On the ground floor of the Mercenary Guild, Mika, Aurelia, Katheine, and Bernard walked around, their steps echoing in the large hall as the surrounding mercenaries stared at them—or, more particularly, Mika.
In the meantime, word of Mika's fight with the Guildmaster had spread among the mercenaries, and everyone wanted to see for themselves who had managed to score a hit on him!
“So, that little girl is Mika, huh? She’s so cute!”
“Cute?! Are you crazy?! Did you see the video of her swordplay?! That wasn’t cute at all!”
“Mmhm! Agreed! I just wanted to look at her to make sure I don’t offend her in the future. She’s only a bit taller than my waist, and I have no desire to have my second sword chopped off….”
“...”
“...”
Mika’s face scrunched up in annoyance, listening to the whispers of others, but she did her best to tune them out.
“Damn! She’ll be quite the looker when she gets older! I’ll have to introduce my son to her now, and maybe he’ll get lucky enough to have her as his wife.”
“OH! What a great idea, man!”
A vein bulged in Mika’s head, listening to their unnecessary remarks, but she was still able to stay calm.
Although the comments annoyed her a bit, she was an adult wo-
“Don’t you think she’d make great bait with that small, delectable frame of hers? I’m sure beasts would love to eat her up! Maybe if I asked her to join me, I could finally capture the Emerald Crystal Python I always wanted!”
“....”
“You’re right! She would!”
Mika’s eyebrows twitched, and her patience began to run thin. She wanted nothing more than to turn around and yell at these fools, but at the same time, she didn’t want to cause a scene on her first day.
Noticing her increasingly annoyed emotional state, Katherine walked up behind Mika and put both hands on her shoulds, “Now, now. Just ignore those idiots. Why don’t we check out some of the missions available for a temporary E-Rank mercenary before we leave?”
Mika took a deep breath and nodded her head.
Katherine smiled gently and led Mika over to a counter with multiple giant screens behind it and tablets for people to use. A young woman was working behind the counter, smiling at them, but she left them alone since she also knew who Katherine was.
“This here is the mission board. Although most full-time mercenaries can choose which job they’d like to sign up for on their phones, the Mercenary Guild has this place just in case you can’t afford a phone or for more up-to-date information. However, since you’re just a temp, you can only come here in person to choose a mission.”
Mika nodded, looked at a giant screen under the label [E-Rank], and began looking at the missions.
—-----------------------------------------
{Objective: Kill Bramble Rats}
{Location: The Emerald Forest}
{Reward: 25 USD/Head}
{Status: Ongoing}
—-----------------------------------------
‘Emerald Forest? Bramble Rats? I’ve never heard of them.’ Mika shook her head and moved on to the next one.
—-----------------------------------------
{Objective: Kill 1 Moonlight Wolf}
{Location: The Ethereal Flatlands}
{Reward: 5,000 USD}
{Status: Available}
{Note: Bring back the pelt in good condition.}
—-----------------------------------------
‘Ethereal Flatlands, huh? There seem to be more places around the Barlton Kingdom than I thought. I’ll have to learn more about the different regions and the beasts that live within them after I return to the Emporvas Estate.’ Mika mentally noted and moved on to the next mission.
—-----------------------------------------
{Objective: Capture 1 Obsidian Lizard Egg}
{Location: Dragon’s Ridge}
{Reward: 25,000 USD}
{Status: Available}
{Note: The difficulty of this mission has been deemed extremely hard for E-Rank Mercenaries! Accept at your own risk!}
—-----------------------------------------
—-----------------------------------------
{Objective: Protect the Client for two weeks}
{Location: The Motionless Sea}
{Reward: 15,000 USD + Extra}
{Status: On Hold}
—-----------------------------------------
Mika saw thousands upon thousands of missions, ranging from offering protection services to kill quests to Ruin Reconnaissance to cleaning up the city's streets. Anything could be turned into a quest if there was money to be made and a service to be provided.
However, she was surprised by the amount of money each mission provided! For example, just killing 4 Bramble Rats would provide her with 100 USD or, in other words, 1 Initial-Stage Mana Stone.
