Lewd Dungeon, Chapter 434 (Patreon)

Chapter 434 – Recruitment

As they sat in a lounge in the upper levels of one of the Lower City spires, one of the few which connected to a descending spire from the Upper City, Catalina Zorita once again admired the work that had gone into her Lord’s dungeon. She knew that he had found some kind of automated script from the dungeon version of the System Shop to make all the ‘NPCs’ in the Lower City feel like they were actually alive, rather than just being dungeon creatures to slay, but it was still impressive to see in action. Of course, there was still a good bit of slaying going on, despite much of the floor being mostly based around faction reputations. After all, killing a faction’s rivals was a good way to gain reputation. Not the only way, but a good way.

They hadn’t been able to do as much grinding in the dungeon as she would have liked. She was still a guildmaster, after all, and that came with responsibilities. However, part of the reason people respected guild officials was because they all had some degree of personal power. Maintaining that power, especially as new adventurers gained levels, meant that they had to get out in the field. Not just her, but all the guildmasters. Even Miguel, the Grandmaster of the American Guild, had been forced to delegate on things, so he could get back in the field. Her answer to that dilemma was to have three assistant guildmasters, with rotating schedules so that everyone had at least a full week off every month, but usually more like two weeks. It had been so successful that Miguel had copied it, and recommended it to all the other guildmasters.

So, regular hard work, combined with her race’s charisma and the synergies with her Unholy Breaker of Wills class and Divine Courtesan profession, not to mention the rest of her team’s abilities, had allowed her group to steadily progress in getting the attention of the power players in the Lower City. Which is how they had arranged this meeting with a talent scout from House Throk, one of the six Great Houses of the Upper City. The raid was a faction war, held every two months, where those who were designated as part of the raid would fight in a war game for control of the city. To participate in the raid, you had to have a connection to one of the Great Houses.

Of course, as a war game, instead of an actual war, there were rules. Targeting noncombatants was against the rules, and causing too much collateral damage with one’s attacks was considered gauche. Those who were actual combatants, however, were given special items that clearly marked them as combatants, and were required to keep it on their person at all times while in the Upper City. While this put a target on their backs, it also meant that, even if they were killed in the Upper City, they would be revived after the end of the next raid.

It was a clever bit of work on her Lord’s part, she had to admit. Not only did that give an ‘in-world’ explanation for why there was a battle for control of the city every two months, without the Great Houses completely killing each other off, but it also made it so adventurers didn’t have to worry if they were overmatched. They wouldn’t lose anything except time (and maybe money for therapy) if they were killed, and the Lord wouldn’t need to have his creatures hold back from any of their nastier abilities.

Caazachir was a male Demontouched Dogik Level 31 Flameclaw / Talent Scout. His profession was literally to scout talent for House Throk to use in the Great Games, as the Upper City referred to the raids. House Throk, in particular, was interested in them because they were the ones who were more likely to engage in taboo practices, such as necromancy or demon summoning. It was an open secret that every child of the House’s main family would have their firstborn with a demon. For the men, that meant lying with a demoness, and for the women it meant being ravaged by a demon. Naturally, a Godtouched Greater Succubus was obviously someone who would interest them. Especially considering her class and profession.

The spider-creature looked over them with his compound eyes, and chittered in a way Catalina took as laughter. “Oh, yes, you all look quite good, for new recruits to the Games. Of course, there are established Players who are stronger than you, as they’ve been doing this for far longer, but that shouldn’t be a problem. After all, it isn’t like you’ll die if they kill you. And the rewards are great, since you would be facing powerful foes. The System always rewards you when you manage to take down foes beyond your level, yes.”

Catalina nodded. “We have, of course, heard rumor of the Games, but it is always hard to tell what is fact and what is fiction, when rumors are spoken between those who have only heard things from afar. What would be expected of those who are recruited into the Games? And what is given in return?”

Caazachir nodded once. “Good, good. You are not simple thugs. I was told this, but, as you said, there is a difference between information gathered and truth seen. To join with one of the Great Houses as a Combatant in the Great Game is to gain access to things that would otherwise be far more difficult to acquire. The Great Houses have repositories of knowledge, both in ancient lore, and things more practical. Rituals to increase one’s power, for instance, or grimoires containing spells for different classes, that one can study and learn. There are trainers for different weapons and styles, who can teach you new tricks, beyond the Skills that the System offers. Gain reputation within the house, and you will gain access to crafters who are masters of their arts, and merchants who can find rare materials that are not commonly available.

