[Mission log]
[You have received a new mission]
[D-rank Mission - Patrol
A group of warriors from the [Etherum Military Warrior Academy] has been deployed to halt the distribution of [Viscus], a new experimental drug refined by Acteon, which is highly addictive due to its magical components. The D-rank drug has the potential to dominate the market in the lower districts and represent danger. Acteon wants to delay this investigation as much as possible, thus sending you to hunt them down.
Task - Chase the Ethreum Military Warrior Students (0 / 5)
Optional - Kill them (0 / 5)
Rewards: 2000 Credits, 100 Reputation in District 77]
"Some news, boss?", Leon asked as I left the sewers, where the mighty underworld organization "Doomsmiths" decided to locate their headquarters. As much as I voiced my unwillingness to go to the sewers, Acteon was not someone who listened to his subordinates and never considered changing locations.
To him, the sewers were a convenient hiding spots where he could experiment on corpses as much as he wanted to without raising suspicions about stench, as the sewers were not known for their good smell.
As a warrior, my stats were all higher than the norm, and it included my senses as well, a perk that came with agility. Unfortunately, strong senses were not always good, and since my sense of smell was very developped, it also came with an inability to stay in those headquarters of mine for more than a couple of hours before feeling nausea, or worse.
"Yes, a new mission. Assemble the rats and ask them to find students from the Etherum Military Academy. Do not attack them, and just report their location to me when you find them. A simple voice message would suffice", I ordered
Instantly, Leon pulled out some netrunner gear, which was the modern version of a computer, everything being hologrammic and coming out of a small chip he had inserted into his arm. Netrunners were not a combat profession, yet they were just as important, if not more important as they were absolute experts in hacking and creating cybernetic gear.
Just like potioneers were a sub-profession of mages, some gunners and warriors or even mages had talent in hacking and engineering, thus turning into proficient netrunners. Unfortunately, it was rare for someone to excel in both combat and crafting, which is why despite his fancy chip, Leon was not even considered an E-rank netrunner. However, he did know how to shoot people down, and that was the primary reason why Leon had become my right hand.
"Only the rats? Understood", Leon softly nodded
"Yeah, no need to trouble the rest of the legion", I spoke, remembering the tough battle that had been just fought in Valter's ambush. Acteon surely was scared for him to send me to handle some rats.
However, the mission rating had always been pretty accurate so far. Since it was only ranked D-grade, I assumed it was not that difficult. In any case, it would take at least a day before the rats would find anything, knowing the stealth of military students. Though they are just students, they need some skills before being allowed to come down to those filthy streets. Third-year, maybe even four-year students were involved this time. At the very least, they were E-rank warriors, but based on the mission grade, they probably were D-ranks themselves.
Of course, it would not be much of an issue. Although I was a D-rank warrior myself, my stats were well above that of regular D-rank warriors. I even had a [Martial Skeleton] talent, a rare genetic trait that had been left unexploited by my parents. Well, I never knew my mother, and my father happened to be a factory guy who knew nothing but glimpses of my life as an officer in the Doomsmith Underworld Organization, to avoid saying gang.
Though he could have retired a long time ago with the money I brought to the household, the old man never stopped working at this recycling factory. From what I had read, it was his ikigai, his sense of purpose to provide for me. I tried to convince him, but he never listened. Unfortunately, I was not his real son, and I had little feelings for an NPC.
"I am home!", I shouted upon entering my small appartment.
The furniture was clean, and there was an ULTRA 16K hologrammic screen displaying the local information
"Local authorities have reported a huge explosion in District 77 local guild [Dawn], an unprecedented accident for the rising C-rank guild. In the process, the remains of Valter, the C-rank warrior who had graduated from the Etherum Military Academy with the highest honours, is still missing to this date-"
The news depicted local events from the district, and unsurprisingly, my actions featured in the news.
"Have you heard?", my father asked, "Valter...is missing. What will happen to the gates?"
