《The Cursed World》


 Prologue

    The Moon''s ethereal light cast a silvery gaze across the world. As a result, the darkness is not wholly dark anymore, and the event that is meant to happen on that day is no longer hidden from its eyes.


    A baby cry echoed in one of those shoddy houses on the outskirts but it didn''t warrant any celebration from his parents and their neighbours.


    A man''s cry echoed in the royal palace but it did warranted curses and profanity.


    An obsidian blade shot through the air, its tip glowing faintly as it sank into the one-handed man''s abdomen, the weapon''s intended target. The man''s shrieking wail reverberated across the luxurious hall as he fell unceremoniously to the bloodied ground, surrounded by corpses. His screams and frantic breathing resonated all around and began to slow down as life seemed to leave his body.


    The person who stabbed the victim did not appear content as the blade gleamed repeatedly, transforming his body into an unrecognizable gruesome jumble of flesh. Finally, the attacker appeared to calm down and dropped the weapon to the ground. It was a woman with short, harsh black hair and a face full of old scars.


    She was the youngest princess of the Agensal Kingdom, also called the Benevolent Princess by the masses.


    Tears mixed with blood streamed down her face. She stared at the cold corpse of her brother and slowly turned around towards the lonesome throne, her hands still stained with her brother''s blood. A throne made entirely of gold with several crystals embedded in it. Rubies, Emeralds, Sapphires and even Silorite crystals.


    In the eyes of the princess, it was not a seat of power. Not anymore. It''s a cursed throne filled with broken oaths and shattered alliances. It demanded one to bear the weight of countless lives in this country.


    And the princess fulfilled that demand.


    She walked towards the throne, uncaring about the corpses of royal guards surrounding it. Her soldiers had already vacated the throne room after killing everybody except the King''s Regent that was her brother. He was severely injured with his one hand missing. As Royals could not be killed by a soldier without due order of the royal court. She had to take responsibility as she''s the last remaining one of the House of Agensal. Catherine dut Agensal.


    As she neared the throne, her eyes blurred as she remembered the events that led to this moment.


    ~The Horde of Demi-humans overwhelming the border defences.~


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    ~Pillaging and burning of villages and towns.~


    ~Her father, aging and cautious, focused on fortifying the capital and waiting for aid from the allied kingdoms.~


    ~Lack of aid from the said kingdoms. Only verbal promises that hadn''t been met.~


    ~Siege of the Royal Capital Agensal.~


    ~Ancient wall of the capital standing unflinchingly.~


    ~Rise of plague among the nomadic beastmen camping outside the capital on the marshy lands.~


    ~Betrayal of Duke Maximilian also known as Coastal Duke, who also owns major shipyards and had significant fleets.~


    ~Coup d''¨¦tat of the second prince Osoric Dut Agensal tired of his father''s defensive actions and jealous of his elder brother, the crown prince.~


    ~Alliance between the second prince and the Coastal Duke with Duke''s daughter tied to the prince.~


    ~Murder of her father, King Osomaric Dut Agensal and the crown prince Maric Dut Agensal.~


    ~Second Prince taking the position of regency while blaming the beastmen assassins for his sin of familial homicide.~


    ~Prolonged military campaigns leading to the depletion of the treasury. Her now dead brother''s reckless order of high war taxes on the people. ~


    ~Cost of grains and other food items skyrocketing.~


    ~People''s riot. ~


    ~The order of cruel execution of all those involved in the would-be rebellion.~


    ~Loss of morale among the defeated populace.~


    ~Various factions attempt to claim the royal status. Her father''s velvet guard unit supported her.~


    ~Retake of various institutions and granaries of nobles. ~


    ~Killing merchants, both cruel ones and innocent ones and retaking the food produce and distributing to her people.~


    ~And many more.~


    ~But at last, she captured the throne, slain her brother, amassed a large number of soldiers and peasants with her charisma.


    The Coastal Duke escaped with half his fleet. He didn''t even take his family with him.~


    After what seemed like an eternity, the princess blinked her eyes and sat herself on the throne. There is still some blood splashed on the intricate carving of the throne but she seemed uncaring.


    The Moon seemed to fade due to the coverage of the clouds, darkness blanketing the room but the bloody princess¡¯s eyes still glinted sharply.


    Far away, in that shoddy house, the baby¡¯s eyes also glinted.


