Chapter 17

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Kai said, “I want to hire you to go out of town with me; I need to gather some herbs.”

“Why?” Iris asked. “You could just post the task yourself at the Adventurers’ Guild.”

Her experiences since arriving in this world made her habitually ask more questions, even if the person seemed harmless like Kai.

Kai awkwardly explained, “I have a bit of a grudge with a transcendent being. He’s been lurking around the guild waiting for me, and I’m afraid he might catch me and beat me up.”

Iris: “What kind of grudge?”

Clearing his throat, Kai began to explain, “Don’t look at me like that, I didn’t scam him for money. That bastard tried to hit on Marlene, and after being rejected, he kept pestering her. I couldn’t stand it, so I tricked him… cough, I lured him into an alley and used a special potion of mine to make him hallucinate. Then he stripped off his clothes and rolled around in front of the guild… He lost enough face.”

…Sounds pretty comical, Iris thought, wishing she could have seen the scene.

Iris composed herself and returned to the topic: “So, you want me to protect you along the way? Or do you just need me to run the errand and post the task? If it’s the former, I’ll need to assess the danger level.”

“No danger,” Kai quickly replied. “I just ran out of money and planned to gather herbs myself to save costs, but I can only carry a little alone, so it’s inefficient. That’s why I want to hire someone to accompany me.”

“What’s the pay?”

“One silver coin for an afternoon.”

Iris evaluated silently: “That price is too low to find anyone at the Adventurers’ Guild. Wouldn’t it be faster to hire from the commercial street directly?”

Kai looked at her in surprise: “That’s not safe. You never know who might come. If someone ill-intentioned sees I’m just a kid, it would be trouble. You know I only make potions and am bad at fighting.”

“That’s my oversight,” Iris admitted. “But doesn’t your friend have time?”

Kai didn’t answer but gave Iris a complicated look.

Iris: …?

Kai said, “… I don’t have any friends.”

Then Kai suddenly blurted out a long sentence—

“If I had friends, I’d have them accompany me, but I don’t, so I have to spend some money to find an adventurer to go with me!”

“Alright then,” Kai crossed his arms and sneered, “Laugh if you want, but finish laughing and tell me your decision.”

Iris looked at her, puzzled. She wondered if Kai misunderstood her or herself.

Iris paused for a few seconds to gather her thoughts.

She said, “… Kai, you’re an excellent alchemist and can survive independently in this terrible society. I don’t know why you’re so eager to earn money, but I can see your unwavering determination and drive toward your goals. You’re a remarkable person. Why would I laugh at you?”

Though partly comforting, these were truly her heartfelt words.

After she finished speaking, Kai’s sneer froze on her face, then slowly melted away like ice.

Her ears flushed red, and she coughed awkwardly before saying, “Cough, so, shall we talk about the task? Will you take the commission?”

“I will, but I don’t need silver coins,” Iris said. “I want you to help me with something.”

Kai generously replied, “Tell me, as long as I can help.”

Iris said, “Can you get the universal remedy sold by Ebony Wood? Or at least the recipe.”

“What do you want it for?”

“I drank some of his potions before and worry about possible side effects.”

Mentioning her specialty, Kai quickly answered, “That’s possible. Some potions contain ingredients that the body can’t digest or absorb. I heard that if the materials used are cursed, the drinker might also become cursed and die.”

…That’s troublesome. Iris knew nothing about curses.

She asked Kai, “What do you think I should do?”

“Go to the church,” Kai gave the most logical answer for this world. “Ask the clergy for a holy water baptism. But it’s hard to book and holy water is limited. Nobles get priority over commoners.”

“Anything else?” Iris asked. “The doctors don’t seem to find anything wrong with me.”

At least, her family’s doctors couldn’t detect anything.

But Iris’s intuition kept warning her not to ignore the matter. In a world that wasn’t purely materialistic, intuition might mean something. Without clarifying this, she wouldn’t sleep well.

Kai fell silent, seemingly unable to think of a better solution.

“You’re the only alchemist I trust,” Iris said. “I want to hear your advice.”

“You said that, so let me think…” Kai pursed his lips.

After a while, Kai came up with a new idea.

She said, “How about getting a divination? The Adventurers’ Guild registers diviners and their prices are reasonable. You could try your luck.”

It had to be a native, Iris thought.

…Because she had never thought of divination before.

She decided to give it a try.

=

After bidding farewell to Kai, she headed straight to the Adventurers’ Guild. On the way, she checked her magic mirror; Lei hadn’t replied yet.

The guild was located on Central Street, probably one of the most expensive rental areas in the city. The Adventurers’ Guild spanned four storefronts, built sturdily and attractively, showing its wealth.

Indeed, no matter the world, intermediaries make the most money, Iris thought.

