-Thump.

Elania sat up with a gasp, hand flying to her face only to find her forehead covered in a thin sheen of sweat. It was the same nightmare she’d repeatedly been having for the last four nights. It was always the same and always ended with her heart stopping.

She hadn’t mentioned it to anyone; there didn’t seem to be any point. It didn’t affect anything, anyway. Other than waking up with a fright and sticky skin. Pulling back the fresh bedsheet the Inn was happy to supply every night, Elania glanced at the small manashard on her nightstand and frowned. It was already dead.

That was to be expected, though.

[Mana Shard 0/3]

The amount of power the smallest size shard could hold was barely enough to sustain her for a day if she did absolutely nothing.

And doing absolutely nothing--- that never happened.

Elania rolled out of bed with a quick glance at her Hud:

[Hud]

Power: 66 / 277

Level: 49

Clock: 9:39

She had slept a bit longer than she expected, but that was fine. Her schedule was hers to set, and she had plenty of time before mid-morning.

Still, that wasn’t any reason to dawdle, and either Henri or Elburn was probably waiting in the common room for her.

It only took a few minutes to wash, the mirror reflecting her sapphire blue eyes and mostly black hair. Well, after this evening, her hair would probably be back to its previous reddish-pink color. Hopefully. Being low on power was troublesome in more ways than worrying about her hair color changing faster than an indecisive teenager playing with dyes.

The fresh set beige of underclothes wasn’t what she was used to, but they worked well enough. She was reasonably sure the matching blouse and pants came from Yolani’s wardrobe, which wasn’t a problem since their measurements were pretty close. It was the armor that was an annoyance.

Harlock had scolded her for leaving behind the metal chest piece that covered her bust the day before. Leaving behind potentially lifesaving but uncomfortable equipment was not acceptable even if you had [Regeneration] apparently.

Elania agreed with him, actually, but the multiple layers of leathers and straps were complicated, and she’d lost patience with them. This time at least she had a bit of experience with the get-up and probably wouldn’t need Yolani’s help to straighten things up.

Finishing things off with a leather double-wrap sword belt, and a short sword that seemed about on par with a roman gladius mixed with a

European-style crossguard, Elania smiled and bit her lip as she posed for herself. In her opinion, she looked every bit the part of some silly medieval hero-adventurer.

Her enjoyment quickly turned to embarrassment.

‘God, I’m glad no one saw that.’

A little notification popped up, and she half feared it would be mocking her for appreciating the outfit. Instead, it was one of the strange alerts she’d been getting since she woke up in Yolani’s lap.

[Notice: ̵̧͇͈͊̀T̷̮̱̙̓͌ṇ̸̛͈͙3̵͇̌̂͝M̷̗̿͂N̸̫̭̂͆9̴̬͝1̸̜̟̌̋͒l̴̢̼̇Ā̶̞̾̎5̴̯̐̔̅͜1̷͚͎̔ͅm̷̜͖̑ ̴̢̤͋̈Ṭ̶̤͑c̸̢̳͎̐͋͛a̵̘̭̾̿Ŕ̵̛̭̥͠ţ̷͍͛̌N̸͖̂̀ó̶̟͌c̴̟̝̟̓͐̆-̶̠̙͓̔̋3̷͔̚͠C̸͖̏̚͝n̵̺̍̏3̸̟͚̦̎5̵̍͜5̶̹̯͎̐3]

It turned out creating a blank contract caused weird shit to happen. At least that was her best guess. When she looked at the contract, gibberish would suddenly start spilling everywhere until she closed it. Yolani said her side of it was fine, but everything was blank except the Contractor and

Contractee fields.

Despite how many times the glitched Notice text had appeared already, it still made her apprehensive. She pulled up her status screen, despite the fact she knew it would make her feel even more worried.

[Status]

Name: Elania Reyes

Race: Lesser Demon (S Class Monster)

Level: 49

Power: 190/277

Karma: 3

Titles: [Locked]

[Some functions are disabled due to insufficient requirements.]

