《Impact Archanist》


 Chapter One

    The impact of metal on flesh and the noise of bones cracking resonated throughout the room. Even as I pulled my arm back, looking at the man¡¯s mangled face, all I could feel was rage. The second blow was even heavier than the first, this time breaking his nose and cheek bone. He wasn¡¯t going to smirk again. He was never going to be able to smirk at me again while taking everything from me. ¡°Stop! You¡¯re going to kill him!¡±


    A familiar feminine voice called out before I could land a third blow, and instead delivered it to the undeserving floor. I could hardly breathe and my head was swimming. Was she actually defending him? ¡°So you agree with him, Tranna?¡± I said, dragging my eyes from the man to look back at the woman dressed in white robes.


    Her hands clenched tightly around the staff in her hands, the staff I made, and she quickly averted her gaze. ¡°Y-you¡¯re gonna kill him¡­¡± she mumbled.


    Slowly I got to my feet, unable to take my eyes off the woman in white. But she refused to meet my gaze. As I stepped towards her, I could see her shaking. ¡°Seven years means nothing? We¡¯ve¡­ we¡¯ve been a party for seven years. My so-called useless abilities have saved our lives hundreds of times. And now¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­it¡¯s not that we¡¯re ungrateful¡­¡± she managed to say.


    ¡°Not ungrateful? I have done¡­¡± I could only manage to vaguely wave my hand. ¡°So much. All so that we could all move forward. Together. D-didn¡¯t- didn¡¯t you say that? Together? Was- wasn¡¯t that the word that you used when we started adventuring?¡± I was standing in front of her now.


    ¡°We¡­ you¡¯re just¡­not a good fit¡­¡± she said, still not looking at me.


    I looked around at the other dozen people in the room, none of which could look at me. ¡°Not a good fit? There isn¡¯t a single person in this room who isn¡¯t using items I made.¡±


    ¡°And where do you think that money came from?¡± a man said, stepping forward. He was taller than me, and wearing the armor that I had made for him. ¡°You spend most of your time sitting in the guild hall, doing Gods only know what, while the rest of us are risking our lives taking missions.¡±


    ¡°Alder¡­you¡­you of all people.¡± I pointed at him. ¡°Your armor. Your sword. Your shield. All of that was made by me.¡± I looked around again, but no one was speaking out for me. ¡°So this is it, huh? Huh? Where do you all think the funds for starting the Red Feather Guild came from? Huh? This guild house? I sold off¡­so much¡­ My creations. My tools. So that all of us could enjoy a better life, and this is how I¡¯m repaid?¡±


    ¡°No one asked you to do that.¡±


    ¡°No one asked?¡± I stared incredulously at Alder. ¡°No. You¡¯re right. You didn¡¯t ask. You begged. You all begged. Down on your fucking knees, you begged. I put my own progress back years¡­for all of you. Because I thought you were my friends. I thought we- we were in this together. But now, because I can¡¯t immediately get back on my feet, and rise to that stage, you¡¯re casting me out?¡±


    No one had a response this time.


    There was nothing to be done. I reached forward towards Tranna, who flinched. She probably expected that I would hit her, but I hadn¡¯t sunk that low. I gripped the chain around her neck and with a quick tug, pulled her necklace free. ¡°Who would have thought you were so unfit for love.¡±


    After leaving the room, I went to my lab and took everything of value, which disappointingly was not a lot. I had sold off most of it already. No one dared to try to stop me. None of them could stop me. Allen had been the second strongest member, and I had knocked him down and pulped his face before he had a chance to even defend himself.


    With a final glance at the building I had worked so hard to acquire, I walked west. Always west. This was another kingdom that I had no reason to stay within. So¡­west. Always west. As I walked, I placed the pendant that I had reclaimed into my mouth before crunching the stone.


    ~


    As my eyes opened, I sighed and sat up. That scene had played so vividly once again in my mind. Even after nine months it was still so detailed. The greatest downfall to having a good memory is being able to recall the scene so vividly. Maybe I had reacted poorly to the situation, but he was laughing at me. He was kicking me out of the home I paid for, and he was laughing at me. Mocking my frustration. ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s okay,¡± I muttered softly, trying to get my breathing steady. ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s okay,¡± I continued to repeat until I felt better.


    After I had calmed down, I took a deep breath, letting it out as a heavy sigh. It was time to start the day. Time to try and move forward. The endless struggle of trying to live. Again I sighed as I got out of bed, slowly preparing for the day. Black slacks pulled on, a gray shirt buttoned, hair brushed and tied back, coat on, boots laced, and finally affixing my gauntlets. It was a routine that was almost a ritual with how I performed it every day. Then I made my way toward the guild.


    Walking in the open door of the guild, there were not a lot of people there. Of course, there weren¡¯t many adventurers in this town. ¡°Oh look, the weed puller has graced us with his presence,¡± a man said, he was burly and had a thick head of hair, but there was something about his voice that would make you assume he was bald.


    Ignoring him, I walked over to the job board. There was another request for blue bell. No one took these requests as they found them beneath them. But it was important. Without herbs, there were no healing potions. I pulled it from the board and moved over to the counter. To my dismay, it was Groh at the counter. ¡°Confirming this is a request for blue bell,¡± I said as I placed the paper down in front of him.


    Groh rolled his eyes and took the paper, checking its details with the records he had. He had made ¡®mistakes¡¯ in the past, and ever since he pulled that stunt I have requested confirmation before taking any job. ¡°Blue bell. Fifty copper for each herb.¡± Groh held out the paper, but I refused to take it. He was a disgusting man, the type who thinks perfume is a good enough replacement for a bath.


    I nodded as I pulled out my guild card, making sure he logged the information properly before I turned around. Blue bell was the main ingredient in a basic healing potion, one herb could make between two to four potions, depending on the Alchemist. The town only had one Alchemist, who in my opinion, was a conceited jerk and a horrible chemist.


    The forest was fairly abundant in herbs, which at first had made me curious as to why there weren¡¯t more people capitalizing on it. And then I actually started talking to the people in town. Bunch of insufferable ingrates who couldn¡¯t tell a daffodil from a tulip. I had spent almost three months in this insufferable town trying to scrape up a comfortable amount of coins.


    Spending a few hours in the forest, I managed twelve blue bells. There were a couple other herbs, but none of them were being requested or of very high value. As was usually the case, it was uneventful. The creatures nearby the town had learned to avoid me, which was amusing.


    Heading back into town, the guard at the gate glared at me with suspicion, as if he hadn¡¯t watched me walk out of town earlier. Or walked past him literally hundreds of times. This town really hated outsiders on a level that was truly absurd. I wondered if there was some sort of conspiracy going on in town that made them like this. Like, if the town was some sort of cult to a dark God or something.


    Back in the guild, it hadn¡¯t changed at all in the hours that I was away. I put the blue bells on the counter in front of Groh. ¡°Twelve blue bells. Six silver,¡± I said. It was not a question, it was a statement.


    Groh¡¯s face scrunched in annoyance as he looked over the herbs as if he could even tell what they were. As far as he knew, they were just flowers. ¡°Right. Six silver,¡± he said eventually, placing it on the counter as he gathered the blue bells.


    I hesitated before picking up the coins; they felt slimy. I sighed before putting them into my coat. What a disgusting man. Before leaving, I moved over to the request board. I spent a moment looking before I spotted an interesting new request and grabbed it, walking back to the counter. ¡°Confirming this is a request for red weed,¡± I said as I placed the paper down in front of him.


    I saw his eye twitch before he began checking his records. ¡°Yes, red weed. About a pound for a reward of twenty silver.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Good. I happened to come across some red weed yesterday,¡± I pulled a bag from my coat and put it on the counter. It was a bit more than a pound, but I was fine letting a little extra go.


    ¡°Excellent,¡± Groh said with a smirk. ¡°I will prepare five silver-¡±


    Immediately I snatched the bag off the counter, grabbing it before he could get his greasy hands on it. ¡°The reward is for twenty.¡± This bastard was why it was so hard to make money in this town as an outside adventurer.


    ¡°Yes, but that was taking into consideration you having to go out and get it. Since you already have it, clearly the full reward is not applicable.¡±


    Those words might confuse some of the other idiots in this town, but I was getting sick of going along with it to keep the peace. ¡°This much red weed at market value is worth eighty silver. Refined it¡¯s even more. I was only even considering the twenty because it was convenient. There¡¯s no way in hell I¡¯m taking five fucking silver.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve already accepted the quest, so you-¡±


    ¡°I have not. I was asking about the quest, you¡¯re the one who made the assumption I was taking it,¡± I snapped.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t complete the quest, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to have to penalize you.¡±


    ¡°Penalize me? For not taking a quest? Do you think that sort of bull would fly?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your word against mine, Archanist.¡±


    My eye twitched. ¡°Fuck this.¡± I reached into my coat and pulled out my guild card, tossing it onto the counter. ¡°I quit. Fuck you.¡± I turned around.


    The slimy man actually looked surprised. ¡°You- you can¡¯t do that.¡± But I was already walking away. ¡°Andrew, stop him.¡±


    The burly idiot got up, moving to block my path. ¡°Now now, weed puller, we¡¯ve all been real nice to-¡± He doubled over as I planted my fist into his stomach.


    But I wasn¡¯t done, I slammed my fist down into the back of his head after activating the magic in my gauntlets, the force they released caused his face to buckle the floorboards. The room went completely silent, aside from the mana softly crackling from the gauntlet and the floorboards continuing to splinter. ¡°Nice?¡± I looked back at the room at the adventurers that had treated me worse than dirt. ¡°I¡¯m being nice by not killing you all for all the blatant harassment and quest short changing.¡±


    Andrew twitched.


    ¡°You think my rank was all for show? That I reached Tier Six just by gathering herbs?¡± I flexed my gauntlets, letting the mana crackle in a more showy fashion. They were hands down my greatest creation.


    ¡°Archanist.¡± I looked up to see the guild master looking down from the second floor. ¡°There is no need to be violent.¡±


    ¡°Oh there is more than a need. Everyone in this guild, in this town, needs a thorough thrashing, especially you.¡± I pointed a crackling finger towards him and watched as he tensed. ¡°But I have no justification. I have quit the Hallow Kingdoms Adventurers Guild. Andrew attempted to assault me, and so I defended myself. If you continue to block my path, I will continue defending myself, and there won''t be a guild branch left in this shithole of a town when I¡¯m done.¡±


    The guild master said nothing as I turned and left. I was glad that he didn¡¯t call me on my bluff. While I was Tier Six on paper, I wasn¡¯t sure if I¡¯d compare to a Tier Four right now considering my lack of tools. Andrew was a Tier Four. I checked the magic silver left in my gauntlets, noting that of the twelve thin vials, I only had a quarter left in one; it took half a flask to empower my gauntlets. The guild master was a Tier Seven, and the gauntlets didn¡¯t sustain a charge for more than a minute. I wasn¡¯t sure I stood a chance, but he¡¯s a coward.


    Walking back towards the inn that I had been staying in I stopped, having a thought and changed my direction. After a moment I reached Bubbling Bottles, and went inside. The heavy set man behind the counter hardly looked up before sighing. ¡°I don¡¯t have any magic silver, as I have said-¡±


    ¡°Not here for that. You need red weed, right?¡±


    He looked over at me, looking me up and down. ¡°Yes. I put in a request at the guild.¡±


    ¡°I am no longer affiliated with the guild,¡± I said as I moved over to the counter, and pulled out the bag of red weed. ¡°Fifty silver.¡±


    He scrunched his nose and narrowed his eyes at me. ¡°The guild reward is twenty silver.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t care. Either give me fifty, or spend over two gold getting it delivered to you because there¡¯s no one in this town that would take your shit requests.¡± I shook the bag a bit to emphasize my point.


    ¡°I don¡¯t bend to extortion.¡±


    I slammed my fist into the counter, causing it to buckle and several bottles to fall and shatter on the floor. Even without being charged with mana they were still large chunks of metal and could do a lot of damage. ¡°Enjoy your pathetic forever existence as a low tier Alchemist,¡± I said before turning and leaving the shop.


    He was too stunned to even retort. That felt good.


    Entering the inn, I spotted the old man that owned the place. ¡°Oi, you old bastard.¡±


    He glared at me from over a large mug. ¡°If you¡¯re going to beg for an extension on payment, shouldn¡¯t you be nicer?¡±


    I rolled my eyes. Not once had I ever asked for an extension or been late on a payment. ¡°I¡¯m checking out. As soon as I get my things I won¡¯t have to see your face ever again.¡±


    ¡°Finally giving up on the adventurer life, Archanist?¡± he spat the name with utter disgust.


    ¡°No.¡± Although, technically speaking I had, since I just quit. But it just meant I had to go join the guild in the Haven Empire. ¡°I¡¯m being polite and letting you know that you¡¯ll have your dingy closet back once I gather my things.¡± I made my way up the stairs as I spoke.


    I moved into the small room that had been my home for the last few months, and began slowly stuffing things into my coat. I needed so much more supplies, but I was being suffocated on all sides in this kingdom. I needed money, but the guild was stiffing me on rewards. And when I did have the money, all the business overcharged me. Especially around here. That¡¯s why these small insular towns never made a name for themselves.


    It was a good thing I didn¡¯t have many things, as my coat could only hold so much. Its spacial enchantment was a small one, as it wasn¡¯t meant to be used for bulk carrying. It was just supposed to contain things for adventuring and dungeon delving. I didn¡¯t even acknowledge the old man as I left.


    ¡°West,¡± I muttered as I made my way out of the town. ¡°Always to the west¡­¡± Because there¡¯s nothing pleasant to the east. Traitors, betrayers, ungratefuls¡­ people who cast out their own child because they get an inconvenient profession.


    Even though it was so long ago, it still hurt. I knew it was horrible from the reactions of the adults around. Especially the reaction from my mother. She looked like she had completely broken. Granted, her reaction was completely warranted since in the end they blamed her and she was banished to the side manor. If only I had been so lucky.


    ~


    ¡°He¡¯s¡­¡± the old man in robes hesitated, staring at the glowing sphere and reading the symbols within.


    At the age of sixteen, everyone in this world awakens a profession. Things of this nature seem to be a common thing for people who transmigrate, or reincarnate. That¡¯s what happened to me, apparently. After remembering my previous life when I was ten, I found it hilarious that all those stories actually had basis in some kind of reality.


    ¡°What? What is he? Surely, he is a Swordmaster like myself, or a Mystic, like his mother,¡± my father declared confidently. ¡°Or maybe a Martial Artist, like his grandfather?¡±


    As it turns out, professions aren¡¯t completely random. They are influenced by your parents and training. I had been trained in swordsmanship and martial arts of sorts since I could walk. But I figure that the experience and memories of my past life heavily influenced what I got. Honestly I expected to be a boxer. But boxing apparently isn¡¯t a thing in this world.


    ¡°He¡¯s¡­an Archanist.¡± There was silence for a moment, until there was a thud as my mother hit the floor, having fainted.


    Archanist is considered one of the worst professions. Not because it¡¯s weak, far from it. It¡¯s a combination of some of the strongest professions: Alchemist, Artificer, and Sorcerer. While they are usually slightly weaker in one category in comparison to a pure profession, they could outclass all of them with the synergy.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­that¡¯s impossible!¡± my father shouted. ¡°You must have read it wrong! Check it again!¡±


    They are almost as good at synthesizing potions as an Alchemist. Almost as good at creating magical items as an Artificer. They almost outclass pure Sorcerers for casting spells and mana manipulation.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. But¡­it¡¯s the truth. Your son¡­ Your son Ezent, is an Archanist,¡± the Priest said.


    The problem is the synergizing. They can¡¯t wield spells in the same way a Sorcerer can, and in fact require magical items with intricate mana circuits and runes to use as conduits to wield their magic. They need to consume large amounts of magical materials to increase in strength and to use their full potential. Magical silver is the most expensive of the things they can use, but it¡¯s also the best. If push came to shove, they could cast spells like a Sorcerer, but at ten times the mana cost. And while they can make enchanted items like an Artificer, and use magic crystals, they¡¯re never as good.


    Inefficient.


    ¡°Worthless.¡±


    The word made me focus on the figure that I knew as my father. ¡°Father?¡±


    ¡°No. I am not your father. There is no way that I am the father to something so worthless!¡± he exclaimed, pounding his fist down onto the table, causing it to break apart under the strength.


    ¡°I know it is difficult, Lord Barral, but your son is-¡±


    ¡°No!¡± He exclaimed again. ¡°That¡­that whore must have cheated!¡± He pointed towards my mother who was starting to come around now with the assistance of the maids.


    I looked over at my mother in confusion, but I could see nothing in her eyes. It was as if she was gone. No light. She was a lovely person, though a bit harsh, but that¡¯s just how mothers are. My other mother had also been a bit harsh. ¡°How dare you say such things!¡± one of the older maids exclaimed. ¡°The Lady has been nothing but dutiful and loyal, as you well know!¡±


    ¡°Silence!¡± he shouted as he struck the maid, a blow which had probably killed her. ¡°All of you, get out!¡±


    It was honestly sad watching him come unhinged. It¡¯s not like I was his only son, or even the first. I had two older brothers, an older sister, and two younger sisters. But I listened to him, leaving the room and immediately heading towards my own room.


    I was not sure what was going to happen with the profession ceremony, but this was concerning. I knew what my father would do next, so I started to quickly pack things. Anything and everything valuable. I had quite a lot of things, and honestly I wished I could take it all. But a few bags would have to do.


    On my way out, I was stopped by a butler, who upon seeing my bags nodded gravely. ¡°The Lord would like to see you.¡±


    I hesitated, glancing at the bags. ¡°I will¡­go and see him¡­¡±


    ¡°You may leave the bags here, and take them on your way out,¡± the butler reassured. He knew what was going to happen as well as I did.


    I put down the bags, and headed back upstairs towards my fathers study. The butler outside looked at me sadly before allowing me to enter. ¡°You¡¯re here,¡± the man said. ¡°Good. Prompt. A good show.¡± I could see the bottle on the floor by the desk.


    ¡°I have come as called f- Lord Barral.¡± It was the first time I had ever called him something aside from father.


    He gave me a scrutinizing look, as if trying to figure out who I was. ¡°Ezent,¡± He held up a piece of paper with an odd symbol on it and a lot of writing. ¡°I hereby strip your name, your rank as a Marquise son, and your noble title. You are no longer my son. You will leave and never return.¡± The piece of paper burst into flames.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    ¡°Understood, Lord Barral,¡± I said, staring at him. I raised my hand. ¡°In the name of the Gods that watch over us, the mana in my veins, the stars, and moons in the sky, I hereby renounce my name. Ezent Barral is no more.¡± I turned and hurried out before he had a chance to stop me.


    The butler was stunned, and stared at me as I left. ¡°You¡­you just¡­¡±


    As I looked back at the old butler, I smiled. ¡°Goodbye, Laurence.¡± There were quite a lot of servants at the bottom of the stairs. I said nothing to them and simply grabbed my bags, and made my way out of the manor.


    Of course anyone who heard that would be shocked. He had just invoked magic to strip me of my name, and I had agreed. It meant that everything connected to me was severed. Nothing could ever tie me to that name. Be it a magic spell, a contract, or an assassin. I was not sure my father would be so ruthless as to send an assassin, but it was an option. While he had been kind to me while growing up, I had also seen how ruthless he could be.


    I spent the rest of the day selling everything but the clothes I was wearing. The biggest weakness of an Archanist is how much it costs. Artificers could compensate for the cost by selling the things they make, but nothing I made would be cost effective, it would cost me more to make something than I could sell it. Every spell has a cost, in more than just mana. Of course even after selling all the stuff I had taken from the manor I didn¡¯t have enough, so I decided to become an adventurer. The knowledge I had on plants would make herb gathering easy.


    The problem was getting distance. I had to leave the kingdom, and head to the next one. The closest place was to the west, a much larger kingdom than the one I had lived in. I just couldn¡¯t risk the Marquise from deciding it would be better off if I was dead. Plus, the guild was much better in that kingdom than around here, and would be easier to get into.


    After much travel and signing up at a guild, I was approached. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re new, right?¡± a girl had asked. ¡°We are, too.¡± She gestured to the young man beside her who smiled. ¡°How about we team up?¡±


    ~


    Everything was a bad memory.


    Tainted.


    All the good feelings were gone. Again.


    I couldn¡¯t even draw on many good memories from my past life. Just a lot of struggling. I had glory days, but those all just tasted bitter.


    I had walked pretty far now, lost in those memories. We had gone so far together. The Rising Red Feather Guild, the newspaper had written. Now the paper was selling a different story. Even after going so far I still had heard that Red Feather wasn¡¯t doing well. Three members had quit after I was tossed out, and they were struggling to find an Artificer who could work with them to maintain the gear I had made. Some of those pieces were great works, combining alchemy with the spell runes. But even powerful magical items need maintenance.


    There was a shriek from the side as a small green figure leapt out from a bush. However, it was easy to snatch out of the air, gripping it by its neck. I didn¡¯t need magic to deal with a simple Tier Zero rabid Goblin, and with a flex of my fingers I felt the neck snap. I was about to toss it when I had a thought. ¡°Am I that desperate?¡± I mumbled as I looked at the Goblin in my hand, and then sighed. I took out a knife, carving into its chest and retrieving the magic stone.


    Magic stones were something every living thing that had mana had, even people. It was what allowed someone to use magic. I had been quite disturbed at first when I was young and found out I had a rock inside my chest. Now that I could use magic, it was actually comforting. They don¡¯t ever change in size, but they become denser as the owner becomes stronger. In most things it was inside of the heart. Impossible to remove without killing whatever it was attached to.


    I tossed the corpse to the side as I cleaned off the stone. Desperation. I had done this so much when I was more focused on doing quests, but it still did not appeal to me. With a sigh, I popped the magic stone into my mouth and bit down. There was an immediate rush into my body, and I focused the strange power towards my gauntlet. Magic silver wasn¡¯t the only thing that an Archanist could use; magic stones worked, too. Though the return was bad.


    This was a technique that I had come up with to get a bit more out of a stone. By consuming the magic stone I can capture more of the magical essence in it to fuel my tools. The return wasn¡¯t good, a rabid Goblin was barely worth a hundredth of a tank. But¡­hunting was something to do while I traveled, and magic stones tasted pretty good. Like a jolly rancher.


    ~


    After a few days, I checked my gauntlets. After consuming hundreds of magic stones, the left gauntlet was empty, but there were two filled vials on the right, and a bit of a third. ¡°Still not enough¡­¡± I had refrained from using the last of my magic silver, but I had had to use the magic essence a few times to deal with some Tier Two Hobgoblins. As long as I didn¡¯t use too much, their stones would make up for it. But it was still inefficient to do anything meaningful.


    If I wanted to charge the gauntlets, it would require two vials of magic essence. At least I could use a few low tier spells. I knelt down beside some odd markings on the ground. ¡°Observation,¡± I muttered, activating a bit of magic to cast. A figment of a massive beasts paw flickered into view for a moment. I guess Hobgoblins weren¡¯t the worst thing to run into.


    Looking in the direction the figment had gone, I saw a few more tiny flickers as it brushed branches, or moved through bushes. ¡°Troll? No, it looks like it has fur and paws¡­a fur cloak?¡± I murmured, trying to guess the figure from the brief glimpses. ¡°Dire wolf maybe?¡± I had tried to conserve magic essence by using the minimum to cast Observation, but it was too little to get anything substantial.


    A Dire Wolf was Tier Five. A Troll was the same, but without a proper way to burn it it was useless to even try and fight it. Either one would be a difficult battle, but of the two I would prefer a Troll. I could at least outrun a Troll if it got bad.


    Either way, it didn¡¯t matter. We weren¡¯t heading in the same direction. I started to move forward again. It was still concerning to see something that big in this area. While it wasn¡¯t an official route, it was still a direct path from the Hallow Kingdom to the Haven Empire. The direction it was heading¡­was the official road? That was a week of travel south. I was more confident in my ability to travel through the wilds than to travel the road. I had learned a long time ago that a solo traveler on the road was nothing but a target.


    This world was so full of hostility. Everything wanted to fight me. Was it because I had memories from another world that was far more peaceful, or was that just my luck? I felt it was just my luck. In both lives I had never been lucky. To think that I would be continually abandoned in this life, too.


    It suddenly occurred to me that it was quiet. Forests should be noisy, but all the background sound had stopped. My pace slowed as I tried to get a better feel for the flow of mana in the air. This was something that didn¡¯t require me to spend magical essence, thankfully. However, the presence that I felt made me feel anything but thankful.


    As I moved slowly towards a tree, the intense feeling pressed towards me from my left. Looking over I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise. It was a Gnoll. I would have preferred a Dire Wolf. Gnolls were huge dog-like hyena things that were smart and could use weapons, ranging from Tier Two all the way up to above Tier Ten. And judging from the pressure and the fact it was alone, it was most likely a higher tier.