The spacious hall had an information desk on the left. Iris asked the staff how to arrange a divination.

After flipping through the records, the staff regretfully said, “You’ll have to come back in a few days. All diviners are fully booked. Lady Lenis has an opening in two days. Would you like me to reserve it for you?”

“How much is Lady Lenis’s fee?”

“Two silver coins,” the staff said. “Reservation requires a fifty copper coin deposit.”

“What if I can’t come or need to reschedule?”

“If you reschedule, the deposit isn’t refunded. If you can’t come due to an emergency, half the deposit is returned.”

…Not bad. Acceptable to her.

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Money was urgent, so Iris asked, “If I want to earn money by appraising items, where should I go?”

The staff smiled and asked, “Do you have an appraiser’s certificate?”

“No.”

“Then you’ll have to find clients in free trade zones,” the staff said.

Iris: …She understood. That was a polite way of saying, “Set up a stall wherever you want.”

“Please reserve the diviner for me. Thank you,” she said numbly, pulling out fifty copper coins.

The staff smiled warmly, “Alright, I’ll process your pass. Please wait.”

After counting the cash, the staff left the desk.

Iris sat on a bench in the waiting area as transcendants passed by.

In this world, transcendants either join the church or rely on their professional skills to earn a living, like Kai and Lei, specialized alchemists, or doctors and freelancers using their extraordinary abilities.

But not all powers are marketable, so intermediaries like the Adventurers’ Guild exist. Transcendants only accept tasks here. Without guild recognition, one can only work on smaller platforms, which lack guarantees and often involve scams.

Adventurers’ lives seem free and glamorous but that’s only true at the top. For common folk, hunger and poverty are normal, so everyone wants to join the church.

…The universe’s end is bureaucracy, Iris muttered.

At that moment, her magic mirror vibrated. Lei had replied.

[Lei: Sorry, something urgent came up. I didn’t mean to ignore your message. The guild had trouble, and I was called in for questioning.]

[Iris: What happened?]

[Lei: This morning, one of our alchemist colleagues died outside the guild. He was stabbed through the chest and gruesomely nailed to the guild wall with a disgusting message left behind…]

[Lei: …I shouldn’t have told you, but I’ve been so confused since morning…]

Lei only acknowledged Ebony Wood’s death without further inquiry.

He seemed indifferent now.

[Iris: Thanks for your hard work. Go rest first.]

Iris turned off the magic mirror, frowning.

…Another murder with the same method?

The killer had murdered three people in a short time. This fanatic cultist feared no pursuit. How many more were on his list? Would he strike again?

Though the matter seemed unrelated to her, Iris felt a chill.

She knew she shouldn’t go straight home. She trusted her intuition.

She needed to do something… at least prepare to defend herself and resist. After all, all fear comes from insufficient firepower.

Iris touched the Behemoth bracelet on her wrist and decided to feed it.

=

The staff returned with a pass, handing it to Iris to keep safe.

Then he asked, “Anything else I can help you with?”

“I have some spells that require biological testing, alive or dead,” Iris said. “Where can I find these?”

“Second shop on the left after you exit here. They sell small animals and monsters and provide experimental spaces. It’s a new shop, but prices are fair.”

“Thank you.”

Iris went straight inside but was immediately overwhelmed by a strong stench of animals. The cramped space was filled with cages containing various creatures.

The shop owner emerged, asking what she needed. After Iris said she wanted experimental material, he started talking non-stop.

Iris quickly interrupted, “Just something cheap, no special requirements.”

The owner thought for a moment: “I have a live Suen wild dog, just arrived this morning. It wandered into the village and killed a child. A noble’s retainer caught it and planned to send it to the arena…but the noble found it limped, which lessened its value, so he dumped it here to be dealt with. I can sell it to you cheap.”

Iris was tempted: “How much?”

“Two silver coins. How about it?”

Seeing her young and not very strong appearance, the owner guessed she was an alchemist or similar.

He kindly offered, “If you don’t want to handle it yourself, I can kill it first.”

Iris didn’t agree immediately: “How much for the space rental?”

“Sixty copper coins per hour.”

“Two silver and thirty copper coins. I’ll buy it and rent the space for an hour.”

The owner agreed quickly: “Deal. Alive or dead?”

Iris thought: “Alive.”

“…Then be careful. This is a devilish beast. Animals that have tasted human flesh are fierce.” He sized her up. “I’ll chain it up. Ring the bell if you need me.”

“Okay,” Iris said. “How strong is it?”

“Probably close to a second-tier transcendant,” the owner said uncertainly.

Two silver coins for a near second-tier transcendent as a half-live target and pet food—double value. Iris felt it was a good deal.