    This is how the two people who would later shape the world emerged. One from the womb and the other from blood treachery almost at the same time, as destiny intended.


    ***

 Chapter 1 : A Crippled Hunt

    Asherean stared ahead as the monsters moved one after another, their long arms with sharp claws at the end scraping against the soil¡ªinto a cave that was slightly protruded. He was covered in mud that was mostly dried while hiding behind a wide tree, diagonal to the cave. The last monster to enter the cave stopped abruptly and turned around, looking both sides of the cave from the entrance. It then moved to the edge of the cave mouth and plopped down onto the ground.


    Didn''t expect a monster to do watch duty.


    These monsters are different from what he has usually dealt with. It seems they migrated recently from the inner regions of the Trygar forest. According to the guild information log that he has acquired, these monsters are called Beraels. Some adventurer who ventured deep into the forest once logged the information into the guild information log. Two-legged. Thick brown furred. Have knife-like black claws with long, thick arms.


    Seems like a gorilla. But brown.


    Not much information other than that, except they are territorial and mark their territory by pissing and shitting around the border. Eww.


    He counted five of them entering the cave, but there may be some inside it as well. They seem pretty strong with their claws and mountain of muscles. Since he¡¯s clearly outnumbered as he''s alone, he has to do it in the hunter''s path. Setting a trap and killing them all, but he needed time to gather information about their movements and their exact numbers.


    The quest time limit is a week. It''s already been two days since he reached this place and found their hideout by following them from a distance covered in the goddamn mud. So, he has five more days. More than enough. And so he waited three more hours until the guarding monster went inside at the barking of another berael and then there was no movement anymore.It took two more hours for another one to emerge.


    This one is slightly shorter but wider and has a mane of brown fur longer than the last one. He did the same as the first one, which is to keep watch. Asherean waited another hour before retreating silently from the way he came. It took a quarter hour to reach his impromptu camp, which is just a big tree called Ironwood Tree¡ªa dense, dark-barked tree with a faint metallic scent. Its leaves produce natural oils that repel most beasts and monsters, similar to how certain plants deter insects. It''s slightly uncomfortable to sleep with the scent, but it''s quite a bargain.


    After making himself comfortable in one of the wide branches, he took out his mattress nearby in a rucksack (which he had kept there before going for scouting) and secured it through the branch so that it wouldn''t fall off while he was asleep.


    He sat on his mattress and searched for the papyrus in the sack. After taking it out from a small wooden box and a thin charcoal, he noted down features of the beraels more clearly and their behaviors¡ªhow they killed other monsters cleverly, how they knew how to keep sentry, and so on.


    After completing the description, he neatly folded and secured it into the wooden box, which went into the rucksack.


    After doing all of those, he sat down on his back on the tied-up mattress and looked longingly at the night sky, which he couldn''t describe in words and was so much more different from where he was from. The sky stretched vast, and the unfamiliar stars burned bright, untouched by pollution or haze. Some shone in eerie blues and silvers, while others flickered red like embers. A full moon hung in the sky¡ªits light was cool and steady, casting a faint silver sheen over the land. Its surface, marked with deep scars and ridges, hinted at ancient impacts, yet it glowed softly against the endless dark.


    Ah, I''m getting poetic.


    It isn''t that he couldn''t accept the fact he was somehow reborn in this new world, but the sheer incredulity of it still shivers him. The memories of his previous life that he recollected bit by bit during his early age confused him many times, but it all crashed down when he was about ten years old. At that time, he didn''t come out of his newly built home (through the government scheme of the Agensal Queen) for about two weeks. Even his parents thought he was cursed by someone jealous of his looks and gave him some kind of tonic that really caused some stomachache.


    Anyways, he really likes this new life, but still many aspects of the world are clearly bizarre¡ªapparently this world has the barrier to the north called the Fogwalls, which is this gigantic fog barrier that blocks the whole of the north on the continent of Aztas and Nrela. Even in the seas around the two known continents. He knew this because the Agensal Kingdom lay to the northeast of the continent with Fogwalls to the north of the kingdom.


    Also, the monsters in this place are also very different from his recollection of his previous ones. For instance, many of them are humanoid in shape. During his two years of adventuring, he had hunted down various types of monsters, both two-legged and four-legged¡ªbut mostly two-legged ones. Maybe if I could find some kind of history book somewhere, I could figure it out.


