“Appearance, check. Equipment, check. Forgotten things… none, check.”

Just as the sun was peeking up from the horizon line, Viers went out of his room dressed in full adventurer gear. He stepped on the cold flooring silently, so as to not awaken the mother-son pair in the house.

His steps were as silent as a thief and his presence was as imperceivable as a ghost. He had put so many skill points in the stealth department, reaching a level that even pro assassins would envy.

Hm?

On his way out, he saw Jessica doing yoga things, stretching her body in all kinds of ways. Looking at her perfectly toned body in tight-fitting clothes, Viers thought of one thing.

She has nice muscles.

After she worked up some sweat, Jessica changed things up. She made a fighting stance.

“Shuu… Haa…”

After a deep breath, the young mother’s concentration was at its peak. Her aura changed to that of a martial artist. A punch cut through the air, followed by a series of combos. Jessica started shadowboxing but with kicks included.

Viers was impressed by how quietly she could do the intense movements. Even though he wasn't on Earth, Viers had become a veteran warrior after all he went through in this world. He could glean the depth of Jessica’s skill from her movements.

Would you look at that? She’s pretty good…

Viers didn't want to break Jessica’s concentration so he waited. He definitely wasn't ogling the hot mother of one but because he had to pass through the room to get to the door.

After four to five minutes, his chance came when Jessica finished a session. Sometimes, training wasn't about how long it took but about intensity. Though short and did not involve Victa usage, it was a very exhausting exercise.

“Oh, Jessica? Wow, you’re early,” Viers the liar said as if he’d just arrived. “Training? Sorry for the interruption.”

“Kira, you’re already up?” Jessica said while wiping the sweat on her face with a towel, slightly out of breath. “Oh, not at all. Wait a bit. I’ll whip up some breakfast in no time. Would you like your eggs sunny side up or scrambled?”

Then she realized Viers was clothed up for outdooring.

“You’re leaving, already?”

“Yep. I have things to do today. It’s regrettable but I’ll have to pass on that breakfast… Oh yeah, this is for the rent yesterday,” Viers pulled a few silver coins from his pocket.

“That’s a shame. I was about to show off my cooking,” Jessica joked. “What do you need? Perhaps I can help.”

“Nothing much. I’m just going to hunt some monsters.”

“Hunting? Not beyond the wall, right?” Jessica looked concerned.

Beyond the wall meant the side where the Carfax Peninsula was, the direction where Viers came from.

“Yeah. I came here to kill a bunch of monsters after all,” Viers replied.

“No! Kira, please reconsider. You might not know this since you’re not from around here but it’s not a good time right now. We still don't understand where the attack from yesterday came from! Also, the monsters definitely will have vicious turf wars with so many of them gone. It’s very dangerous, even with a full party of Level 2s.”

“Oh, I’m going alone though,” Viers said as if he was about to take a walk to a nearby convenience store in the neighborhood.

“Then it is even worse!”

Jessica passionately tried to dissuade Viers from going but Viers was adamant.

“Oh, you,” Jessica put a hand on her head while sighing. “So confident, so reckless, so… young… I can’t stop you, can I? Then promise me, promise you’ll be very, very careful. Don't be greedy and take unnecessary risks.”

“I will.”

“Wait a moment. I have things that you’ll need.”

Jessica went to her room and she was back shortly.

“This is a Kill Counting Stone,” Jessica showed a white stone the size of an apple to Viers. “When you kill a monster and have this stone in your possession, the stone can record it by changing its colors. The stronger the monster, the greater the effect but killing a bunch of weaker monsters will achieve the same result in time. From white, it will become red, green, blue, and lastly, black. There are various stages of each color.”

“Hoooh…” Viers picked up and observed it.

“There are monster problems everywhere, but beyond the wall is even more of a problem. The more monsters that can be culled before they become a monster tide, the better. This stone gives incentives to mercenaries, sellswords, even knightly orders to sally beyond the Ebon Wall.”

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

“What is this stone for?” Viers asked.

“It serves as your monster killing proof. You can exchange your colored stone for benefits like money or something else at the city hall. You can go there to get one of your own but it might take time so just take mine. This one has never been used anyway.”

“I see. Thank you, Jessica. But this stone can count kills? Incredible. If so-”

“Don't think about it. It’s a local specialty that only works in the Carfax Peninsula. Only at Monsterland.”

“Figures… Okay then. I’ll be off.”

“Wait. It’s still cold outside. Wear this,” Jessica put a muffler on Viers’ neck. “Take these healing potions too. There are only two but it might make a difference. And don't forget to-”

Jessica gave Viers other things and more advice. Viers felt he was like a kid being told by a fussy mother, but seeing her eyes full of care and worry made Viers feel bad if he rejected her.

“I’ll be off then. Almost forgot. The coins.”

At the offered coins, Jessica shook her head.

“Give it to me after you come back. You have to come back, or you’ll be in debt forever.”

Viers smiled. “If you put it that way, it looks like I cannot die no matter what. Bye then. Say hi to little Tim when he wakes up.”

