Ollie selected the ‘yes’ option on his display, and details showed up outlining the proposed subclass commission.

  

  >> COMMISSION TERMS

  Upon acceptance of this subclass, you will be required to fulfill periodic bounties and hunt down loan defaulters, other aberrant individuals, and rogue elements. Bounties will be scaled according to your class and attribute levels and will not require you to go far out of your way in order to fulfill them. You will also receive a portion of the funds recovered from the target and may have access to bonuses for the swift completion of bounties.

  While most bounties will be optional, from time to time, the System will post a mandatory bounty, which will take priority over any other activities you are engaged in. Failure to complete these bounties will result in your subclass being stripped away and a suitable fine being issued.

  Would you like to read more? Yes/No

  Ollie frowned as he thought he saw movement to his left. He turned just as the sound of movement on his other side signaled yet another bladed attack. He turned his shoulder toward the sound, and this time two of the blades were deflected, while a third was driven into his right arm.

  “Fuck!” he blurted, reaching up with his spare hand and ripping the blade out.

  Unlike the other blades, this one was tipped with a golden residue, and there were small holographic coins circling the blade.

  

  >> WARNING: FUNDS STOLEN

  >> 107 Belch Bucks withdrawn from wallet

  Ollie dropped the blade into his inventory, quickly putting two and two together. Clearly, these blades were designed to drain cash rather than stick him with venom. The effect was the same, however. His cash reserves were laughably low, and soon he’d be completely helpless, with no option but to toss the Bobo doll and run for it.

  He quickly selected ‘yes’ as the subclass description continued.

  

  >> LOAN SHARK ENFORCER [Treasury Paladin Subclass]

  The Loan Shark Enforcer blends divine finance and predatory instinct. Where standard Treasury Paladins protect wealth, the Enforcer reclaims it — rooting out deception, exposing stealth, and enforcing cosmic debt collection through radiant violence.

  >> PASSIVE ABILITIES:

  +| STENCH OF DEBT (Detection)

  The Enforcer’s senses become attuned to the scent of unpaid dues and hidden wealth. Loan Shark Enforcers gain an innate ability to detect the presence of stolen, hoarded, or ill-gotten currency within a 100-foot radius.

  Hidden or stealthy enemies who are carrying “unpaid” assets (stolen, borrowed, or embezzled) emit a faint golden shimmer visible only to the Enforcer.

  The Enforcer gains +25% accuracy against camouflaged or invisible targets marked this way.

  >> UTILITY ABILITIES:

  +| LEDGER LOCKDOWN: (Area Denial / Anti-Theft)

  The Enforcer consecrates a 15-foot radius zone known as the Credit Seal, preventing the transfer, theft, or hiding of assets within it. Enemies attempting to steal, vanish, or conceal items within the zone are instantly revealed and rooted in place for 2 seconds.

  Any Belch Bucks, gold, or valuables dropped within the zone cannot be picked up by enemies for the duration and will automatically pass to the Enforcer’s wallet.

  Lasts 10 seconds. Cooldown: 60 seconds.

  >> OFFENSIVE ABILITIES:

  +| DEBT COLLECTOR’S WRATH

  The Enforcer channels divine financial aggression into a single punishing strike against a marked debtor. The target must have previously been marked by Stench of Debt or struck within The Enforcer’s Credit Seal.

  Deals 200% attack power as radiant-financial damage.

  If the target has stolen Belch Bucks or goods within the last hour, they take an additional 15% damage.

  Successful attacks restore 5% of any Belch Bucks the Enforcer has lost in the previous hour.

  +| FINAL REPOSSESSION (Execution)

  The Enforcer delivers the ultimate financial reckoning upon a target who has evaded their debts for too long. This ability consumes 1,000 Belch Bucks to mark a single enemy for Final Repossession.

  Over 5 seconds, spectral golden chains drag the target toward the Enforcer, reducing movement speed by 80% and dealing 5% max HP damage per second.

  If the target dies under this effect, the Enforcer reclaims 50% of all Belch Bucks spent in the last 30 seconds, and nearby allies are healed for that amount as radiant energy.

  Cooldown: 120 seconds.

  Ollie frowned. “Okay, I’m not seeing any downside here. Are you, Nero?”

  [Nero] There seem to be significant benefits to this subclass, and it pairs well with your existing class. The only caution I would offer is that accepting this commission means you will, from time to time, have to fulfill bounties. This may come at an inconvenient time.