    Life here got fairly simple for him. To wake, do some adventures (that is, hunting monsters mostly), collect the evidence of his hunts, and get paid for completion of the quest. He was also somewhat wealthy for a middling adventurer, as he did not waste money on booze or other things¡ªmostly.


    He also needs to visit his parents after this quest. It''s been more than a month; they''d be crying all over for me if I didn''t return. Better go there before that.


    Sleep overcame him gradually, and before he realized it, he was sound asleep.


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    ***


    Asherean woke up at the call of the bird sounds. After checking his surroundings and his rucksack, he drank some water from his leather container and went to do his morning duties near a water stream some distance away.


    Near the stream, he took the moist mud and freshly applied it over the already dried and cracked ones. He then ran towards the cave of beraels and started his long day of information gathering while hiding and following them all day long.


    After reaching the camp, he noted down any further information in the papyrus and stored it inside the wooden box, laid down on the mattress, and wondered about the night sky like every other day.


    Another day passed in a very similar way except he found out the total number of the beraels¨C Eight big ones, two small ones. They also do not go for a hunt early on the morning and usually do not move far away from their cave, but it''s been mentioned in the information log that they prey upon unsuspecting villagers and merchants traveling through the dirt road connecting Limeborough capital with several villages and towns.


    Since he''s acquired enough information about their movements, behavior, and their numbers, he is confident that he could kill all of them. Slowly a very simple plan started forming in his mind, and he drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face.


    The third day began for the Asherean in a similar manner to the last two days.As usual, he did his morning duties and methodically applied mud over his body.


    After inspecting if his scent is clearly masked by the mud, he rebounded back to his camp, took two crudely made vials filled with yellow-white liquid from the rucksack and confined them in his pocket, tied the rope around his rucksack to secure it tightly against the tree branch, and took off towards a slightly different direction from the cave. He then hunted down three Eryndor Stags¡ªa deer-like animal with four legs. He tied their corpses with the rope he brought and carried them away towards a bush.


    After laying down the animal corpses, he brought his sword from its sheath and hacked at the animal corpses. He then reached for his pockets and took the vials filled with a yellow-white liquid and carefully applied the venom extracted from poisonous snakes all over the corpses. He then spread out all the liquid extract by mixing it with the blood using his sword. He also, for good measure, hacked some more times at the corpses so that more blood would be on their corpses.


    After cleaning the sword using the soil, he carried the corpses and ran towards the direction of the cave. He has very little time until some other animal or even the beraels themselves smell the bloody remains and finds him. After arriving near the cave, he checked the surroundings and left the corpses on the ground and ran towards his previous hiding place¡ªthe wide tree.


    He opened his leather container and poured some water out on the soil and started applying the newly made mud over his body to mask the smell again. Next, he has to wait to see if the beraels take the bait or not.


    The venomous snake poison he used is called repeia. It''s usually used by people to paralyze captured monsters by highly diluting it and then adding it to its food. It''s tasteless but has a very faint, almost undetectable smell to human noses. By mixing blood with it, the probability of beraels finding it out is unlikely.


    After more than 20 minutes, the sound of roaring and heavy footsteps could be heard. The last night, the sentry Berael with two others came running towards the Eryndor Stag remains.


    After reaching the corpses, they roared between themselves and started poking at the corpses. The lead berael¡ªthat is, the sentry bereal¡ªroared louder than his two peers and pointed at the corpses. The other two understood his intent and put the remains on their shoulders, and with the sentry berael leading them back to the cave, his two peers followed obediently.


    Asherean hiding behind the tree let out his breath he''s been holding for the entire time.


    Even if I''m experienced in this, it still shivers my spine knowing that death is just a single misstep away.


    After taking some deep breaths, Asherean started to wait for the poison to take effect. He also knew that all the beraels eating those Eryndor Stags and then getting poisoned is unlikely and mostly luck if it happens. Unfortunately luck is not his best suit.


    It took more than an hour to see any visible effects from the poisoning. Four beraels barreled down the cave entrance unsteadily, clearly in pain and weakness.


    Asherean readied his sword, adjusted his breathing manually, and waited for an opening. It happened when three of them turned towards the opposite direction, and the last one crouched down, vomiting down the soil.


    Asherean bolted out like an arrow towards them. Before the first one could shout, he pierced his throat and withdrew his sword forcefully. His sword flashed again, this time piercing the eye of the berael standing beside the first one. He quickly dodged a claw strike that would''ve normally been lethal and fast. This time, they were a tad slower. He quickly aimed for the neck or eye of his attacker, but this one seemed to be quite clever as he protected it almost at the same time.


