Harun

《Betrayer》

 “I know everyone is tired, but we have to scout nearby areas to determine our future actions. Nando, make ten groups of people to scout around,” said Seryu.

 “Yes, guildmaster,” Nando replied.

 Nando, the third ranked in the Ko-M guild made ten temporary groups of five, with Arang the 16th rank as the leader of the last group, and sent them in every direction to scout the area.

 “Also, send a group of five back along the path we took. Himmel, double-check the map we made and make a database of monsters by type, numbers and details.”

 Nando sent a group of five rouges back along the path they took.

 “Why are we sending people back along the path we took when we are already low on people, sis?

 Biryu, who has been doing nothing other than sitting beside Mobius, asked.

 “We never know if there is another group following us or our trace though we did move secretively.”

 Seryu could see very clearly how Mobius’ eyes were shaking.

 Seryu joined her father’s business right after graduating college and trained many people. Even her father admitted she had better discernment.

 ‘Captain Haroon was right about it.’

 Seryu bit her lower lip.

 Come to think of it after Haroon mentioned the name, she didn’t know much about Mobius. He was just a user who she and her sister met by coincidence when they were trying to buy intel at the Intel guild.

 He introduced himself as a merchant, who’s level was low but great at collecting intel and reading the situations. In recent month he was getting pa.s.sionate interest from Biryu so Seryu has been thinking of recruiting him to her guild.

 But she trusted Haroon’s advice more than anything. She was now seeing Haroon as a man she could rely on, regardless of if he’s an NPC or a user.

 And indeed, he made an immediate reaction to her bait. It sparked doubt, and it spread to everything. Maybe his interest toward Biryu could be fake.

 ‘Don’t tell me he was sent by another guild.’

 Many big guilds tried to consume Ko-M guild. Ko-M guild was known to have a solid financial support from her family. So Ko-M guild gave better treatment to their members online and offline compared to other guilds.

 ‘If it turns out to be true that you’ve been deceiving us, you should be expecting a little trouble, Mobius.’

 Seryu hoped that Haroon was wrong about it for her beloved sister’s happiness, but she already gained confidence from Mobiu’s shaking eyes.

 Meanwhile, there was a lot to do as scouting the mineral land wasn’t something that could be done in a few days. The magicians looked for a place to set up a teleportation field, and the rest set up the tents and prepared the meals.

 While Mobius and Biryu were spending time together, drinking cups of tea inside a tent, Seryu commanded her guild members.

 When about three hours pa.s.sed, an emergency communication was made from the scout team that was sent back along the path they took.

 – “Guildmaster, we’ve got a problem.”

 It was Windra, the 8th ranked in the guild, the leader of the rear scout team.

 “What is it?”

 – “While scouting around at the summit of the mountain, we’ve located an unidentified group following the exact same path we took. It’s about a distance of a day, and it seems they are setting up a base at the valley we pa.s.sed yesterday.”

 She felt like she was having a heart attack.

 ‘That son of a b.i.t.c.h!’

 She couldn’t help but to swear, those were long forgotten words after becoming a n.o.ble. Gnashing her teeth, she quietly asked.

 “Do you think you can find out which faction they are from?”

 They must be one of the factions gathered at the baron castle, she presumed.

 – “We are too far from them. But considering that their equipments are not uniformed, it is very likely that they are users like us.”

 It was fortune among misfortunes. There were three knightages gathered in the baron castle, and user guilds were no match to them.

 “Keep an eye on them from that position. We’ll

send another group to you as a shift before the evening, so send a message if you notice anything.”

 – “Copy that.”

 After breaking the communication, Seryu gnashed her teeth looking at the tent that Biryu and Mobius were in. Come to think of it, he did lots of suspicious things. He often fell behind, excusing himself in need of the toilet, or inspecting nearby locations very closely.

 ‘I shouldn’t have brought that bat¹ with us in the first place.’

 Seryu was now forgetting that she was the one who liked the idea of him joining the journey.

 ‘If only Captain Haroon remained with us. If it was Haroon I could trust him.’

 Seryu recalled brusque, wordless Haroon.

 Her father, a self-made man once told her that people with growing attraction are great companion for life. He also used to say the most important thing in life, business or anything was people; and if she could befriend the right people, she would be able to live a shining life.

 If Mobius earned a perfect first impression with his look and fluent words and kind actions, Haroon had a growing impression, both to his skills and manly appeals. If Haroon was a user, she’d definitely date him. She would even consider a future with him. Her father wouldn’t oppose, as he weights capabilities more than one’s family or background. He would actually encourage the relationship.

