A Possessor’s Strategy Guide in a Trash Game

Chapter 6: Arrows and Magic (1)

Coastal City Dorman.

It was the northernmost port among the harbors in the western part of the Orion Empire.

Two ships arrived at this city, delivering shocking news.

“Jestion’s viscounty was attacked by monsters and fell in just two days!”

Jestion’s viscounty was a small, unremarkable territory.

Even so, it was a castle by name. For a castle to turn to ashes in two days was utterly unthinkable.

“Is this place safe, then?”

“Of course not. Pack your things. We need to get out of this city.”

“Damn it, I just made a deal for two shiploads of salt!”

“Is salt the issue right now?”

In the marketplace, where rumors had already spread like wildfire, the despairing voices of merchants echoed from all directions.

“This makes it impossible to buy anything, even if we wanted to.”

Jeina surveyed her surroundings and spoke with a troubled expression.

As she said, most shops had shuttered their doors, with everyone preparing to flee.

“There should still be a few places open,” I said.

But Artier merely scanned the area with a calm demeanor.

This city is destined to face at least one defensive battle.

Unlike the viscounty, the merchants and residents of this city couldn’t easily escape.

As a hub of massive capital, there were too many goods tied up in transactions.

Plenty of merchants will go bankrupt. Unlike people, goods are expensive to teleport.

Moreover, this city bore the moniker of the last refuge.

No matter one’s past, if you secured a job through legitimate means here, the city’s code ensured protection from external threats during your tenure.

For them, abandoning their livelihood and fleeing was tantamount to a death sentence.

“What did you say we needed to buy, Jeina?”

“Chicken heart skewers, ginger cookies, and wild boar barbecue.”

“Ginger cookies? That’s an unusual taste.”

“Right? We were always amazed. Who eats cookies as a drinking snack?”

Jeina and I roamed the marketplace, gathering the foods she mentioned bit by bit.

After securing everything, we returned to our reserved lodging and knocked on the closed door.

“Captain, it’s us.”

“Come in.”

Inside, Gerard sat without his armor.

His face was pale, and his cheeks were gaunt, but he greeted Jeina and me with a relaxed smile.

“I told you to stay in bed.”

“I’ve slept so much I can’t anymore.”

“Didn’t the healer say it was a poison even they couldn’t identify? You should be careful.”

I glanced at Gerard’s arm and spoke.

It trembled ever so slightly.

…If it weren’t for the tail.

The poison from the Hell Charger tormented Gerard relentlessly.

Despite receiving treatment from a healer, he still struggled to move his right arm.

“I know, but I can’t leave even this to someone else.”

Gerard gave a bitter smile and set up a drinking table.

Chicken heart skewers, ginger cookies, and wild boar barbecue.

There were only three of us, but six mugs of beer sat on the table.

“Mercenaries die easily. But those deaths shouldn’t be treated lightly. Don’t you agree?”

Gerard raised a mug as he spoke.

A patient drinking beer, of all things.

Normally, I would’ve snatched the mug from his hand, but Jeina and I quietly raised ours.

It was the mercenaries’ ritual.

Offering a final drink to the departed, accompanied by their favorite drinking snacks.

This is a funeral?

It was simple. And far too humble.

I couldn’t understand it.

But Gerard and Jeina tilted their mugs as if it were the most natural thing.

“Ugh, so sweet… How did Ben eat this as a drinking snack?”

“Ben always had peculiar tastes.”

“So peculiar that he never noticed Dina’s interest in him.”

“Dina was interested in Ben?”

“You didn’t know? You’re pretty clueless too, Captain.”

Small, personal stories were exchanged.

But there was no room for me to join in.

As I sipped my beer in silence, Gerard noticed and asked me.

“So, what’s your plan now?”

“Pardon?”

“No need to overthink it. A mercenary corps needs at least six members to stay active.”

Gerard set down his half-empty mug.

“…Are you saying you want me to leave?”

“No, but there’s no reason for a top-tier mercenary like you, not even an upper-tier one, to stick with us, is there?”

Three top-tier mercenaries could form a large-scale mercenary corps rivaling a frontier knight order.

To Gerard, I was too big a fish to keep under his command.

“I see.”

I spoke calmly, sipping my drink, but my mind was far from calm.

Am I crazy? Leave these talented comrades to go find new ones?

Gerard, level 5 with three skills.

Jeina, level 4 with two skills.

How could I abandon such NPCs?

“I don’t like crowded groups.”

“What?”

