Chapter 8: Laying Low

Chapter 8: Laying Low

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What is a Rat?

Leon surely didn't think of it as something important. From his knowledge, it is a street rank. He didn't mind how demeaning it is or the fact that it targets the beggars and the lowest end thugs but to gain a title for it all of a damn sudden he needed to get down to the bottom of this.

"It seems I'm your senior now." Jordi patted his shoulder.

"Wasn't it a bit easy?" Leon asked.

"You're staying?"

"Getting hired by the Madam, I mean."

"Oh!" Jordi laughed, "I'll give you a week before we find you beaten in an alley somewhere before you take your hide and go back where you came from."

The way he said it was natural yet Leon had to take a few blinks to realize the challenge carried in his words. He looked well at Jordi and read his status.

< Jordi - Lv.1 N/A >

[STR: 8] [END: 10] [AGI: 4] [PRC: 7] [INT: 4]

- Titles: {Rat} {Fatso}

- Skills: N/A

- Talent: (Proficiency: 12%)

So there are people who are even worse than the previous Leon.

"You don't look anything special yourself." Leon stared at Jordi.

"Oh! You see this." Jordi pointed to his fat belly then slapped it, "Armor!"

Leon couldn't help but laugh as he left the table and took the empty bowl to the bar.

"You don't believe me? Take me in any fight and I'll take hits like a knight." Jordi felt offended being laughed at.

"Right right, don't mention those fuckers and jinx my morning, please." Leon replied walking past Jessica.

"Hey." She called.

"What?" He replied.

"That was a stupid decision, you country bumpkin?" She said.

"Getting hired? How so?" He asked.

"Once a Rat, always a Rat. You are now branded." Jessica said in a hateful tone, "You should have just left."

"What do you mean branded?" He asked.

"Don't listen to her." Jordi tried to pull Leon away from Jessica but he was impossible to be moved.

"A bumpkin like you won't understand anyway." Jessica said and shrugged her shoulders.

Leon narrowed his eyes. He surely doesn't want to be branded by something or someone but the word didn't sound right to him.

"Does it" He thought about something to ask but he hesitated yet he eventually asked, "Does it have anything to do with let's say a Title?"

His question took Jessica by a surprise. She blinked at him twice then walked away.

"For a pumpkin, you do have a brain. I wouldn't ask more questions if I were you now." Those were the words she left for him before going up.

"What the"

Leon felt he had more answers sooner than he expected yet it still left him with questions. Still, a brand or not, it is nothing he can't handle.

"Hey, let's go. I'll show you around." Jordi pulled Leon finally out of the saloon, "As Jessica said, keep your question to yourself and do your job, alright?"

"Whatever."

Jordi sighed and pushed out the gate of the saloon out to the street. The first thing to come in before they go out was sunlight, warm golden rays of warmth and beauty. The cold weather of Karanberg may have affected Leon a bit especially after the dib he took in the river but this sunlight felt him with life instantly.

"What a feeling!" Even the dark Leon himself felt blessed as he stretched his limbs in the sun.

"Yeah, the blessing of Nar is the sweetest in such a cold morning. Spring is fucked up, man. You'd never know if a storm will come or it is just sunny."

"Yeah." Leon agreed.

"Good, here." The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

Jordi didn't even wait to throw a piece of dirty cloth at Leon and a brush then he grabbed an empty water bucket.

"What's this?" Leon asked.

"A towel and a brush, I bring the water, you wipe the floor." Jordi replied.

"I thought you're showing me around!"

"While cleaning and evaluating your skill."

"Fuck!"

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***

The amount of space required to clean was legendary for just the two of them. Leon proved himself faster than Jordi but the fatso would leave any place he cleans spotless.

During the storm, mud and dirt would assault every part of the building with people coming and going. On top of that, the condition of the streets in the Northern District was so bad that a small puddle of water would generate an endless amount of mud. To make it worse, the people who started to come and go wouldn't even bother leaving their dirty footprints wherever Leon and Jordi cleaned.

