Shaggy ducked a wild hook and responded with an uppercut. The gang member’s head snapped back, and he collapsed in a pile on the dirt road. Shaggy took a deep breath and glanced around. Ren had kicked a thug into a nearby building while Vlad was flitting from person to person, jamming his nails through them. Even Slink had gotten in on the fight, if at least a little. He watched Moe slither back to its master as he opened his Evolution menu.

Lycanthropy Mutation Tree

* Attack Lvl 5

* Claws Lvl 15

* Sharpness Lvl 3

* Bone Claws -

* Defense Lvl 2

* Utility Lvl 5

* Regeneration Lvl 25

* Limb Regen Lvl 2

* Pain Suppression Lvl 0

* Partial Transformation Lvl 1

Points: 5

General Tree

* Toughness Lvl 15

* Thick Skin Lvl 5

* Skin Resistances Lvl 1

* Reflexes Lvl 15

* Quick Hands Lvl 5

* Manual Dexterity Lvl 2

* Mind Lvl 13

Points: 10

He had accrued a decent amount of points. He just needed to figure out where he wanted them. His Defense tree didn’t have an evolution yet and his Mind stat was only two points away from an evolution as well. But with the point transfer not being 1 for 1, he didn’t know if he had enough points for the Defense evolution. Finally, he decided to just do it. Usually with Mutations, the gains were worth the point expense.

* Defense Lvl 5

* (Evolution gained) Tough Bones Lvl 0

Points: 0

Tough Bones

Your bones become tougher to break or shatter and you are overall denser. At higher levels, your bones are as tough as metal.

The downside is you are more likely to drown. Try to avoid any large bodies of water.

* Mind Lvl 15

* (Evolution Gained) Enhanced Focus Lvl 0

Points: 6

Enhanced Focus

Your mind becomes hyper focused and you can process sensory information faster. At higher levels, it’s like the world

is moving in slow motion. But it isn’t, so don’t get caught staring slack-jawed at the world.

Shaggy sighed. It took all 5 points to raise his defense to level 5 and another 4 points to raise his mind stat. Grimacing, he put 1 point into Enhanced Focus to test it out and then put points into Toughness until it leveled. At the end of it all, he had 2 points left over in his General Tree.

* Toughness Lvl 16

* Enhanced Focus Lvl 1

Points: 2

They really needed to find some tougher enemies. Slaughtering a bunch of lowbie gang members was getting tiresome, and the points weren’t worth it. A body sailed past his vision as he dropped out of his menus. As the woman flew by, he belatedly noticed that she was wearing a black T-shirt with some band logo on the front, blue jeans, and she had two bleeding holes in her neck. Shaggy shook his head as that information just suddenly appeared in his mind.

“Guess that’s what Enhanced Focus does.” He muttered as he tried to gather his wits.

The information he was cataloging, just from the surrounding area, was a lot to parse. Soon his mind seemed to acclimatize to the information, and he looked around. Vlad was standing nearby, blood dripping from his chin. The vampire looked annoyed as the others joined him. Apparently, the fight was over.

Shaggy saw Moe slither up into Slink’s pants and under his shirt. He shivered as the kid closed his eyes and let the snake back into his body. At least the kid had stopped moaning when that happened. Ren looked none the worse for wear as he walked over counting the credits that were in his hand. Shaggy handed Ren the cred reader, as Vlad said.

“We have to find tougher enemies. We have been going for hours now and my point values are shit.”

“They ain’t worth much either.” Shaggy added. “Took five just to Evo my Defense cell and then another eight to Evo Mind and raise Toughness.”

Ren finished with his credits and glanced up at them. “Well, you guys said it yourselves. Weaker enemies are worth fewer points and their values aren’t great either. Although honestly, I am also not doing great for experience.”

“Has it really been hours?” Slink said.

Shaggy nodded. “In-game it has, but don’t forget the time dilation. 4 hours in game is equal to 1 hour out of game.”

