The Rat King

Asher had completed a couple more odd jobs from the guild over the next few weeks. He had upgraded to a brand new iron sword and he had gotten shin guards because the majority of the jobs were just pest control. The shin guards were just thick cloth, but it was better than nothing. Asher felt a lot more confident about going out on jobs with at least some armor. Especially when it came to the rats.

He had gained a nickname amongst the next class of adventurer up from him. He was known as the rat king. This only fueled his desire to rank up in the guild.

He was only a few bronze short of getting a used steel sword. Asher had broken two of the iron swords, with his newest one being practically brand new. He expected this one would last him a while at his level, but he expected if he upgraded to steel he would never have to worry about his blade breaking again at his rank.

The secretary had done everything he could to give Asher solo jobs, per his request. The issue was, those would only last so long as Asher was doing them back to back now as his gear had improved. His skills were also improving as he did more jobs.

Asher's attitude had not improved, however. He had a distinct dislike of most people, preferring to either stay silent or give one word answers to most people other than the secretary.

As Asher finished up one more job and cashed in his rewards, the secretary shook his head. "I've got no more solo work for you, Asher."

"Only party work then?"

"Only party work."

Asher pursed his lips in thought. "What if I just did the work of a party by myself?"

"I can't allow that, Asher. You know that already. There is a reason these jobs are for groups. They're dangerous for one person. You've done well so far, but you have only gone up against rats and a stray coyote or two. This is your next step. If you complete a couple of these, they may rank you up."

Asher's eyes lit up at the thought of that. If he ranked up, he'd be making much more money than he currently was. He could comfortably afford new armor and a brand new weapon.

"What do you have that sounds somewhat easy?"

"I have an issue with a pack of coyotes. We're not sure exactly how many, just that there's a lot of them. You'll be working with a group of four, including yourself. The payout isn't much, I'll admit. It's a bit less than what you're used to working solo."

"It's fine. If I get promoted, I'll be making up for it soon."

The secretary nodded in response. "I had a feeling you'd say that. That's why I went ahead and signed you up for it. If you come back successfully, I'll sign you up for the wolf pack that's been harassing caravans."

Asher looked intrigued by the next job. "I'm very interested in that. When I get back, tell me more. For now, where do I meet up with the rest of my party?"

"They're already outside waiting on you. I told them you were coming along."

"Oh, joy. I can't wait to hear their nickname for me once again," Asher said sarcastically.

"The difference in them and you is that you are on the very cusp of ranking up, Asher."

Asher nodded in approval of that response. He would put up with it for now. If he played nice a bit longer he would be in for a much better payout.

As soon as he opened the door, one fat man shouted, "It's the rat king himself! What's the matter, you run out of rats?"

Asher muttered under his breath, "At least I ran myself out of work and not out of food."

One particularly skinny man snapped his fingers and a flame came out of his palm. Asher was intrigued, because at the F rank there usually were no mages.

"What are you doing at F rank?" Asher asked. The mage retorted, "The same as you. I showed myself to be nearly useless to the guild."

Asher clicked his tongue. He wasn't a fan of the attitude, but he could sympathize at the same time. He knew the feeling all too well.

"Are we going to get moving or what?" Asher snapped at the rest of the group. "I'd like to get this over with."

The fat man laughed and slung a Warhammer over his shoulder before beginning to march out of town. The rest of the group followed him. Asher guessed he was the leader out of this particular group.

In addition to the fat man and the mage there was a lean person in a hooded cloak. Asher hadn't heard them say a word so far and he actually preferred this person due to that fact. The mage and the fat man were joking around the entire way despite Asher having told them to be quiet so they could take the coyotes unaware.

As they made their way into a meadow, they were surrounded by coyotes. Asher watched their movements and was suspicious of what he saw. They didn't behave like normal coyotes would. They were organized, trying to herd them.

As luck would have it, Asher noticed the person commanding them in the darkness under the treeline. He heard a whistle and the coyotes pounced in for the attack.

The fat man with the Warhammer swung his hammer hard, crushing bone. The mage seemed to back up his word as being useless as he could only perform one spell known as spark which was a single burst of explosive flame. Even that spell was incredibly weak, barely singing the hair off the wolves.

Asher noted that the only real saving grace was the cloaked adventurer. They pulled out a glistening steel sword and sliced through the coyotes like butter. It wasn't enough though. The mage was brought down first and eaten alive.

Asher heard the screams piercing the air. He was almost tempted to go and help the mage, but he had his own issues to deal with. There were at least three coyotes trying to circle him. One charged in and Asher slashed at it, gouging out it's eyes in one hit.

The other two went in after Asher was distracted. He swung out and buried his sword in one's skull before kicking it off and piercing the other deep in the chest.

The screams had died down and Asher looked in the direction of the mage and wished he hadn't. There were entrails and blood everywhere in a ten foot radius.

The fat man was the next to go down as his weapon of choice was tiring him out. Asher had every opportunity in the world to help him, but he preferred not to with how much he disliked the man from his initial encounter with him.

Asher instead went back to back with the cloaked adventurer. A soft female voice spoke up, "Don't let your guard down. The man commanding them could be anywhere."

"You saw him too?" Asher asked.

"Yes. I had my suspicions since I heard about this job. Be careful though, we're not done with these beasts yet."

Asher agreed with her as there were at least five more coyotes that had formed a circle. They stared at the two of them in the center with hungry eyes and bloody mouths from eating the mage and the fat man.

Asher could honestly say he never knew their names and he would never care either. As he finished that thought, the first coyote rushed in and took Asher's blade to its head. Another one rushed the cloaked adventurer and it's headless body continued to run until it fell into the dirt. The rest of them rushed in attempting to overwhelm the two with numbers.

The cloaked warrior slashed twice and Asher stabbed once. Just like that, there was a pack of coyotes gone. They had lost two party members, but Asher considered it good riddance.

The cloaked adventurer folded back their hood to reveal red hair and emerald green eyes and a beautiful face with high cheek bones and a straight nose. "I am Leah. Will you help me deal with the person who controls these animals?"

Asher nodded. "This should be considered an E rank job with a human element added in. If we eliminate him, our payment will be significantly higher, especially with our party members dead."

"Agreed. We'll not mention the fact that both of us had ample opportunity to help them both," Leah said.

Asher winced at that comment. He didn't think it was so obvious, but this person was perceptive. Leah commented, "Relax, I couldn't stand either one of them. The payout is higher and we're well on our way to both ranking up. I will look forward to working together again after this job is finished."

Once she had finished speaking, they began to track down the person who had tamed all the coyotes. There were a couple here and there in their way, but it was nothing they couldn't handle.

Asher found the man who had been commanding the coyotes. He had been hiding under a copse of trees. Asher shoved his blade in between his foe's teeth before the man could even beg for mercy, as soon as he had opened his mouth to speak.

Leah suggested they take an ear as proof along with a couple of mementos from their fellow adventurers. Upon presenting them to the secretary, his eyes became huge in response. "I had no idea, Asher. I thought this was a simple job. You've more than proven yourself now. You are now officially promoted to E rank. Your reward for this job would have normally been fifty bronze at E rank, but since your companions aren't with you, I'm going to double that."

The moment those words left the secretary's mouth, Asher had to resist the urge to smile. Leah was right that they would be promoted with proof of a human being involved in the job. Asher knew this was a huge step in his goal of climbing the ranks.