Shaggy’s enthusiasm for paperwork dried up quickly. Even with Levy staying by his side and helping. Partially, it was the sheer boredom that came with rereading multiple business contract. But really, what irked him the most was the damn mages building a damn building around them.
“Do they really have to do this now?”
“What’s the sense of waiting, love? They have the mana and the building needs to go up quickly.”
Shaggy growled, as he couldn’t argue with his wife’s logic. One would think that magically assembling walls and hallways would be a quiet endeavor. But the amount of noise the mages made was astounding. When you included their constant questions and pleas for approval from Levy, it made the entire process headache-inducing. At least the normal Lackeys knew enough to not bother the boss. They just silently put up wooden slats within the brick and mortar structure the mages were creating.
But as the job continued, at least they became more and more insulated from the noise altogether. Levy had given them instructions to build an office space for Bodecker and several others and the Mages set to it with a will. Combined with the efforts from the Lackeys and the small bots from Under-Town, they managed to get the first floor done fairly quickly. Not that cut down the noise as Lackeys and bots started moving in furniture next.
Shaggy read the same sentence about dispute resolution three times before he slapped the datapad down on Bodecker’s desk in annoyance. They’d been at this for hours. He or Levy would read through a contract and then contact the affected party. Once they were informed of the things required of them, if any, Shaggy or Levy would have them hurry over for a signature.
Franklin was the easiest. He just needed the right licenses, but he could apply for those online and take a test at another deli. Nuc and her league of business partners, on the other hand, were a bitch and a half. Each one wanted to sit down and talk about the contract practically line by line. A few had even suggested that Shaggy was altering the contracts to benefit his Legion. He had made it clear that he wasn’t, but now that they put the idea in his head, he was likely to. That went over as well as expected. So Levy started handling those individuals while Shaggy made a mental list of whom to overcharge when the kickbacks started coming in.
“I would like to stop now.” Shaggy said through gritted teeth as a group of robots made an ungodly amount of noise outside their room.
The damn tiny robots from Cog’s old automated pillar were a great source of cheap labor. But they were also stupid as all hell. Shaggy wanted to go back to Under-Town and slap Roald, Randa, or whoever had designed a clumsy robot. That was not a good idea. At least they didn’t make annoying noises or beep incessantly. Also, their small nature made them easy to produce when one of them got crushed under a wall or something.
Levy stood as Shaggy rubbed his temple. Outside their room, the sounds of robots tripping over themselves continued and Shaggy huffed again. Levy’s powerful hands massaged his shoulders and Shaggy gave a sigh of relief.
“We’re almost done, dear. Bodecker and the others can pick up from where we’ve left off. Let’s see about rounding up that pack of yours and killing some things.”
Shaggy checked the time and found that they had spent their entire afternoon reading paperwork. He clenched his hands as the need to punch something grew. His inner wolf stirred and Shaggy felt his pack echo his sentiments. They exited the rapidly built room and hurried through the hallway. Shaggy could see the pile up of bots and Lackeys in his peripheral vision, but he focused on the rising walls and timber struts being placed everywhere.
They made it outside, where a crowd of mages were holding their arms up and casting weird sigils in the air. The rumble of their magic going to work grated on Shaggy’s nerves. Levy waved off the more sycophantic magic users and took Shaggy’s arm. The two of them continued back toward their cabin and Shaggy started to mentally go over what he wanted to do tonight. It should be a fairly standard night patrol. But he had to account for Levy and his eight wolves. Their little war party would probably be enough to give the other Lackeys a break for the night, but he didn’t want to overwork his pack. They’d been patrolling since the morning.
Tom immediately hit him with a thankful and tired expression over their Link. But the others seemed eager to head back out there. Shaggy could tell that with their enhanced constitution, his pack would be fine. They might need an enormous meal later or an extra few hours of sleep, but it was nothing new for them. As Tom was mentally chastised by the others, Shaggy and Levy turned the corner around their cabin. His pack was arrayed in front of it once again, waiting for him. As they moved, he caught sight of the Pack’s lodge house off to the right of their cabin and winced. They were due for an upgrade.
He turned to say as much to Levy, but his wife was already nodding. “My mages know where to go next. Don’t worry.”
“You’re too good to me.”
“Damn right. Now drop that sour look off your face and get ready to patrol.”
“Bah! If this is anything like last time, I won’t even have to get involved.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure, darling.” Levy smirked. “Remember, the gangs have stepped up their game. During the day we get the standard level 1 to 3 mobs. But at night is when we see the 4 to 7 crowd. If I’m gauging stuff correctly, that is. There is still no metric to tell the enemy’s level, but we can guess from which Lackeys survive the night patrol.”
Shaggy waved Levy off as he grinned at his pack. “Pfft. I’m pretty sure most of my pack is double digits.”
“You haven’t checked?”
Shaggy went quiet as he brought up his Pack Menu and secretly checked.