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The mission to capture an Obsidian Lizard egg gave 250 Initial-Stage Mana Stones!
‘Either Mana Stones aren’t nearly as amazing as I think they are, these missions are harder than they seem, or the cost of living is higher than I think.’ Mika concluded after seeing these ridiculous rewards.
She turned to Katherine and asked her about these doubts. “Why are the rewards so high? Is that one of the benefits of being an E-Rank mercenary?”
“Hmph! Do you seriously think that measly amount is a lot?” Aurelia scoffed at Mika, looking at her like she was a country bumpkin. However, she had the right to look down on those numbers.
Mika glanced at her with slightly narrowed eyes, silently promising she’ll increase the intensity of her training, then returned her attention back to Katherine. Aurelia felt chills all over her body for some reason and quickly shut her mouth.
Katherine giggled at their interaction and answered Mika’s question, “That amount of money might look like a lot to you, but it’s not that much for us adults. You don’t know this, but the bare minimum monthly cost of living in Silverfall City is about 15,000 USD, and that’s just for one person. For a family, that amount might be double or even triple! The average cost of living is probably around 25,000 USD.”
“Another reason is that these missions are usually done in teams. The locations for many of these missions are dangerous, and the chances of dying are much higher if you’re not in a group. So, you might split the money for a mission in 4-5 ways.”
“Usually, mercenary groups will take on numerous missions in the same area and stay there for a week or two to try and earn as much as they could in as little time as possible.”
Mika’s mouth nearly fell to the ground upon hearing that answer!
“2… 250 Mana Stones per month just to l-live?! Are you serious?!” That was such a ridiculous sum that Mika didn’t even know how to react.
Katherine stifled a laugh as it was only in times like these that Mika showed off her childish side, “That’s not entirely correct, Mika. While it’s true that 1 Initial-Stage Mana Stone equals 100 USD, people hardly pay with them. After all, Mana Stones are incredibly useful as cultivation resources. Also, you have to take into account the country, city, economy, and number of Mana Stones in circulation. For example, Silverfall City is the safest, wealthiest, cleanest, and most popular city in the kingdom. That doesn’t come for free.”
Mika had a headache just thinking about all this stuff. However, she listened intently to Katherine’s words as she knew that unlike in her previous life, where she could trade and barter most things, that didn’t work here. Here, money ran the world.
“Alright, I think I got it; the economy is complicated. Let’s just finish shopping so we can go back to the estate.” Mika waved her hand to prevent Katherine from spouting any more words and walked ahead.
Katherine, Bernard, and even Aurelia laughed at her behavior, but they didn’t mention anything else about money and followed behind Mika.
***
As the sun slowly descended on the horizon, its warm orange glow illuminated the towering skyscrapers of the sci-fi magic city. The buildings, made of gleaming metal and shimmering glass, seemed to come alive as the sun's rays bounced off their surfaces.
Mika, Aurelia, and Katherine sat in the backseat of their flying car as Bernard flew them back to the estate. Dozens of different bags were around, evidence of the amount of shopping Katherine put them through.
Mika slumped in her seat, exhausted. She never thought that shopping could be so mentally draining.
“Such a shame,” Katherine muttered, “If it weren’t getting dark, I would’ve had us stop by the Alchemist Association, Blacksmithing Association, Mage Tower, and Knight Order. Oh well. I guess I’ll have to take you there next time.”
Mika almost immediately rejected her offer, not wanting to go shopping with this woman again, but the names of those places caught Mika’s attention.
“There are even more Guilds than just the Mercenary Guild and Merchant Guild?” Mika asked in surprise.
Katherine nodded, “That’s right. However, those four aren’t like the Mercenary or Merchant Guilds. The Alchemist and Blacksmithing Associations determine the standard and prices for their markets while also allowing people in that profession a chance to meet others like them and learn.”
“The Mage Tower is just a place to learn more about Mana Cultivation, Spells, and Techniques with other people. Being a part of them is also a status symbol as the elites are the only people allowed to join.”
