Chapter 19 Master of The House

"The designated days for burnable waste are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Please be sure to throw away the garbage down the trash shoot in tightly wrapped trash bags on these days," the A.I. voice spoke calmly.

"And I have to do all this myself?" Li Tian complained.

"I would help you, but as you can see, you cannot see me. As long as you are the only resident in this home, and as long as I am unable to materialize myself into a corporeal form, I am afraid the chores are your duty."

The young resident clicked his tongue. "So Levi gave you quick wits but not robot arms?"

"Are you able to give me robot arms?" Silas made a well mannered cutting comeback.

Feeling his face being slapped by a program, Li Tian was at a loss for words. "... Whatever. I'll just do everything myself." A few seconds later, he continued his whining under his breath, "Stupid Levi... Programming the stupid A.I. to talk smack at me... I'll definitely get him..."

"If there is anything else, please do not hesitate to call me, Little Sky."

Twitch.

"This stupid... UUUURRGGHH!!!" The guy in question felt like pulling his hair out at this point. Silas was constantly getting on his nerves.

One Levi was more than enough. But now the scumbag HAD to program an entity in his home just to torture him!

𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘦!! 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘚𝘬𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯. 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦...

Li Tian tried diverting his attention by grabbing his gaming controller on the table. He would just forget about his stress for a while.

At this point, he didn't even want to hear the name Levi anymore. He'll just leave the thing they had for tomorrow. A single night wouldn't make much of a difference right?

𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦...

TUTTUUTUTUTUTUUUUUTUTUTTUTUUUUUU...

"What the fuck is that!?" Li Tian jumped in his seat. The loud noise was blaring throughout the entire house!

"Master Levi is calling you through the home telephone system," Silas announced the grueling news.

"What?? Uuugh... no..." he lamented miserably and slouched in his seat. "Just don't answer it... Tell him I'm not here..."

"I'm afraid I am programmed to never lie to Master Levi nor am I allowed to cancel his calls unless it is deemed necessary."

"Great... Just great..." the young man grumbled. "Not only that. I'm Little Sky and he's Master Levi, huh... who exactly is the master of this house then, DAMMIT!! Answer it!"

TUTUTUTUUUUUTTUTUTUUU...

The ringing would continue on and on if Silas didn't connect it through.

Click.

"Having a good evening, Little Sky?"

"Levi, you piece of-"

The lights suddenly blacked out, creating total darkness in the house. It completely startled Li Tian in mid-speech.

Seconds later, they flickered a few times before switching to a dim eerie color.

"You were saying, Little. Sky...?"

Li Tian could see it... The creepy smile Levi gave when he was masking his annoyance. The sinister man was obviously in utter control of the house he was in. This is what happens when you incorporate computer technology into a home and let a demon hacker know about it. He was no longer in the Li Estate where they had measures against it. And when it was against himself, his family didn't deem Levi an enemy to defend against anyway.

"Hello... Y-you... got any news?" Li Tian gulped down his anger. He felt a sense of dread at the thought of Levi's control over his home during his period of stay in the North. Being a hacker is already a big deal but mother had actually let the guy rub his cinnamon-scented fingers all over the entire home system!

What was she thinking??

On the bright side, the house was practically impregnable to online scrutiny.

"I do have some pleasing news for you. I have caught the three ingrates you had asked for."

"Oh?" To be completely honest, Li Tian had almost forgotten about those three. He mashed the buttons on his controller as he fought a few mobs while on call. There was something in-game he wanted to accomplish soon if he could. "Where'd you find 'em?"

"It was hardly an arduous task. They were found sloshed at a strip club in the red district. Being underage and without a thick thigh to extricate them from arrest, locking them up in the city station didn't even need me to lift a finger. They shall be thrown into a few years of correctional sessions. That should enough for you, yes? Unless you want a little more... fun."

The gaming boy narrowed his eyes. Fun. That meant a lot of things. He could have their lives completely destroyed if he willed it. Status, wealth, appearance, he could rid them of it all, not that they had much in the first place. But did he want to?

Cass, Lila and Zexi, three junkies Yijun had found and controlled according to his whim.

Li Tian hadn't even known about it until Levi had enlightened him on their backgrounds right before he left the South. Of course, a leech like Yijun would recruit a bunch of shoddy individuals. But at this point, he didn't know if he cared enough about them.

Yijun was the true mastermind AND the one that punched him in the face. What he wanted the most was Yijun.

"Hmmm... Make sure they never appear before me ever again. A little suffering is good too."

"Simple."

"What about Yijun then? I know the three drunks weren't the only reason you contacted me." Li Tian heard a roar in-game, the sound of an ancient beast approaching him.

"About that, he's taken quite the interesting route. With his father's history I'm not quite surprised."

"What?" he asked in half focus.