1. Cekrass Sslrisses (Henchman)*
○ Varanoid – Level 11
○ Personality – Quiet Giant
○ Class: Bruiser
○ Loyalty – 90/100
○ Pack Bond Increase – 5%
○ Wolf Trigger – Anger
2. Rita Crawford (Henchman)*
○ Human – Level 10
○ Personality – Motherly
○ Class: Swordswoman
○ Loyalty 82/100
○ Pack Bond Increase – 5%
○ Wolf Trigger – Caring/Wanting to protect
3. Tom Fash (Henchman)*
○ Human – Level 9
○ Personality – Ghost
○ Class: Shadow
○ Loyalty – 78/100
○ Pack Bond Increase – 5%
○ Wolf Trigger – Jealousy
4. Sybil D (Henchman)*
○ Deighen – Level 10
○ Personality – Stoic
○ Class: Fire Starter
○ Loyalty – 94/100
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
○ Pack Bond Increase – 5%
○ Wolf Trigger – Domination
5. Vick Nash (Henchman)*
○ Human – Level 10
○ Personality – Cold
○ Class: Sharpshooter
○ Loyalty – 94/100
○ Pack Bond Increase – 5%
○ Wolf Trigger – Regret
6. Stanley Tigerhall (Henchman)
○ Human – Level 8
○ Personality – Quiet type
○ Class – Kevrashaq
○ Loyalty – 65/100
○ Pack Bond increase – 5%
○ Wolf Trigger – Curiosity
7. Ephemara Naluc (No. 1 Henchman)*
○ Stafintom – Level 14
○ Personality – Aggressive
○ Class: Number One
○ Loyalty – 85/100
○ Pack Bond Increase – 5%
○ Wolf Trigger – Lust
8. Vud (Lackey)
○ Fusus Formica – Level 8
○ Personality – Subservient
○ Loyalty – 93/100
○ Pack Bond Increase – 3%
9. Rin (Lackey)
○ Fusus Formica – Level 8
○ Personality – Subservient
○ Loyalty – 93/100
○ Pack Bond Increase – 3%
10. Seth Becken
○ Human (Mutant) - Level 7
○ Personality – Kind
○ Loyalty – 87/100
○ Pack Bond Increase – 3%
Shaggy blinked as he went over the information. Stanley’s Class stuck out as a surprise, but otherwise it was pretty much what he expected for everyone else. The Kevrashaq was the name of the type of Quinica embedded in the boy’s body. Which made sense. What didn’t, was the asterisks by his older pack member’s names worried him. Everyone but Stanley and the Pups of his pack had one, which meant it was probably a Loyalty thing. But before he could click on one to figure out what they were about, Levy’s laughter startled him.
“You know I can tell when you’re in your menus, right? Jeez, Shaggy, don’t you stay on top of your Pack’s status?”
“Bah! I’m not a nurse-maid. I just have to make sure their Loyalty is up and they are getting the pack boost. Which they all are… but…”
Shaggy trailed off as he mentally tapped on Cekrass’ name.
“Something wrong?”
“Naw. But it looks like my pack is about to get an upgrade. Can you explain the plan for tonight while I handle this?”
Shaggy rubbed his hands together as Levy watched his face. Seeing she wasn’t going to get any answers yet, she walked over to Rita and Ephemara while Shaggy grinned at the notification in his face.
Congratulations
Your Henchman [Cekrass Sslrisses] is ready to be promoted to Captain. Captains are the commanders of your Lackey Structure. They don’t receive the same power boost as Henchman, but instead they are given the tools and know-how they need to lead a specialized team for their Villain. Promoting your first Captain also unlocks the Captain’s Menu. Open the Captain’s Menu to learn more.
Note: You have a Number One Henchman. Promoting any Henchman to Captain before your Number One will make [Ephemara Naluc] lose their Number One class. They will also take a severe hit to their Loyalty.
Shaggy whistled as he read through everything. Thankfully, Ephe was also ready to be promoted. Otherwise, he would have to wait. It now made sense that Stanley didn’t have an asterisk by his name. The boy had only just recently been promoted to Henchman. He really wanted to start doling out the promotions and dig deep into the new Captain’s Menu, but first he needed to inform Levy.
He sauntered over to his wife, a grin plastered on his face. Levy and the others stared at him worriedly until he started talking. Then the NPCs all went glassy-eyed as his words were processed by their AIs. Levy though heard every word he said and grinned mischievously at him.
“Love, that is amazing. They’ll be the first Captains in the Legion. You have to do it at once and share your screen with me. My mages are only at the henchman stage. I want a look at that Captain’s Menu.”
“I do too, but do you think it’ll effect tonight’s patrol? What if they all suddenly run off to build their teams?”
“That won’t happen. Besides, if it does, then tonight will just be the two of us. Killing mobs under the stars. It’ll be romantic.”
Shaggy quirked an eyebrow at his wife’s idea of romantic, but kept his mouth shut. Rita and Ephe came out of their glassy-eyed processing first. They both gave him the same creepy-looking smirk as Ephe said.
