Chapter 1:

Chapter 1: Birth of a New Crime Lord

A Black Market LitRPG

Alvin was never one for fighting. Hell, he hated the thought of getting his nose broken or even having his fingernail cracked. Even wooden splinters from the wheelbarrows or sparks from the arctech wagons frightened him, despite being nearly twenty-five years old.

So why was he in the midst of a brutal gang fight in the smog-filled alleys lined with pulsating pipes that churned green?

Before he could answer that question himself, a straight punch cracked his nose from tip to base, causing blood to spurt and bone to fragment as he staggered backwards, tumbling over broken wooden boxes filled with grimy, gooey trash. He didn’t even know why the two gangs were fighting, only that he was ordered to come here to help.

Alvin could barely register his surroundings after the first hit, stumbling about coated in filth and pus from the trash heap. He tried to support himself against the wall that was layered with never-ending pipes, wooden barricaded windows, and metal doors. His head spun, unable to determine where he was walking to.

Unknowingly, he began to cross over towards the rival gang, oblivious to the shouts of his friends as he tried to swipe the goo off his face.

“Who the fuck is this blind idiot?” One of the rival gang members laughed at the stumbling Alvin. He ran his hand over an engraved metal pipe, causing the runes to glow bright yellow before he smashed it right down onto Alvin’s head with a loud thud.

The runes seemed to imbue additional properties into the metal pipe, the additional force and strength cracking his skull through the dirty auburn hair that became stained with blood and bits of meat. His body plopped onto the ground without a word, dead on the spot. “Fucking hell, Riker killed him!”

Alvin’s allied gang members grimaced but did not care too much about Alvin dying, all of them too preoccupied with keeping themselves alive as they struggled against their opponents. After all, he was just cannon fodder—most of them were too.

“One down, nine to go, boys!” Riker announced loudly, boosting the morale of the rival gang.

Alvin’s corpse was kicked to the side, slumping against the wall beside a dead, decaying rat and abandoned gears and parts. Shouting, yelling, and sounds of metal echoed through the alley as bright runes and blood decorated the walls with brilliant flashes and streaks.

“Shit, they got way more enchanted gear than we do, retreat! Leave Alvin’s body behind!” Alvin’s gang beat a hasty retreat, leaving only the rival gang members in the alley, all of them cheering and heckling the fleeing enemy.

“You two, check that idiot’s pockets for anything good. Rest of you, head back with me. The boss will be pleased to hear this. The Seven Snakes are such pushovers, pah,” Riker ordered.

Two rival gang members remained behind, alone in the alleyway, putting on grim faces as they began to scavenge through Alvin’s clothes. They, too, were practically cannon fodder, albeit not as weak as Alvin had been. Such was life in the underbelly of Raktor.

One of the gang members looked out for anyone else who might come across the bloodied scene. He spotted two patrolling local enforcers about to pass the entrance to the alleyway, but instead of backing off or trying to flee, he smirked at the two of them, locking eyes expectantly.

“Having a good day, sir? Hopefully, nothing to see here?” The gang member had a wide grin face as his palm rested on the edge of the metal pipe on his belt.

The law enforcers glanced at the gang member, recognising his outfit and equipment before slightly bowing politely as though they were at a ballroom function. “Of course, nothing to see at all. You have a good day too.” Without waiting for a reply, the enforcers continued along their path, picking up the walking pace rapidly.

“That’s good. Better keep on walking. Don’t wanna have to pay your wife a visit!” The gang member chuckled as he watched them flee. He returned to the other gang member, who was still checking the body for anything valuable.

“Seems like there’s nothing here….” The other mumbled audibly, sighing to himself.

“What do we do now? Just leave the body here?” The first asked.

“Better to sell him off – maybe the alchemist will have a use for it.”

Suddenly, the body jerked violently, thrashing in place with its limbs flailing about and scaring the two gang members. “What the hell? Did the fumes get to him or something? Is he a deviant?”

The body eventually stopped thrashing, coming to a complete standstill. The two gang members glanced at each other, hesitant about what to do next. They were hardly trained for a corpse coming back to life, especially in such a violent manner. Nothing particular of the sort came to mind, but in such an environment, violence was usually the best solution.

“Fuck if I know, but best to hit him a few more times!”

The two gang members retrieved their bent pipes, the first taking the lead and swinging down on Alvin. In a blink, Alvin’s eyes flew wide open, grabbing the first gang member’s wrist with one hand while he kicked out hard against the first’s shins, causing him to yell in pain and drop the pipe instinctively.

As the first fell to the ground, Alvin dodged another hit from the other, flipping his body in a deft martial fashion before recovering into a standing position while still gripping the wrist of the first. He twisted it far beyond what it could, making the first gang member scream out loud.

With a stomp, the arm of the first was broken cleanly, allowing Alvin to retrieve the dropped pipe and fend off the other quickly. A single parry was all that was needed to catch the other off guard before Alvin performed a stab with the metal pipe towards the guts. The stabbing force was like a brick smacking into the other gang member, his body toppling.

Before he could even hit the ground, Alvin lunged forward in a single fluid motion, grabbing his face and slamming it down into the hard concrete. A sickening crack of bone and a slight squishing sound could be heard as his skull cracked, the concussion knocking him out cold.

