Outrun – Cyberpunk LitRPG Chapter 96

I looked at the clothes Master Telos made, idly watching as the silver highlights caught and twirled under the neon shining in from my apartnt’s window. Getting the thing had been rather painless. After cleaning up as best I could, I simply went and finished the fitting process. It barely took any ti at all. Sean had been more than happy to pay for the whole thing too, which was nice. I definitely couldn't afford it, not that he knew that.

Sean was a bit suspicious that Torren hadn’t co with , but I managed to fabricate a lie about ‘my grandfather’ setting him on an important mission after dropping off since I would be with Sean and his ‘capable’ bodyguards.

I checked the clock one more ti, seeing a few minutes ticked by while I just stared at the clothes resting on my work table. The Gala was coming up rapidly.

The outfit itself wasn’t a dress like I thought it would be. Apparently, that was so ‘last year’. As were full face masks.

It was a pair of sharp black slacks and a black button-up shirt, both of the sleeves already rolled up. ‘For style’ according to Master Telos. Silver strands highlighted the seams and twirled into fun and lively patterns while still staying subtle enough to not overpower the black.

Two black, fingerless gloves ca with the ensemble. A pure white vest would cover the shirt with a bright silver tie underneath. It looked cozy and warm, which was good. I could use the warmth.

And then ca the part that actually mattered considering the, you know, Masquerade. The mask Telos designed was that of a rabbit. It was a pure white half-mask that would reveal the entire lower half of my face. Silver highlights swirled on the mask much like the button-up shirt.

All together, it looked rather nice. Master Telos called it ‘Obscured Innocence’ or so other stupid na. Didn’t really matter considering this was a one-ti event.

I rubbed a hand over my shoulder, feeling the smooth skin. Quick Healing was as helpful as ever. All my injuries from yesterday were completely gone. Well, at least my physical ones.

My eyes shifted to the window, for once missing the near-constant flow of rain that almost always pounded it. I stared out, wasting my ti away as my mind lazily drifted through the things I needed to do tonight.

An alarm flashed in my HUD. I took one final deep breath, stood up, and headed to change.

-- -- --

“I’m so glad you could co with .” Sean smiled charmingly as he led the way ever so far in front of . He was dressed in a similar attire, though he had a red button-up. Each of the buttons held the shield and spear symbol of Sentinel. He had on a legate's helt with a sharp red plu flowing from it.

We followed along with a flow of guests down an extravagant hallway inside the Sentinel Center. It was a massive building just outside of the Corporate Quarter. I cast a glance around, looking at the pure extravagance of the place. Everything here seed to scream wealthy, and the security wasn’t excluded from that.

The security, by the way, was incredibly fierce. We were subjected to several searches on the way in, making extra glad I left my pistol behind. The guards were all decked out in the latest and greatest gear from Sentinel, though they still managed to be fairly hidden and in the background compared to the partygoers.

Non-human security was even scarier. I spotted at least two caras watching every hall we’ve been through. Sensors were absolutely everywhere, probably capable of noticing a mouse when everything was turned on. And there were far, far too many turret slits hidden amongst the decorations just waiting to pop out and annihilate everyone here if need be.

That wasn't including the tal hounds positioned at intervals, each one dressed to hide amongst the decorations. The Sentinel model wasn't nearly as good as the Blue Crusade's variant from Knight Security, but they were still damn scary.

“O-of course!” I zoned back into our small entourage, of which Sean and I made up two of the four in it. A guard and Bertram followed behind us, both wearing boring black suits and nearly featureless black masks. Strips of neon red acted like eyes on the masks.

We stepped through two grand doors, entering a massive ballroom. I felt like I stepped back into a painting as I walked forward. The entire place was done like so kind of fantastical fantasy ball, even going so far as to use candles and lanterns to provide light.

The place was packed with people chattering, dancing, and inspecting the dozens of art displays scattered about. A massive row of tables stacked with food and drinks sat to the side, feeding a constant flow of people as they moved through it.

“Shall we?” Sean stepped in front of and turned back. He looked like sothing straight out of a romance movie standing there with the gala going on in the background. Weird.