“There’ll be plenty of mercenaries flocking based on reputation alone, but I doubt any of them would be as strong as Gerard or Jeina.”

In the early game, you could only recruit ordinary NPCs with no skills or, at best, one.

Sure, they could become useful with training, but they’d still pale in comparison to Gerard and Jeina.

“I don’t want to break up this party.”

“Artier…”

Meeting my gaze, Gerard looked embarrassed. Jeina burst into laughter and slung an arm around my neck.

“Hahaha! You think that highly of us? I’m touched!”

From their perspective, I was likely a valuable asset they didn’t want to lose.

They were only willing to let me go because they thought I’d find better prospects.

“Fine, but you’ll take over as party leader. It feels wrong for me to give orders when you’re this skilled.”

“Are you sure you’re okay taking orders from the former rookie?”

“Of course. In the mercenary world, rank is determined by skill. I’d rather not give orders to someone stronger than me.”

“But don’t work our former captain too hard, okay?”

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Of course. I promise.”

In the end, I successfully recruited Gerard and Jeina as party members.

Now what?

The answer was already clear.

When the drinks and snacks were all gone, I looked at them and said.

“I plan to recruit one more party member first.”

“A healer?”

I shook my head at Gerard’s question.

“Of course, a healer is important…”

A healer who could use recovery magic was reassuring just by their presence.

Given Gerard’s injury stemmed from the lack of a healer, I definitely intended to include one in the party.

“But we don’t need to recruit a healer right now. Gerard, you can temporarily fill that role.”

“What?”

Gerard looked momentarily flustered by my words.

“What do you mean?”

“No need to hide it. You probably won’t be swinging a sword for a while, right?”

“….”

“What? Captain, is that true?”

As expected, Jeina hadn’t known. Gerard hurriedly hid his right hand, but it was pointless.

“It was a poison even the healer couldn’t identify. I knew from the moment you woke up.”

“…You’re right. That’s why I was planning to sit out the next mission.”

“No need for that. If the front line is too much, you can support from the rear.”

I planned to change Gerard’s role entirely.

It’s a shame to lose Wind Slash, but using Tactical Command and Shield skills in close combat is inefficient.

Tactical Command’s success rate increases with a clear grasp of the battlefield.

Naturally, observing quietly from the rear would be more effective than fighting Hellmorphs up front.

Especially now that I realized this skill influenced NPCs’ subjective judgment, maximizing its success rate was crucial.

“Even if you say that… I think I’d rather just rest.”

Gerard wore a reluctant expression.

It was only natural for someone who’d spent their life swinging a sword to feel resistant to suddenly being asked to provide rear support.

But I had a plan.

“You might not know since you’ve been cooped up here, but Dorman’s situation isn’t great right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Rumors are spreading that we fled from the viscounty.”

“Yeah, the merchants were buzzing about it. Not everyone, but a lot will probably leave, right?”

Jeina chimed in, finishing the last skewer cleanly.

“Dorman is the closest city to Jestion’s viscounty. That makes it highly likely those monsters will come here.”

“Probably.”

“There’s no guarantee they won’t show up before your right arm heals.”

“….”

If he only rested, Gerard would be useless when the defensive battle began. But if he learned rear support, he could take on a role, even if imperfectly.

Unless Gerard was the type to enjoy being carried by others—which he wasn’t, given his desire to do his part—there was no real choice.

“Fine, I’ll give it a try. What do I need to do? Study healing magic or something?”

At Gerard’s response, I stood up with a smile.

“No need for that. Healing magic isn’t something you can learn so easily, is it?”

While NPCs or players could acquire skills through skill books, their cost was prohibitively expensive in the early game. The reward from our last mission wouldn’t even come close.

“Then how will we handle recovery?”

“We’ll stock up on potions for now. For the time being, focus on training to enhance your existing Shield magic.”

“Shield magic? But even Ben’s Shield was shattered so easily by those monsters…”

“That’s likely due to the characteristics of the monsters we faced.”

Hell Assassins had a piercing passive skill, which is why Ben’s Shield broke so easily.

And the Hell Charger’s raw stats were so high that Gerard’s Shield couldn’t withstand it.

But aside from bad matchups, Shield was undeniably a useful spell.

“Trust me.”

“If you say so, there must be a reason. Alright.”

“What about me?”

“Well, Jeina…”

Scrape.

Pulling my chair back and standing, I pointed to the door and said.

“Shall we go find a new party member together?”

The most thrilling event in .

It was time to recruit new party members.