MMORPG: The Almighty Ring

"Now you've done it…" Alexis sighed heavily as he was unable to save Tchaikovsky and the rest of his group. Everyone had perished, either by mind break or internal hemorrhage. Alexis had decided then to sweep it under the rug as there was nothing that could be done now to reverse their deaths.

"Jiang Fei, I do not know what has been going on with you but I want you to show me your full power. Now," Alexis said in a serious tone.

"Yes, sir…" Jiang Fei caved. It was too late for him to hide his powers as Alexis had already felt every little bit of it when he entered the simulation. It would only be messier if he tried to hide it.

Jiang Fei concentrated for a bit, adjusting his mind and the power of the Blackhole Core to the maximum. Although the Core of Will was still lacking energy of its own, Jiang Fei willingly activated Omnisurge and pushed his combat level as high as possible. Paired with the Blackhole Core, his combat level exceeded that of 4,000,000.

Despite maintaining a stoic appearance, Alexis could not help but be shocked. As he feared, Jiang Fei's strength was about to reach his own and by measuring accurately, he now knew what his combat level had breached passed the 4,000,000 mark.

"Good. Come with me. There's no need for you to waste your time in this trial," said Alexis as he left the simulation.

Jiang Fei nodded and followed him closely until they both left and returned to the real world. The staff he was holding disappeared as it was but a tool for the mission. It might be called a Primordial Weapon but it was merely a key to activate a teleportation device that would bring him to the next level.

"Yuulgreece, you're in charge of the rest. Jiang Fei, come with me," said Alexis to his right-hand man as he left the simulation.

"Aye, sir!" Vice-Commander Yuulgreece nodded and took over Commander Alexis as the honored guest.

"Come," Alexis said as he left the training academy for his own home in Redstone.

"Wait here, I'll be right back," said Alexis as he had Jiang Fei wait in what seemed to be his living room.

…

"Do you have any other suggestions?" said Alexis as he turned to an anthropomorphic cat girl in a large room filled with supplies and weapons.

"Did you say Jiang Fei had over 4,000,000 combat level?" the cat girl asked. She was the same girl that had delivered Jiang Fei to the training academy when he first arrived at Redstone.

"Aye. You heard it right the first time. I had my thoughts about his innate talents but his progression was too fast to be normal. I was hoping that he could one day be my right hand. That being said, I fear that his talent would be wasted on this small planet of mine," said Alexis.

Even though Alexis was still stronger, it was only by a small margin. Based on Jiang Fei's growth rate, Alexis had no doubt that he would be able to defeat an Ultralisk. Unbeknownst to him, Jiang Fei had already killed one, albeit not with his own strength but the power of the 10th Dimension.

"Father, I think you have two ways to go about this. You could see him as a potential parasite and kill him now, or treat him as the sprout of a tree that would someday bear fruits for us. However, it is risky. How is his personality?" Sarila asked.

"I do not know about it. I was not that keen on bonding with the boy when I first brought him in. Ottogackt should know more about it," Alexis said. He was leaning away from the option of killing Jiang Fei since it would be a waste of someone with his talent. Then again, the risk of nurturing Jiang Fei to his prime would be high. If he shared the same behavior as the other Valsalrians, Alexis would then be raising a pet that would bite the hand of the owner.

"Bring in Ottogackt and get this thing over with. If Jiang Fei is a dangerous person, it is best to eliminate him quickly," Sarila said.

"I'll decide whether he lives or not!" Alexis barked at her.

…

Ottogackt came in through the front door and after greeting Jiang Fei, he entered the room where Alexis and Sarila were waiting.

"You called for me, sir?" Ottogackt said politely.

"I have questions about that Terran out there."

"I'm yours to command."

"While Jiang Fei was under your wing, did you observe his personality? His behavior?" Alexis asked straightforwardly.

"I did and I must say, his personality is unsuited." Ottogackt held nothing back and revealed the truth. He had never been satisfied with how Jiang Fei behaved during combat. As a matter of fact, even after the "baptism by blood", Jiang Fei was still soft on the inside.

"Elaborate," Alexis hummed. He was hoping that Jiang Fei was not the kind that would disobey the commands of his superior. If he was, it would be much easier to eliminate him right there and then.

"The planet on which he had grown up had been nothing but peaceful. There was conflict on the global scale. That is why his people… his kind are soft in the heart. Emotions are hardwired into their mind and having that prevents them from doing much," Ottogackt explained.

"Brilliant!" Alexis cheered, which made Ottogackt confused.

"Brilliant, sir? How could someone like him be a strong soldier?" Ottogackt questioned the Commander's reaction. It was known that all Valsalrian soldiers were as ruthless as they were merciless, Alexis himself included. How would someone like Jiang Fei be a good soldier for the Valsalrian Army if he were to squirm at killing the innocent?

The situation was different from what Ottogackt knew. As a commander, Alexis had no problem with his soldiers being ruthless and merciless. If a coup were to happen, he alone would be more than enough to wipe out all the troublemakers. Jiang Fei was different. His growth rate was so fast that he could be unstoppable in just a week. If he were to be as ruthless as the others whilst possessing powers that exceeded even Alexis, who's to say that Redstone's master would not change?

Alexis could not be more happy when he heard about how emotional Jiang Fei was. Even though he was the master of Redstone, Commander Alexis was just a Fleet Commander in the Valsalrian Army. There were others of higher rankings than him. If Jiang Fei were to remain loyal to Alexis, when the day that someone stronger was a threat to Redstone comes, Jiang Fei might be there to save the day!

"Thank you. That'll be all." Alexis dismissed Ottogackt. After he left, Alexis turned to Sarila and said, "What do you think now?"

Just then, Sarila took out a small device and after a series of taps and pushes, she responded. "That will have to wait for a moment. There's something that you ought to look at now."

A projection was made and Alexis cocked his head as he recognized the image to be his treasure vault.

"What's wrong with it?" he asked.

"Look closely at the wall," Sarila said as she magnified the image and pointed at scribbles on it.

"THAT BASTARD!" Alexis roared. "How the hell did he get in again?!"