I spun around as the door flew off its hinges. It'd been kicked open by a foot the size of a textbook. Said foot was attached to a leg thicker than a tree trunk.
The leg went back in the hallway, and a mean-looking man stuck his head into the room. When I saw him, I have to admit, I burst out laughing.
The guy's head was half the size of a basketball, but his neck was thicker than Gaston's. Not to mention that his beady eyes were the size of marbles and were just a little too far apart. And he was hairy. Very, very hairy.
I know it's not right to judge people based on appearance but this guy...this guy was certainly something else.
He glared at me. "Something funny?"
I shut up. He looked weird, but he was huge and had the deepest voice I had ever heard.
"Come. Master Theeves wants to see you in his office."
Master Theeves? I glanced up at the corner at my mew new name. Master Theeves must be his...No, my new dad.
Wonderful.
I walked out of the room and out into the hallway. The cold hardwood floor in the hallway was an unwelcome surprise.
The giant glanced down at my bare feet. "Where are your shoes?"
"I dunno, man. I woke up like this."
His frown deepened. "Master Theeves will be displeased if he sees you without shoes."
"If I knew where shoes were, don't you think I'd put them on?"
The giant glared down at me. He had an uncanny resemblance to the goon back on Earth, except with more hair. I decided I'd rather not get on his bad side.
Taking a step back to the room, I said, "I'll just go find some..."
"Too late," he grunted. "Master Theeves is an impatient man."
"You just said-woah!"
The giant grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder. My head met a brick wall―wait, no, that was his back. As he walked, my forehead kept bumping against his back. It was unpleasant, so I tried to convince him to put me down.
He told me to shut up. Sighing, I resigned myself to a few more seconds of uncomfortable back bumping.
I felt the mountain of a man finally stop. I was relieved until he tossed me off his shoulder like I was a package instead of a person. I landed on the ground with a loud thump.
"Ow!" I muttered, rubbing my rump.
He only gave me a creepy little smile and knocked on the large wooden door in front of us.
A man's voice called out from the other side. "Come in, Gayle."
'Gayle' opened this door the normal way. Wish mine got the same treatment. He grunted and motioned for me to get up and go in.
The office I entered was about half the size of my bedroom but managed to fit just as many bookcases inside without feeling cramped. An ebony desk in the center of the room, with files and other miscellaneous things, stacked neatly on top of it. Behind it was a cushioned, straight-backed chair that reminded of a small throne.
To the right of the desk was a fireplace. Although it was ready for use it sat cold and empty. It gave me an ominous feeling as if it was only used for vile purposes.
I forced my attention away from the evil fireplace and to the people standing in the office.
An older man with greying black hair and dark eyes that seemed to know all my darkest secrets sat in the chair; I guessed he was 'Master Theeves.' A woman with brown hair set in an elegant bun piled on top of her head stood next to him; she wasn't as intense as the man beside her, but she gave off a deadly kind of beauty vibe―definitely Mrs. Theeves.
On the man's other side was a burly guy that looked like a tamer version of Gayle with his unruly hair and thick beard. He stood with his back straight and his chest out like a soldier. When he looked at me, his calm expression turned into a sneer.
Next to him was a guy who reminded me of Justin Bieber. He had the hairstyle, the face, everything. But whereas Bieber acted like your everyday celebrity, this guy acted like he was a prince. With his upturned nose and condescending smirk, he was just asking for a punch to the face.
There was a mini-him right by his side. The kid looked about 12 but he was wearing a button-down shirt, a plaid bowtie, and khakis. Something was definitely up with him. I know when I was 12, I was trying to baggy jeans and wife beaters 24/7.
The only other girl besides Mrs. Theeves was one who stood out among them. For one thing, she was Asain―if I had to guess, she was from India or some other South Asian country. And the second was because she was the only smiling at me as if I were her best friend who'd return from a year-long trip to Wyoming and never thought she'd see me again. It was a welcome change.
The man in the chair cleared his throat, bringing my attention back to him. "You've finally been Reincarnated. Must you take so long just to die?"
I was taken aback. Who waits for someone to die? That's just...wrong. I kept these thoughts to myself. I was getting bad vibes from the lot of them; I didn't want to say something stupid to set them off.