“And then, of course, there are the Games themselves. When one fights in the Games, you gain experience, and the System offers you coin and items based on the creatures you slay. These stay with you after the Game, even if you are slain in turn, and revived once the Game is done. Indeed, even those combatants who are taken off the board preemptively between raids will gain some experience from the affair, even if they did not manage to kill a single foe, or accomplish a single goal. Not as much as one who succeeds, naturally, but some. And since there will be creatures so far above you, there is the chance to grow in Tier, if you fight well enough, or long enough.”

So, the pay was primarily in XP and loot from the raids, and House reputation, which could be used to unlock merchants, crafters, and trainers. Possibly finding ways to boost the chances of getting rarer evolutions for their classes and professions when they finally hit Tier 3. All with the guarantee that they can’t permanently die while in the Upper City. That was actually a fairly persuasive arrangement. And the fact that access was tied behind reputation meant there was a reason for people not to go hopping between houses.

“That’s a fairly interesting compensation package,” Catalina nodded. “But you still have not mentioned what is expected of us, if we join.”

Caazachir chittered. “Obviously, fighting in the Games is the primary requirement. The Matriarch understands, better than some of the other House Heads, that sometimes things interfere, such as rituals which must be conducted at a certain time and place, or tending to family not part of the Games, and so on. However, if you miss consecutive Games, then your reputation in the House will decline. And if it declines too far, well, you won’t be part of the House anymore, and will have to earn your way into the Upper City again from scratch, with another House.”

Well, she should have expected something like that. Still, the terms were fairly generous. Even if things happened in ‘real life’, so long as they made it back every few months to keep their ranking current, they wouldn’t lose anything, even if they didn’t gain as quickly as others. And it encouraged people to keep coming to the Lord’s dungeon.

In reality, unless she was caught up in an alien invasion or something of similar insanity, there was no reason she wouldn’t be able to make it back for most, if not all, of the Games. Though she knew better than to make any guarantees, as that had the habit of invoking the newborn God of Misfortune, Murphy, who her Lord told her was very much real, now. At any rate, with the portal network in place, she should be able to make it back to Swamptown in time for the Games every two months, especially since the Lord let it be known that those who became eligible for the raid would have a special portal unlocked for them, so that they could move immediately to the Upper City, without having to fight their way through the rest of the dungeon each time.

She glanced at the rest of her party, even though she knew that they’d do whatever she said. However, the act was an acknowledgement of them, and helped them feel seen. It was a small thing, but it helped keep resentment from forming, and reinforced the bonds between a Dominatrix and her Thralls. That made it far harder for anyone to turn them against her, save with actual mind control spells, which the Thrall title made them resistant to.

There was also the fact that she wasn’t foolish enough to believe that she couldn’t be wrong, or that they would never see things that she had missed. Too many leaders forgot that, so long as there was proper respect involved, listening to different perspectives from the people under you was a way to ensure that you avoided blind spots and logical pitfalls that you would otherwise never have noticed. Those leaders usually ended up getting replaced, if they were lucky, or wound up in a morgue (or a monster’s larder) if they were not.

Thankfully, she got short nods from everyone. Looking back at the giant spider talent scout, Catalina smiled. “Well, we are definitely interested, then. So, what do we do next?”

Caazachir nodded once, as though he had expected no other outcome. Which, to be honest, was probably the truth. Catalina doubted the talent scouts bothered making offers to people they weren’t sure were almost certain to accept. Not unless there was something about the person that made the potential acquisition worth more than the potential hit to their reputation. Or if there were specific orders from above.

“Excellent, then, before we head to the Upper City, we should first get you set with your [Combatant Badges], so that everyone knows you are a part of House Throk, and so that you are protected, in case there are any unfortunate accidents in the Upper City. Hunting combatants between Games is permitted, so long as you do not harm noncombatants, after all.”

“And the combatants killed between Games will still revive?”

“Oh, yes. At the end of the next Game, same as if they’d been killed during the Game. ‘Champion Hunting’ is one way that some of the Great Houses like to gain an advantage early on, and is one way that you can earn reputation from your House between Games. You can hunt general combatants, or look at the [House Bounty Board], which offers bounties of resources and reputation to take down certain individuals before the Games begin. Of course, that is also a double-edged sword, since the targets who have the highest bounties are the ones who are most lethal, and most well-protected. And getting yourself taken out of the Game early will not earn you much reputation.”

“Naturally. Wouldn’t want things to be too easy,” Catalina chuckled.