Trouble

Entering the orange colored building, Jake saw a tidy interior, made up of white tiles. There were two guards standing beside the doors, wearing shining, gray colored metal armors. Both of them had halberds in their hands, which were of good quality. The darker shade of gray and the strange engravings on the weapons showed this quite clearly.

The guards stood unmoving. After looking at them from the corners of his eyes, Jake stepped forward and went towards the receptionist desk. A girl with short, brown hair was sitting behind it, who looked to be around the age of thirty-five. She had a few freckles on her face and she had a petite body. But the clear lines of muscles showed her prowess. She was a real tomboy.

She is quite cute, but she is nowhere near my Audrey! If only I could call her mine… Jake thought as he stopped in front of the desk and waited patiently. The girl was filling up some kind of forms.

As she raised her head, Jake greeted her with a smile. Her face not changing, she said as she turned to the paper, “Hello. Write your name here. Underline the type of your class here and your level here. Then write the number on your ID card here and sign it here.”

Jake followed her finger with his eyes, nodding his head. Seeing that she too filled out a few things, he realized that she knew that he was coming. Tilting his head to the side, “How?” he asked in his surprise.

“Hmm? You are just weak. I was able to sense you coming here, so I filled out everything on my part,” she replied, her face still the same. Inspect, Jake thought in his mind.

Name: --

Race: Human

Level: --

Threat Level: 10

“It’s not nice to peek at other people. You have bad manners. I guess I’ll have to educate you later. But if you want to know me that much, I’ll tell you my name. I’m called Sally Felicita,” she introduced herself, a smile forming on her face.

This is bad. This woman is dangerous! I must be very careful, Jake thought, using Magic to wipe off the beads of sweat on his forehead.

“Oh? Your control over your Mana is superb! Do you have a Master? But you don’t look like a Mage type. Hmm… fill that document already!” she remarked upon sensing Jake’s flow of Mana.

His eyes serious, he looked into her eyes one last time before filling out the paper, reading the types in his mind. Mage, Strength, Agility, Unique, Hybrid. “What is unique?” He asked Sally, raising a brow.

Seeing that he calmed down so quickly, she felt pleased. “I don’t understand how you don’t know about it, but you are unique when you have your own spell or skill. Something you created. It can be physical or magical. It doesn’t matter, but it shows great potential. Obviously, the hybrid is a mix of at least two types, which is also great,” she explained everything, sitting in her chair with a straight back.

Nodding his head, Jake thought about it for a moment. Let’s think… I could underline all of them, though Devour wasn’t created by me, it is a unique spell by all means. Elena has been training me into a hybrid. Although strength is my forte, I’m at least on an average level when it comes to the other classes. But I shouldn’t give away too much of my abilities, especially not a unique Magic. I’ll just go with Strength and Mage. That obviously makes me a hybrid too…

Filling out the rest of the form, he gave it back to Sally. She stood up from her seat, her face serious, “Come with me.”

Opening a door on the left side of the room, they stepped into a long corridor. “These are all the offices of high-ranked guards. But with your current level, you will be put in the outer circles of the city. In case you level up enough, we will make your life much better, so work hard!” she said, looking at the door at the end of the corridor.

“But before that, you’ll be tested. I hope that you didn’t lie about the type of your class else you will feel sorry. I don’t like liars,” she said with a cold smile on her face, tapping her finger on the handle of her sword. Opening the door, Jake saw a circular metal room appearing in front of him. As he stepped through the door, Sally closed it behind him. She started warming up. Not being stupid, Jake followed in tow, surprising her slightly.

Oh? Most of them just stand around with stupid faces. This one is talented, she thought as a smile formed on her face, feeling pleased by Jake.

Jumping into the middle of the room, she said, “Show me your abilities. Attack me seriously. If you can’t do that much, you have no place here.”

Just as she stopped talking, she was surprised to see a fireball flying towards her, with a diameter of two meters. Using Water Magic, she countered his spell. The sudden mix of fire and water left behind vapor in the air, clouding her sight. She felt Jake’s presence rushing towards her with great speed. Strength was necessary for speed, no matter what. There were no weak people when their forte was agility.

But his speed was still great for his current level, which once again surprised her. She was about to step back with her left leg and take up a defensive position when she found the ground slimy. “Hahaha, so that’s why I felt a slight flow of Mana under my feet!” she laughed, her excitement clear in her voice.

Jake moved the vapor towards the ground, making it condense into water. She looked into his eyes as his right fist flew towards her head. Unlike what she believed would happen, his eyes didn’t move or flinch as his fist was about to touch her face. Even until the last moment, he had a serious face on.

Unleashing her true strength, she raised her right with a speed that escaped Jake’s perception. Pushing his wrist sideways, she tilted her head to the side. Even though Jake’s fist was only three centimeters away, he couldn’t hit her. But her eyes almost bulged out in the next moment upon seeing him pulling up his left leg. Jake wanted to knee her in the stomach.

