Chapter 31: A Pill for Hypertension

Seeker stared in confusion at the immediate change of tone of this blind man. However, what surprised Seeker the more was how this blind man managed to keep his head cool despite the heavy aura Seeker had just released.

"Umm... Yeah. About that… I'm one of Meng's… son?" Seeker guessed.

The shivering blind man shivered all the more. He just attacked his Master's son!

"Forgive my presumptuousness! Had I known you would be one of Master's heir's, I would not have attacked!" The blind man continued to maintain his respectful tone, but Seeker could see how pale he was of fright.

"I understand the confusion." Seeker sighed in relief. Thank God this assassin was not very bright.

"I am one of his prodigal sons. We left father after we finished training. Ugh. You just made me call him father."

The tension in the air just grew tighter. The blind man was clutching his fist tightly. He was trying to maintain his respectful position despite the heart-gripping sensation.

"Forgive me." The blind man apologized once more.

"I wonder how is Mister Meng's killing intent now?" Seeker asked curiously.

"About twice as Young Master." The blind man immediately answered.

Seeker sighed.

"Damned monster. Anyways, go home. Don't tell Mister Meng we'd met. It would only make your life more miserable if he asked you to bring me back." Seeker started to walk for the door.

"As you wish, Young Master." The blind man remained in a respectful position.

Seeker hesitated to open the door. He thought for a bit and suddenly turned around.

"What's your name?"

"This blind one is called Sting." The blind man respectfully responded. The sensation was gone, but his heart was beating faster than ever. The aura of fear blinded his thinking process. Now that his sense and thoughts were finally getting in order, he was more afraid.

"I have a prophecy for you, Sting." Seeker sighed.

"If you remain only as strong as this, you will die in the future. Probably within the next seven years." Seeker spoke harshly.

Sting had a surprised look but dared not raised his head to face Seeker.

"Your path is wrong. I believe you relied on your ears to see, correct? It's a wrong path. It's very inefficient. Look, I'll put on these earplugs and cover my eyes. Toss these pickaxes to me with the intent to kill." Seeker threw the two pickaxes on the floor and wrapped his eyes with a black bandana he carried. He took the pair of earplugs he was wearing earlier and put them on again.

Sting had a confused look. He was sure that Seeker did cover his eyes and plugged his ears. He hesitantly took the pickaxe. With wary eyes, he gazed at the casual teen who stood before him.

"Don't hold back. I order you to attack me. If you fail to impress me, I will kill you." Seeker spoke harshly once more.

Sting no longer hesitated. This was just like his Master. Sting took out a hidden blade that he kept on his shoes. He immediately threw two pickaxes in a curving motion and threw the blade discreetly. All of his attacks were aimed to hit an empty area with an intent to graze Seeker's skin lightly.

Unlike his expected outcome, Seeker casually caught the pickaxes, which weren't going to hit him and knocked off the blade with the pickaxe.

"You're very respectful, aren't you? I like that." Seeker smiled as he took off his blindfold and the earplugs.

Sting stood in shock at Seeker's skill.

"That's all the time I have for you. Leave this place. Report that a mysterious attacker raided this place, which allowed you to escape."

Seeker then turned to leave.

Sting was still in dazed with the skill Seeker had displayed. Was it true? Did he follow the wrong path to strength?

As Seeker opened the door, he turned once more to Sting. A hesitant face surfaced once more.

"Do you know about out-of-body experiences? Aim to experience those. The key is not to hear it but feel it. Feel the area as if you can see it. Bye now." Seeker waved and walked out.

Two individuals were viewing Seeker's stream on a giant monitor.

"I'm not interested in anything that you have, and the reason why I am not betting against you isn't fear. But pride. Why would I bet against you and ruin my own prestige by entertaining a monkey?" Arthur's tone was harsh.

"Ok. Then let's change the bet. By your estimations, what is the fastest time a person could complete Piercing: Edge?" Seeker smiled.

This surprised Arthur. He didn't expect this question to come up. He gave a casual glance at Seeker's character and sneered.

"Your build is inefficient. With your current progression, it would take you about 18 hours and 35 minutes to give or take. An efficient build that follows my calculations would allow a 15-hour completion." Arthur smiled. He wasn't giving room for courtesies anymore. Someone was trampling his reputation. At first, he was amused at Seeker's skills, but now wasn't the time to act in humility.

Everyone viewing the stream was either typing so fast or listening so intently at this conversation. The entire game world was led to believe that a melee-based Edge was the way to go. The masses followed in blindly as they witnessed a game progression faster than they could manage, and soon Seeker's build was the model build. Precept Gaming hadn't even had the chance to release a video depicting the glories of ranged combat as it had just been a few days since Seeker's rise to fame.

"Correct. This isn't the fastest way to pass the game. Oh, how I just love to have a dip in that brain of yours." Seeker smiled.

"But what if I can complete this game under 8 hours while using this exact build?"

Arthur laughed as he heard Seeker's bold declaration.

"Impossible. There would be no way that you can do that." Arthur sneered.

