Outrun - Cyberpunk LitRPG

Crystal Aesthetics was… well, about what I would expect based on its name? It sat on the forty-fourth floor of Albany Rise, showcasing the entirety of the city with a crystal clear three-sixty view of the city.

Crystalline statues sat all over the place, each wearing lavish clothing that looked more expensive than everything I owned combined. The flashes of neon from the city skyline beyond the windows flashed through, hitting the crystal statues and decorations as they split into a myriad of rainbows all over the place. It was honestly impressive. Not only did it look nice, but it was free since the light came from elsewhere.

There were dozens of people hanging about. They stood in tight clusters, seemingly doing nothing but loitering. Weird.

Overall, the place was quite-

“Beautiful, but lacking compared to you, Lady Meno,” Sean said as he approached from behind Torren and me, a confident smile etched onto his face. He had changed at some point, now wearing a classy button-up shirt and slacks. The top two buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned, revealing the top of a frankly pale but chiseled chest. “Still in your uniform? And with your… mikato?”

Three bodyguards- no, two bodyguards and what looked like an attendant approached right behind him. The two guards were borged out, each strapped in with several very visible weapons and body armor covering their chrome. The attendant was an elderly man clad in a sharp tuxedo, yet not too sharp to draw attention away from his charge. I barely caught his gaze, his eyes sharper than someone his age had a right to.

I could practically feel Torren tense up behind me as he squared off with the other guards. The other two took the change, not so subtle flexing as they shifted in posture. I wasn’t meathead enough to know who was winning, so I decided to stay out of it.

”W-we went to eat. Didn’t have time to run back and, uh, change…” I shrugged, trying to ignore the way the guards stood there, menacingly. Stay calm, Shiro. They were just doing their job. Your cover is still good. “S-so, what’s the plan?”

The distraction seemed to work as Sean looked around Crystal Aesthetics. “This is Master Telos’s shop.” His eyes flashed with pure respect, though that dimmed down to a low tone of disappointment as he kicked the ground slightly. “He’s extraordinarily picky though, even having the gall to not take my father as a client. Doubt he’ll see us. Which is fine. Everyone who works here is the best in the business. So, what do you want?”

Master Telos? “Just whatever you think is best…” Wait, that didn’t sound right. “My- my uncle was the one who usually set this kind of stuff up.”

Sean nodded several times, seemingly not hearing me as he led our group over to one of the side rooms. Interestingly, the side room was also made out of crystal in its entirety, though it seemed to be a one-way mirror. We could still see out, but I hadn't been able to see it was even there when approaching. The side rooms were designed to reflect the other side, giving the illusion of an uninterrupted view.

The inside of the room was rather simple. Just some couches shoved up against the wall, even the cushions looking to be made from crystals. A tall bar stool sat in the middle, a lone seat awaiting its muse. There weren't decorations, and the furniture seemed nice, but not quite as expensive as their reputation would suggest.

“Bertram,” Sean called as we stepped in, the two guards moving to flank the sides of the doorframe. Torren stayed just a step behind me, watching my back as I looked around the place.

The older attendant approached like a shadow. “Young Master?”

“Go fetch a Crystal Aesthetician.” Sean turned toward me, a polite smile blooming on his face. “It’ll just be a minute… so, what kind of art do you like?”

”O-oh, you know…” What kind of art did I like? I’ve never really thought about it. “I l-like sculptures… silver is- is probably my favorite?”

Sean moved over to one of the couches, sitting back on it with a relaxed expression. “Really? I prefer more… unique items.”

”Like?”

”Stuff from Cwalu- but that tends to be rare. WWII relics in particular are interesting-“

A man raced into the room, Bertram hurriedly following behind him. The man looked every bit like a crazy scientist, his hair in long tufts of gray curls sticking out of his head. He even had a lab coat on, several dozen needles, and different colored strands of thread pulled through it. “Where- ah!” The man’s eyes seemed to light up as he saw me.

”M-master Telos!” Sean popped to the heels of his feet. “I wasn’t expect-“

”Hush boy!” Master Telos drew uncomfortably close to me, staring into my eyes like a ravenous dog. For all I knew, he was one considering how he spoke to Sean Sentinel. He stalked around, muttering to himself. “I saw from the security feed, but in person? Even more stunning! Smile at me, girl.”

I forced a light smile to my lips before I could really even think about it, using Honest Face’s training to adjust my ghost of a smile. “Um… sir?”

“Ah! Perfect! The peak of perfection! Just what I’ve been looking for! That childhood innocence, unstained by this unclean world! That look entirely missing from every corporate street rat to come prowling through my little abode… And yet there is a tinge of…” The guy glanced towards the security all around the room and then locked onto my face- more accurately, locked onto my scar covered up with makeup. “Mischief. Not overwhelming, but just enough there.”

Mischief? And the way he looked around… did he know? If he knew why wasn’t he saying something then? I don't think I had made any indicators, and I was hyper-aware of such things as of late. Was it something else? “Sir-“

The crazy man pointed his finger in my face. “You! You are perfect! Be my muse!”

What? Just what in the hell was going on? How was this lunatic the Master Telos Sean seemed to be so respectful of? “Um…” I looked to Sean for some help, but he just stood off to the side, his eyes full of shock. Torren wasn’t much help either. He just not so subtly shrugged at me.“Sir?”

”Please, just Telos.” The man clapped his hands several times, calling out, “Assistants! What am I paying you for? Hurry the hel- heck up! My muse awaits!”

Several people raced into the room, half of them looking sleep-deprived and the other as if they died of exhaustion weeks ago with only their chrome still running. Two ran to the nearest outlet and set up a table with a coffee pot. Three others ran around setting up lights everywhere so they shined onto the central chair.