Haha, this guy is fun! He reacts quickly and knows how to fight. But I should do my job and not bully the weak. I’m looking forward to seeing this guy grow, she thought as she straightened her posture. As Jake’s knee struck her stomach, she was pushed back by a few centimeters, thanks to the water on the ground.

Jake landed on the ground, taking up a defensive position. His face serious, his mind was still working quickly. Even though I have come to a new world and the way people fight have changed, I still remember the movements from the military. That’s in my body! I won’t forget it! he thought, feeling proud of his past achievements.

Sally nodded her head as she looked at him, thinking, His posture is stable and there are no gaps for me to attack. I’ll recommend this guy to the academy later on.

“Alright. You pass. I’d have tested your mind too, but after seeing your reaction when you realized the difference between us, I didn’t feel the need anymore. You have a cool head, I can see that. Let me introduce myself formally. I’m the Vice-Captain of the guards in Tanema city, called Sally Felicita. As I’ve said it before.”

“Today was a supervision day, so I was the one to test you, haha. I can’t put you at a too good place with your current level, else the others would start whining about my unfairness. Such being the case, you will be a guard in the third district. You will work two hours as a gatekeeper and four hours as a patrol. If you see anything weird, then make sure to put people in their places. The captain in the third district will explain the regulations to you.”

“You will get your salary on the first day of each week, here. With your current abilities, I believe that you are worth some additional expenses, so you will earn one gold coin and thirty silver coins per week,” she explained everything in a detailed way. After talking the official matters over, Jake left the building and went towards the third district. He almost laughed when he heard, that he will have to be a guard in the third district since Elena and the others were exactly there.

Although he didn’t know this, others were happy to earn forty silver coins a week and most of it went to food, clothes and maintaining their weapons, armors. But feeling the amount he was promised to be a little high, he decided to admit less if someone was to ask.

After asking around, he found the guard post. It was a simple building, made up of white marble blocks. Knocking on the dark brown, thick wooden door, he waited patiently. A few seconds later, footsteps neared the door.

“Why are you standing outside? You are making me work!” an old man complained as he opened the door.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know if I could come in or not,” Jake scratched the back of his head.

“Who are you? I haven’t seen you before,” the old man tilted his head to the side in wonder.

Reaching behind his back, Jake pulled out the roll of paper from his pocket Sally gave him. Unrolling it, he held it in front of the white haired old man, “I am a new guard, recruited by Miss Sally Felicita. I was told to come here for further directions.”

The old man ran his eyes down on the paper. Nodding his head, he said, “Alright. I’m the captain of this guard post and you can call me Captain Abrax. You must be talented if you have such a high salary from the get go… Since you are here so early, you will be on the early shift, from eight a.m. till two p.m.”

"Go to the gate for now and after two hours, you can go on a patrol. Once you are done, come back here and give this back to me,” he said, showing an emblem. It was made of iron and on it were two axes crossed in front of a shield.

“This identifies you as a guard, so make sure to keep it with you. The closer you are to the center, the stronger the people are, so I’d recommend you not to leave the outer area and hit your nose into the powerful people’s things. Stronger guards will take care of those people. Right, and make sure to ignore the gangs,” he winked at him, rubbing his fingers.

“A-Alright…” Jake replied with a stiff face, trying hard to ignore how openly the captain admitted his bribe. Taking the emblem, he put it on his chest. It used Magnetic Energy, so once he bought an armor, it would easily stick to it. I’ll have to look for something simple, he thought.

After meeting up with the guards at the gate, he introduced himself and got closer to everyone. While checking people’s ID cards, he focused his attention on his Mana and rotated it in his body. I won’t fall behind this way and still do my job. Everything is going as planned up till now! He smiled at a random person as he thought.

Ten minutes later, he was surprised to see Derrel coming back to the city. “Oh? Yo! Were you out on a hunt? “ he asked when it was Derrel’s turn.

“Yes. I can see that things are going well for you, as always,” he replied with puffed cheeks, furrowing his brows.

It’s not really my style, but if it will help advance Elena’s plans… I’ll try to get a reward from her later! Maybe I could ask for a romantic dinner with Audrey! Jake thought, before saying, “Envious, huh? Why don’t you try to become a guard? Oh, but wait. I don’t think that you will get in without Elena’s help. You should have accepted her offer.”

“... I really feel like deleting that smirk from your face. I’ll get in without her help! Just you wait! Thanks for the idea! I should have tried getting in before going through all this shit…” Derrel replied to his provocation as expected.

“Haha, good luck,” he replied, knowing that Sally would test him today. Maybe he would get in at other times, but he was quite sure that Sally was much stricter and wouldn’t accept just anyone. At least, that was what he thought about her after trading blows.