  “True, but that’s just how quests work, right? The only difference is that some of them I won’t be able to ignore.”

  He quickly reread the initial details the System outlined about the agreement but couldn’t find any fine print that changed his view.

  

  >> SIGNING BONUS:

  >> ITEM: Vault Keeper Boots

  TYPE: Rare Boots (Treasury Paladin Class Item)

  STATS AND EFFECTS: +15% Movement Speed

  +10% Healing Output when standing still or channeling a class ability.

  Passive: Balanced Footing – Every 10 seconds of uninterrupted combat increases your Defense by 1%, stacking up to 10%. The stack resets when you flee combat or are knocked down.

  Passive: Coin Trail – Enemies that strike you have a 15% chance to drop a small amount of Belch Bucks, visible only to Treasury Paladins.

  >> ACCEPT LOAN SHARK ENFORCER SUBCLASS

  >> Yes/No

  Ollie didn’t hesitate. He accepted the deal and felt a sudden rush of power as the changes were made. His new Enforcer abilities appeared on his hot bar and his profile, and the subclass title appeared beneath his Treasury Paladin details.

  The most notable change, however, was the pair of gold boots that materialized on his feet. They were comfortable, sturdy, and felt like they instantly gave him a lot more stability.

  The other change he noticed right away was that he could now sense the three remaining Loan Breakers in the surrounding area. They were standing apart, arrayed in a semicircle about twenty feet ahead of him, right out there in the open. Their stealth abilities were so good that they didn’t even bother trying to hide behind cars or the concrete pillars that dominated the interior of the car park facility.

  His newly enhanced vision showed the three goblin enemies in a slight golden light, as though their bodies were being projected by holographic light. As he stood staring, though, Ollie got used to his new perspective.

  They were all four feet tall or a little shorter, all dressed in tight-fitting black clothes but with dark cloaks. They wore bandoliers across their chests, but with sets of knives housed in each loop of leather, and they each held a wickedly sharp-looking black dagger in one hand, with some kind of metallic device in their left hand, which Ollie supposed was how they stole Belch Bucks.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  As he looked out at the enemy, he realized how unprepared he’d been before. Even with his back against the wall, they could have picked him off easily, either with envenomed knives or the wicked black blades they all carried. Without realizing it, he truly had been helpless just standing there trying to take them out while he was effectively blind.

  But he wasn’t blind anymore.

  Ollie could see that one of the Loan Breakers had green blood running down his mask and onto its cloak, and he realized that this was the first goblin he’d managed to hit. The figure was moving from foot to foot, clearly agitated and in contrast to the other two.

  Ollie felt a strange moment of guilt as he watched the figure, blood dripping from one gloved hand that twitched periodically. They were clearly badly wounded, wounded by the blow Ollie himself had received, yet they were still here, hiding behind a black mask, preparing to attack.

  He reminded himself that they had stolen from him and would likely have killed him if it wasn’t for his newly acquired subclass. But somehow, now that he could see them so clearly, it felt wrong to just press his advantage and slaughter the three goblins.

  “You get one chance,” he said, holding up a finger and staring directly at the wounded goblin. “You give me back my money and leave, and we’re done here. If you attack or try to steal more money from me, you’re all dead.”

  The wounded goblin turned to face the others, hand twitching. The enemy in the middle of the three turned to face the wounded Loan Breaker and shook its head. Some unspoken understanding passed between them, and Ollie watched as the wounded goblin pulled a set of knives from his bandolier, while the goblin on the right did the same.

  “Your fucking funeral,” Ollie said, not waiting for the attack he now knew was coming.

  He triggered Debt Collector’s Wrath, noting that each of the three figures standing opposite him had small split gold coins floating above their heads. The split ran right down to the bottom third of each coin, like a crack in dry ground. Ollie knew without needing to check that the split coins signified that each of the enemies had been marked with his Stench of Debt passive ability, which made them viable targets for his Enforcer abilities.

  He aimed for the wounded goblin first, and the Debt Collector’s Wrath ability fired, sending a shard of golden light down from the sky, slamming into the Loan Breaker’s body with terrifying force. Ollie was already running as the blow struck, cutting through the goblin’s body and splitting the creature in half as though a giant golden cleaver had fallen from the sky.

