NOVEL NEXT Chapter 66: Rumors and Role Models
“What rumor?” one of my new friends asked. I couldn’t for the life of me remember or care what they were called or even looked like, to be honest. They were just a faceless mass of bodies in my memories.
“Apparently we’re in the same city as Kim Jae-Hyun and Kim Yoona,” I whispered conspiratorially, my eyes darted around as if I was afraid someone would overhear what I was about to say.
“You mean those freaks that got first and second place in the world during that zombie disaster?” the nameless female questioned, “Didn’t they kill something like 10,000 zombies each?”
“You can’t kill a zombie, Sarah!” the first one slurred, clearly more drunk than the rest, “They’re like, already dead. God you’re stupid! No wonder Mason chose that other bitch over you!”
The girl, apparently called Sarah, snarled back, “Fuck you! And you know what I mean!”
“Yeah yeah, so uh… we’re in the same place as another bigshot,” the first man continued, “So what? Just another stuck-up snob to spit on our faces.”
“Fuck them!” agreed the other man in the group, I think his name was Nick or Nolan or something, “Just you wait, we’ll show them all how wrong they are once we get to the Third Trial.”
I nodded and smiled at N-something or another, “You’re right, they’ll be sorry once they see your true abilities. You just got a clearly unfair second Trial that didn’t allow you to show off what you can really do.”
He nodded enthusiastically at that, almost drooling at the praise. Was my ability to influence people getting stronger or were the people I was using my charms on earlier just abnormally resistant? Thinking back on all of the “people” that I have been interacting with, it was most likely the latter. I honestly hadn’t given my Charisma stats or the various passives much thought so far, but the way these fools were eating up everything I said was crazy.
“No,” I said, and the attention of the others instantly turned to me, “I heard those two are different than the others.”
They were about to dismiss my idea but I held my hands up and spoke before they could formulate too many ideas that I didn’t approve of, “Hear me out first, I know, it sounds ridiculous, given the shit we just went through.”
They agreed but still listened instead to what I had to say.
I continued, “But I heard the two actually care about folk like us.”
They looked at me dubiously.
“Sarah, you have a production class, right?”
She nodded, “Yeah, I got the Rookie Potion Maker job.”
“Right,” I said, “And it’ll be absolutely vital once those idiots realize that someone needs to supply them with healing on the fly. They're just too stupid to understand that brute strength can only go so far in these Trials!”
She laughed and instantly held her head up high in pride.
“Well, I have a production class as well, and I’ve been in talks with others like us.”
“And?” she asked.
“And I heard that those Kim freaks started a guild, and were actively recruiting people like us. I even heard that they offered really good terms if you work with them, protection, stable wages, all the jazz.”
Sarah looked enthusiastic and wanted to hear more.
I turned to her and spoke up, “My buddy just got scouted, and he said that they live in this huge tower in the center of this place, but they use that huge space not to show off, but to support artisans like you. They have the best facilities and they treat you like human beings for once. None of that better-than-thou garbage like the others."
“That does sound nice…” the girl muttered, “Do you think they’d take me in?”
I gave her my most charming grin, “I don’t see why they wouldn’t.”
However, the other three without a purely supportive class were not quite as enthralled with the prospect. They were frowning, but that was fine for now. No rumors could spread in a day, and I’ve already successfully planted the idea that the Regressor’s guild treats non-combat jobs with sincerity and respect.
Mike, or Nick, or whatever his name was, spoke up next, “So what? Maybe that’s great for you two since you can make a quick buck off your class, but the rest of us are still fucked.”
Alright, it's time to start altering the other’s way of thinking as well. This will be slow work, but the results should speak for themselves down the line.
“Hey, I know what you mean,” I answered as smoothly as I could, “But think about it. Those two are starting a guild, and they got an entire building to themselves, yet they’re only hiring trades folk like us right now.”
“So?” the last girl in the group who didn’t talk much said finally, “They probably want to just use you guys to make them even more rich.”
“And what’s wrong with that if they’re paying us proper?” the Sarah girl spat back, “It’s how companies worked before all of it went to shit, so why would it change here?”
“Wait, wait, I’m not trying to say that,” I said, trying to diffuse the situation, “What I mean is that they’re not hiring those assholes out there with their shiny new weapons and armor. Instead, they’re looking after guys like us.”
The four intoxicated Aspirants thought about that for a while, although I could tell that they were still not completely buying what I was saying. Or perhaps they were just too drunk to reason properly.
I sighed, “Don’t you think it’s weird that they’ve just started a guild but didn’t expand their numbers? I’m sure there's loads of those successful Aspirants hoping to ride their glory, but none’s joined so far, or more like none of them could join so far..”