Hmm… I don’t know much about Sally yet, but she shouldn’t know about the bribing. She seems to be a just person, who values strength over money. Well, I’ll find out more about her when I get closer to her, he thought, looking at Derrel’s back with a dazed look on his face.

“Hey! Return to your job,” a guard elbowed him, laughing at his surprised face.

“You bastard,” Jake laughed with him and got to work.

His shift at the gate was almost up when he saw Elena and Audrey nearing the gate. “Yo! How did it go today? You must have struggled without your ace,” he joked with them, patting Audrey’s shoulder. He would have done the same with Elena if not for the wavering shadow under her legs, connecting with his. Get away, Dred! he screamed in his mind fearfully.

Raising a brow, Audrey replied, “Yes, we couldn’t kill a single monster without you.”

“Your smile is so cold, honey. I was just joking,” he said, showing a long face, giving back their ID cards.

“Me too~” Audrey whispered into his right ear as she passed by him, making him shudder. “This felt erotic,” he mumbled, looking at her back.

“Oh, Elena, wait. I’ll ask for a reward in the afternoon! I not only became a guard, but I helped you with Derrel. The vice-captain is on supervision today and she seems to be strict. The test took only a few minutes for me and he left more than an hour ago. If he didn’t come back to throw his words at me, he must have failed!” he whispered into Elena’s right ear.

“Hmm~ Good job, but if he got in that will backfire. If he really failed, I’ll organize something for you with your little love~” she smirked upon hearing his words, elbowing him in the side.

“Man, I planned to ask something like that!” Jake said happily, having a sudden realization. “Since when do I behave like a teenager? It must be my hormones…” he mumbled.

“I’m a woman,” Elena mumbled, leaving him be.

“Ah! I forgot to mention the animal pelts… Whatever, I’ll do it afternoon,” he talked to himself, his hand on his chin. The rest of his shift passed by peacefully, except for a brawling he had to stop. He also fined them on the spot.

----

“What did you mean by organizing something with me? I’m not an item!” Audrey shouted at Elena when they left, her brows furrowed in displeasure.

“Haha, I know, I know. But you wouldn’t be as evil as to deny a dinner or something with him, would you? He is trying hard for your sake~” she said with a chuckle, making Audrey slightly embarrassed.

“I wouldn’t, I think. Haah- what should we do now? Should we go to the training ground, do you want to find out more about the thugs, or do you want to bully Derrel?” she sighed loudly, shaking her head.

“We will go and buy some armor for Jake later. For now, I planned to advance our plans with Derrel and the thugs,” Elena replied, closing her eyes for a moment.

Tilting her head to the side, Audrey asked, “Where are they?” She knew that Elena used her bacterias to sense a few thugs.

“There is a group of three not far away, but they might be a little troublesome. I’ll need your help,” she replied, walking towards the alleyways.

Activating her shadow form, she teleported from corner to corner, until finding her targets. Audrey took shape behind her. Holding her shoulders from behind, she whispered into Elena’s left ear, “What are your plans?”

“I’ll take out the guy on the left, Dred, you take care of the guy on the right. The black haired in the middle is the strongest. Distract him and we will finish him,” she whispered as her body dissolved and disappeared from sight. Doing the exact opposite of it, Audrey materialized and used inspect on the black haired guy.

Name: Huch

Race: Human

Level: 136

Threat Level: 2

Class: Black Mage

Allegiance: Blue Thorns

Ho~ You have bad luck today, she thought, as she used Cosmological Constant to cut off space around them. Noticing the sudden change, all of them turned around.

“Woah, such a hottie” the guys on the side laughed, while Huch swung his arm in an arc. A black blade flew towards Audrey’s chest when she dissolved, disappearing from sight. Dred and Elena jumped up behind the two guys on the side and beheaded them with a single cut.

“Damn it!” the black haired guy stomped on the ground and a bubble of darkness appeared around him, exploding in the next moment. Elena and Dred created a wall of light in front of them, stopping the black mass, while the rest of it splashed on the walls. The walls started sizzling and melting upon contact.

Stomping on the ground, Elena jumped forward, thrusting her dagger towards Huch’s side. He made a serious face as he spun to evade her attack. Seeing Dred in front of her, they understood each other’s intention just from a look. She spun her dagger in her hand, holding it to the left. Dred’s paw came from her right, slapping her hand, making it fly towards Huch’s stomach.

“Fuck!” He shouted with a despaired face, moving his hand downward, but he wasn’t quick enough. Elena’s dagger penetrated his stomach, infecting him with her bacteria directly. Combined with Dred’s poison, he threw up, spilling the contents of his stomach onto the ground, a mouthful of blood following it.

