Chapter 18 – Investing in Lethality

Grinning, I rub my hands together with great anticipation. This is the part I have truly been looking forward to. The most meaningful part of being a summoner type class. Since I have finally gotten around to getting my Charisma attribute to thirty, I am now able to recruit two more underlings. With a final manic smile, I utter my two favourite words. “Recruit Underling.”

You have entered a tavern located in a naval city. You will be able to recruit Underlings to bolster your ranks.

Please select one of the following underling types:

[Recruit a Fighter type Underling]

[Recruit a Rogue type Underling]

[Recruit a Ranged type Underling]

[Recruit an Agent type Underling]

[Recruit a Specialist type Underling]

Make your choice, Thief Lord.

Ah, the familiar recruitment window. I have put a lot of thought into what kind of underlings I need, and I believe I have decided on the most efficient option. I need a Specialist. They are the backbone of any criminal organisation, and it’s what differentiates the Thief Lords from most of the other summoner classes. The utility it offers is just staggering, but they also require a lot of time and energy to reach their full potential. Not to mention a buttload of gold. I select the Specialist option.

Available Specialists:

Tinkerer - Every thief has problems keeping their fingers to themselves. The Tinkerer turns it into an art form. They can craft anything from simple lockpicks to hidden compartments. You need it, the Tinkerer provides.

Enchanter - A thief requires a certain set of skills. Skills they may need to get augmented. An Enchanter can provide magical services most enchanters can’t or won’t do.

Poisoner - The life of a criminal is filled with strife. Sometimes, you need a little extra to tip the scales in your favor. A Poisoner can brew that extra something.

Fence - Are your pockets full of unwanted goods? Allow the fence to lighten your load. Only gold is a suitable replacement.

I burst into a wide smile. These options are great. Basically, they are three different types of NPC crafters who can make and provide goods that I can’t buy or steal, as well as someone to dump some of my workload off on. I really love the flexibility they offer, but they have certain downsides. A Specialist won’t level up in the normal way my underlings do, and they don’t learn new things on their own. I have to provide everything for them, be it recipes, crafting materials, or tools to perform their trade. The upsides are that once I have the required resources, they will be able to produce it, no matter what. The only limiting factor is that they cannot craft anything that is beyond my own current level. Yeah, it’s weird, but that’s game logic for you. I have to admit that it would be odd if the Poisoner could create a poison capable of killing a level one hundred player in one hit when I am below level five myself, just because I had deep enough pockets. Games don’t work like that, sadly. Or should I say luckily?

Regardless, the options are tough to choose from. I only think I should get one Specialist at a time since I can’t really afford to supply two crafters this early in the game. I will have to prioritize the one that gives me the best short-term benefits. The Fence is out of the question since I don’t really have anything to sell just yet. A fact I am planning on rectifying shortly.

I’ve thought a lot about it, and I think the only logical option is the Poisoner since it provides a raw boost to my underlings, unlike the Tinkerer and Enchanter who only provide utility. I need to increase the lethality of my troops, and the Poisoner seems like the most reasonable investment for the job.

I select the Poisoner, which only leaves one slot open for a new underling. No matter how much I’d like to get another Specialist, they won’t matter if I don’t have a sufficient combat force. Therefore, I decide to add another Hoodlum to the lineup. I noticed in my fights earlier how strong the ‘Grapple’ skill is. The ability to immobilize and pin down enemies is invaluable in a fight where the many fight the few. It’s also a fact that I need more high-level meatshields on the front of my combat line. The Cutpurse and the Spotter are both valuable members of any outfit I have, but they are reliant on a frontliner who can give them room to act.

After a short while, my two new underlings appear through the door. Much like my other men, these two survey the room carefully before they come to sit by my table. To my surprise, both of my new underlings are female. Not that it matters. This game doesn’t differentiate between genders. Like it should be.

Both of them are geared the same way my other four underlings were when they first spawned in. The female Hoodlum has the same spiked club my male Hoodlum had, and her dirty rags have seen better days. My Poisoner is slightly different though. Unlike the rest of my units, the Poisoner doesn’t have the same physique. The woman looks quite frail, even for an elf. With a noticeable hunchback, a hawk nose, and eyes that threaten to pop out of her skull, she almost looks like some sort of caricature of a witch from Greek mythology. I suppose it’s fitting, considering her profession. I inspect them for good measure.

[Dwarf Hoodlum(1) - Underling. Fighter. HP: 100/100. Infamy Tier 1.]

[Dark Elf Poisoner - Underling. Specialist. HP: 60/60. Infamy Tier 1.]

With my little gang up to full numbers, I decide it should be time to get a move on. I won’t be the best if I just sit around admiring my minions all day.