“Boss, it’s beyond time for us to get a promotion. I’ve been with you since the beginning. I’m ready to do more for you and the Legion.”
Rita shrugged her broad shoulders. “What she said.”
Smiling to himself, Shaggy felt affirmation coming from his entire Pack as he reopened his Menus. He wasn’t sure how much this would change. But he was ready to give it a go. Making sure to do Ephemara first, shaggy went down the list and promoted each of his Pack into Captains. He kept one eye on the members of his pack as he did, but nothing strange overcame them. Instead, Shaggy thought he saw reams of information slide past Ephemara’s dark eyes. Once he was done, he waited a few seconds before he opened the Captain’s Menu. He shared the screen with Levy as his pack remained stock still before them.
Captain’s Menu
Greetings! This is the first time you’ve opened the Captain’s menu. Below you will see a list of your Captains along with a short list of possible missions for them. These missions are specific to your Captains and must be undertaken by them and their teams. Normal Captain teams consist of two Henchmen and ten Lackeys. Once a Captain has fully assembled their team, they will be able to take on missions. All Captains give a bonus to their teams when undertaking missions. Class Evolution missions are available for Captains once a certain amount of missions have been completed.
Note: You have a Number One Captain. [Ephemara Naluc] can have a much bigger team to complete missions with. She also gives a greater bonus to her team while on a mission. But her missions will also be that much harder. [Ephemara Naluc]’s team size is five Henchmen and twenty-five Lackeys.
Shaggy heard Levy whistle over his ear as he finished reading the second note.
“She can have a team of thirty completing missions with her? Yeesh!”
“Yeah, but those missions get an increase in difficult. Also, I don’t like them having to undergo the missions alone.”
“They have to leave the nest sometime, Shaggy. At least this way, they’ll have a team alongside them. It also looks like they buff their team.”
Shaggy gave a kind of half nod as he swiped away the message and checked the Captain’s Mission Board. But it was blank.
“What the hell is that about?”
“Maybe it’s because your Captain’s don’t have anyone on their teams?”
“Or maybe it takes a while to populate?”
“Either way, that makes it a problem for tomorrow. Let’s see how your girls are doing.”
“You’re aware that most of my Pack is dudes, right?” Shaggy asked.
But Levy ignored him as she strode over to Ephemara and Rita. Both women were still standing stalk still and Shaggy was sure he could see lines of information floating behind their eyes. He walked around his Pack carefully looking into each of their faces. Stanley, Rin and Vud were also standing still, but they didn’t have anything flashing behind their eyes. They just stood there like statues stuck as their AIs processed everything.
Levy was waving a hand in Rita’s face when Ephemara snapped back to reality. The black-haired woman came out of her trance with a sudden and shaky step forward. She caught herself quickly and stood back up. But as she did, Shaggy could see a new light shining in her eyes. She looked around the cave as if seeing it for the first time. Rita followed a few seconds after, then Vick, Sybil, Tom, and Cekrass. Each of the original members of his Pack snapped out of their system-induced coma with a jolt. Once they got back on even footing, Shaggy could see a new flash of intelligence in their eyes. They looked like infants seeing the world for the first time, and for a few seconds, Shaggy was worried. That’s when Ephemara snorted and gave him a pitying look.
“Boss, we can still pick up on your thoughts, remember?”
“Yeah, chill out. I was just thinking… about things.” Rita added, smiling.
“I was too.” Vick said. “Like, I think I know a couple of guys that would make great sniper teams. Maybe if I get them together, we could rotate them through our territory.”
Sybil nodded, along with the tall cowboy’s words. “Right? And I was thinking about a couple of gearheads that could help my shop get off the ground.”
“I know a couple of guys with their ears to streets. Maybe we can figure out where these gangs are coming from and hit them back?” Tom said, oddly helpful.
“Strike Force.” Cekrass said simply as he cracked his scaly knuckles.
Shaggy at each of their ideas in turn and as he did, he watched the Captain’s Mission Board fill up. Each mission had the required Captain’s name on it along with the amount of time the mission would take. It including the rewards for each mission as well, but most of those were listed as variable. Also, a lot of the mission couldn’t be started with a full team.
Shaggy glanced at Ephemara to see his Number One Captain nodding along to her own thoughts. When she caught Shaggy’s eye again, she grinned happily.
“But all that shit can wait. I also have some new plans for our spy network. But for now, we have a patrol to complete, right?”
The short woman’s words seemed to shake the others out of their minds, and they all turned feral grins on Shaggy and Levy. He could feel their desire to go on a run tonight. Levy wrapped her arm around his and smiled. Stanley, Rin, and Vud seemed a bit confused, but were ready to go as well.
Shaggy kept one eye on the mission board as it continued to fill up. He didn’t know how that was going to affect their plans in the future. But the elation he felt from his pack combined with the look in their eyes told him they were going to be fine.