"All minions mid?" I spoke.
Paul returned the next day after my second match with The Murders. Again, my HP levelled up once from their barrage of attacks. The fact that they were improving my HP stat was one of the only reasons I was coping this well with the whole thing. Back to Paul, however, this time, he came to my house with a plan.
"Open Minion Media, Other, and then Minion modes." He spoke.
'Minion Media'
'Other'
"Minion modes'
-------------------------------
{Modes}
{Main Minion Mode.}
{All Minions Mid}
{Minions Tactics}
{Rotating Game Mode}
{Custom Games}
-----------------------------
"What are all these?" I asked.
"They should have weird names but are essentially the different game modes. For Heros, the Main Minion Mode should be the Valley of Heros. It's what you are currently doing. All Minions Mid or One Lane Heros is what it's called for them. It's also what I recommend you do. Minion Tactics is called Hero Overlords. Don't worry about that one, it's very unique. There currently isn't a rotating game mode, but I recommend you do it when there is, as it gives four times the XP and gold. Finally, avoid custom games at all costs. They give the normal amount of XP and gold but tend to last longer and have their own set of rules. Don't get into one unless you know what you're doing." Paul explained.
"That's fine, but why should I do All Minions Mid?" I asked.
"Because it doesn't follow your Main Minion Mode reputation. It has its own system for that and is made specifically for Minion to regain Reputation as you gain five per match with the additional bonus of double Gold and Xp." Paul spoke.
"How come everybody doesn't do it then?" I spoke.
"It shouldn't be a problem for you, but you'll see why once you get into a match for it. More unfortunate news is that I have been unable to find anything for housing. Unless you wanted to join THe Murders or The Revolutionist," he spoke.
"The Revolutionist?" I asked.
I remembered that I had seen the Son and Father of Revolution on the Most Monstrous Minions list, but I wasn't sure what that was.
"They are a group that opposes the System and believes that it's unjust to be forced into Minion Society against your will when you commit a crime. I'm not too knowledgeable about them past that, but I have occasionally seen them pop up in the Minion Magazines." Paul spoke.
I would have to look at that later.
We continued talking for a bit longer, but it was mostly unimportant, just about my match and how Richie and Charlotte reacted to my sudden departure. Charlotte was surprised, and Richie had yet to stop crying. The entire time we talked, I couldn't help but have a gnawing desire to ask about the secret that Samantha told me he had, but I managed to refrain from it.
After he left, I thought over his idea. It didn't sound terrible, as the thought of double XP and gold was nice. The only thing that caused me to hesitate was the fact that it would give me five Reputation. That should be great, especially as it would stop me from being a victim of The Murders five times quicker. It would also let me be promoted to Cannon, Commander, and Mighty Minion, as Reputation was a requirement.
Which I had to admit sounded terrific.
My only problem was that Samantha had told me the best way to become a Hero was to do the opposite of increasing my Reputation. I was now stuck with a hard choice. It was either to raise my Reputation or find a way to gain System Favor while promoting. Or cause my Reputation to plummet and try and hunt the people on the Most Monstrous Minions list.
I keep going in circles, weighing each side heavily. Increasing my Reputation would make my life easier, especially when buying things and interacting with others.
In contrast, I was told the other would get me to my goal quicker of becoming a Hero. With no end to my circular arguments, I decided to try one match of All Minions Mid before making a decision. With that settled, I switched to All Minions Mid and thought to myself.
'Sleep'
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Minions have spawned." A female voice spoke once again.
I instantly prepared myself to be bombarded with attacks by The Murders again, but nothing came.
Instead, I was surrounded by twelve other fellow minions who had no desire to murder me in cold blood. I had to admit that I had missed this a little.
I then looked at my surroundings. Initially, it all seemed to be the same as expected, with the Ressurection Crystal and the two stone knights that defended it. The only difference is that past the spawn area, there was only one path leading out; there was no forest or any other additional paths. I was starting to understand why it was called All Minions Mid.
The other thing I noticed is that the Minions felt different.
Usually, there was more of a cheery mood as we walked to the lane but instead, everyone was dead silent and walked solemly to the path.
I tried to start a conversation, but all of my attempts failed.
Soon, we passed the backline tower. Sometimes, the minions on top would wave down, but instead, they looked at us with disdain, at least I think they did; again, it was hard to tell with the lack of facial movement.
One Minion even pretended to spit on us, not that Minions could. I didn't understand what was going on.
Soon, we made it to the main tower, and all ten Heros stood there.
I had never seen all ten Heros together at once, at least not this early in the game.
