Chapter 267

"Your name will be first on the list…" Toto said, turning his back to Ali with a lazy hop. He bounced once. Twice.

"Oh, and the theme… is Fantasy," he added over his shoulder—before his body shimmered, blurred, and then vanished completely. Whether he disappeared into thin air or moved faster than Ali could perceive, it didn't matter.

He was gone.

Ali stood still for a moment, staring at the empty space where Toto had been.

'Fantasy, huh? That suits me.'

He turned and left the arena, ascending the same dark stairway. At the top, the old receptionist waited, stiff as a statue. Ali passed by him without a word, hearing the low hiss of the hidden entrance sealing shut behind him.

The narrow corridor ahead was dim and quiet… until a voice broke the silence.

A woman's voice. Gentle. French.

Ali's ears perked slightly as he rounded the corner—and then he saw him.

Philip.

The same man he had just killed.

Standing like a statue in the middle of the corridor, eyes wide, fixed on the spot where his abdomen had once been gutted. His entire posture screamed trauma. His limbs twitched involuntarily, as if his brain hadn't yet accepted that he was whole again.

Next to him stood an elegant woman with pale skin and blonde hair braided behind her head. His slave. She was speaking softly, coaxing him back from whatever hellscape his mind was trapped in.

"Philip, what happened? Do you want me to help? Are you okay?"

She reached a careful hand toward him, hesitating just inches from his arm. She knew how unpredictable he could be. She'd seen what happened when he snapped. But she also knew she was tethered to him—his strength was her shield in Paradise.

If he broke… so did her safety net.

STEP. STEP.

Her head shot up at the sound.

Ali emerged from the shadows with casual ease, looking untouched—calm, composed. If not for the dried blood still darkening his knuckles, one might think he hadn't fought at all.

She didn't need to be told who had won.

Ali's black eyes flicked to Philip and then to her. The smirk curling his lips was slight, but deadly.

"You have a contract to fulfil. You can't be crying like a bitch just because you lost a fight."

Philip flinched seeing Ali. Visibly. His fear was raw, undeniable.

Ali could almost see the phantom pain flicker behind his blue eyes—the feeling of his fists ripping through Philip's insides.

'Yeah… watching your own guts spill out tends to leave a mark.'

Ali then looked to the woman, who instinctively lowered her gaze the moment their eyes met.

"Translate that." His tone wasn't aggressive—but there was no room for defiance.

She did as commanded, repeating the words to Philip in French. The big man's arms slowly dropped to his sides. Then, without warning, he swung his right fist with all his might—slamming it into the concrete wall.

CRACK!

The entire corridor trembled. A shockwave of air burst outward from the point of impact. The arena held strong against his strength.

But Philip said nothing. He was done cowering—but he wasn't speaking either.

Ali smirked.

With a casual snap of his fingers, a gleam of blue light appeared in his palm.

A ring.

Not just any ring—the very artifact Philip had been after. The one that would've boosted his power massively.

Philip's eyes locked onto it.

"How about another contract?" Ali offered coolly.

The slave translated.

Philip's gaze narrowed. Suspicion warred with desire in his eyes.

"What contract?", he asked and the slave translated.

Ali's expression didn't change.

"Simple," he said. "You sign a contract with me from the Judgment Guild where you tell me everything you see and hear inside the Air Guild—especially anything Jacob is involved in. In exchange, I give you this ring."

He lifted the artifact slightly, letting the low ambient light catch its gleam.

"Of course, you'll be joining the Air Guild permanently. You'll be paired with their apostle. This isn't a one-time report. It's a long-term arrangement."

'It's always good to have measures in place and Jacob is at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to trust. And the ring is worth less in my opinion than the information i will get from a high ranking player in a guild which Phillip will become', Ali thought.

Ali watched the woman translate his words carefully, noting how her eyes lingered on Philip longer than necessary.

Philip didn't answer right away. Instead, he turned to her. Said something softly in French.