I take charge and head out of the tavern, getting a good view of the surrounding area. Ordering my units to take up a defensive perimeter around my Poisoner and walk a fair distance behind me, I start moving closer to the southern edge of the shoreline. My goal for this little excursion is to see if I can find an entrance to the sewers that I assume is here somewhere as that seems to be a prime location for me to grind some experience in relative safety from any encroaching players.

We spend the better part of an hour walking from alley to alley, lifting crates, and scouring the ground for any accessible hatch, but we come up empty. I’m almost ready to throw a fit of rage when I suddenly find myself at the southern tip of the Shanty Town, finding a major sewage outlet that appears to lead beneath the harbour.

I’m slightly surprised the entrance was this huge, but when I think about it, it’s in a really secluded area. The only people who would bother exploring this far into the Shanty Town most likely wouldn’t look twice at a possible sewer entrance. Who the hell would want to willing enter a sewer anyway, even if it’s virtual?

Whatever. Their loss is my gain. I’m eager to finally grind some much-needed exp, and it should be much more comfortable when I don’t need to look over my shoulder every minute.

I have my two Hoodlums take point, supported by my Spotter. The Cutpurse is taking up the rear as the Poisoner and I walk in relative safety at the center of the formation. We pick up a slow pace as I’m uncertain what level the creatures in here are if there even are any. It could be anything, and I’d be really pissed if I end up getting butchered by a bunch of mutated level twenty ratmen or something.

The sewers here are pretty similar to the sewers in the noob district, only slightly larger. My underlings can walk four men across with little room to spare, which is enough for us to be able to overwhelm any opponent if they show up. We walk on for about fifty meters until my frontline suddenly comes to a halt. Looking over my Spotter’s shoulder, I keep my eyes peeled for any hostiles. I stare down the dark tunnels for a few moments, spotting absolutely nothing. “What’s the holdup?” I ask, not really expecting an answer.

The Spotter grunts once as he points to the ground in front of my Hoodlums. Slightly confused, I squint towards the spot he is pointing at. It only takes me half a moment until a red outlining appears around a thin length of rope, stretching from one end of the tunnel to the other. “Shit, is that a trap?” I ask, only receiving a mute nod in return. Man, I really need to get myself some real conversation partners. This mute stuff is getting old.

I crouch near the length of rope, inspecting it closely. I follow the length of the rope to a small hook which seems to connect to a spiked wooden flail attached to the roof. It’s a really crude and simple trap that couldn’t possibly function in the real world, but it’s a trap nonetheless. I’m almost a little proud of my deduction until I realise I’m masquerading as a trap maker, which means that I almost walked straight into the first trap I ever came across. I’m not sure if I could live up to the shame if I got done in by a trap when I’m supposed to be an expert on such things.

I think the reason I couldn’t spot it is because my Perception attribute is pathetically low. The trap looks like a really low leveled one, and I still couldn’t spot it. Luckily for me, I don’t really require any Perception. I’m not a front line fighter, and I’m constantly using my underlings for everything. Since both my Spotter and my Cutpurse have reasonably high Perception scores, they can do all the spotting for me. Even with a low perception attribute, it’s not like my underlings can’t point things out for me like this. It’s actually sort of a godsend since I won’t have to bother investing a single point into Perception going forwards.

So… What the hell do I do with this trap? Do I intentionally spring it? None of my underlings have learned a disarm trap skill yet, and I’m not sure if I want to leave it up in case I stumble upon it on my way back. Then again, as long as I remember it’s there, then it shouldn’t be a problem avoiding it, but that might be hard considering the next time we walk through here, we might have a horde of high-level monsters chasing us.

Ordering my underlings to take a step back, I crouch and position myself to avoid the reach of the wooden flail. Poking the rope with the tip of my crossbow, I watch how the flail falls from the roof, swinging wide in the direction of where my head should have been. I get back on my feet and order my underlings to keep moving. That trap could have been really effective given the right circumstances, and I need to put some serious considerations into actually investing in a few Trap Maker skills. Maybe I should do it sooner rather than later?

I’m abruptly drawn out of my thoughts as a few loud screeching noises echo down the tunnel. Immediately halting in our tracks, my underlings grasp their weapons tightly and start walking slowly towards the noises. We only take a few steps until we come upon a small group of monsters.

[Sewer Rat(5). HP ???/???.]

[Sewer Rat(4). HP ??/??.]

[Sewer Rat(5). HP ???/???.]

My jaw drops as the name tags appear. Level four and five monsters!? And it’s three of them? This might be hard. The rats have already spotted us, and three sets of crimson eyes turn in our direction.