They would group up at the end of matches to destroy the enemies' Ressurection Crystal, and I had heard that sometimes they would have full ten versus tens for some boss monsters.
I recognized a few, such as Cinderella, Beowulf, and Freya; there were also some that I knew but had never seen before.
One that I knew but hadn;t seen before was Ra.
He had dark brown skin and the head of a bird, with a large gold chain of the sun on his chest. His pants were gold and had many moving parts, with a large opening at the bottom, similar to a skirt. He also wielded an entirely black staff. His username was 'OneLaneOneCarry .'
The moment we arrived, our Heros started moving forward.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
We, of course, continued onward. Not even ten seconds later, I saw an opposing ten Heros appear with their minions on the other side.
I recognized King in Yellow, King Arthur, and a few others.
A hero I had never seen before was also on the enemy team. She had light brown skin and held a spear in one hand and a shield in the other. She wore a feathered crown and wore a skin-tight red dress.
Also, her username was 'Pelda.'
"What Hero is that?" I asked the Minion next to me in a final attempt to strike up a conversation.
"Anat, please stop talking," the Minion spoke.
At least I got an answer. But still, I couldn't help but sigh, not only at the Minion but at what would happen next.
Usually, large team fights like this were the worst for a minion with abilities and attacks flying everywhere.
You tended to die a lot more during them. So an entire mode based around only that?
This wasn't going to be fun.
I was starting to understand why everyone was so unhappy. However, why that Minion on the tower was so rude to us was still elusive to me.
While I was lost in thought, the horn went off, and the Heros and my fellow minions rushed into battle. I, of course, followed suit. I was so much happier in fights like these as a bow minion because I didn't have to lead the charge and could stand back a little. I was still a little traumatized from my first match.
The Melee Minions started clashing in the middle, and I instantly prepared my bow to fire but stopped after only around two arrows as the entire frontline was dead already.
A blast of energy from the Heros above exploded between them, killing them all instantly.
It was now backline versus backline.
I prepared to fire again, but our teams Freya slammed her hammer down on the enemy minions, that then shot out a ripple of pink hearts toward the enemy champions.
Of course, all of the enemy minions were killed in that single blow.
I got ready to turn my aggression onto the enemy champions, but out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the enemy frontline was already back, and I could hear ours approaching behind.
However, I had no time to think about it as Anat slammed her shield on the floor and charged right toward us, or rather at our Cinderella, who was standing right behind us.
Of course, we were caught in the crossfire.
The shield slammed into me, and the world went black, or rather, that was supposed to happen.
Instead, I was instantly back at the frontline tower with my fellow backline minions. I took a moment to take it all in, but my comrades just charged back in.
I then heard the Minions above laughing.
"What's wrong, buddy? You haven't been in All Minions Mid-match before, have you?" The Cannon Minion above yelled down.
It was starting to click in my mind. An All Minions Mid-match was worse than I thought. On top of it being a permanent ten versus ten, we respawned instantly at the battle, removing the death timers and the walk back, which means that this was an all-out slaughter fest. This was going to suck.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
{Match results: loss}
{Total deaths: 148}
{Enemy minions slain: 7}
{Total Xp gained: 2.4}
{Total Gold gained: 2.4}
{Progress to next level: 2.9/640}
{Reputation earned: 5}
"So what's the deal with All Minion Mid matches?" I asked Paul.
"Well, they are matches without all the fluff, just pure fighting. Which isn't very enjoyable for us minions as it involves dying a lot, but, in return, you get more rewards." Paul responded.
"I get that, and it's just a tiny bit better than dying to The Murders over and over, but why are the minions on the tower so rude?" I asked.
"Well, because of the increased Reputation from All Minion Mid matches, most of the minions on the ground are people trying to increase their Reputation quickly. This means most are, or used to be, bad people, trying to become reformed and get into higher-quality matches; because of this, however, some higher-level minions request tower positions in All Minions Mid to bully the people for Reputation. Some because of bad past experiences with low-reputation minions, and for others, it's all about the power complex. Anyway, it's the price you have to pay if you want to increase your Reputation. Sorry for not telling you, but I thought it would be better if you experienced it firsthand to get a better understanding." Paul spoke.
"It's fine," I replied.
This complicated things. I was more inclined to do this over the other option because I thought the matches were easier with less dying. But they instead are very similar, except that when Heros attacks you, it doesn't count towards HP manual stat training for some reason.