“On the other hand, the Knight Order is similar to the Mage Tower, but for Body Cultivators. They, however, are supported by the King and are considered the Kingdom's militia by the public.”
This surprised Mika quite a bit because back in Elysium, the people were more inclined to cultivate their mana rather than their body. However, here in the Barlton Kingdom, it seemed to be the opposite.
“Are Body Cultivators generally known as Knights, or is that unique to this Kingdom?” Mika asked.
“Not always,” Katherine shook her head, “Sometimes they’re called Monks, Martial Artists, Knights, and even other unique names like Heroes, but generally, most countries label Body Cultivators as Warriors.”
“Warriors and Mages, huh?” Mika mused, “Then, which one is more popular out of the two? Because in my home country, mages were more popular.”
Katherine tilted her head and thought about the answer for a few seconds but shook her head, “I don’t have a definitive answer for you, other than that the Barlton Kingdom has a pretty even mix of both. However, I can tell you that countries with a deeper history are usually more well-versed in magic, while weaker, developing countries focus more on Body Cultivation.”
“Magic takes a lot of time for people to find the right ways to create their Mana Pathways, develop cultivation techniques, create spells, and everything else. However, once the foundation is built, it’s technically less challenging than Body Cultivation. That’s not to say Body Cultivation becomes useless after magic develops; it’s just that people tend to stick with what’s easier and causes less pain.”
Mika nodded at her reasoning as that’s what she thought as well, but she wasn’t nearly as well-versed about the world as Katherine. So, she might as well ask the expert here.
After that little discussion, they arrived at the house.
“Looks like we’re back at the house! I’ll head in first and talk to Darius about making you an identity, Mika. Meanwhile, you’re free to do whatever you want for the next few days,” Katherine walked out of the car and said. Afterward, she turned to her daughter and cupped her cheek, “Be nice to Mika, and make sure you follow her instructions during your workout sessions!”
Aurelia’s body stiffened, but she couldn’t find the courage to say no to her Mother’s gentle tone and nodded, “O-Okay, Mother. I’ll do as you say.”
Katherine nodded at her daughter and entered the building, with Bernard following behind her with all the shopping bags.
Mika also entered the estate and went straight to her room, ignoring the little girl by her side. When she opened the door, she found that all of the things Katherine had bought her during the day were already in her room.
‘Damn! Bernard is fast!’ Mika bent down, grabbed the box with her phone in it, and hopped onto her bed.
Taking out a few Nutritional Serums from the System Space, she gulped them down and focused her attention on the phone.
‘I wonder if I can contact mom and dad with it?’ Mika’s hands trembled in excitement just thinking about it!
Katherine had explained to her many of the various features of a phone, with the main ones being long-distance communication and widespread information.
Mika turned on her phone and went through the setup process, following along with all the prompts plus the information Katherine had given her. Once everything was ready, she went straight to the internet and typed in [Cain Zoller].
“...”
However, nothing showed up. Mika did the same thing for Elizabeth, Adam, Nathan, and Olivia, but the result was the same. None of their names popped up on the internet!
‘How is that possible?? Didn’t Katherine say that in today’s age, as long as you live in a country with internet service, it’s almost impossible to stay off the internet? Why is there no mention of my family?’
She knew that the Zoller Family didn’t have their own territory or Dukedom and lived on top of a mountain, but she figured there would at least be some mention of them!
‘Well, they did say that the Zoller family was a bit special, so maybe that’s the reason?’ Mika wondered, but after a few more tries, she moved on to something, ‘Maybe I can contact Akira Raven!’
She typed in [Akira Raven] into the search bar, and many posts and links popped up, but none of them were about the person she was looking for! Mika took out the ‘Akira’ part, leaving just the [Raven], but that was even worse as now the only links were about birds!
‘Fuck! Is everybody I know just invisible or something?!’ Mika cursed and turned off her phone, deciding to come back to this another day.
‘Maybe once I learn more about the internet and how a phone works, I’ll be able to find a way to contact them.’ She thought before closing her eyes and resting her head down on the pillow.
‘For now, though, I’m going to focus on resting and healing my injuries from my fight with Orien.’