 Her mind was distracted with many things, but she knew that there was no time for that.

 She opened a wide communication channel, targeting the leaders of the scout groups.

 “This is the guildmaster. We are in an emergency situation, and this is top secret. Scouting teams must return at once. There is a giant boulder up in the valley our base is located. We need to hold an emergency meeting, so the group leaders shall return faster than the members, and meet me there in one hour.”

 Closing the communication, Seryu ordered the leading members the same. She especially ordered Nando to contact Windra again to ensure he knew the situation.

 An hour later, Ko-M guild’s leading members gathered by the boulder, excluding Biryu.

 “Attention, everyone! First, let’s hear what Windra’s group found out on their scout.”

 “Yes, guildmaster. Windra’s group followed the path we took to scout the rear. When they reached the summit of the mountain, they saw something we never expected. An unidentified group with a size similar to ours resting in the valley we shortly rested at yesterday afternoon,” said Nando.

 A buzz of panic broke out among the leaders. They never expected such event.

 Miras, the magician ranked fifth in the guild raised her hand. She was a close friend to Seryu.

 “Does that mean someone has been following us?”

 “That’s right. When we were going through all this trouble to find this place, someone has been revealing our location, and another group has been following that track,” said Nando, with his face going red with rage.

 “So does that mean there is a betrayer among us?”

 Miras shouted without knowing she was, and that brought silence to the group. This wouldn’t have happened if somebody among them hadn’t leaked the intel.

 “There must be one, of course,” said Seryu, coldly.

 The atmosphere got dense. The joy of finding the invaluable mine was long gone.

 “Could the mercenary captain be the one who leaked the intel?” Said Oxbom.

 Seryu shook her head at Oxbom, saying “He was the one who gave us this intel.”

 Everyone nodded, saying a word or two.

 “Well, yeah. That NPC wasn’t the kind of person who would do that.”

 “Right. Every single one of us owes him a life. He wouldn’t do such a thing.”

 “Then, could it be Mobius?” said Nando.

 “I trust my members,” Seryu replied.

 The guild members’ eyes were full of anger, and hatred. It was coming from the jealousy they had toward Mobius.

 Considering the reality, Biryu could be a good opportunity for those non-n.o.bles who wanted to be n.o.bles. Almost every member of Ko-M guild once had their secret plan of using Biryu who was rash and hot-tempered but naive unlike her sister Seryu who’s brilliant and ambitious.

 In

ambitious.

 In fact, the reason why Ko-M guild was able to collect many skilled players despite its size was mostly due to Seryu and Biryu. Many male members who knew Seryu and her sister in real life knew they became n.o.bles through their father, not born as one. Since the n.o.bles usually marry n.o.bles of the same level or position, it was very likely that Seryu and Biryu, the n.o.bles at the lowest rank would choose non-n.o.bles as their marriage partners.

 Their beauty, charm and giant financial background were fantasy come true for Union males. Though they didn’t dare to move first on clever, rather cool-headed Seryu, Biryu was an easier target if they could withstand her temper.

 And An outsider, Mobius had earned her favor, which was followed by the guild members’ jealousy.

 “Come to think of it, I’m sure that b.a.s.t.a.r.d has sold the intel. He tended to fall behind or take a side path, frequently and regularly, making excuses like he need to use the bathroom.”

 Nando recalled how suspicious Mobius was, rubbing the handle of an ax he had.

 “We can’t let this matter affect us adversely. We have to make sure he pays for what he’s done. DeathCry, I want you to take good care of him.”

 “Hehehe, this is going to be fun.” DeathCry, ranked fourth in Ko-M grinned horrifyingly.

 If it was Deathcry – who was the heir of Death Howlers, a gang in Ko-1 Union who were infamous for their cruelty – , he would be able to punish Mobius both online and offline.

 “I was starving for fresh hot blood anyways. You can count on me,” he added

 “Good. That settled, we are left with the group that are chasing us,” said Seryu.

 “There’s no need to think long about it. We can make them piles of flesh, tonight,” said Nando, whose eyes were burning with anger, and it spread to the others.

 Those who survived the monster attacks during the journey had levelled up at least three times, up to ten times. Though they couldn’t earn it unscathed, they couldn’t resist yearning to show off how strong they’d gotten.

 Seryu and the leading members of Ko-M guild planned the details, then came down from the mountains and joined the others in their temporary base.

