"What makes you think you will survive after threatening me like that?" Genji calmly asked.

"Heh! I would like to see who dares to harm me. My father will eradicate their entire family."

The young man scoffed but quickly grasped at his throat after a sudden pain erupted from the location. When his hand touched his neck, he realized a cut had appeared as a warm liquid seeped through the cracks of his fingers. The young man stiffy looked up and saw Genji twirling a bloody dagger in between his fingers.

"Sorry. I don't take kindly to threats," Genji answered with a casual smile as if he hadn't just murdered someone in broad daylight. 

"Y-you!"

"By the way, I'll send your father to join you soon so you won't feel too lonely." That was the last thing the young man heard before he fell over.

*Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh*

When the other guests saw this scene, they started panicking and screaming, all trying to get as far away from Genji as possible. Many bodyguards pulled out their guns and aimed at Genji, but he continued to be unfazed by the actions around him.

"I'm sorry you had to see such an ugly scene," Genji apologized to the dumbfounded Lina.

"Put your hands up!" Seeing the murderer remain so carefree after the act, a tough-looking guard yelled at him.

Genji ignored the man and continued talking. "But do understand. It would be foolish of me to entertain him. I would rather remove the problem right away while I can."

"I said put your hands up! I'm serious about this!" The guard shouted again.

"How about we put this behind us, Lina? I'll get going now. If fate allows it, may we meet again. If not, take this as a reminder of why the supernatural world is so cruel."

"Last warning!"

Genji turned away from the paralyzed Lina and turned his attention to the guard who was yelling at him the whole time. "You know, normal guns do very little against psychics, right?"

Suddenly Genji appeared next to him. Before the guard could register what had happened, the gun had been snatched by Genji, who emptied the chamber into the ceiling. Then he tossed it at another guard who was about to fire, breaking his wrist.

"Let's not escalate this any further, should we?"

Genji left those words before he ran to the windows and smashed through them, jumping down from the 7th floor. When the guards reacted and ran over to the broken glass, Genji was nowhere in sight. It was a perfect escape. 

 

---

 

While this was happening, a portal appeared outside the city. A hand reached through the small crack and forced open the portal. Then a hooded figure walked out of it.

"This is the world. According to Shepherd's plan, I need to get that gem."

The hooded figure then made use of his talent to get an understanding of this world. Things might be planned, but there were always changes that could never be accounted for. His job is to adjust to these changes and fulfill his mission. They were at an important juncture in their plans so he needed to do everything he could to ensure his success. That's why he's the one sent on this mission.