“Whew, man, that’s a relief. I have to join my dad for dinner in a few hours. But I may be back right after.”

Shaggy and the others nodded in understanding.

“What’s ‘a few hours’?”

Slink seemed to check his clock again before answering. “3 real world hours.”

Vlad waved a hand dismissively. “That’s plenty in-game. We need to find ourselves a better class of criminal. We have practically cleared the blocks around the bar and our hideout. Time to range.”

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea, except I would add one caveat.” Ren said.

“Which is?”

Ren rubbed his chin as he looked around. “We split up. Also, that can be our routine for the next few days. Going around in a group is fun and all, but I kinda want to see what I can get up to down here alone.”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“So we patrol our little kingdom together and then we split up and see what kind of damage we can cause alone?” Shaggy asked, nodding along. Although he saw that, Slink looked pensive.

Surprisingly, it was Vlad who placated the kid. “Don’t worry, junior. If you want, you can hang with one of us while we are out and about.”

Vlad looked at Shaggy and Ren, who nodded their heads in agreement. Slink looked a little annoyed and happy at the same time. But eventually he shook his head.

“Naw, you guys already threw me into the deep end and I did okay. Now I want to see how I do alone down here.”

Ren smiled happily. “Good. Then we can meet at the bar occasionally to drop off some credits and discuss what we have found.”

Again, they all nodded and were about to go their separate ways when a loud voice shouted out from a nearby alley.

“Halt!”

Shaggy and the others turned as one, each bringing up their fists or claws. Shaggy’s new focus quickly sorted through what he was seeing as three large green creatures stepped out of the dark alleyway. They weren’t as tall as Ren, being a little over seven feet tall, but they looked just as muscular. They were also carrying some familiar-looking weapons.

The lead giant lizard crouched down, spear at the ready as the two that flanked him also readied their weapons. The one in front held a new-looking and forged metal spear, while the other two were holding what amounted to large wooden clubs. Shaggy saw recognition flash in the others’ eyes before he put his hands up and searched his memory for what this group was called.

“Whoa there! We… uh, are friends of the… err, brute clan?”

The lead brute lizard’s spear tip dipped a bit as he gazed at them in confusion. But soon he snapped it back up and looked at them with caution. The other two lizards glanced at each other but kept their battle ready stance. While Shaggy was curious about how they would fare in a fight against these big lizards, he felt like he owed it to his lizard friend to try to at least be cordial.

“The brute clan has no friends down here.” The lead lizard shouted.

Shaggy squinted in confusion as he kept his hands up. “What about your professor friend?”

That seemed to bring the three lizards up short. They even fell into an impromptu huddle as they had a whispered conversation. As they did, Shaggy and the others glanced at each other. He also noticed he was the only one with his hands up. Shaggy put his hands down as he said.

“So I guess these guys are who the Professor was talking about and who Ephemara was supposed to monitor.”

“They’re a lot bigger than I was imagining.” Vlad nodded.

“There freaking huge. What was that player, the runt of the litter or something?” Slink asked, still staring at the huddle of lizards.

Ren wobbled his head noncommittally. “Sure, they are big, but not really tall.”

Shaggy glanced up at his large friend. “You realize you're eight and half feet tall, right?”

Ren scratched his cheek, embarrassed, as it became apparent that he didn’t remember how tall he was. Shaggy was about to berate the rhino-man further, but he was interrupted.

“We would like clarification on the one you call ‘professor.’”

Shaggy turned back to the lizards. “About six feet tall, lean, wears a lab coat, also has a metal arm.”

“He also is some kind of inventor or crafter.” Vlad threw in.

One of the club lizards nodded happily before he put his club back through a loop on his belt. “See, that’s the lab lizard, for sure. That means they are friends. Right, Terry?”