    This Gnoll was staring right at me, and I subconsciously stopped walking. It was massive. I wasn¡¯t particularly short, but this thing towered several feet over me. It was wearing an extremely oversized cloak, even for it, which appeared to be that of a Dire Bear, a Tier Six. It was also filthy and completely caked in blood and mud. At its side was an axe with a battered blade probably larger than half my body. Probably shouldn¡¯t be thinking about halves, judging from the blood on that blade.


    A Gnoll shouldn¡¯t even be around here so I hadn¡¯t even considered it as an option. They never came this far north, as far as I knew, living in the plains as nomads. It would take a month or two just to walk to the fringe territory to maybe see one. But here was one, so far from home. That was bad.


    To make things worse, it was glaring at me. And to make worse matters worse, it hefted the axe and began to charge. Turning my body slightly, I had to burn all the magic essence I had to charge my gauntlets. As the blade came down, I shot a right hook, causing it to be knocked off course and bury into the ground beside me. I followed up with a left straight jab to its forearm, trying to get it to release the axe.


    It mostly worked, as it let go of the weapon, though it responded with a strike of its own that sent me tumbling backwards. As I struggled to get up, my head spinning, I did my best to keep my focus on the Gnoll, who seemed rather unfazed as it rubbed its wrist. ¡°Fuck¡­¡± I muttered as I brushed myself off a bit.


    The Gnoll glared at me some more before pulling its axe free, only to see that my blow had completely warped and cracked the blade. It stood there a moment, staring at it. Then it looked over at me, and at my gauntlets, which were still crackling with mana for the time being. It growled.


    I think that one of my ribs cracked from that blow. They tossed the axe away in frustration and began to approach. As they moved forward, their size began to become more apparent to me. I raised my fists up, gauntlets sparking in their powered form. With a massive swing of its arm, I felt the whole world slow down as the pressure of an entire mountain was about to strike me. And even though I moved my gauntlets to block, I still slid several feet to the side from impact.


    It looked surprised that I was still standing. And to be honest, so was I. I had to thank past me for the thousands of gold that I wasted on my making and upgrading these gauntlets. Truly they were a masterpiece that could rival the most powerful items in the world. Maybe I was gloating too much. Even though I had blocked it, I could feel my arms going numb.


    But I wasn¡¯t going to let this opportunity go to waste. Even a slight distraction like this could be leveraged. I struck forward and upwards, about where its stomach should be, and was met with what felt like I struck a city wall with my bare hands. However I got the reaction that I wanted, which was it doubling over slightly and lowering its head.


    Right hook to the jaw. Two jabs to the stomach. The other side of the jaw with a left hook. Every time it tried to defend a new area, I struck a different one. It tried to throw out its own attacks, and I barely managed to deflect them. I felt my arm fracture just from blocking a particularly hard blow and it followed up with a kick to my chest that sent me reeling backwards.


    My vision went white for a moment as I staggered. When my vision returned, I saw it rubbing its jaw, but it showed no other sign of discomfort. ¡°Oh¡­guess that hardly did anything¡­¡± I muttered. There was a burning feeling in my arm and chest that was difficult to ignore, but I couldn¡¯t focus on it. The sparks of mana from my gauntlets faded as the enhancement came to an end.


    It continued to rub its jaw as it eyed me, now a bit more wary. With my arms up, the sleeves of my coat dropped, both showing off the full view of my gauntlets and armored forearms to my opponent, and giving me a view of the vials. I had a third of a vial of magical essence, and a quarter of magic silver. The density of the magical essence had been a bit higher than I expected, or maybe the last tinkering of the gauntlets last year had increased their efficiency. I would need to test that later.


    The Gnoll rubbed its stomach, and I saw its eye twitch at the touch. A wince was a good sign, however small. I had injured it, even if only a little. The question now was how do I beat it. I had enough mana that I could activate my gauntlets once, but that would burn almost my entire mana reserves. That would be really bad and have some nasty consequences, it could even cause me to pass out.


    But I knew I would have to gamble.


    Setting my feet, I ran at it. The Gnoll was a bit caught off guard, not being used to being charged, it got into a low stance and prepared for another engagement. It swiped at me, but rather than blocking, I ducked down and dove between its legs. My hand shot up, and I grabbed hold of its tail. I heard it yipe, and when it spun around to confront me I held on.


    I activated my gauntlets as I was whipped round by its tail and struck it in the back of the knee. I was now in its cloak, which smelled even worse than I could imagine, causing my stomach to churn. ¡°Do you not know what a bath is?¡± I managed to say, doing my best not to empty my stomach. But now that I was in the cloak I could properly see its body. I placed my foot on the back of its knee to make it difficult for it to stand up and delivered a harsh blow to its back, right in the lower ribs.


    The noise of air escaping its lungs caused me to smile a bit as I delivered another strike, followed by another, not giving it a chance to inhale. With my fourth blow, I heard the crack. At that point it swung its arm around and its elbow connected with my side, winding me as well and shot me out from its cloak at surprising speed.


    I bounced. I actually bounced as I was knocked away. I didn¡¯t think I could bounce like that, but I ended up bouncing three times before hitting a tree. Again my vision went white and I had to try extremely hard to keep from passing out. My head was throbbing and I could feel my body burning. Part of that was from the blow, but most of it was from the mana burn.


    But I managed to struggle to my feet before my vision had even completely returned. Looking over at the Gnoll, it was trying desperately to breathe, coughing up blood from what I guessed was a punctured lung. I wasn¡¯t going to give it a chance. I moved over to it as quickly as I could and got on top of it, striking at its face. Repeatedly. It put up its arms, trying to cover its face, but I just struck them as well. I only had a few more seconds left of empowered gauntlets and I needed to make the most of it. Eventually, the sparking went out and I was simply punching with my own strength.


    The Gnoll rolled, flinging me off to the side. I scrambled to get up, ready to start again, but I stopped. It was curled up, desperately trying to breathe, and whimpering in pain. I looked at my gauntlet again. I had enough magic silver for a Tier Two spell that could kill it. Staggering a bit, I made my way to it.


    ¡°An ice spike should do it,¡± I rasped, trying to get stable on my footing and breath. It whimpered in response to the sound of my voice, curling up more and covering its head with one arm, the other arm appeared to be too broken to move properly.


    My breathing was heavy from the exertion of the fight. I had not fought that hard in years. And as I stood over the Gnoll, I knew the only reason I won was because I was trained how to punch above my tier, and the sorry state it had been in.


    Raising my hand, I looked at the thing on the ground. It was in a pathetic state, barely breathing. I sighed, closing my eyes a moment before opening them again. But still I just stood there, watching it shiver on the ground and listening to it whimper. I could see nothing of the beast that I had just fought.


    ¡°Fuck.¡± I sighed again, and looked off to the west. ¡°Stabilize,¡± I muttered, and saw out of the corner of my eye as its breathing became a bit more steady. I turned away and began walking. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I tried not to think about what I had just done as the whimpering faded into the distance. Why had my sympathy chosen that time to rear its head? ¡°That thing¡¯s stone probably could have filled an entire vial¡­¡±


    But just¡­hearing it whimper and look so unfortunate, I just felt bad for it. I took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. It just looked like a big sad dog. I always liked dogs. Though having dogs as pets was pretty rare in this world, usually only reserved for the middle class or certain professions. Honestly I wish I was a tamer, that way I could have some fluffy companions.


    I threw up after covering some distance. The mixture of intense exertion, the massive mana drain and being so low on mana, mixed with that awful stench that clung to me was too much. The migraine from having no mana hurt almost as much as some of the blows I took from that Gnoll. ¡°Gods¡­why¡­why me? What did I do to deserve this, huh?¡±


    Before I continued walking, I looked down at the knuckles of my gauntlets, noticing how they had deformed slightly. That was going to take a lot of money to fix. Reaching into my coat, I pulled out a healing potion and drank it slowly. I wish that it was more like the ones in stories, where it would immediately heal all wounds. But these just helped speed up natural healing. Rather than weeks, it was only going to take a day or two to heal.


    ¡°Fuck my arms hurt¡­¡±


    ~


    The next day I happened across a river. That was some good luck at least. As I stripped and began to wash I checked to see how the healing process was going. My forearms and knuckles were still bruised. That Gnoll must have had some sort of defensive magic that caused damage to attackers. A rebound? Or a heavy body skill? There were so many possibilities.


    I hadn¡¯t checked over myself after the fight because I just wanted to get away from the Gnoll and didn¡¯t want to spend the time. I was covered in bruises. I couldn¡¯t remember when I was in such rough shape. Maybe when I was hit by a car in my last life¡­ But not this life. Even with my near eight years of adventuring¡­ ¡°I wonder what tier it was¡­ definitely at least Tier Six. If it had been what killed the Dire Bear it was wearing.¡±


    As I washed up and cleaned my clothes, I kept thinking about the fight. I felt really proud of myself. I had boasted about being a Tier Six adventurer, and how it wasn¡¯t just for show, but to actually be able to follow through with it running on fumes¡­ Maybe my earlier estimation of myself was off? Maybe I qualify as a Tier Seven or Eight now? Well, I could not do that again. At least right now. Hopefully, whatever location I went to next actually has some supplies.


    Magical silver would be the best, but at this point I would make due with magic stones. I still had over a week of travel just to get into the Empire, let alone find a town. I sighed, pulling out a bit of rations and began enjoying a bit of breakfast while I continued to think about the fight.


    Using a bit of magic, I dried myself and my clothes. I had fought Gnolls before, but that one was different. First of all, it was solo. While I had heard of that happening, that was only for exceptionally powerful ones. Maybe it was a stray? A Gnoll that was kicked out of its pack.


    Abandoned.


    I quickly shook my head, a heavy sigh left me as I dressed again, pulling my gauntlets back on last. ¡°Well, not like I can do anything. It¡¯s gone.¡± I left the river, smoothing out my clothes before beginning to walk again. ¡°With how tough it is, it should have survived easily.¡± Shaking my head, I tried to clear my mind of that Gnoll.


    I had a lot more walking to do through some apparently really dangerous territory. No time to worry about some weird solo Gnoll.


    ~


    Several days passed rather uneventfully, aside from the dozens of Tier Zero¡¯s and Tier One¡¯s. Nothing higher appeared. It was nice to slowly build back essence, even if it wasn¡¯t much, anything was better than nothing. A full vial at least lets me have some room to cast some spells. And I was almost back to full mana.


    Mana was an interesting thing. It was like an internal energy source, a battery that slowly recharged. Meditation and sleep helped you regain it faster, but it could still take a few days to regain it all. It was also comforting to just let it flow through the body, but that burned it. Though if the balance was right you could regain it just as fast as you used it.


    Walking had gotten so boring, and the occasional encounter did nothing to alleviate that. So I was mentally going through design plans. The massive influx of knowledge when I got the Archanist profession still overwhelmed me after so long. I had to parse it into pieces in order to not have my head explode. And every time I advanced my profession, there was more knowledge shoved into my head. It¡¯s a weird experience.


    Advancing a profession is thankfully pretty easy, you just have to use the skills and abilities you were granted. Unlike many of the stories, you don¡¯t have to fight and kill monsters to, for lack of a better term, level up your profession. It actually makes it really convenient for professions that aren¡¯t fit for combat.


    The problem comes from not being able to quantify an overall level. Using the things that your profession gives you makes you better at them, but the argument could be made that that¡¯s the case with anything. Of course you¡¯re going to get better at something if you do it enough. The difference comes in the fact that things from your profession aren¡¯t learned. It is knowledge that you simply gain and things you are suddenly able to do.


    For example, someone who has never touched a sword before gaining a Swordsman profession suddenly makes them pretty proficient with a blade. Sure, there are people who can reach that level with training, but a profession makes it intuitive, as if it is part of your very being. But it¡¯s all guess work when it comes to details, and you can never be sure of what level something is, or how advanced a skill or ability is.


    There is no status screen of information. No magic cards that show stats, though guild cards are close. No orbs filled with information, but there are some that could show a person''s profession. In the end it was just me and all the nonsense in my head. That mythical system never appeared, even though I had hoped. Expecting one of those magical screens to appear was too much to ask for, I guess. I¡¯m a bit bitter about that.


    The world is quite realistic about things, but the professions were a convenient curiosity. They allowed you to do things that defy logic. From what information I had gathered, they are gifts from the Gods. Of course, if this is true, I don¡¯t like them. A good profession can make your life easy, or force you through hell.


    Suddenly I was shaken from my thoughts as I felt a presence. Turning around, much to my dismay, there was that Gnoll. It was staring at me, breathing hard. Had it run all the way here? Was it that upset that I beat it? I should have killed it.


    I was filled with an immense amount of regret, especially as it ran at me. Worse, it looked to be in much better shape than it was last time. No longer covered in dirt and grime, and as I raised my arms up to try and defend myself, I wondered if it had used the same river as I had. Thinking of shapes, just before it barreled into me, I realized that it no longer had its cloak. And that it was female.


    As I hit the ground, it pinned my arms down, apparently having learned quite a harsh lesson from the first encounter. ¡°Oofgh-¡± was all I managed as air escaped my lungs. As I gasped for breath, I tried not to panic. I wracked my brain to think of what to do.


    But it was on top of me, twice my size, pinning my arms down, and staring down at me. I tensed, closing my eyes. I expected teeth. I expected pain. I expected a crushing force. Expected that embrace of death again. But nothing came. There was the weight of its body, but it was not crushing me. Tentatively, I opened my eyes.


    The Gnoll hovered over me, staring down and breathing heavily. But there was¡­ a lack of bloodlust. I realized that¡¯s why I hadn¡¯t noticed it sooner. Their presence was completely different, but I couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on. Their aura had been almost suffocating last time, full of hate and anger. Now there was none of that. It mumbled something that I couldn¡¯t hear before its face lowered, its teeth coming towards me.


    Again I expected the feeling of teeth. However, that was not what I got. Instead, what I got was an unfamiliar feeling of a muzzle pressed against my mouth. It took a moment before I realized what was happening. It was a sloppy, exploratory attempt at making out. Its eyes were closed, as it lost itself in its own enjoyment.


    I would have expected a Gnoll to taste like a dog, which was an experience I was familiar with due certain excitable dogs. Anyone with experience with dogs knows that some of them just desperately want to lick the inside of your mouth. But this was far different. She tasted of oddly spiced burnt meat, a metaly tinge of blood, and dirt.


    Needless to say, I was at a complete loss at what to do. In a few moments she had already bitten my lips twice now, but it was really hard to notice the pain considering everything else that was going on. As the adrenaline and fear subsided from the panic of thinking I was about to be torn to shreds, I actually realized as my eyes closed that I was¡­enjoying it.


    It was clear that this Gnoll knew nothing about kissing, and had only heard or read about it and how to do it. And it was becoming apparent, as I felt teeth for the third time, if I wanted to stop getting bit I was going to have to do something aside from lay there. Again I was thankful for my previous life, as I had not had much experience in this body.


    As I slipped one of my hands free, I placed it lightly on the back of her head and tried to begin guiding her. I didn¡¯t stand a chance to fight it, and I was realizing that I didn¡¯t really want to. ¡°Don¡¯t bite¡­¡± I managed to say before I felt the force of her pin increase as she put more of her weight on me.


    ¡°Bite¡­¡± she responded with a growl, and I could feel as she purposefully bit my lip, but in a more gentle way. I dug my fingers into her fur in response, which caused her to slowly pull away.


    She was still panting, her breath hot and muggy, smelling the same as her mouth had tasted. I struggled for a moment to free my other hand, watching her gaze go up to my hands. I don¡¯t know what she was expecting me to do, but I slowly removed one of my gauntlets. There was this need in my head to know what her fur felt like. As my fingers plunged into her coarse fur, she leaned into my touch.


    ¡°Want¡­¡± she panted before abruptly shoving her mouth against mine once again. However, this time I was on board from the start, and began to work to guide her. There was this feeling of desperation in the way she did it, as if it was more of a need than a want.


    Again I was taken by surprise by her actions as her tongue forced its way into my mouth. I really wondered who had explained all this to her, because they had apparently missed numerous things. She filled my mouth with her tongue, practically trying to shove it down my throat. It took quite a bit of effort to fight her off to a more reasonable level of entry.


    Just as I had managed that, she again caught me off guard as she grabbed the front of my pants and tore them down. I wanted to protest, as they were my only pair, but I was currently trying to fend off the most aggressive invader I had ever had in my mouth.


    It was a rather rough encounter. Ten minutes passed. Twenty minutes. Thirty minutes. Forty minutes. It occurred to me that she was an extremely selfish lover. But after so long she was starting to slow and tire. Her breathing was heavier than ever, but it seemed like she was starting to be unable to catch her breath. I had been enjoying it, but at this rate she was going to tire before I finished, so I had to take the lead a bit.


    When it was all over, she was simply on top of me, holding me down with her body as if she was expecting me to try and get away from her. The leather of her top was uncomfortable against my face, and she completely blocked my vision. I was pinned for several moments, struggling to move anything. I couldn¡¯t even move my fingers since they were pinned in the cords and ropes I had just been using. Eventually, I managed a, ¡°Can¡¯t breathe.¡±


    In a quick motion she rolled us over. It was a bit too fast for me and I was immediately dizzy from the sudden rush. But now I was laying on top of her. The leather covering her chest was extremely uncomfortable to lay against, like a rough rock. Putting my hands on her I tried to push up a bit only for her to grab my arms. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Easy now. I¡¯m not going anywhere,¡± I said, looking at her as I took deep breaths, my head was still reeling from what just happened. ¡°This isn¡¯t comfortable,¡± I explained, giving her leather top a few knocks with my knuckles. It made a noise similar to a metal door. From the noise I wondered if it was actually leather.


    Her grip loosened slightly, but she did not let me go. I did manage to shift into a sitting position on top of her stomach, her sudden roll having untwined our intimacy. I looked around a moment, trying to get a bearing for what was around and what time it was. It was sometime around noon. ¡°Don¡¯t go.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere,¡± I sighed. Not like I could with the grip she had on me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her tail thumping against the ground. I looked down at the large Gnoll beneath me, who had an extremely pleased expression on her face. I was trying to figure out how to ask the question of ¡®why¡¯ but I couldn¡¯t figure out how to phrase it.


    ¡°Strong,¡± she said as if knowing the question I wanted to ask, and rubbed my arm. ¡°You¡¯ll give me strong pups.¡± Listening to her voice, it was a bit deep and slightly husky¡­pleasant.


    The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I realized what she had just said. I coughed a bit, not having expected that. Was that even possible? Were humans and Gnolls compatible? There were a few creatures that could crossbreed, but that was not a subject I was knowledgeable in. ¡°I see¡­¡±


    Her tongue ran over her mouth, licking up her own drool. ¡°No one has ever beaten me.¡± I was a bit caught off guard at how fluent she was in the common language. ¡°You fight amazingly.¡± She ran a hand up under my shirt and over my chest. I could feel the odd texture of the pads on her hands, and her claws.


    Honestly I had to admit, ¡°I guess I did¡­ I don¡¯t think anyone has ever complimented me on the way I fight.¡± Usually I just get criticism for how brutal I can be. Her hand moved around my ribs, exploring my body a bit while her other hand continued to grip my arm.


    She seemed confused at something as she continued to touch. ¡°I would have expected such a strong fighter to be more¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a magic user.¡± That seemed to cause her even more confusion, and I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m much stronger compared to other magic users, but that¡¯s because when I was younger they expected me to be a melee combatant, so I was trained like that. It just made my fighting technique a bit strange.¡±


    Her hands moved to my gauntlet, examining it. Immediately I was worried that she might be annoyed that it wasn¡¯t by my own strength I beat her. ¡°You made this?¡± I nodded. ¡°Maker?¡±


    It caught me a bit off guard that she would know the profession category, but it did make sense since monsters got professions, too. This Gnoll was becoming stranger and stranger. I nodded a bit, technically my profession did fall into the Maker category, rather than Magic. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m an Archanist.¡±


    Her brow furrowed. ¡°Maker¡¯s are weak?¡±


    A cold laugh escaped me before I managed to stop it. Even monsters thought they were weak. ¡°Some are weak. Others it¡¯s just difficult to be strong. Most people don¡¯t put in the effort.¡±


    She seemed to think about something for a few moments before she nodded. ¡°Smart, and strong.¡±


    I shifted a bit to try and get into a more comfortable position. Her hands clamped down on my gauntlet. ¡°Must I say again that I am not going anywhere?¡± Her grip loosened and eventually she let go. After struggling a moment I managed to remove my pants to examine the mess they were in, as well as myself. They weren¡¯t too badly damaged, but my underwear was in tatters, and I was covered in new bruises. Thankfully I at least had spare undergarments. ¡°These were enchanted, you know? And you tore right through them.¡±


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± she mumbled as she watched me pull a healing potion out, drink it, and then get material from my coat. I crossed my legs and used her as a table as I began fixing my pants. While they had been enchanted to be stronger, it was not to the degree they could survive any significant force. The basic enchantments were simply to keep them from being torn by branches and thorns as I traveled.


    After a moment she asked, ¡°What is your name?¡±


    Thankfully it was a really basic enchantment and I could fix it without much difficulty. It was mostly just annoying, and used up some of my very limited supplies. Her eyes never left me as she watched me work. I had been watched plenty of times, but the way she was watching made me feel a bit weird.


    And that was a difficult question. ¡°I don¡¯t have one. People call me Archanist, or-¡± I hesitated, thinking about the name that the people I thought cared about me called me. ¡°Or Arc.¡±


    ¡°Arc¡­¡± she said softly.


    ¡°What about you? What should I call you?¡± I asked after a moment.


    It took her a bit to respond, but eventually she said, ¡°I am Shuzshu.¡± I simply nodded.


    After a few more minutes I checked my work, examining the pants. ¡°Done,¡± I said with a nod. Putting them on after a new pair of underwear made me feel a bit more comfortable now that I wasn¡¯t half nude.


    I watched as she ran a hand over the repaired pants, a curious expression on her face. ¡°Magic?¡±


    ¡°A bit. It has a basic enchantment,¡± I explained. The most basic of enchantments could use the magic in the air to keep them active. The problem was materials.


    Her brow furrowed again, apparently that was her thinking face. As I was looking at her I found myself thinking that she was quite adorable when she wasn¡¯t caked in filth and trying to murder me. I shivered at the thought.


    ¡°So, now what?¡± I asked, looked over at my other gauntlet, the one I had taken off. It was out of reach, but I was concerned that attempting to get down from her would cause some sort of reaction.


    ¡°Pups,¡± was her only response.


    Now it was my turn to furrow my brow. ¡°No, I don¡¯t mean that. I know how that part works. I meant what are you going to do now? Are you going to drag me off somewhere?¡±


    She stared at me, blinking. Clearly she had not thought about that part.


    A sigh escaped me and I shook my head. ¡°Alright, well¡­ I guess we have a few options.¡± I turned a bit to face her. ¡°First option is we just¡­go our separate ways.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Right, didn¡¯t think you¡¯d want that option either. And I¡­ uh¡­ yeah.¡± I cleared my throat. ¡°Second option is you come with me, or I go with you. I¡¯m a bit hesitant about either of those.¡±


    Again her brow furrowed and she thought about it for a few minutes. I let her think about it. ¡°Where¡­are you going?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m heading to the Haven Empire.¡± It was interesting to watch her expressions. ¡°I need materials, and money to buy said materials. Unfortunately the best way to do that is doing jobs for an Adventurers guild.¡±


    She frowned. ¡°Adventurers are dangerous.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Yes, which would make it difficult for you to follow me, but there are ways to get around that. The other is I go with you, which I have no idea what that would even look like.¡±


    The frown on her face deepened and she looked away from me for the first time in a while. ¡°I have nowhere to go.¡±


    So my thought had been correct. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. ¡°Then you¡¯ll just have to come with me,¡± I said as I stood up, stepping down off of her. She didn¡¯t try to stop me this time. I picked up my gauntlet, putting it back on and flexing my fingers a few times.


    She didn¡¯t move.


    I looked at her a moment before taking a few steps. Still she didn¡¯t move. I stopped and looked back at her. ¡°Well? Are you coming?¡±


    ¡°You would take me?¡± she asked softly.


    Now it was my turn to frown. ¡°What sort of question is that? It¡¯s not my decision anymore if you follow me, I already said that you could.¡±


    She looked at me for a moment before rolling over and getting up.


    ¡°Sheesh.¡± I shook my head, chuckling a bit. ¡°You try to kill me, chase after me for days, get extremely intimate with me, and now you¡¯re suddenly shy? What a silly Gnoll.¡± She came over to me as I spoke, her head down. I looked at her for a moment before sighing and reaching up, rubbing the side of her face. She leaned into my touch and I saw her tail begin to wag. ¡°Big silly Gnoll.¡±


    ¡°I am not silly,¡± she protested.


