One morning, Mika was lying in her room, playing with her phone, when she heard a knock at the door.
“Coming!”
She hopped off the bed and opened the door, only to see Katherine on the other side. She had several papers in her hands and a few other items that Mika recognized.
“Hello, Mrs. Emporvas. What brings you here?” Mika’s eyes shone slightly in excitement.
With a smile, Katherine waved the papers around, “Your paperwork is all finished!”
Mika’s smile widened, and she nearly jumped for joy! While she liked staying in the Emporvas Estate, she was feeling a bit cooped up lately and wanted to go out and explore.
“Not just that, but I also set up a bank account called a Universal Nexus Bank Account for you.” Katherine picked up a small, matte black card with silver numbers and letters on it.
Tossing it to Mika, she continued, “Just download the app for the bank on your phone to finish the setup process, and you’ll be able to store your money electronically and use it anywhere in the world, as long as you’re in a human country. With this, you won’t have to carry around stacks of cash or mana stones whenever you want to buy something.”
“Wow!” Mika exclaimed as she stared at the little card, which also seemed to emit faint mana fluctuations. She had seen Katherine and Aurelia use these cards when they went shopping and couldn’t help but want one for herself.
“This Bank Account is unique in the fact that all the money in the account is yours and can not be touched or borrowed by anyone other than you. It’s not like other banks where they can loan out your money to other people.”
Katherine explained, and Mika nodded, not knowing why that was so important. In her previous life, she never had a bank account and just paid with everything in bronze, silver, gold, or bartered for everything. Thus, she didn’t know what Fractional Reserve Banking was or anything like that.
“I also created an ID for you to use as well,” Katherine tossed another card at her, which somehow had a picture of her on it.
Mika grasped the cards and paperwork and looked up at Katherine, “Thank you, Mrs. Emporvas, for taking care of everything for me.”
Katherine waved her hand dismissively. “Aiya! There’s no need for such formalities between us. And call me Aunty! Mrs. Emporvas sounds so distant! You make it seem like I’m an old lady!”
Mika had an awkward look on her face as she stared Katherine up and down. She had to admit that Katherine really did look like a woman in her prime, what with those plump hips, soft skin, and thin waist.
However, as an ‘old woman’ herself, she couldn’t bring herself to call someone else Aunty.
“I-I’ll think about it.”
Katherine’s eyes brightened, and she clapped, “That’s enough for me!”
“Now, since you have all your paperwork, why don’t I have Bernard drive you to the Mercenary Guild, where you can meet with Orien and pick out your mission?”
Mika immediately nodded. She wanted to get out of the house and explore the world! To go on missions, fight beasts, and get stronger!
And also to practice her magic!
She hasn’t been able to do that here for fear that someone might notice. Her parents had told her not to show off her magic in front of anyone until she got strong enough to defend herself, and she would do just that.
Although the Emporvas family seemed welcoming on the outside, she did not trust them enough with a secret that even her parents wanted to keep private.
“Hmm?” As Mika was walking out the door, she realized something and stopped. “Aren’t you going to come with me?” She asked Katherine, who shook her head.
“I think I’d get too worried about sending you on a mission and would drag you back to the house instead.” She pinched Mika’s cheek and gave her a gentle smile, then continued to lead Mika down the hallway toward the garage.
Mika felt warm in her heart that someone who wasn’t even her family cared enough about her to worry like that.
‘They really are good people.’ She thought. Even Aurelia was actually a decent person once she got to know her a little. She just had a few flaws, that was all. Darius was the only person she was worried about out of the entire family, as she could tell he was a cunning individual.
If there was anyone she didn’t want to let know that she could use magic, it was him. Who knows what he might do if he knew? Even worse, if he tried to check out her Mana Circuit!
Unfortunately, everyone in the house was connected to him in some way, and there were secret ninja maids all over the place.
If she used magic, he would be the first to know about it.
‘Whatever,’ Mka shrugged, ‘I’ll just practice my magic while I’m out on missions. I’m not ready to begin cultivating my mana anyways.’
***
Katherine handed Mika over to Bernard, who then took Mika to the Mercenary Association. It was a quiet ride, as neither had much to discuss.
Parking in front of the Mercenary Association Building, Bernard got out of the car and opened the door for Mika.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“Let’s go inside and speak with Sir Orien, Ms. Zoller,” Bernard said with his arm across his chest like a classic butler.
Mika nodded and walked inside the building.
The insides were just like she remembered; mercenaries of all shapes and sizes sitting and chatting, exchanging stories, and discussing jobs.
However, when she entered, the place quieted almost instantly, as many people turned to look at her.
“Hey, isn’t that the girl that hit the Guildmaster?”
“She really is a small child! The Guildmaster must’ve gone senile to allow himself to get hit by her!”
“Hmph! She still lost in the end.”
“Did she really, though? I think her just hitting him is a win in and of itself.”
