Chapter 31 – Army of Thieves

I really needed that break.

That heist really took the oomph out of me. My nerves are completely shot and I just need to spend a few hours not looking over my shoulder. The best way to do that is to go for a run and grab something extra greasy to eat, coupled with an ice-cold beer and the fifty-eight season of the Simpsons. The best season they created in my honest opinion.

In the end, though, I have to return to Ascendence Unlimited. It’s probably not good for my psyche, but I’ll survive. I always do.

Logging back into the game, I find myself back at the room I rented in the Shanty Town. Looking around, I find my underlings just where I left them. My Poisoner is hard at work and I’m pleased to see that she has managed to craft a decent batch of poisons for my underlings. They really came in handy during the heist, and I doubt I’d have a flying chance in hell of killing the guard without it.

My two Spotters are standing idly by in the corner, covering the door. I went against my better judgment and brought them up to my room, mainly because I needed a break more than I needed to be cautious earlier. I don’t regret the decision, but it will probably not become a common occurrence. There is just too much riding on my discretion.

A lot of things happened this morning, and I’m finally ready to go over the results. First of all, I bring up the notifications I discarded earlier.

The Job: Burglarizing Bard is Successful!

For untold acts of heroism or accomplishments of significance, Bards have been there to record it. There are few songs about Thief Lords, but your ballad is one filled with violence and blood. You secured your objective but at great cost. Your notoriety will surely rise with the sun this day.

Rewards: 400 Experience, (8) Pieces of Equipment, (1) Consumable, (1) Miscellaneous Items, 6 Gold, 2 Silver, 9 Copper.

The event sub-quest: Escape from The Bards is Successful!

There are many opinions on which quality is most suited for a Thief Lord. There is no absolute answer, but most agree you need a good pair of boots. There will be many trials ahead, Thief Lord. Prepare well.

Rewards: 100 Experience.

Okay; is it just me, or does the system messages get more ominous-sounding the more jobs I complete? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the system doesn’t like my approach to things. I have to object though since the majority of the events were out of my control, but still. Shouldn’t I get some points for at least attempting stealth? It’s not my fault the system and my karmic luck throws me a curveball every time. The system is rigged, and the system should know better.

One thing the system got right though, is the cost of the job. I managed to get out with some pretty sweet gear and an invaluable skill book, but I lost a lot of items. Everything my three underlings looted in the storage room was lost upon their deaths, and whatever the Beggar managed to lift off the dead guard is probably lining some lucky player’s pocket right now. That’s not the worst that could happen though. The worst part is that I lost all the gear my underlings were wearing. It’s over twenty gold worth of equipment, and that stings. Deeply. In the end, though, I still came out ahead, so it’s not like I will cry myself to sleep anytime soon.

Anyway, I’m back in the game now, and the job was a pyrrhic success. That means it’s time for me to partake in the spoils. After killing the guard, the huge experience gain I received was staggering. It’s unbelievably lucrative actually.

The way the experience gain works in this game is based on two things. The level discrepancy between the two opposing sides and the sheer number of people involved in the takedown. The majority of the experience I gained can be written off as the guard being fifteen levels higher than me. That’s four times the level I had. There’s no wonder my gains were astronomical.

The other factor is the number of people in the party. That’s where being a Villain shines the most. This game is inherently a group-oriented game, which means for most fights you need the cooperation of other players to win. If you share a kill, you will then also have to share the rewards. So when I’m playing as a Thief Lord, my underlings are considered to be an extension of myself. This means the game system recognises me as a solo player. That means I get the whole pool of experience and loot for myself, which is why I have the potential for leveling faster than other classes by grinding alone, as well as getting huge material gains for killing things. If it hadn’t been because of the huge demerits of dying, and a severe lack of healing options, there would probably be Villains running all over the place.

After killing the guard, I gained enough experience to reach level seven. Coupled with the rewards for finishing the job and the subquest, I’m already over halfway on my way to reach level eight. That’s not what excites me the most though. Nope. What I’ve really been waiting for is equipping my new stuff!

I open up my inventory and start equipping all of my newly acquired gear, taking a moment to appreciate each piece as I put them on. The pieces of armor look good. Almost a bit too good. The leather is light brown, and the exotic oils give it an extra shine to it. The stitchings are made with fine golden thread, and the patterns are embroidered to look like a piece of art rather than have practicality in mind. It doesn’t help that my hat has a gigantic feather sticking out of it, reminiscent of an ostrich.

Unlike the majority of the gear low-level players wear, these are all expertly crafted items. They are all made with style and showmanship in mind. These are definitely pieces made for a Bard, which makes it kind of awkward for a Thief Lord to wear, since, you know, I don’t want any attention drawn towards me. The wooden lute I wield is the cherry on top, completing the image of me being a low-level bard.