[Skills: Elania Reyes]

[Class: N̶̹̙̎o̴̢̦̊ṅ̸̻ē̷̲̻͠͝]̶͍͆̆

[Affinities: Demonic, Mana, Darkwalker(Complete)]

[Magical: Demonic Aura Lvl - 11 (Deactivated), Mana Manipulation Lvl - 76, Battle Concentration Lvl 35, T̴̚ͅr̴̡̼͑a̴̝̙͑͝n̶̬̽s̶̝̜̕f̷̝̱̐o̸̝̚ŕ̸̙̺m̴̱̚a̴̻̼̍t̴̥̿ͅi̶̜͍͒o̷̱̝̅̀n̷͕̱̕ ̵̲̹̀͠Ḁ̴̚c̸̙̀̍u̶̪͋ì̶̛͓t̴̬͑̐ͅy̶̱͉̓ ̶̧̫̔̋Ļ̷͎̔̔v̴̙͛l̶̮̾ ̵͍͋-̶̰̮͝ ̸̲̝̚1̴̧̮͋͗,̷̡͚̽ ̶̢̀ͅT̴̼͆͆r̵̪̺͝a̶̧̾͝n̶͙͒s̵̯̑f̵̲̱͆̽o̸͜͠r̸̳̄͗ḿ̵̢͝a̸̔ͅt̶̨͈̒̓i̶̊̏͜ö̶͔̥́ṉ̵̯͌̂ ̸͉͖͠C̸̢͖͘ö̶͖́͠ǹ̴͕̉t̸̺̔r̷̜̔ͅo̸͈͒͠l̶̺̯̽ ̷̫̖̀̕L̶̤̂̚v̷̺̩̐̕l̵̻̓̀ ̵̤͎̈́-̶̳̇ ̵̤́1̶̣̈̾,̷͇̕ ̷̻̿ͅC̶̬̓̉ö̸͕́n̷̟͚̿͝ț̴̣̑r̷̠̈́̆ą̴̪͆c̴̩̄͛t̵̩͚̀í̶̭̎n̴͖̓g̶̭̈́̊ ̴̱̂͐L̴̦͓̊v̶̦̯͐l̵̝̾ͅ ̷̼̘͌-̷̭̾ ̴̞̄̀2̷̯̅]

[Physical: Unarmed Combat Lvl - 17, Darkvision Lvl - 3 (Activated), Dodging Lvl - 44, Block Lvl - 16, Stealth Lvl - 31, Throwing Weapons Lvl - 34, Combat Mastery Lvl - 42, Ĺ̴͉̌ȉ̴̦g̷̛̪̹͐h̶̤͓̾t̵̹̺̂̈́ ̶͍̐̒B̵̭̯̈́̏l̸̘̅ȁ̵̘̓d̴̤̳̔̐e̷̝̽s̴̹̔ ̸͔͐̃L̶̗̭̊͌v̷̥͕̽̉l̶͓̆́ ̸̪͕͊̚-̷̞̥͂ ̴̨͐̂1̵̱̲͐̚2̴̺̓͛]̶͇̓ ]

[Mundane: Identify Lvl - 9, Universal Speech Lvl - 5, Reading Lvl - 4, Writing Lvl - 3, Athletics Lvl - 17, Improvised Crafting Lvl - 29, Ṭ̴́̌r̶͉̉à̴̝̫́c̷͍̫͐k̴͚̙̓ī̷̩ñ̶̠́g̴̬͇͒̄ ̸̼̀L̸̰̣̆v̵̖̎̆ļ̴̲̏̓ ̸̖̑͠4̶̢̻͝]̸͕̭̅ ]

[Attributes: Elania Reyes]

[Current Attributes:

Demon Contract (1 Active, 1 Available)

Regeneration (Normal)

Demonic Self-Sustenance

Enhanced Physical Abilities (Strength, Mana Capacity)

Immunity (Darkness)

Resistance (Poison, Mana)

W̷̪̔e̵̹̜͊̐a̷̢̟̅̌ḱ̶̬̮̕ň̴͇̿ͅe̴̯̱͊ş̶̼̀s̷̯̮̀͑ ̶̢̙̌̂(̵͚̺̅̚H̵̳̫̋o̵͖̎ĺ̶̰̈́ỵ̶͕̉)̶̳̆̒]̷̢͑ ]

[Essence Management]

[Power: 66 / 277]

[Rank: Manager]

[Contractees: 1] [View]

[Contract Essence Income: -0.00 PU/hr]

[Essence Composition: R̴͔̬͍̈́̃͗3̸̟͒͋̋H̵͎͔̯͒̒̈́7̵̡̓̒͐0̶̣̖̩̾̅̆ ̵̳̍̿͠%̵͎̞͘2̷̢̪͗͜ ̷̪̋̾̕,̷̣͍͉̓R̴̝͒̐͠3̵̮̥̋͗͜k̸̘̙̔͘l̸̥͈̜̄4̸͉̖́̓͗w̴͖̰̱̽́̚k̵͚̓͝r̵̦̪̜̽4̵͈̓̑̓D̸̤͍͊͑ ̴̻̯̄̈́̓%̷̭͈͊̍͊8̵͊̾͜͝1̷͕̘͛̔ ̸̭͔͋̓͂,̵̗̿̋̈ñ̷̫̮̪4̶̛̜̔̇m̸̝̹̃̓́Ű̴̠̭͝H̴̫̣̋͗ ̸͍̤̒%̶̏̃͜͠0̵͔̺̣͐͋͠8̶̮̞͚͑]