A duo brought in an abundant assortment of art supplies and bolts of fabric, far too much for any sane person to go through. Another of them brought in a dog of all things, one bright golden and with a happy smile on its face. It was weird seeing a dog as a pet like how they used to do it. Most of my experience were with the rabid ones living in back alleys.

“I, uh, I never agreed?” I asked, a frown coming to my face as I watched the circus. A potentially dangerous circus if the man actually knew something.

Everything in the room froze, even the dog going almost entirely rigid as Master Telos looked at me slowly. His grin dipped, a frigid aura filling the room as Insight warned me of danger, but not in the normal sense. This time it felt almost… feverish?

Master Telos laughed, his voice echoing off the crystal walls. “Yes! Yes! I didn’t think you could be better, but you are, my dear! That defiance in your eyes! That uncaring attitude! That scarred innocence! Perfect!” The psycho wasted no time moving over to a setup easel, his hands moving over the dozens of brushes with practiced ease.

”Um…” I looked around the room, all of the assistants avoiding my gaze. Well, not so much avoiding as taking the opportunity to sleep. It was impressive how quickly the lot of them passed out while still standing with perfect posture. The others in the room - the bodyguards, Torren, Sean, and Bertram - just stared at me blankly.

Torren snapped out of whatever daze the rushing assistants and crazy guy put him in. He looked at me, his neck and facial muscles twisting as if to speak, before he looked around the place and went back to stillness.

Sean seemed to snap out of whatever daze he was in the second fastest out of the lot, a broad smile coming to his face. “This is perfect, Meno. You’ll be the star of the show with Master Telos taking care of you.”

”Star of the show? Please! My muse will be the star of the universe!” Master Telos laughed maniacally. “You came for the art gala this weekend, I presume… right little Sentinel?”

Star of the show? Star of the universe? I didn’t ask for any of this. I just wanted something good enough to not immediately make me stand out as poor, not an overly extravagant dress. And I still hadn’t agreed to anything!

”Don’t call me that…” Sean muttered, but he didn’t have that usual cocky tilt to his voice. “Yeah.”

”A masquerade?” Maser Telos paused whatever he was doing as he stretched out his hand. The golden dog immediately walked over, its tail wagging happily as the lunatic started to pet its head. “It's been a while, but it should be fine.”

”Um- okay?” I shrugged, giving into the man’s fanatical gaze. It didn’t really matter who made my clothing at the end of the day since Sean was nice enough to cover the price. “Do I need to do anything?”

Master Telos rubbed the dog’s head harder, a brilliant smile on his face. “Just stay here and I’ll have plans drawn before too long.”

”Nova…”

----

I sighed, rubbing at my back as Sean, Torren, and I stood alone in the room. Well, mostly alone. Bertram and the guards were still around, but Master Telos and his slave- assistants left to go finalize designs, whatever that meant.

Sean sat down on the couch and chuckled slightly as his guards and Bertram made their presence as scarce as they could. “Wow… crazy how things work out, huh?”

I stared at him, feeling a bit conflicted as I answered. “Sure is…”

”So! Um- what’s your favorite color?” He asked, his hand rubbing at the crook of his elbow as he leaned back.

Torren snickered from the background, barely managing to keep his laughter to himself as the two other bodyguards glared at him.

The snicker made a light laugh escape me as I moved to the couch and took a seat across from Sean. It was oddly funny to see the nervous Cues coming from the guy. “It’s a bit cliche, b-but I like pink? Not too much of it, but it’s a nice color.”

My actual favorite colors were black and gray. They were just too versatile to not like. They were perfect. Perfect for clothing since common stains never sat too visibly. Perfect for their ability to blend in. Perfect for thieves. Perfect for me.

Pink was alright. Not my favorite, but I didn't hate it.

“Really?” Sean asked. “I like red…”

Shocker. Sean Sentinel liked red, the primary color of Sentinel. What was up with this though? Why was he asking me normal questions? I was expecting something a bit more… corpy? Not questions that were so corny.

I should shift gears a bit. Get him more onto a topic that I actually wanted to talk about. “SPS is a pretty cool school.”

”Right!” That conceited pride returned to his face. “Father sunk some pocket change into the place to get it decent. You should see where my, uh-“ Sean’s corporate cockiness dipped into a drained loneliness that vanished just as quickly, “-my siblings are going, though. That place is stunning through and through. Way better than SPS.

Why was he soloed out in SPS then if there was a better option? Well, I could think of several dozen reasons, none of them particularly good for the guy… probably best not to ask. I didn't want to expose myself to even more drama. Anyway, there were other, more important things on my mind. “SPS is nice, but is it safe? I’ve heard about several disappearing students…”

”Who the hell is spreading such rumors?” His face twisted into an annoyed grimace.

“J-just something I heard.” I rubbed at my arm and dropped back my confidence a degree, fading back into my role.

Sean sighed, his face softening somewhat as he placatingly raised his hands. “Look, SPS is perfectly safe. Father ensured that. No one can go in or out without notifying security. And those disappearances were dubbed as runaways that didn’t even take place at the school. Not too rare considering who attends SPS.”

The conversation drifted after that, jumping through a variety of topics as he asked me various likes and dislikes. It wasn't quite what I wanted from the guy, but it gave me a better picture of 'Sean Sentinel' as a whole. Not too bad.

I held back a sigh as Master Telos barged into the room. Originally, I hoped to get more out of going with Sean to this place in terms of the gig, but it looked like all I would get was a fanatical stalker. Joy. At least the clothes should be nice.