…

Yeah, I look suspicious as hell, don’t I? Who the hell would believe a Trap Maker would spend this kind of money on gear that doesn’t really give any benefits to my profession. Sure, some people could think I’m an eccentric rich kid who only cares about looks, but that would only draw the interest of even more parties. Stupid rich people are prime targets for scams, jealousy, and other means of exploitation after all.

I bring up my status, checking the stat gains.

Status:

Name: Rynorn Stabberton - Class: Thief Lord (Trap Maker)

Race: Halfling - Level: 7

Health: 150 - Mana: 460

Experience: 698/1300 - Renown: N/A

Attributes:

Strength: 5(5-10%) - Endurance: 15(5+10) - Agility: 6(5+2-10%)

Dexterity: 21(5+6+13/75%) - Perception: 5 - Intelligence: 46(5+54/75%)

Wisdom: 6(5+1) - Charisma: 54(27+22+10%) - Luck: 13(10+2+10%)

Unassigned attribute points: 6.

Equipment:

Weapon: Dented Spruce Lute. Uncommon. 2-4 Blunt Damage, +4 Charisma. +2 Dexterity. Requires level 6. *Contraband*

Off-hand: N/A

Helmet: Feathered Cap. Uncommon. 15% Physical Resistance, +3 Charisma, +1 Wisdom. Requires Level 6. *Contraband*

Neck: Amber Necklace. Rare. +4 Charisma. Requires: Level 3. *Contraband*

Shoulder: Embroided Leather Pauldrons. Uncommon. 15% Physical Resistance, +2 Endurance, +2 Charisma. Requires Level 6. *Contraband*

Chest: Embroided Leather Chest. Uncommon. 20% Physical Resistance, +4 Endurance, +3 Charisma. Requires Level 6. *Contraband*

Hands: Embroided Leather Gloves. Uncommon. 15% Physical Resistance, +3 Dexterity, +1 Charisma. Requires Level 6. *Contraband*

Ring 1: Engraved Silver Ring. Uncommon. +2 Charisma. Requires: Level 3. *Contraband*

Ring 2: Dealer’s Signet. Rare. +2 Luck, +1 Dexterity. Requires: Level 3. *Contraband*

Legs: Embroided Leather Greaves. Uncommon. 20% Physical Resistance, +4 Endurance, +2 Charisma. Requires Level 6. *Contraband*

Feet: Embroided Leather Boots. Uncommon. 15% Physical Resistance, +5% Movement Speed, +2 Agility, +1 Charisma. Requires Level 6. *Contraband*

Special: Villain’s Mask. Class-Unique. Soulbound. While wearing: Conceals your name but reveals your true class upon death.

Traits: (+)

Thief Lord basic abilities: (+)

Class skills: (+)

General Combat skills: (+)

General Social skills: (+)

Lesser Magic Schools: (+)

Profession: (+)

Unassigned Skill Points: 2.

Wow… Those numbers… Just wow. I don’t care how suspicious I look anymore. These stats are insane for my level! There is no way I can just discard this gear when I look upon these bonuses. I had a feeling this would happen at one point or another. Luckily, there is a solution. I just hoped I could postpone it for as long as possible, as doing it right now might become a death sentence.

Before I chose to play as a fake Trap Maker, I looked up tons of ways to help conceal myself better. One idea sprang to mind by complete coincidence. This game, like countless games before it, offers the possibility of getting cosmetic upgrades to their gear. This upgrade means that people can change the look of the gear they are wearing into something that looks different, without actually changing the gear and losing all their valuable stats.

This is a feature often used in the past since most gear, good as they may be, sometimes look horrendous. Truly and utterly disgusting in some cases. The solution to this problem is offering a way to pay for cosmetic changes to your gear. This doesn’t really improve the efficiency of your gear, but you can change the look of it into something that’s a little bit more aesthetically pleasing. Or in my case, something that doesn’t look quite so… Bardish. Sure, I could go around and tell everyone I used a cosmetic upgrade to my shitty gear, but since a complete overhaul costs thirty gold coins, most people would just consider it a waste of money this early in the game. For me though, this might truly boost my alias as a Trap Maker if I only change my gear to look like common crafter’s gear. This way, I could look far more inconspicuous while still retaining all the gear value from the Bard’s set.

The downside to the cosmetic upgrades though, is that they really only work in safe zones, and I need to enter a specialized shop to get the changes made. The problem here is the Cosmetics shop is located in the Market District, which is commonly known as player central station. Heading in there without my Perception-defences up is incredibly risky, but it’s not completely impossible. It’s a big risk to take, but it will be worth it in the end. All of Drenerys is considered a safe zone, which means the disguise will always be active, and I have no intention of leaving the city in the foreseeable future. It’s totally worth it.