But with my luck, I'd blow my second chance in the first twenty minutes of getting it.
The man continued. "Your loss in the PvP battle has brought great shame to the Theeves name. How do you expect to fix that?"
So the original guy died in a fight. No wonder he wanted me to take revenge. That part was easy to understand. What I didn't get was the fact that this guy had his son killed in battle but acted like he was the world's biggest nincompoop. My dad might not've been the greatest before he kicked the bucket, but he would've cared if some scumbag killed me.
I realized he was waiting for an answer, so I said, "Um...say sorry?"
Justin Bieber 2.0 snorted. "Sorry? Is that all you've got? You lost to a Scavenger! 'Sorry' is not gonna cut it!"
"Pandyn," the man said, "shut up."
He flushed and gave me a dirty look as if it was my fault he went and opened his big mouth. What a bugger.
"He lost to a Scavenger, Father," the bearded guy said. "A Scavenger versus a Multiplayer? What a joke. That gift is wasted on him."
The girl spoke up, "What could he do? He was ambushed!"
The kid put his two cents in, "So what? Anyone of us could hold our own against three other Players!"
I rolled my eyes. "I refuse to be disrespected by someone who hasn't even hit puberty yet."
His face reddened, "I have!"
"No way, man. You sound like an 8-year-old, but you somehow dress like you're 30."
Before he could defend himself, Master Theeves interjected. "Enough. We're not here to discuss what happened. I've already decided on punishment."
"Punishment? I was dead twenty minutes ago! What are you talking about?" Was this guy serious? No, he was definitely messing with me. You're gonna give me a punishment for dying? What kind of faulty logic was that?
He narrowed his eyes. "Are you going against my decision?"
"Heck yeah, I am! It's grade A bull what you're talkin' about right now."
"Mmm. I see. Gayle?"
The big guy stepped into the room. He cracked his knuckles menacingly, his eyes never leaving my face.
Briiing! [The Player should be careful. Bloodlust detected.]
I took a step backward. "You know, punishment doesn't sound so bad right now. I"ll take, uh, I'll take whatever you got for me."
Mr. Theeves leaned back in his chair. "You'll 'take' whatever I've got? My original son might have been a failure, but he at least he knew when to shut up. You, on the other hand, seem to have some trouble with that."
Briiing! [Bloodlust levels have increased.]
I glanced back at him. "What do you want from me, man?"
His eyes flashed. "Stop, Gayle. All of you, leave us. I'll handle this."
I breathed a sigh of relief as everyone but the man in the chair left the room. The big guy wasn't gonna pound me! And then I remembered the rest of the sentence. I caught worried look the girl sent my way. "What-"
I felt an intense pressure on my back, pushing me down. I struggled to stay on my feet, flexing my nonexistent muscles and planting my feet on the ground. I held out for a few minutes; sweat rolled down my back and my muscles shook as I strained to keep standing. The pressure increased, forcing me to my knees.
Eventually, it had me laying flat on the ground, panting from the effort.
Mr. Theeves stood up from his chair, a cruel smile on his face. "You are weak, Powyn. You always were. You wouldn't push yourself to your limits, no matter what I tried to do. You claimed to be strong enough, but look where that got you."
I clenched my fist. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't fire back an insult as I normally would. Whatever was holding me down held my full attention.
He walked around the desk. Every step he took toward me increased the pressure on my back. It was taking everything I had in me not to be squished flat.
"Everyone has a weakness, Powyn, and it will always be their downfall. Yours was that you settled for less instead of striving for greatness. I won't tolerate weaklings in my household." He stopped in front of me and knelt down.
Grabbing my hair, he yanked my head up. "I've tolerated you for the past sixteen years, but no more will I put up with your insolence. You'll be going to a Dungeon until the end of summer. If you have not reached the Silver Rank by then, I don't want to see your sorry face ever again."
Briiing! [The Player has received a Main Mission: reach the Silver Rank by August 29th. Failure to reach the Silver Rank will result in being disowned and scorned by the Theeves family.]
Before I could tell the man he should go stuff his mission in a specific place, I passed out.