    ¡°No?¡± I smirked a bit and began scratching under her chin, and she pressed down into my hand. I kept slowly pulling back until her head was low enough to be level with mine. Her eyes were closed, lost in the feeling of my fingers. I gave her a soft tap on the nose before I turned away.


    She made a ¡°Hauw?¡± noise at me, but I was already walking away.

 Chapter Two

    Several weeks had passed as we traveled the wilds. Shuzshu had been following closely, bumping into me many times as we walked. Anytime some sort of monster showed up, I didn¡¯t even have a chance to do anything before she brutalized it. After I made a point of gathering and eating the magic stones, explaining that I needed them, she was more than happy to gather them for me. I had five and a half vials of magic essence.


    I had found that Shuzshu was a very good hunter, but not a very good cook. Her idea of making food was roughly butchering something, cooking it till it was burnt, and using lots of spices to make it palatable. It took several days to break her of this habit. But it explained several things.


    At the moment we were standing at the edge of the woods, looking at the town in the distance. ¡°Right, so¡­easiest option.¡± I reached into my coat, pulling out a collar. It had been something that I made for a Tamer in the Red Feather Guild. I had held onto it because it was worth a lot in materials and was planning to recycle it eventually. ¡°We just claim that you¡¯re my companion, something like a slave or a uh¡­pet I guess and-¡±


    The collar was snatched from my hand before I even had a chance to finish. I blinked and looked over at her as she eagerly put on the collar. ¡°Pet,¡± she said firmly, apparently liking the sound of that.


    I stared at her for a moment and then sighed, shaking my head. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll go with pet. Frankly that makes me feel better about the situation anyways, and I don¡¯t know the legality of slaves in the Haven Empire anyways.¡±


    She nodded in enthusiasm. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll gladly be your pet.¡± Her tail was wagging.


    Truly she was a silly Gnoll. It had surprised me that she had not attempted to get intimate with me since the first encounter, but she had been showing a lot of varied types of physical affection and stayed extremely close whenever not actually touching me. ¡°Alright. Just¡­stay calm. There¡¯s going to be a lot of people who give us nasty looks and probably say some things. Just pay them no mind.¡±


    Again she nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    With that we headed towards the town. The town didn¡¯t look particularly large, with what looked like farmland to the south, and some sort of mine or quarry a bit to the north.


    The guard at the gate seemed quite at ease as we approached, not paying attention until we were almost there and we finally caught his attention. He jolted and gripped his polearm, but relaxed a bit when he spotted me. I probably looked quite striking in comparison to the Gnoll, with my long white coat. But even if he was a bit more relaxed, he still looked like he was ready for a fight.


    ¡°Is there an Adventurers Guild in this town?¡± I asked as I got closer, reaching into my coat to pull out some copper coins.


    ¡°Uhh¡­yes. Just near the town square. Do you have a guild card?¡± he asked.


    I shook my head. ¡°No, I was planning on joining today.¡±


    ¡°I see. Then its¡­its ten copper for entry. The¡­Gnoll will also need to pay,¡± the guard said, having to look up at the Gnoll despite his height. Without a guild card you had to pay for entry into most towns, at least any that had a wall.


    ¡°Twenty copper,¡± I said as I held them out for him. He accepted them, relaxing a bit more and leaning against the side of the open gate as he glanced at them.


    Putting the coins into a pouch he eyed the Gnoll. ¡°That¡¯s uh¡­not going to cause problems, right?¡±


    I was about to walk past him but paused. ¡°Hm?¡± I looked up at Shuzshu and smiled a bit, making a bit of a scratchy hand gesture, she happily placed her head on my shoulder and I gave her chin some scratches. ¡°This is Shuzshu, and I can assure you she¡¯ll be quite alright as long as someone doesn¡¯t threaten her. Or me.¡±


    The guard gave me an odd look before he shrugged. ¡°Alright¡­¡±


    With that we walked into the town. As I expected, the two of us got a lot of weird looks. However I was glad that none of them seemed to be hostile, more of confusion and interest. Being so used to hostility, it was a nice change. I heard some child calling out, ¡°Mommy! Look! Big dog!¡±


    I smiled a bit, but I saw Shuzshu¡¯s confusion. ¡°Big silly dog,¡± I said as I smiled at her.


    She huffed in response. ¡°I am not silly.¡±


    I hummed a bit. ¡°I think you¡¯re a little silly. But it¡¯s not a bad thing.¡± She huffed again and I couldn¡¯t help but laugh. It was rather amazing how much better my mood was lately. Hopefully that was a trend that continued.


    At the town square, the guild was easy to spot. They always have swords and shields emblazoned on them, and red flags to denote they¡¯re an Adventurers guild. Going inside it was a completely different scene compared to the last guild I¡¯d been in. This one was lively, with people talking and laughing. Despite it being a rather small town I could see at least twenty people around, and judging by what time it was, there were probably even more out on quests.


    My entrance was hardly noticed, but when Shuzshu entered the room almost immediately fell silent. Many gripped weapons, or eyed us with suspicion. I paid no mind to it and headed towards the reception counter. Behind it was a rabbit girl, one of the beastfolk species. Now that I thought about it, most of the people I had seen were beastfolk. Was the Haven Empire mostly inhabited by beastfolk?


    ¡°H-how can I help you?¡± the girl stammered.


    ¡°Yes, hello. I would like to register as a Haven Empire Adventurer.¡±


    ¡°A-all right. I¡¯ll- I¡¯ll just- get that for you.¡±


    I reached back, grabbing hold of Shuzshu¡¯s collar and pulling her more towards me. ¡°Stop glaring at everyone,¡± I said in a harsh whisper. ¡°You¡¯re making them nervous.¡±


    She grumbled a bit but eventually put her head on my shoulder with a huff. The room seemed to relax a bit when it was shown that I had some sort of control over the Gnoll, but it didn¡¯t return to its previously boisterous level.


    ¡°It¡¯s ten silver to join the guild, if you don¡¯t have the funds you can take a loan from the guild to get your card now and work to pay it off.¡± The rabbit girl had come back, placing an odd looking device on the table. I had seen such a thing a few times, a box with a slot on the front and several little orbs and stones on top of it. ¡°If your card is lost, or stolen, it¡¯ll be another ten silver to replace it.¡±


    I smiled a bit as I pulled out the ten silver, placing it on the counter next to the device. ¡°No need for a loan, I have enough. I also need a card for my pet.¡± I could feel Shuzshu¡¯s tail thumping against my leg, apparently pleased at being called as such.


    It also seemed that watching Shuzshu being affectionate had not only calmed the room but reassured this poor counter girl. ¡°It¡¯ll be another ten silver for your¡­pet. If you could just¡­ place your hand in here, I will be able to give you a card. It will sting a bit.¡±


    ¡°A bit is an understatement,¡± I said with a sigh as I pulled off my gauntlet, putting my hand into the slot.


    ¡°You¡¯ve done this before?¡± the girl questioned.


    ¡°Yes, though it was a while ago. I quit being a Hallow Adventurers Guild member due to endless harassment and reward short changing.¡±


    Someone behind me let out a loud laugh. ¡°Those bastards of the Hallow Kingdom are always like that. Rude, self centered, conceited bastards!¡±


    ¡°Easy there, Argyl, don''t get yourself too worked up over those pricks on the other side of the forest.¡± One of his companions was patting the loud one on the shoulder.


    The bunny girl looked back at me from the other adventurers. ¡°I see. We don¡¯t get many seeking to reregister around here¡­ but I¡¯ve heard that it is a thing that happens in the city to the south.¡±


    ¡°Probably because they take the road.¡± I watched her hesitate with the blank card, and the room went a bit quiet.


    ¡°You¡­went through the forest?¡±


    My brow furrowed a bit. ¡°Yes? It¡¯s not that difficult. A couple weeks of walking.¡±


    ¡°Did you not run into any problems?¡± she asked, ¡°There are some pretty strong monsters¡­¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t that difficult,¡± I repeated, the toughest thing I ran into were some Tier Two Hobgoblins. Not including Shuzshu. I wasn¡¯t about to say that I had also found a Gnoll there.


    However she blinked at me. ¡°What uhm¡­what was your tier in Hallow?¡±


    ¡°I was a Tier Six, but-¡±


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± someone nearby snapped, and I had to grab hold of Shuzshu¡¯s collar again to keep her from charging the man. ¡°Ain¡¯t no way you¡¯re Tier Six.¡±


    I ignored the man, continuing, ¡°But that was when I was fully equipped. Unfortunately I¡¯ve fallen on rather hard times, and am at most equivalent to a Tier Four, if I had to estimate.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense,¡± a man said as he came in from a backroom behind the counter girl. He was large, almost as large as Shuzshu, and had some features that reminded me of a bear, which gave away his species. ¡°You¡¯d need to be at least a Tier Five to make it through those woods.¡±


    ¡°Ah- Guild Master, then¡­should I elevate his beginning tier?¡±


    The man eyed me for a moment, and then looked at the Gnoll, and then back to me. ¡°You said Tier Four?¡±


    ¡°If I had to guess.¡±


    ¡°Fully equipped¡­you got a Maker type profession?¡± He looked down at my gauntlets.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m an Archanist.¡±


    His brow furrowed a bit in a similar fashion to Shuzshu¡¯s thinking face. ¡°Never heard of it.¡±


    That caught me a bit off guard. ¡°You¡¯ve never heard of Archanist?¡±


    He moved over to the machine, taking the card from the bunny girl and putting it in, turning a few dials. ¡°Nope.¡± There was a sudden sharp pain. As if thousands of needles were piercing my skin. I knew it was an in depth magical probing, the highest sort that the magical technology of this world had managed.


    ¡°Owch¡­¡± I breathed as the pain finally subsided.


    The bear man pulled out the card and scrutinized it. His brow furrowed even more. ¡°Your name is blank.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± I pulled my hand back, rubbing it a bit to try and get rid of the lingering pain. ¡°My father stripped it from me when I was cast out.¡± That seemed to cause silence to fall around the room again. Even Shuzshu was a bit surprised and I realized I never explained why I had no name. ¡°He deemed Archanist as an unfavorable profession,¡± I explained, ¡°As it¡¯s a difficult combination class, and very expensive. Everyone calls me Archanist.¡±


    His head tilted to the side. ¡°And you were kicked out just for that? And managed to get all the way to Tier Six?¡±


    That wasn¡¯t really the reaction I was expecting. Maybe they weren¡¯t as prejudiced against Archanists because they had no history with them. ¡°Yes,¡± I said with a nod.


    For a moment he seemed to consider something and then nodded, handing over the guild card. ¡°Glad to have you as a Haven Adventurer, Archanist.¡±


    Glancing at the card I immediately noticed that he had made me a Tier Five. ¡°Are you sure about this ranking, Guild Master?¡±


    He laughed as he walked away, retreating the way he came. ¡°Don¡¯t question me, boy.¡±


    There were several moments of silence before I looked at the bunny girl. ¡°The Guild Master is a Tier Eight,¡± she said, answering one of the questions I had. ¡°If he says you¡¯re Tier Five, then you¡¯re Tier Five.¡±


    I was a bit conflicted, but at the same time I wasn¡¯t going to complain. ¡°Alright. And now my pet.¡± As I looked up at Shuzshu I saw that she was glaring at the door the Guild Master had gone through. ¡°Hey.¡± She looked at me, her expression softening. ¡°You¡¯re gonna get me in trouble.¡±


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± she said softly.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± The bunny girl had gotten a different device out, this one I knew as something for judging the strength of monsters. Monsters'' magical makeup was different from regular people, like humans, elves, dwarves, or beastfolk, which is how it¡¯s possible to properly get estimates on a monster''s strength, but not as accurate for people. Something to do with their blood and mana composition.


    Shuzshu eyed the thing suspiciously. ¡°Just put your hand in here. It¡¯s less painful than the one for people.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s going to hurt,¡± I said matter-of-factly, not planning to sugarcoat it. She still put her hand in it, knowing that it was necessary.


    When the receptionist put in the card, Shuzshu winced but otherwise showed no reaction. After pulling out the card she was immediately stunned, staring at it, her mouth falling open slightly.


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Something¡­wrong?¡±


    She didn¡¯t respond.


    I had to reach out and take the card from her, which didn¡¯t get a reaction from her. After looking at it I was equally stunned.


    Name: Shuzshuzura. Species: High Gnoll. Profession: Battlejunky. Tier Nine.


    I don¡¯t know what shocked me more, the tier or the profession. Battlejunky was a combination profession, similar to Archanist, but on a completely different level of intensity. It combined Berserker and Battlemaster, which were already powerful professions on their own. Battlemaster was also considered a combination profession of Battle Tactician and Weapons Master. This profession also explained her aggressiveness.


    ¡°Tier Nine?¡± the bunny girl whispered, her ears drooping back as she looked at the Gnoll.


    Her words brought me back out of my thoughts. After taking a deep breath, I gave the receptionist a bit of a smile. ¡°It¡¯s fine. She¡¯s not going to hurt anyone that doesn¡¯t start anything.¡± I quickly slipped both cards into my coat, putting the twenty silver onto the table.


    However the poor bunny continued to stare like a deer in headlights. I wonder if that would work on deer beastfolk?


    ¡°Alright, well, we¡¯ll be on our way now,¡± I said quickly before hurrying out the door with Shuzshu. I wasn¡¯t very far away before I had to sit down on a rather convenient bench. Putting aside the fact that she had a powerful profession, she was a Tier Nine. I had beaten a Tier Nine. Solo. I had beaten a Tier Nine by myself.


    Shuzshu sat down next to me, leaning against me and putting her head on top of mine. My head was reeling from it. Sure, she had been tired. Probably injured. But the gap was huge. It was a larger gap than if a rabid goblin had somehow outfought me. How did I win that? How exhausted and beaten was she that I had been able to do that? What did she fight before me?


    Her stomach growling brought me out of my thoughts and caused me to chuckle a bit. ¡°Right¡­we haven¡¯t eaten today.¡± She looked a bit embarrassed, but I¡¯m sure with all the food stalls around the smell was getting her attention. ¡°Which stall smells the best?¡±


    She looked around, sniffing the air a moment before pointing. ¡°That one.¡±


    It looked like a pretty popular stand, with a bit of a line, but I couldn¡¯t see what they were serving. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go get us some. Stay here.¡± She was about to protest before I continued, ¡°I don¡¯t want you scaring the stall owner. I¡¯ll be right over there and you can call if you need me.¡±


    I could tell that she was hesitant, but she eventually nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Before leaving I gave her a pat on the head, then made my way over to the stall. That was something that was interesting about this world. I had thought it was an exaggeration in stories when there were just stalls all over the place, but it was apparently a good way to make money. Owning a store was expensive, but putting up a stall was cheap, if not free in some places.


    Once I was in the line I could see that it was some sort of sauced meat, almost stew like but even thicker. And now the delicious smell could get to me. I had tried numerous dishes in this world, and there were some really good ones. Some of my favorite meals had been in small town taverns, but now those memories were bitter.


    When I was at the front, the man behind the stall gave me a smile. ¡°Well now, you¡¯re a new face.¡±


    Returning the smile I responded, ¡°Yes, just arrived in town.¡±


    ¡°Well, you must have real good luck if I¡¯m the first place you stopped to eat!¡± he said with a hearty laugh. ¡°This is Murstluff. Old family recipe.¡± He sounded quite proud. ¡°Seven copper a bowl.¡±


    Looking at the thick stew I pondered what was in it, but I knew it was impolite to ask. Knowing Shuzshu¡¯s apatite I knew I¡¯d have to order a lot. ¡°Can I get seven servings?¡± He arched a brow at me. ¡°I have quite a voracious companion,¡± I said with a gesture back towards the Gnoll.


    It was at this moment that I noticed the people around her and the annoyed look on her face. There was a man in front of her, blond hair, shining white armor, a red cape; he had serious protagonist energy. I immediately left the stand and headed back towards the bench when I overheard, ¡°It¡¯s alright now. I have broken the servant spell on the collar. You¡¯re free.¡± The blond haired man had a wide grin on his face and reached for the collar.


    In the next instant he was embedded into the wall a distance away. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me,¡± Shuzshu snarled. The group of people quickly moved back, some rushing to assist their ally who had just become a wall decoration.


    My path was blocked by some of the group, three women of varying species. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t start it. They came over and started spouting nonsense,¡± Shuzshu tried to explain, wearing a worried expression.


    ¡°We have freed your slave,¡± one of the smaller girls said, she looked to be a half-mouse beastfolk.


    I was a bit confused but before I could say anything the Gnoll beat me to it, ¡°As I said, I am not a slave. I am his pet.¡± She had taken to that label a bit too much, I think.


    They were quite stunned and I took the opportunity to move around them to Shuzshu. I looked her up and down for a moment. ¡°Alright, lemme see your collar.¡±


    She hesitated, leaning a bit away from me.


    I frowned a bit. ¡°Give,¡± I said as I held out my hand. Reluctantly she removed the collar, giving it to me.


    The entire group was somehow more stunned. Even the blond man who had just been pulled from the wall and healed. It looked like they had a powerful healer, but I could see the entire front of his armor was caved in. One of them mumbled ¡°What?¡± but I couldn¡¯t be bothered with which one.


    ¡°Identify,¡± I said, focusing on the collar. My frown deepened. They had broken every single enchantment, and destroyed the magic stone. How did they do that? They completely obliterated the magic circuitry. Did they overload it somehow? I¡¯d never even heard of a magic stone being overloaded. I sighed and held it back out to Shuzshu. She gave me a bit of a smirk and refused to take it. Instead she lowered herself and exposed her neck. I snerked before putting it back on her.


    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Mr. Protagonist said angrily, but I couldn¡¯t tell who he was mad at. ¡°I freed you, and you¡¯re still listening to him?¡±


    ¡°You owe me compensation,¡± I said as I turned around. ¡°You¡¯ve broken all the enchantments on that collar, and destroyed a Tier Four magic stone in the process. The materials for the circuitry alone is eighty silver. The magic stone is three gold. My work and time has also been wasted.¡± As I spoke I approached the man, the others of his group actually backed away. ¡°And my time is very valuable, so add in another five gold.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± the man managed to say.


    ¡°Not to mention the stress, and suffering that you have put my precious Shuzshu through, I¡¯m rounding your total up to ten gold.¡± I was standing a short distance from him, inwardly cursing that he was taller than me.


    ¡°You expect us to pay you for breaking your slave collar?¡± one of the group said. It was at this point that I realized that all seven of this man''s companions were attractive females. Some sort of cliche dense harem protagonist? Why were most of them half-beastfolk? Usually beastfolk were far more animalistic in appearance, and because of that some places considered them monsters, but these were all half-breeds, making them all just girls with animal ears and some vague features. And tails.


    ¡°First, that was not a slave collar, Shuzshu is a silly Gnoll that is my companion and decided she likes to be my pet.¡±


    ¡°I am not silly,¡± Shuzshu said with a loud huff.


    I had to try very hard to not smile at her reaction. ¡°Secondly, yes, I do expect you to pay for breaking an expensive piece of enchanted equipment and harassing my pet.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have to do any of that, we¡¯re Adventurers!¡± It was a half-wolf beastfolk that spoke this time, pulling out her guild card. The card showed her as a Tier Four Brawler.


    ¡°You want to compare guild cards?¡± I said with a smirk, pulling out my own. Her face immediately fell, and I saw her pale. ¡°If you aren¡¯t willing to pay the compensation, I will just go to the guild and report that you are harassing and attacking guild members.¡±


    Mr. Protagonist was about to say something, but two of the girls moved to stop him, while a third approached me. I would assume she was a healer, judging by her outfit, but she hadn¡¯t been the one to heal blondie. She was a white half-cat beastfolk. She bowed before she spoke, ¡°We apologize for misinterpreting the situation, but given her attire and collar we made a poor judgment. I¡¯m sorry but we cannot afford that.¡±


    I looked around the group, glancing at Shuzshu as well and realized it was probably a good idea to get her some proper clothing. ¡°So not only do you harass random people on the street, you lie to them when called out?¡±


    ¡°You-!¡± The blond man tried to get at me, but was still blocked by his two companions.


    ¡°Either you pay reparations immediately, or I go to the guild and have them compensate me for having such a blatantly incompetent party under their jurisdiction.¡±


    ¡°This is extortion,¡± a half-elven girl said, glaring at me. She was the only non-half-beastfolk girl of the group.


    ¡°Extortion? I¡¯m being generous.¡± I gestured back towards Shuzshu. ¡°If you wanted to buy something of that quality it would cost you at least thirty gold. The only reason I¡¯m saying it¡¯s worth so little is because I made it.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not lying,¡± another half-wolf beastfolk whispered to the elf. Of course I wasn¡¯t lying. It was expensive, and making items was time consuming.


    Shuzshu touched the collar, touched that someone would give her such a valuable thing. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, we don¡¯t have that kind of money,¡± the half-cat girl said.


    ¡°Gods, save me from these children¡­¡± I mumbled. ¡°Your lying skill isn¡¯t going to work on me,¡± I saw her stiffen at my words, and could practically see the hairs on the back of her neck raise. ¡°The equipment of your entire group is worth nearly seven hundred gold, and you have more than seventy gold among the eight of you.¡±


    This was a skill that came in handy, the coveted Analyze. Not many professions got it, but both Alchemist and Artificer were one of them. The downside is it took a ton of mana to use, and I had burned two vials of magic essence to get a Full Analysis of one of them, and then estimated the average for the rest of them. But it¡¯s fine, thanks to Shuzshu¡¯s hunting I had over five vials.


    With some reluctance, a few of them pooled together coins and gave me the ten gold I demanded. For a moment I felt like some thug bullying children for their lunch money. I put it into my coat and gestured for Shuzshu to come over. Together we made our way back to the food stall without exchanging another word with the group.


    The stall owner gave me a sympathetic look. ¡°That¡¯s the Gold Cross Guild. They mean well, but they are a bit¡­uh¡­presumptuous.¡±


    ¡°Can you fix my collar?¡± Shuzshu asked as I fished out the copper for seven servings.


    ¡°Not without a laboratory.¡± That was another thing that made Archanist so difficult. It needed a dedicated space that had to be meticulously prepared in order to do anything that wasn¡¯t the most basic of enchantments. ¡°They¡¯re young,¡± I said to the stall owner, passing over the coins. ¡°They look about sixteen, and reaching Tier Four that quickly after getting their professions gave them an ego.¡± Though their gear would be something coveted by Tier Tens, so I had a feeling they had a backer.


    The man laughed as he prepared the servings. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re still young. But so are you. I saw the way that girly reacted to seeing your card, must mean you¡¯re higher than them.¡±


    ¡°Just one tier, but that was enough to scare them. I¡¯m guessing they¡¯re the highest adventurers in this town?¡± I started passing servings to Shuzshu, who was drooling from the sight of the food.


    ¡°Indeed they are. We usually just have Tier Two¡¯s, and a handful of Tier Three¡¯s. Guild Master¡¯s an exception.¡±


    ¡°Well he probably has his reasons to be here,¡± I mumbled as I picked up the last bowl. Shuzshu looked expectedly, and I frowned. ¡°This one¡¯s mine. You already have six, you glutton.¡± Her ears folded back and her eyes narrowed as she glared at me.


    Again the man laughed. ¡°There ain¡¯t a single person who¡¯d think she was dangerous after watching the two of you interact. But watching the way she sent Draken flying like that, she¡¯s a strong one.¡±


    ¡°That blondie¡¯s name is Draken?¡±


    ¡°Yup, he¡¯s the son of Duke Lanshire. Eighth son anyways. Draken¡¯s a bit of a public figure around here.¡± The man leaned in and whispered, ¡°Personally, I think that¡¯s why the Guild Master is here, to keep an eye on one of the Duke¡¯s wayward sons.¡±


    I nodded a bit before glancing at Shuzshu, who was licking her chops after having already devoured all six bowls. I laughed, which caused her to tilt her head and wonder what I was laughing about. ¡°I think she needs another two bowls,¡± I said as I fished out more coins.


    She nodded enthusiastically. ¡°Yes yes. It¡¯s delicious. I¡¯ve never had something this tasty.¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll eat more tasty food.¡± I handed over the coins as he handed over two more bowls. There was no doubt that it was very good, probably made from the meat of monsters.


    ¡°Glad to hear that it¡¯s to your taste,¡± the stall man said with a laugh.


    ¡°Is there an Alchemist in town?¡± I asked, wanting to see if I could get some supplies now that I had some money. I had twelve gold and a few dozen silver, which would be good enough to get some magic silver.