Mika listened to the murmurs going on around her but chose to ignore them as she made her way to the front desk, where Aria stood.
“Ms. Mika! It’s good to see you again! Are you here to pick out a mission?” Aria waved at Mika and greeted her with a smile.
Mika returned the smile and nodded, “I’ve also brought all the necessary paperwork.”
“Alright! Normally, I would take care of all that for you, but Guildmaster Orien told me to tell him when you arrived. So, if you don’t mind waiting for just a second, I’ll call and tell him you’re here.”
Mika shook her head, “Not at all. Do what you need to do.”
Aria picked up a phone and walked away from the counter for a minute before returning.
“Alright, you may follow me up to his office.”
***
Inside Orien’s office, Aria bowed and left, leaving Mika and Bernard alone with Orien.
“Good to see you again, Mika.” Orien stood up and shook Mika’s hand.
Mika grasped onto his big, meaty hand and greeted him back, “Good to see you again, old man.”
Orien chuckled, “Old man, huh? Well, I suppose I am old in your eyes.”
“Anyways, why’d you want to meet with me?” Mika asked.
“I guess it’s straight down to business with you! Hahaha! Very good!” Orien laughed and sat back down in his seat.
“My reason for wanting to speak with you is to give you a few recommendations for what missions would be good for you.”
While Mika was surprised to hear that the Guildmaster, Bernard was absolutely shocked! He couldn’t believe this guy would actually go out of his way to help Mika!
‘I guess she earned his respect through that spar. Or maybe he just feels bad about defeating a little girl and felt like he owed her something.’ Bernard speculated, but he kept his cool, not releasing any kind of emotion.
“I think the Ethereal Flatlands would be the best Danger Zone for you to go to. I heard that you came from the Noxious Jungle, which is supposed to be rated as an F-Rank Danger Zone but was pushed up to E-Rank because of the poison. However, the Ethereal Flatlands is a genuine E-Rank Danger Zone. There’s a section that is D-Rank, but as long as you don’t traverse too deep, you won’t encounter any powerful Red Core Realm beasts.” Orien explained and brought up a map of the Ethereal Flatlands to show Mika.
“The Ethereal Flatlands is quite a unique and peaceful place, for the most part. A lot of the beasts there aren’t aggressive, but they are plenty strong enough to give you a good fight. In fact, most mercenaries venture there to collect rare plants and resources, as it’s a place rich in mana.”
“I think this would be a great place for you to start your mercenary career, especially if you are going to go solo.”
Mika nodded in understanding as all of Orien’s words made sense. She really didn’t know much about the area. As much as she could learn on the internet, it was nothing compared to actually experiencing it.
As the Guildmaster of the Mercenary Guild, Mika took Orien’s words very seriously, and after sparring with the man, she could tell that he was an honest man.
‘If he says I should go to the Ethereal Flatlands, then I should seriously consider that.’ Mika thought.
Honestly, she really wanted to go to the ThunderFire Mountain Range, as it sounded cool and was the one with the highest Rank besides Dragon’s Ridge. She felt like she could thrive there as someone with an affinity for Fire.
Only after hearing Orien’s did she start to understand that her thinking was a bit flawed.
‘I guess it won’t hurt to follow his suggestion. The ThunderFire Mountain Range isn’t going anywhere. I can go there when I have a bit more experience under my belt.’
Mika nodded and made up her mind, “Alright. I’ll listen to your suggestion and choose a mission in the Ethereal Flatlands.”
Orien’s smile widened, “Great!”
He then pulled up three separate missions on the screen and showed them to Mika.
“I figured that would be your answer, so I went ahead and picked out a few missions for you. You’re free to only choose one, but where’s the fun in that? If you’re going to the Flatlands, you might as well experience everything!”
Mika wasn’t sure what to say, so she checked out the missions he had chosen for her.
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{Objective: Kill 10 Starhounds}
{Location: The Ethereal Flatlands}
{Reward: 50,000 USD}
{Status: Available}
{Note: Bring back the pelts in good condition. Bring back their Mana Cores and eyes for proof of subjugation.}
—-----------------------------------------
—-----------------------------------------
{Objective: Collect 50 stalks of Prism Grass}
{Location: The Ethereal Flatlands}
{Reward: 25,000 USD}
{Status: Available}
{Note: Do not bring back wilted grass! We will not accept those!}
—-----------------------------------------
—-----------------------------------------
{Objective: Retrieve 1 Moon Owl egg}
{Location: The Ethereal Flatlands}
{Reward: ~75,000 USD/egg}
{Status: Available}
{Note: Don’t ruin the egg!}
—-----------------------------------------
Mika didn’t have a problem with any of the missions. They were all available for E-Rank Mercenaries, meaning one didn’t need to be in the Red Core Realm to accept them.
Plus, if Orien allowed her to take on three missions at a time and earn an extra ~100,000 USD, then who was she to deny his kindness?
“Sure, I’ll accept these missions!”