Collide Gamer-Chapter 1672 – Touchdown

“We are now closing in on the airstrip,” Aclysia informed all of them.

That was the warning to step it down on the orgy and start with the cleaning up. Fifteen minutes later, they were all out of the shower and clothed. Another five minutes later, the plane touched down on the airstrip.

Ehtra, Salamander and Sylph were flying around outside. A precaution in case somebody had created their own Illusion Barrier on the airstrip. Chances for that were low, but they weren’t zero. John would rather not ram into another person or whatever else could be left in such a barrier.

No such thing happened. The airplane rolled out its momentum and eventually came to a halt. The door of the airplane opened.

John was hit with an almost physical smack of heat. “Finally, some proper weather!” he heard his girlfriend exclaim behind him. Reactions were, as per usual, mostly raised eyes in her direction.

“No – no – no!” Scarlett shouted and retreated back into the climatized vehicle. Lorelei, Lee, Claire, and several other harem members followed suit.

John checked his phone for the temperature. He had expected it to be hot in Mexico, of course, but 34 degrees under cloud cover felt a bit excessive. Groaning, he stepped outside. The enchantments on his clothes neutralized the worst of it, but where his skin was exposed, he still felt the sheer heat.

Standing down on the airstrip was worse. The pavement had absorbed the heat and was radiating it back up. Had John worn normal shoes, he would have been afraid of the soles melting. “Guess the sun selects who tags along for this first part,” he wheezed and looked back at the crowd with him.

Rave was there, of course, as were Hailey, Aclysia, Metra, and Ehtra. Those did not mind the sun, except for Aclysia who prioritized sticking with John over what minor discomfort she did feel. The elementals would stay in the airplane as per a previous discussion. The Creator Puppet would inform them if John needed emergency support.

Also, John needed both Lee and Gnome in the airplane to start the plan. ‘Remember, no levelling of Abyssals’ houses,’ he contacted the earth spirit.

‘I-I know!’ she answered immediately. ‘I would never!’

John knew that, it was just fun to tease her. Smirking, trying to forget the sweltering heat, he gestured for those who had followed him down the stairs to get moving. The staircase rolled back in behind him and the airplane was steered south-east.

“I am excited,” Rave sang, “and I just can’t hide it!”

“I see your inner thrillseeker is already coming out.”

“Can’t blame’r,” Hailey drawled. “Won’t lie eith’r, I wanna see where this lil’ pardy goes, hon’. It’s my first proper Abyssal advent’re.”

“Well, let’s hope it doesn’t end like the improper one.” John’s face darkened as he remembered the attempt that was made at kidnapping his favourite country gal. “I’d have to murder a few people if it did.”

“If it gets too dangerous, I’ll sit it out in our mobile Fraidy hole.”

“Our what now?” Ehtra asked.

“”Storm shelter,”” John, Rave and Aclysia answered in unison. They had been exposed to enough Oklahoma drawl to know Hailey’s common drawl-isms.

They left the Mobile Barrier, then immediately made a new one so they wouldn’t be inspected by any aircraft security. Once they were out of that area, they walked in mundane space. “We wanna check out the local Aztec temples?”

“Mayan,” John corrected.

“I thought we were searching for Aztecs?”

John scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, it gets a bit confusing. So, in real space this would be where the Mayan Confederation was located, but it seems that in the Abyss the Aztecs took over most of middle America, even including the Andes. Anything we see here in real space was probably built by the Mayans and the notable mundane descendants of the indigenous people are Mayan… but we are looking for Aztecs.” He lowered his hand and looked around. “This is an area that I have little to no expertise in, admittedly. I know there were and are differences between those three civilizations, but I don’t know how big they were.”

“In any case,” Aclysia chimed in and grabbed John’s arm, “what constructions exist in real space are of little interest to us. Anything interesting there has been discovered by other Abyssals already.”

“That makes enough sense,” Rave agreed and tugged at her crop top.