  

  >> KILL REWARD: 100 Belch Bucks

  >> BOUNTY BONUS: 50 Belch Bucks

  Before the enemy to his right could throw their knives, Ollie triggered Balance of Judgement, and the split coin hovering above the marked enemy’s head was joined by a larger, spinning coin that signaled the Treasury Paladin ability. The coin flipped to its healing side, showing two hands in prayer, but it still delivered sufficient damage to knock the goblin back and foil its attack, giving Ollie enough time to close the gap and swing his crowbar.

  It became clear as Ollie slammed the crowbar into the unprepared Loan Debtor that these enemies were not used to being seen. The speed with which Ollie had attacked and closed the gap had completely wrong-footed the enemy so that it was unable to mount a viable defense when Ollie’s crowbar smashed into the side of its head and sent the goblin stumbling to the side.

  The blow hit with a satisfying crack, and Ollie felt the full extent of his increased Strength as the throwing knives fell from the goblin’s hands and it stumbled to the side, struggling to stay standing.

  Before Ollie could finish the attack, he saw the remaining Loan Breaker coming up behind and spun around to meet the attacker, triggering Ledger Lockdown, which sent out a holographic grid that stretched outward from his body like a lattice of intersecting golden lasers.

  The moment the goblin came within range of the ability, its movement was halted, and it froze in place, trapped within the lattice as Ollie brought his crowbar down against its head with lethal force. Light flared from the impact point, sparking off the end of the crowbar as some kind of ward was triggered.

  The Loan Breaker shuddered, obviously stunned and hurt by the blow but nowhere near as badly injured as it should have been. The goblin lashed out at Ollie with its wicked blade, slicing through the air at his abdomen. Avoiding being cut to pieces by a long dagger was a hell of a lot easier, however, when you could clearly see your enemy, and Ollie was able to shift his body and avoid the blade thrust, bringing his crowbar down hard against the goblin’s arm and breaking bone as the weapon made contact.

  The creature yelped in a high-pitched voice, trying to pull away but unable to move while it was trapped by Ollie’s Ledger Lockdown ability. It dropped the blade but ducked down and plucked the weapon out of midair with its free hand, slashing at Ollie’s legs and scoring a cut, which sent a sharp shock of pain up Ollie’s body.

  Cursing, Ollie swung his crowbar again, this time connecting with lethal finality. The weapon smashed into the side of the Loan Breaker’s head, knocking it sideways and sending the mask flying off into the air as the creature crumpled in a heap.

  

  >> KILL REWARD: 150 Belch Bucks

  >> BOUNTY BONUS: 75 Belch Bucks

  Unable to trigger Balance of Judgment for the next thirty seconds in order to heal his newly sustained leg injury, Ollie limped around, intending to finish off the last Loan Breaker. Before he could do so, however, smoke bloomed around the injured creature, and it vanished into thin air. Ollie looked around for the remaining Loan Breaker, but there was no sign of the goblin.

  “The fuck?”

  [Nero] I would suggest that these Loan Breakers possess a device or ability of some kind which allows them to extricate themselves from a fight with speed. It may translocate them outside the radius of your passive Stench of Debt ability, which is why you can no longer sense the enemy.

  Ollie nodded. “Makes sense,” he said, grimacing in pain as he inspected the wound on his leg. “Jesus, I think that blade had venom on it too.”

  [Nero] Not venom, but it does appear to have applied a bleeding effect. You should heal as soon as you are able, and I would once more suggest purchasing several medkits when you next use a Vend-o-matic machine so that you can heal injuries like this without having to use your abilities.

  Ollie stood patiently, surveying the scene as he waited for his healing spell cooldown to finish. The cut he’d received on his leg wasn’t a particularly deep wound, but the bleeding effect was troublesome. It seemed to Ollie that there was far too much blood flowing, and he could imagine what it would be like to get cut with the weapon half a dozen times.

  Once the cooldown was up, he triggered his healing ability, and the wound was healed. Ollie then set about looting the bodies of the dead Loan Breakers one by one. He was able to recover not only his stolen Belch Bucks, but also quite a lot of additional money that each Loan Breaker held, both in the form of Belch Bucks and a series of golden bars each around the size of a finger, which glowed with vibrant light.

  

  ACHIEVEMENT: The Lootiest Loot!