    Asherean tried a few more times, but this one handled it more defensively, prolonging the fight.


    I can guess what it''s thinking. It''s waiting for backup from the ones inside. I can already hear some shouting noises from the cave.


    So I aimed my sword at the crouched one that''s been avoiding the fight up until now.


    Seeing that I''m attacking his peer, the standing berael swung his claws diagonally across his chest. That was a mistake, as I quickly dodged and stabbed my sword through his guts. For good measure, I poked the sword in different directions, and the berael fell to his knees, clutching his open stomach. I finished him off by piercing his neck.


    The last one down on the ground looked at me with eyes that would''ve evoked sympathy if it were me two years ago, but it didn''t do anything to the now me. Thus, he died by my sword mercilessly.


    Without wasting any more time, Asherean dashed towards the cave and came to a sudden halt at the entrance. There were four inside. Three of them were unconscious¡ªtwo small and one big, clearly from the poison. The last one is crying out painfully, limping towards the other side of the cave. It was not a situation he was expecting.


    So, he did what he usually did by hardening his resolve of survival. He finished the loud one as fast as he could, thus giving a painless death. He did the same for the other three unconscious ones.He could feel his hands shaking¡ªtrembling at what he''d just done. Despite his experience, the berael seemed somewhat sentient, eerily similar to humans in their habits, killing the last one, who is clearly a female who''s crying over her unconscious children.


    He gripped tighter at the sword handle. They wouldn''t be kind to me if they attacked me somewhere along the dirt road. They would likely eat me like I''m some kind of exotic food. Other than that, they''ve already killed many people thus far.


    He tried to forget these things by methodically collecting the claws and ears of the monsters.


    He then grouped all the berael bodies into a singular pile and then readied to withdraw to his camp and then to the Limeborough capital but stopped seeing the bodies of the small ones. He watched long and hard.


    Ahhh¡­ I''m an idiot.


    He took a deep breath and searched around the area for some large angular stone. After he found something doable, he started towards the rivulet he found while following the beraels on the second day.


    He then began to dig a somewhat large hole. It took about half an hour for it to be sufficient. After he was satisfied, he retraced back towards the cave. Fortunately, no other animal found the corpses of the beraels¡ªmostly because there are no other predators here other than berael (who killed off any other).


    After securing the ropes of the bodies of the mother and two small beraels, he carried them off to their graves. It took some time, as they are quite heavy¡ªprobably not as much as the male ones.


    After carefully laying down the three corpses


    in their graves, he closed their graves and trudged towards his camp without turning back.


    Not even once.

 Chapter 2 : A Well Earned Rest

    His head was full of thoughts as Asherean raced towards his camp. Even though he wouldn''t call himself a man with high moral values, there are certain things that would inevitably affect his reasoning¡ªlike the fate of that berael mother and her children at his hands.


    At least I gave them a fast death.


    It didn''t take more than twenty minutes to reach his destination. After checking his immediate surroundings, Asherean climbed up the Ironwood tree and removed the rope tied around his rucksack against the tree branch. He then carefully placed the empty vials in it along with the rope previously tied around his waist.


    After silently thanking the Ironwood Tree for its protection for the last three days, Asherean started his journey back home towards Limeborough, the capital of the Agensal Kingdom. He would need to spend the night in the waypoint town of Erstonia¡ªen route to the capital, which would take an entire day.


    As such, Asherean jogged towards the direction of the town. After leaving the outer regions of the Tyrgar forest, he can clearly see the dirt road that leads to Erstonia. He could also see the outpost manned by a dozen soldiers wearing the newly formed uniform of the border control corps. The outpost is a utilitarian building built of stones, enclosed by wooden palisades and a watchtower rising above, giving a sweeping view of the surroundings. It was built to guard against the monsters dwelling in the forest.


    As he reached near the outpost following the dirt road, a man with rugged features with a well-kept beard holding some papyrus could be seen talking with a man with an ornate attire with a brilliant blue cloak over it and a medallion hung over his neck¡ªsignifying his identity as a pursuivant or a low-ranking herald on the behalf of a noble.


    The bearded man is locally called Ol¡¯ John in Erstonia. He is the captain of the outpost on the border of the Trygar forest.