But she didn't translate it.

'Interesting…' Ali thought. 'He values her opinion. Not just a pleasure slave, then.'

The slave turned to Ali once Philip finished speaking to her, her voice low but firm despite the fresh fear in her eyes.

"You must not act on the information received in any way that would harm me in any shape or form, especially not risking me being discovered by the guild as a spy," she said to Ali.

Ali's gaze shifted from her to Philip, locking eyes with the giant. A long pause followed.

"I can agree to that," Ali finally replied. "But your slave has to sign the contract too…"

The pretty French woman flinched as soon as he said it. Her heart skipped a beat, and her skin turned cold. The reality of what that meant sunk in fast. She started imagining all the ways this could go wrong. What would happen if the guild found out? Torture? Execution? Worse?

Philip noticed her silence. She didn't translate the words.

His face twisted in rage.

He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head up violently before—

SLAP.

His heavy hand smashed across her face, and the sound echoed in the corridor. Her delicate skin turned a deep red almost instantly, the mark of his fingers standing out harshly.

Ali didn't flinch. Not a blink. He watched, expressionless.

She stumbled back when Philip released her, tears spilling from her eyes as she held her face with one trembling hand. With the other, she wiped her lips and forced herself to breathe.

Then, still crying, she opened her mouth and translated Ali's terms to Philip.

Philip looked up at Ali, his face blank, and nodded.

"I will have the Judgment Guild send the contract to your house," Ali said. "Do not join the Air Guild until you have signed the contract. I will inform the Air Guild apostle of you joining the guild…"

Philip nodded again, then turned without a word, his boots heavy on the stone floor as he walked away. The slave wiped her tears quickly and followed behind him with her head down, the bruise on her cheek swelling slightly with every step.

—

After a couple minutes chaos erupted across the entire second level.

A message had gone out to every player.

[Gate Opening in 3 Days — Prepare for a Grand Adventure]

In every corner of the vast city, players were shouting, talking, panicking, planning.

Inside the grand guild headquarters, guild leaders sat in silence as their members rushed about in a frenzy.

In a wide glass office that overlooked the entire courtyard of the adventurers guild, Zain stood at the window, watching thousands of guild members scatter and shout as the news reached every last one of them.

Behind him, on a lush velvet couch, Ashley sat with one leg crossed over the other, carefully painting her nails a deep wine red. She wore a fitted black skirt, one designed to impress without looking like she was trying too hard.

"I'm nervous," Zain said, still staring out of the window.

Ashley looked up at him, sighing internally but smiling sweetly.

She stood, walking slowly to him, her violet eyes catching the sunlight through the window, making them glow.

"Zain," she said in a soft, seductive voice, "you are the guild leader of the largest guild on the second level. You have to show a strong leader to our enemies. And don't forget, these players are nothing compared to you—it is only a matter of time before they all kneel to your power."

Zain didn't respond to her words. His eyes shifted instead to something just above her shoulder—a glowing red interface floating silently in the air. It pulsed gently, unlike the blue interfaces used by all other players.

This one was unique. A gift. The price of being the Face of the Adventurers Guild.

"Let's go," Zain said after a moment, picking up his coat—deep blue with gold lining and stitched with the guild's insignia.

He walked out of the office without another word.

Ashley followed his movement, her face still pretty and composed…

Until the door closed behind Zain.

Then her real expression returned.

'What a fucking loser… UGH I hate him so much,' she thought bitterly, her eyes glowing a deeper violet now, almost menacing.

'I heard some whore put her dirty hands on Ali…' she recalled with venom, her jaw tightening as she remembered the terrible rumours that ruined her mood today.

Her fingers twitched. Her breathing slowed.

Ali.

Only he was worthy.

Replacing Zain with Ali as her puppet wasn't just a dream—it was her goal now.

Please donate some of your power stones, it would help my ff massively.

Five chapters ahead of webnovel on patreon.com/Rondo312