  Congratulations! You’ve just looted over a million Belch Bucks worth of loot in a single encounter! You are now rich! Enjoy this brief moment of extreme wealth, because these ill-gotten gains will soon pass back to the Mammon System. Holding so much wealth in your hot little hands will undoubtedly spur you on to new heights of acquisition and profit, so your wallet should match these new expectations.

  ACHIEVEMENT REWARD: Wallet Upgrade to 500k max Belch Buck capacity.

  A moment after the announcement, the System confirmed that Ollie had looted over five million Belch Bucks worth of Luxium. The bars were then promptly removed, leaving Ollie feeling like he’d been robbed for the second time that morning.

  

  >> RECOVERY FEE: 200 Belch Bucks

  “Two hundred Bucks? Seriously?”

  [Nero] You should be grateful, Ollie. If it wasn’t for your Loan Shark Enforcer subclass, you would not have been given any reward at all. In fact, if another player had managed to kill these enemies, they would not have even found the Luxium bars. Given that you are now working for the System, to some extent, these kinds of opportunities will present themselves from time to time.

  Ollie nodded, remembering the strange metallic bars he’d held for just a few seconds. They’d been gold in color, of course, but with a pearlescent sheen. Unlike gold, they were also very light and seemed to actually generate light from within rather than simply reflect it. He found himself wondering what he could buy in this game if he had just one of those bars.

  “What’s the deal with this Luxium stuff then?” he asked, reaching down to pick up one of the dark blades the Loan Breakers had used.

  [Nero] It is a light-based metal that is exceptionally rare and thus used as a premium form of currency by the wealthy. The bars you retrieved from these Loan Breakers each represent approximately a hundred thousand Belch Bucks in value. The process of forging Luxium bars is extremely complex, and the production of this currency is tightly regulated by the Bank of Tongsly Belch. Belch Bucks can be exchanged for Luxium bars at only a single location: the central bank on Fortunis. Before exchanging Belch Bucks for any quantity of Luxium, you must also be validated, and the exchange must be approved by Tongsly Belch himself. A hefty fee is also applied to each exchange.

  Ollie snorted. “Of course it is. So, let me get this straight. This Belch fucker controls the game, controls all the money, and even the Richy Rich bastards have to buy their fancy gold bars from the guy?”

  [Nero] In essence, yes. However, I would refrain from making disparaging remarks about High Barron Tongsly Belch.

  Ollie held his hands up in surrender. “Of course. All hail the mighty High Baron. May his grace shine upon us! May the light from his glorious visage illuminate our path.”

  [Nero] You should know, Ollie, that while I am an artificial intelligence, I am able to accurately identify most forms of sarcasm, flattery, irony, and the like. Insincere praise may be seen in a similar light to outright criticism. I should inform you that, while a certain amount of disgruntled verbiage is to be expected and is thus tolerated, it would nevertheless be unwise to engage in outright insults or unvarnished criticism.

  Ollie seriously thought about loading up a few choice comments with even more sarcasm but decided against it. Whether he liked it or not, he was fighting for his life in a Running Man style game, so pissing off the games master wasn’t a good idea.

  He turned the knife he’d just picked up over in his hands, examining the blade with interest as a description showed up.

  

  >> DEBTOR’S DIRK

  The weapon of choice for Loan Breakers and other rogue elements that exist outside of the Mammon System’s purview and that wish to escape all forms of surveillance. The Debtor’s Dirk is a lightweight blade fashioned from Midnight Orichalcum, making it lightweight, highly resistant to chipping or breaking, and perfectly suited to stealth-based classes and NPCs.

  >> WEAPON ATTRIBUTES:

  +10 Stealth: Any existing camouflaged or stealth abilities will be enhanced by the blade while it is being held.

  +5 Bleed: Enemies will bleed profusely from any wound sustained by Debtor’s Dirk for 30 seconds or until healed.

  .0001% chance to garner the attention of the Abyssal Lords with each use.

  Ollie chuckled as he slipped the blade into his inventory. He walked over and picked up a second and third blade, both of which looked very similar but had slightly different markings etched into their metal handles.

  [Nero] Is there something amusing about that particular weapon?

  Ollie shook his head. “Nah, I just know my mate Pete will love this. Dude loves his daggers. Loves stealth shit too. I figure I’ll save one and sell the rest.”

  He checked his map and found the location of the closest kiosk.

  “Alright then. Seems like shit’s looking up for old Ollie.”