Double-Blind: A Modern LITRPG

Chapter 188

In an odd reverse of roles, Nick white-boarded the op while I mostly sat and listened. Not that the plan was perfect, exactly, but we had a familiar cadence when we brainstormed to solve a problem. So, barring any massive oversights, I held my silence while the others threw bristling glares full of barely disguised hostility.

I wasnt particularly worried. Zero-team lived up to their name. Other than Nick, most of them were a few levels shy of level ten, and nothing about their mix of inexperience and conflicting sense of entitlement impressed me. Keiththe mage whod nearly had his Adams apple relocatedcould barely look at me.

Hed fold like an eight high when the chips were down. If he even made it that far.

It was difficult to understand why the Order bothered with Users of this caliber. They obviously cared about strength and power more than anything else. Yet they assigned a member of the court to daycare duty. Power structures were always uneven. The exact reason hierarchies exist. No matter how good you are at something, someone is always better. But the dichotomy between these Users and Cameronwho theyd willingly thrown awaywas significant.

The plan itself was quiet. Discrete. Several teams were deploying at the tower in Region 5. The other, more experienced teams would start higher up. Wed be working our way up the lower levels, clearing the main path. But the real meat and potatoes were the ripples. Nick described them as tiny fractures within the dungeon, small undeveloped sections heavy with magic. They were hidden, but easy enough to identify if you knew how to look. And while they loosely followed the same basic logic as the tower itselfincreasing in difficulty the higher we climbedthe chances of an aberration, loot and monsters inappropriate to the levels increased.

Our target within the ripples were planners. Tiny, near-transparent entities that shifted form, only identifiable by a pale white glow, apparently tasked with construction and maintenance on the chambers within the tower. Nick had a dimensional satchel that could store, in his words, a Fuck-ton of them.

Considering that they repaired damage to the chambers and regenerating monsters, I had a strong suspicion about what Hastur wanted them for.

For an Order of Parcae operation, it was oddly tame. They didnt schedule us to kill Users or rip-off someones inventory. There wasnt even a kidnapping to speak of. Perhaps because it was also Zero-teams first official mission.

Hold up. Nick stared toward the doorway, then back to the small group, lounging on a series of stools and leather fold out chairs. Give me a second. Review your notesespecially if youre on the four-man. If youre notdont distract the people who are. The game starts here, people. He pointed to his head and walked towards the door.

A small burble of hushed conversation began as Nick walked away, reminding me of countless classrooms when the teacher was absent.

I ignored them. There was a man of average height waiting by the door for Nick, but in Nicks presence, he looked completely diminutive. It wasnt just the contrast. He was almost cowering. His long auburn hair was glued to his face like hed just gotten out of the shower, and he made futile looking gestures. When he looked back towards me, his expression seemed to crack, desperation growing by the second.

Holy shit.

It was the guy with the crossbow in the tunnel. The guy who killed Jinny. And Nick was just there, talking to him. There was nothing in his body language that reflected he knew who the fuck this guy was.

Crossbow guy said something heated.

Nick offered a lazy stretch.

It was like they were having two different conversations. Only when he stretched behind his back, his hand clamped down on his arm hard enough to imprint the flesh

Someone tapped me. Keith had apparently taken the intermission as an opportunity to move closer. I dismissed him as a threat almost immediately. There were entire beads of sweat dripping down his forehead in a stream.

Hey man. He said.

Hey man?

Can I help you?

Look uh. Im bad with conflict. Terrible, actually. So this is really hard for me. Keith trailed off.

I smiled at him. I can bring my dog out. If you need an emotional support animal.

No no. No. Not trying to be rudewould love to meet your dog sometime. Keith laughed and rubbed his neck. But uh, more of a cat person myself.

Pity. I was tempted to take it further, but Keith already looked ready to jump out of his skin. Any more and he was likely to go screaming and running out the door. I let my attention lapse and returned to the diagram on the whiteboard. What do you want?

I dont want anything, necessarily. Keith pushed his glasses up his nose. But since were going to be on a team together and all, I just wanna check. I do anything to offend you?

I cocked my head. Other than attacking me on sight?

Yeah. Awkward, sorry about that. Keith struggled to continue, like he was wringing the words from stone. but, like, I wasnt the only one.

Thats true.

And uh, they got off kind of easy. Where I got the sense that we were a few complex analogue inputs away from a Mortal Kombat finisher. His hand went subconsciously to his throat. Yeah. Keith said, in a voice that almost sounded disappointed with himself. I justI wanna know, are we cool? I didnt do something to you, or piss you off somehow more than the others during the fight? Because if I did, Im

You always talk this much? I asked.

He does. Halima said. She stared straight ahead at the corner of the room. Only her head was visible. The rest of her was submerged in a tub of ice on the floor, wedged between two stools. Id heard of athletes doing something similar. One hell of a pre-game ritual.

In the short time wed spoken, Id already gleaned everything from Keith I needed. First, he was a punching bag. Had been for a long time, probably before the dome. He was scared of the team, scared of the man at the door, and unsurprisingly, scared of me. Nick might be the only person in the base he wasnt scared of. And like any well-worn punching bag, he already knew this sort of approach wouldnt workanyone dead set on fucking your shit up is unlikely to change their mind if you ask them nicely. But defusing the tension between us wasnt the point. He was testing the waters. Checking to see if I was holding a grudge, and if hed needed to watch out for me in the mission.

I sighed. Offering Keith a little reassurance wouldnt hurt, if it meant he stayed focused on the mission. They were about to rush me. If our noble Ceaseless Knight hadnt interfered, they would have. I just needed to give them a reason to think twice.

Keiths mouth quirked. So it wasnt personal?

Yup.

Thanks man. He said, oddly elated, then bumped my arm with his fist. Oh god. Why did I do that

Get your head in the game. I snapped. Were deploying soon.

Right. Keith focused on the whiteboard so intently, it looked as if his eyes might pop out.

Myrddin has the right idea. Nick returned, pointing at me with the dry erase marker.

What was that about? I asked, tilting my head towards the door. The bowman was gone.

Nick waved me off. A family thing. Dont worry about it. Now that the rest of you have had time to ruminate. He uncapped the marker. Lets go over this one more time.

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