The Villain Rising: Ascension of Arcane Trickster.-Chapter 207: The Council of Gamers.

Within another part of the divine treasury, Vance who had just been on the verge of being obliterated by Noah, was suddenly teleported into a crimson-lit room. Monsters were being slaughtered relentlessly by a group of two, while a lone man sat authoritatively on a chair. A hooded veil covered half of his face, leaving only a calm smile and the scar running across his lips visible.

The moment Vance saw him, he dropped to his knees. The small pebbles stabbed into his skin but he didn’t even flinch.

"I’m sorry, Arbiter." He said desperately as his brown eyes looked at the man. "I didn’t know he would be there."

Sweat poured down his forehead as his brown hair clung to his face. He didn’t even spare a glance at the bleeding stubs where his fingers used to be before Noah had cut them off.

The man on the chair, the Arbiter, smiled wider.

"Is that your excuse, Iamlazy?"

The name wasn’t truly his. It was just the username he once used in a particular game during his previous life... a game which had become his new reality after his death.

"Do you understand how badly you just messed with the destined plot with that little stunt of yours?"

His voice was low and that was exactly what made it terrifying.

Vance spoke, his body trembling as the calm pressure leaking from the man before him crushed down on his senses.

"But... isn’t the plot already messed up enough? Why do we even need to maintain it?"

For a split second, the Arbiter’s smile froze, then he tapped his cane against the ground.

TAP!!!

A silent echo was released before a massive wave of overwhelming aura erupted from his unassuming body even though his rank was being suppressed to D-Rank by the effects of the Divine Treasury.

The contradiction itself was horrifying.

"Are you questioning HER will now?"

Vance immediately buried his head in the ground.

"No, sir." He muttered desperately. "I just... I feel like someone else is messing with the flow of the story."

His fists clenched.

"The Divine Treasury’s early descent was our plan but why is the main character here? This can’t just be a simple butterfly effect and more importantly... why is he already this close to the female lead?"

Even through his fear, Vance refused to be lazy. That had been the exact flaw that had cost him his life in the previous world. He wasn’t going to repeat it.

The Arbiter’s smile returned.

"She knows everything. And it’s all according to HER will." He said in pure reverence. "So just do what we are supposed to do and retrieve the Tears of the God of Forge located somewhere in this Divine Domain."

Just then, the group of two approached them.

A boy and a girl, their clothes were stained in crimson blood of monsters and their expressions twisted with maniacal grins. The remains of slaughtered monsters still littered the area behind them.

The boy had red hair and green eyes while the girl had brown hair and gray eyes.

"It’s too boring..." The boy complained. "These monsters are way too easy, Boss."

"Yeah." The girl added, stretching lazily. "We want to kill sentient beings instead of these mindless creatures."

Then both of them tilted their heads, smiling sweetly in the most disturbing way possible.

"So... Can we kill anyone who isn’t relevant to the destined plot?"

The veiled man smiled.

"Sure... we can do that." He said lightly. "Maybe it will even help get rid of some useless pests and clean HER path a little."

Then his tone dropped, just slightly.

"But be careful not to kill anyone of interest." He added. "Or she will get mad."

The smile never left his face.

"Yes, Boss." Both the boy and girl nodded simultaneously as they left, practically jumping with each step.

Meanwhile, Vance stayed completely still, waiting for his orders. Unlike the others of his kind, he wasn’t special, talented or blessed with some cheat but he understood one rule better than anyone else:

Respect the strong and bully the weak.

That was how society worked and if he bowed enough, if he lowered his head just right, he could survive even in a world as cruel as this.

As if proving him right, the veiled man turned his gaze toward him. "You are not one of the peasants of this world bound by the strings of fate." He said calmly. "You are greater... so learn to act like it, Iamlazy."

"Yes, sir." Vance replied instantly without any hesitation.

The Arbiter nodded in satisfaction. "Good."

Vance didn’t waste a second. "What should I do next, sir?"

The veiled man tapped his cane lightly, thinking gor a moment.

"Find that monster... the one called The Mind Harvester." He finally said. "Keep a safe distance but keep your eyes on it. That thing is far too unpredictable to be left alone."

His smile sharpened just a little.

"And I don’t want one of our dear main characters dying so soon just because they stepped into the wrong room."

"If you see Noah, Viola or any important character in the game stepping closer to it, distract them or warn them... and don’t worry about your safety as the teleportation charms she gave you would work anywhere in this Divine Domain."

"Yes, Sir." Vance nodded, still bowing.

"Good." The veiled Arbiter muttered. "You may go now."

Vance got up from his place and walked towards the exit of this particular room.

Tsk, that cunt... if only he hadn’t transmigrated here way before me, would he really have dared to bark orders like that?

The moment he was out of the Arbiter’s sight, his face twisted in pure fury.

He only respected the strong... but only to their faces. That didn’t mean he had to respect them behind their backs too.

If he were even a little stronger than the Arbiter, he wouldn’t have hesitated to rip that bastard’s heart out with his own hands but life was unfair like that.

He clicked his tongue and pulled out a healing potion, pouring it over his severed fingers. The liquid sizzled faintly as it worked and he gulped down the rest in one go, hoping it would at least stop the bleeding.

He walked through the dark corridor of the Divine Treasury, hoping to find the room of Mind Harvester before wandering too much in this damn labyrinth.