    ¡°Afraid not. You¡¯d have to head to the east towards Brigalt, it¡¯s the big city in Duke Lanshire¡¯s territory.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Thanks.¡± That was annoying. The Haven Empire was much larger than Hallow, so it had many Duke¡¯s that managed the territories that were far from the capital.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Traveling was bothersome, and I had no idea how far Brigalt was. If they didn¡¯t know the Archanist profession, did that mean that Alchemist was rare in this empire? ¡°There¡¯s a cheap carriage service that makes pretty regular travel out of town. The Duke believes that ease of travel makes all the towns thrive.¡±


    ¡°Ah, thanks. That¡¯s probably what we¡¯ll do.¡± After thanking him again, we started to head in the direction the stall man had indicated the carriages were. Ease of travel was an interesting concept. While I knew that it was true, a small town that anyone can easily get to will naturally see more visitors, but it was something I had not seen in this world. Not in the Hallow Kingdom, or that Gryphon Kingdom.


    Was it something throughout Haven? Or was it simply something the Duke was doing in his territory? If it was the brainchild of the Duke then he was clearly a noble who was capable of seeing far into the future, unlike the majority who were simply in it for immediate returns. That¡¯s always the case, whether this world or my previous; those at the top rarely do things to help those below them.


    ¡°I do not like them,¡± Shuzshu said, breaking me from my thoughts. She was glaring at the Gold Cross group, which were talking outside a building that had their guild name on it, clearly their guild house.


    ¡°They¡¯re just a bunch of kids,¡± I said, looking forward to the carriages. ¡°But I agree.¡± Their building was in quite a prime spot, right next to the carriage depot. It must have cost quite a lot. It was probably their father that helped them. Considering the fortune that must have been spent on their gear, a massive guild house in a prime spot in town was nothing.


    As we passed I could feel their glares on us, but I didn¡¯t notice blondie with them. Probably getting his armor fixed, or bedridden after taking a Gnoll fist. Either way, they were not my responsibility. ¡°I want to kill them.¡±


    ¡°Well, you can¡¯t. You¡¯re gonna have to learn to ignore stupid people if you want to stay with me.¡± She didn¡¯t respond, but pressed herself against me a bit, almost causing me to fall over. I chuckled a bit. ¡°Silly Gnoll.¡±


    There was a sudden tug at the back of my jacket as she pulled at the collar. I was wondering what she was doing until I felt her shove her muzzle down the back of my coat. She made several noises, of what I assume were of annoyance.


    Eventually I reached a counter of sorts with a rabbit girl, who appeared to be in charge of chartering carriages judging by the sign. Shuzshu had not removed her face from my coat. ¡°Hi there, can I help you?¡± the puzzled bunny girl asked.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m looking for passage to Brigalt, for myself and-¡± I hesitated, but gestured to the Gnoll.


    She looked at the Gnoll, and then back at me. ¡°Do you have a guild card? Travel for guild members is free.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes.¡± I reached into my coat, pulling my card and Shuzshu¡¯s out and showing them to the woman.


    I could see the stunned look on her face, but she quickly shook her head. ¡°A-alright. Travel to Brigalt. There¡¯s a carriage leaving in three hours, or there¡¯s one in two days.¡±


    ¡°The one in three hours will be fine.¡± I needed to get Shuzshu a more appropriate outfit for traveling through the city.


    ¡°Alright. It¡¯ll be the-¡± she looked through a few papers, ¡°the one with the blue circle insignia. What names shall I put you down as?¡±


    ¡°Archanist, and Shuzshu,¡± I responded, and she nodded.


    ¡°Alright. Please don¡¯t be late.¡± She made several notes down on papers.


    With that I moved over to the side. There was a large sitting area for people waiting for carriages and it was actually a fairly nice area similar to a park. I chose a spot by a tree and sat down, much to the annoyance of Shuzshu, who was apparently not ready to remove her head. ¡°I¡¯m going to make you a bit of clothing. What colors do you like?¡±


    ¡°Red,¡± came the muffled response. She had responded instantly.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go with red trim then,¡± I said as I pulled out a large bundle of cloth. It was interesting how Artificer got some tailoring skills, though they were very basic. After almost two hours I was done. I couldn¡¯t do much more than a sort of toga. It was gray, as that was the color of cloth I had, with the edges dyed red. I thought it looked pretty good, considering its simplicity. ¡°Okay, let''s put this on you.¡±


    It took a moment before I realized that Shuzshu had apparently fallen asleep, judging by her soft breathing and lack of response. Deciding to let her sleep, I looked around the small waiting park. There were quite a few young adventurers. I wondered if this was some sort of starter town like in video games. I¡¯ve come across a few of those throughout my life now. Towns whose goal is to help the new adventurers get a stable footing before they leave for the wider world.


    Suddenly I caught a figure approaching out of the corner of my eye. A well dressed man coming from the direction of the Gold Cross Guild. ¡°Good afternoon, are you the fellow who had a bit of a problem with the Gold Cross this morning?¡±


    There were quite a number of ways this could go. ¡°If you¡¯re talking about blondie and his harem, then yes.¡±


    The man¡¯s eye twitched, but he did not lose his seeming indifference. ¡°Yes. I would like to apologize again on behalf of the Gold Cross.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need any more apologies. Leave me be,¡± I said dismissively, trying to get him to leave. I could guess at his reasons for approaching and I liked none of them.


    ¡°Again, my apologies. I was hoping you would allow me to ask you for assistance.¡±


    ¡°Not interested,¡± I responded immediately.


    ¡°You see,¡± he continued, ignoring my dismissal, ¡°While the Gold Cross Guild is a fairly strong contender in the area, and rising quickly, there is a problem.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°That¡¯s your own damn fault.¡± His expression finally changed to a puzzled one. ¡°What do you expect when you give an infant a sword that can slay giants?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t quite understand. You see, they are struggling in battles that they shouldn¡¯t, and are lacking in experience. So I was hoping that someone such as yourself would be willing to help.¡±


    I stood up, much to Shuzshu¡¯s annoyance as her comfortable spot moved away. ¡°Do you have any idea why most people become adventurer¡¯s, mister steward?¡±


    ¡°Well, there are many reasons-¡±


    I cut him off, ¡°Desperation.¡± I raised my hand to face level. ¡°Because they have no choice. Your profession dictates what you can do. If a man who can¡¯t stand the sight of blood becomes a swordsman, what do you think happens?¡±


    He didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°Either gain the strength he needs to put down his feelings to use his profession, or deny it and continue to live his life as it was, never being able to use his potential.¡± I pointed over at the Gold Cross, whose members flinched. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder they¡¯re struggling.¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t follow.¡±


    ¡°You have denied them the ability to grow on their own strength. To learn. To experience hardships. You have carried them up the mountain and then gotten confused that they can¡¯t climb higher.¡± It was as if a light turned on in his head. ¡°They have no desperation. They have no drive. No strength. Misguided righteous ideals that lead them to attack and confront strangers on the street. For fucks sake, they¡¯re intimidated by a single Tier Five, when they have eight members of Tier Three and Four.¡±


    ¡°That¡­that is exactly why we need someone who has reached such a high tier to help guide them,¡± he tried to argue.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you could pay me enough to make me try and correct¡­¡± I gestured vaguely at the group, ¡°That.¡±


    ¡°We would be willing to compensate you two gold a month.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°I just said you couldn¡¯t pay me enough, and you offer me so little?¡± It may have been months since I was in such a situation, but gold had become the currency I had been used to working in. ¡°Maybe ten.¡± I saw his expression perk up. ¡°Per person.¡± His expression fell. ¡°A week.¡±


    ¡°That is an absurd rate. Something that you would pay the professional tutors of nobility.¡±


    ¡°Is that not what you want me to be?¡± I retorted. ¡°As I said, you can¡¯t afford me. That¡¯s my price.¡±


    He looked pretty upset about the interaction, but he didn¡¯t say anything as he turned and walked away. ¡°He looks pissed,¡± Shuzshu said as she stood up.


    ¡°Yeah, but he¡¯s not going to do anything. Now,¡± I turned to her, holding the cloth. ¡°Let¡¯s see how this looks on you.¡±


    After a few minutes of putting it on her and making adjustments, I was rather proud. She was fiddling with the cloth, thinking about something. ¡°I was expecting more red.¡±


    I rolled my eyes as I made a few last adjustments. ¡°I don¡¯t have the dye. And I¡¯m not a tailor and just used what I had.¡± Taking a step back I admired the work. I thought that it looked quite well. It didn¡¯t hug her body, but hung loose in a rather fetching way. The ropes and cords she used as a belt added a good bit to the outfit. She had refused to remove anything, so the clothes just went over her leather chest piece and skirt, but I had managed to convince her to at least put the belt on the outside.


    She touched the cloth, moving a bit before nodding. ¡°Yes, I like it.¡±


    ¡°Good. When we have a chance, we can get a proper tailor to make something and I can enchant it.¡± I looked over at the carriages, taking note of a large clock displayed in the square. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we walk?¡± she asked as we made our way over.


    ¡°It would take too long, and I¡¯m tired of walking. I want to just sit and be taken somewhere.¡±


    Shuzshu eyed the carriages suspiciously. ¡°I do not like those things. They always bring trouble. You think there¡¯s only one group of people, and then suddenly a dozen more come out of the thing.¡±


    I glanced over at her, wondering what type of life she had lived, that a carriage is a mysterious thing. She seemed so knowledgeable on some subjects, but completely ignorant on others. ¡°Well, now we¡¯re going to be some of the people inside it.¡±


    It didn¡¯t take long to find the correct carriage, as it was parked under a sign showing a blue circle, with a matching symbol on the side. The floppy eared dog beastman beside it jolted slightly upon seeing a Gnoll, but quickly regained his composure. ¡°You must be¡­Archanist, and Shuzshu?¡± he asked tentatively, but he guessed there was no other Gnoll in the area.


    ¡°Correct. You¡¯re heading to Brigalt, right?¡±


    The dog man nodded. ¡°Yup. We¡¯ll be stopping in three towns on the way. It¡¯ll be two days to the first town, one day to the second, then another two to the third, and finally one day to Brigalt. Total of six days.¡± That was a lot farther than I had thought it would be. The Duke¡¯s territory was large.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be in your care,¡± I said with a nod.


    He laughed. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be counting on you two if we get in trouble. I have my own guard, Jacob, but he¡¯s only Tier Two. I honestly feel a lot better having two adventurers on board with such a long trip.¡±


    ¡°If anything happens, Shuzshu will be more than happy to take care of it.¡± I gave the large Gnoll a few pats on her back.


    ¡°Good good. Well, hop on board, once Jacob gets here we¡¯ll head off.¡±


    As I got on the carriage, I only noticed a few crates stacked near the front but no one else. ¡°Is it just us?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the only passengers until Lorn, the first town,¡± he called out from somewhere near the front of the carriage.


    To call it a carriage may not entirely be correct, as it was more of a covered wagon, but they called them carriages. Some of the carriages lived up to the name, but most were like this one. There were benches on either side, but it was apparent that Shuzshu was too large to sit in them. However she didn¡¯t seem bothered, especially when after I sat down, she sat on the floor in front of me and put her head on my lap.


    A smile tugged at my mouth as I removed my gauntlets and began to pet her around her ears, rubbing and scratching. She let out a content sounding huff as she settled in. Eventually Jacob showed up, a knight of some sort judging by his sword, armor, and shield. He didn¡¯t say anything, helping the cart driver hitch up the beasts. Horses were reserved for nobles, and so beasts were used by the common folk. These particular ones were Drakes. While technically Tier Seven, these were domesticated and probably not trained to fight.


    After a little bit we made our way out of the city. I watched as we slowly went through the gate, and then the Drakes began to pick up speed. They were one of the fastest beasts that had been widely domesticated and while not inexpensive, they were abundant. The only thing that was faster were horses, and a bird type creature that reminded me of a certain yellow bird from the most final of fantasies. Although, the birds were called Corks here.


    The first day passed uneventfully, much to Shuzshu¡¯s annoyance. When we stopped to set up camp, the Gnoll skulked off into the woods to hunt. ¡°She gonna be alright?¡± the dog man asked.


    ¡°Unless there¡¯s a wild Drake out there, I doubt anything would give her trouble,¡± I said nonchalantly, helping to set up the camp.


    He whistled in response. ¡°She that formidable?¡±


    ¡°Would be better if she had a weapon, but I broke that.¡± He gave me a look, but I didn¡¯t elaborate.


    Eventually she returned, dragging two Tier Three Dire Boars. The sight clearly startled our traveling companions. ¡°W-well, at least we don¡¯t have to worry about food?¡± the dog said with a nervous laugh.


    The next day was also uneventful and we arrived in Lorn. It looked annoyingly exactly like the previous town. Like some sort of cookie-cutter city planning. The only difference was it was completely surrounded by farmland.


    Shuzshu was sitting at the back of the wagon, looking out at the farms. I sat beside her, sketching in my work book. It had been a while since I had spent time actually designing, but I had had an epiphany this morning on how to increase magic efficiency. Layered circuitry was the last major thing I had figured out how to do, but this was more of sandwiched circuitry. Maybe I could combine the two, layer and sandwich.


    Making major breakthroughs was difficult, because all magic professions were so secretive and received different knowledge from their profession. They all wanted to stand at the top, and so they pulled the ladder up behind them. No Artificer would teach me, nor would any Alchemist. And the one time I found an Archanist that had some skill, I found out quickly that I had surpassed them and ended up teaching them a lot more than they taught me.


    A sudden shout drew me from my musings and I saw a startled guard on the ground, apparently having just come around to inspect the wagon only to be met with Shuzshu. I leaned over a bit to pet her. ¡°It¡¯s fine. She¡¯s my pet.¡± It amused me how her tail wagged whenever I called her that.


    The guard was pounding his fist into his chest, as if trying to restart his heart. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever had a fright like that,¡± he said.


    Another guard came around, a bit concerned at the shout and moved to help up his comrade. ¡°What happwuaah!¡± He had also spotted the Gnoll, but he didn¡¯t topple over.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, she¡¯s fine, everything¡¯s fine,¡± I reassured.


    The two guards looked at eachother, and then one of them smirked. He leaned around the wagon a moment and called out. ¡°Hey Levy, you should come look at this.¡±


    I had a feeling I knew what was about to happen. A third guard came over. ¡°What¡¯s all the screaming abouaaaiigh!¡± He hit the ground with a thud, having fainted. The other two guards laughed as they moved to help him.


    ¡°Levy¡¯s afraid of dogs,¡± one of the guards explained with a laugh, trying to rouse his friend.


    Shuzshu smiled a bit, amused at the reaction. ¡°As he should be,¡± she said, which caused the other two guards to jolt.


    I pushed down on her head a bit and scolded, ¡°Don¡¯t try to scare them.¡± She whined in response. The other guards chuckled a bit, seeing that there was no immediate danger and waved us in.


    It was nice to sleep in an inn. A good inn. A proper inn. It had been almost a year since I had laid in a comfortable bed. I had removed all but my undergarments to be more comfortable when sleeping. Sleeping garments were something that only the truly wealthy had. Sometimes I missed having pajamas, and having loungewear. But they were a luxury I couldn¡¯t have, so I put up with having comfortable underwear.


    Shuzshu, on the other hand, removed everything. It was the first time I had seen her completely in the nude, and I made some startling discoveries. The biggest shock of all, she had six breasts. Secondly, she had many scars. Dozens across her arms and legs, and a very prominent scar across her midsection. Someone had ripped open her stomach.


    As my eyes wandered, I looked at her other scars, a small one across her snout, a series of small scars under her muzzle, a nick in her left ear. Then she turned around, gently setting down the folded cloth that was her toga, and I saw her back. There were dozens of scars, mostly under her fur, but still visible. She had been lashed. I wondered how many of her scars were hidden.


    I had a number of scars myself, but none of them were as severe or visible as hers. Taking a deep breath, I laid down on the bed. I almost fell asleep immediately, until Shuzshu laid down on top of me. The frame of the bed cracked from her weight. However she paid it no mind, rubbing her face against my bare chest. This was also the first time she had seen my full body, though she seemed uninterested.


    Before she completely settled in, I lifted her head. She tilted her head to the side slightly, puzzled at my actions. I wanted to¡­kiss her. There was the want to know what she tasted like. The urge to explore her mouth. But I just¡­couldn¡¯t. Instead, I smiled at her and ran my fingers through her mane.


    As she laid her head back down on my chest, I gently pet her until she fell asleep. I had really become fond of this Gnoll. I wasn¡¯t particularly ashamed to say that in my previous life I had had certain tastes, but could never indulge due to fantastical things not existing. And in this world, while those attractions remained, indulging was a death sentence. ¡°Once a monster fucker, always a monster fucker?¡± I mused quietly to myself, chuckling as I remembered that silly label.


    In the morning, I could only apologize to the innkeeper, and give him some copper for the bed that Shuzshu¡¯s weight had broken. Explaining seemed pointless, as the more I tried, the more weird looks I got. After giving up on that we headed to the carriage zone, and found our driver loading a few crates. When he spotted me he gave a bit of a grin. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right on time. We¡¯ll be leaving just as soon as we get this on board.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said with a nod as I boarded the wagon after they slid the last box on. As I got on I noticed a figure, wrapped in a heavy cloak and clearly hiding their appearance. I got some weird vibes from them, but paid it no more attention as I sat down, gripping the bench as the whole cart shook slightly from Shuzshu boarding.


    I could tell that the figure was tensely watching us, but they relaxed when the Gnoll sat down and put her head on my lap, demanding pets. Of course I obliged, giving her head and neck a lot of attention with my fingers. I had not even bothered to put my gauntlets on this morning, which had been a first in a very long time. Within a few minutes, we were underway.


    It wasn¡¯t until a few hours in that our other traveling companion moved. Shuzshu was sleeping on my lap, and I was writing down notes, thoughts, ideas, and plans for future projects. While the movement had not gone unnoticed by me, I did not react to it. I could see them growing more and more tense as we traveled. They pulled a large waterskin from somewhere on their person and as they drank from it I could smell the tinge of alcohol. With that, they seemed to relax.


    I pondered why they were so nervous. Was it the traveling? Was it Shuzshu? Perhaps it was me? Were they running from something? They flinched. ¡°It¡¯s not polite to skim other peoples surface thoughts,¡± I said calmly, not stopping my notations.


    ¡°Your thoughts are loud,¡± came a low response. It had a rough but slightly feminine tone to it.


    ¡°Poor control,¡± I retorted. There were several different professions and certain races that could gain the ability to skim surface thoughts. She probably had one of those, and due to how coveted of an ability it was, that was probably why she was running.


    They seemed to want to argue, but thought better of it and simply slumped in their seat. I went back to ignoring her, continuing my work. Since it was the only work that I could do without a proper laboratory. ¡°Why are you so indifferent?¡±


    ¡°Despite knowing?¡± I sighed a bit as I closed the book, looking over at the figure for the first time since boarding the wagon. ¡°Because it has nothing to do with me.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°There is no but. I simply don¡¯t care. I am not in, nor do I plan on being in, a position that would be able to take advantage of such a thing. At most I would-¡± I paused, actually having to think. ¡°I don¡¯t know, cheat at low stake poker games?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Not worth the trouble.¡± With that I returned to my scribbling.


    The day passed without any other issues. Eventually we made it to the second town, Trove. Like Lorn it was surrounded by farmland. The next morning, another person boarded the wagon, some of the boxes were moved off, new ones replacing them. It would be two days to the next town, but before noon I got a bad feeling.


    Suddenly something felt off. I looked at Shuzshu, who was sleeping. I glanced at the other two, and then passed them at the driver and his guard. I looked back at my book and then voiced in my head, ¡®If you can hear the thoughts of the guy across from you, look at me. But if you can¡¯t, look at the driver.¡¯


    A few moments passed before the cloaked woman looked towards the driver. Thinking about the information I gathered in the glance. The man was also dressed to obscure his appearance, but not to such a degree as the woman. I realized that look he had given me a minute ago had triggered some sort of self defense instinct. He was sizing me up. Not quite in a hostile way, but in a way that felt purposeful.


    ¡®When the wagon stops,¡¯ I thought towards the woman, ¡®Come to the back of the wagon as quickly as you can. Something is about to happen.¡¯ Seven years of adventuring, and previous life experience, had thankfully honed my instincts, and I was pretty good at recognizing threats.


    Nearly twenty minutes passed, until suddenly the wagon jolted to a stop. The woman dove to the floor beside Shuzshu, just as the man lunged at where she had been. ¡°Shuzshu, get him.¡±


    The words had not even fully left my mouth before she was on top of him, trying to tear out his throat. I pulled on my gauntlets, looking past the rapidly growing gruesome scene to the driver and knight. I could see Jacob leaping from the wagon, sword drawn, and beyond him I could see several other figures.


    I turned to the back and jumped out, planting my foot solidly in the face of someone who had been attempting to climb on. I landed, buckling the last bit of my gauntlet and looked at the four men. Five of them counting the one on the ground. While their appearance said bandits, their weapons quality said mercenaries.


    Three of them wielded swords, one of which was a two-hander, while one of the others had a warhammer and the last had a spear. There was silence as I rolled up my sleeves and we eyed each other. Or, well, there would be silence if not for the screams of the man in the wagon, desperately fighting off the attacks from a groggy Gnoll. I flexed my fingers as I raised my hands, clenching them into fists and activating the magic.


    Suddenly three of them rushed me, the man with the spear behind two swordsmen. I backhanded both blades out of the way, and caught the spear with the other hand. ¡°Wrong choice.¡± I pulled the spear, yanking the wielder towards me only to smash his face in. They seemed at most to be Tier Threes or Fours.


    The two men held up the swords, trying to regain their stances and attack. Blocking one blade with a forearm, and punching the second one upwards. Immediately there was a follow up, a downward strike that was blocked by my forearm, and a thrust that I sidestepped. They had good coordination. With one blade locked against the sparking forearm, I struck the hand of the one who had thrust and overextended.


    A cry of pain escaped the man as his hand was smashed and the blade clattered to the ground. Raising my arm, I forced the other blade upwards, and then slugged the swordsman in the gut. ¡°Shuzshu! Stop playing,¡± I said as I stepped to the side as the Gnoll lunged out and plowed into the two men. She snatched up the blades that the men had dropped, and cut them both down in a simple swing of both blades. That¡¯s a Tier Nine for you.


    I made my way around the side. While he may only be Tier Two, I was surprised to see Jacob still standing, though it was clear he was badly beaten by the group. There were two dead at his feet, though he was breathing heavily. He was facing a single man wielding a massive warhammer. He appeared to have some giant blood in him, judging by the fact he was nearly twice my height. And his hammer was much bigger than me. This looked to be the leader of the little group.


    The massive man moved forward, going for another strike against Jacob, who raised the already battered shield. But before it made contact the knight was pulled backwards. The hammer slammed into the ground in front of him, and both of them looked at me. ¡°Damn it, what are those fools doing? They can¡¯t even handle a single Maker and a Gnoll?¡± the large man spat.


    Jacob stumbled back a bit, falling to a knee. ¡°Fuck¡­he¡¯s way out of my league¡­¡± he muttered in frustration. I knew that feeling. That overwhelming feeling of being unable to do anything.


    There was an urge to give the knight a reassuring pat, but that wasn¡¯t really my style. No one was ever there to comfort me all the times I hit rock bottom. Yet I¡¯d done it without even realizing it. ¡°You at least stood.¡±


    The large man sneered at me. ¡°And what are you going to do, Maker?¡±


    I raised my fists, gauntlets still crackling. ¡°Well, I¡¯m gonna start by knocking that smug look off your face.¡±


    He laughed, hoisting up his giant hammer. ¡°You? You think you can do anything but die at-¡± his words were suddenly cut short as a spear sprung from his head. He seemed to slowly fall back and land with a heavy crash.


    I looked back to see Shuzshu coming around the wagon. I had actually forgotten for a moment that she was also in this fight. ¡°Right, or you can just peg him in the head.¡± I shook my head.


    She came over to me, glancing at Jacob before moving to the fallen leader. ¡°Mine,¡± she said as she hefted the hammer. Judging from its size, I don¡¯t think anyone else here could have even lifted it. I know I would have had to use magic to pull it off.


    ¡°Of course,¡± I responded as I crouched down, going through the man''s pockets. He had a few potions, and thirty silver, but nothing else. ¡°They must have a camp nearby¡­¡± I muttered, looking around to see if I could spot it.


    Shuzshu held out her hand, and I looked over. She was holding six magic stones. I hesitated before taking them and storing them in my coat. Magic stones from people were different from monsters and beasts. While I could consume them¡­that was a line that I wasn¡¯t willing to cross.