“Yhou… whill bhe shorry fhor… this” he muttered, knowing that he was cornered. With such a wound he had no chance in a three versus one. Elena put her finger on his chin as she whispered, “I don’t think so~”

Sensing that he started collecting his mana, Dred hit him in the stomach, making him fly through the air. Landing a few meters away, he coughed up another mouthful of blood. Looking down, he saw his guts spilling out, his dark red blood mixed with a strange green liquid. Looking up, he saw the same color covering Dred’s claws.

In the next moment, he screamed out in pain, but Audrey used Earth Magic to create a big rock above his head. As it fell down, his life faded out. But before the rock could crush his head, he blasted his body into pieces by overcharging it with Dark attributed Mana. A dark wave rushed out, melting the walls of the houses nearby. Thanks to their shadow forms and high agility, they got off without any injuries.

As Elena’s body raised out of the ground, she looked up, “We better leave quickly. The buildings will collapse and bury us otherwise. We don’t have good enough Mana Control to move under the debris in our Shadow Forms.” After using Devour, they quickly fled the area, leaving only the blood littered ground.

As they were about to leave the alleyway, they were surprised to see Jake entering it. Thanks to his unsuppressed connection with Elena, he noticed them, even though they were in their shadow forms. “I just started my shift,” he explained himself, not stopping to run towards the loud rumbling sound.

A group of armed guards turned over the corner in the next second, running the same way as Jake. Good. He will take care of everything, I suppose Elena thought as they left the alleyway, and came out on the other side in their human forms, Dred staying in her shadow.

Throwing her silky black hair over her shoulders, Elena acted as if nothing happened and took her way towards Woodland Inn. “Ah~ I can’t wait to try out this shampoo you know about,” Audrey said with a bright smile, showing her white teeth.

“I know, right? Your world was much better in this aspect. The empty houses had so many bottles of shampoo and I’ve got used to it. It’s good that I’ve overheard this recipe from that Old Lady. Mixing it with the Sodium Bicarbonate you were talking about, I’m sure that it will just as good as the shampoo on Kriton” she agreed with her, feeling just as happy.

They’ve heard of a refreshing shampoo early in the morning and since Audrey knew how home-made Shampoo and Sodium Bicarbonate was made, they could even make it better. “Wait… we can’t be this stupid! Why would we stay so short sighted! Let’s open a business! I bet that the nobles will go crazy over it!” Audrey stopped in place upon realization and shouted, catching a few people’s attention. Covering her mouth, they ran towards the Inn, chuckling.

Elena shut the door behind her and sat down on the side of the bed. Pulling out a few leaves from her storage ring, a powerful fragrance filled the room. “Puwah~ It has such a nice smell. Let’s get started and make a few bottles” Audrey said, not waiting any longer.

Using Earth Magic, Elena created sand and with the help of Fire Magic, she created one glass bottle after the other. Meanwhile, Audrey made the necessary components for Sodium Bicarbonate. When she was done, she mixed it with water and stirred it until it became creamy. Elena grounded the leaves into fine dust and threw it into the glass pot, Audrey used to mix everything.

Once everything was done, they filled up the bottles. “Haha, it’s good that I knew some basic stuff from Chemistry” Audrey laughed happily, holding one bottle in front of her face.

“Did you have glasses too? Go and teach Jake too~ he would surely appreciate such a sexy teacher” Elena teased her.

A smirk formed on Audrey’s face as she brought up her new weapon, “self-satisfying every second day, is it?”

“... Damn you, Dred” Elena hung her head, looking at Dred with a clear sign of grudge in her eyes.

After trying out the shampoo they made, both of them were satisfied with the results. “We can still improve it, but it’s definitely good,” Audrey mumbled.

“Yeah, and the best is that we can make it in a few minutes. All we need are these Trion Grasses. They even have different fragrances, which will help us in making different products. I smell money in this! It will make everything easier. We might be able to help Jake to climb that ladder more quickly if we give him some bribing money,” Elena said, having sudden ideas.

“Yes, but we need to buy a store at a good place to start, and that won’t be cheap. The rich men and women don’t even visit the shops in the outer areas, so we have no way to get rich for now. Unless you wish to sell it cheap to the masses,” Audrey remarked, tilting her head to the side.

Furrowing her brows, Elena didn’t say a word, while Dred spoke, “Dead men tell no tales.”

Understanding his meaning, Audrey sighed loudly. “Have you made up your mind? Well, it would happen sooner or later. We might as well gain something from it.”

“It’s good that I’m not an outsider. I’d be left wondering what’s going on otherwise,” Dred remarked, looking back and forth between them.

“I never thought that I’d become a villain in my life… I wasn’t such a bad person. This is clearly your fault. Destroying a city…” Audrey shook her head, poking Elena’s chest.

“Well, you could have stayed with the humans back then. I’d have left you alive and you could have slowly reached this world with your old talent and efforts,” Elena replied, crossing one leg over the other, rolling her wet hair around her finger.