    The other man, who is clearly a noble¡¯s pursuivant, is talking frantically, and Asherean could hear bits and pieces of something that happened in the capital. With his curiosity arisen, Asherean neared the two men, hoping to understand why such a herald was so far out here on the western borders of the Kingdom.


    Ol¡¯ John was the first to see him coming towards the outpost. He spoke something to the pursuivant and waved him to come over. Asherean waved back and accelerated his jog towards them.


    In a matter of seconds, he was there with them, panting out of breath. ¡°So, it''s a good hunt today, I hope?¡± Ol¡¯ John said as he took out his leather bag containing water and passed it along to me.


    As I drank greedily, the pursuivant who saw my face seemed to realize something and turned towards Ol¡¯John. ¡°So, he''s that kid called Ash who ranked up to iron pretty fast, isn''t he?¡±


    Ol¡¯ John nodded. ¡°In fact, he''s the youngest one to reach the high iron rank in the guild. Pretty impressive, isn''t it?¡±


    At that, the pursuivant brightened and turned towards me, ¡°Greetings. I''m Maxim Dut Hollenbar, under the service of Viscount Marthal Dut Vistoris. It''s very rare to meet such a young and highly capable person.¡±


    Asherean nodded lightly and intoned, ¡°Greetings to you too, Sir Maxim.¡±


    The man nodded and said, "Quite reserved, I see. If you have any desire to join the Vistoris family, do not hesitate. Lord Vistoris intends to hire several adventurers, including you. That''s such a luxury that is not easily granted to everyone.¡± He then turned to Ol'' John and said, "Anyway, as I mentioned, make sure to check anyone''s identity before leaving for the forest. Farewell.¡±


    As Asherean nodded and Ol'' John responded positively, the pursuivant mounted his horse and raced off. Asherean returned the leather waterskin to Ol'' John and quietly queried, "So, Captain, what''s got that fellow over here?¡±


    Ol¡¯ John grunted and said with a frown, ¡°Some kind of kidnapping had happened in the capital, it seems. This is an order to watch out for the culprit who had escaped. There''s nothing much except these parchments containing a hand-drawn picture of the culprit and his features.¡±


    At that, Asherean stared as if he had seen a ghost and replied, ¡°You mean to say a culprit had kidnapped someone¡­in the capital and escaped?!¡±


    ¡°As absurd as it is, it is what''s been written in the missive, and the pursuivant said the same,¡± said the captain in his usual deep voice. It is absurd because the security on the Capital¡¯s rampart is very tight with guards on every wall, street, and gate. There are also strict entry and exit inspections and identification verification in order to enter/exit the capital.


    Ol¡¯ John shrugged his shoulders and turned towards the outpost entrance, saying, ¡°Anything other than the horse, Ash?¡±


    ¡°None, Mr. John.¡±


    Ol¡¯ John walked unhurriedly towards something that resembled a notice board and pinned one of the parchments on it and commanded one of his subordinates called Franklin to bring up a steed. The guy went over to fetch the horse while I was chatting with the captain about the kidnapping that had happened. Apparently some noble¡¯s daughter has been kidnapped whose fianc¨¦ is the son of Viscount Vistoris. Not much information other than that, but it seems the incident blew up like a wildfire in the kingdom in a matter of days.


    Shortly after that, Franklin came back with the requested horse. He is a slim guy with a large forehead and a somewhat hooked nose¡ªgiving him a shrewd appearance. "Here you go, Young Ash," he said, passing the horse to me while holding it by its reins.


    After taking the horse, Asherean thought about something and asked mischievously, ¡°So I heard you are getting married, brother.¡±


    ¡°Auhh..¡±


    That stumped him, and he blushed like a maiden at her first dance. Franklin is known around the town as a shy boy. The guy''s just two years older than him, so it''s obvious he''s very embarrassed. Anyways, would I miss this chance to embarrass him? Of course not.


    ¡°Blushing already? Save some for the wedding night!¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡±


    The soldiers who had heard them conversing laughed out loud, further embarrassing him. The guy turned even redder and was about to say something, but Asherean quickly mounted the horse and rode away. He could still hear him shouting about not having been blushed along with his comrades¡¯ laughter behind.


    The guy''s an innocent one, completely opposite to what his looks might suggest.