    After making the rounds on the mercenaries'' bodies, I found a few more potions. The best find was a pendant of mind shielding that the initial man had. While it was a faulty basic enchanted item, it was still worth a lot of silver. I found the woman in the cloak curled up under one of the benches in the wagon. ¡°They¡¯re all dead,¡± I told her, crouching down to see if she had any injuries.


    But she seemed fine. ¡°They¡­they were here for me¡­¡± she muttered.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I tried to have a gentle tone, but I was never very good at comforting others, which always bothered me. ¡°But they¡¯re gone now. You¡¯re alright.¡± She looked to relax a bit, but I could hear her softly sobbing.


    ¡°Archanist.¡± I turned to see Jacob standing at the back of the wagon. ¡°The wagon is stuck.¡± These were the most words he had ever spoken to me.


    I sighed a bit as I stood up, hopping down. ¡°Yes, I figured that.¡±


    Rounding the corner I could see the dog eared driver low to the ground, peering under the wagon. ¡°They had a trap that snagged the undercarriage.¡±


    Going down to one knee, I took a look as well. There was a mixture of vines, roots, and rock that all seemed to reach up and grab hold of everything they could. ¡°Earthen Grasp? They didn¡¯t have a mage, or wand, so they must have had a scroll. And a trigger of some kind since the Drakes didn''t activate it,¡± I mumbled, eyeing the ground under the wagon.


    ¡°Pretty big expense to just use on a wagon,¡± Jacob said, standing near the back of the wagon.


    ¡°Well, depends on if they bought it, or know a mage that can do it,¡± I said as I reached under and pulled at a few of the vines. ¡°Should lose strength in an hour.¡± As I stood up, I added, ¡°Or you can spend the time hacking at it till it¡¯s loose enough that the Drakes can pull it.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you break it?¡±


    I looked at Jacob, who obviously knew very little about magic. ¡°It¡¯s not a spell you ¡®break¡¯. You could cast an earth control spell and a plant control spell to undo its effects, but neither earth or plants are my area.¡±


    I could tell that he was frowning behind his helmet. ¡°Aren¡¯t you high tier?¡±


    ¡°Hardly. You¡¯re not high tier till you break ten.¡± I moved past him, giving him a pat on the shoulder. ¡°Just think of this as an unscheduled break.¡± Shuzshu walked past him as well, following me as I got into the wagon. I stopped her before she boarded, and pulled out a waterskin. ¡°Clean up yourself first.¡±


    She huffed at me before snatching the waterskin and began washing blood off of herself. I sat down, glancing at the girl still under the bench and then sighed. After about twenty minutes of fiddling, I had modified the pendant. Shuzshu had also gotten back, complaining about the water being cold.


    I tossed the pendant at the girl, it landed on a bit of her cloak. ¡°There.¡±


    There was silence for a moment before she slowly reached for the pendant, barely touching it. ¡°You¡­really want to help me?¡±


    ¡°Just take it.¡± I had slightly altered the runic circuits so that it would, in theory, allow her a bit more control of her power. ¡°It¡¯s more trouble for me if I try to sell it. And I¡¯m not sure if it would even work.¡±


    The wagon suddenly jolted. Apparently Jacob had been carving away at the roots and dirt under the carriage. Impatient. But it seemed as if he hadn''t quite gotten it yet, as we didn¡¯t actually go anywhere. This had been going on for a while, after the driver had cleaned up the mess in the back of the wagon, he and Jacob had been trying to get it free. It was not going well.


    Shuzshu sat on the floor, her head in my lap. The hammer sat at the back of the wagon and I wondered if it would break the floor. I started to pet Shuzshu, relaxing in the seat. Wagon benches weren¡¯t the most comfortable, but after so long of using them it didn¡¯t bother me anymore.


    It was nearly another twenty minutes before the wagon finally started to move again. The two of them cheered, but in the end they had only saved a bit of time. But I wasn¡¯t about to ruin their celebration. They had requested I do something about the giant hammer, so I had put it in my coat, thankful that it fit. The girl eventually came out from under the bench once she was sure we were nice and far from the location, and once again took up her seat as far away from us as possible.


    The rest of the trip was uneventful, and eventually we arrived in Brigalt. It was a massive city, spanning for miles. At the center I could see the keep, hard to miss a structure that probably had walls a hundred feet tall. However, what drew my attention was a specific area. It was far off from the town, a wide open area that had nothing but a large squat tower in the middle.


    ¡°A dungeon?¡± I mused. Magical trials set up by the Gods to test and strengthen the beings of the world. Or so the church says. I¡¯ve come to a different conclusion from my studies, but if I ever tried to tell anyone I¡¯d be labeled as a heretic and¡­burned at the stake, I think? Hanged? I¡¯m not sure how the church punishes heretics.


    Coming to a halt, the dog man called back, ¡°Alright! Trips over, welcome to Brigalt.¡±


    I nodded a bit as I stood up. ¡°Thanks for the ride.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for saving us from those bandits! If it hadn¡¯t been for you and your Gnoll, we would have been in deep trouble. I¡¯ll be sure to report this to the guild.¡±


    I glanced at the woman in the cloak before hopping off the wagon. ¡°Yeah, well, just doing my job.¡± Shuzshu followed behind, and I saw a lot of people nearby tense up from her appearance.


    She snorted. ¡°Bunch of jumpy cowards,¡± she muttered, glaring around at the crowd. Most of which were adventurers.


    ¡°I told you to stop glaring at people.¡± I gave her a light tap on the stomach. ¡°This is civilization. You can¡¯t go around picking fights, or we¡¯ll get kicked out.¡±


    As she looked down at me I watched as her expression softened and then she nodded. ¡°Alright. Where are we going now?¡± Suddenly she perked up, her tail wagging a bit. ¡°Can we get food?¡±


    ¡°Yes, we can. We¡¯re going to find an inn, and in the morning we¡¯ll go to the Guild Hall to check in.¡± I was a bit worried at how much this Gnoll could eat, about ten times as much as I could. But she only ate once or twice every few days, so it was not as bad as it could be. I could only shudder at the cost if she had to eat more often.


    After asking around for a moment, we were pointed to a nearby inn. It was an extremely large establishment, catering to those using the transport service. It was actually quite a nice place, and had quite a number of people. No one even paid us any mind as I headed over to the counter. ¡°A room, and ten servings of whatever your largest meal is,¡± I said to the receptionist.


    He looked at me, looked at the Gnoll, and then back at me. ¡°That will be ten silver.¡±


    I frowned a bit, that seemed rather on the expensive side, but I was honestly so used to getting ripped off that I just sighed, and pulled out the coins and placed them on the table. ¡°Alright.¡±


    In turn, he opened a large book on the table beside him, gesturing for me to sign. It had been a long time since I¡¯d been in a place I actually needed to sign. But sign I did. I then offered the pen to Shuzshu, who looked at me confused.


    ¡°You have to sign, so that they have a log of who has stayed,¡± I prompted.


    ¡°I can¡¯t write,¡± was her response.


    I paused for a moment, and then scribbled her name down next to mine. It had honestly not occurred to me that the Gnoll couldn¡¯t do it. She was so well spoken that it hadn¡¯t even crossed my mind. ¡°Alright.¡±


    The receptionist then handed me a key. ¡°Room two ten. We will have your food delivered.¡±


    That was convenient. ¡°Thank you,¡± I said as I took the key. As I walked away, I realized that he had been giving me a strange look. Of course, I knew why, and he wasn¡¯t exactly wrong, so I had nothing to really say about it.


    The room itself wasn¡¯t all that large, but it still felt spacious. Enough for Shuzshu to easily move about, and almost be able to stand up straight. Although the Gnoll hardly ever stood straight, her legs were always bent and she hunched a bit, but that was just how she was shaped.


    The bed was large, and sturdy, and I immediately noticed that there was only one. Again, not incorrect assumptions had been made. While there were no intimate acts, I had slept with the Gnoll every night for weeks. Or to put it more correctly, she had slept on me every night for weeks.


    As I was admiring the room, Shuzshu had already disrobed and was making herself comfortable on the bed. She had discovered the majesty and comfort of beds while we were traveling, and it had immediately spoiled her. Not that I could blame her, I would much prefer a bed over laying on the ground.


    ¡°Comfy?¡± I said as I sat on the bed, stroking her head and neck. She had a thick mane that ran down her head and ended at her mid back. It wasn¡¯t particularly long, but it looked like she had cut it. Or more correctly, burned it to its current length.


    ¡°Mmmng¡­¡± She made a bit of noise before huffing softly. She had been quite reluctant to let me pet her in the first few days after we met, but the more I did it, the more she gave in and enjoyed. Now she even demanded I pet her.


    We remained like this for quite a while before there was a knock at the door. Cautiously I moved over, not about to take any chances no matter where I was. ¡°Who''s there?¡±


    ¡°Delivering your food?¡± came a questioning voice from the other side.


    Hesitantly I opened the door, to find a man with a large cart, piled with food. ¡°Ah, good.¡± He seemed puzzled, probably wondering why so much food was being delivered to a small room, till he caught sight of the massive Gnoll lounging on the bed.


    With a bit of a cough, he gestured to the food. ¡°Just leave your plates out beside the door when you¡¯re done.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said as I began to pull the food from the cart, and set it inside on the floor. It was a lot. There were meats, breads, some vegetables, and several jugs of water.


    He nodded a bit before turning and heading off down the hall, and I closed the door. ¡°Food?¡±


    I looked back to see Shuzshu already digging into the large quantity of food. It was quite a sight to see a massive creature like her devouring food enough to feed several people, all while in the buff. I had to make sure that I grabbed a plate for myself, otherwise she wouldn¡¯t leave me with anything. I had learned that lesson.


    I sat on the bed and watched her back as she ate. I wanted to ask her about the scars littering her back, but it didn¡¯t seem appropriate. It was easier to not bring them up, and simply let the past stay in the past. That was something I wanted to do, too. But it was clear from how she acted, and the scars, that she was once a slave. She liked to wear the collar, even when wearing nothing else; something that was familiar. The whip scars on her back were the most obvious clue.


    Even with a slave collar¡¯s control, the one wearing it could still interpret commands. Some slave owners also took out their anger on those that they owned. Though those scars seemed very old. If I had to guess, she was rebellious when she was younger, was eventually sold to someone who actually treated her well, and was set free for some reason. Judging from the way she reacted when her collar was destroyed by those Gold Cross members, I didn¡¯t think that she was consensually freed. She must have liked her previous owner.


    I still questioned why she was following me. The reason she said didn¡¯t make much sense to me, but that could just be my mentality. Again that was something that I would have to wait for her to bring up, if she ever wanted to talk about it. If she never brought it up, then I would have to assume it didn¡¯t matter. And it wouldn¡¯t matter, until it did. For now, she was my companion.


    Until she left.


    Like everyone else.


    ~


    In the morning we set off for the guild. The walk was not as stressful as I thought it would be. I expected to be harassed or stopped at some point, but as I saw more I realized that slavery was alive and well within this city. From beastfolk to beasts, to people. There were those with collars scattered about. I was not a fan of the practice, but ethics from my previous world didn¡¯t match here. Though they had the same practice of making criminals into slaves.


    The guild building itself was large, and not very far from the carriage station. It reminded me of the one back in the Hallow Kingdom that I so often frequented. That was a lot of tainted memories. This one seemed to be painted in a brighter fashion, and looked newer.


    As I opened the door, I gave Shuzshu a pleading look, begging her not to start anything. She only huffed in response, folding her arms in front of her. The inside was fairly loud, a lot of excited adventurers talking about recent events and quests, a few loud arguments, and some celebrations. It didn¡¯t go silent as we entered, but it quieted down a bit.


    I knew this would be the case, however I was quick to find out that it was not Shuzshu that had drawn everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Well, well, well. If it isn''t the Impact Archanist himself.¡±


    ¡°Gods I fucking hate that name,¡± I said as I realized the room was looking more at me than at the Gnoll.


    There was laughter from several places in the room, some boisterous, some mere chuckles. ¡°Unfortunately we don¡¯t all get to choose our nicknames,¡± someone responded.


    I rolled my eyes before heading over towards the counter. There were several receptionists, none of which seemed very surprised to see me or Shuzshu. ¡°Checking in,¡± I said to the fairly well dressed man.


    ¡°Who''s the Impact Archanist?¡± I heard someone nearby whisper.


    ¡°Yes, of course,¡± the receptionist responded. ¡°Do you plan on staying in Brigalt long term?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do.¡± I handed him my guild card, as well as Shuzshu¡¯s.


    ¡°He¡¯s a real well known combat maker in the east,¡± someone whispered in response. ¡°I heard that his old party robbed him and then kicked him out of their guild,¡± another person whispered. ¡°Apparently he nearly killed half of them as he left.¡± There were a lot of whispers. ¡°Whole guild collapsed without him.¡±


    It was nice hearing positive things being said behind my back, though it was still annoying to be talked about. The receptionist balked a bit when he saw my guild card. ¡°Your rank dropped?¡±


    Apparently he knew who I was. ¡°I quit the Hallow branch due to harassment and reward short changing.¡± That seemed to get everyone¡¯s attention.


    He frowned, looking at my guild card. Then he looked at Shuzshu¡¯s and I watched as his eyes went wide. He looked at me, then behind me at her, and then back at the card. ¡°Uh¡­and she is your¡­¡±


    ¡°Pet,¡± I responded. I could practically see him looking at her collar. ¡°To clarify, not a slave. She is following me by choice. She just has uh¡­preferences.¡± I tried to convey my meaning with a look, and thankfully it seemed he understood.


    ¡°Right¡­¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°Well, the two of you are checked in now, so feel free to take quests whenever you¡¯d like.¡±


    ¡°Not so fast.¡± A man appeared behind the receptionist. And when I say appeared, he literally appeared. As in not there one moment, and then there the next.


    I immediately recognized him. He was a tall man made of muscle, a head of short gray hair, and the face of an old man. Landerson. In his prime he reached Tier Fourteen, but he was pushing a hundred and fifty. Rumor was that he still had the strength around Tier Twelve. I had seen him once when he was in Hallow, responding to a high tier request for assistance. One of the highest tiered people I¡¯d ever seen.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to let the Impact Archanist walk around with a guild card like this.¡± He took my guild card from the receptionist, and put it into a device behind the counter. For a second I was worried he was going to drop my rank, but that wasn¡¯t Landerson¡¯s style.


    After a moment he returned the card to me, and immediately I saw that he had raised me to Tier Six. ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen your skills first hand. You were clearly of that tier two years ago, and hearing what happened after your guild kicked you out, even without ninety nine percent of your gear¡­ Well, clearly you¡¯re well above six even now,¡± Landerson explained, looking at Shuzshu¡¯s card as he spoke. ¡°Especially if you have a¡­pet that¡¯s this strong. But I don¡¯t have the authority to do anything but restore your tier.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not complaining,¡± I said as I put away my card and held out my hand for the other. ¡°Just surprised.¡±


    He seemed to hesitate a moment. ¡°Are you planning to send your pet on quests?¡±


    I furrowed my brow. Sure it was common practice to send slaves and servants out on quests, but I hadn¡¯t actually thought about doing that. I rubbed my chin a bit in thought. ¡°I could double on quests,¡± I mumbled.


    Landerson laughed. ¡°Hadn¡¯t even crossed your mind, eh? Well, I suppose that¡¯s a good thing. But¡­with her tier, there¡¯s a lot of quests she could do. Lots of monsters to kill.¡±


    ¡°Kill?¡± Shuzshu responded excitedly.


    Sighing, I looked at him. He had seen her profession and knew how to push her buttons. ¡°Right, well, I wouldn¡¯t mind her taking quests.¡± I turned towards her a bit, opening my cloak and slightly pulling out the hammer. I couldn¡¯t lift the thing and she needed to put it in and remove it from my cloak.


    She excitedly grabbed the handle and pulled out the massive maul. She held it in one hand. That thing was bigger than me and she could heft it in one hand? Even the floor seemed to have some complaints when she put it down, judging from the creaks it made from the weight.


    Even Landerson seemed a bit surprised, but he laughed. ¡°Good, good. Let me get a few quests.¡±


    I looked at the receptionist who shrugged. ¡°Landerson is the highest tier in the city.¡±


    ¡°Gods I would hope so,¡± I muttered.


    He nodded. ¡°Yes, well, we don¡¯t have many high tiers, and most of them don¡¯t take many quests. So they¡¯ve been building up to the point Landerson has to take some.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± I frowned a bit. That certainly was troublesome. High tiers weren¡¯t extremely rare, one in ten thousand, but they tended to congregate to places that could satisfy their strength. ¡°What tier is the dungeon?¡±


    ¡°Its lowest floor is Tier Ten,¡± Landerson answered as he came back with a stack of papers. ¡°But the highest two floors are Tier Zero. Fifty seven floors.¡±


    I nodded a bit. ¡°A good dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Now, here¡¯s the list.¡± He slapped the pile down on the table. I picked up the pile, and immediately started sorting it into two piles. Landerson frowned as he watched me.


    After I was done, I picked up one of the stacks. ¡°She¡¯ll take these.¡±


    His brow furrowed as he stared at me and then thumbed through the stack I left on the table. Immediately he realized what I had done and then laughed. ¡°Oh, I see how it is.¡± I had taken all the quests that paid well.


    Shuzshu was shifting back and forth behind me, looking over my shoulders at the pile. There were seven quests. ¡°Are these things strong?¡±


    ¡°Some of them. These two are mostly just annoying.¡± I showed a kill request for a Ghost Boar, and a Salad Salamander. A Ghost Boar wasn¡¯t actually an undead, but it was large and had phasing and stealth abilities, and was smart. It could avoid attacks and feinted charges a lot. A Salad Salamander was a plant type monster in the shape of a large lizard. They liked to occupy farms and kill passing travelers and farmers, using their bodies as fertilizer.


    ¡°I want to kill them,¡± she said rather excitedly. Then she looked at me. ¡°You stay.¡±


    I blinked and looked up at her. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too strong,¡± she said bluntly. ¡°You¡¯ll steal all the fun. I hunt, and when I come back, we eat.¡±


    There was silence for a moment before everyone laughed. ¡°Sounds good to me. I guess the lady thinks you¡¯ll make the quests too easy,¡± Landerson said, and Shuzshu nodded vigorously.


    Sighing and shaking my head, I looked through the stack again. ¡°Alright, fine.¡± I dropped the papers on the table. ¡°Give her a guild tabard, and tell her where to find them, she can¡¯t read.¡± A guild tabard meant that the person wearing it was on official guild business and no one would harass them.


    Landerson hesitated before nodding. ¡°A good idea. That way no one will mistake her for a monster.¡±


    ¡°And if anyone bothers her, she¡¯s going to kill them,¡± I said bluntly, looking at Landerson. I was trying to emphasize she was not to be trifled with.


    He frowned a bit, glancing at the Gnoll before nodding. ¡°Right. Well, as long as it¡¯s self-defense.¡± He smiled a bit. ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t think anyone in this city is dumb enough to pick a fight with a Gnoll.¡±


    I nodded a bit. ¡°If you¡¯re fine with the consequences.¡± I paused. ¡°There¡¯s an Alchemist in this city, right?¡±


    He nodded and pat the receptionist on the shoulder. ¡°Gerald will help you with everything else.¡± He took the stack of papers that I had snubbed before taking his leave.


    ¡°There are¡­technically four Alchemists in the city,¡± Gerald explained. ¡°Two of them are associated with the Laslow Corporation, one is with Tunslow, and the other is unaffiliated.¡±


    My eye twitched. Laslow and Tunslow, while separate in name, were technically the same company. And they were both scum. Large corporations that used people as cattle. Testing potions on the poor, torturing slaves, capturing people just to see if they could be used as good components¡­ I had done a lot of work for both of them before I found out how bad it was. Then they blacklisted me when I refused to do any more work.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the unaffiliated one?¡±


    The man frowned a bit. ¡°Well I uh¡­can¡¯t really recommend them, but they''re on the west side of town, on Crissing street. It¡¯s called Red Bottle. Are you sure you don¡¯t want one of the others?¡±


    I nodded a bit, and then turned to Shuzshu. ¡°Alright. I¡¯m going to go do this, and then come back.¡± She was nodding as I spoke. ¡°You listen to their explanation on where to find what you¡¯re hunting. Try and be back before dark. I¡¯ll come back here when I¡¯m done, and we can eat.¡±


    She licked at her mouth, grinning and nodding. ¡°Yes yes. I will hunt these things.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll need to bring back proof of the kill,¡± the receptionist explained. ¡°It¡¯ll be a different part for each one, and their magic stone, but we¡¯ll go over details of that.¡±


    As they began talking I left the guild, watching at how excited the Gnoll looked. She liked to fight, and probably spent a lot of time hunting for strong things. To simply be told where they were was probably a very exciting concept.

 Chapter Three

    Heading to the west, I kept an eye on the street names. It was nice to walk alone for a bit. As much as I liked Shuzshu, she was a bit overbearing. Constantly wanting to be nearby, preferably with physical contact. Introversion wasn¡¯t a concept this world was aware of, but I knew that I had always suffered from it. I want, need, and crave company, but too much of it mentally exhausts me.


    This walk was also a perfect time to get a look at the city unimpeded by having a massive Gnoll exert pressure on the surroundings. I could see people going about their days, and I was more than a bit surprised to see many monsters and beasts. They almost outnumbered people. All of them going about their lives. And as I had speculated earlier, it seemed that beastfolk outnumbered humans in this city.


    It was a nice change in scenery. The construction of the buildings was noticeably better than other places I had been, and the expense on infrastructure was immediately apparent. At some point I would need to figure out if this was the Duke¡¯s doing, or the King¡¯s.


    Out of the corner of my eye I spotted one of my favorite sights; a food stall. But not just any food stall, the classic fantasy food stall of meat skewers. I had honestly been ecstatic the first time I saw one, and made a point of getting them often. And before I realized it, I was at the front of the stall. ¡°Afternoon! New in town?¡± came the man¡¯s voice. He was a rodent beastfolk, but I couldn¡¯t quite tell the species. Perhaps a marmot?


    ¡°I am. How much for a skewer?¡± I reached into my coat to fish out some copper.


    ¡°Eight copper each,¡± he said cheerfully.


    ¡°Two skewers then,¡± I said as I pulled out the coins. They were skewers of very large chunks of meat. Who knew what beast it had come from. I had learned a long time ago to never ask about what kind of meat it was, or what spices were used. It did well for an appetite to not know the details.


    ¡°Good, good.¡± He pulled up two, taking the coins before handing them over. ¡°Adventurer?¡± he asked, taking note of my gauntlets.


    I nodded, taking the skewers and glancing around.


    He nodded a bit in response. ¡°Dungeon brings a lot to town.¡±


    ¡°Do you know its name? I haven¡¯t looked into it.¡± I took a bite of the meat, immediately recognizing it as some sort of reptile.


    His brow arched as he looked at me. ¡°You didn¡¯t come for the dungeon?¡± I shook my head. Lizards weren¡¯t the best tasting meat, they were a bit too chewy, but they weren¡¯t bad. ¡°Well, it¡¯s called the Yawning Smoke, on account of the first few floors being all misty.¡±


    Again I nodded. ¡°Thanks.¡± I moved away, looking for a place to sit and people watch. You could tell a lot about a place by watching the people. Or so I¡¯d been told. Honestly there was only so much I could figure out. But it was a good habit to get into when you¡¯re an adventurer. Mostly I just liked to sit and space out enjoying a snack.


    So much knowledge, and a theoretically high intelligence, it¡¯s hard to make the thoughts stop. It¡¯s hard to relax. Everything is tense. There¡¯s always something. But there was something pleasantly numbing about sitting and watching life pass while enjoying something tasty.


    My gaze drifted down to the cat that was at my feet, making little meow noises at me. It was an interesting beast, a black cat with four eyes, a pair stacked on top of where it should have eyes. Large ears, and two tails. I pulled a piece of my skewer, and offered it to it.


    It greedily took it, gnawing at the sizable chunk of meat. It was a hungry little thing. Suddenly it jumped into my lap and curled up. A smile pulled at the corner of my mouth as I gave it the rest of the skewer, which still had a few chunks of meat on it. It purred as it gnawed at the lizard meat.


    Up close like this, I could see that it was not pure black, but had dark purple and blue markings. It was not a creature I was familiar with, but I always liked cats. I pulled off my gauntlet and began to gently stroke it¡¯s back, which caused it to purr louder. ¡°Analysis,¡± I mumbled, and then blinked. ¡°Oh? You¡¯ve a blocker skill?¡± That meant that it was some sort of shadow beast, or perhaps a demon? Both would explain why I didn¡¯t recognize it. Information on either of those was scarce, for different reasons. Shadow beasts because they were elusive and skittish. Demons because they were smart and tended to destroy research on them.


