Rebirth of the Exiled Gods' Pawn: An MMORPG Saga

Veyron lifted his head just enough to glare at the door Kaelith had just disappeared through. He could still hear the bastard humming cheerfully outside, probably skipping down the hall like he hadn't just scammed him into a slave contract.

> I should have thrown the whole table at him instead.

Just as he was contemplating setting the contract on fire and pretending none of this had ever happened, the door swung open again.

Kaelith peeked in, grinning.

> "Oh! One more thing~!"

Veyron slowly turned to face him, dead inside.

> "What."

Kaelith wagged a finger.

> "No need to search for ingredients! I changed my mind~! I'll just buy them from the auction house!"

Silence.

Veyron stared.

Then he blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

> "...You mean to tell me," he said, voice dangerously low, "that you just made me have a full-on breakdown… for nothing?"

Kaelith giggled.

> "Yup~!"

Veyron inhaled sharply. His fingers twitched.

> "Kaelith."

> "Mhm~?"

> "Run."

Kaelith's grin widened.

> "Hehehe~! You'll never catch me~!"

Then he slammed the door shut and sprinted down the hall.

Veyron was out of his chair in an instant, kicking the door open so hard it nearly flew off the hinges.

> "KAELITH, YOU LITTLE—!"

The chase was on.

The moment Kaelith's sing-song giggle faded beyond the door, something inside Veyron snapped.

He kicked the door open, the force so violent that the wood nearly cracked at the hinges. It swung wildly, slamming into the adjacent wall with a deafening BANG.

Kaelith, already halfway down the hallway, cackled.

> "Too slow~!"

Veyron lunged after him, shoving past startled alchemists and apprentices who barely had time to yelp before he barreled through like a charging beast.

> "KAELITH, YOU LITTLE—!"

Kaelith dodged left, then right, weaving through the crowded corridor like a slippery eel, his coat flaring dramatically behind him.

> "Tsk, tsk, Veyron! Such violent tendencies! And here I thought we were business partners~!"

Veyron didn't respond.

Because he was too busy hunting him down.

A few alchemists poked their heads out of nearby doorways, watching in horror as the chase escalated.

> "...Is that Veyron?"

"Holy hell—Kaelith, what did you do this time?!"

"Run faster, idiot, he looks like he's gonna kill you!"

Kaelith just laughed, twisting around mid-stride to throw Veyron a smug look.

> "I didn't do anything! He just needs to learn how to enjoy life more~!"

Veyron's vein throbbed.

Enjoy life?

This bastard had just turned his financial stability into a joke and now wanted him to have fun?!

HE WAS GOING TO MURDER HIM.

The hallway opened up into a grand staircase. Kaelith vaulted over the railing, landing gracefully on the next floor down. He twirled mid-air like he was some kind of elegant performer before giving Veyron a cheeky wave.

> "You'll have to try harder than that~!"

Veyron?

Veyron did not vault.

He jumped.

Directly down.

No hesitation.

Kaelith's smirk vanished.

> "—WAIT, YOU PSYCHO—"

THUD.

Veyron landed HARD, the force cracking a tile beneath him. He didn't even flinch. His eyes were locked on Kaelith like a predator.

Kaelith gulped.

For the first time, he actually ran for his life.

> "HAHAHAHA—OKAY, OKAY, CALM DOWN, IT WAS A JOKE—"

> "COME HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE."

They exploded out into the main hall, sending apprentices and alchemists scattering in every direction. A few sprinted away immediately, recognizing that look on Veyron's face.

> "Not again—!

"THEY'RE AT IT AGAIN! MOVE—"

Kaelith grabbed a potion crate off a nearby table and hurled it behind him. Bottles shattered as they hit the floor, a colorful burst of alchemical smoke exploding into the air.

Veyron?

He didn't stop.

He plowed straight through the smoke without missing a beat, eyes glowing with the unholy fury of a man about to commit a workplace homicide.

Kaelith screamed.

> "HAHAHAHA—OKAY, WAIT, LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS—"

> "NO."

The chase continued.

And Kaelith was running out of hallways.

Kaelith's laughter echoed through the halls as he narrowly dodged a lunging Veyron, who swung a fist just inches from his head.

> "Whoa there~! So violent!"

> "STAND STILL AND LET ME KILL YOU!"

Kaelith twirled mid-step, flashing a playful wink before he vaulted through an open doorway.

Veyron skidded to a halt just outside, fists clenched. His breath came out in sharp exhales, his eye twitching furiously. He was so close.

> "Next time," he muttered darkly.

Turning back, he noticed a table nearby, slightly out of place in the middle of the room. His gaze flickered downward.

A single sheet of parchment sat atop the wooden surface, alongside a Basic Healing Potion recipe written in neat, flowing script.

A folded letter lay beside it.

Veyron snatched it up, unfolding it roughly.

> "I'll bring the ingredients. Observe the potion. Our money-making depends on you~!"

The moment he finished reading, his hands clenched the paper so hard it nearly tore.

> "…That absolute bastard."

So this was his plan?

Scam him into working for free, then dump all the responsibility on him while he went off to do whatever nonsense he wanted?!

Veyron felt the overwhelming urge to flip the table.

Instead, he exhaled deeply, forcing his rage into something marginally manageable.

> "Fine."

If Kaelith thought he could just play around while Veyron did all the work…

Then he'd just have to make damn sure the next time they met, Kaelith regretted every single life choice that led him to this moment.

Veyron gritted his teeth, still staring at the note in his hands. His eye twitched.

> "He's making me do all the work while he plays around. That bastard."

He crumpled the letter, fully prepared to incinerate it, but then… he paused.

Something wasn't right.

Kaelith could have just thrown the entire job at him and vanished.

Kaelith could have just dumped the contract and never come back.

And yet…

He left a recipe.

He left instructions.

He trusted Veyron to handle it.

Veyron frowned, slowly uncrumpling the note.

> "Tch. He's still a pain in the ass."

Somewhere across the city, Kaelith was grinning.

> "Hehe~! He's probably losing his mind right now~!"

He casually strolled through the marketplace, hands in his pockets, whistling a cheerful tune.

> "Ahh, I love messing with him. His reactions are just too good~!"

Despite the teasing, despite the games—he knew Veyron would handle things perfectly.

After all…

He believed in him.