    Laughing quietly, Asherean resumed his return journey to the waypoint town of Erstonia. He could feel the cold wind blowing on his face and the smell of the forest. One of the few things that he liked here better than his previous world is the fresh air with almost no pollution. One would expect that towns and cities in the medieval world would be filthy, but quite surprisingly, in this kingdom, it''s mostly clean with no waste thrown haphazardly everywhere. Whether it''s only this kingdom or everywhere else, Asherean did not know, as he had not left the kingdom ever since he was born. The farthest he had traveled from his birthplace (*that is, the capital) is Bastion of the Three Crowns, where the three northern kingdoms intersect on the south, facing the inhabitable desert plains of the nomads.


    The waypoint Erstonia is one of the larger towns in the region, connecting several smaller towns and villages. It is ruled by Baron Harlan Dut Erstonia, who was elevated by the bloody queen Catherine Dut Agensal from a mere banneret knight. He is also known as the one-eyed baron because he lost his right eye during the war with the nomads seventeen years ago. Asherean learned about it while visiting the town library, where his statue is depicted clutching his right eye with his right hand and pumping his left hand up in victory. On that note, he had to visit the imperial library in the capital after he had reached there, as he had to continue his investigation of how to get powerful in this weird, fantasy-like world.


    He soon arrived at the outskirts of town, where vast farmlands stretched across the landscape. Peasants toiled under the sun, planting grains, legumes, and vegetables in neat rows, their hands caked with soil as they worked tirelessly to cultivate the land.


    The familiar sight always filled his mind with a quiet sense of peace.


    He guided his horse towards the fortified wall with a large gate open with several guards in uniform verifying the people entering the town. He could clearly see that the inspections were more thorough than normal, probably related to that incident in the capital. The merchants were being inspected on the main road leading into the town with their wares inside the carts.


    He walked patiently towards the line formed on the side for citizens and travelers without any carts. At the tail of the line, he could see a man with a slender build, with a straw hat and a body that was clearly not used to heavy exertion, carrying books and some herbs in a basket.


    As Asherean reached the end of the line, he tried to start a small chat with the person before him by starting the conversation saying, ¡°Greetings. You seem like a scholar, sir. May I ask which domain you are proficient in?¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    The man turned back, surprise evident on his face. He stared for more time before realizing he''s been addressed and hurriedly replied, ¡°Ahn¡­ No need to call me sir. My name is Brandon, and I''m a novice alchemist doing what I can to survive. I''m certainly not a scholar, but my brother is. What about you, mister?¡±


    ¡°Call me Asherean. Just an adventurer. So, you''re saying you are an alchemist, so what kind of products do you sell?¡±


    ¡°Nothing grand...ahh... Asherean. My compendium includes some alchemical potions, herbal remedies, ointments, and the like. If you like some, you could find my humble shop, ¡®Brandon¡¯s Curios & Concoctions,¡¯ near the town center.¡± Now that''s a fantasy-like name. What the hell is Curios anyway? I hadn''t heard of such a shop in the town.


    ¡°Quite a name you got there, and you say you¡¯re a novice.¡± Asherean remarked in an exaggerated manner, earning a wry smile in return from Brandon, who enthusiastically replied, ¡°Actually, I very much like the name, and it feels sophisticated. My younger brother named it, and he¡¯s studying at the Imperial Academy of Lore.¡±


    He did say his brother is a scholar, but I didn''t expect him to study at one of the three Imperial Academies of the crown.


    Also, the guy before me is an alchemist, isn''t he? Then why? ...


    Asherean smiled slightly, but on the inside, he was quite surprised, as these alchemists were known to be quite arrogant since the downfall of the Sanctaris in the kingdom, which is prevalent in most of the regions of the twin continent. It preaches the supremacy of the Seven Gods. When the Bloody Queen took the throne, one of the policies introduced by her led to the deprivation of most of the church¡¯s power and influence. What remained provided only humanitarian aid funded by the crown with no outside influence.


    Since then, the Grand Cathedral of the Sanctaris stopped the delivery of holy water, which is essentially a healing potion that would cure most injuries that would normally take weeks to heal¡ªin a few minutes without leaving so much as a scar. With no holy water available, the populace turned towards the next best thing which is the alchemical potion¨Cwhile not as effective as the holy water but quite potent compared to other remedies.


    Within a decade, a profession that was not highly respected before became one of the highly sought-after ones. Even though the crown directly funds them but is greedy for more, these alchemists formed their own guild two years ago to regulate the prices and stand together against any opposition.