    Eventually it finished the meat, lounging on my lap. It wasn¡¯t a bad way to spend time, petting an odd feline and watching the people go about their day. I was reminded of that border town back in Hallow. There was hardly anyone out. Even in the first town I¡¯d gotten to in Haven had been bustling, but that other one was¡­it was as if it was dead. Maybe it was?


    That was honestly a good way to describe Hallow in general. It was as if it was dead. Certain areas were crammed with people, while others were not just deserted, they were desolate. Devoid of any evidence that there were people living there. There were exceptions, such as the city where I had set up the Red Feathers. That was why I had chosen that location.


    Months of meticulous planning and location scouting. All to get stabbed in the back. But at least now, I had a cat. That made things better, if even for a moment. There was something about gently petting a creature that was soothing. And this cat had soft and sleek fur. I really wished I had awakened as a Tamer, or a similar profession. Life might have been better.


    Of course, I could always make a familiar contract, but those were time consuming, expensive, and required commitment on an extremely deep level. It tied a bit of your souls together. Having one of those broken was like having a finger severed. And I know for a fact something would happen that would cause it to break if I ever made one. That¡¯s just how things are.


    ¡°You¡¯re a good kitty,¡± I mumbled, scratching under it¡¯s chin. That seemed to be the spot it liked the most, enough that it even drooled a little. ¡°I used to have a cat,¡± I said softly, mostly talking to myself. ¡°She really meant everything to me¡­¡± This feline was very different, but it still brought up some good memories.


    A sudden noise caused the cat to perk up and look around. I wasn¡¯t sure what the noise was; possibly the sound of a beast? But the cat hopped off of my lap and bolted down a nearby alley. ¡°Well, so much for that¡­¡±


    The noise happened again, and I realized it came from above. I looked up to see an airship. Those were a rare sight, only for the truly wealthy and powerful. That was probably someone on the level of the Duke. An airship was the pinnacle of an Artificer, someone who had reached an absolutely insane level of skill.


    This was the third time I had ever seen one in person. I wasn¡¯t the only one who had stopped to stare up at the massive craft. It was heading towards the raised area of the city, where even from here I could see the massive mansions. Judging from the reactions of those around, this was probably a rare sight even for here.


    I pulled my gauntlet back on and watched the ship slowly begin its descent before continuing my journey through the city. It was evident when I came to a poorer area of town, as the streets and buildings weren¡¯t as nice, nor the peoples clothes quite as well kempt. But they all looked to be in good spirits. It didn¡¯t take long till I found Crissing street. And it took only a moment to spot the Red Bottle.


    It had the air of an Alchemist lab, that was to be certain. I could see different colored smoke rising from somewhere behind the building, and the storefront had shuttered windows. Many potions and ingredients were sensitive to light, so it was best to not let natural light into the shop. A two story building that was painted a very vibrant shade of red. Some places were almost pink in color, and it had a prominent sign at the front that designated what it was; Red Bottle Alchemy.


    Stepping in, the first thing I noticed was that there were no patrons. Nor was there anyone manning the counter. There were many displays, mostly empty with a smattering of different ingredients here and there, but I could see many potions behind the counter. I took my time browsing for a moment, noting that they had quite a good selection of materials despite the empty shelves, though most of them were very common.


    Suddenly a door opened, and I turned to look only to find no one there. Puzzled, I approached the counter, and as I did I watched as a figure slowly climbed up onto a raised platform. It was a little reptilian creature, with pink scales and four horns protruding backwards. It stared at me, apparently just as shocked to see me as I was to it.


    It opened and closed it¡¯s mouth a few times, trying to figure out words in it¡¯s moment of slight panic. ¡°Welcome?¡± it finally managed.


    ¡°Ah¡­yes.¡± I walked forward, looking at the small draconid. It was a kobold, small reptiles with draconic blood. I had seen many, fought many, and killed many. They were cunning, and used traps and tricks to defeat their enemies. Though I had never seen one that was pink. ¡°You are open, correct?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes yes. Just stepped into the- ack-¡± they had bumped something, sending something behind the counter to the floor. ¡°Just¡­keeping eye on¡­on batches,¡± it said as it frantically picked things up.


    ¡°I¡­see¡­¡± I reached into my coat and I saw the way that it flinched. This kobold had obviously not had an easy time of it. ¡°I was wondering if you¡¯d be interested in buying red weed. I have about a pound of it.¡± I pulled out the sack that I had been carrying for weeks.


    They immediately snapped up, practically crawling over the counter to get closer to me. ¡°Are you an Herbalist? Or an Alchemist?¡±


    I shook my head slightly. ¡°No, I¡¯m an Archanist¡­¡±


    ¡°Archanist?¡± they said, tilting their head to the side. ¡°That¡¯s¡­that¡¯s a triple combination profession¡­ Very rare. Don¡¯t get those. You have herb gathering skills, yes?¡±


    ¡°I¡­do¡­¡±


    ¡°Would you gather materials?¡± they said, their voice dripping with desperation. ¡°This one is a Synthesizer. Brother is- was¡­Herbalist¡­¡± I could hear the waver in their voice as their shoulders sagged and they backed away. ¡°He never came back¡­¡±


    That was a good combination. An Herbalist was like an Alchemist who was more specialized for finding herbs, and medical treatments. While a Synthesiser was like an Alchemist who was more focused on making potions and alchemical items.


    ¡°Been getting supplies through guild requests, and buying, but other potion shops have realized and won''t sell anymore.¡± She was clawing at the counter. ¡°And now they matching requests and pay more.¡±


    I frowned a bit. Quest scalping was something that was extremely looked down upon, but, ¡°That doesn¡¯t surprise me, considering how Laslow and Tunslow operate.¡± I put the bag down on the counter. ¡°I¡¯ll take your requests, as long as you pay near market rate.¡±


    ¡°Yes yes. Pay more. One gold for pound of red weed.¡± The kobold ducked a bit behind the counter and retrieved a gold coin from somewhere, putting it on the table.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take that deal.¡± I lifted the gold coin, and they lifted the bag with a pleased expression. ¡°Do you have any magic silver?¡±


    The lizard¡¯s expression turned thoughtful as they walked the bag over more towards the door to the back. ¡°Nnnnn-yes. Some.¡±


    ¡°Alright, well, I will buy all the magic silver you have.¡±


    Her eyes suddenly lit up and she leapt from the spot she was at and cleared probably half the shop before hitting the floor with a rough landing, but she didn¡¯t fall over. ¡°Right right! Magic silver!¡±


    Eventually she came back, and placed a flask in front of me that had a little window at the front to show off the contents. ¡°How much?¡±


    ¡°Nine gold,¡± she responded immediately.


    I tried to estimate how much was in there, but at this point I couldn¡¯t be picky. With a nod, I put nine gold on the table. ¡°Can you make more?¡±


    ¡°If had some water slime.¡±


    I rubbed my chin a bit and nodded. ¡°Do you know where to find water slime?¡±


    They shook their head. ¡°No¡­ just make the potions.¡±


    Immediately I felt bad, realizing that it was probably a sore subject. I wondered how long their brother had been gone for¡­ The shop didn¡¯t look to be in too good of shape, but it also wasn¡¯t awful. Unless there was another kobold running around with managerial skills, this one seemed to be handling itself quite well. ¡°Alright¡­well, from now on, any item you need, post it through the guild with a request that it¡¯s for the Archanist.¡±


    They gave me a toothy smile. ¡°Yes yes. Thank you much.¡±


    With that, I left. I paused when I got outside, pouring the little flask of magic silver into my gauntlets, filling up ten vials. That was an extremely good deal that they had given me on the magic silver. I looked back at the building. Synthesiser was an extremely rare and specialized profession. They were like an amplified Alchemist. The problem was they had no skills for gathering, or any of the more wilderness focused skills that an Alchemist got. Their potions would be more potent, and use less ingredients.


    And yet Laslow and Tunslow had shunned the little kobold. Probably due to a human superiority complex, that¡¯s very common in this world. They probably also killed the brother. Not many would mourn the loss of a kobold, or care for the reason. Even if I brought it up with the guild, nothing would happen.


    All I could do was help, and maybe get some good discounts on ingredients. Maybe use their lab. With a proper laboratory I could make magic circuitry, and at least repair the collar. Once I had the money to get the materials. With that thought, I started to make my way back to the guild. They should have information on where to find certain herbs and alchemical ingredients.


    I looked down at my gauntlets as I walked, the knuckles were still slightly dented and warped. I would need a magic forge to fix these. I guess that¡¯s what I get for skimping on the thickness of mythril, but honestly it was one of the strongest materials in this world, so I had thought it inconsequential.


    That was something I had been excited about. Finding out that the magical mythril was a thing, and like many stories it was one of the rarest and strongest material, with high conductivity to magic. But like those stories, it was extremely rare and required special forging methods. Finding a Dwarven blacksmith would be the best bet. Even though it was one of the most cliche fantasy tropes, it was one of the truths in this world that some of the best were Dwarves.


    I had convinced a Dwarf to let me use their forge to forge my tools and weapons. It was that Dwarfs successor that I sold the equipment to, and they melted it down for the materials. That felt like the stupidest thing I had ever done. I used to have a plethora of things at my disposal that I built up over seven years. Even my gauntlets were in an incomplete state, as I had sold off everything from the elbow to the shoulder.


    Maybe I should focus more on having a few tools that have greater variety, rather than having dozens of specialized tools? I had been working on a design for improving my gauntlets, since they were the only weapons I had now. But now I was having a flood of new ideas with the thought of making them more versatile. I would need to see how my new circuitry designs would work out.


    That was going to be expensive, unless I wanted to melt down the gold that made up the current circuitry, and reshape it. But if it was worse, then I would have to go back to the previous design and waste a lot of time. I suppose I have a lot of time now¡­and a hunting dog. My thoughts went back to the Gnoll, who was probably out slaughtering beasts. Or perhaps returning, judging as it was starting to get dark. I had spent more time on that bench than I initially realized.


    As soon as the guild came into sight, I immediately saw that it was the liveliest place on the street at this time. Many people would be coming back from their quests before it got dark, so of course it would get busy. But it was the commotion in the street out front that got my attention, and I immediately knew that it was related to my Gnoll without even seeing her.


    ¡°And I say you stole it!¡± came a voice.


    I had to work my way through the crowd, trying not to just shove people out of my way when I heard the reply. ¡°I stole nothing,¡± it was Shuzshu. ¡°You are a liar.¡±


    There was a wide area that many were avoiding, but sticking around to see the show. I could see about seven people inside the circle, surrounding Shuzshu. The fact she hadn¡¯t bludgeoned any of them yet was commendable. ¡°That is my brother''s hammer, and I say you stole it!¡±


    The hammer? Were those not mercenaries, but guild members? That could complicate things. ¡°Your brother was a murderous thief.¡±


    Why wasn¡¯t the guild getting involved? I managed to shove the last few people out of my way, finally getting a good look at the seven people. Four of them were wearing guild uniforms, while the other three were armed and armored. ¡°You! How dare you!¡±


    ¡°And what are you going to do? Your brother died pathetically without even putting up a fight, what do you expect to do?¡± Shuzshu wasn¡¯t holding the hammer, having set it down for the guild staff to examine.


    One of the guild staff moved towards me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we-¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s mine,¡± I said, pointing at Shuzshu. Her tail started to wag.


    ¡°So you¡¯re the scum that owns this stupid dog?¡± one of the men said, the one that had claimed to be the brother of the half giant bandit. He had blonde hair and a robust body, with a bit of a baby face. The other two seemed to be there only for support.


    ¡°I would like to report those three for colluding with bandits,¡± I said to the guild staff. ¡°If what he says is true, and he is the brother of the bandits that attacked us the other day, then I question his involvement.¡±


    ¡°You dare throw around accusations!¡± He stomped towards me, shoving the guild staff out of the way. That just sealed his fate, but it would take a few moments for him to feel the repercussions of that. ¡°Some nameless Hallow bastard wants to act all big?¡± he sneered, now that he was closer I saw a badge on his armor. Tier Nine. Guild badges were something fairly popular for larger guilds, to show off the tier of its members.


    ¡°Do you even realize what you just did?¡± I asked, glancing over at the guild staff member who was being helped by two others. The third had ran into the guild. ¡°Assaulting a guild staff member means expulsion, and imprisonment.¡±


    He laughed. ¡°No one in this town would dare, not even that pathetic old man.¡± He grabbed and drew his sword. ¡°There¡¯s no one in this city who¡¯d stand against me.¡±


    I wondered where he got this sort of confidence? Landerson may be past his prime, but he was still a powerhouse. A noble? That line of thinking would have to wait. This guy was now officially threatening me. Before he raised his sword, I stepped forward, activating my gauntlets just before my fist impacted his chest.


    He slid back several feet, but his armor hadn¡¯t even been scratched, though it crackled with the remnants my magic left. Mythril, or adamantine. Adamantine was probably the strongest material, second only to star metal. But you couldn¡¯t channel mana through adamantine. But since it didn¡¯t disperse the magic force from my gauntlets, it couldn¡¯t be adamantine. ¡°You!¡± The other two men drew their swords.


    Shuzshu made a move to grab the hammer, but I shook my head. ¡°Shuzshu, don¡¯t.¡± She looked at me, annoyed, but I didn¡¯t want to complicate this more. A slave, or pet, or tamed beast attacking someone, even a criminal, was not a hassle I wanted. I would have to explain it to her later.


    All three charged.


    After a full minute, I had to give them one thing, they were coordinated. Even as I dodged, and blocked, they covered for each other. Blocking one blade meant I had to block or dodge two others. When I struck towards one, they would block or retreat and another would counter. They were a bit too coordinated. There was only so much cohesion you could have with another without some sort of magical connection.


    I hopped back a bit to make space, and watched them. I was a bit out of breath, but only one of them seemed to be showing signs of fatigue. ¡°Gods, and you¡¯re supposed to be a Tier Nine?¡± I said, looking around and trying to see what was taking the guild staff so long. ¡°Who did you bribe to get that rank?¡±


    ¡°Shut it!¡± he yelled, obviously frustrated. He had not hit me in any way that had mattered, even though it was a three on one fight. I had also not been able to hit them, always being blocked. It was a stalemate of a fight, however I had noticed they had a pattern. If I attacked one, a certain one covered it, and the other counter attacked.


    Mentally I labeled them as One, Two, and Three. If I attacked One, Two would block, and Three would counter. If I attacked Two, One would block, and Three would counter. If I attacked Three, One or Two would block, but no one would counter. Three was also the only one talking. It was pretty obvious that this was his profession. Maybe¡­Puppetmaster? Or a golem related profession? One and Two didn¡¯t seem like people; their movements were a bit too stiff.


    Out of the corner of my eye I saw Landerson who was¡­just standing there, with his arms folded. ¡°Is this how you operate your guild?¡± I practically shouted at Landerson, which drew everyone''s attention to him, including Three. One and Two didn¡¯t look away from me.


    ¡°My hands are tied,¡± he said rather flatly. ¡°This is a fight between adventurers.¡±


    ¡°Bastard. Fine.¡± I slammed my fists together, activating my gauntlets again. I was going to strip this bastard of his mythril and use it to fully repair my gauntlets. ¡°Then you can¡¯t complain when I kill him.¡± The street fell silent as the tension thickened. I had not been aiming to hurt him because I was waiting for the guild to step in, but if they weren¡¯t, I was going to end it.


    ¡°Hah! You? Kill me? If you dare to even put a scratch on me, my father will-¡±


    ¡°Impact,¡± I muttered as I swung at the armored figure to my right. His sword shattered as my fist traveled through it and buried inside its chest, punching a hole straight through the plate.


    This move was why I became known as the Impact Archanist. A specialized magic that I had designed to be as destructive as possible. I could only make it due to my knowledge from my previous life. Mana is similar to water in how it flows, and while you can increase its density, it has no springiness to it. So if you have a bunch of mana flowing rapidly in a direction and then suddenly block it, the remaining mana slams into whatever blocked it with immense force.


    My gauntlets were designed to maximize this flow, by swirling it around and around until I essentially open the outlet at the knuckles and have it all shoot out. And then when it strikes a surface all that energy would keep that momentum and be forced forward with explosive results. It¡¯s similar to the water hammer phenomenon, though not exactly the same. It was all about applying physics to the manipulation of mana.


    The armored figure crumpled, but left no blood. It was some sort of construct. Using Impact took half a vial of magic silver, or two vials of magic essence in order to achieve the same results. I had used the latter this time, since I had extra magic essence and magic silver was still precious. Even while it was on the ground, it was still trying to move.


    Suddenly I blocked a downward strike from the side, and looked over to see the other construct. ¡°Impact.¡± An uppercut removed its head completely, sending it soaring into the sky. Another two vials of magic essence gone.


    ¡°What?¡± The one I had marked as Three took several steps back. ¡°But¡­you¡­you¡¯re a Maker.¡±


    I walked forward, gauntlets crackling resplendently from the remaining overflow of mana. ¡°I¡¯ve been hearing that every day for nearly eight years. And I¡¯m real fucking sick of it, you know?¡± He made an effort to stab towards me, but without his backup it was easy to parry his sword and deliver a blow to his head, sending his helmet flying. I was met with a familiar head of blonde hair.


    I hesitated.


    That would explain everything. Being one of the Duke¡¯s sons would allow him to get away with a lot. But that would also mean that that half giant was related to the Duke. Unless he meant brother in the more comrade way, rather than by blood. It was at this point the head of the construct that I had knocked off hit the ground.


    ¡°Not going to finish it?¡± I heard Landerson behind me.


    I didn¡¯t turn around. ¡°Oh now you¡¯ve grown a spine and want to stop me?¡± That actually shut him up. I don¡¯t know if I could take Landerson in a fight, but I know for sure that Shuzshu and I could do it.


    The man in front of me, apparently now realizing that I had the full intention of killing him right now, started to panic. ¡°Wait. Wait wait wait. Wait, we can talk this out.¡±


    I thought about it for a moment. ¡°In exchange for your life, you are going to leave everything you have on the ground. That means your weapon, your armor, and everything but your pants.¡± I flexed my gauntlets. ¡°Including the remains of those constructs.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You are paying me to spare your life,¡± I said bluntly.


    I saw the hesitation, but when I flexed my gauntlets again and caused them to spark and crackle, he thought better of trying to argue and quickly stripped. Even with a crowd, his life seemed far more important to him than any honor. Afterall, he probably thought he could get revenge later.


    Once everything was on the ground, he backed away from it. ¡°Th-there.¡± I looked him over, seeing as how his pants didn¡¯t even have pockets.


    ¡°The boots, too,¡± I said as I gestured at them.


    He looked at me incredulously for a moment, but then complied.


    ¡°Good. Now, run off home and beg your father for forgiveness from having raised such a shitty son who cavorts with murderers and thieves.¡± I was honestly surprised I didn¡¯t have to say it twice before the man took off running.


    I moved over to his things, and began taking stock. He honestly didn¡¯t have much. Two gold, ten silver, twenty copper, a mythril composite knife and sword, and his guild card. It looked like he came here in a hurry with the sole purpose of picking a fight. ¡°Well done!¡± Landerson¡¯s voice came from behind as he approached.


    ¡°No thanks to you.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­he is the son of the Duke. What would you have me do?¡±


    ¡°You go to the duke, and tell him that his son is a piece of shit.¡± I pulled out the man''s guild card. ¡°And if he doesn¡¯t listen, you make him.¡± I crushed the card in my hand before tossing it at Landerson¡¯s feet.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. He was appointed by the King-¡±


    ¡°Pathetic,¡± I interrupted. ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who said sometimes you just have to hit someone to make them stop being stupid?¡± I looked the man up and down before shaking my head. I turned away from him and gathered up almost everything he had left, putting the coins and weapons into my coat. I would have to carry the armor, and I probably left a few shards of the broken sword, but I got the big pieces. Materials are materials. I left his shirt and boots on the ground.


    I caught out of the corner of my eye as he and the other guild staff began to make an effort to disperse the crowd. ¡°Good fight,¡± Shuzshu said, ¡°We eat now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Once we get all this stuff in.¡± I picked up the armor and headed towards the guild. I glanced at Landerson again, and shook my head. ¡°To think I actually looked up to him. Shuzshu, grab the¡­two metal construct things,¡± I said as I gestured at them before picking up the head of the one I had knocked off.


    She happily obliged, hefting them onto one shoulder, the hammer resting on the other, as we made our way inside. I chose a table near the wall, and put down the armor, gesturing for the Gnoll to put the constructs there as well. As I sat down I looked around, seeing everyone in the guild eying me warily. A guild staff member came over. ¡°We have confirmed that the hammer was indeed taken from bandits,¡± he said, looking down at a piece of paper.


    ¡°Which means that that man was affiliated with bandits,¡± I added, wanting to make sure that that point was part of the discussion.


    ¡°I¡­uh¡­well, we are currently looking into that.¡±


    ¡°Talson Lanshire, and his Gold Fire Guild, are suspended until further notice,¡± Landerson said as he entered the guild.


    ¡°Bit late, but at least you¡¯ve grown some sort of spine,¡± I muttered as I used my mana to cast Analyze on the armor and constructs. As I thought, they were made of a mythril composite alloy. Unalloying them was beyond my skills. I would need a good blacksmith to help separate these. ¡°Does this guild offer housing accommodations to mid tier adventurers?¡± I asked the staff member who was apparently too nervous to retreat.


    ¡°We- we do. Though they are quite basic¡­¡±


    ¡°As long as it¡¯s a room, and I don¡¯t have to worry about being attacked, again, it¡¯s fine,¡± I raised my voice a bit in the later half of the sentence, to make sure that everyone could hear. ¡°Please get one for us.¡±


    He nodded.


    ¡°How did your hunting go, Shuzshu?¡± I asked, looking at her out of the corner of my eye.


    The Gnoll moved to my side and placed three pieces of paper down. ¡°I hunted these. Good fights.¡± She sat down on the floor behind my chair, still able to easily put her head on my shoulder as she got comfortable.


    Looking at the pieces of paper, she should have made seven gold and twenty silver. She happily put the small bag down on top of the papers, her arms moving to wrap around me once she was done. I counted the coins before putting them into my coat. That would put my total at eleven gold, fifty-seven silver, and sixty-eight copper. ¡°Good job.¡± I reached up to scratch the top of her head.


    The guild staff member coughed slightly. ¡°Is¡­is there anything else?¡±


    ¡°Now it¡¯s time for food, so if you could send over a waiter and a menu.¡± Large guilds like this were always nice as they doubled as restaurants. He nodded in response and hurried away. I could see him at the other side of the room, arguing with a waiter. Their uniforms were similar, but the trim was white on the waiter, while the staff member had gold.


    Eventually the waiter went into the back, clearly not wanting to deal with me and going to find someone else to pass it on to. It¡¯s amazing how cliche some of the things in this world are. People are just so passive and let those with some false perceived authority do whatever they want. If Landerson wasn¡¯t going to do anything about it, I was going to have to go and have a chat with the Duke.


    I really did not want to do that. Nobles are hard to deal with, because while punching their teeth in is easy, it causes problems. There were going to be problems with this Talson, and probably all of the Lanshire family, but I¡¯d just deal with that later.


    Suddenly I felt teeth on my shoulder and glanced over to see Shuzshu had put her maw around my shoulder. This wasn¡¯t something new; she liked to put her teeth on me. Still a bit of a surprise when I¡¯m not expecting it, but she had yet to bite down. I scratched her head, smiling a bit.


    Looking up there was a rather young woman coming towards my table, appearing to have been crying a moment earlier and holding a bit of paper. She had curly brown hair and large round glasses, dressed in the attire of a waitress. ¡°How cruel¡­bunch of cowards,¡± I muttered, continuing to pet the Gnoll.


    She came up to the table, standing on the other side of it and using it as a barrier. ¡°H-hello,¡± she managed to say before holding out the paper to me.


    I took it, glancing through the menu. They just had a breakfast, lunch, and dinner option. Most of the menu was made up of the seven different types of alcohol they had. And it was all cheap. ¡°Twelve dinner servings, and four meads,¡± I said as I handed the menu back.


    She stared at me blankly, forgetting her fear for a moment. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Twelve dinner servings. And four meads.¡± I put down three silver coins.


    She hesitated for a moment before reaching out and taking the silver. ¡°R-right. I shall¡­get that¡­¡± She turned and practically ran.


    What blatant bullying by the staff. I sighed a bit and put my hands on the table, looking down at them. The sleeves of my coat were shredded past my elbows. Honestly they had lasted me longer than I had thought they would. I only put the sleeves on my coat after downsizing my gauntlets, because it felt weird to have my arms exposed.


    That was another thing I would have to do. Find a really good blacksmith. It wasn¡¯t hard to find a blacksmith, but finding one capable of the things I needed was difficult. And expensive. There were so many things on my to-do list that it was giving me a headache.