=

The test room was next door. The Suen wild dog was chained by the neck to the wall, the chain length covering two-thirds of the room. Iris could stay in the safe third.

Its eyes bulged, snarling at Iris, growling in a beastly manner. It scratched the floor with its claws, making a grating noise.

Iris drew her dagger, prepared. As she stepped forward, the limping dog lunged!

She adjusted her aim and fired magic missiles rapidly. Despite the limp, the dog was agile and dodged most.

Frowning, Iris cast a wider-range fire spell, barely hitting the dog’s right side.

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Real creatures and shooting range targets were worlds apart.

Spells without tracking performed poorly against living targets. She quickly learned from experience and began predicting the dog’s moves to improve accuracy.

Before her mana depleted, her magic missiles hit better. She drank a mana potion and alternated between the two spells, killing the dog.

Her attacks weren’t elegant—just effective. Blood and chunks of flesh splattered the walls and floor.

She kicked the meat fragments aside and approached the corpse, adding two finishing shots to ensure it wasn’t faking death.

Wiping blood from her face, she reflected, “…The resonance of the Stigma has increased; my spellcasting seems stronger.”

She had thought only leveling up would bring qualitative change. Unexpectedly, every resonance increase made the transcendant stronger.

She began to look forward to reaching the second tier.

Iris muttered expressionlessly, “The stronger the opponent I kill, the more resonance I gain.”

That was good. She hated unclear goals when gaming.

When “how to get stronger” shifted from an abstract idea to a quantifiable “kill whom and how many to level up,” she felt her energy channels open.

Practicing on live targets was just a warm-up. The real work was next.

—

She fed the dog’s corpse to the Behemoth bracelet.

Iris sensed she might face danger soon and had to prepare supplies.

The feeding process predictably caused some mental strain.

The ring on her wrist seemed alive, growing tooth-like projections and tearing into the dog’s hide to chew its flesh.

Only the sound of chewing remained in the room.

Iris squatted until her legs went numb, then sat cross-legged.

She said to the voracious ring, “…Eat, eat well.”

Once full, the ring gave a slippery sensation as if something was licking where it touched her wrist.

Iris touched it, oddly feeling like she was raising a pet.

She tried activating the ring; it spat out the devoured dog flesh and wrapped it around her forearm according to her will.

This reconstructed flesh was covered with rows of canine teeth.

Was this what the ring’s manual meant by “devoured flesh retains some traits”?

Iris: …Kind of like Kirby.

With no customers around, the shop owner stood outside her door, ready to assist.

At first, he heard growls and thuds but soon all was quiet.

After another fifteen minutes, Iris opened the door.

“I’m done with the test. I’ll be going,” she said politely, nodding to the owner.

“Alright, take care,” he said and watched her leave before grabbing a bucket from the corner and entering the test room.

The owner was stunned by the blood splattered everywhere.

He thought it was extremely messy but not surprising—some customers were like that. The cleanup was just a hassle.

However, when he looked down at the floor, he noticed the dog’s bones were completely picked clean.

Upon closer inspection, the bones bore crisscrossed teeth marks.

What kind of experiment was this?

He put the bones in the bucket, wondering who the real demon was.

=

Iris didn’t go home. She bought mana and healing potions to pack in her backpack and had some food.

The sun set, darkness slowly unfurled, and she headed home.

Then the magic mirror vibrated again. This time, Kai sent a message.

[Kai: I just got home. Someone came while I was out!]

[Kai: My place was ransacked. Cabinets and chests were opened, but nothing valuable was taken. What are they looking for?!]

[Kai: …Damn it, this is definitely not an ordinary thief! What would have happened if I’d run into them while looking for you?]

[Kai: I won’t stay home tonight. I’m renting a room near the church. I’ll send you the address once I settle in.]

Iris turned off the mirror without replying.

After nightfall, her bloodline powers activated, heightening her senses. Kai’s message strengthened her growing sense that something big was about to happen.

The dark folk’s bloodline heritage was targeted by the church, branded as heresy and meant to be eradicated.

But to Iris, this power brought incomparable security at night.

She walked along the roadside, sensing the night breeze’s messages when suddenly her breath quickened and her heart tightened.

She realized the danger she sensed had arrived—a murderous intent cut through the night toward her!

Her body reacted instantly, leaping toward a streetlamp ahead to use it as cover and avoid the attack.

Where she had stood, a long black spear was now embedded in the ground, stones scattering at her feet.

Looking up, she saw the man from her blood-trail vision standing on the second floor of a building.

She had no time to wonder why she was on his hunting list or why he wanted her dead. Those were questions for after victory.

Right now, her mission was simple—the enemy dies, she lives.

Iris looked at the distant foe as if he were a nuisance.

She whispered to the Behemoth bracelet, “Dinner time.”