Chapter 33 – Gold Drain

Huh.

It seems like lady luck is finally shining down on me. I already knew the sewer system would also stretch beneath the other city districts, but to so quickly come across an entrance? It’s amazing. I wonder if I should sneak a peek into the sewers to see what types of enemies are down there. Obviously, I would do it just to gain some tactical information of course, and not just to satiate my curiosity. On the other side, I should probably just keep my head down and head over to the vanity store before more players log on after finishing school or work.

The smart thing to do is get the cosmetic upgrades as soon as I can, but curiosity sometimes gets the better of me. It would be nice to see what I would be up against by the time I have to branch out and away from the Shanty Town, and it wouldn’t hurt to know what is down there in case something bad happens later and I need a way to retreat. Yeah. That sounds like a plausible reason.

Climbing down into the sewers, I’m met by an intense stench, far worse than the sewers back in the Shanty Town. Instinctively pinching my nose shut, I’m of half a mind to climb back up and never come back when the sound of a roaring waterfall reaches my ears.

My interest once more piqued, I inch my way down the corridor, being extra careful to keep an eye out for any traps. I don’t know what level this zone is, but I feel like I can’t be too careful when it comes to this place. The corridor is rather short, and I don’t walk for more than fifty meters until the corridor tilts and opens up into a large cavern. Peeking around the corner, my jaw drops as I look out over a gigantic cistern, located directly beneath the Market District. The Cavern is nearly three hundred meters across, and I can’t even see the bottom from where I stand. The walls are made up of perfectly chiseled blocks of stone and there are large alcoves located high up and along the dark walls. Six evenly spaced rivers of raw sewage enter from the edges of the cavern, disposing their filth deep into the depths below.

The sight is beautiful, in a disgusting and unsanitized sort of way. It’s so mesmerizing, I even forget to hold my nose shut while I stare at the beauty of it all. The stench eventually grabs hold of my attention, and I turn to leave when I notice a few of the natives only a short distance away. It’s a group of bipedal creatures, hunched over with thick brown fur. They are wielding an assortment of rusted weapons and armor, and they have small beady red eyes that scan their surroundings attentively. I inspect the closest creature.

[Ratman Scout(21). HP ???/???.]

…

Yeah, I’m out of here.

Turning around, I sprint back down the corridor. This place is way above what I can handle at the moment, but I’m glad that I at least know what’s down here. Practically leaping out of the sewers, I take a moment to make sure the hatch is properly sealed behind me. I don’t know if it’s possible, but I’d rather not risk any of those ratmen following me up here. Those little buggers looked like they could actually climb a ladder.

The remainder of the trip is rather uneventful. The sewer entrance was only two blocks away from the vanity store, and the store itself is in a rather secluded corner of the district. Since most people don’t have the coin to spend on frivolous things like cosmetic upgrades as of yet, the store is completely void of people.

Actually buying the cosmetic upgrades isn’t that hard, but it certainly puts a dent in my wallet. Fully customizing your gear usually costs roughly thirty gold, but seeing as I use an item kit as a template, I manage to circumvent the majority of the costs. The kit’s appearances aren’t flashy, so I can’t say I really get a bang for my buck, but it more than serves its purpose. The set is considered a single item, as it covers both my chest, leg, and feet slot all for the price of one. That leaves me with only needing to customize the head, shoulders, and gloves slot. Therefore, instead of spending thirty coins on the upgrade, I can get away with paying only fifteen gold coins. It’s not the highest amount of money, but I’d really prefer it if I didn’t have to waste it on frivolous things like this.

Finding items to replace the helmet and gloves slot are easy, considering I already have the spectacles and knuckle dusters from earlier. I didn’t have a cosmetic template for the shoulder slot, but I could replace it with a general shop-owned template for a small extra fee. I ended up choosing the cheapest option, so the extra cost was negligible. Still, that’s money I’d rather spend on rent.

A fun thing that comes to mind is that with this purchase, I have actually spent more money than I have earned so far. That is of course if I don’t count the three hundred gold bribe I received from Greg and Kevin; bless their souls. I really lucked out on that one, and I’ll be certain to spend another great slump of their donation on better gear for my underlings.

…

Yeah, that’s going to cost me an arm and a leg.