“Bah, that would have turned into a life of struggling, though… this might turn into the same later,” Audrey mumbled, dressing up. “Dry your body, we should ask about the prices in the inner circles of the city.”

Nodding her head, Elena followed in her steps, while Dred disappeared from sight. Before walking down the stairs, their shadows took up the shape of elegant dresses. “Talking about being practical. But we are in black all the time. Let’s add some Elemental Energy to our clothes and color them,” Audrey said, turning around.

Her black, tight dress turned sand colored, while Elena’s remained the same. Seeing the look on Audrey’s face, she shrugged her shoulders, “What? I like black.”

Shaking her head sideways, she looked ahead and then went towards the inner circles of the city. They’ve caught the attention of many single men, but seeing them chatting heartily, nobody bothered or stopped them.

Finding a slightly old-looking building, they entered it. Looking around, there were tailored clothes all around, both for men and women. “Greetings. What can I help you with?” an old-looking woman with gray hair asked. Her skin was wrinkled and there was baggage under her gray colored eyes.

“Good day to you too. We are here to ask about something. Obviously, it’s not a problem if you refuse. We will look for another place. We would like to open a new store around these parts. Do you plan to sell this store? We would be interested in it,” Audrey asked kindly, showing all of their cards to make the old lady feel more at ease. But the reaction was unexpected.

As her head turned red from the blood that rushed into it, “GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!” she shouted, using some strange spell to push the out of the store. Both of them flew out of the store and after a flip in the air, they landed on their feet, in defensive positions.

“W-What the hell? I was so kind too…” Audrey mumbled with wide opened eyes, not believing what happened.

Furrowing her brows, Elena turned around, “She was above the two-hundredth level. Leave her be.”

After asking around at other places too, they’ve got a few offers, and a few storekeepers even pointed them towards other places where they could try. Time passed by with walking around, checking every place. The best and cheapest place they found was a two square meters tiny store, which cost sixty gold coins. It was a huge amount, but over time, it would return.

The only real problem was that they were far away from that sum. But there was a solution. While wandering around, they found out that there was a Bank where they could take out a loan. After going inside, they didn’t have to wait for long before a member of staff came over and led them to a private room.

He was a handsome guy with short, blonde hair, and brown eyes, seemingly very friendly. He didn’t have a muscular body. He was rather slim instead. “How may I help you?” his soothing voice resounded in the small room.

Leaning back in her comfy armchair, Elena crossed her arms over her chest. Rolling a lock of hair around her finger, she said, “We would like to take out a loan of sixty gold coins and please explain the rules and conditions.”

Nodding his head, the man called Christian, started his explanation, “As you wish, ladies. There are no conditions. Anyone can take out a loan” he said with a smile, but the girl's reaction wasn’t as happy.

“The rule is that you have to pay it back or you will be deprived of all of your possession. Depending on the amount you owe, you might lose your freedom, so make sure to pay it back. Other than that, it goes the following way. If you take out a loan, you will have to pay back ten percent more in the next two days. Twenty percent more in the next four days, thirty percent more in the next six days, and fifty percent more afterward.”

“If you can’t pay back the loan and the interest even after one and half a week, the interest will increase by ten percent each day. Another thing is that unless you have a regular customer card, you can’t leave the city. The guards will stop you after seeing your ID card. If you were to take out loans regularly, we would naturally leave you more time for repaying and there would be different discounts too.”

It’s not a friendly company, that’s for sure. But their policy is understandable and relatable, I guess, Audrey thought with a stiff face, remembering to his words about losing their freedom.

Her face straight and unflinching, Elena answered, “I’m good with that. Do we have to wait or anything? This is the first time that I am as low on money as to come to a Bank, haha.”

“Miss must come from a really rich family,” Christian just smiled upon hearing her words. “If I may ask you, stay here and wait for a few minutes. I’ll be back with the money. The documents are here. If you could fill them out, please,” he said, pulling out a drawer and placing the documents in front of them. Standing up, he left the room and came back a few minutes later.

After both sides signed the papers, Elena and Audrey left the bank and went towards the store they looked out for themselves. The transaction went on without any troubles. They had to sign documents of ownerships too, and then focus on upgrading the building. Using Nature Magic, they renewed its interior to a luxurious look.

Since the place was a baker before, with few customers only, there was a long bar from wall to wall, while the entrance was at the back of the building, in an alleyway. But unlike in the outer parts of the city, the alleyway way was much cleaner and there were no thugs.

“This will do. How much should we ask for a bottle?” Elena asked her hands on her hips.

“Considering that there isn’t much in a bottle, it shouldn’t hold out for too long, which means that we can’t ask for too much. But at the same time, even after asking around, we haven’t heard of this kind of product, which means that we can set our own price! I think that we should sell a bottle for two gold coins and fifty silver coins. To have some change,” Audrey winked at her.

