The moment Lorn saw Jabber, he immediately knew he wouldn't like the stout rogue as a person. The calculative smile plastered on his face, the pose that revealed he was used to ordering around others, the occasional glares he sent towards Danton and his two other subordinates, and, of course, the stink riding on his breath whenever he spoke.
"…Of course, anything else you might need will be provided by our clan," he was speaking. "We wholeheartedly believe you're someone worthy of a huge investment such as this."
Lorn barely managed to maintain his poker face. He just wanted to tell Jabber to fuck off and be done with this spectacle. At this point, even if Sybil asked him to accept the offer, he would've refused without a second thought.
Jabber reminded him heavily of the debtors. They offered him huge amounts of money with honeyed words. The transaction would be quick and easy. Lorn just had to sign a contract. The interest rates were a tiny bit on the high side, but they assured that Lorn would easily win the money back by the next day. What was the worry?
Back then, Lorn accepted, knowing he was being scammed. He, too, believed he could win the money back. He was an idiot. He thought that even if he lost, he could handle the aftermath without much issue.
There was no way he was going to make the same mistake here. What kind of a joke was that? Was he supposed to slave for someone else in two worlds?
"Sorry," he replied politely. "But for the time being, I don't plan to join any guilds or clans."
Lorn could see Jabber's eyes twitch. He briefly glared at Sybil next to Lorn, before continuing to speak as if his face didn't just contort dangerously.
"No, no, no," Jabber's voice turned servile. "You don't understand. This is a great chance for you! Our clan will be the easiest way for you to settle in a big city like Belo. I'm sure you've developed attachments to this cute little town here, but you simply don't realize what you're missing!"
"Even so-"
"No, no. Please wait," Jabber interrupted. "There are barely any Hunting grounds around here, meaning your spirit will struggle to grow, and acquisition of skills would be slow as well. If you want to keep in pace with the rest of the Undying, you must have proper backing. The other Undying will surely receive endless support from the big guilds and clans. To properly compete with them, you must receive some form of help. And you won't find a better offer than us!"
Lorn knew he couldn't trust anything the man was saying. He himself lied a lot, so he could tell the deceptive habits Jabber was showing. The high-pitched, almost cutesy way of speaking; the grand promises he was depicting, the disgustingly servile body language.
"It's okay," Lorn held up his hand. "I'm not someone so ambitious. I won't hold it against you even if I find myself at the bottom of the barrel... I do hope you find Undying you want," Lorn added. "This might not be true, but I expect countless others of my home-world to be visiting the One World soon enough."
Jabber's eyes were turning more and more dangerous with each word, but turned a bit brighter at the last bit of information.
"When do you think they'll come?"
"Perhaps a month, or two."
Of course, it was a lie. There was no way the game would be ready for the public so soon. Maybe there would be a trickle of beta testers, but for the official launch, a much longer time would be needed.
But thanks to the lie, Jabber seemed willing to leave him alone for now. "In that case, I wish you good luck. In whatever you may try."
Jabber walked away, a glint of something flashing past his eyes. Danton followed behind him, a troubled expression on his face. Lorn hoped he never met them again.
Lorn always made fun of certain stories for having evil characters that were just evil. He would call them childish or cartoonish, saying that people like them would never exist in real life. Life taught him how wrong he was many times. And once again, it sent him a reminder in the form of Jabber.
His type was prone to do anything they could as long as they could get away from it without problems. If they could beat and rob you and not face any consequences, they were going to beat and rob you.
For these types of people, you either needed to be someone untouchable, or to keep them as far away as possible. If it meant acting somewhat friendly with them, then Lorn was happy to do that.
And hopefully, Jabber would stay far away from him from now on.
"Should've made a show of force somehow…" Sybil muttered beside him.
"Since we don't have that power yet, we can only act polite... It would also work if you were someone he can't mess with," Lorn shrugged.
Sybil turned to him, a look of surprise on her face. She smiled wryly. "Sadly, no. I'm only a slightly above average Hunter."
"Then we hope to god he leaves us alone."
"Hope alone is usually not enough for anything…," Sybil sighed. "But is it true that more people are coming from you world soon?"
"No. A large amount of people would probably come in about a year or two, but before then, only a small trickle of visitors would come. But there's no need to worry. I'm sure Jabber will find another Undying to latch onto."
"I don't think it's that simple," Sybil sighed. "You're kind of in demand."
"?"
"I heard rumors about the other Undying," Sybil explained. "Heard they're pretty disappointing. Some were alright, but most sounded like trouble. Most are weak-bodied, weak-minded people. Some are violent and hard to control. They aren't being scorned publicly because of their new backings… but behind their backs, a lot of rumors are circulating."
"Ah."
Since Lorn was brought here because of his debts, he could guess at what kind of people were picked to test out the new technology. Desperate people in need of cash, or people forced into the position like Lorn. He was also familiar with how the One country frequently experimented on prisoners. People like that, they were definitely not the best Earth had to offer.
Though, in a way, it made his task easier. It would be easier for him to stick out if the other testers were acting like that.
"After a year, a large amount of better people would come. But for now, there are only people like them."
"And you?"
"I won't disappoint you too much."