"So, you calculate that this build can't complete the game under eight hours?"

"Yes. I don't need to run the numbers. Any idiot would know that by now. The overall animations and cutscenes in this game and the mandatory text sequences would take you over an hour. Much more beating bosses." Arthur scoffed.

"Then bet with me. If I win, you agree with the meeting. You pay for everything on a two-night romantic getaway. I prove that you are not the best gamer on this Earth and how severely lacking your estimations are. If you win, you prove everything that I am trying to disprove, and I will join your team for free." Seeker smiled.

The eyes of Arthur once again had a fit of blazing anger growing within.

"If I win, you will forever stop gaming. You will also sign a contract to which if you ever play or use your gaming skills to earn, be it directly or indirectly, if you do, you will relinquish everything you own to an establishment or person of my selection!"

The chatroom was suddenly devoid of activity. Everyone was shocked at Arthur's demands.

"Deal!" Seeker smiled and gleefully nodded.

Kristine had a shocked looked at Seeker's immediate agreement, and Arthur was frowning.

"Ladies and gents, I will hold a special stream on Saturday. After all, I did promise to show everyone a power walkthrough with zero hits. So I'll end this walkthrough on tomorrow's stream. But by Saturday, I'll start on an 8-hour special stream. I will complete Piercing: Bullet with an all melee build and prove Precision wrong! Is that a deal, Precision?" Seeker returned the question.

Arthur stared angrily at Seeker. He gave a small smirk.

"Deal."

"Get your lawyers ready. I don't want to start the stream until I have it on paper. Let's make this business deal as professional as possible." Seeker returned a smirk.

"They'll visit you at school tomorrow." Arthur walked out of the screen. He was not even bothering to give Seeker another look.

Kristine looked awkwardly at Arthur's leaving figure and back towards the camera as she remained seated. She immediately disconnected after a bit of pondering.

The stream continued with Seeker silently playing through the game. No one was interested in talking about Seeker's walkthrough. Even Seeker's believers now doubted the sanity of their idol. They knew Seeker made bold gambles that he managed to complete, but now an impossible gamble was set.

Seeker didn't answer any questions about his Saturday stream. He later ended the stream as he usually did, abrupt and anti-climactic. Viewers were disappointed at Seeker's indifferent reactions. Everyone wanted the day to pass quickly and for Saturday to start.

The two individuals who were watching had a grim expression on their faces.

"Why is he doing this? Despite knowing about Lennox, he still has these unknown intentions towards Arthur?" Harker frowned.

Alean stood by the side and was sighing.

"Seeker claimed it's a business proposal."

"Just who is he?" Harker frowned. He wasn't one to panic or lost his patience. But the fear of knowing and the looming threat that has arrived were starting to get to make him feel the very emotions he hasn't thought for a long time.

"General, will Lennox go after Seeker because of this?"

"No. Unless Arthur's life is threatened, I doubt Lennox would get involved. If anything, Lennox would want his son to get rapped by some sick teenager. That could send the prodigal son home."

Alean had a confused look at his father.

"Then why are you worried about a possible interaction with Lennox?"

"Do you remember the time I pretended to have been severely wounded?" Harper spoke with an impatient voice.

"Of course, I did. You were in the middle of a war and right in the middle of one of our biggest deals ever! I had a hard time covering for you." Alean's tone had no respect as she answered her father's back. Alean frowned as she recalled that terrifying ordeal.

"The reason why I did that was because of an invitation from Lennox. When we arrived at his estate on Britain, I was shocked to see who was also invited. Gathered in one roof was the Underworld itself. Everyone who was anyone in the Underworld was there."

Alean was surprised. He had been in this business for too long to know the names of these underworld criminals. But someone managed to gather them into one house? There were two possible reasons that will bring the Underworld together; extreme profit that would make the heads of these organizations make a personal trip, or fear losing their empire should they anger this man.

"Lennox prepared quite a banquet for us. When he finally appeared, we finally got our answer to this mysterious invitation." Harker frowned

"What was it for?

"He had nothing much to say. No proposals. No deals. He just stood there and stared at everyone and said, 'if anything happens to my son, say goodbye to your empires.'"

Harker recalled the indifferent look that Lennox gave as he addressed the Underworld. It was as if Satan himself had the authority that could not match this man.

"That's it?" Alean was surprised. Could he gather the entire Underworld just to warn them?

"Alean, if ever you get to where I am, you'd know not to mess with these men! That's why we've always kept an eye for Arthur. And now, that teen you brought over wants Arthur! We could die if Seeker would kill or cause Arthur's death!"

CRASH!

The doors burst open as several men came flying in.

A figure walked in. He stood with a pair of pickaxes that were used by mountain climbers. He wore casual clothes. Nothing about what he wore could describe his very purpose of visiting this factory.

"Ohhh. I wouldn't worry about ol' Arthur." Seeker greeted happily. He stepped on the unconscious soldiers that lay flat on the ground.

"Seeker!' Alean cried in surprise.

"What are you doing here?"

"High-blood pressure. I need to take my meds." Seeker chuckled.