“Haha, that would be enough for more than a week for a single person. I’m fine with that, but I don’t plan to sit in this store for the rest of my life. We will have to look for a storekeeper and advertise these shampoos. We will also have to post a quest in that Trade Guild we have heard of. Unless you want to go and look for Trion Grasses, Dred?” Elena offered up with a smirk on her face, looking towards the ground.

“Dream on, dear. If not for knowing that it’s all for your plans, I’d laugh at you for running a store with the title of Shadow Progenitor,” he replied with a snort.

“Geh, fine. Derrel would come in handy now. He could be our handyman…” Elena mumbled in a low voice.

Furrowing her brows, Audrey said, “I don’t like him and I’m not happy when I imagine him being one of us. I know that he will change once he drinks your blood, but still…”

“Huh? Are you stupid? Do you think that I’d let him drink my blood and turn him into an Arch Shadow like you two? He will drink your or Jake’s blood. You are wrong if you think that I’ll give my blood to just anyone. Count yourself lucky!” she exclaimed, opening the door and leaving to the alleyway. “Take care till I’m off!” she shouted back.

“Okay~” Audrey said, sitting down on a chair. Closing her eyes, she started meditating.

Not long after, a slightly chubby girl came in, sniffing around like a dog. “Hello~ What happened to the bakery? I was in the mood to eat some cake again,” she said, looking around tirelessly.

“Ah! We forgot the signs. I welcome you and I’m sorry about the mistake. We forgot to take off the sign. This is a new store and we sell beautification products. Would you like to try one out? For the first time, it will be free, though I’d be happy if you could tell about it to other people too,” seeing the girl’s curiosity, Audrey explained everything.

I’m not too good with strangers, but this much is manageable even for me, she thought, looking sideways.

“I don’t know what it is like, so I’ll give you one silver coin for it, just to not take it for free. If it’s really good, I hope that you will give me discounts! How much does it cost originally?” the girl asked, running her finger across the surface of the glass bottle.

“Two gold coins and fifty silver coins. It will be two gold coins for your kind lady if you indeed come back,” Audrey replied with a wink, already feeling tired of smiling continuously. This isn’t my forte. I can’t go on like this… My social skills suck, along with my acting! At least, they suck when I’m not helping Elena in manipulating others… I guess it is because she puts my mind at ease for some reason, she thought as a sigh left her red lips.

“Oh, I’ve got off really cheap this time!” the girl laughed as she put a silver coin on the counter and left with the shampoo. Audrey went out and took off the old sign, replacing it with something she made in a few minutes afterward.

Three hours passed by when Elena finally came back, Jake in her steps. “Woah! You look stunning,” was the first thing he said upon seeing Audrey’s dress.

“... Thanks,” Audrey mumbled, feeling a little unsure of how to respond, though she did feel somewhat happy about it.

“No probs! Elena told me everything-” Jake started, but he was interrupted by Audrey in the next moment.

“I’m sorry, but rather… Where the hell were you for so long?! If not for meditating, I’d have been bored out of my mind. A few people came in and I sold five bottles on half of the full price as a sample. Maybe we won't have to mind advertising ourselves since four of them were women. If women are the same as on our planet, then they should be interested in buying more.”

“And what about the remaining one?” Jake asked with furrowed brows.

“What? He was a guy, of course. He was the only one who bought it on the full price and told me that he would come back…” she replied.

“Hahaha, too bad, little shit! He will never see you here again!” Jake laughed happily, opening the door. A girl who looked to be at the age of twenty-five stood behind it, waiting silently. Audrey looked at Elena, raising a brow.

“We can hire shopkeepers in the Trading Guild! I couldn’t miss the chance! Her starting salary will be sixty silver coins a week. Depending on how business goes, we might raise it much higher,” Elena replied, patting the girl’s back.

“Greetings. My name is Felicia and I thank you very much for the chance,” she replied with a smile on her face, bowing her head.

Placing her fingers on the sides of her mouth, Audrey pulled them upwards. “I’m not good with this all-time smiling,” she mumbled in a low voice, trying a few more times. Jake and Elena laughed at her and left the tiny store to their employee. Elena took care of every paper and also commissioned a mission for a hundred Trion Grasses, the reward one gold coin.

“Knowing humans, they will definitely storm our store since it is new. Even if it dies down later, I’m sure that we should be able to earn enough to pay back the loan. Once that’s done, we can expect a steady income, even if it won’t be much,” Audrey imagined their future.

“Geh, I still can’t believe how easily you’ve got an employee and stuff. But won’t she steal?” Jake remarked, feeling a little suspicious of Felicia.

“I dare her to do it. Her body is full of my bacterias. I’ll know about coin penny she takes!” Elena exclaimed, going towards the training grounds. After training their bodies, they went back to Woodland Inn and after taking another bath and going through a mental training, they went to bed. But before they could sleep, they heard knocks on the door.