    As such, it''s quite surprising to see a humble alchemist for once. Maybe he''s not that skilled¡­is that why?


    Asherean woke up from his trance seeing that Brandon was waiting for his answer, and replied in a friendly tone, ¡°Quite impressive, I expect. On the other hand How''s your shop doing ?¡±


    Brandon slightly shook his head and said, ¡°Not much as you would expect from an alchemist. Since I''m new, I need to build up a reputation and a customer base. It will take its time, I expect.¡±


    ¡°Ohh¡­good luck with that, I guess,¡± Asherean encouraged in a supportive manner. Any more conversation stopped as they reached near the guards. After verifying Brandon''s identity and leather handbag, the guards waved him inside with respect. They then turned towards me, prepared to do the same to me. One of them, a young man with blonde hair, beamed and said, "Oi Ash, I still can''t believe you''re hunting monsters without a party. You could probably join any of them. It''s been almost a month since you started going on quests alone.¡±


    Asherean genuinely smiled as he looked at his childhood friend and said, ¡°Surely you jest, Anthony. While I''m quite skilled, I won''t be comparable to the veteran party members, and joining a rookie one is just a waste of time for me. I need to rank up to Silver if I should get the chance to attend the entrance examination.¡± Since the Adventurer¡¯s Guild is under the crown in this kingdom, most of the high-ranked ones aim to join a noble or a royal household. Since Shardkins are awakened randomly among the populace except the hereditary Shardkins, they are being nurtured by the guild, which acts as a faucet between Shardkins born among the populace and nobles or the crown. The reason nobles or any organization are not exhaustively recruiting the native shardkins is that a lot of them are quite useless in combat, and the guild nurtures these shardkins under the authority of the crown for future scouting. Also, most of them are mediocre shardkins, as the powerful native shardkins are personally recruited and enrolled in the Imperial Academies of Mages or Knights. After which they serve the crown exclusively along with many perks.


    There''s also another way to enroll in those academies, which is to exemplify oneself in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and gain a chance to participate in the Imperial entrance examination, thereby enrolling if one passes. Being the youngest silver rank adventurer is certainly impressive enough to get that chance. At least that''s where I''ve been keeping my hope.


    Anthony was one of his best friends during his childhood phase until he moved with his family when he was ten to Erstonia from the capital. Since then, there''s been less and less contact between them, only occasionally meeting when Asherean passes through the town, but Anthony knew his ambitions since childhood.


    Anthony smiled knowingly. ¡°I knew you were different since you were a child. At that time, you''ve got that whole mature attitude even when you''re the youngest of our childhood group. Speaking of them, have you heard of any of them lately?¡±


    Since childhood, Asherean had been alone, as he couldn''t mingle with other children, as he had naturally acted as an adult in a child''s body, even though he was confused about his previous life''s memories that didn''t make sense at that time. It was very hard on him as he thought he was defective in nature, but that all changed when he chanced upon a very unusual group one day. Those were the dearest of his friends, but their relationship couldn''t continue as each ended up doing what they aspired to when they had become adults, which led to them not meeting very often.


    Returning from his thoughts, Asherean nodded and replied, ¡°I heard Aaron joined the Imperial Knight Academy, personally recommended by a noble. Bryan apparently went to his native place in the Eastern continent. I don''t know about Ashely, but I met her during a quest a year ago at the Bastion of the Three Crowns in the south.¡±


    Asherean could clearly see the unsatisfied look on Anthony''s face. His eyes briefly glossed over, and then suddenly he seemed to come over and croaked, ¡°Is that so? Well, I didn''t expect much from you either way. I was planning on something like a gathering of us. It seems we''re the only two at least in contact somewhat. Anyway, we can talk about that later, Ash.¡±


    Simultaneously Anthony¡¯s fellow guards nudged him with his elbow, mostly because he was taking too much time inspecting, even though there was no one behind Asherean.


    As such, Anthony went over Asherean¡¯s rucksack and his pockets. After writing something down in an old note made of parchments, he waved him goodbye. Making his way into the town, Asherean thought about the soft feather bed in the inn he would sleep in today after getting tired of doing it on a tree branch for three consecutive days. So, in order to reach his oh-so-lovely bed, he had to submit the hunt evidence to the adventurer branch in the town, who would send a post-verification report to the main branch in the capital along with reports of all the other adventurers who may have also completed their quests in the region. The Tyrgar Forest is huge; hundreds of adventurers hunt for quests here.