"He changed his name immediately after arriving. Smart fellow I must say. He's been getting some forgery done as of late."

"Forgery? What is he trying to do in the North then? Don't tell me he just wants to live a quiet life now," Li Tian spat disgustedly. A huge shadow loomed above his character, hidden between the clouds. Even still, the mobs continued to attack him.

"With the way he's doing things now, a quiet life is the last thing he's looking for. According to my estimations, he's planning on applying for a position in another big clan, only this time it would be a Northern clan."

"A Northern Clan? Which one?" It was then the beast emerged from between the dark clouds. Bigger than a blue whale, it's wingspan was well over a hundred meters and emitted an aura of complete darkness. It was the European Black Dragon, equipped with giant sharp talons that could rip a mountain to shreds.

"Hard to say. But he's relatively astute. I'm sure he's figured out by now who was the figure responsible behind his father's arrest. You were the only one they had offended thus far it seems. So the clan whose wing that shelters him would most likely be one that can compete against the Li Clan, if not defend against it."

Li Tian sunk in thought at the recent update. A Clan that could compete with the Li Clan? Was there really such a clan in Huaxia?

His thoughts began to roam to Rai's clan.

"I have to say, this young man you're hell-bent on destroying is fairly decisive."

"Hmm?" the young star's contemplating was broken, and his back in-game nearly stabbed.

"Yijun's mother, Kong Wanhui's wife, was immediately abandoned by him. She's become distraught after learning of her son's disappearance. However, her parents, being from the Luo Clan have been disciplining her harshly on forgetting her family, especially after learning the truth. Yijun's grandparents have already disowned him as their grandson and begged for leniency due to being oblivious."

"So his mother still cares for him?" Li Tian's fingers unknowingly paused, almost causing his character to be burned alive.

"You can't blame her on such a thing. A mother will always love her child after all. She's a very simple woman and the years of brainwashing from Wanhui have taken effect on her emotionally. If anything, she needs psychological help."

"So she's crazy now??"

"Not the term I had in mind... but in a literal sense, yes."

"And this was all Wanhui and Yijun's fault I take it," his grip on the controller tightened. He managed to dodge another fire breath but only barely. He had to get onto the dragon if he wanted to take it down, but the endless mobs prevented him from getting too far.

"Most likely."

While Li Tian felt nothing for the unknown woman, he felt anger towards the father and son. They had ruined yet another woman's life due to their greedy ambition. Yet the woman hadn't even realized she was being used. The woman was nothing but a tool to further themselves, her family name giving them the biggest connecting cable to reaching greater heights. She may have birthed a son, but she was by no means his mother, at least not to him.

She was never going to realize her position in her 'family's' hearts nor the brainwashing that was done. Grandmama had realized it, but by that time it was already too late.

"What is your sentence for them?"

"Them?" he dodged an arrow coming from behind him. They just loved targeting his back.

"The Luos. They are a Clan under the Li Clan. As an outsider, I doubt I have the authority to sentence them."

"Technically... You-"

"Your sentence?" Levi cut him off.

"Uhuh. You can tease me but I can't tease you, huh. Fine. Leave them with a warning. Make sure the mother doesn't do anything stupid."

"Anything to be done about her mental state?"

"I'll leave that one to you. You're 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 with handling peoples' mental states," Li Tian spat sarcastically.

"I take it you have a grudge against me?" a faint chuckle could be heard from the voice.

"You think??" the spiteful man moaned exasperatedly. He would throw his controller at the hacker if he could. But not until he defeated the flying beast. "Program Silas properly you sadistic bastard."

"You don't enjoy my humor, Little Sky?"

"Haha. It makes me die of 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳," the Little Sky rolled his eyes in annoyance. He had finally managed to distance himself from the cannon fodder and readied himself to jump into the air. He would release a burst of energy as soon as the ancient black dragon swooped in close enough for an attack. "Just fix him already."

"Always the downer, aren't we. Not a big fan of having a little fun, as usual."

"Your idea of fun is on a totally different wavelength than mine..." Li Tian muttered. He could already envision the glaring smile forming on Levi's face.

"Alright then. Silas!"

"Yes, Master Levi," the A.I. responded respectfully.

"Switch to system Li 0331."

"Affirmative." A few beeps were heard before the sound of a system reboot occurred soon after.

"Silas will be back online within a few minutes to an hour," the hacker chuckled. "I do warn you that I didn't configure him entirely right. I'll change him however you would like when I reach the North myself."

"What do you mean by you didn't configure him right? And how are you still here with the A.I. offline?" The dragon didn't disappoint. It had approached him at just the right distance for a big jump, no sooner did another wave of mobs reach his previous spot.

"The telephone system to your penthouse is separate from Silas. Calls can come in at any moment." Levi had completely ignored the first question.