"A Rat, huh?" Leon laughed as he cleaned the long trace of mud on the sidewalk outside the saloon.

"Feel it now?"

"Not that bad actually."

Leon didn't mind a bit of hard work. Back in the day when he finished high school (as Shady), he had to go through the basic forced conscription of the army as a basic requirement for the Medjay. He spent two years as a soldier mostly scrubbing the floors and everyday drills. This level of wiping mod is nothing but a walk in the park to someone who went through the real shit.

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In the end, nothing made sense and as Leon predicted, the information of a game is hardly useful in real life. That's why he ignored most of the information from the game.

Still, something was bothering him about the Rat title thus he decided to use the skill "Read" on it

[Rat] <Trash Title>

- Lowest tier title in the criminal syndicates.

- Disadvantage against all higher Ranks.

- Disadvantage in Sociability with those who are aware of the title.

"A problematic thing indeed."

So basically the harm of this title comes if someone is aware of it or with someone higher in rank. Other than that, he can just keep it hidden. After all, it is proof of the fact that he is a subordinate of some shady syndicate and makes people frown on him.

Still, reading about this title made him read the others.

[Black Cobra] <Unique Title>

- The Title of a Legendary Thief from another world whose fame spread beyond sense.

- Advantage of all Assassination Actions by 100%.

[Legendary Thief] <Legendary Title]

- A title given to those who stole more than the worth of 2.5 Million Gold during their career.

- Advantage on all Thievery Actions by 100%.

[Humanoid Slayer] <Uncommon Title>

- A title given to those who killed more than 100 Humanoids.

- Advantage in attacks against Humanoids by 25%.

[Loser] <Trash Title>

- A Title acquired by the infamy of being inferior among one's peers.

- Disadvantage in All Actions against those who are aware of the title.

"Holy shit! These titles are as big of a deal as even the skills."

All these game mechanics were translated to real life in a strange way making Leon almost not believe himself seeing them. If there wasn't any of Leon's persona against him, Shady would be trying hard to slap himself to wake up from whatever nightmare this is.

A total of 1 Unique, 1 Legendary, 1 Uncommon and 2 Trash titles. The sheer benefits of the beneficial three titles are simply crazy but this "Loser" title is very dangerous. Even its description is humiliating.

"How to get rid of this?" Leon thought.

The answer was there right in front of him. If the title was that of infamy because of what his peers from the royal Academy think of him, the best course of action is to put them in place and wipe out the title. To make them regret looking down on him. To break their pride and squash them like bugs beneath his feet.

A dark sensation rose from within causing his smile to become obviously evil for a second before he came to his senses and returned normal.

What a sudden feeling that was!

Leon's mind felt exhausted from all the thinking and he covered his face with his two cold palms. He has a lot of things to do now and they are mostly priorities. Getting information, getting support, getting rid of the disadvantageous titles.

"Assuming that Knowledge Magic is a rare commodity, I think there are methods similar to the Magic Identification Plate which I have here to recognize the titles of people. If I used the [Knowledge Magic: Forgery] skill, I can completely falsify my status like this"

- Name: Leo

- Level: 2

- Class: Warrior

- Titles: {Rat}

- Skills: [Blade Technique Lv.2] [Combat Technique Lv.1] [Physical Resistance Lv.1]

- Proficiency: (Growth: 20%) (Affinity: Air)

"This will make my Status within the range of the common people but good enough for the big-time criminals to recruit me in their ranks. I suppose one day the chance will come when I will have to show it to someone."

Leon finally had some peace of mind and a rough plan ahead. His next course of action is to prepare.

*Knock knock knock*

The door to his room was knocked on and Jordi's voice followed.

"Hey, Leo. It's time to get back to work. We're helping in the kitchen." Jordi said.

"From his voice, I can tell that this is his favorite chore." Leon smiled and walked out.

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