“Move up! Focus on the level four rat. Try to cripple one of the larger rats and tackle the other one.” I shout as I grab my crossbow. My two Hoodlums charge forwards to meet the incoming rats. My high-level Hoodlum grunts in pain as one of the level five rats lunges at his chest, toppling them both over. I loose my bolt towards the level four rat, barely missing as the bolt slams into the ground in front of it. This causes the rat to stagger, however, allowing my Spotter to cripple its leg with a well-aimed knife. Sensing an opening, the female Hoodlum lunges at the level four rat, activating ‘Grapple’ as she goes. That leaves the remaining level five rat squaring off against my Cutpurse.

The rat recklessly charges at my Cutpurse who nimbly dodges at every opportunity. He doesn’t get any openings to counter-attack, but at least he keeps the high-level rat occupied as we try to finish off the remaining rats. I quickly scurry and attempt to reload my crossbow as the sounds of combat intensifies around me. I already know my underlings are severely underleveled, but the enemies are still rats. If I can take out just one of them, my superior numbers should be able to sway the battle in my favor.

I finish reloading and raise my eyes once more to survey the battlefield. It’s absolute chaos. My dwarven Hoodlum failed at grappling the level four rat, and the two combatants are busy biting and hammering at one another. The dwarf might have already fallen if it hadn’t been because the Spotter managed to embed two more throwing knives into the soft belly of the rat. The Cutpurse seems to struggle against his opponent as I see he has two fresh bitemarks bleeding profusely from his wrist and left foot. He is still standing though, drawing out his fight against the higher level rat.

I frantically look around for my high-level Hoodlum, but I can’t see him. Last I saw them, they were both rolling down the tunnel further ahead. “Fuck. What do I do?” I wheeze as I grit my teeth. If I let this continue, all my underlings will die. I raise my crossbow, taking aim at the level four rat. My finger moves towards the trigger when I suddenly hesitate. Fuck. I suck with the crossbow. I’ve hardly hit anything with it so far, and its purpose has only been to momentarily distract the opponent in every fight I’ve had. I can’t afford to miss another shot.

My eyes flicker towards the Cutpurse who fails to dodge a lunge from the high-level rat, allowing the rat to ram into his chest, knocking them both over. “Fuck!” I curse as I run towards my downed Cutpurse. The rat is crawling up his chest, aiming for his exposed throat. Its fangs are about to descend when my foot mercilessly connect with its head, sending it tumbling backwards. The rat shakes its head in confusion once, before its eyes lock onto me. I didn’t spend my time idle though, as I charged towards its prone body, aiming my crossbow at its face from point-blank range.

“Eat this.” I sneer as I loose the bolt, watching it impale the rat’s skull.

[You have dealt 23 Piercing Damage (Critical Hit!) to Sewer Rat(5).]

The rat slumps forwards, stunned by the critical hit. Before it can regain its senses, I slam the stock of my crossbow on top of its skull, shifting the bolt, causing massive damage. The rat rolls over on its back, reeling in pain from my onslaught. Movement appears at my side as my Cutpurse slips past me, sinking his dagger deep into the throat of the dazed rat.

Trusting in the advantage my Cutpurse should now have, I turn around and charge back towards the place my dwarf and Spotter struggles against the level four rat. The rat has already taken massive damage, and its body looks like a pincushion from the five daggers sticking out of its body. My dwarven Hoodlum doesn’t fare any better though, and I can’t understand how the little woman is still standing. Wasting little time on worrying about such things, I charge ahead, swinging my crossbow wide as I once more punt the weakened rat over. It tumbles backwards, rolling twice before it comes to a halt. Raising its head to glare at its attacker, its eyes widen as a final throwing knife penetrates its left eye, ending the rat’s life in an instant.

Snapping my head back towards the tunnel ahead, I listen carefully for sounds of combat. I rush forward, keeping my eye out for my missing level three Hoodlum. I run for about ten meters when I find a bend in the tunnel. Looking around it, I bear witness to a mortal struggle between my Hoodlum and the final level five rat. My Hoodlum is littered with scratches and bite marks, and a part of his ear is missing. The rat has lost its tail, and there are two deep gashes along its brown hide. The Hoodlum is currently pinning the rat to the ground, while the rat has sunk its fangs deep into the fighter’s forearm. Both of them look like they could keel over at any moment.

I only give them a brief glance before I spring to action. Raising my crossbow above my head, I take careful aim before I slam it downwards, putting the full force of the nearly four kilo heavy weapon behind the swing. The crossbow impacts the rat on its belly, causing a large snapping sound to echo against the tunnel walls as the spine snaps in two. Gasping in pain, the rat loosens its hold on the Hoodlum, pulling its head back to screech loudly. My Hoodlum sees this, and quickly thrusts his sword at the rat, impaling its throat. With a wet squelching sound, the rat’s body goes limp as the energy drains from its body.

“Holy fuck…” I mutter as I bend forwards, resting my arms on my knees. “I can’t believe we did it.” I say as I let my body slump to the ground. I take a deep breath as I calm myself. “That was terrible.”