The other lizard put his club away as well, nodding along. “Seems that way, George”

The leader with the spear still looked suspicious. He trudged his way forward, spear still held loosely in his hand. As he approached Shaggy, their height disparity grew more noticeable. Shaggy straightened his back and cursed at his lack of foresight. He figured making his in-game character the same height as he was in real life would make getting used to his digital body easier. Now here he was, face to chest, with a giant shirtless lizard.

“What are you doing out here?”

The lizard’s tone brook no argument and really Shaggy didn’t see a reason to hide anything from their would-be neighbors and hopefully future allies.

“Clearing out the gangs around our bar.” He answered simply.

“Why?”

“Because we are taking over these couple of blocks and we need to keep our territory safe.”

The leader’s grip tightened on his spear. But Shaggy just stared up at the big lizard. He couldn’t get a good read on the lizard’s non-human features. He was beginning to think that the lizard was anger and about to attack them when one of the other lizards, Terry maybe, spoke up.

“Oh just leave it, Nagel. They aren’t a threat.”

Nagel nodded in agreement, but said. “No, they aren’t. But they could become one.”

“Hey, look. The professor is a friend of ours and he asked us to steer clear and not cause trouble for you guys. He did me a solid once, so I have no problem with his request.” Shaggy said.

“But if you would like something more formal, we could enter negotiations with your leadership?” Vlad’s voice spoke up from behind Shaggy.

Nagel snapped his head to the vampire and seemed to consider the offer. Shaggy, for his part, sighed. He had no problem not getting involved with the lizards, but negotiations weren’t his thing. Sure, he had to do it for work IRL, but in-game he wasn’t really into the politicking that went on sometimes.

“That sounds… agreeable.” Nagel said before pointing a finger and Shaggy. “You and another of your delegation shall return with us to the mansion. Our leader will decide the stance of the Brute Clan.”

Shaggy sighed again before shooting daggers at Vlad. “Yeah, vamps. You’re definitely coming.” Turning to Ren and Slink, he added. “You two can do your own thing. We’ll met back at the bar in a few hours.”

Vlad happily agreed, while Ren put a large hand on Slink’s shoulder and led the young man off. Shaggy gave Nagel his best professional smile and indicated that he could lead the way. Terry and George walked over and took positions on either side of Shaggy and Vlad, and the five of them marched westward with Nagel in the lead. Shaggy looked over at Vlad, annoyed.

“This was unnecessary. All we had to do was not get in their way and ask them to not get in ours.”

“Bah! Volfy, Ve need to get to know our neighbors. Also, having an agreement in place will help us expand easier.” Vlad said, accent back in place.

“You really only do that to annoy me, don’t you?” Shaggy said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Also, I hate this corporate agreement nonsense. Everyone always thinks that these kinds of negotiations are fun and interesting, but, trust me, these things are tedious and headache inducing.”

“Then just leave the talking to me, Volfy. I shall come to an agreement with these honorable warriors.” Vlad said, shooting a grin at Terry… or was it George?

Shaggy groaned and shook his head. Vlad dropped his accent before he added in a whisper. “Besides, if you haven’t noticed, these guys are apparently based on our western side. So if we can secure an alliance, then our western border is secured and we can worry about the other three directions.”

“Western border? We’re not a country here. We only have a few blocks, if that. Who knows if we can hold them if any big gang comes swinging in?”

“That’s the way we gotta think, Shags. We are a new group looking to expand into hostile territory, so locking down a direction will be invaluable. Also, we may be able to see about manpower.”

Shaggy glanced around at their stoic traveling companions. He had to admit the idea of having a squad of these guys was pretty tempting. But he eventually shook his head.

“Dude, we don’t even know how many are down here. They could be a small group like ours. We can’t rely on them just yet…”

He trailed off as Nagel lead them around a corner onto a large main dirt road. A large bronze gate with Brute clan guards to either side stood at the end of the road. Beyond the gate was a dirt field leading up to a mansion. In that field were dozens upon dozens of makeshift tents. Which seemed to house hundreds more giant lizards. Shaggy felt his jaw drop at the sight.