Finishing up my transactions, I look over my character. I actually look pretty decent, all considering. The only trouble I run into is that I can’t get a cosmetic upgrade to a weapon that differs too much from the original. It would be weird if my lute suddenly looked like a dagger after all. It’s not ideal, but I can always play it off by saying I need the Dexterity bonus for my craft and that the Charisma helps with buying and selling wares. It’s not an unreasonable claim, and most crafters just equip whichever weapon gives them the greatest stats anyway. I’d still prefer it if I found something else though, like a gilded dagger or a dueling sword, but I’d hate to give up on the attribute points regardless.

Finally looking like a regular crafter schmuck, I start the long trek back towards the Shanty Town. The return trip goes a little faster, mostly because I have already mapped out the best route to take.

Returning to the Shanty Town, I decide to not immediately head back to the tavern. As much as I’d love to get my underlings moving, it would be a waste to send them off without proper gear. I really hate this part of the plan, but as easy money comes, easy money goes.

I head southeast until I come upon the Shanty Town’s version of a market square. I quickly located Ulf’s Weapons’n’Armor, heading inside to greet the grumpy silver-toothed fence.

The sour dwarf quickly closes down shop upon seeing me, followed by digging up a few crates filled with stolen weapons and armor. Perusing through his wares, I momentarily consider spending one of my precious Skill Points on a haggling skill, but I dismiss the idea. I will definitely pick one up later when I don’t have this many other priorities though.

Losing the majority of my underlings earlier put me at a severe disadvantage. Not only did I lose gear that was worth over twenty gold, I now have to rebuy said items, as well as equipping four more underlings. My inner hoarding demon shoots curses my way, but it’s a necessary expense.

I end up buying armor for every single one of my combat underlings, as well as new weapons for the two highest level Hoodlums. Luckily, the dagger I swapped out earlier when I found the letter opener is still in my possession, so I don’t bother buying a new weapon for my highest level Cutpurse quite yet.

Browsing through Ulf’s wares, I pick out the following items.

4x [Heavy Leather Armor Set. Common. +30% Physical Resistance, Per level gain: +1,5 Strength, +1,5 Endurance, +1 Agility, +0,5 Dexterity. Requires: NPC, Fighter Classification. *Contraband*]

2x [Shadowed Leather Armor Set. Common. +25% Physical Resistance, Per level gain: +1,5 Agility, +1 Perception, +1 Dexterity, +0,5 Constitution, +0,5 Strength. Requires: NPC, Rogue Classification. *Contraband*]

[Light Leather Armor Set. Common. +20% Physical Resistance, Per level gain: +1,5 Dexterity +1 Agility, +1 Perception, +0,5 Constitution, +0,5 Strength. Requires: NPC, Ranged Classification. *Contraband*]

2x [Thick Shortsword. Common. 19-22 Slashing Damage, +4 Strength, +2 Dexterity. Requires: Level 7. *Contraband*]

The transaction costs me a staggering forty gold coins, eight silver, and five copper. It almost feels like throwing gold down a drain, but it is worth it. At least Ulf was a decent enough bloke to knock off a one gold discount for buying wares in bulk. My dad would probably slap me silly if he knew I just spent over forty euros on buying clothes for a couple of computer programs though. Any normal player would probably shake their heads at my frivolous spending, but the bonuses I get from the equipment is just too valuable. The amount of gold I just spent is huge, but it’s not as bad as it looks. The problem with equipping gear in role-playing games is that the higher your level rises, so does your need for more powerful equipment.

While this is true for me, it’s not the case for my underlings. Being NPCs, they are bound by a different set of rules. Instead of equipping singular items as a player would, the NPCs use scalable item sets. This means they can use the same set of gear at level one as they can at level one hundred. This alleviates the need for me to spend endless amounts of money on equipping my underlings every few levels without going bankrupt. I’m not quite as lucky when it comes to weapons though, but luckily for me, there are plenty of common grade weapons dropped my humanoid monsters and enemies throughout the world. They may be the worst weapons of the lot, but it sure beats buying new ones all the time.

Storing the loot in my inventory, I bid the scowling dwarf goodbye and head out. It’s been a fruitful day of shopping, and I think I’ve done everything I can to prepare my underlings for the struggles ahead.

I make good time heading back towards the tavern, only taking a slight detour to pick up all my stuff from the container I hid in the warehouse. With my Charisma attribute back at fifty-five, I head into the tavern and resume command over my loitering underlings.

As I hand out the new gear to my underlings, Cobra walks up to me.

“I’m glad you’re back, boss. Was getting a little crowded in here.” He grunts in his raspy voice. “I like the new digs. Proper gear for a good stabbing I reckon.” He grins with pleasure, taking a few practice swings with his new short sword.