I walked forward out with him, entering the gala. Almost imdiately, Insight warned of too many gazes to count locking onto - no, not , but Sean. There were just too many of them even if I wasn’t the target. About a dozen people pushed up toward us, obviously recognizing Sean.

A woman in a dress made of pink feathers and a flamingo mask waved herself with a fan also made of pink feathers. “Oh my, you are quite stunning in that outfit, Sir. And so is your friend!”

”I couldn’t agree more!” A man, older based on his gray hair, said. He wore a weird steampunk outfit of so kind. "About my proposal-"

Several others complinted similarly, sucking up to the guy. They tried to keep it subtle though, and all of them acted as though they didn’t know Sean was Sean. They all referred to him by his outfit and not by na. Maybe so weird masquerade rule? I dunno. Rich people were weird.

Sean took it all in stride, probably used to such things, and guided off to a corner of the room. We brushed past at least a couple dozen other sycophants before reaching a table. Once we arrived, Bertram and the guard took up positions blocking the main flow from reaching us for a few monts of blessed peace.

”Sorry about that… you look so pretty in that, by the way. The bunny mask really draws out your eyes and smile.” Sean leaned back in his chair.

I smiled shyly. “Thank you.”

I spotted Sean’s face turn red through the gaps in his helt. “N-no problem.” He cast his gaze out towards the rest of the room. “The dancing and partying are supposed to last three hours, then cos the auction, and then one more hour of partying. Is there anything you want to do?”

Klep shit? But that wasn’t the answer he was probably looking for… unless- no. Still, it was kind of him to ask . I half expected him to just have follow him around everywhere. “Uh, I-I’d like to look at the art displays.”

”This is an art gala…” Sean stood from his chair and walked around the table. “I’ll be back. Do you want anything to eat?”

Jack's Sun Kicker was as good as ever. “I’m good.”

Sean nodded and walked off, pausing briefly to talk to his two watchdogs in a low voice. The guard followed him as he entered the crowd. Bertram stayed behind in the sa spot, not moving an inch. I did feel his gaze though, which was odd considering his head was in the complete opposite direction.

A girl walked past Bertram without even giving the butler a look. She wore an iridescent array of feathers ford into a colorful dress similar to the flamingo lady. Hers, though, was of a peacock. The entire ensemble was extrely reflective, flashing in the eyes as she approached.

The girl walked around to and offered a hand. Her eyes, absolutely coated in makeup and glitter, squinted at from behind her full face mask. “You ca with Sean?” Ah, maybe it wasn't a rule?

”Yes?” I offered my hand back, clasping hers.

Her hand tightened around mine, her fingers attempting to dig into my skin. It failed since her grip strength was rather poor. She leaned in and whispered to . “Just because he invited you doesn’t an anything. Stay away from him if you know what’s good for you.”

I wanted to laugh at her terrible intimidation skills, but instead, I hid it behind a smile. Let’s see here… what would no do in this situation? “I-I’m sure I don’t know what you an?”

The peacock girl flinched back, her eyes widening for a second before she released my hand and stepped away. “Good. ”

As the girl stocked off, several others approached, seemingly emboldened by her. A pale white guy in what looked to be ancient samurai armor took a seat across from . An oni mask covered the lower half of his face. “I hope you don’t mind, little rabbit?”

”Of course not.” I smiled, trying to hide my irritation. I'm not sure which was worse: the na or him just sitting down. At least he asked.

The man flinched back like I threatened him and then nodded several tis. “Ah, yosh, yosh…”

A woman in a flowing white toga moved in beside the man. She had two white wings that just barely fit into the chair with her. A golden helt with an attached halo covered her entire head. “I won’t be a bother?”

“Not at all.”

The woman started up a conversation with the samurai, but I checked out as they started ntioning production rates and such. I barely paid enough attention to catalog the information in case it might be useful one day.

A woman in a cat outfit took a seat, moving one seat closer to than the others. She didn’t say anything, just sat down with a triumphant look in her eyes. That look faded into a sneer as she looked at , and her face almost begged to say sothing to her about it.