There had to be an entire colony of the Brute Clan down here. As they approached, Shaggy thought he could see children as well. He heard Vlad grunt smugly as they stopped in front of the gate. Nagel had a whispered conversation with a guard, who was sipping something hot from a paper cup. Soon the guards pushed open the gate, and they were led into the compound proper.

As they passed, Shaggy could see that while that gate was sturdy and still standing, the brick walls surrounding the mansion were in pretty awful shape. The brute clan had even tried to fill in the holes in the wall with metal sheeting or random bits of large junk. He followed the wall with his eyes until it disappeared behind the large, two-story, mansion. Just outside of the mansion’s front doors stood a group of older looking lizards in a quiet discussion.

As they approached, three of the lizards walked off, leaving a hunched over, and wizened-looking lizard and a younger-looking, svelte, obviously female lizard. The old lizard looked at Nagel and seemed to be thinking, when the female lizard leaned over and whispered in his ear.

“Oh, Nagel. Welcome back, who are these… gentlemen you have brought to our home?”

Nagel stopped and stood at attention before slamming a fist to his chest.

“Honored elder. These men are a part of a group that lies at our eastern border. We followed them as they systematically destroyed a good number of the gangs in that area. Also, they claim to be friends with that Professor individual everyone around here speaks of.”

“They described him to a T as well.” Terry spoke up from beside Shaggy.

Nagel snapped an angry look at Terry before looking back at the old lizard. “Initiate Terry speaks the truth, although it is also out of order. Please leave his punishment to me.”

The old lizard chuckled. “Nagel, I’ve told you before. This isn’t the military. We don’t have to punish people for speaking. Also, I am not this clan’s elder. Matter of fact, we have enough clans now to do things by committee. The other elders and I have just agreed that we shall decide things as a group from now on.”

Nagel looked nonplussed, but he did his salute again. “Sorry, Wulkun. But I believe some form of discipline is required among the clan’s guards.”

“Agreed, Nagel.” said the female lizard standing slightly behind the aged lizard named Wulkun. “But, while the Lab-lizards would require corporal punishments. We are not them. So Terry’s punishment shall be more practical.”

She then turned to Terry. “Terry, for speaking out of turn, you shall be placed on gate duty for a double-shift both tonight and tomorrow.”

“Ahh, Aqwen…” Terry complained.

“You heard me.” Aqwen said, glaring at Terry.

Terry nodded sullenly. Shaggy glanced at Nagel to see that the big lizard looked annoyed, but his etiquette or training wouldn’t allow him to contradict the female lizard. The old lizard Wulkun nodded solemnly before he turned his attention back to Shaggy and Vlad.

“Sorry for all of that. But you said you are friends of our one and only, Professor Pack Rat?”

“Was that his name? Man, that’s bad.” Shaggy thought as he nodded.

Vlad also nodded along before clarifying. “We know a little about him. We helped each other once down here and he asked us not to cause trouble for you all.”

Aqwen snorted. “He caused enough on his own.”

“Hush you.” Wulkun chided good-naturedly. “He has done us a great service and anyone he calls a friend shall be treated as such until they prove otherwise.”

The old lizard held both Shaggy’s and Vlad’s eyes for a few seconds. The subtle threat was apparent. Shaggy nodded understandingly, and Vlad outright chuckled.

“Hehe, don’t worry. We have no intention of causing problems. In fact, I was hoping we could reach some agreements about our coexistence. We are essentially neighbors and Under-Town can be a pretty harsh place.”

Wulkun seemed to ponder on Vlad’s words for a while before he turned to Aqwen. “My dear, I am sorry. But it looks like you’ll have to gather the elders back up. It seems we have our first official decision as the Clan Conclave to make.”

Vlad rubbed his hands excitedly as Shaggy sighed and muttered.

“Oh great. Diplomacy.”