A Simple Transaction I

It took a special breed of individual to be capable of moving past such definitive loss. To tarry onwards wholeheartedly, fueling themselves with the memories and lessons imbedded by those dearly departed. Nine held no delusions that he was such an individual. Two muddled weeks had elapsed in the blink of an eye, with the mercenary only being vaguely aware of such developments.

Even his missions as of late, ones that would have taken even the intrepid strongmen weeks to accomplish, had been completed within the span of days. Far as it was from a record-breaking performance, the results of his actions nonetheless garnered the attention of more than just the rank and file. The masses had the right of it; it was as expected from one of the few dogs the Director had left in his employ.

Hence why he found himself standing across the Director in the latter's office. Stood tall while focused in the empty space in front of him. Off to the side was Doctor Fernandez, rifling through the contents of his worn clipboard. His wardrobe as disheveled as his handwriting. How the man could withstand his own wretched appearance continued to addle Nine's thought process. The fact that Director August, the epitome of professional etiquette, did nothing to reprimand the doctor only worsened it.

"You certainly find yourself easily distracted by the most mundane of things, Nine."

The mercenary had enough common sense to appear sheepish; August crinkled his eyes as he waved it off. "I suppose you must have an idea as to why I summoned you here." The Director sat himself on the edge of his table as he faced Nine, brows furrowed and lips pursed. "It is no exaggeration to say that we have lost many capable operatives against the Rotbeast. And though the Elixir Sovereign continues to provide us assistance per the established agreement, it is far from enough."

Well manicured hands cradled a chiseled jaw as elbows perched themselves upon August's knee. "We are doomed to fail not only our quotas but to breach on-going contracts should the current situation persist. Our hands have thus been forced to temporarily increase the burden placed on our able operatives."

"As such, we have studiously examined the recent performances of our available operatives and have begun to handout missions to those who have proven themselves capable." Oswald took that as his cue to produce several envelopes from his person, now neatly aligned in front of the red eyed mercenary.

"We'd normally just send ya packin' for whatever's available, lapdog. But as our resident pretty boy explained, we're short on hands and you're the next best thing we've got on board. Details're in the pack." Glasses were removed by trembling fingers, with Oswald doing his level best to get whatever dust was left on the polished lenses.

"And whatever you choose, don't go getting yourself killed alright? Bad enough we lost Viktor; can't go around losing the closest thing he had to a disciple."


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Nine has chosen to continue being the [9] Dog of the Director, followed by internalizing the following lessons and experiences [9] Experience and Acumen I, [9] A Mentor's Advice, and [9] Fanged Ferocity II. Resources have been used up, to the point that Nine has found himself with -1.8 Apostle Credits. As such, Nine will be moving forward with a holistic deduction of 18% until the debt has been cleared.

And as far as company benefits go, every capable mercenary seems to have received an off-season promotion. But you know what they say: With longer job titles, come longer assignments. Pick one of the Assignments listed below, and hope Nine's ready for whatever rains may come.

[ ] Off Brand Salvation: "We've been consistently providing aid to some ruined city state or another. We deliver supplies, do trade, and offer muscle to keep the spooky monsters out. 'Course, we've gotten ourselves some unused real estate with what's happened recently. So it's in our best interest to integrate whatever's left of them to bolster our own diminished capacity. Obviously, we didn't pick you for your linguistics."
- Protect the more linguistically talented operatives whose main role is to subvert the remnants of the dilapidated civilization.
- More bodies means less burden for the average rank and file.
- At Nine's current level, the malignant elements within the area barely pose a threat. Unless things go awry, not much fighting is expected. If things do, however, then Nine is the only worthwhile combatant available.
- Estimated Difficulty: B+ (Combat: D~B+)

[ ] Terrorist And Saboteur: "Our counter intelligence teams have decoded systematic correspondence amongst the Fang Empire and multiple well-known and established brigands. Their continued relationship will prove detrimental to our branch if left unattended. You are free to employ whatever methods necessary to rid ourselves an obstacle."
- Effectively a solo mission.
- Off the books; leave no trace of the company's involvement.
- Meant to be a long term mission, albeit Nine will be working with information whose contents may became irrelevant without warning.
- Target rich environment. May provide 1-2 picks worth of advancements, dependent on how many groups are destroyed.
- Estimated Difficulty: A++
- Upon success, receive: +August, ++Viktor

[ ] Mindless Onslaught: "A straightforward task. We'll be dropping you and a few other combat specialists off a recently identified island. It's infested with monsters noted to have quite the catastrophic danger level. Of course, such monsters would carry with them rare materials and greatly worthwhile data. Subjugate them by any means necessary, and ensure that our collection teams are unhampered on the way back."
- Off to fight monsters!
- No moral or ethical quandary to worry about.
- Just gotta kill things and harvest them as if you were some hunter of old!
- Experience rich environment. Even when taking into account the other participants, it is possible to acquire 2-3 picks worth of Advancements.
- Estimated Difficulty: S+
- Upon success, receive: +++August, unlocks [Alpha]

Apostle: Nine White

Progression Rate: 200%

Symbiote: Promise

Astral Rank: 3.20

Brand: Apostle

Apostle Credits Spent: 17

Conditions

None currently

Attributes

• Wisdom: +++
• Intelligence: +
• Teamwork: +++
• Control: ++ | +
• Might: +++ | +
• Agility: +++++
• Output: +++++++
• Heartlessness: ++
• Willpower: ++

Loyalty

• Viktor: +
• Izmerel: +
• August: +
• Sanae: +
• Benefactor: +