"Unfortunately, I was right." I said sighing as Guts took his palms off my back. In the nen manual that he had received when he got the reward, it mentioned that users of nen were able to awaken nen in others by sending the nen into them. Seeing as that was the easiest way to test it, we attempted it, but to no avail.

"It's too bad. It would've saved us a lot of time and resources if we could use other energy systems even if we didn't get them from the DGC." said Ciri.

"Agreed, but on the bright side, we learned about it sooner rather than later. That also means that the shop has to have an ability/skill/talent that lets us be able to learn all the energy systems without having to buy them for it to adjust our bodies." I said.

"Yup, just found it." said Amelia.

"What's it called and what's the price?" asked Ciri.

"It's an ability called [Universal Body] and it says "Allows the user to practice any energy system without having to worry about conflicts or incompatibility. Talent for any energy system is dependent on the user." The price is only 100,001!" she said looking at us with surprise.

"Only 100,001! That means we should all be able to purchase it once the 5 years have passed." said Ciri with a smile.

"Phew, that's good. Though it will be a shame that we won't be able to use our points on other things." I said.

"Yes, but all things considered it's probably a much better option than anything else we could buy. At least for right now." said Yoruichi.

"That is true. Well, glad that's settled. Now, all we have to do is wait." I said as I stood up and stretched.

"Let's spar." said Guts.

"Itching for a fight after seeing Uzui fight the apostle?" I asked with a small smile.

"Yes, but I would like to spar with our bodies alone. No boosts, just killer instinct." he said with a smile.

"Sounds good, but you have to turn off that regeneration of yours. That thing is busted." I countered. Yep, turns out that we could turn off passive abilities if we wanted to. We just had to go to our status page and turn it off there. Besides spars like these, we never turned it off because why would we?

"You have regeneration too, but fine." he said before we started walking out of the castle to the training yard. Once at the training yard, we both took off our gear leaving only our pants and boots.

"Ready?" I said axe slung over my shoulder.

"Ready." he said with his sword in front of him.

"Good, as soon as this gold coin hits the ground, we go." I said before tossing a coin into the air as we both stared at each other.

TING

The moment we heard the coin hit the ground, we both rushed at each other before we attacked, our weapons clashing.

~~

"Easy boy, calm down. It's alright." I said calming the horse down after we teleported to the outskirts of the castle, about a 30-minute ride away.

"That blood of yours sure is convenient." said Uzui.

"Now it is. In the beginning, it wasn't, and in some ways still isn't." she said.

"Uhh, well now I feel bad." said Uzui with some regret on his face.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"I'm just yanking your chain." said Ciri with a teasing smile which made us all laugh.

"Alright, we have a half-hour ride to the castle before we get paid. Let's ride." I said to the group as we took off.

~~

As we reached the castle, there was a guard waiting for our arrival who took our horses and led us inside to meet the Count. He took us to the same room where we talked to the Count two days prior, and where the Count was currently waiting for us.

"Ah, you've returned. Fantastic. So, how did you fare? Were you able to figure out how they managed to take the castle?" he asked as he looked up from reading some documents.

"Good. We've taken back the castle, but there were no survivors. So, we looked around a bit and managed to find some alcohol. It was poisoned. Our best guess is that the guards confiscated it from a caravan that belonged to the bandits, they got drunk, and that led to a gap in their defenses letting the bandits take over the castle." I said.

"No survivors?" he asked with some hidden intent.

"The bandits were in the middle of doing a ritual of some sort and it seems they killed and/or ate the castle's original occupants." I explained to him.

"So, they were pagans. Such a shame too. Good men in that castle. And an interesting way to take a castle." he said intrigued by the tactic.

"Agreed, tactics and goals too lofty for a bandit group." I said hinting at something.

"Perhaps, they are getting more bold, but that is for me to worry about. Splendid job, your fee will be given to you by my knight captain. There is also going to be a banquet tomorrow for my daughter's birthday, and I hope you are able to join." he said.

"Of course, free food and drink, wouldn't miss it for the world." I said with a smile.

"Hahaha. Good, I'll see you then."

As the guard from earlier escorted us out, we met with the knight captain who handed us a small chest filled with our pay before we left the castle to find an inn.

"A banquet huh? We're going to need some fancy clothes." said Ciri.

"We could buy them from the DGC." I said.

"We can't, we're being followed." said Amelia.

"By?"

"Can't tell, but I'm thinking it's the Count's guards. 6 people just took back a castle by themselves, and now they're running around in his city. He'd be a fool to let us go around unchecked." she said.

"Okay, then let's go buy some clothes right now before we head to the inn." I said as we went to buy our fancy clothes.

~~

"So, what do you boys think?" said Yoruichi as she came out with Amelia and Ciri, dressed up in their fancy dresses as we were about to leave for the banquet.

Yoruichi was wearing a purple dress that complimented her hair, Amelia was wearing a yellow almost blonde dress, and Ciri was wearing a mint-green dress. The three were wearing different dresses but to me, they all looked nearly identical, medieval dresses aren't all that much to look at if you ask me.

"You look good." I said as I buttoned my cuff to my uncomfortable clothes. While the girls put on dresses, the boys and I put on clothes similar to those worn by the Band of the Hawk when they went to that party. And like the dresses, I greatly dislike the clothes, a suit is just much more elegant.

"Ugh, men. Don't you know how to compliment a woman?" said Yoruichi.

"The flowers bloom pales in comparison to your beauty, the sun shines brightly to overshadow you, and the moon and the sun fight to see you every day and every night. How's that, better?" I said with a grin.

"Not by much." she said while rolling her eyes.

"All right, let's go have some fun and meet some potential clients, shall we?"

~~

"Ah, the parliament has arrived. My, my you dress up nicely." said the Count greeting us.

"Parliament?" I heard Uzui whisper in confusion before Amelia explained to him that a group of owls is called a parliament.

"Thank you for the compliments, Count. Though I must say I much rather prefer the garment of a mercenary, these clothes are much too constricting."

"Yes, these clothes are a bother aren't they? No matter, please enjoy yourselves and make conversation with the guests. I've spoken of your help and some people have shown interest in hiring." he said.

"I appreciate it." I said before he walked away to talk with other guests and I turned to the others.

"Sounds like we might be getting hired today." I said with a smile.

"Good, training all the time is getting a little stale." said Amela.

"Agreed. All right everyone, go do your own thing. Guts and Uzui if someone comes up to talk to you, just try to be a little friendly. I'll try to intercept any potential customers so you guys can do your own thing, but if any slip by just try. And girls, men will come to hit on you, so try to let them down easy, but if they get too out of hand, deal with it as you like. Even if we do lose out on customers, I'd rather you three be okay."

"Nice, let's go eat Guts." said Uzui as they both went to get food.

"Don't worry, we'll try not to cause too much of a scene, but no promises." said Yorucihi with a wink before leaving with Amelia.

"You look stunning." I said to Ciri, now that we were alone.

"Thank you. You could look better." she said with a grin.

"Haha. So, you're going to join me in talking to customers?"

"Yes, I am a princess after all, and I don't think you have much experience interacting with nobility."

"Okay then, shall we?" I said as I put my arm out for her to take.

"We shall."