“Can I come in?” Jake asked. Using Nature Magic, a vine grew out of Elena’s fingertip and opened the door. With the help of Dark Magic, the vine was erased from existence. Audrey and Elena sat up on the bed, while Dred was still showing his back to everyone, sleeping in the corner.

“What brings you here? Could it be that you want to play with Aud-” Elena started, but Audrey’s words shut her up.

“Every second day Elena-”

“Wait, okay, okay! I’ll stay quiet…” she said with a panicked face, flailing her arms.

“Every second day what?” Jake asked, raising a brow.

“Delete it from your memories or I’ll kill you. Don’t ask it!” Elena said unhappily, kicking Dred’s back at the same time, but all he did was laugh at her forceless kick.

Raising a brow, not understanding them, Jake shrugged his shoulders as he said, “So I’ll tell you what happened today.” After he told everything about Sally, the vice-captain, he told the rest. “Other than her, I’ve got to know a few other guards. The guard captain openly admitted that he is bribed by the gangs and after asking a few guards… it seems like all of them slips a few more coins into their pockets.”

“When we went to the place where you killed the gang members, the group leader made us remove the debris. After finding the blood littered, dust covered ground, his face changed for the worse and he ran off, saying that he had to notify the captain. Later that they, we were called in and asked to patrol the alleyways too.”

“And guess what?! I ran into Derrel for the second time today! He was sitting in front of a cheaper in, his legs pulled up. I felt a little bit sorry for him, but I gave him another kick. After asking what happened, it turned out that he didn’t pass since the minimum level limit was a hundred and twenty. Not to mention, that his strength was nothing out of the norm. He wouldn’t be able to stop even the weakest people in the city without getting into a serious fight.”

“Good job. So? Would you go on a date with him? Look, he is working so hard for you,” Elena praised him, asking Audrey in the next moment.

“What? But why? And he is working for you and himself…” Audrey said with a confused face, hearing the sudden escalation of the events.

“Am I not good enough?” Jake asked with a disappointed face. Elena almost laughed upon seeing how fake it was but stayed silent nonetheless.

“No, it’s not that. I just didn’t want to haste this. I mean, I knew you quite well in the past, but after both of us received Elena’s blood, both of us have changed. I don’t know you as much as before and I have no clear feelings for you at the moment. But fine. A date will help with this problem anyway…” she explained herself, still agreeing in the end.

A smile formed on Jake’s face, even after hearing that she had no feelings for him. He felt rather happy about the fact that Audrey took him so seriously.

“By the way, we have been talking about me, but what about you? Why do you like me? In case you do,” Audrey asked out of nowhere, surprising Jake.

“I could reply now too, but I’d rather make it into a part of our date,” he scratched the back of his head.

“I’m fine with it, but I want to hear your answer,” Audrey pressed on.

“Oh, my. I won’t be able to see your progression! How sad this is… Hahaha,” Elena laughed with a bright smile on her face, showing her white teeth.

“By the way, your pajama looks really sexy,” Jake remarked, pointing at Audrey’s body, who wasn’t wearing anything other than her bra and panties.

Looking down, Audrey held in her voice. Clenching her fists, she held it in front of Jake’s face. “I so want to punch you right now… We will see about the time of that date after tomorrow.”

“I’m all good~” Jake replied, visibly unhappy about the new layer of clothing on Audrey’s body.

“Your Shadow thingy is way too useful sometimes…” he remarked, looking at Elena begrudgingly.

Saying goodbye, he left the room and took his way towards his own. After using Dred as a pillow, Elena quickly felt tiredness overtake her body. “Today was quite good. Derrel is getting closer to falling into our trap. We have learned more about the guards and their hierarchy. We have opened a store of our own too and we might be able to meet Clementine in the near future. We should gain strength quickly,” Elena mumbled as a smile formed on her face.

“Mmm~ you big baby. Go to sleep now. I’ll be here for you,” Audrey whispered into Elena’s ears. Closing their eyes, both of them fell asleep.

---

The next morning, Jake started at the gate, while Elena and Audrey took their ways towards the alleyways. Audrey hid her presence and joined Dred in Elena’s shadow, who took up Frank’s looks. As she opened the door to the pub, she earned a few surprised looks.

“Boss! We haven’t seen you a lot lately, what happened?” a man with a scar on his face asked.

“Ya’ bet! I’ve been looking for the bastards who dared to attack us! Even yesterday, they killed another group” she spoke with emotion in her voice, showing her anger. “But worry not, I’ll talk to Clementine today. She should be able to do something about it. Make sure to stay in groups of five. No less!” she advised, knowing that they could take care even of such a group.

They were getting stronger and stronger by devouring the monsters in the forests and working hard. They were close to reaching the hundred and thirtieth level, which would mean that there would be no big difference in strength. She knew that these common thugs would never be her opponents.