“Be careful of strangers, don't drink river water without boiling first, also remember to-”

Jessica accompanied Viers to the tavern’s front and shouted things that would be perfect for a kid on his first outdoor outing to an experienced traveler like Viers. The emoji grinning with a sweat aptly described his feeling right now.

“I’m off,” Viers waved his goodbye.

Even so, Viers didn't feel bad. The motherly warmth that Jessica showed made Viers think of his mothers. Earth’s and this world’s.

Sheeesh, Viers scratched his head. I feel so melancholic lately. Is it because my head is too silent without the chattering of my tenants?

In the past, Viers sometimes hoped they would be quieter. Now, with the other two gone and Clarissa in a soul coma, he wished to hear their voices. The heart was capricious that way.

Welp. Nothing beats killing and smashing things to clear your head.

The scar of the invasion was fresh. Viers witnessed a lot of things on the way. Broken homes, children huddling on the street to sleep, all were quite saddening.

But, the government cares a lot more about their citizens compared to other areas. Their humanitarian aid is quite generous.

City guards raising emergency tents, the creation of soup kitchens, and so on… They say it's because of mayor Anderson, hm?

Viers kept walking and crossed the wall of black that became the name of the city.

But I must say Jessica gave a timely gift. What a nice person.

Viers was talking about the Kill Counting Stone. He acted as if it was the first time he saw or heard the local specialty item but it was actually not true. He’d soul searched people from here and many had knowledge of the stone.

Viers planned to get one at the city hall but Jessica made him save time.

I should show my appreciation… Let’s see, what did Tifa like again? …Cloud? Will she be happy to meet Futon? Heheheh.

Viers was grinning at his own bad joke. Some people he passed by on the streets were giving him the look but he didn't care.

Some souvenirs from Monsterland would do. Speaking of which, there must be other stones in the locked inventory items that I looted during the war. I should open them when I have the chance.

The days when he struggled to open a pair of locked item rings were a day in the past.

Although guarded, Viers crossed the Ebon Wall with no problems. The guards were standing guard to keep monsters out, not people going out. There were a lot of high-grade monster detection arrays though. If it wasn't because of the breach earlier, even Spider-Viers wouldn't be able to sneak through undetected.

“All right you fellas, we’re going to dive into a den of monsters, you hear me!?”

“Oooh!”

“We’re gonna make a lot of money and a lot of corpses!”

“Yeaaaah!”

“In case we meet those green-skinned bastards from yesterday, we’ll sack them as revenge for making a mess of this city! Who’s with me!?”

“WOOOOOHHH!”

Nearby, Viers saw a bunch of people in battle gear. Mercenaries, from the looks of them. Their leader was raising morale and even though it was simple, seemed quite effective. The Level 2 bunch were like people on too much caffeine. Like him, they were going to Monsterland.

In the Latias Kingdom, there were no adventurers like in the Free People Coalition, nor the adventurers guild existed.

There were the city guards, the noble’s private armies, and the knightly orders.

Freelancers like Viers were called mercenaries or sellswords here. While being an adventurer was pretty respectable in the Coalition, it was not so abroad. The Latisians kids all wanted to be knights when they grew up and served the king. Mercenaries had a lower social standing in the Latias Kingdom’s society.

At any rate, these people’s objective was money. Monster hunting was a profession anywhere in this world. It was dangerous but a lucrative one.

The monster parts could be sold for a great sum and the environment they resided in usually had natural treasures. This world had spatial items which was a very convenient thing but they were not without storage limits. Like a container, it could not hold too many things inside. Sometimes, they were forced to leave the loot behind because of the inability to carry them, or the strong Arte they used to kill the quarry ruined the precious body parts.

That was where the existence of the Kill Counting Stones shined.

Mosterland’s monsters were generally not as strong, with Rank 0 and 1 being the majority. Their body parts, except for the monster cores, mostly didn't have a high monetary value. With the Kill Counting Stones, they didn't need to harvest the kill and sell them for money. Trading the Kill Counting Stones would suffice.

All You Need Is Kill.

Therefore, deadly AoE Artes were on the table.

Viers felt the Ebon Wall City’s system to trade the Kill Counting Stones for reward was rational. This system guaranteed that the people would benefit if they could defeat even a single monster. To someone as skilled as Viers, it was even more so, he could get the best of both worlds.

By killing monsters, Viers had many folds of benefits.

This served as his training ground, for nothing was as effective as a real-life experience. He would benefit from the monster drops, both to his human and monster forms. He also aimed at the elusive resource that most were not able to harvest, the souls.

Then the added benefit of the Kill Counting Stone. Excelente!

Viers suspected there were limits to the stone’s benefits though, or else this place would be swarmed by Level 4s and 5s. The fact that he didn't see any ‘farming’ here meant this area was not lucrative enough for them.

Alrighty then. Time to get to work. Get me the loot and sweet, sweet experience points. I want to hurry up and Level Up.