Before all that though, I should perform my favourite activity. Yup, you guessed it. It’s time to recruit a whole army of underlings! With a Charisma attribute at fifty-four, I can recruit three new underlings! Even more, if I decide to allocate any of my six unassigned attribute points into Charisma. I was planning on assigning all my new points into Luck to prepare for the future, but it actually would be kind of silly not to allocate a single point into Charisma, as I only need one more point to recruit another underling. That’s a given. It’s really tempting to just throw the remaining five in there as well. I don’t have a lot of skills that benefit from Luck yet, and I do plan on spending my latest skill points and the next one into getting all the Trap Maker subskills. It will therefore still be a while until I can pick up any more Luck-based skills.

I don’t need much Luck yet, but I suppose I need to keep my future development path in mind. The Luck stat is hard to increase outside of level-ups, as there isn’t much gear out there that grants the Luck attribute. If I overinvest into Charisma now, I might suffer for it later. Therefore, I decide to put a single point into Charisma, raising it to fifty-five, and the remaining five into Luck.

Grinning like the beautiful bastard I am, I head downstairs into the tavern proper. I take extra care to make sure the tavern is void of players, and I soon find myself sitting in my favourite corner booth. My first order of business is to revive my previous fallen comrades-at-arms.

“Gold for Blood.”

The life of a Villain is strife with violence. Many will perish, be it your friend or foe. Life is precious. But, like everything in life, it has a price. You may pay for the blood with gold.

Tier 1 Underlings - Costs 5 copper per Underling.

-Human Hoodlum(7), Fighter.

-Human Cutpurse(7), Rogue.

-Dwarf Hoodlum(7), Ranged.

-Dwarf Beggar(5), Agent.

After a short moment, my four fallen underlings step into the tavern, good as new. They are decked out in the basic level one gear, but other than that, they look good as new. Or bad as new, however you wanna look at it.

As much fun as it would be to catch up with my mute underlings, I’m already perusing the recruitment tab before they even have time to sit down.

“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.

Excellent. I’ve done a little thinking about what I need next, and there are several factors to consider. I get to recruit four new underlings, and now that I’ve gotten to know the quirks of my class, I think I’ve come up with the best development path going forward. First of all, I can never have enough troops. My class is based around swarming my enemies with high numbers, striking quickly and efficiently before they have time to react. More hands also increase the rate I can grind experience since more underlings don’t mean that I personally get any less experience. Therefore, more fighters, rogues, and ranged units are an absolute priority.

I also have to consider my supporting units though. The Beggar is a valuable addition to my repertoire, and he works both with gathering intel, as well as being an efficient pawn during heists, whether it is through distractions or emergency escapes. As we know, the Beggar can uncover a single heist per day, two under special circumstances like with the Alchemist job. Now that I have more underlings at my disposal, I’m fairly certain I can manage to perform two heists per day. Not only is the loot great, but the experience makes it well worth it.

I can’t disregard the assistance of Specialists, but I already have a Poisoner, and the remaining Specialists just aren’t that vital to my operations as of yet. This is why I’ve decided to recruit another Cutpurse, a Beggar, and two more Hoodlums.

Confirming my choice, I sit around idly, waiting for my underlings to start appearing. Shortly after, my four fresh underlings enter through the tavern door. My two Hoodlums walk at the front, and I’m surprised to see they look almost identical. They are both half-breeds, where one part is human, and the other seems to be of orcish heritage. They are powerfully built men, with a sickly greenish tint to their skin and a small set of fangs protruding from their lower lips. Other than that, they look like a couple of regular humans, albeit a pair who suffers from a severe case of steroid abuse.

Following the half-orc twins, my Cutpurse worms her way through the room. Being a gnome, I hardly notice her behind the two hulking brutes. The gnome looks like any other gnome really. Her skinny body is surprisingly reminiscent of a human child's, and her head seems to be just a few sizes too large for the petite body. Her hair is of vibrant purple color, and her large orange eyes shine with ferocity, unlike the regular merry-go-lucky attitude of her kin.

The final underling to arrive is the human Beggar at the back, trailing carefully after her three more intimidating colleagues. She has dirty blonde hair, cut short with a strip of cloth tying her hair into a miniature ponytail. She walks with her shoulders dropped, showing off a posture that tells of her being subdued and frail. I know her looks are most likely a lie though, as I know you can’t be weak to survive in our line of work.

With my newest underlings gathered around me, it’s starting to feel a little crowded in here. Therefore, I send the majority of them back up into the room and have my Beggars head out to dig up a few new Heists. I only let my highest level Hoodlum and Cutpurse stay with me.

I should head out and get to work myself, but I have one final thing to do before I proceed. Something I’ve been looking forward to since I started playing as a Thief Lord. Oh, yeah. It’s happening!

It’s time to get a Lieutenant.