The women with John were scantily clad, which made them stand out more than John would have initially assumed. It likely was because this was a distinctly more religious part of the world than New York City. It could also have been that a lack of skin cover was generally a bad response to sun-driven heat. The local woman largely appeared to prefer thin, loose dresses, airy enough to keep them cool while absorbing the rays from the sun. Men, similarly, wore looser shirts and pants than John was used to.

That being said, this was an inner city in an area of hot climate. The people he saw were rarely what John would have called modest and they had other priorities than sneaking dirty glances at yet another group of tourists. When they were stared at, it was only because John and haremettes were exceptionally good looking. Aclysia drew most of the eyes, probably because, even with her black hair making her look a little more normal, a paper-white Asian woman was an unusual sight around here.

Not that unusual either though. Merida wasn’t small and therefore had its fair share of tourists.

In short: they were looked at and they stood out, but not much more than they did in the cities of the northern hemisphere.

The streets were surprisingly empty. John could only assume that even people that had grown up in this kind of heat did not subject themselves to it unless they had to. “Anyone feel like ice cream?” John asked, while heading towards a stand.

“I ain’t sayin’ no.”

“I’m good,” Ehtra stated, for obvious reasons. “Should we waste our time with that?”

“We have the time,” the Gamer answered with a cocky smile and got in line. It took several minutes, spent standing in the shade of a nearby wall, but eventually they got forwards. “Three times mint please,” he requested immediately. “In a cone.”

“Since when are you decisive when it comes to your ice cream?” Metra asked, while Rave and Hailey got through their order.

John just kept smirking and gestured for the wolf woman to get her own order through. ‘Ah,’ he heard the sound of Ehtra’s realization in her head. She must have spotted the lie at this point. It was a minor one, all things considered.

They stepped away with their ice cream and headed down the street. After finding a street corner with a bench, John opened an Illusion Barrier. “So what was that about?” Metra asked. She may not know what had happened, but she was smart enough to work out that something had happened.

John tugged at the paper slip that had been wrapped around the cone. It came loose, letting John show everyone the name and address that had been written on it. “Was that Fianna?” Ehtra asked, in reference to the person who had sold them the ice cream.

Shaking his head, John answered, “We need a degree of separation if we want to keep her a secret. No, that was someone she had bribed to slip me that paper. We won’t meet up with her for a little while.” He waved the paper around and took a lick of his ice cream. “Important is that we have somewhere to go.”

The address, annoyingly, was two hours away. Merida did not have a subway system. The primary ways to get around appeared to be taxis and horse carriages (at least for the tourist areas). John did not see a taxi big enough for their group, so they walked on foot.

Always keeping on the shady side of the street, they had a look around.

John found Merida… interesting. Ugly would have been too harsh a word but it definitely was not beautiful in his eyes. Few things were poorly maintained from the outside view, but nothing ever looked really new. Single story buildings dominated the street sides, creating a weird mixture of grid corridors and open sky, which was then covered by criss-cross running powerlines.

The architectural style was a mixture of efficient angles and charming particularities that just did not compliment each other well in John’s mind. He passed by a building that was painted a flamingo pink. Its windows seemed too small for the uniform paintjob and a pair of grey, small doors likely led down some kind of access hatch.

It wasn’t ugly. It wasn’t beautiful. It was charming in one way and utterly dull in another. John really couldn’t put a finger on it.

They emerged in one of the richer neighbourhoods. It felt oddly familiar by comparison. Sure, the style of the arches, the shape of the roofs, and selection of plants for the greenline were all still firmly Mexican, but there was some of that cosmopolitan homogeneity that either the modern world or human nature produced. Trees along the road, random high rises, food stores, and mansions behind tall fences.

“You’re overthinking everything, aren’t you?” Ehtra asked drily, once he aired his thoughts on the matter. “Can’t you just enjoy this foreign city, you overly inquisitive creature?”

“This is my form of enjoyment,” the Gamer answered. “Although I will say I might just not have a thing for cities.”

They curved off the main road and finally arrived at their destination. A mansion just off the main street, unassuming in its environment, stood before them. John sensed the Illusion Barrier from 150 metres away, courtesy of his Fateweaver Perks. He also knew already that he would be in control upon entering.