    But at least I was actually getting back on my feet. I actually had a chance now. ¡°Did you have fun hunting?¡± I asked softly to the Gnoll.


    She gave a soft grunt in response, her teeth still enveloping my shoulder. She specifically reached out and tapped one of the fliers.


    ¡°That one was the most fun?¡± Again she grunted. It was some sort of dark shaded humanoid figure. A Hulking Shade. Not quite a shadow beast, but close. They weren¡¯t usually active during the day, but they were large, strong, and fought every fight like that was their reason for existing. It didn¡¯t surprise me that that was her favorite. Though I knew there were others that she would probably like more.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Even if she was a Tier Nine, there was a Tier Eleven in that list. Though it was Tier Eleven on paper, it was not actually that good at combat. It was just really tough. I had no doubt that she could beat it. We sat in silence for a while, as I simply pet her and watched the room. Everything was starting to return to normal as the excitement of what happened faded.


    The guards didn¡¯t even show up. But that was one thing about the Adventurers Guild; it operated independently. Guild matters were handled by guild people. Even if the Duke wanted to do something, he would have to go through the guild. I wondered if Landerson would throw me under the bus? ¡­cart? Would it be throwing me under the cart?


    The movement of several waiters with plates and mugs approaching caught my attention. They piled the food onto the table and quickly retreated. The staff was probably going to remain cautious of us for a while until things actually calmed down.


    Shuzshu finally removed my shoulder from her mouth and moved more beside me. ¡°I can eat all this?¡±


    ¡°Well, I mean, I want some,¡± I said, getting myself a plate and mug. ¡°But other than that, yes.¡±


    She made a few pleased noises that reminded the entire room that she was very much a hyena before she began to eat.


    I was glad she wasn¡¯t a messy eater, though she didn¡¯t know how to use most of the utensils, she understood not to use her hands for most foods. Generally she watched me on anything she wasn¡¯t sure about. Of course, her use of utensils was rather humorous as she just stabbed at it. Though I suppose I was just stabbing it in a specific way.


    A few others looked over to watch the Gnoll eat, but it was not like she was some sort of wild animal tearing at a carcass, so they eventually lost interest. It was quite good food, though I always preferred the street food. They were always so much more caring in their foods. Chefs at places like this just tried to make decent food as fast as possible. Not that I had anything against them for that.


    The mead was good. There must be a large patch of bluebells near the hive, maybe a garden, judging by the taste. It had that slight tang that was expected from healing potions. I wondered if anyone without Alchemist skills would notice that? Probably tanks and fighters who use potions a lot.


    I caught the guild staff coming over with a piece of paper and a small pouch. ¡°Your housing situation has been handled,¡± he said as he passed the things to me.


    ¡°That was quick.¡± I furrowed my brow. Usually this would take days, if not weeks.


    ¡°Landerson made it a priority.¡±


    ¡°Of course he did¡­¡± I muttered as I read the paper. It was a house on Crissing Street, numbered 470. About a block from Red Bottle Alchemy. This was obviously done on purpose. ¡°What is that old man planning¡­¡± Inside the bag were seven small charms.


    ¡°The Guild Master does his best.¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯ve seen,¡± I said with snerk and stuffed the objects into my coat.


    It looked like the staff member wanted to say something else, but decided better of it. I had to admit that at least Landerson was trying. Those charms were to bypass whatever wards were on the building. Which meant that it was actually a building, not just a room or section of a house.


    With a sigh, I had to admit he was probably under a lot more restrictions than me. He was probably hoping that I would get into a conflict with that guy. A scheming Guild Master. I glanced at the Gnoll, who was more than half done with the food, whereas I had barely gotten half way.


    It was too much to think about right now, and would just have to be something I kept in the back of my head.


    ~


    The building was a lot rougher looking than I had hoped, but from an Analysis, it was structurally sound. The inside was only slightly better, having been neglected for probably a decade. Standing inside the entryway, which was sort of like a living room, I explained to Shuzshu how she needed to keep the charm on her in order to enter the house. ¡°We live here now?¡±


    I paused for several moments, realizing that- ¡°Yes. This is where we live now.¡±


    This seemed to please her greatly and she set off to explore the house. I joined her. It was a two story house, three if you counted the attic, and four if you counted the cellar. The attic was all one large empty room, but the cellar had four servant quarters, and a food storage area. The ground floor had a living room, a restroom with a large wash basin, a kitchen, a pantry with a door to a yard, and a sitting room. The second floor had four rooms, similar to the cellar, though they were larger.


    It was much smaller than the guild house I had funded, but it was much larger than I expected. This would normally be a place for a small guild. Maybe that¡¯s what Landerson wanted? Either way, I had no serious complaints after walking through. There was even fairly new furniture on the first and second floors that appeared to have been recently placed. I already had plans to turn the attic into my workshop. It was the largest room in the house, and would be the largest workshop I had ever had. I really wanted a large lab.


    Glancing at the piece of paper, the terms were pretty clear. Ten gold a year, but nothing up front, payment after two months, and that was when the contract would officially start. They were giving me time to get set up. Though ten gold was obviously way too high for the price of such a building¡­but it did have its own well. And a large overgrown yard in the back, with an eight foot metal fence with thick shrubs growing over it. Shuzshu could actually see over the wall, and onto the alleys on either side. There was a gate at the back, leading to a sort of private road behind all the buildings in this area.


    I could afford it, and it was nice to have a house. Though I would still try and bring Landerson down on that price¡­ Hopefully Landerson didn¡¯t plan to kick us out once we fixed the place up. If he tried, I was going to remove his head from his shoulders. ¡°Where are we going to sleep?¡± Shuzshu suddenly asked.


    Thinking about it for a moment, I shrugged. ¡°Which room do you like most?¡±


    Her face scrunched up, and then she pointed. ¡°That one. It overlooks the stairs, and the windows face the yard.¡± A strategic decision.


    I chuckled, and nodded. ¡°Alright, then we¡¯ll sleep there.¡± I made my way up the stairs. It also opened up directly towards the stairs leading to the attic. The stairs creaked ominously under Shuzshu¡¯s weight, but as long as they held it was fine.


    Moving into the room I took more of a look around. There was only a bed, and while the mattress, sheets, and pillow looked new, the frame did not. I sat down on it, testing it to see if it would even hold my weight, let alone the large Gnoll. ¡°Might need a better frame¡­¡± I muttered and then watched the Gnoll enter. She had disrobed, wearing only the collar.


    She then started sniffing around the room, seemingly getting familiar with it. I watched her for a few minutes, unable to help but chuckle as I watched. ¡°Clean¡­¡± she said after a while, a hint of confusion in her voice.


    I blinked, and then looked around. It was true. The place was clean, just¡­old. If it had just been a lack of dust, I would have thought that whoever moved in the furniture had dusted, but even the windows were clean. I thought for a moment, wondering if someone was taking care of the property. But if that was the case, then it would be in better shape. ¡°A House Spirit?¡± I questioned aloud.


    I watched as Shuzshu¡¯s mane bristled. ¡°Spirit?¡±


    ¡°A House Spirit,¡± I said as I removed my gauntlets and placed them on the floor. ¡°You sometimes see them in old houses of old families.¡± I looked up a bit, lightly touching the wall. ¡°It means that there was a loving and caring family that lived here.¡±


    ¡°Danger?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°They might be a little upset that someone moved in, but as long as we treat our new home well, they¡¯ll get used to us.¡± I was looking around the room, checking the corners; there was not even a cobweb. ¡°They¡¯ve been working so hard¡­¡± I muttered.


    Shuzshu was looking around, and looking behind and under things. ¡°Where?¡±


    I chuckled softly. ¡°Oh we probably won''t see them for years, if ever.¡± She looked at me and tilted her head. ¡°They¡¯re like all Spirits. You have to do quite a lot to receive the honor of their presence. Spirits, also called fae, are things of magic. While we have magic stones, they don¡¯t, because they are made of magic. There¡¯s a lot of¡­bad blood between Spirits and mortals. Because when a Spirit dies they turn into powerful magic energy, so there are people who capture them to use as materials.¡±


    Her brow furrowed as she came over and put her head on my lap. ¡°You know so much.¡±


    A smile pulled at the corner of my mouth as I started to pet her. ¡°Knowledge is extremely powerful, and I used to spend a lot of time researching.¡± I ran my fingers through her mane. I really liked how it felt¡­a certain greasy texture, but a certain soft feel to it once you got under the rough outer ends.


    ¡°Smart and strong,¡± she mumbled.


    ¡°What a silly Gnoll¡­¡± I said softly, continuing to pet her.


    We sat there for a moment, her eyes closed and enjoying the feeling of my fingers. Her brow suddenly furrowed, and I heard her take several deep breaths. ¡°Smell?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± I looked down at her.


    She sat up a bit, sniffing over my thighs. ¡°Smell,¡± she said again.


    My brow arched a bit, before it occurred to me what she was probably smelling. ¡°Ah, yes there was a cat. It was cute.¡±


    Her eyes narrowed at me. ¡°Cat?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it was a cute thing. An interesting feline beast that-¡±


    Suddenly I was shoved onto the bed, and she was hovering over me. She was pinning me down and was staring at me, examining my face as if she was looking for something. What exactly was she thinking about? Was she jealous that I gave attention to a cat?


    She stared at me for several moments. ¡°You¡¯ve never called me cute.¡±


    I had to try really hard not to laugh, but I did smile. ¡°Oh you silly Gnoll.¡± I reached up, gently placing a hand on her cheek. ¡°You are cute. An adorable thing.¡± I could feel her tail thumping against the side of the bed, and I started to stroke her cheek. It seemed that she really just wanted to be praised.


    ¡°Mmm¡­¡± she made a soft noise, her eyes almost closing as she stared down.


    ¡°You¡¯re big and strong,¡± I continued, ¡°And you do so well.¡± I ran my fingers through her fur. ¡°You¡¯re such a good girl.¡± That seemed to be some sort of trigger, as suddenly her weight pressed down on me and she shoved her mouth against mine. I had started to get used to her weight with how often she laid on top of me, but this was different; she was actively pressing down on me.


    Her fervor and confidence in making out had increased quite a bit. She had not initiated kissing since the first time, and I had honestly started to wonder if she had enjoyed it or not. But what she was doing now brushed those thoughts away. It was as if there was an intense need for it.


    Maybe I needed to praise her more in the future? I realized I had not really done so. I usually just called her a silly Gnoll. I had given her a lot of affection, but it had all been physical. Maybe she wanted more verbal appreciation? Was that why she was always so happy when I referred to her as my pet?


    Eventually she pulled away, panting softly. ¡°Mine,¡± she breathed.


    I couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°Oh? Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said, looking down at me. ¡°I can share, but only with those I approve.¡±


    I blinked at her, feeling that that was a tall order on my part. I was extremely unlucky in that department, with three failed relationships in this life and dozens in my last one. Some of which ended really, really badly.


    ¡°You are strong. Smart. We¡¯ll make a big clan.¡±


    Truly I wondered what was going on in this Gnolls head. I had nothing against polyamory, and in fact I had some really good friends who did that. But where I struggled was picturing myself in such a situation, with how much of a failure I¡¯d been in relationships it was hard to imagine being successful in multiple. Eventually I sighed, and closed my eyes. ¡°If that will make you happy.¡±


    ¡°Yes yes. Strong males need many mates, so that they can make strong clans.¡± She put her head on my chest, rubbing against it. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure where she had gotten this idea, since hyenas were matriarchal. If we were to follow that, she would be the one in charge. Maybe it was different for Gnolls? Or maybe this was her telling me how things would go? It was still a bit confusing to me.


    Maybe I should look more into how Gnoll society functions rather than using fringe knowledge that I¡¯ve come across, and things I know about animals. ¡°Alright. Can I get ready for bed now?¡±


    She seemed to consider this for a moment before slowly getting off of me. However before fully removing her weight, she bit my lip softly. I just sort of looked at her before shaking my head and making my way out of the room after grabbing a small bag from my coat. She followed me, confused. ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°To take a bath,¡± I said, glancing at her. It had been¡­almost a year since I had properly bathed. All I had done really was wipe myself down, which was the norm. Baths were not quite a luxury, as there were public bath houses, so people tended to go every so often. But having your own bath was rare.


    Her brow furrowed as she watched me walk down the stairs and into the bathroom. As I had suspected, this bath appeared to be hooked up to the well somehow, and I began filling the basin.The basin itself was large, and mostly sunk into the floor. It was honestly very large, almost like a personal communal bath. I imagined that the family probably took baths together. There was a little side shoot designed for firewood to be put in to heat the water. Heating it would require effort, and I thought about getting some wood to heat it, but I decided that it would be faster to just use magic.


    I had to wait for it to be at a suitable fullness, before I used a spell specifically for boiling water. Fire magic was something that I could never grasp and I didn¡¯t know even the most basic fire spell, but a spell for boiling water was extremely useful when mixing potions. Since heating water was essentially just vibrating it, water magic could be used, and I was good at that.


    Once I was satisfied, I undressed. The water would be far too hot to get in, so I turned the water on again to finish filling the basin and getting it to a comfortable temperature. It was at this point that Shuzshu walked in, looking at me. ¡°Wash me.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± I looked back at her as she stood just inside the doorway. It was honestly amazing that she could get through the door frame, but I knew that a lot of her seeming bulk was actually fur. ¡°You want me to wash you?¡±


    She nodded.


    ¡°Alright.¡± I moved over to the edge of the basin, making sure it was a good temperature. It was fairly hot, but not scalding anymore. In the small bag was some basic soaps that I had made or bought. I looked at Shuzshu, realizing I was about to use all of my shampoo. I grabbed one of the stools and placed it near the basin.


    A proper bath was a long process in this world, consisting of washing yourself, rinsing, and then soaking. It reminded me more of the eastern method of bathing than what I was used to. Just jump in the shower, wet down, lather and scrub, then rinse. Done. Although I had grown to like the soaking part afterwards.


    However, once I was done cleaning myself, I turned to Shuzshu, who had not moved. ¡°Come here,¡± I said with a bit of a smirk. She had been watching me the entire time. She slowly made her way over and sat down in front of me. I started to grab the bottles that I had, before I hesitated. ¡°Is¡­there any place that you don¡¯t want touched?¡± I asked. ¡°Some place¡­painful?¡± It was the best way that I could phrase it.


    She shook her head. ¡°No.¡±


    With a nod, I began to wash her. It reminded me of when I helped a neighbor wash their massive dog; a saint bernard. I wasn¡¯t sure if she would enjoy the comparison, but she most definitely enjoyed the treatment of me scrubbing deep into her fur once she had been soaked.


    I had been worried about touching her back, considering all the scarring, but she showed no reaction so they must not hurt. In fact, her tail was thumping quite a lot. She seemed to enjoy every moment of the scrubbing, though I avoided her more intimate lower section, her chest was scrubbed as well. That part she seemed to particularly enjoy, judging from the way she pushed out her chest.


    Arms and legs were scrubbed, which amused her as she pushed me around a bit in a playful manner. If I had known she was going to be like this, I would have washed her first so that I wouldn¡¯t have to spend the time rinsing off. Again.


    Around her head I had to be a bit more careful, doing my best not to get anything in her eyes. Once that was done, the only thing left was the area I was a bit hesitant to touch. However, she seemed to notice this and grinned at me. ¡°Well? Aren¡¯t you going to finish?¡±


    I had to just¡­stare at her for a moment. ¡°Where did you learn to talk like that? Who taught you this? Why?¡± I couldn¡¯t take it anymore and I just had to ask. This Gnoll was far too good at pushing buttons.


    She also just stared at me for a moment, and then shifted a bit and looked away. ¡°My Mistress was¡­ I learned it from watching her¡­¡±


    I watched her for a moment longer before I sighed. ¡°Because, fuck, I swear. You keep talking like that, and doing things and my heart just¡­¡± I pat my chest a bit, trying to calm down. ¡°It is far too effective.¡± It makes me feel like a young fool. I¡¯ve lived over ninety years counting both lives, you would think I wouldn¡¯t be able to get struck by a school boy crush.


    There was a smile on her face as she reached out, grasping my hands. ¡°Then¡­do you not find me attractive? Is that why you hesitate?¡±


    I blinked several times. ¡°What? Of course I think you¡¯re attractive. You¡¯re beautiful.¡±


    She had to turn away at that. ¡°But¡­I am a beast. A monster¡­¡± She paused for a moment before adding, ¡°A silly dog.¡±


    My smile widened a bit. ¡°Well, that may be true, but I don¡¯t really think that factors into if I¡¯m attracted to you. If anything, it makes me more attracted to you.¡±


    Her gaze suddenly snapped to me. ¡°Then why do you always look so miserable?¡±


    The smile on my face faltered, and slowly disappeared.


    ¡°You¡¯re always so sad¡­ I see it all the time.¡± She had been so close to me for weeks now, and so it was obvious she would have noticed. ¡°You don¡¯t look happy when you eat. You don¡¯t look happy when you fight. Or when you¡¯re writing. You don¡¯t look happy when you sleep¡­ You look at me like¡­like you¡¯re just waiting for me to leave.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said softly. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡­ I don¡¯t want you to leave. But everyone does.¡± A bitter laugh escaped me. ¡°Everyone does. And I¡¯m left there wondering just¡­what the hell happened? What did I do? Why does everyone either turn against me, or die?¡±


    She was silent, just looking at me. I looked down at her hands, they were massive compared to mine. I had never explained to anyone about my past life, because that was a taboo. It was actually an established thing that many people have reincarnated in this world, and they¡¯re seen as evil things. Things that shouldn¡¯t exist.


    That was a long historical thing in itself. Hundreds of years ago there was a group of reincarnators that came together and plunged the world into war. They used the knowledge from their past life to take control. Hundreds of millions were killed, and the Twelve Stars ruled as tyrannical gods for decades. They would have ruled for longer if there had not been sudden infighting and most of them killed each other. The survivors either disappeared or were killed.


    Since then it was a death sentence to tell anything about other worlds. I had been extremely careful about it, as I had read quite a number of stories. That ended up being a good hobby, since it gave me a lot to look out for. Caution was the rule of living a long time. Though it was very hard not to be curious. I had always wondered if the Twelve Stars were from my world, or from different ones.


    ¡°Pain,¡± Shuzshu suddenly said softly and I looked up. Her face was scrunched up, some soap had dripped down into her eye.


    ¡°Ah-¡± I pulled my hands free, grabbing the bucket we had been using. ¡°Close your eyes. We need to rinse off the soap.¡±


    The next few minutes were spent washing out the shampoo from her fur. That had been the most the Gnoll had spoken at one time. She was a lot smarter than even I had given her credit for, or at least far more well spoken. I had to assume she just didn¡¯t like talking.


    Once we had both cleaned of soap, I moved into the basin. I wasn¡¯t sure how she would feel about soaking because of her fur, but after some hesitation she eventually crawled in. The water was still quite warm, which was nice to just sit in and soak. There were a lot of things that I wanted to say, to add onto the interrupted conversation, but at the same time I didn¡¯t want to bring it back up.


    However Shuzshu seemed to have a lot of things on her mind as she moved over to me and sat down before pulling me onto her and making me sit on her lap. If I had ever felt small around her before, this was the moment that I felt the smallest. I leaned back, resting my head against her chest. ¡°God¡¯s you¡¯re huge,¡± I muttered as I looked up at her.


    She cackled as she ran her hands over my chest. Her laugh was one of the most hyena things about her. ¡°I am large, even among Gnolls.¡±


    I sighed softly as I leaned back against her. She was comfortable. My mind started to wander back to times when I felt like this. There were a few pleasant memories. There would be more, but most were twisted. It was no wonder that Shuzshu had noticed how miserable I was, since I couldn¡¯t stop myself from recalling bad times. It felt like a curse.


    At least things were getting better for a time. Shuzshu seemed satisfied with the conversation and didn¡¯t say more. Drying her off was an absolute pain and used several towels just for her to still be damp. Though she didn¡¯t seem to mind it.


    Once that was done, I brought up all of my things to the room. I finally noticed that Shuzshu had removed all of her clothes and such and dumped it in the room besides the one that we were going to use. That caused me to chuckle a bit.


    Neatly putting my things down near the bed, I finally settled in. The Gnoll promptly lay on the bed as well, partially on top of me with her head on my chest. I ran my fingers through her mane, which was taking on quite the soft and fluffy texture from the shampoo. I would have to make more when I could, or ask the Kobold to. That little reptile could probably make high end shampoo if I gave them the recipe.


    But that would be something for another time. For now, I would simply enjoy a good night''s rest in our new home. That was a very pleasant thought. Having a home again was¡­nice.


    ~


    It felt like the morning came quickly, as I was awoken by the Gnoll waking just before the sun came up. She had quite the precise internal clock and was able to do so every day, no matter how late she stayed up. Though she did occasionally nap. Usually on top of me.


    I watched as she stretched before leaving the room, heading to the one she had dumped her clothes. I chuckled a bit as I got up and dressed. She came back as I was checking over my gauntlets, rubbing a finger over the dented knuckles. ¡°Hunting,¡± She said.


    Looking up at her, she looked excited; all dressed up in her guild tabard. ¡°Alright. I¡¯m going to look for a blacksmith, to see about getting those things melted down. And maybe do some other shopping.¡±


    She nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯ll meet you at the guild before sunset.¡±


    Again she nodded, more vigorously this time. ¡°Meat?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you can eat lots of meat.¡± I could see her tail wagging as she made her way down the stairs. Following after her, I watched her heft her hammer, which she had left by the bodies of the constructs. ¡°Remember to not lose your charm.¡±


    All she did was nod a few times before rushing out the door. Apparently she had really enjoyed hunting the previous day. Her Battlejunky profession probably had a lot to do with that. Could that also be why she¡¯s so large?


    I shook my head as I moved over to the constructs. It would be best if they were high in mythril content, but knowing my luck it was probably a fairly small percentage. They were¡­a bit crude. Probably done by a low tier Artificer. I could do much better.


    The streets outside were already starting to move with people. Although it would be more appropriate to say that the movement never stopped. But now stalls were opening, and things were becoming noisy. I made my way over to a stall that was doing some sort of breakfast pastry. It was quite tasty, and very sugary.


    It occurred to me that Shuzshu had given me the entire reward from her quests. That was an oversight on my part. I would need to make sure that she kept some for herself so she could buy herself things. Although she could just¡­keep it all for herself. She had no obligation to give me anything. I would have to have a talk with her about it later.


    I could probably assume, since she was a slave or something similar, that she didn¡¯t really have the concept of money. She was probably just used to giving all of her rewards to her owner.


    After asking the stall owner about Dwarven Blacksmiths nearby, they had given me directions to one nearby. It was quite a ways past Red Bottle, but it was the closest one on this side of the city. Apparently all the other forges were on the other side of town in a sort of Dwarven district.


    That made me curious as to why this particular Blacksmith had set up in this side of town, but I would find that out pretty quick. The building looked like what I would expect of a blacksmith, with nearby shops peddling forged items. Weapons, armor, and all those other goods. It didn¡¯t seem like this Blacksmith was in the market of selling things themselves.


    As I pushed open the door, I was welcomed by the rush of heat. While it was early in the morning, it seemed that they had already worked to get the forge going. Or they just never let it cool. Before I had even fully entered, a short man with a large beard appeared from seemingly nowhere at the other end of the room.


    ¡°Whatcha want?¡± he said as he looked me up and down. He had the oh-so-typical Dwarven appearance. Short, wide faced, huge beard. Looking at his beard it was full of little decorations. One of which I took special note of. It was three iron beads capped with a small copper hammer.


    ¡°Is the Master available?¡± I asked, looking around the room to see if I could see anyone else. It was a sort of store room. Some completed things, raw ores, some ingots of basic metals.


    The man''s eyes narrowed at me. ¡°He don¡¯t talk to people he don¡¯t know.¡±


    I paused for a moment before reaching into my coat and retrieving a small cord with six iron beads, capped with a silver hammer. ¡°Well, I have a job for him.¡± With my other hand I pulled out the head of the construct. ¡°Go ask him if he can unalloy this.¡± I tossed the head to the Dwarf.


    He caught the head, though he didn¡¯t even look at it. Instead he was staring at me and the cord. He eyed me for a moment more before nodding and heading through a door at the back of the room.


    A few moments later another Dwarf came out. This one was a bit stockier, with a few bits of gray in his red beard. ¡°You the silver hammer?¡± he asked, looking me up and down.


    ¡°I am.¡± I held up the cord as I looked him over as well. A Dwarves beard told the story of their life. Any major accomplishment would get its own little thing to be woven into the beard, but they were all uniquely made by the Dwarf or those they knew so it was hard to estimate their meaning. One consistency though, was for Blacksmiths. You could tell a Dwarfs skill level by how many beads they had and the type. This one had fifteen gold beads, with a gold hammer.