 It was mid-afternoon when all scouting groups had returned to their base. They enjoyed their simple lunch, daydreaming about the benefits they would get from the mines. Among them, some eyes were secretly looking to where Seryu sisters and Mobius were.

 Not knowing what was waiting for them, Biryu and Mobius were enjoying their time.

 “Mobby, have some of these too.”

 “Mmm, that’s soooo good.”

 Beyond had perfect representation of taste, texture and even scent, so even though food in the virtual world was fake, eating itself was still great entertainment for them.

 “So, Mobius. What are you going to do now?” Seryu asked as she finished her meal, smiling.

 “Well….”

After a short pause, he gave an expected answer.

 “Since we’ve found the mine, which was the end of the contract between us, I was going to look for more work.”

 “No, Mobby! You can’t leave me aloneeee. I want you to stay by my sideeee.”

 Biryu whined as soon as Mobius finishes his sentence. Biryu, deeply fond of Mobius, hugged him as if she didn’t want to be separated from him even for a moment. On Biryu’s naive act, where the members’ were out of sight, seryu made rather bitter smile.

 “She is right. Please remain in our guild for her sake. You won’t be disappointed.”

 Mobius’ shaking eyes were calming down with her words.

 “Yup, Sis. Why don’t we give him my vice leader position? He is smart, and mine, so he’s gotta be. If his level is the problem, we can always let him use our hunting ground.”

 “Shall we? Hmm. If we do, we should pay him right and give him a mansion in District A, right?”

 “Of course we should, Sis.”

 Mobius blushed on Biryu’s words.

 Even high self-esteemed Mobius never expected he would get offered a co-leader position. To him, who had always been a lone-wolf, the co-leader

the co-leader position of a guild with 2000 members was something he couldn’t refuse.

 He once found out that Ko-M guild has been providing their top 30 users with high-end gaming capsules and a small but well-equipped apartment in District B, as well as a salary. They were surely treating their members well, having the successor of Kamex, one of major companies of Ko-1 Union, as their leader. He didn’t know the exact numbers for salaries, but he was sure he would be treated well online and offline.

 Mobius made himself one of the rankers with his experience in other games, quick and precise decision makings, his brilliant mind and the help of some luck. With support from this guild, he would be able to make it into the top 100 rankers. Also, he’d been hiding his true ident.i.ty and level. He was sure he was qualified to be co-leader of such guild.

 The only thing that was holding him back from taking the offer was the fact that he had made some secret deals with a few factions. He knew he couldn’t hide it forever.

 “What do you say about recruiting Mobius as our vice leader?”

 Seryu asked, to the leading members that were gathering around her.

 “I’m down.”

 “His level is a bit low, but I think he has what it takes to support you and lead us.”

 “I don’t think his level is going to be a problem since we can always boost him up with the dungeons and hunting grounds we’ve claimed. So I’m down.”

 As Nano the third ranked, DeathCry the fourth ranked and Miras the fifth ranked agreed, almost every leading members nodded to show their agreement.

 But a few members, who had no idea what was going on and has been cursing him from behind, couldn’t hide the astonishment and disappointment from their faces.

 Seeing that he was being welcomed into the guild, Mobius and Biryu’s face lit up with pleasure.

 “Haha, seems like I’ve got no choice but to thank you for such a warm welcome. I’ll do my best supporting you, guildmaster and on making Ko-M guild the best in Beyond.”

 “I’m counting on you. Then, let me invite you and set a few things first. When we return to our main base, we’ll officially register you.”

 Smiling, Seryu opened her guild info window and invited Mobius to her guild. As a notification window popped up before Mobius’ eyes, he smiled cheerfully. Of course, he wasn’t an official member yet.

 “Oh, and since we’re at it, let’s set your resp.a.w.n location. You don’t know what might happen in a place like this. Set your primary location to Biryu, secondary as me, and third as the guild base. We’ll need you when making decisions, and in this way Biryu will be able to see you whenever she wants.”

 Mobius was about to say something, then got interrupted by Biryu excitedly yelling,

 “Oh! My! You’re such a genius, sis! Then if we happen to die together, we’ll revive together! That’s soooo romantic. We will literally be together forever, Mobby!”

 But setting resp.a.w.n location had nothing to do with registration to the guild, which Mobius found weird, but he did so, hurried by Biryu.

 ‘I never knew being a n.o.ble would be this easy. Biryu’s a b.i.t.c.h but pretty and wealthy, so I guess I could use you as my background until I get another chance,’ Mobius thought.

