Taking a leave from the market square, Alex went back to his home defeated. Since there were no medical texts and no doctors to teach him or to even entertain him outside of the colleges, the next logical step would be to join the colleges and learn the medical knowledge he needed from there.
It would really be the best decision right now. Despite that he knew that the requirements to enter the colleges were strict and he would have to travel to the capital to attend. Of course he can send one of his clones, but by the time he reaches the capital, his mom will already be buried three strides under the earth.
No, the colleges weren't the solution right now. Maybe joining a guild was worth it. He took care of the usual house matters and headed towards the Vanquisher's Guild.
The place was bustling, several teams of awakened going out to hunt or depositing their gains, many of them be they mages, rangers or warriors were coated in the blood of monsters or their own.
The last time he had come here almost a week ago, it wasn't this active and the clerks were more patient with him. Now though they quickly dismissed him with the information that the fee to enter the guild was a gold coin. In total he needed at least two gold coins to get the help of the clinics.
He currently had half a gold coin, and if he stretched his skills and worked tirelessly, summoning five clones or six clones depending on how good the training was, he could gather enough hunting gremlins and prioritized precious herbs.
Maybe he won't have to visit the black market after all.
In the night, he was incredibly happy to discover the amount of good skills his clones discovered.
[Battle Flow], [Marksmanship], [Shield Proficiency], [Leadership] and [Singular Focus] were instantly inserted into his skill slots, his other skills also levelled greatly.
[Swordsmanship is now Level 25]
…
…
[Swordsmanship is now Level 35]
[Physical Conditioning is now Level 20]
…
…
[Physical Conditioning is now Level 41]
[Natural Healing is now Level 19]
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[Natural Healing is now Level 20]
[Name: Alex Hunter / Age: 16 / Species: Human]
[Class: Unformed / Physical Status: Healthy / Magical Status: Null.]
[General Skills: (8/15)]
[Swordsmanship, Level 35]
[Physical Conditioning, Level 41]
[Natural Healing, Level 20]
[Battle Flow, Level 7]
[Leadership, Level 7]
[Shield Proficiency, Level 8]
[Marksmanship, Level 4]
[Singular Focus, Level 2]
He was confident now about acquiring enough coins. That night he slept peacefully. He should have known that it wasn’t going to be that easy.
A loud banging on the door woke him up. He blearily wiped away the sleepiness from his eyes. He reached the door and peaked through a tiny hole made through it.
Alex snapped to attention, there was a squadron of guards in front of his home, wearing armor and looking menacing. He took two steps backwards and immediately wanted to flee.
"Alexander Hunter, we aren't here to hurt you. If you try to escape you will be branded an outlaw and sentenced to death." The guard at the front shouted in the wake of Genesis, such a sound this early in the morning had the effect of waking up the whole neighborhood.
Alex gritted his teeth and opened the door. He hesitantly stepped outside, ready to summon his clones to give him time to escape with his mother.
"What do you want?" He growled. On the inside he was beating himself for not getting the twin rapiers first. Would have been handy for the intimidation factor alone.
"Good Genesis to you Alexander, Judge Headith has declared you guilty for collusion with the disgraced Doctor Wo." The head guard recited from a scroll in his hands. "The Jury has deliberated on your situation and ruled that you be given leniency. You have to handover five gold coins in restoration fees for the medicines you had obtained illegally."
"What the fuck do you mean I'm guilty of collusion?" Alex shouted and stepped into the guard's face. "And even if I was guilty the medicines wouldn't surpass half a gold coin."
"This sentence isn't negotiable. Good tidings and may you not cross paths with justice again." The guard saluted and handed over the scroll. He and his goons left the neighborhood.
The scroll went into more detail on his charges. It included all the medicines he had bought illegally baring the one Jacob had given him.
It also stated that the payment has to be delivered by the week, two gold coins were achievable if he worked non stop, but five good was too much.
He thought of fleeing, yet he would have to abandon ever coming back to the empire and declared an outlaw, exiling him from the civilized world.
No, he can't run. He had to pay this, get seven gold coins somehow. There was nothing that could gain him that kind of coin in under a week.
Nothing legal at least. He...he could steal it. Yeah, he could steal it. Why need proof of wealth if he can just take the medicine. Why does he need to go hunt in the wild and break his ass working when he can take it from the people that had more wealth than they can count.
That clinic, Honder’s Clinic, had multiple doctors and served tons of customers, the owner probably stored the coins in a vault.
It would be even better if each doctor stored their coins in their offices.
He will also need to scout out the building, memorize the schedules, determine the storage location of the medicine and coins. Lots of planning that needed to be done inside. Entering back into his home, Alex put five sets of clothes in a backpack and walked towards a place where no one could see him.
He summoned his clones and they wore the clothes. Alex sent them to scout and tail the doctors of the company.
A figment of a plan had already taken shape in his mind. If he can steal from the clinic, he might as well steal from the doctors too. They won't be damaged too much and they can recover quickly.
He needed to purchase five masks from shops that wouldn't ask or talk. Alex himself would need to stay in the open, as having an alibi would be a major deterrent from anyone suspecting him.