In any large city, one can find crime. Theft, murder, rape, drugs, kidnapping, human trafficking, the list goes on. The fact that this is a game should change little. If not for crime, why would the city have guards, or the merchants have body guards?
Crime is apparent everywhere, due to the fact that with the risks associated with it, can come great rewards. Now, in the real world players would never kill each other over who gets to pick up an item due to the fact that we have court systems to go through for that. In game though, this reckless slaughter is committed without much thought, since we are in effect, immortal. The law can still punish us, but with less success than a normal citizen here.
That is what will lead me to wealth. By capitalising upon the fact that I am a different existence than the citizens, I can quickly amass some money through more, ‘shady’, channels.
Now, my priority is to find a group to work with. One can only get so far on their own, and having more pawns is always useful. Using players would be too unreliable though, as they would have the same advantages as me. So citizens were to be my only resource.
In Bahrst there was a red light district in one of the caverns below. Once there, the cavern was one vastly different to those containing government and public buildings. The cavern seemed to have a dull glow from the lights shining below, whereas the walls were carved into holding cages with dancers and prostitutes displayed their respective skills.
The buildings were varied, as some went from the floor to the ceiling, seeming like columns for the cave to not collapse, while others were nothing more than walls surrounding a courtyard where 'business' was done without discretion. All this could be seen from the gates (Albeit some bits were blurred from this location), since the entrance was located at around the mid height of the cavern, before descending or ascending from one of three staircases.
At the entrance were a few guards, who seemed to be checking players and citizens before allowing them to pass. As I watched to see what they could be checking for, a kid looking no older than 13 tried to enter, only to be laughed at and turned away by the guards.
Of course! Liber wouldn’t want to get sued for inappropriate content being accessed by minors, so this must be an age check! Clicking the pieces together I walked forward towards the entrance, and hoped that 18 would be old enough to pass.
“Hello, show us your status card before entry.” One of the guards approached me and told me to show my status card to him, which I readily presented.
“Hmm, you seem old enough, although a bit pure for coming in here eh?” The man commented such while most likely referring to my infamy being at 0.
“Don’t worry about that sir, as a sin I intend to live up to my name.” I replied while testing the waters to see how accepting the district was of criminals.
“HAHAHAHA, nice to see ya’ have some spirit in ya’! Have fun in there boy, and sin for us too!” It seemed it was a lot more accepted than I thought.
Having made it past the entrance I took the descending staircase and started wandering around, walking through the roads where women and men of all ages and races danced half, or entirely naked in windows in front of shops. All around me were men and a few women, who were either hiding their faces, for fear of recognition, or openly cheering the dancers on more, before entering the shops they occupied for a bit more ‘dancing’.
What I was interested in however, was not the roads and shops, but rather the alleys. The alleys always held shady business deals in novels, and if I were to start anywhere, why not start in the most clichè place possible?
On the third alley I checked, I saw a two men standing a few feet apart as they nervously looked around, before exchanging items that I could not discern from my impromptu hiding spot behind a crate.
Stolen story; please report.
Once their deal was done, one man left down the opposite direction from me, while the other stood there, before turning and heading in my direction.
I waited, counting his steps before he approached, regulating my breathing, and preparing for the scuffle I was about to enter if things went sideways.
Standing up when the man was about 3 metres (9ft) away, I said to him,”Hello there sir, mind if I talk to you about the products you were dealing with a moment ago?”
The man jumped back while producing a knife swiftly from his jacket and pointing it at me. “Who the fuck are you!”
Putting my hands up and behind my head, I addressed the man calmly while observing his features. “Don’t worry sir, I was just curious about what it is you’re dealing. See, I’m a child of the gods, and as such I don’t know much about the drugs and crime syndicates around here. Mind enlightening me?”
The man I could tell now, was an elf, of what type I was not sure though. His head being covered by a hood masked any distinguishing feature I could see, except for his ears which were faintly visible underneath.
“A child of the gods eh? Well I guess killing you won’t do much then will it.” The man said this while putting his knife back into his coat, but although he was unarmed, I knew he could change that fact in a moment. “Tell me, why do you want to know about the drugs and crime here?”
“I need money, and in my realm crime is a dangerous, yet effective method of attaining it. Selling drugs specifically, was what I wished to start with. I’m not stupid enough to just start though, and would need to work for one of the groups here. Right?” I stated honestly to the man, since I did not want to push him to any reckless actions. Especially since those actions would drop some of my stat points.
“Hmm, I see where you’re coming from, but it isn’t that easy to get in, and once you’re in, you’re in. You sure you still wish to get into this stuff?” Seeming taken aback by my answer, the elf relaxed his stance and leaned up against one of the walls this alley was between.
“Yep, nothing earned without loss.”
“Alright then kid, walk with me, I’ll tell you what you need to know.” The man responded while walking toward me and motioning with a finger for me to follow.
“What is your name by the way sir?” Seeing as I was about to be working with him, it would be nice to know what to address him by.
“Anthir, and you?”
“My name is Greed sir, I look forward to earning with you.”
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Sorry about no chapter yesterday, I was attending a funeral, and had an exam today that I had to study for. Anyways, more stuff with Michael A.K.A Greed, and his adventures into the shadier sides of money. I hope you guys enjoyed it and if you have any suggestions, or notice any mistakes then please tell me. Also I received a comment saying the font was a bit small, but for me it appears fine, if you do find it small though tell me, as I don’t want to change for only one person, nor do I want to ignore it while others have the same issue. Thanks!