    The reward for his latest quest completion should be 2 gold coins, which is slightly more than an average peasant¡¯s three hard work. Then the question arises, why wouldn''t everyone just join the guild, do some quests, and live a long life afterwards? There are many reasons for that; firstly, only shardkins (people blessed with power) can enter the Adventurer''s Guild or any other such institutions. Secondly, once you enter, you''re forever tied to the guild unless you''re recruited by the Crown or some nobles, whereby you''re tied to your new employer. Obviously you''re going to have obligations that need to be upheld.


    ***


    After reaching the inner part of the town, he could see a large building held up by several pillars with a large open double door at the entrance. Although it''s bigger than the other nearby buildings, it''s still smaller compared to its headquarters in the capital.


    He entered the building while hearing the loud volume of people talking, quarrelling, and generally being noisy. There are a lot of people spread across the building entrance, forming various groups and talking excitedly, some sitting in the benches while others are standing. Most of the adventurers are from this very town, with only a few from the capital, as the adventurers are generally more needed in the border areas, so there are dedicated branches in each of these towns or cities where the adventurers work. Since most of the quests deal with monster hunting, it''s obvious that the adventurers flock to places like here in the western border near the Trygar forest or the eastern borders along the coastline to hunt sea monsters.


    After reaching the receptionist Ana, who he was familiar with, Asherean greeted her in a friendly manner, saying, ¡°Beautiful as always, Ana.¡±


    Ana''s gaze focused on him from the parchment she was reading; immediately, a smile bloomed on her face. She was in her twenties but looks older due to her refined appearance. Since most of the quests he took are in this region, he had become quite a regular one here, befriending almost everyone he meets. Ana was one of those he had met when he had just started out as a novice adventurer two years ago. He joined his very first party at her recommendation, so he has a lot of history and memories with her and received her help many times.


    ¡°Oh my. Quite a flatterer, aren''t you, Ash? So, have you completed the quest alone¡­again?¡± Ana finished her sentence with a frown.


    ¡°Yeah. Here''s the quest request, and here are the monster teeth and claws for evidence in the bag as asked in the quest.¡± Asherean replied while placing a parchment between them while showing the rucksack containing the monster parts.


    Ana shouted back behind the corridor, and a few seconds later, a guy with broad shoulders while carrying a dark wooden board came upon them while wearing thick gloves made of leather. Asherean knew the guy; he usually handled all the valuable monster parts picked by the adventurers. Usually adventurers take every usable part of the monster carcass, but since Asherean handled the hunt alone, he couldn''t do so. After checking the quest parchment and monster remains I''ve brought, the guy nodded sharply towards Ana and left without saying anything.


    Asherean felt a rare moment of sympathy for the guy since he''s a mute. He had tried teaching him sign language he knew somewhat, but it hadn''t worked as the guy thought Asherean was mocking him. The guy always carries his wooden slate and a piece of chalk in order to converse with people. His thoughts were interrupted as Ana brought two gold coins towards him. After securing the gold coin in his leather purse hidden in his inner pocket, Asherean said farewell to his friend Ana and strode out.


    His stomach grumbled as he made his way out of the guild. He only had meat jerky all day long, so he had to get some good food before retiring for the day as exhausted as he was. He soon reached the inn he usually stayed at, called ¡®The Wandering Stag.¡¯. It is a very normal inn used by people of all walks of life.


    He entered and beelined straight towards the old innkeeper and placed 4 silver coins while saying, ¡°The usual, Mr. Oswin.¡±


    The innkeeper unhurriedly took a key from the bunch of keys tied on his hips and passed it along to me and droned, ¡°Second room on the left.¡±


    Asherean nodded slightly and plodded towards the upper floor where the rooms are. After finding the room and placing his rucksack in the chest at the corner of the room. He took out the spare clothes and a towel he had brought along and walked towards the backyard of the inn. He soon found a large tub full of water for him. After submerging in the tub, Asherean relaxed from the constant stress in the last three days, like every time he completed a quest.


    After scrubbing himself clean, Asherean changed his clothes and ordered a very simple meal of bread with some soup. He enjoyed the food thoroughly as if he hadn''t eaten for a long time. After finishing his dinner, Asherean trudged towards his room and locked the door behind him. It hadn''t taken a long time to hear a light snoring sound coming from his room.