(Not) A Vanilla Levelling System

11

As expected, right after school, one of the two would come.

And now it was a group of burly men, again.

As I approached them, I heard whispers from behind. Huft... just when I had a good reputation at school, now I'm bound to get dragged into bad rumours again.

I gulped, and nodded obediently when ordered to enter. This time they even brought up to three cars and more guards. 

As soon as I got into one of the biggest cars, I was soon joined by a strapping man in a suit with a sharp gaze and a woman in a white coat looking at me enthusiastically.

"Are you the guy?" the man said.

I gaped upwards. This can't be! They... they...

[PROFILE]

NAME: (Unknown)

AGE : (Unknown)

LEVEL : (Unknown)

[PROFILE]

NAME : (Unknown)

AGE : (Unknown)

LEVEL : (Unknown)

Perhaps they are just like Hudson. Or maybe they work for her?

Damn. I should have anticipated this too.

"I said, are you the guy?" the man said again, this time in a snapping tone.

I gulped. Okay, calm down. Maybe this was all unrelated. Maybe it was just one of those malfunctions that are often talked about. I couldn't draw conclusions too quickly.

"I'm here to offer you a deal." I said it! Well, it was a tough decision, to be honest.

The man immediately frowned, then looked at the woman.

It turned into an awkward silence for a while before she finally burst out laughing.

It wasn't the kind of scary laugh that made me think that this venture was a failure. It was the kind of mocking laughter that was dismissive. "Oh my goodness, my goodness, it's true. Yes, there's no mistaking it."

Right after the woman finished speaking, the man screeched at the driver in front. "Drive!"

It didn't take long for the vehicles to move away.

"So, um... regarding the deal I told you about, you've probably heard about me, for better or worse, and I think almost everything you've heard is true. I-I cooked the 'stuff' and sold it through Shane Wilder. But, shit happens and... you know the rest," I said, pausing to take a breath and gulp.

I stared briefly at the man's face. There was still no change. He didn't seem to like beating around the bush. "By the way, no matter how good the goods I produce are, they won't mean anything if someone distributes them. I was thinking that you might be interested in becoming that person."

Still no change. Looks like I need to be more persistent. "B-before this, there were people who came to me. Outcast fools who claimed to be Wilder's soldiers. They said they could defeat you and become a better distributor. Which I immediately rejected, because you know... that's stupid. And those fools need to be taught a lesson," I ended with a hiccup.

Oh my. The man still didn't move. "So... what did you say, sir?"

Three minutes went by and there was absolutely no answer. Did I accidentally offend and hurt his heart? But when where?

"Miss." Finally someone spoke, but it was the woman. 

I frowned. "Hm?"

"I assume it's an offer made to me, so I think you should end it with Miss," the woman said with a shrug. 

Wait, wait, wait.

"Harry McKane, right?" the woman said with a lopsided smile. "I did specifically order my man to after you, but not for the reasons you might think."

Eh, so... "Ordering your man?"

The woman frowned, and then chuckled madly at my reaction. "Ah, right, yes. You won't be able to recognise us. It turns out that the Barrier that Professor put up is so effective." The woman stretched out her hand and introduced herself. "I'm Elena. Elena Thompson. The new ruler of this city."

*#*

I intended to enter the lion's den, but instead I was submerged in a sea of jewels.

I stare at Elena, who is replacing her sporty shoes with black high-heeled footwear, replacing her socks with stockings, and starting to take off her grey suit and shirt.

Wait. Is she really going to do that here?

I almost covered my face (which seemed to have turned red), before realising that it was stupid.

Because underneath the shabby-looking shirt and suit, there was a red foot-long dress that looked so elegant.

Elena also untied her hair, and let her half-curled brownish mane start waving in the wind. She turned to me again on her way out. "I'm sure you need an explanation."

Yes. A lot of explanation.

When I went out, I was assisted by the man who I thought was the boss, coming face to face with such a different world.

I'd heard rumours about the casino located at 223 Pavilion Street. A gathering place for the city's richest, a den of the mafia, a paradise of the damned.

And I guess the rumours were true.

Well, Baldside is not so poor. We live with hope and have a decent (or in normal language: so-so) income. However, when compared to other cities, we are far behind.

You won't see competing skyscrapers here. Shopping centres aren't even more than five storeys high and sell mostly local brands.

That's why the casino stands in the city centre like a sacred monument. It's about five hundred feet tall, no, maybe more. Every inch of the building was sparkling. The garage and car park were probably twice the size of my house.