I resisted the urge and smiled innocently.

Even more people ca, rapidly filling in the seats till there was just one left beside for Sean. Nobody really spoke to . There was a bit of small talk, but nothing too major outside of that.

The lady next to , wearing what I could only describe as a doctor, a falcon, and a Dune Walker all tossed into a blender, asked, “So, how do you know that strapping young lad in the centurion helt?”

It took a few monts to realize she was asking . ”W-we go to school together. He invited to the art gala since I like art…”

”Oh! SPS! How do you like it?” The halo lady asked from across the table.

I replied, answering more and more questions as the rest of the table started to get in on the conversation. None of them asked questions about per se, and there was a vague disinterest in everyone’s expressions as if they didn’t really care what I had to say. Probably just trying to keep up appearances.

That continued for several minutes before Sean returned. He must’ve eaten over there since he ca back empty-handed. “Lady Rabbit, won’t you co with ?”

I hopped up out of my seat and headed over to his side, happy to leave the group behind. I cast a glance back as we left, catching a plethora of irritated faces. The cat lady in particular looked like she swallowed a sardine for the first ti in her life as we sauntered off.

Sean was stopped over a dozen tis as we worked our way through the crowd. Every single ti, he would respond and offer small talk with the people stopping us like it was his solemn duty. It was incredibly annoying, but eventually, we made it to the first art display.

The first display was a series of paintings attached to a glass wall with people on either side of it. The paintings were aged. The paint looked worn out and a few even had spots where it had chipped off. Most of them were landscapes of ancient cities and tis long past. One of them even featured a horse-drawn carriage headed down a brick road.

”It’s crazy how far we’ve co, isn’t it?” Sean sighed and looked at a large painting of a cityscape from the eighteen hundreds. “Life must’ve been so much simpler back then.”

I tried to think back to what I knew of that period. It was unfortunately little. Oh! “Y-yeah, but it was harder in other ways too. Wasn’t the M-lting Plague during that period?”

Sean nodded his head, his expression hidden behind his helt. “The first ever magical virus to hit Veryth…”

We moved on, glancing at several of the paintings before the sycophants got brave enough to approach. One, a man dressed like a robot, eyed the painting we watched before speaking up. He looked entirely out of place compared to most people's classy looks and animal masks. “You know, the Valmon was originally done by Wofenbern as a series of three? I own one of its triplet paintings, the Valtor.”

Sean looked disinterested, but this was the exact thing I ca for. I smiled brightly at the man, tilting my head up to better catch the light. “Really? That’s so impressive!”

The man, taken aback for a mont, rapidly nodded his robotic head as he grinned broadly. “Of course! I keep my collection locked up in my vault, obviously, but I bring them out for public viewing every year or so. Feel free to co by when I do!”

That particular conversation repeated itself dozens of tis as we moved down the length of the art display, sotis even several tis for a single one. There were even a few tis when two people got into an argunt about whose collection was better, naming off dozens of extrely expensive paintings as if they didn’t care who just so happened to overhear.

About halfway through, Sean realized my interest and also started to engage with the varied people who approached, which just egged them on further. It truly was a peak opportunity to gather information.

We shifted displays, heading for a series of display cases holding smaller statues and sculptures. “You said sculptures were your favorite?” Sean asked as we approached an ancient-looking cat made out of pottery.

”Yes! There’s just sothing so- so impressive about them.” I smiled brightly, not having to force it as I leaned towards the cat sculpture. It had been painted at one ti, but the paint had worn out over the centuries since it was made.

“Silver ones?”

”Those are the best, but I like sculptures in general.”

”Ah, the Mau!” A passerby called out, noticing our attention on the piece. “You know, I have the only cast in the world of this piece. Any more, and the experts were afraid the Mau might break!”

”Really?” I smiled energetically at the woman, hoping she would tell more.

She moved closer and waved a hand to the pottery. “Of course! They did it in silver encrusted with sapphires. Quite the beautiful sculpture.”

My grin widened as I found a pri target. “Tell more!”