"Sorry, that's all I came to say. Richie has a school play tonight that I was going to with Charlotte. I'm sorry if you feel like I tricked you, but it's the only way to increase your Reputation and trust me, you do. There's nothing good for you down there. I'm sure you already understand that, though." Paul spoke.
"How come you're helping me so much?" I asked.
"Because-" Paul spoke before hesitating.
"It's fine if you don't want to tell me. I appreciate the help anyway-"
"No, no. It's because I see a younger me in you. You also remind me of someone I helped or, rather, tried to help out. I guess it's trying to make up for the wrongs I committed in the past. Sorry, I'm rambling, aren't I? I'll check in with you later. Bye, for now, Newbie." Paul spoke before leaving.
Once he left, I stood there, lost in thought.
As much as I appreciated Paul's help and advice, was it the right option?
Should I trust him and continue doing All Minion Mid matches?
After all, it would suck for a while, but eventually, I would be back with a positive reputation.
Or should I dive deeper in and cause my Reputation to plummet further?
At some point, if I go down the latter route, there won't be a way back, and if I don't become a hero..... the thought of that gave me chills.
What if I couldn't get more System Favor by dropping to the Minions Most Monstrous?
The idea of being trapped down there was undoubtedly worrying, but was the reward of a Hero worth it?
It didn't seem like I would conclude this at the moment, so I switched my attention.
'System Shop'
----------------------------------
{System Shop}
Current System Favor: 10
{5} - Buy 1000 Xp
{5} - Buy 5000 gold
{10} - Buy an artifact
{20} - Gain access to the system auction
{30} - Reset required Xp
LIMITED TIME OFFER (ENDS TONIGHT):
{0} - Get advice from the System
{0} - Get advice from the System
{0} - Get advice from the System
Usual price
{5} - Get advice from the System
{Reach level 2 with System to increase options}
{Current Level 1: 0/100 System Xp required}
------------------------------------
I looked at the current System level.
It seemed that regular Xp did not count towards System Xp, which was unfortunate.
The question was then, what did?
Should I buy something?
My first thought was to go to the one thousand XP offer, which would only get me a single level.
I could spend all my System Favor on that, which would let me get two thousand XP, but that still would only be two levels.
Unless by XP it meant System XP, I doubted that as I felt it would specify if it were System XP.
My other option was gold.
It was quite a lot, but gold wasn't a struggle for me right now, and the problem was that my Reputation was so low that I had nowhere to spend it.
I had tried to return to the archery range earlier today, but they wouldn't let me inside with my low Reputation. Which meant I would have to find another way to increase my DEX.
The only other option I had then was to purchase an Artifact.
It was tempting, as Samantha had given it high praise, but it would cost all of my System Favors, and if I got something that wasn't useful, I didn't think they had a refund policy.
I thought it over for a bit longer before deciding it was worth it.
There was a chance that it would also help me decide on my reputation situation.
Worried that I would get cold feet, I made my choice.
'Buy an Artifact'
{System Favor: -10}
{System Xp rewarded: 100}
{System level up!}
{More options available in System Shop}
{Open Communication with System Advisor available}
{Creating Artifact...}
My head was flooded with information.
Seeing the minus ten System Favor stung a little, but everything else seemed good.
One System Favor spent was equal to ten System XP, which was good to learn.
Seeing more options in the System Shop was also exciting, which I will have to check out soon.
The last thing..... was interesting. Did that mean I could communicate with Samantha at any time? Did it also make the 'get system advice' option worthless, as I could now communicate for free?
I would also have to check that out. Before I could do anything else, however, a new System notification popped up.
{Artifact complete! Would you like to view it? Yes | No}
I froze for a second. This was the moment of truth. Did I waste my ten System Favor or not? The anticipation was killing me.
'Yes'
-----------------------------
Artifact
Bow of Notoriety
Grade: Dirt
Abilities:
Piercing Arrows of the Infamous
Every use of the bow will cause the user's Reputation to drop by one.
A Reputation that Proceeds
As your reputation drops, the bow will strengthen and gain more abilities.
{Next evolution: -1000}
{Current reputation: -986}
------------------------------
Thinking logically, of course, the Artifact would be something like this.
It was the System that wanted me to drop my Reputation, and it was the System that created the Artifact for me.
If I tried to increase my Reputation, this bow would be a determent to use, but if I decreased it, then it would only get stronger and stronger.
I sighed as it seemed the decision had already been made for me.
Not that I was mad about it.
I was willing to do anything to become a Hero, and if that meant dropping to a negative Reputation that no other Minion had seen before, then so be it.
I was going to drop my Reputation.