 He saw a scene of him holding a party in his great mansion with a beautiful garden, and another scene of him enjoying the flight of a magnetic yacht in the sky of Union. And of course, there was no Biryu by his side but s.e.xier girls.

 He set the resp.a.w.ning point as told, then Seryu lifted her hand. Upon seeing the long-awaited signal, Nando and Deathcry ran at Mobius and s.n.a.t.c.hed his arms.

 “AAGH! What is this about?! I’m your vice-leader!”

 “S-sis? Sis, what are you doing?”

 Mobius’ and Biryu’s faces went pale, but Seryu’s look towards Biryu was very cold. Perplexed, Biryu got hiccups and didn’t dare to get close to Mobius anymore.

 Biryu looked around to thearound to the other members as if she was desperate for their help. Most of the members seemed confused by such unexpected turn of the event. On the contrary, the leading members who showed complete support on the idea of Mobius being their vice leader seemed perfectly calm, knowing that this was going according to plan.

 “Search him!”

 On Seryu’s command, Miras ran at him.

 “H-hey! Why are you doing this? What on Union is going on?”

 Mobius shouted angrily, but Miras ignored him. Soon, many pockets were found by her hands.

 “What are all these? Wait, you brought your cologne all the way here? And these are……. poison bombs and sleeping powders,” said Windra, lining up the content of the pockets on the ground.

 Members stood around and curiously looked at the items on the ground. There were some ropes with different thickness and even a mask.

 And while they were searching him, Seryu looked up Mobius’ stat via guild window.

Name: Mobius
Race: Human
Cla.s.s: Rogue
Level: 71
t.i.tle: Broker of the Darkness(and 2 others)
…

 “You lier! You’re a rogue, not a merchant! And why is your level so high?” Seryu shouted, upset and shocked facing the facts that were so different than what she knew.

 Panicking, Mobius’ face distorted. He was about to reveal his true ident.i.ty and level, but now that he missed his chance, they would see him as a cheater. When he was about to speak up and explain it, Miras’ words stoned him.

 “I found ‘em. Marking stones. These look like the same ones our scouting team found between the trees and rocks.”

 Mobius shut his eyes.

 Marking stone were a kind of manastone, that could be found by using Finder. It was a popular item for Mappers and those who liked to adventure in dungeons or untraveled lands.

 “What’s happening? Just tell me, why are you doing this sis!”

 As things got weirder and weirder, Biryu’s face went pale white, and her pupils kept shaking.

 “What’s happening? Isn’t this obvious to you? That cheater’s been deceiving us and sold us out to other factions so they can follow us.”

 Seryu gave a pathetic look at Biryu.

 “R-really? Really? My warm Mobby wouldn’t do such thing. He loves me, and I love him…….”

 Biryu slowly walked to Mobius, staggering as if she’d been hit in the head.

 “This isn’t true, right, Mobby? You wouldn’t do that. Why would you do such a cowardly thing. Right?”

 She cried at him like a crazy person, but he was keeping his eyes and mouth shut.

 “Take him away, and check his inventory too.”

 “Huhu. Consider it done.”

 DeathCry grinned evilly, called his men, tied Mobius and dragged him to somewhere, away from the others’ eyes.

 “Attention, everyone! One of our scouting team had found an unidentified group following us. After a close search, we also found some Marking Stones not far from the path we took. It only meant there was a spy among us. But I trusted my members, And that leaves Captain Haroon, who guided us here, and Mobius. Are we on the same page now?”

 Seryu’s reasonable words allowed her members to understand such an unexpected turn of event.

 “Right. I always thought he was suspicious when he was trying to get her.”

 “Mmhm. That w.a.n.ker. I knew he would pay for it when he was treating us as his slaves.”

 Everyone thought he deserved to be punished. Seryu gave an another look at Biryu, who was collapsed to her knees with devastation.

 “We can’t let those sneaky wolves take over the mines that will be of great financial benefit to us. They’re not on their guard, so we’ll take them out tonight. Are you ready?” said Seryu.

 “Yes, guild master!”

 “Let’s kill ‘em!”

 Seryu smiled seeing her members enthusiastically responding.

 “Get a proper rest before the battle. It is very likely that our enemies would rest at the point where we slept yesterday, as it is where many kinds of Marking Stones were found. Tonight, their corpse shall be fed to the monsters!”

 “Glory to Ko-M Guild!”

 Their thin, pale faces showed how exhausting the journey was, but their eyes were still glowing intensely.

Translated by Channy_
Edited by Kmatt