Turning around, she left the pub and after returning to her original looks, they decided to visit their store. Entering through the back door, they were surprised to see three people inside, looking at their products. Considering how early it was, three people were quite a lot. Their employee sold five bottles to each of them, in front of their eyes. Seeing that there were only a few bottles left, they looked at each other.

“It’s going better than expected,” Elena mumbled, noticing a small bag on the bar.

“Felicia? What is that?” she asked, pointing at the bag.

“Oh, good morning, Master. A boy came rushing in with this, telling me that he finished some kind of quest. I was hoping to meet you to ask about this. He said that he will come again soon and bring more of this Trion Grass” she replied, explaining the course of events.

“That’s great! We will be back in a moment,” Elena said, grabbing the bag and leaving the store. They’ve got to work in the alleyway and made another set of shampoo. “There, all good! A hundred and thirteen bottles. That should be enough for now, I think…”

“We will see. Take in these, I’ll use up the remaining Trion Grass. It should be enough for a few more bottles” Audrey said. Entering the store, Elena sat down and used Nature Magic to control the vines she grew to put the bottles in their places.

“Miss has wonderful control,” Felicia remarked with glimmering eyes as a new kind of respect formed in her mind towards Elena. Audrey came in a few minutes later and did the same. After waiting for forty minutes, the boy finally appeared.

Elena and Felicia were counting the money they earned up till now when they heard a few knocks on the door. Audrey opened it, only to see Derrel standing in it.

“Eighty-seven gold coins and fifty silver coins! We have struck it big again!” Elena exclaimed, catching Derrel’s attention. Turning to the side, her eyes met with Derrel’s. Raising a brow, she waited for him to talk.

Stepping to the side, Audrey said, “Come in.”

“Thanks… What’s going on?” he asked, not understanding why were they here.

“I should be the one asking that. This is our store and we came to collect our income. But why did you come here?” she asked, looking for answers in his eyes. Audrey pointed towards his hands. Following her finger, Elena saw a similar bag.

“Ah! I understand everything now. So you accepted my quest! How delightful to see you working for me~” she said in a playful tone.

Hanging his head down, gritting his teeth, he asked, “Why? Why does everything go so smoothly for you? Damn it, I don’t care anymore. I’ll just accept my defeat…” A smile formed on Elena’s face, feeling happy to hear his words. But her expectations were betrayed in the next moment.

“I understand that you are much more talented. It was stupid of me to try to compare myself to you or any of your friends. You are all freaks instead… I’ll live my life the way I can” he said with a long sigh. Looking into her eyes, he added, “Will you approve of me? I finished your mission after all. Could you prove it so that I can take my payment in the Trading Guild?”

Clicking her tongue, she took out two seals from her storage ring and gave it to him. Of course, she hid her hand behind her back to hide her treasure. “Take these and go. Good luck in the future,” she said, showing her white teeth.

Smiling back, “Thanks,” he said. After handing over the bag, he turned around and left the store.

“Did you know him, Miss?” Felicia asked, her head tilted to the side.

“Mhm. Not that much. We met only a few days ago,” she replied with a nod of her head.

“If I may be as rude as to say this, but you seem to have an awkward relationship with him. Did anything bad happen?” she asked, raising a brow.

Waving her hand, Elena went out of the store as she said, “Nah. Nothing special.” After making another pack of shampoo, they took them to the store and left towards the Bank. Christian was surprised to see them back so soon.

“Greetings, ladies. How may I help you?” he asked with a kind smile.

This guy is just too creepy, Audrey thought, shaking her head. As her eyes met with Elena’s they found the same opinion in each other’s eyes. Chuckling lightly, Elena replied, “No, we just came to pay back.”

“Already? Miss is really quick” Christian praised her. After going through the procedures, Elena decided to attack another gang too or else it would be suspicious. She appeared with Frank’s looks only twice in the last few days and the only gang that was attacked was the Blue Rose. Knowing the location of other gangs too, they went towards the alleyways.

Finding a few thugs, they killed all six of them with a few attacks. Devouring their bodies, she wrote a short message on a paper and threw it on the ground. But as they turned around, they realized that someone was standing behind them. It was a guard, who saw everything from the beginning to the end.

“So it was you three…” he mumbled, pulling out his sword. Inspecting him, Elena broke out in cold sweat.

Name: Al Gonsio

Race: Human

Level: 182

Threat Level: 8

“Shit…” she mumbled, reaching towards her dagger, while Audrey collected her Mana.

“Boss, what did you find?” a familiar voice resounded from the streets. In the next moment, Jake appeared behind him.

“I found the rats,” Al replied with a smirk on his face, tapping his finger on the handle of his sword.

“Oh! Boss is great!” he shouted, winking at Elena as a dagger appeared in his right hand and flew towards Al’s back. Elena’s face remained unmoving until the end...