No More Pain For This Villain.

Date: 26th

Month: Shadowmoon

Time: 8:00 PM

Location: Viceburg**

Viceburg, a city on the edge of the Hestia Empire, was once a place of wonder, ideally situated to house hundreds of thousands of people. It sat near the land connecting Elishia Forest and Hestia Empire, with some parts of the land connecting both places by land, a few hundred miles from the physical border of the respective countries. Everything passed through here.

When the city was established two hundred years ago, no one could have foreseen what it would become. Currently, Viceburg was nothing but a crime hub, a city filled with thugs, criminal gangs, and illegal activities. The Royal Palace had attempted many times to cleanse the city, but corrupt officials and aristocrats of the Hestia Empire had too much to lose if the city was purged of crime.

This situation created opportunities for many people to start strange and illicit enterprises, such as—

"Ugh, are we already here?" Alver asked groggily, removing his hat and looking out the window of the carriage. He stepped out and looked at the fallen wall of the city. It was destroyed every time it was repaired, so the Royal Palace no longer bothered looking after it.

The sky was gray, and Viceburg looked grim as always.

"Guild Master!" someone called. Alver turned to see who it was—Old Man Clay.

Clay approached Alver with a few thug-looking guys behind him. "It took you a long time to get back this time."

"Old man, I made a stop...here—" He handed his bags to one of the guys behind Clay. "Solstice. I met Ren there—told him about the progress and all the other things."

Clay nodded, and they both entered the city of Viceburg. The city was divided into two parts, Slums and Suburbs—the contrast was apparent, both trying to avoid each other.

Walking through the suburbs, Alver reached a humongous building. It was almost a palace and, by the looks of it, the most beautiful structure around.

The huge metal door swung open, revealing a grand hall filled with tables and a counter where people were busy with their tasks. Alver took a deep breath and—

"What is that foul smell, old man?" he asked, pinching his nose. His answer came immediately as a beastman warrior walked past them, dragging a sack.

Clay quickly stepped in front of the beastman, surprising him. "Where do you think you\'re going?" Clay leaned to the side. "What\'s in that sack?" he asked, pointing at the sack.

"Oh... this—" The beastman went awkwardly silent for a second. "Akh Helna Brothers, they... killed someone again. I\'m just cleaning up—y\'all humans stink a lot, even after death." Saying that, he dragged the sack away, leaving a red trail that a cleaner immediately mopped up.

"What a great welcome," Alver remarked, tapping Clay\'s shoulder. Both went upstairs via the staircase in the corner of the hallway, passing the horde of people who jumped to greet Alver.

Once in the office, Alver sat in his chair and immediately began pulling papers and documents out of his drawers. "Where are the mining permissions for the land we bought near the city walls?" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Absurd, right? Having access to dig near the city walls would be impossible anywhere but in Viceburg City. However, it was possible if you paid enough.

"Hmm, here," Clay pulled the documents out of his spatial ring and placed them in front of Alver.

"Okay, that\'s great." Alver began going over them one by one.

Clay observed Alver and then chuckled to himself.

"What?" Alver asked.

"Nothing, you just seem enthusiastic. Did that boy tell you a new plan of his?" Clay asked. It wasn\'t hard to tell that Alver was excited about something, and since he had met Ren, it was likely linked, Clay thought.

"Yep," Alver put the papers down, "and just like Viceburg City\'s separation, this is going to be big."

While Ren had merely given his words and ideas to Alver on how he could separate the weakest link of the Hestia Empire from the Empire itself, he didn\'t know what it took to do that in practice. The tough situations Alver had to navigate to unite and align everything in place to a point that Demacia Guild could thrive in such a place were immense.

Money was a factor too. There was a point when Alver had to sell about hundreds of Guild branches located near the southern shoreline of the Grav Kingdom. It was a huge gamble, and even Clay thought that Alver had gone mad, but it turned out well.

Everything was fine.

Alver leaned back in his chair, a satisfied look on his face as he contemplated the next steps. "Ren\'s ideas are always a bit radical, but they\'re effective," he said, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the desk. "This new plan involves expanding our influence beyond Viceburg. We\'re going to use the mines as a base to establish more control over the surrounding areas."

Clay raised an eyebrow. "Expanding beyond Viceburg? That\'s ambitious. The Empire won\'t take kindly to us encroaching on their territory."

Alver smiled wryly. "That\'s the beauty of it. We\'re not going to openly challenge them. We\'re going to create a network of support, starting with the locals who are tired of the Empire\'s neglect. We\'ll offer protection, resources, and a better life. Once we have their loyalty, the Empire will find it much harder to intervene without facing significant resistance."

Clay nodded slowly, understanding the strategy. "Is that it?" he asked, his tone clearly indicating dissatisfaction with the answer.

"Bring me dwarves. I want them—" Alver paused, pulling out a piece of paper. He drew a large circle in the center and six smaller circles surrounding it. "This is Viceburg, and these are the cities and villages that surround it."

"We are going to mine in these cities and villages and dig tunnel systems connecting all six cities," Alver continued. "Choose only the required amount of trusted workers because this will be a secret. We need a tunnel system with thousands of tunnels connecting to Viceburg underground. These will be our smuggling routes."

Clay, though a man of principle, had had his moral code bent since joining Alver, so he didn\'t flinch at the plan.

"And how will this benefit Ren?" he asked.

Everything Alver did seemed to be geared toward Ren Hilton, which made Clay curious about how these plans would serve him.

"He\'s going to join us in a month or so," Alver answered.

Clay nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait," Alver stopped him. "There\'s one more thing—secret between you and me. I want you to spread a rumor."

"What rumor?"

Alver glanced around, ensuring no one else was listening. "A rumor that there\'s a boss above me, someone I work for."

"Is that also what Ren wants? To make sure everyone thinks of him as their leader by the time he arrives?" Clay narrowed his eyes.

"Maybe. I don\'t care—just do it," Alver said dismissively. He wasn\'t concerned about the details.

Alver was primarily interested in money and power; the position of leader was inconsequential to him.

"I\'ll do that," Clay said, then left.

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