Maxine smiled warmly as she walked with Alice and Orianna through the market square in search of maternal clothes, baby clothes and other items while Maxwell trailed behind them. She hadn't seen Patrick or the others since she arrived, and she had no intention of looking for him either. She would much rather spend time with her sister.

"Are you sure you're fine with paying for everything?" Orianna asked for the fifth time.

"Yes," Maxine replied, "How many more times do I have to say it before it sinks in?"

"It just doesn't feel right that you pay for everything," Orianna replied.

"Sis, I'm a rich alchemist. I've got money to spare," Maxine reassured Orianna, "And I'm more than happy to pay for everything."

"Which I'm grateful for," Maxwell chimed in from behind.

"By the way, is there any way you could get an upgrade for my brother's armor?" Alice asked, "He'll want to go on missions later and he doesn't exactly pay much attention to his defense."

"I will see what I can find," Maxine said with a smirk. Regardless of Alice's review of his skill, Maxwell indeed knew how to dodge. Maxine had seen that he could, but he always dodged by such narrow margins. It will definitely help if he miscalculates. It would turn a savage wound into a minor injury if he's wearing the best he can get for his level.

"Thanks," Maxwell said, but his tone became guarded when a few tigerkin stood in their path, "And you gentlemen are?"

"Well, we are from the tiger-bear mercenary group and we couldn't help but notice that you have three lovely companions," the leader of the trio remarked without disguising his intentions, "Don't you think you are being unfair to the rest of the men here by keeping them to yourself?" This is so cliche' that it's not even funny.

"My sister is his wife and that's his sister," Maxine explained as she gestured towards Orianna and Alice, "And I'm a lesbian that has no interest in men. So explain to me how he's hogging all of us to himself?"

"He's hogging you if I say he is!" the leader of the trio roared and he reached out for Maxine, "And for mouthing off, you get to come with me!" Maxine grabbed his wrist before he could touch her and spinned towards him to bend his arm backwards. His arm resounded with a snap as she brought his arm around her back and slammed her elbow against the base of his skull. He didn't even have a chance to scream in pain before he was knocked unconscious.

"What kind of idiot tries to grab ahold of a queen-class cultivator?" Maxine asked the remaining duo of tigerkin, whom were staring at her with a dumbstruck expression, but she didn't care as she began yelling at them, "Because if you hadn't noticed, I let you off easy, so the next time some idiot tries to touch me without my permission, I will rip their fucking dick off!"

Both of the tigermen still standing immediately began sweating and one of them glanced down at her waist to see the gold alchemist badge at her hip. It was only partially visible, but it still should've been one of the first things they saw. How could they only now notice it?! Do they have shit for brains?!

"By the maker, you're her!" one of the tigerkin practically screamed fearfully, "I... I... I thought you were half shadow elf, not human."

"It doesn't matter if you knew it or not. You still should've noticed my alchemist badge before you approached," Maxine responded, "Now grab your idiot friend and get out of my sight."

Maxine didn't bother looking at them before turning around. She was confused for a moment when she didn't immediately spot Orianna, but she saw Orianna in the next moment hiding behind Maxwell. So, she is still afraid of men. To be honest, it's amazing the amount of progress that she's made. She didn't even react fearfully until they displayed some aggression.

"Are you alright?" Maxine asked Orianna.

"Yes, I.. I think I will be alright," Orianna said unsteadily.

"We can go back to my cottage if you want," Maxine offered.

"No, I'm fine," Orianna said firmly.

"Alright then. Let's start shopping!" Maxine exclaimed as she grabbed Orianna's hand and pulled her directly into the nearest clothing store. To her surprise, it took her awhile to find maternity clothes for Orianna. She thought they would be more common since saw children from time to time playing in the streets. Finding newborn baby clothes on the other hand was far easier, but she made certain that all the outfits were unisex since it was too early to tell the gender of Orianna's baby.

With that out of the way, the four of them went looking for an armor set for Maxwell and managed to find a full-set of wyvern leather armor. Just as they were finishing up in the armory shop, Turan joined them. Thankfully, he greeted them as he entered the shop rather than his usual routine of popping into existence. He had already earned quite a few bruises from Alice and Maxwell the last time he did that.

However as soon as they moved to leave the market square, a group of teachers surrounded the four of them and all of them were either half-step immortals or at the very peak of gold stage. Took them long enough to show up. We've been shopping for over two hours. It shouldn't take them that long to find out someone broke the no fighting rule. Still, I acted in self-defense so even if they punish me, it will be a light punishment.

"Fine, I admit it. I broke that prick's arm," Maxine shouted loudly before the teachers could say anything, "But in my defense, he had this perverted look on his face and said he was going to take me with him. What was I supposed to do? Let some perverted tigerkin take me somewhere so he could molest me unhindered?!" The teachers surrounding her were stunned to silence and she could've sworn she heard someone laughing uproarously in the distance. However she wasn't sure who it was.