The first gang member watched in horror as Alvin began to turn around and walked back slowly towards him before kneeling down on his broken arm, pinning him. Alvin rested the tip of the pipe on the first’s thigh while he whimpered and struggled to get out, pain wracking his nerves as Alvin pressed harder on the broken arm with his knees.

“Where’s Xanius? Where’s my exosuit? Who kidnapped me?” Alvin asked the first gang member with a stern expression. “Who hired you to attack me? Which star system is this? Who owns this planet? Where's the nearest hyperlane?”

“Wha…what the hell are you talk- ARGGGGGGGHHH!” The tip of the enchanted metal pipe pierced down hard onto the thigh, causing him to let out an agonising scream before Alvin used the same tip to smack his cheek, ripping off a bit of skin in the process with a copious amount of blood spurting.

“Answer the questions.”

“I…I don’t know who the fuck Xanius is! What the fuck is an ex-o-su-it?” The first gang member yelled back as he thrashed on the spot, a reflex from the incredible amount of jolting pain that arced through his entire body.

Alvin looked carefully at the first gang member’s eyes and expression for a good twenty seconds before finally releasing him. The first let out a sigh of relief, his eyes still watching Alvin walk back to the other unconscious gang member.

Without another word, Alvin stomped on the neck of the other, crushing the windpipe completely.

[System Message] Killed [Red Lion Thug] , +10 EXP

[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up!Level 1 ---> Level 2 [Stats Increase] All Stats IncreaseBonus Free Points Granted

“What…?” The purple box that suddenly appeared in front of Alvin’s face was jarring, and he tried to swipe it out of the way with his hand. What was a hologram doing here? He did not recall installing any invasive interface systems into his nerval jack.

The first gang member did not wait for Alvin to figure out anything, already attempting to crawl away, hoping to get out of the alleyway and somewhere more populated so that someone could save him.

He grunted as he tried to use his good arm to drag himself away. He couldn’t stand either, with his shin fractured by the earlier kick from Alvin. How had he suddenly become so strong? Wasn’t he cannon fodder like us?! It’s like his body was enhanced!

Before he could move further, a firm grip lifted him by his collar before tossing him back against the wall with a loud thud, causing him to gag as he slumped to the ground once again.

Alvin crouched next to the lead attacker, his amber-yellow eyes staring deep into the frightened attacker’s soul. “You and I are going to have a nice long chat about this place.”

“Shit, shouldn’t have left those two idiots to it,” Riker grunted as he stomped back to the alleyway where they had just fought. “Fucking fodder can’t even handle a simple task. Pah, I got better things to do than babysit some kids.”

He reached the entrance of the alleyway, noticing there was no one there at all. He also noted that Alvin’s body was missing, though there seemed to be clear signs of a second fight.

Blood that was much fresher.

That put him on guard, wary. Enforcers? No, if it were them, they would be openly crawling all over the place, trying to claim credit for a measly promotion.

His body tensed up while he held his pipe at the ready, prepared for battle. His eyes darted about, scanning his surroundings quickly. “I don’t care who the fuck you are, don’t think you can just mess around on the Red Lions’ turf!” Riker shouted in bravado as he slowly entered the alleyway.

“Looks like there’s no shortage of second-rate thugs in this ‘city’.” A voice wafted in from above in a taunting fashion. Riker quickly glanced upwards, only to see a looming shadow dropping towards him from the never-ending pipes, a knee brutally colliding into him and cracking his collarbone into fragments.

He could not even scream, the air being knocked out of him as he collapsed onto the ground, but his battle instincts and adrenaline kicked in, keeping him conscious while he rolled. He bore the brunt of the pain and quickly recovered into a fighting stance, creating some distance from the unknown assailant. Who is it? Another gang?!

The sight of his assailant shocked him, however. “You? The idiot? How the -”

An eyebrow twitched on Alvin’s face, but he didn’t show any other expression, merely lunging forward with his right arm swinging his metal pipe downwards in a predictable slash.

Riker smirked and blocked the blatant incoming attack, but it was a feint, with Alvin instead punching out with his left arm, nailing him in the guts. Riker doubled over and fell onto his butt, grimacing as he tried to regain his stance, but it was far too late.

Alvin was already on top of him, attacking with the utmost precision, targeting all the major limbs and joints with the clear intent to break all of them. Riker screamed as he suffered a rapid barrage of strikes, unable to move any of his severely bruised and broken limbs. “You, who the fuck are you?” He roared in an attempt to scare Alvin off. “Don’t you know who I am? The Red Lions will never let you Seven Snakes off, you cocksucker!”

A swift kick to the jaw caused a snapping sound, rendering Riker unable to talk. Alvin leaned in close, glaring at Riker with bloodshot eyes. “My name is Kyle Hawthorn, Dominator of the Kablsk Spice Routes, Ruler of the Neadrsa Flow and Crime Lord of the Melsura Star Sector. And you? You are the first step to my new empire."

[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained [Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA

[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained [Martial Arts Expert] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX

[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained [Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans

WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN

Level 2

Max HP: 16(+0)(+0)(+0)

Max MP: 0(+0)(+0)(+0)

Max STA: 16(+0)(+0)(+0)

[Status Effects]NONE

[STATS]

Race

Human