[Corporeal Upkeep: -̷̪̙̃̉̃0̴̗̅̅̍.̷̦̤͓̋̽͠0̷̣̭͈́ ̸͕̈̆̂|̸͖͂͠>̶̘̃̃͒|̷̭̰̓̔̔_̵̜̿|̴̙̚͠/̶̬̤̻̈́̎|̷̣͇̈́-̶͚͇̄̋|̷̟͗̂.̸͔͛̆-̶͙͎͕͒͗]

[Excess Drain: -0.00 PU/hr]

‘Yeah. Ok. Nothing wrong here. Maybe just a little damage from blowing things up too much?’

Earlier mood completely ruined, Elania reached up and flicked the screen with her middle finger, sending it spinning away and through the wall. That was better than pressing the stupid ‘X’ in the corner.

‘Everything is fine.’

‘Elania, you fucking liar.’

She took a deep breath, then exhaled, before speeding out of the bathroom. On her way out, she grabbed her small manashard that went in a hidden pocket where she kept her coins.

As soon as she popped open the door, the noise from the common room assaulted her. That took some getting used to, but the doors had some type of artifice rune engraved on them that made them soundproof. The walls probably had them, too, now that she thought about it. It was just one of the few amenities that justified the Inn’s hilariously high price.

Not that Elania had stayed in a cheaper Inn before, the one at Waystation Four had cost just as much but was definitely a notch down from Olaf’s.

As she crossed out of the hallway and into the common room, she spotted Olaf pouring Henri some kind of drink in a big wooden mug. The alert innkeeper spotted her almost immediately, though, and he suddenly slid the mug down the counter and away to the guard’s protest.

Henri wasn’t pleased, “Hey!”

Elania couldn’t help but smile as Olaf poured the man a smaller cup of something else.

“What’s this?”

“Frujuice.”

“I thought---”

Elania slid onto the seat beside him. “Henri, you aren’t getting drunk again are you? You remember where we are going today right?”

“Oh, come on, it was just---”

Elania reached over and nabbed the cup, drinking the Frujuice in a single gulp before letting out an appreciative “Ahhhh” and slamming it down.

“That was great, thanks Henri!”

“Ahem.” Olaf coughed and tapped the counter in front of her.

Olaf was terrific; the Inn was everything Harlock had said it was, the service and accommodations--- and the security couldn’t be beaten. It was chock full of people whose main source of employment was security. There was only one rule that couldn’t be forgotten or broken. The exchange and relationship was monetary in nature.

Elania nodded and slipped out one of her large silver coins and passed it to him quietly. It disappeared out of sight behind the counter gracefully without any further acknowledgment of the exchange.

Well, that was settled. She'd be welcomed to return again tonight.

She looked at Henri, “Let’s go!”

“You already slept in all morning, what’s the rush?”

“Isn’t it your job to keep an eye on me? So---I’m going~”

Olaf barked a laugh as he cleaned and polished the now empty glass.

“Never seen a ‘suspect’ turn a stakeout so throughly on her ‘investigator,’ Henri. Aren’t you worried about how you’re making The Guard look?”

Henri sighed and responded to the Innkeeper, but Elania had already headed for the door, and the sound was lost in the noise of the common room. She did hear Henri’s ‘Hey! Wait!’ when he finally realized she was already moving.

She turned, waved at him, then slipped through the front door without missing a beat, picking up the pace into a fast walk that would leave him chasing after her through the crowded street.

Artisan Row wasn’t that hard to find. Elania wasn’t sure how she had managed to get lost that first time she had searched for it.

‘Probably because I was so exhausted.’

She looked back over her shoulder, and sure enough, Henri turned the corner; she could tell he was out of breath. Every time she was about to lose him, she had stopped and waited long enough for him to catch another sight of her.

She waved at him once more, then pressed forward up to the guarded gate.

The two Ironfist mercenaries glared at her, but by now, they just let her in without a word. They shared an employer now, after all. Not that they had forgiven her for the thrashing she had given several of them. None of the mercenaries had died, though--- which was a miracle and probably curtailed a lot of what some of those glares said they wanted to do to her.

She quickly hurried past them without a word; she didn’t see Lucas there like he usually was. She quickly passed the third house on the row by and was almost to her destination when--

“Elania!”