    ¡°Who¡¯s your teacher?¡± Gold was the highest of ranks as far as Dwarves were concerned, so this Dwarf was a Tier Fifteen Master Blacksmith. That confused me even more as I wondered why they were here.


    ¡°Aldsbrava.¡± He was a good friend, and taught me everything I knew about Blacksmithing and Dwarves.


    ¡°Aldsbrava¡­¡± the man repeated, running his hand over his beard. ¡°That¡¯s a name I¡¯ve not heard in eighty years¡­ How is he?¡±


    ¡°Dead. Almost four years now.¡±


    The Dwarf nodded a bit. ¡°Alright, come on. Tell me about this job.¡± He turned and walked into the back.


    I nodded as I followed him. We went into a large forge, there were a few other Dwarves working material and keeping the fires going. ¡°I need a bunch of metal unalloyed.¡±


    He lifted up the head of the construct that had been left on an anvil. ¡°Same composition as this?¡± He turned it in his hand, examining it.


    ¡°Yes. I just want the mythril, and gold. Anything else is yours.¡±


    He stopped, rubbing the smooth part of the side of the head. ¡°Would that change if you knew the composition?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I said as I reached into my coat. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t care if there was adamantine in it. I just want the mythril and gold.¡± He nodded as I pulled out the weapons. ¡°I¡¯ve got three swords, one is broken, and a dagger. The rest of that construct,¡± I said as I gestured to the head, ¡°As well as another complete one. And a full suit of armor.¡±


    The Dwarf arched a brow at me. ¡°That all?¡± I nodded. He looked down at the head a moment before peeling it open like it was an orange. ¡°There¡¯s not much mythril in it. I¡¯d say about twenty percent. Of that, you¡¯d probably only get eighteen percent. Not sure about gold, at least in this, so I can¡¯t tell how much you¡¯d get of that.¡±


    I watched him as he spoke and when he stopped, I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s honestly a bit more than I expected.¡±


    ¡°And all you want is the mythril and gold.¡±


    ¡°Yes. That¡¯s all I want.¡± I had a feeling there was probably something in the mixture that he could tell that was causing him to confirm so many times.


    ¡°Even orichalcum?¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t care less.¡± Orichalcum was slightly worse than adamantine. It had similar antimagic and hardness attributes, but was slightly less. ¡°I can¡¯t use orichalcum, or adamantine.¡±


    He laughed, a deep belly sort of laugh. ¡°Good, good. Well, then I think we have a deal.¡± He turned and shouted, ¡°Agron, Gauld, go get a large cart and follow this guy back to get the goods.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me yet,¡± he said as he turned back. ¡°Depending on how this all goes¡­I might actually owe you money.¡±


    I smiled a bit, and shook my head. ¡°Instead of that, how about use of your forge?¡±


    He arched his brow at me again. ¡°Well, you are a silver hammer, so you have the skills¡­but what more work do you need? I might be able to facilitate.¡±


    I shook my head as I raised up my hand, showing him the damaged gauntlets. ¡°I like to work on my own things.¡±


    The Dwarf approached me and grabbed hold of my wrist, pulling my gauntlet down to get a better look at it. ¡°Hmph. Not bad.¡± He let go. ¡°Alright, lead those boys off to wherever you¡¯re storing the rest of this stuff,¡± he said as he pat the head of the construct.


    With that I set off back down the road back to my new house. It took a bit of effort for the three of us to move it all onto the cart, as well as all the weapons which I tossed on. ¡°We¡¯ll send someone by to let you know when it¡¯s all done,¡± one of the Dwarves said, Agron I think.


    ¡°If I¡¯m not around, you can also leave a message at the adventurers guild for the Archanist.¡± They glanced at each other before nodding and heading off. Now that that was taken care of, it was time to do a bit of work myself. I needed to learn some things, and figure out good locations for herbs and materials. For that, it was off to the Guild.


    The guild was rather quiet at this time, it was well before lunch and all those planning to take quests had already left for the day, so the only ones there were those taking it easy, or guild staff. I was glad for the quiet as I walked over to a counter. ¡°I¡¯d like some information on a few things.¡±


    He looked up. ¡°Of course, we¡¯re always happy to help.¡± I didn¡¯t recognize the staff member, but being such a large guild that wasn¡¯t surprising.


    ¡°I wanted to ask about water locations in large forests, as I¡¯m looking-¡±


    There was a sudden pressure and a man had put an arm around my shoulder. ¡°Hey, hey, you¡¯re the one who owns that Gnoll, right?¡±


    I glanced at the man, a robed individual. Probably a spell caster, and from the smell of him, drunk before lunch. I also ignored him. ¡°I¡¯m looking for water slime.¡±


    ¡°Oh don¡¯t be like that, I¡¯m just trying to be friendly. The guys and me just wanna know,¡± he looked around, and lowered his voice before continuing, ¡°What it¡¯s like?¡±


    My brow furrowed, but I continued to look at the guild staff. Who to their credit carried on the conversation, ¡°Well there¡¯s a few different locations. The forest to the north east known as Blind Oak has been reported as having water slime.¡±


    ¡°Come on,¡± the man continued. ¡°A big beast of a woman like that, we¡¯re all curious. She¡¯s probably rough, right? Or is she a gentle giant?¡±


    ¡°So Blind Oak,¡± I said, trying really hard to ignore the man and shrug off his arm.


    ¡°Probably a real monster in bed, eh? Especially since she¡¯s a Gnoll. I can only imagine what they¡¯re like when they go into heat.¡±


    Suddenly there was a spark in the back of my mind, as if things suddenly made sense. Heat? Did Gnolls go into heat? That would completely explain how she was so aggressive but then hasn¡¯t sought out that again. ¡°There¡¯s also Everlast Forest, but that¡¯s not recommended for uh¡­lower tiers.¡±


    I would have to put the thoughts of heat to later. ¡°Where¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°To the west, past the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said with a nod and forcibly shrugged off the arm of the man.


    ¡°Oh come on, it¡¯s just a question.¡± It was hard to resist the urge to sock him in the face, but he was extremely drunk and had given me something to think about, so I would let this slide.


    On my way out of town I grabbed a few skewers. Lizard meat again. There must be a large population of lizard monsters nearby, or perhaps in the dungeon, as most of the meat seems to be from reptiles. I also passed by the dungeon, which was an interesting structure that looked like a large skull of some beast, with mist slowly seeping out from it. It truly had a fitting name. There weren¡¯t many people outside, at least not as many as I would have expected. The majority were probably inside already.


    As much as the dungeon had been a sight to see, the forest was even moreso. It had that absolute classic enchanted forest look. Huge trees, colorful stones and fungus scattered about. It was beautiful just to look at. I could see that there looked to be a few well trodden paths, most likely from adventurers. There was the sound of birds and animals, and the odd ringing of bells and laughter.


    This was a Spirit Forest.


    It was no wonder that the receptionist had said that it was not for low tier adventurers¡­ Most low tiers would not know how to deal with Spirits. But it was also the best place to find materials and herbs. It wouldn¡¯t be a matter of if I could find water slime here, but how long it would take.


    I sighed softly as I made my way down one of the paths. That didn¡¯t mean I wanted to be in a place like this.


    Several hours passed, the trail having long since disappeared. Now it was a matter of traveling around trees and over roots and rocks. The strangest part was not coming across anything. No beasts, no people, no Spirits. That was concerning, but there was no reason to worry about it too much.


    Eventually I found a small creek, which I followed. As I went further in, I slowed from the noise. There was the sound of laughter, and the jingling of bells and windchimes. I had nothing against Spirits, but they could be extremely dangerous. And hostile.


    The creek eventually let out into a small pond, on top of which was the source of the noise. Six little Faeries were messing about, playing tag, or doing something with the water. It was hard to guess at what fae got up to. I picked up a rock and hurled it to the left, causing it to knock on a tree a ways away.


    Immediately the Faeries scattered. I tried to remain low and motionless, to not give myself away. Once I was sure the coast was clear I stood up, and nearly bumped my head on something. Taking a step back I looked at it and immediately felt my blood run cold. A Spirit Trap. I grabbed it and ripped it down, crushing the fragile thing.


    Spirit trapping was illegal, at least as far as I knew. I sighed softly as I put the now broken trap into my coat. It would serve as good evidence when I confronted the guild about it. There was always something I was having to deal with. If I were more of a passive man, maybe my life would be less hectic.


    Moving to the pond, I knelt down, retrieving a few jars from my coat. As I had thought, there were plentiful amounts of water slime. Water slime is a sort of clear algae that likes to grow in ponds that are mostly stagnant. It prefers still water, but still wants fresh water to come and the old water to leave. A rather picky thing.


    Four jars of the stuff was a good haul. Any more than that would disrupt the ecosystem of the pond and prevent the water slime from repopulating. Rather than getting eight jars now and having to find a new source, it was better to take half and come back in a month or two for more.


    As I stood up, thinking about looking for a few other herbs, a sudden chime caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up. I didn¡¯t dare to move, in case whatever it was spotted the movement. But after a few moments, I heard the chime again and looked over to where it was coming from. It was in the direction that several of the Faeries had fled.


    I waited, and watched, looking for any signs of movement until I heard the chime again. Now I was confused, and a bit curious, and so I took a few steps towards the source of the noise. Another chime, this one sounding a bit frantic, was the response. I waited for a bit longer before I decided that I might as well see what the fuss was. Especially if it was what I thought it was.


    And it was. One of the Faeries had gotten caught in one of the Spirit traps, and was trying to call out for help. It panicked the moment it saw me, struggling more against the trap and letting out frantic chimes.


    With a sigh, I made my way over. ¡°Alright, alright. Calm down. It¡¯s okay.¡± I reached up, grabbing and prying off a large part of the trap. Immediately the Faerie took its chance and fled. I watched it for a moment until it was out of sight, and then pulled the trap down, crushing it before storing it away.


    After casting Analysis on one, I decided to spend the next hour going around and collecting these little traps, making sure to crush them before storing them. It seemed that the Spirits around here had learned to avoid them. But for me, they were just materials. There was not a small amount of gold used in them, which also told me that the Maker was most likely an Artificer. I decided to take one trap intact, so that I could study their circuitry.


    As I knelt, examining some footprints, a soft chime caused me to turn my head, seeing a Faerie not terribly far away. I had a feeling that it had been following me, but this was the first time it had made a noise. ¡°I don¡¯t speak fae,¡± I said softly, tucking what would be the last trap I would gather. Which put me up to twenty seven. I was confident I got all the ones in this area.


    There were a few more chimes, and the Faerie got closer.


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t put up the traps, nor do I know who did.¡± Just as the words left my mouth, I realized that I had understood the intent of what the little Spirit was trying to say.


    There was a questioning chime, as it asked why I was collecting them.


    I glanced at the little fae. ¡°Two reasons. One,¡± I held up a finger, ¡°It¡¯s good materials.¡± I had no intention of lying. ¡°And two,¡± I held up a second finger, ¡°It¡¯s a horrible thing to do to an intelligent being. Some people don¡¯t see Spirits as living things, but that¡¯s just¡­dumb.¡±


    It actually got quite close now, just out of reach. It had the figure of a young woman, wearing leaves as clothes, with silver hair. She was quite a lovely little thing, but that was fae. They were either beautiful, or absolutely horrific to look at. It made a few little chimes.


    ¡°You can call me Archanist,¡± I said, as it was asking for who I was. There are legends that you have to watch how you answer a fae¡¯s request, and most of them were true. However, I had no name to steal even if it wanted to.


    When I stood up it fluttered a bit away, obviously cautious. It gave another questioning chime.


    ¡°Well, obviously I¡¯m done here,¡± I said softly, looking around a moment to get my bearings. ¡°I just came here to have a look around and get some materials.¡± Satisfied with where I needed to go I began walking.


    The Faerie followed, floating closer as it chimed a bit more. Again it stayed right out of reach, not that that would help if I really wanted to capture it.


    ¡°Water slime,¡± I said as I pulled out a jar and showed it to her.


    To my surprise she actually came up to take a good look at it.


    ¡°I have enough for now, but I¡¯ll probably be back for more.¡±


    She touched the jar, pushing her face against it to try and see what was inside. I chuckled a bit, which caused her to chime at me.


    ¡°Oh no, of course not, I¡¯m not laughing at you. Who would be so foolish?¡±


    Her cheeks puffed up and she folded her arms, pouting at me. She stood on top of my hand and began a chiming tirade, obviously not believing me.


    ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said as I continued to walk. It was like being chastised by a child who knew that it had been wronged, but did not understand the joke. Which was not incorrect.


    Before I realized it we had gone quite a distance, and she had not left. She had moved from sitting on my jar, to sitting on my shoulder, and had begun asking me about my things. It started with her asking why my sleeves were all cut up. Which led into my fight, and my gauntlets. She was quite interested in the magic contained in the little vials. Without being able to stop her, she pulled out the magic essence. Thankfully the magic silver was too thick.


    ¡°Ah- I need that,¡± I said, trying not to shout.


    She gave me a puzzled look, responding with a few chimes.


    ¡°Well, yes, I do have mana. It¡¯s different. I can¡¯t turn my mana into essence.¡± Which was true, I had tried.


    All I got were a few dismissive chimes.


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Well excuse me for not being able to use magic in the ¡®normal¡¯ way.¡±


    The little fae looked at me, about to say something when she suddenly stopped and looked around. She made a few little chimes.


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯re near the edge of the forest. I¡¯m pretty sure I told you I was leaving.¡±


    There was a bit of a frantic look on her face as she fluttered up and around a bit. She chimed excitedly, though worriedly.


    ¡°Yes, I will be coming back. There¡¯s a lot of good materials around here.¡± I gave her a bit of a questioning look. Surely she had not grown an attachment to me? That could be dangerous if left alone, but it could also be extremely helpful.


    She made a few chimes, pointing at me with quite a fierce expression.


    However, I hesitated. What she had said at me was not a question, or a statement, but a demand for a promise. I sighed. ¡°Alright, I promise that I will return to the forest before the next new moon.¡± A promise with a Spirit was like a soul contract, and while it was dangerous to accept, denying it while still in a Spirit Forest would turn everything inside it against you.


    The little lady eyed me a bit before nodding, satisfied with my response. With a small chime she suddenly disappeared into a flurry of glitter and bubbles. I watched the spot for a few moments. The next new moon was a few weeks away, so I had time, and I was sure I¡¯d be back to this forest long before that.


    But for now there was nothing left for me to do here. Or I could say that there was a lot, but I didn¡¯t have time. The sun was starting to go down, and I would have to meet back up with Shuzshu. Of course, before that, I had another hornet''s nest to kick.


    ~


    Shoving open the door to the guild, I was met with the loud and bustling noise of what looked to be a celebration. Scanning the room, I spotted Shuzshu, who had already ordered a ton of food and was currently enjoying herself. While no one sat at her table, no one seemed to shy away from her. That was good. I had been worried about whether they would be hostile towards her.


    Moving quickly to a receptionist desk, I quickly got their attention. ¡°Hey, I just have a real quick question.¡±


    They looked exasperated, and gave me a look.


    ¡°Spirit trapping is illegal, right?¡± That statement seemed to kill the mood of everyone nearby who heard it.


    The bespectacled guild staff adjusted their glasses, giving me a look. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought.¡± I then began taking out the broken traps. The room seemed to get more and more quiet the more I pulled out. It was silent once I hit twenty, but I went all the way to twenty-six, leaving only the intact one not on the pile. ¡°I came across these while exploring Everlast. And the Spirits were pissed.¡± That last part was a lie, but everyone knew what happened if someone started catching Spirits.


    They would become more and more hostile. They would start seeking revenge. Annoyingly, that was the only reason it was illegal. The people in charge feared the response by the more powerful Spirits. ¡°Where¡­where did you find these?¡±


    ¡°Everlast,¡± I said, looking at the pile. ¡°These were all scattered around a pond that I think was near a Faerie House, judging by the large amount of Faeries.¡±


    Once again Landerson appeared. He picked up one of the broken traps. ¡°I take it you broke them all?¡±


    ¡°Of course. All the ones I could find. I¡¯m not going to leave something like that intact.¡± He was turning it in his hands, examining it. ¡°I want the scrap,¡± I added. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of materials that I need.¡±


    ¡°Of course. You found them, afterall. Could you tell me exactly where?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I could find it again, but it would probably take half a day. And the fae were pretty annoyed that they were there, but calmed down when I started destroying and removing them.¡±


    He rubbed his face, tossing the scrapped trap onto the pile. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll¡­make a report about this. Did you find anything else?¡±


    ¡°There were some boot tracks, but they were generic. Too old for Observation¡­so more than a month old.¡±


    He pinched the ridge of his nose and sighed. ¡°Alright¡­alright¡­I¡¯ll¡­ put together an investigation team.¡± He sighed again and turned around.


    ¡°Oh, one more thing, Landerson.¡± He stopped to look back at me as I put away the broken traps. ¡°That¡¯s two.¡±


    The frown on his face deepened. ¡°You¡¯re going to keep track?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am.¡± I was going to keep careful track of all the problems that I solved, or brought to light.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a good way to make friends,¡± he said, his voice tinged with annoyance.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need friends,¡± I responded, placing the last of the traps into my coat. ¡°I have a Gnoll.¡± With that I turned and made my way to Shuzshu.


    Despite how it may look to others, the Gnoll had been paying close attention to me and what I was doing. Of course, she had not stopped eating, but she was watching and listening. As I took a seat, she shifted so that she was more beside me, and pressed her face against my chest, pushing her muzzle into my coat.


    I smiled a bit as I pet her. ¡°Did you have a good day?¡±


    She made a soft noise of agreement, ¡°Mhm.¡±


    Looking at the table, most of the food was eaten, but I noticed that there was an untouched plate and mug. ¡°Are these for me?¡±


    Again she made the soft noise, ¡°Mhm.¡± I could feel her breathing within my coat, taking in deep breaths.


    ¡°You¡¯re a good girl,¡± I said softly as I ran my fingers through her mane for a few moments longer. Her tail was swishing back and forth vigorously. I decided that I would ask her more about her day and how her hunting went when we returned home. There were also some¡­other¡­questions that I wanted to ask.


    As I ate the meal, Shuzshu eventually pulled herself out of my coat, seemingly satisfied, and finished off everything that wasn¡¯t on my plate. It still surprised me a bit that she was very conscious that I get to eat my fill. The feeling of having someone care about me and look out for me was very nice. Familiar, yet vaguely distant in memories.


    Once we were done, we headed back to the house, with her doing her usual thing of practically walking on me. A thought struck me and I decided to take her hand. The gesture confused her for a moment until she realized what I was doing and her tail began to wag so hard I felt it thump against my back.


    When we entered the house, the moment the door was closed, she began to strip. I wondered if this was the norm for her. ¡°What did you hunt today?¡± I asked as I removed my coat and boots. It would be rude to walk on the floor with dirty boots considering our resident House Spirit probably spent a lot of effort to keep it clean.


    ¡°Pack of Dire Wolves, and mean horse thing,¡± she said, stretching now that she was once again nude.


    ¡°Ah, the Grandlefer. Yeah those are annoying to fight.¡± An extremely large horse with eight legs and two heads. One head could breathe fire, while the other sprayed acid. ¡°Tomorrow, hunt the big turtle thing. I think you¡¯ll like that.¡±


    She suddenly pulled me against her, pressing my face into her chest. ¡°I missed you.¡± Her voice was so soft that I almost didn¡¯t hear it.


    But I did, and it actually made my legs feel a bit weak. I put my arms around her, not even being able to touch the tips of my fingers together behind her back. ¡°Did you now?¡±


    All I got was a soft grunt from her, which caused me to chuckle. However my laughter only seemed to entice her further as she lowered her head, completely putting it over my own head and placing her chin against my back. She was surprisingly flexible.


    We stayed like that for several minutes. I could still smell the scent of the shampoo from last night, though there was also the scent of dirt. But her fur was still so soft and had not become noticeably greasier.


    ¡°I made seven gold,¡± she said suddenly, shifting and loosening her grip on me slightly so that she could look at me. ¡°I spent the silver on food.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright. You did the hunting, so it¡¯s all technically yours.¡±


    This caused her to frown a bit, and her brow furrowed as she started to think. ¡°Then¡­ I keep two gold, you get five.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who made that gold. Are you sure?¡± I asked, trying to reassure her that it was fine if she wanted to take more.


    However she just nodded. ¡°Mhm. I am¡­not good with money.¡± Her grip suddenly tightened a bit. ¡°And I know you¡¯ll buy me anything I need¡­¡±


    I chuckled a bit. ¡°You trust me that much?¡±


    For her answer I received a kiss. It was brief, but held a lot of meaning. ¡°You¡¯re the one I chose,¡± she said softly.


    ¡°Chose, eh?¡± It was honestly nice to hear.


    ¡°Yes.¡± She rubbed her face against my neck and shoulder. ¡°Mine,¡± she said softly.


    ¡°Alright¡­but you get to decide how the money gets split, alright?¡± It made me feel a bit weird to have her just¡­give me all of the money she earned. She wasn¡¯t my slave, but sometimes she acted like it. Old habits?


    ¡°Yes yes.¡± Suddenly we were moving, and I realized I was being carried. ¡°Bath?¡±


    ¡°No, not a bath. Just washing ourselves down a bit. We¡­don¡¯t quite have the luxury of taking baths every night.¡± Shampoo was expensive.


    She nodded. ¡°Yes. I will clean you.¡±


    I was a bit stunned at that statement, unsure of quite what she meant. However, once she had removed my clothes and her tongue touched my chest it was extremely obvious what she meant. Although it was very clear that this was not going to be a full tongue bath, as she only licked my chest, stomach, sides, back, neck, face, and arms. I felt¡­slightly slimy. But it was sure one hell of an experience, as her tongue was quite large.


    She did eventually get water and a cloth and began washing me that way after I warmed the water up a bit with mana. Unlike me, however, she was not shy at all about the locations she washed. Deliberately taking her time with certain areas.


    It caused me to remember a question that I had. ¡°Do Gnolls go into heat?¡±


    Shuzshu paused, mid wiping down my leg as I asked the question. ¡°No?¡± She gave me a look of utter confusion.


    I blinked at her. ¡°Then¡­why were you so aggressive in the woods?¡±


    I swear I could see the Gnoll blush as she put on the most embarrassed, guilt ridden expression I had ever seen on a canine. It was that look that dogs get when they know they did something wrong and all they can do is try and look pitiful to hope you forgive them. ¡°I wanted you¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± It wasn¡¯t like I was upset at her or anything, I was just curious.


    ¡°You¡¯re not¡­mad at me?¡± She had her head down, though she was looking at me out of the corner of her eye.


    ¡°Mad? Why would I be mad?¡± I questioned, eying her curiously. ¡°I was just confused why you hadn¡¯t initiated anything since then.¡±


    ¡°You¡­you mean you want¡­more?¡± She was suddenly very close to me, her eyes a bit large.


    ¡°Of course I do?¡± I had a feeling that someone told her that no one would want her. ¡°You¡¯re a big beautiful Gnoll. You are shapely, and have a pleasant figure. While you are not¡­curvy, you have ample breasts, and a big butt. You¡¯re very attractive,¡± I concluded.


    She tilted her head. ¡°What does my butt have to do with it?¡±


    I laughed. I actually laughed, completely unable to help myself. ¡°Did your¡­did your Mistress not explain this sort of thing to you?¡± I was almost to the point of tears, I was laughing so hard.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± She sat back, looking at me with confusion. ¡°She often complained about having a sore ass, but I assumed that that was because her clients were always striking it.¡±


    I nodded a bit, trying to reign in my laughter. ¡°Yes, that was probably part of it. However that particular statement probably referred to those who preferred using¡­other holes. The reason why I bring it up is that many, myself included, find a large butt attractive.¡±


    Her brow furrowed more and more until realization suddenly dawned on her, and her expression turned to one of shock. ¡°You mean that they put it in her butt?!¡± she exclaimed.


    That was far too much for me and I actually slipped off the stool because I was laughing too hard. It had been far too long since I laughed this hard, and Shuzshu soon joined me in laughter. Though I wasn¡¯t sure if she was laughing for the same reason I was, or because I was laughing. Or she was laughing at the fact I had just fallen over.


    It took several minutes for our laughter to finally die down. ¡°Gods I haven¡¯t laughed that hard in so long¡­¡± I managed to say as I wiped tears from my face. My face actually hurt. My stomach hurt. I actually could not remember the last time I had laughed so hard. Probably some time in my previous life¡­


    Shuzshu was quick to wrap her arms around me, pulling me onto her lap. ¡°I am glad. Laughter is good.¡±


    I closed my eyes as I leaned into her. ¡°It¡¯s¡­nice to laugh like that.¡±


    For the first time, in a very long time, I actually felt good.