Proposal

10:00 pm, June 12

Ilex Forest

The wind reeked with murderous thoughts.

Over a flattened hill within the forest, Kai stood with his hands behind his back. The Ilex forest was so dense that light could scarcely penetrate the defensive wall of trees' canopies during the day. Much less needed to be said about the layer of dark green blackness that replaced the forest at night.

The wind, yes. It was stronger at this height.

The hill rose above the trees, but not higher. Its flattened top looked like a bulging mound of earth with a radius of some 100 meters. The middle part of this open area was rocky as if there was an enormous boulder embedded into it. As one walked away from the middle, it became grassy and muddy, and some 150 meters away, the trees stood like sentries, giving out the last warning.

Beyond these sentries of trees, was a steep slope.

Kai amused himself with these details as he waited for Meg's arrival. Not much he had done since the last day. He hadn't gone deep within the forest, either. Just roaming around the boundary and killing some weak Pokemon. They had given him 1 Soul Point, collectively, and a much-needed food supply. For his Title, Kai needed some strong Pokemon to kill, and he wouldn't get them before going deep into the forest.

At first, Kai had planned to catch some wild Pokemon and use them later as HP boost using his Glitch. But with the new HP capsules, this thought became redundant. Also, the fact he could only awaken his Glitch once in a world troubled him greatly. Whenever Kai found a Pokemon's move to his liking, his greed made him think about what would happen if he were to meet a stronger and more suitable Pokemon later. Not to mention, he had yet to increase his Snake Instinct Ability.

Selene had gone hunting yesterday evening and had just arrived back.

Kai wasn't sure what was the exact criteria for her Kill to be counted as his too. He remembered her killing Heavy Block with her venom. Yet, the System had counted as his Kill Count. But when she killed Pokemon by herself, Kai didn't receive any benefit.

'Maybe it's a matter of distance and our indulgence in a fight,' he thought.

"She's here," Petyr said, standing a step behind him to his right.

Meg walked out of the trees from the opposite end. There was a grace in her walk, Kai noticed. He also observed her clothing, which seemed to have undergone a bloodier and darker change.

A long black cloak with a chin-high collar, and patterned with small red clouds.

Kai did not know the need for this drastic change in clothing, and he cared even little. Meg's gray hair fluttered loosely behind her as the wind played with them. Her face looked stony and decisive. She stopped some 50 meters away from Kai, with the rocky patch of land just in their middle.

Kai took a step towards her. Just one step. But before he could place his foot on the ground, Selene's head came out of his sole. The part under her head touched the ground, and as Kai's foot pressed, her head went back inside, turning into a puff of silver mist.

The action was so smooth that if Kai wasn't the perpetrator of this action, then even he wouldn't have felt something odd.

Meg narrowed her blue eyes at Petyr but asked nothing. Unlike Robin, she didn't even think that Petyr could be a higher floor Contestant, Kai could tell. It almost felt like she knew he was the only Contestant in this region. And now that he knew her real identity, Kai doubted little that she didn't have the means to find out even more.

The tension between them had already reached an unprecedented degree. Kai had an inkling that she knew he had not commanded to come here for any good reason.

"What is it?" Meg demanded.

Petyr walked forward. He bowed towards her and then smiled slyly. "My master has a proposal for you," he said. "A rare benevolent one."

"Master?" Meg smiled. "Captain, I thought you'd come here to get yourself a custom Pokeball. Who is he? Your new servant?"

Petyr was wearing his signature black doublet over black breeches. The characters from the book could change their clothing to whatever Kai knew thoroughly. That's why when Kai had got a volunteer's t-shirt in Alto Mare, Cersei had come out of the Book already wearing the same clothing.

Petyr laughed at Meg's comment. "Where are my manners? Let me introduce us all in a new light," he said, turning sideways. "On my right, we have Priestess Margrethe II of House Ingrid here in this world under the orders of the High Priest to kill my lord."

With Petyr's every next word, Meg staggered back as if the earth was sliding under her feet. Her eyes had become so wide that they seemed to pop out in the next moment. Under her cloak, her breasts heaved up and down like air was struggling to stay in her lungs.

Kai smiled seeing those expressions.

"On my left," Petyr continued, "we have Blood Demon from the 1st Set, also known as the Butcher of the 2nd floor."

Even the nightly cries of the Pokemon had receded from the hilltop as Meg gaped at Kai. Alas, Petyr wasn't finished yet.

"And, yes. I am a servant," Petyr said, smiling. "You must know me from what you Contestants call Random Worlds. Almost none of you know my young appearance, so it's natural none recognizes me. I am Petyr Baelish, also known as Littlefinger. Does it ring any bell?"

The shock on Meg's face had turned to appalling horror. No longer she was standing straight with her chin pointed up. The moon shone above them, showing the crumpling of her face. Oh, no. This wasn't an expression. Her face really crumpled, many paper-like folds appearing on it. And then her entire body turned white, becoming nothing but a complex, giant origami.

Kai again smiled.

He had already known about this little trick of hers.

Selene's enhanced Earth Vibration Sense had already scanned a region of a 200-meter radius. She had picked up two more presences hiding behind the trees. Even if she hadn't sensed those presences, Kai would have known that the Meg in front of him wasn't real. With his Advance Emotions Manipulation, Kai could sense all emotions around him, especially when there was only one target.

This paper-Meg had expressed herself masterfully, but it lacked emotions to back them up.

Insects crawled, birds flew, and the leaves rustled as two more paper Megs walked out of the darkness. They too were wearing black cloaks with a chin-high collar, patterned with small red clouds.

"Impossible!" one Meg said. "What nonsense! Humph! I have to say, you got me to lose my bearings, but that's what it was. A mere shock. No storyline character can come out of the Random Worlds. There are no exceptions. I don't care how you got to know about my name and my purpose, but it was a grievous mistake for you to just call me out here, Blood Demon."

Petyr guffawed as the sneer on Kai's lips became too obvious.

"Let's move on," Petyr said, looking at the two Megs. "Now that we have introduced ourselves, I must put forward the proposal. Margrethe II of House Ingrid, serve Blood Demon. Become his slave, servant, or whatever you want to name yourself. Serve him as I do…

"... and you will live."