I stepped into the doorway on awkward footing. There wasn't anything too special down there, just jet-black tiled steps. But, I'm sure it's no ordinary ceramic. I'm sure, even for the next hundred years, it won't crack or break.

The room inside was even crazier.

I could barely see the end of the room, even though it was only the first floor. When I looked up, there was a chandelier that was probably wider than me. Meanwhile, almost every corner of the floor was filled with game tables, each of which was full.

Led by Elena, I passed through the crowd of people with diverse looks who were staring at each other with furrowed brows. Those people must have lost a lot, trying to find another fortune that wouldn't come. Hoping that they could win back the amount of money they lost without realising that it wasn't going to happen.

I was led to a wall near the non-alcoholic bartender's table. Elena pressed something there. Pressed what? Nothing's there--

That's when the glamorous yellowish colour that turned out to be camouflage paint split open to reveal a lift.

Gaping in disbelief,  I turned to Elena who was extending her hand to me. "Shall we?" I took it without hesitation.

This thing seemed to lead down, but to where? Was there a basement? Some kind of secret bunker that was more extraordinary?

My answer was instantly revealed when the lift stopped and the doors showed me the view beyond.

Presented with such a heavenly view, I finally realised that I had gotten my hopes up.

Instead of an exclusive retreat for special guests that was far more glamorous, this room looked more like the staff room where I worked. Sure, there's a jumbo-size television with lots of CCTV footage inside, but the rest is just a minimalist room.

The only furniture was a sofa, a long office desk with eight mesh chairs, and some kind of projector-like thing in a... round shape?

"So..." said Elena, who immediately turned around. She brought her palms together in front of her chin and clapped her hands together. She looked at me like a child who had the pleasure of getting a new toy. "Show me."

"Show you what?" I asked, alarmed.

Elena sighed. "Okay." She went over to the sling bag on the sofa, reached inside, and pulled out a small button the size of an index finger. Elena pressed it. "How about now?"

What... wait, this...

[PROFILE]

NAME:  Elena Thompson

AGE : 25

LEVEL : 1

"Much better, right?"

I gulped. "You-you, did you see it too?"

"Have a seat," Elena said, full of controlled elegance.

I gulped with a head that kept being filled with overlapping assumptions. However, they all pointed to only one thing: what was she going to do to me now?

"There's no need to be so nervous. No one will hurt you here. Everything is safe." Elena sighed. "So, where do we start?"

I gulped, for the umpteenth time. "A-are we cool now? I-I mean, I can give you the stuff I promised if--"

"Right. Get that stuff."

Eh? "Now?"

Elene shrugged. "I don't like waiting. Or can't you?"

"I can!" I quickly realised that my tone was too high. It's the kind of reflex I never wanted. Luckily Elena didn't mind too much. "But, not now. Carrying around illegal goods in school will make me look suspicious, you know."

"Unless you have your own way or a bigger hidden place to store it."

Hm? "Yeah, a-and unfortunately I don't," I said with a chuckle. Why was I chuckling anyway? It just showed that I was hiding something.

I understood all of this. She said something suspicious on the way over, and the fact that she knew I could see everyone's attribute status was something I should be wary of.

However, there was no way to cover up. And since I'd fallen into the trap of being brought here so easily by her (I swear, it was some kind of hypnosis I couldn't prevent), there was no way out either.

Is there nothing this power can do? Should I just be honest? What if she really is Hudson's messenger, I wonder?

"I told you no one will hurt you here, you can tell me the truth," Elena said as if she knew what I was thinking.

Could she be like me?

Elena just sighed. "Have you heard of Luminova?"

"Eh?"

Elena approached the spherical projector, pressed one of the buttons, and as if it had been programmed automatically; every corner of the room turned dark. Light emanated from the projector, spread out, and turned my surroundings into some kind of planetarium show.

Elena grabbed one of the nearest floating images and dragged it over to me. It showed the front view of a sturdy grey prism building full of oblong glass.

I had no idea there was such a sophisticated projector.

"It's natural that you don't recognise us. We're a research agency that was only established about two years ago under the auspices of SIREN Enterprise,"

"SIREN?" 

"That one you must have heard of, right?"

Not once, but often. The news is all over the media. SIREN was not just an ordinary media company, but a big name comparable to other industry giants. Recently, their broadcasting revenue was greater than CNN's, and they were rumoured to be in a business coalition with a streaming company to expand their business. "I guess," I replied casually. 

Elena just snorted in amusement.

It finally made me think, if she was part of SIREN, what was she doing in a remote place like this? And heading a gambling house (?). "So... are you here to research?" Or experiment?

