Headed by a Snake

The blonde woman was well over six fulms tall... and built like a warhorse that did nothing but work the fields and eat children.

She wasn't wearing metal armor... but with so much meat on her, she might as well have been. She was definitely some kind of Martial Class, too... as she had a sword on her waist and her left arm had a big metal half-shield strapped to it.

Whether or not he or Porter could take her didn't matter. It wouldn't be quick... and even if they had any intel on the big woman's identity, Porter did f*ck all to share it. If the woman was a protege of Sol Invictus member Dragan, then she might have been able to take care of the entire Bone Rat Gang all by herself...

Benji didn't sign up for that. None of the rats did.

It was time to go.

"Hey, Ellie!" The elf girl's voice rose in excitement. "Mister Porter, here, just wanted to talk to me about something. And the others..."

"--were just passing by," Benji waved his hand. "We'll see you back at work, Porter."

Porter grit his teeth... but nodded, "Right. Work."

Benji pulled his hood down and placed his hands in his pockets. The Bone Rats would leave as fast as possible without attracting attention... then they'd meet up at the warehouse.

Porter was on his own... but he was clever enough to figure out how to find his way back.

No one got hurt. No one could prove anything other than hearsay. No one could say nothin' that he and the boys were anything less than law-abiding citizens of the Eastern States.

Granted, Benji was probably going to get chewed out, later... but enough of the guys would vouch for him. Enough Rats died every few moons that everyone preferred to keep on the safe side than risk dying for a slightly fatter paycheck.

He walked towards the ally, hearing the footsteps of the rest of the crew following him... He was about to turn the corner-- but an adventurer stepped out at the same time.

Black armor... shining and expensive. Green hair with a pristine-white helmet underneath an arm. Same height as he was-- which wasn't too tall... but... it matched the description of one of the Bone Rat Gang's marks.

Tyco.

Even if Benji didn't know that that man was Gold-Rank... he could swear he could feel it.

It was how straight his back was. It was... the striking color of his eyes as they stared into Benji's black soul.

It emanated an aura of...  'do NOT f*ck with me.'

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," Tyco said... "You're obstructing my passage."

A dark-skinned Bone Rat stepped forward before Benji could stop him-- "Hey, kid. I think you's the one obstructin' our--"

The movement was so fast that Benji could only comprehend it after the fact.

That Tyco guy, he grabbed Luther's wrist and pulled down... while at the same time kicked at his kneecap. The leg... it bent backward. Then, he... just collapsed against the wooden wall of the building, staring out into space like he saw something he shouldn't have.

Benji and everyone else... they watched it all happen, not quite sure what to make of it.

It didn't even take five seconds for Tyco to take down a grown man.

It didn't matter that they were in the middle of a city. It didn't matter that the Bone Rats outnumbered the guy. It didn't matter that Benji had recently leveled up his ⌈Shadowtooth Strike⌋ to Level Ten.

That... was what it meant to be Gold-Rank.

And for Luther... that's what it meant to be a normal guy who tried to challenge a god.

Tyco walked past. Benji and the others didn't move to stop him.

"Miss Elle, Miss Coraline," He waved as he approached the elf restaurant table. "I've come to... Who the hells is this?"

"A friendly acquaintance, Sir," Coraline smiled. "Mister Porter is a... leader of his own organization."

"Ah, is that so?" The green-haired man nodded as he cracked his knuckles. "Mister Porter, I respectfully ask you to step away from my lovely girlfriend, else I shall separate your head from your neck with my bare hands."

"Um," The big woman, Elle, frowned, "Unprofessional!"

"Benji..." One of the Bone-Rats whispered, "What-do-we do?"

"Grab Luther. We'll take 'em back to Doan," Benji whispered back... "Porter'll take care o' that guy."

Porter stood up, one hand in a pocket, the other waving in surrender, "I uh... Master Tyco... I... meant no offense."

Tyco's face twisted like he could smell the shite coming out of Porter's mouth.

The big woman snorted in laughter while the elf giggled, an annoyingly high-pitched series of squeaks.

It was... insulting-- and Benji was annoyed on his boss' behalf.

"M-master Tyco," Coraline shook her head, still chuckling. "It's fine. Mister Porter's offered to pay for our meals!"

"Oh, has he?" Tyco groaned in annoyance. "Very well. You there, friend-elf. I would entreat you for a half-pound of the restaurant's finest on Mister Porter's coin. Double-thick slices, if you would."

"Right away, Master Adventurer," A male elf nodded, "And shall I prepare the bill?"

"Good service," Tyco shrugged.

"Agreed!" Coraline laughed. "Mister Waiter, please charge Mister Porter with additional gratuity. You've all been most wonderful."

"Of course, milady. Nothing but the best for our customers," The elf bowed before hurrying off to the kitchens.

Porter was gritting his teeth. He was being embarrassed... and he probably wouldn't be able to leave without taking a hit to his wallet. Their gang had completed a good slew of contracts recently... but the Boss can't have had that much silver to spare.

However... he wasn't the type of guy to take a loss without getting anything in return, "Master Tyco... about the reason I approached Miss Coraline. Does *this* look familiar to you?"

There it was. Porter took out the Mind-Control pearl... a weird-looking pink sphere that fit in the palm of his hand.

The game was over... and with a Gold-Rank as a thrall of the Bone Rats, everyone in the gang would benefit.