‘Always puts my mind at ease,’ John thought and entered. freёwebnoѵel.com

There was no visual change. A cast iron fence separated them from the garden on the other side. John teleported on through, Metra followed suit, Rave, Aclysia, Hailey and Ehtra leapt over. “I keep forgettin’ I can do that,” the country gal laughed when she landed.

John wanted to kiss her for her adorable enthusiasm. ‘Ah, what the hell,’ he thought and did exactly that. Perhaps not the finest behaviour to kiss in someone’s front lawn, but he could not resist the tanned woman’s lips. He couldn’t resist squeezing her butt in hot pants either. Aclysia and Metra took it upon themselves to walk up to the door and ring the doorbell.

“Remember, we are guests here,” John told everyone. “Let’s not be disrespectful.”

John heard someone approach the door, then spotted the tiny changes in the peephole’s colouration that gave away someone was looking through it. Immediately thereafter, he heard agitated steps practically sprinting away from the entrance.

“Should I…?” Metra asked and pointed with her thumb at the door.

“No, just give them a minute.” John rolled his neck. He was in no hurry to get moving. Some kind of magical temperature control had been installed under the lawn, causing a constant cool breeze to rise from the ground. It made standing there and kneading Hailey’s squishy backside a perfectly acceptable state to wait in.

Metra stepped away from the door and looked around the nearby plants. Rave yawned and did the same. Ehtra stood next to John, eyes closed, arms crossed, lips lowered in a sneer, while her heel impatiently tapped on the ground. Aclysia remained by the door. Hailey remained attached to his side.

He was again making out with her when the door finally opened up. The Gamer couldn’t help but be amused at the fact that he was rolling up to these unexpecting locals like the final boss of a particularly cheesy JRPG did during the first act of a protagonist’s journey. Surrounded by his terribly powerful henchwomen, he stopped forwards.

“Greetings,” he said to the flabbergasted owners of the house, speaking in flawless Spanish. “I’m John Newman, President of Fusion. I’d be interested in a conversation, if that’s alright with you?”

The group of five people in the hallway was still stunned. They were primarily young people, with one man in his early fifties standing at the front. They were pretty typical Abyssals, all things considered. Good looking, of moderately dark skin, dark hair and dark eyes. They wore casual clothes. They were three men, two women. The old man was notably taller and bulkier than the rest.

John found the sight oddly reminiscent of Collide when he had first met Travolta, Jimmie and Rave. ‘That’s just me applying pattern recognition,’ he thought. ‘The only real overlap is that they’re a small fry group in a city with medium Abyssal activity.’

“Come on it! In! Come on in!” the older man said hastily, once he had found his voice. John led the way, the rest of his harem soon following. They were pointed at a living room adjacent to the hallway. It was nice and spacious, with a long table at the centre. Various random game tables, like table tennis, billiards, and even minigolf lines surrounded it.

“Chaotic,” Ehtra hissed disapprovingly in Sumerian. No one but John and Metra understood the word. The hosts almost seemed to break out into a cold sweat. That the dark-skinned angel decided to stand against the wall rather than sit down at the table did not help them relax.

John felt a dickish urge rising to tease them with the clear power difference. Unlike Collide, which had contained himself and Rave as latent talents (even if there had been quite a gulf between them in that regard), these five were utterly mediocre. They had carved out a little safe spot for themselves and lived in it, using a complicated web of local alliances to keep the peace. Where there was no strong central guild, this was how things were kept stable.

Of course, such stability only worked until one faction or another decided they had the power to stir things up, which led to much of the volatility of the average Abyss. The rest came from the rapid inequality that the massive power differences dictated by birth created.

John was one such massive power difference. Just him having entered the building had the potential to upset the entirety of the local landscape. If anyone had seen him come here, that would lead to questions and questions led to assumptions and assumptions all too often led to uncomfortable outcomes.

Knowing that he had this much influence just by breathing really made teasing them attractive. He thought better of it before Stirwin could rear his head, though. “Ehtra, stop being so threatening,” he chastised her. “We’re guests here. We want something from them and we won’t force it from them.”