“I’m glad you think so. You’ll be using it soon. We’re headin down into the sewers to grind some experience for the new recruits.”

“Ah? Excellent. Nothing beats a good old ass-kicking to train the fresh meat.” He grins maniacally. “Almost as fun as taking a fresh young wench for a spin, that is.” He laughs, slapping his belly as he inhales sharply.

Uhm. I scratch my head. This new guy is kind of... odd. I like that he is cheerful, but I didn’t expect him to have this much personality. Sure, it’s nice that I finally have someone to talk to and all, but I wasn’t really expecting to talk to the poor man's version of a frat boy. Do I like this? I’m not sure. If he keeps this up though, I might start to think I was better off when he was a mute.

…

Maybe he’ll grow on me... Maybe... Hopefully. Ah, who am I kidding? Of course, he will.

————--

Our crusade through the sewers is actually kind of dull. There is a hell of a lot of us, and we hardly fit into the narrow corridors down here. These corridors were designed to support a party of five, maybe six players, and that would be stretching it. There are nine of us now, and it doesn’t leave us much elbowroom to walk around.

I’ve pretty much given up on being of any help during this grind, and I’ve reduced myself to walk solemnly at the back, spamming my skills and spells as often as the timers and my mana permits, only to occasionally walk to the front to disarm any traps if we come across any. My underlings certainly don’t need any help fighting the monsters down here.

With Cobra being an elite underling as well as being supported by several of my high-level underlings with top-notch gear, the fights are ridiculously easy. Not only are the monsters ranging from level four to six, but my underlings are so numerous and vastly overpowered, it isn’t even a challenge. This is completely different from when I played as a Necromancer where I didn’t have the option of equipping all my skeletons with this kind of gear. Thief Lords sure have it good, don’t they?

Normally, being this overpowered wouldn’t bother me, but the going is too slow. We may slay heaps and bounds more monsters now than we have ever done before, but the gains are abysmal. Not only do they provide next to no experience points when they die, but they also have reduced item drop rates the lower levels they are. This is dreadfully inefficient, and I might have to go look for some better hunting grounds soon.

The only positive gain from this little excursion though, is that it’s a perfect leveling ground for my low-level underlings. After a good seven hours of grinding, my Spotters have reached level six and five, and my three freshest underlings just pushed into level four. The loot I’ve gained is hardly worth mentioning, so I guess it’s time for me to call it quits. It wasn’t very fun, and with the reduced experience gains, there is hardly a point to keep grinding down here. The most important thing is that all my underlings can at least participate in combat without being a complete liability.

No, if I am to get anywhere, I need to change my hunting ground. Due to a little scouting around the district, I figured out that the Shanty Town sewers spawn monsters ranging from level four to nine. Naturally, one would think that I still have plenty of level-appropriate monsters to slay, but there is a slight problem. The appropriately leveled monsters are all at the eastern parts of the sewers. Normally, this wouldn’t be much of an issue for me, but it takes me dangerously close to the areas where Greg and Kevin are currently grinding. I could risk it and go down there to grind, but a single slip up could mean the end of my character. If the Dark Pegasus guild figures out that there is a Thief Lord loose in the city, one that has also discovered the secret leveling zone in the sewers, then I’d be royally screwed to such an extent, I wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of ever recovering from the blow.

That’s why I need to figure out where the leveling zone from level ten to twenty is located. I already know the Market District houses level twenty plus monsters, so that should narrow down where I can find the appropriately leveled monsters. Luckily, the number of districts in the city are in the single digits. And since these games usually follow a linear pattern of progression, it’s reasonable to predict where the next zone is supposed to be.

While the Noob District to the southwest holds monsters ranging from level one to three, and the Shanty Town has monsters from level three to nine, the next leveling zone must be in one of the three nearby districts. Since I already know the Market District to the north has monsters in the level twenty range, that leaves the Harbour District to the northeast, or the Residential District to the northwest. Going by sheer gaming logic, it’s reasonable to assume the appropriate leveling zone is by the Harbour. The Harbour shares a border with the majority of the Shanty Town and is thus much more easily accessible. Also, since the Residential District is so ludicrously huge, I can safely assume the sewers under that district should contain monsters spanning over a much wider range than level ten to twenty. This is just pure speculation, but gaming logic is almost always applied to these sorts of scenarios, and all the warning signs point towards the Harbour.

So, what am I wasting time around here for? Let’s see what the Harbour district has to offer!