"You could say that. But, not for the boring kind." Elena shifted the picture with her hand, and turned it into an elusive look. "There have always been stories about people who can create miracles. Some consider them miracles and gifts of God. Some are even considered to be God himself.

"It makes some of us ask, is that really what happened? Is everything really unexplainable to science? Thousands of years of searching for answers, and we finally found them."

Upon closer inspection, what was on the picture was an ancient hieroglyph on a rock, written in a language I'd never seen before. "That it's just a made-up and exaggerated story?" I asked later.

"Exaggerated, perhaps. But, made up? I don't think so. We believe that such people do exist, and are aided by a great power. A mighty power. It's not God, fate, or whatever you want to call it. Rather, it's a systematic order that is as integral to the universe as the laws of physics. An order that allows humans to reach their full potential.

"We... we were really impressed by that, especially when we found out that it only exists in certain people. What are the factors that cause it? What is the process? Will the resulting changes be able to modify biological aspects all the way down to the genetic level? Will this trigger a new level of evolution of the human race?"

Elena suddenly looked at me. The image disappeared. The remaining light lit up the woman's eyes in a strange way. She suddenly came round and gave me an intense feel that was not very comfortable. "So, show me that."

The signals in my head told me to run.

*#*

I ended up told her everything.

What choice did I have anyway? Elena was probably much worse than Shane. At least a villain would stay away when they got what they wanted, but not a lunatic. Especially a lunatic with an unhealthy enthusiasm for you.

And again, she had these eyes that seemed to be able to detect even the slightest lie.

Anyway, after talking a lot, the impact wasn't as bad as I thought. "You'll help? And I don't have to pay?"

"We'll pay you instead. Think of it as a win-win partnership programme. You get compensation, we get information. One thousand dollars for every interesting development you can tell us about."

If the situation was normal, I probably would have accepted without a second thought. But, due to the habit of holding a tenfold larger amount in the hand with less effort, I felt it was less. 

"Not enough?"

I gulped and looked at Elena half doubtfully. What... does she have the ability to read minds? "It's not like that, really... it's just... I don't know if I can."

Elena put on a meaningful smile and said something I never expected. "One million per month, with a long-term contract that you can cancel at any time."

"One million?" I almost fainted.

"And, oh, a little help to get your affairs in order."

"My what?"

"You know, that pathetic bum. I understand how you feel. Seeing them disgusts me."

I frowned in disbelief. "You knew this all along?" I asked.

"Ever since Wilder died and I found this beautiful liquid," Elena said as she took my Health Potion from inside her sling bag. "I knew that there was something interesting here. Luminova moves fast and we have people with keen eyes and competence. Finding you wasn't that hard, monitoring you was too. However, learning from experience, we need to be more careful and measured."

I had no idea that my movements were that easy to predict (no, I guess they were just too good).

"I don't know if it's part of the mission you need to complete or just a personal revenge, but we'll take care of it. It's free, think of it as a down payment. So, how about it?"

*#*

It was hard to believe what I was experiencing, or what I was hearing, or what I was seeing right now.

I had my doubts and felt that all of this was a shortsighted trap to make me complacent. As the wise man said, you should never trust a woman too much. Especially when she's half a maniac.

But at least Elena was true to her word.

By the time we'd finished talking, the action was already on the local news. On the television screen, an area of slum housing was burnt to the ground. The reporter reported that no one knew the cause. "...likely a chain effect of sparks and gas leaks."

That's the housing estate Red and his ragtag flock lived in. The news outlet reported that everyone there was dead.

I felt sick at once.

I tried not to feel guilty or sympathetic, but when I remembered that there were children there, and their deaths were caused by me...

No, no.

This is a bold move that I must consider from now on. There is no victory without sacrifice.

Besides, if the situation was reversed, where Red saw that I had become so chummy with the casino people, they wouldn't hesitate to come and chop me up here.

Yeah. This is all self-defence.

[BECOME A HERO] DONE!

[Inputting data...]

[Accumulating...]

[Calculating ....]

[Achieved 100 (200+200) experience]

[Your current experience: 500/900]

[Complete the mission and gain another 400 experience to level up!]

At least, there are genuine things I can achieve here.

[Cunning Skill LEARNED]

Huh?

<Cunning>

[Resets mental state to normal. Automatically activates when the user is in a state defined as super-stressed.

Mana Consumption: 1000 MP]

Another strange skill that made me seem even more inhuman.

I looked at my mobile phone on the sofa at home which instantly vibrated. When approached, a message with an unknown sender appeared there.

Are you ready to accept our offer?

That's like asking a fish if it needs a water to live.