Ehtra clicked her tongue. “As you say, Master,” the abrasive woman relented, pushed herself off the wall, and sat down at the table instead. All of the other girls had already taken their place at the table. Hailey and Ehtra were seated in chairs, Rave in John’s lap, Metra at the table’s edge next to him, and Aclysia, like usual, stood behind him.

Even if John had decided not to tease them, he did take a little bit of sadistic enjoyment out of the clear effort it took everyone, including the women, of this local guild not to stare at his haremettes.

Trying to and succeeding at keeping his dignity, the leader of the guild made his members sit at the opposite edge of the table. Sitting down with proper weight and gravitas in the executive chair, marked clearly by its taller backrest, he folded his hands on the table and spoke, “I did not expect such a guest of honour today.”

“I didn’t want to make myself known ahead of time,” John answered, gesturing with one hand while keeping the other on Rave’s thigh.

“May I ask why you visit… us, specifically?” the man asked. “How do you even know us?”

“I have my ways,” John answered mysteriously, this time because saying ‘I have a spy in the area’ really wasn’t in his best interests. “Maybe I don’t know you? You haven’t introduced yourself.”

“…Cadmael. These are Sanchez, Maria, Chaac, and Meralda. We’re the heart of the Hirelings.”

John nodded deeply. “The Hirelings, exactly. You are hired for money to help the highest bidder – or so you would like people to believe, but in reality you’re selling your services at a discount to anyone who you think is best for the area. You can’t do much, but you can do enough to make a difference.”

“Pretty ballsy,” Metra weighed in with a smirk. “Takes guts to piss off all the people who would spend what you’re asking for to side with less rich allies.”

Cadmael glanced between John and Metra. He was visibly wary of the situation. That was a normal reaction, which was why John found it strange. ‘I’m too used to dealing with people that already know the outcome of a situation. This guy probably never dealt with a person over level 50 before. He should know from rumours that I could glass him without a second thought, but he doesn’t actively know that.’

“Your nervousness is unnecessary,” Aclysia weighed in. “Master is here with a proposal that you are fully capable of denying.” ‘If you would like to make that mistake,’ she added in her head, trying not to sound outwardly threatening.

“It’s a simple proposal,” John said and reached into his inventory. Out came a suitcase. He placed it on the table, then Ehtra gave it a tap with a finger. It smoothly glided over the polished surface of the table.

Cadmael hesitantly lowered his gaze, then opened the suitcase. His face turned from nervous to dumbfounded when the contents of the suitcase basked his tanned features with magical light. He slammed the suitcase shut again, as if somebody was about to steal its contents.

“We call them Ego Blades,” John explained. “Expensive, made by some of my own, but I am willing to part with them as an opening bid. They should serve a possession mage like yourself well.”

“Opening bid?” Cadmael wheezed, the shock having turned his voice into a flat exhale.

“Your loyalty to Collide in exchange for equipment that will keep you alive and raise your influence – although I would have to request that you keep these items under wraps until I am done here.”

“…What are you doing here?”

“I am afraid that’s more than you need to know,” John stated simply. “What you should know is that I need a local vassal in order to use one of my Skills. I have chosen you to be that vassal. Do you accept?”

Cadmael swallowed. “…Why us?” he asked, his voice a little firmer.

The Gamer smirked, that was exactly what he had wanted to hear. “Because of that – introspection. I could find any number of people who I could bribe into pretend submission. Equally, I could intimidate most people into serving me effortlessly. I don’t need either of those things.” John turned his contemplative gaze out of the window. “Fusion has no interest in this corner of the world. Maybe we will, at some point, but not right now. What I am offering you right now is a small scale sponsorship in return for a favour. I don’t want that sponsorship to get into the hands of people I think will make the local situation worse.”

“You believe that we’ll be the best at using these weapons to do good?”

John shook his head. Giving them a big head wouldn’t serve anyone. “You’re at the intersection point between being good people and not being taken notice of. That’s why I chose you.”

Contemplative silence. Urging rib pokes by the younger people. The ticking of a manual clock in the background. Then, a long groan. “Okay. Do I… sign something or…?”

“Matter of fact…” John pulled out a stack of papers, “…let me tell you about Favours.”

Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om