They all nodded finally, starting to see my flawed logic. Now were there a lot of holes to my story? Of course there were! First of all, how the hell would I even know the inner workings of this hypothetical guild in the first place? Not only that, but they had no reason to even believe that the Regressor and his sister were in this town in the first place, let alone the fact that they had started a guild. Even the tiniest amount of critical thinking would rip my wild rumors to shreds.
Yet they still chose to believe every word I said, because between their beer-damaged brains and my charming voice, there just weren’t enough brain cells left for logical thinking. What I said was taken as fact, as far as those four were concerned. And the fact that Vadeem actually was tasked with finding talented people would only reinforce what I said as the absolute truth when they went out to confirm my words later. If they bothered to do that at all.
But for now, I needed them to spread what I’ve said to the masses. I needed the idea that the Regressor had started a guild to become common knowledge, and most importantly, that they had their best interests for the common folk. He needed an air of awe and reverence to gather before Jae-Hyun made his appearance properly next time.
“Look, I know it’s hard to believe,” I said again, making sure that my Idol Voice was turned to the max, “but there’s no way that everyone out there could be selfish degenerates, right?”
“That is true…”
“So why would it be so hard to believe that there’s someone out there that genuinely cares about us?”
“I mean… it’s not impossible, sure.”
“And I’m telling you, my sources say that these Kim people are legit. Just ask others, tell them what I told you and you can see for yourself.”
“Well, yeah, we can do that.”
“Good,” I said with my most flattering voice, “It’d be really helpful for me if you could tell others about what you’ve learned, you know, get the word around so that people like us have something to look up to.”
I turned to each of them, looking right into their eyes, “Can you do that for me? It’d mean a lot.”
“Yeah…” they said as one, “We can do that for you, William.”
I smiled, “Good. Remember to put the word out. Now if you’ll excuse me.”
“Are you leaving already?” the quiet girl asked, I could hear a strange desperation in her voice, “But you just got here. You should stay, chat some more.”
The others agreed. It seems that my charms were working a little too well.
“I’d love to,” I answered, “But I have to head off for the night. If you guys do what I said then I’m sure I’ll be able to come back and have another round of drinks with my new best pals.”
“Really?” Sarah said with wide eyes, “You will?”
“Of course,” I replied with a confident smile, “But only if you do your part!”
They all replied with affirmations. Damn, they kind of looked like how Patar and his group were acting. Let’s quickly get myself out of this little situation before things escalate. I hope the minor amount of makeup I applied to myself would prevent them from recognizing me later on.
I bought the group one final round of beer and quietly made my escape while they were guzzling down more alcohol. I drank a whole lot that night as well but felt nothing aside from a very full bladder. I remembered that my Soul Title had upgraded to the point where I had immunity to most poisons, so that would explain things. Pity I couldn’t enjoy a nice buzz every now and then, even if I was never the biggest enjoyer of beer and booze.
After emptying my really full bladder, I whipped away the cheap makeup and grime off my face and changed back into my regular clothing. The filthy stuff I had worn during the First Trial was a great way to blend into the crowd here, but it was starting to become a little too filthy even for me.
But after getting refreshed, I was pretty happy with what I had accomplished for the day. If human nature hadn’t changed completely overnight, then word of the Regressor and his new fancy guild would be all over the place. And as all rumors go, the things that I said today will be greatly exaggerated down the line. This would normally be a problem, but if I could subtly adjust what the rumors morph into by frequenting a few more locations? Well, let’s just say that Jae-Hyun will get his shiny guild image.
Yet my work wasn’t quite done yet. Rumors alone wouldn’t be able to completely consolidate Jae-Hyun’s reputation. To do that, the man needed to defeat adversity and crush some kind of injustice. So for now, I just needed to create that problem on my end for it to be fully destroyed at an opportune time, and what better injustice was there than a classical class divide?
For the next few days, I spent my time going with Vadeem and Noel and hanging out with the rich kids while introducing the newcomers to our ever-growing exclusive club. Our activities mostly involved tormenting the weak and spending money like no tomorrow, all while flaunting our wealth and power to those who didn’t have either. Trampling on people’s pride and segregating the poor was also a favored pastime of ours.
Then at night, I’d frequent the dirty alleyways and hidden bars, engaging the people I was literally just crushing underfoot, and selling them a tailor-fit lie of hope. I stroked the egos of the battered men and women, while simultaneously lamenting on our growing struggles. But each time I would leave by singing the praise of the Regressor and his group. And best of all, other yes-men confirmed my increasingly insane statements about the guild.
I could feel the tensions grow with each passing hour, and I knew that things would erupt in one way or another soon. All it will take is a spark and a guiding hand, and things in Pandora will change for the rest of its history.
I smiled in anticipation.
It wouldn’t be too long before the fruit of all my actions would fully mature, and I could move on to the climax of my little orchestrated charade. I had told the Regressor of what was to come, and after getting the thumbs up from the man in charge to proceed, I gathered the last of the equipment and personnel that I would need, and the curtains rose for the grand finale of this little show.
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