"So just anybody can call??" He grabbed the dragon's leg and began to climb his way up. Angered by the puny creature on its body, the dragon agitatedly swung its enormous body around in the air in hopes of shaking him off. Arrow after arrow was locked onto him at the same time, constantly trying to shoot him down. It was already a huge burden just holding on.

"If provided the contact details, yes. Silas will impart them to you with the other house related mechanics."

"Uuurgh..."

"In the meantime... tell me Little Sky, are you attacking the Dragon's Den AGAIN?" Levi accused the obviously discomposed friend of his.

The gaming youngster grunted in response, "I'm getting that dragon egg if it's the last thing I do."

"You are aware we require a substantially bigger team to even defeat the dragon lord," Levi complained. "Just the two of us in a team does not help our momentum regardless of our ranks in-game."

"We can defeat it as long as our levels are high enough," Li Tian said stubbornly. He had reached the belly of the dragon when an arrow shot him squarely in the shoulder. Coupled with the maddened dragon's movements, his character finally lost its grip and spiraled towards the ground, his landing creating a big divot right in the middle of his enemies. "Damn..."

"The dragon lord maybe, but who shall watch our backs in the process. The dragon lord controls an endless amount of mobs. Us two alone is more than stretching our chances," the on-call voice sighed. "If you are serious on the endeavor, find more teammates, two at the very least. We have a few months before the Tri-War Tournament."

Li Tian pursed his lips as a few mob skeletons unceremoniously lunged at him as he tried to cast a blood spell. His blood magic was the only way to regain his health but the spell was immediately cut short and he had to resort to his swordsmanship again. It 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 be nice to have someone to tank hits when he wanted to fall back on his warlock abilities.

While Levi was a knight, there was only so much he could do in a big mob alone. He could kite and tank the enemies but not all would be affected by his skill.

Ultimately, Li Tian had lost too much health from the fall and while defending against the mobs, the black dragon had breathed another bout of hellfire.

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗱.

The spiteful sentence crossed the screen, proving the annoying best friend's words.

"Fine. I'll find someone before the tournament," Li Tian sulked.

As if seeing the sentence on screen as well, the invisible Levi chuckled amusedly. "The best classes to create harmony amongst our fighting styles would be a long-ranged and close-ranged fighter. That way you can focus more on your warlock class. After all, the main reason you fall onto your swordsmanship so quickly is having insufficient people to support your blood magic."

Li Tian grunted again. It was true though. He was supposed to be a warlock main, not a swordsman. However, as a result of being a loner in-game with sometimes only Levi to accompany him, he had to counter his weakness by boosting his swordsmanship. Any other magician or warlock would just rely on their teammates to support them.

Li Tian hated working with others inferior to himself. He never interacted closely with his fans for them to get to know his true personality either.

His ego gave him a high sense of superiority amongst others. Being from the top clan in Huaxia, even other rich kids couldn't stand him. While he did have people hang around him before, they only survived being close to him due to having ulterior motives, Yijun, and the rest being a prime example.

Nevertheless, they never lasted his attitude.

Was he any different now?

With his recent experiences and new identity he had to immerse himself in, maybe a little.

𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴...

"If you are thinking of perusing through the list of high rankers, you might as well give up now than waste time on a futile struggle," Levi stopped his thoughts before it could go anywhere. "All high rankers have their own guilds or are already apart of one."

"So you're saying I have to go through the bottom feeders!?"

"There are many unknown strong players. Having a newbie might not be as terrible as you might expect either. A capable player like yourself is bound to train them well, I presume," the charming voice coaxed him. "Who wouldn't want to train under you..."

"That... That's absolutely right!" Li Tian stuttered proudly.

"Always so simple..."

"What?"

"Be sure to find our precious newbies soon. The three worlds are already in turmoil with the tournament closing in," Levi skillfully arranged the conversation.

"You're not gonna help me with your hacks this time?" the gaming Li Tian hissed in annoyance.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

The A.I. had finished rebooting at that precise moment.

"Oh, dear. That's the signal for my departure. I will leave the rest to you," Levi announced. "I will let you in on any more details regarding Yijun as soon as they become available. Goodbye, Little Sky."

Click.

"What?" Li Tian called out. "Levi!"

The call had unfortunately already been cut.

"What the heck... Damn Levi always with his secrets..."

BEEP BEEP.

"Rebooting complete. Silas Version Li 0331 at your service," the voice of the A.I. finally came through the speakers.

Li Tian wasn't sure but he had the strangest inkling that Levi could have made the reboot finish any time he wanted to and yet purposely chose that very moment.

Time to see what changes were made to the newly rebooted A.I. It wasn't going to call him Little Sky or Little Wolf again this time was it?

"Silas," he called out. "Who is your master?"

"My master is none other than the resident of this home, you, Master Sky."

It was then, that Li Tian lost any attachment to his emotions.

.....