"Nothing will change for us, dad", I replied, "Haven't you seen that the Doomsmiths take care of everything? The Dawn guild will be disbanded after this"
*SIGH*
My father sighed, rightly so. He was just an average human, and to him, a rising gang was not good news, especially one with the reputation of the Doomsmiths. Besides distributing drugs, it was an economic monolith with five D-rank officers and a necromancer at its head. Though Acteon was not known from the public, there were rumours, and the rest of officers were mostly scums.
One specialized in distributing drugs. He was called [Crow], and he was a scary gunner. If not for his addiction to gambling, he might have reached C-rank already. With more resources at hands, it was only a matter of time before he would reach this realm of strength, especially with Acteon becoming more proficient in creating elixirs.
But elixirs without training were mostly wasted products, which is why my legion, the [Doom Legion], was growing so fast compared to other units. Crow's subordinates, despite being here for longer, could not handle my subordinates.
Crow was the strongest individual, but he was not the most influential.
[Witch Laylah] was even more terrifying. As a D-rank mage, she was pretty well-versed in assassinations and information. She handled the [House of pleasure], mainly establishments handling the needs of lonely humans, regardless of sex. I hated interacting with her, as she had a strange obsession with kids, and she happened to know my true identity, which was not surprising considering she was the main source of information for the gang. For some reason, she had never revealed it to anyone, not even Acteon, yet she enjoyed tormenting my sacred school time with her antics, herself being my senior.
Although it was surprising that she was stuck in district 77 considering her mage status and even talent, she was a dark mage like Acteon, and his disciple.
There was [George], a D-rank warrior in charge of protection. He was the one with the most thugs under him, but unlike Crow or myself, he preferred quantity over quality. Most of the thugs under him were not even professions, but they were strong enough to beat regular people. He was in charge of what was commonly called the 'rats'. Racketeering those who did not pay the protection fee, and loaning money in exchange of absurd interest rates, George was efficient as a loan shark and racketeering. He also had an imposing build. Although he used to be the leader of a gang, he had submitted after Acteon cast a curse on him.
The fourth officer was called [Doc Juan]. He held zero fighting capacity, but was a D-rank netrunner with some impressive hacking and cybernetic engineering skills. He also oversaw the finances of the group, and he was probably just as important as Acteon in terms of status. Without him, the Doomsmiths would be facing countless lawsuits from businesses and face a struggle to successfully manage and pay commissions to the thugs under the gang flag. However, he was a man who happened to be very smart. He was pretty young too, being middle-aged at most.
Then, there was me. Greem. Since it was a common name, most people called me the [Blood Sword] due to my fighting addiction, but truthfully, I was pretty influential, though I only trained 9 blokes. My influence was pretty high, especially since I managed to hire Leon under me. D-rank professions were not very common-place after all. Usually, D-ranks were leaders of gangs.
"There is some food in the refrigerator if you want", my father continued, as if he felt the need to cover the silence with words, as if the news were not enough
"Good, thank you", I said automatically, feeling sorry for the old man. I had taken over his son, and became a gangster instead. For sure, he blamed himself for me 'turning bad', though he had no idea how strong I really was. Otherwise, he would not feel so sorry.
However, I had no intention to break my cover to satisfy him. In my eyes, he was the NPC father of my character. I would still go to school and earn my silver-star citizenship as an elite athlete. At least, I would earn myself some status from the government and get access to healthcare in case my father fell ill. It was not something I could earn with my status of gangster, and it was not something that could be bought either.
Since it cost me nothing to do, it was the only reason why I was still going to school.
Well, it was not the only reason.
Now that I could afford private school, I might as well take advantage from it. It was not anything like the Noble Etherum Academies, but it still possessed a lot of common knowledge that I currently lacked. Even after two years in this world, my worldview was often clouded by my outdated game knowledge. There were more efficient ways to consume elixirs, some that were forgotten too. It allowed me to see what could be transmitted to my subordinates, and what should be kept strictly for myself.
This allowed me to survive two years without suspicions and get stronger in the process.
Plus, as an elite athlete, I was pretty popular and was given a lot of free time, so it was not like it prevented me from my 'other activities'.