She scrambled to a stop, jerking to the side to look at the voice calling her name.

“Think fast!”

She was terrible at this game; how Harlock knew that her father tormented her with it back home on Earth, and that he needed to take up the mantle, she had no clue. Still, with her ‘super-duper demon reflexes’ she almost managed to save herself. Almost.

A heavy piece of cloth fell on her head, covering her vision. She grabbed it and shook it off, but it was heavy.

“What the hell!”

“Girl, I told you, you need to pay more attention to your surroundings!”

The cloth was a darker olive green that matched her leathers, but it was definitely not just cloth. It had some weights sewn into it.

“What’s this?”

“It’s your cloak.”

“Why does it seem to have lead inside of it? You’re not telling me to run around with weighted clothing as training are you? That’s hella cliché.”

Harlock raised an eyebrow, “No, it has other uses, but that idea…”

“No, no, no. No way!”

“Hmmm.”

Elania turned to look back the way she had come; Henri was just passing through the gate.

A frown creased her face as she turned back to Harlock.

“Hey… has anyone spotted any sign of Tina?”

The grim look on the Sergeant's face told her the answer even before he spoke.

“No. I’m sorry, the men have been keeping an eye out, but spotting a specific orphan in the district… well…”

“Yeah, I know. I was hoping we could find and help her though.”

Even if Tina had been the catalyst that had set off events on her arrival, Elania didn’t blame her for the chaos and battle that followed. It had taken several days before Elania recovered and a few more before they had pieced together exactly what happened.

Shortly after Elania had left to go shopping, the girl left on her own, pockets full of Lucas’ rations. Elania had promised to feed her… and she had

in a way. The girl probably figured that she had been abandoned again.

Tina leaving ‘her’ demon behind suddenly, that threw up all kinds of red flags to the mercenaries. The timing of the contract break was terrible as well.

Looking down, the binding menu popped up, a single press away from opening the map interface. She resisted the urge to open it and look again.

Elania shook her head. No point in dwelling on that.

“Let me know if anyone sees her, ok?”

“Sure thing, but about that training---”

Elania glanced back over her shoulder quickly; Henri was almost caught up, and he looked exhausted with sweat on his forehead and heaving with every breath.

“A-a-a- Nope! We’re going to go fill manashards today! Gotta go!”

She took off, still holding her new cloak over her shoulder. It didn’t actually flutter behind her, but that was probably because it was weighted.

“I think it is a good idea!”

Ha-ha. Elania didn’t turn around, and instead hurried to Rano-- Yolani’s Artifice.

The shop still had the sign, but someone had painted over the name. Badly.

She still wasn’t sure how the hell Neftasu law worked, but Yolani had ended up receiving the shop as ‘compensation’ for the destruction of hers.

Ranolf hadn’t survived the incident. Elania had missed a lot of the events directly after the fight, but Yolani had told her just how the vultures had arrived to pick apart the Master Artificer’s possessions.

“Henri! Just the man I wanted to see. I just had this crazy idea---”

‘Henri, I’m sorry!’

The door to the shop opened with the jingle of the bell, but the shelves and tables were bare. There weren’t any apprentices anymore, either. The Guard and the city had taken half of everything, and almost all the mana-shards and finished artifices; Yolani received the shop and a bare minimum of tools needed for the craft; The other shopkeepers had received all the spare parts, and the mercenaries--- they’d been paid in flesh.

Demons, apparently, had a common usage of being used to charge manashards. Feed them things, and they converted their essences into ‘Power’ that could then be extracted into manashards. It had been one of the ways Ranolf kept his hold over the row. The fees for charging manashards were worse when there was a manashard shortage, too.

It was the one reason Elania didn’t feel quite so bad for the man, even if the ‘demons’ hadn’t been of the human variety, the exploitation didn’t sit right with her. Even if it was pretty much her new job. At least she had a choice.

“Hello? Yolani?”

The front room was devoid of anyone. Maybe they were in the back. With no one to watch, Elania pulled up the map interface and signaled a single name with a very specific person in mind.

It remained blank. She knew it would, she’d tried it many times before. The only thing she could think of was that the girl was dead. How? Why? It didn’t make sense.

She knew what Harlock would say, that she was entirely too attached to some orphan she had only been with for a few hours, but…

Elania slid around the empty shelves and tables and crossed the room, before pulling the door to the ‘workshop’ open.

“No! Don’t ope---”

Something popped, and a thick coating of vicious red liquid splattered on everything and everyone, but most of it went in Elania’s face.