"We will have to confirm this, young lady," a muscular pantherkin male said calmly, but Maxine could see the fury in his eyes. Is that Marcus Quinn? I thought he didn't like the tiger-bear mercenaries, but he must value the rules quite a bit. Afterall, he looks like he wants to skin that tigerkin asshole alive from the look in his eyes.

"And how will you do that?" Maxine asked.

"This is how," Marcus Quinn said as she put a truth stone in her hand, "Now explain what happened." Yeah, that would do it.

"A tigerkin trio blocked our path and made some rant about how my sister's husband was hogging all of the pretty girls to himself. I told him what was really going on and he got angry for no reason. Next, he tried to grab me while growling 'you get to come with me!' As far as I'm concerned, he was intent on raping me after dragging me off somewhere, so he's lucky that I only broke his arm," Maxine said calmly and the stone remained unchanged.

"THAT WRETCH!" one of the two female teachers roared in rage.

"Calm yourself, Elena," Marcus Quinn said calmly, "This is only what she believes is true, not what is true. We need to question everyone involved and that includes the injured party." He's being professional about this without allowing his anger to cloud his judgement. He has my respect.

"Regardless, just from that young man's words, he intended to force this young woman to go with him. That merits some discipline," Elena growled angrily.

"Agreed, but let's continue questioning the others to find the extent at which he should be punished," Marcus Quinn said calmly.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Um, could one of the female teachers question my sister?" Maxine asked with the truth stone still in her grasp, "She gets very uncomfortable around men with the exception of her husband."

"That's a reasonable request," Marcus Quinn replied as he retrieved the truth stone from Maxine, "Elena, can you question her?"

"Of course," Elena said as she approached Orianna with a truth stone of her own. The teachers proceeded to question Orianna, Maxwell and Alice. They, more or less, gave a similar story to what Maxine had said.

"You acted in self-defense," Marcus Quinn said, "But since you technically struck first, it still counts as a violation of academy rules, so whatever your plans are, cancel them. You are going on the highest risk mission available at the mercenary guild as penance." Huh? What happened to my light punishment? Not only did I defend myself, I'm a fucking gold-tier alchemist. He's clearly giving me the maximum punishment for no god damn reason. I doubt he will even give me a chance to challenge him on his decision. I have a feeling he's being paid off.

"Alright. Are you going to inform my teacher or should I?" Maxine asked calmly, "He clearly stated that he wanted to accompany me on my first mercenary contract."

"We will inform him," Marcus Quinn said bluntly before pulling out a datapad and searching through it a moment, "Cline, escort her to the spaceport and put her on the large transport heading to Orias Five."

"But...," Cline interjected, but Marcus Quinn cut him off, "I'm following the precedent. She's just unlucky." Well, fuck. This confirms my suspicion. I was set up and this fucking asshole was paid off. He's just using the 'precedent' as an excuse. Now I hate the lowlife. When I get back, I'm going to find out who paid him off and kill them both.

"Well, it looks like we will have to cut our short vacation short," Maxine said apologetically to Orianna and looked to Maxwell as teacher Cline approached her, "Look after my sister while I'm gone."

"So, just do what I've been doing?" Maxwell asked.

"Yes, do that," Maxine said. When Cline reached out to grab her, Horatio Quay appeared and slapped his hand away.

"I'm her teacher, and you will not touch her," Horatio Quay growled.

"She needs to be taken to the spaceport," Cline stated.

"And you've decided the punishement for my student before I was even informed that she had done something wrong," Horatio Quay growled.

"That is a curtesy reserved for respectable teachers and you've proven time and time again that you don't care for curtesy. So it wasn't extended in this case," Marcus Quinn replied.

"Fine, but I will file a complaint about the excessive punishement given to a gold-tier alchemist, whom could've given penance by making potions for the academy," Horatio Quay said before he turned to Maxine and gestured for her to follow as he took flight. Maxine followed behind him.

"Be careful," Orianna called out to Maxine before she got out of earshot.

[I will, Orianna and try not to stress out. It's bad for the baby,] Maxine said to Orianna via spiritual sense.

[I know. But I'll still worry and so will mom and grandma,] Orianna replied.

[Relax. If all else fails and I'm in deep trouble, I will just create a portal somewhere safe,] Maxine reassured Orianna, [And if I can't get away, I will go with the nuclear option and fully transform. At that point, only powerful half-step immortals or immortals can deal with me and I don't think they would lower themselves to deal with a peak silver stage like me, even if I have three cores. Their pride would prevent it.]

"You do realize what just happened, right?" Horatio Quay asked angrily.

"Yes, I do," Maxine replied.

"Good. Take it as a learning experience if you survive this contract," Horatio Quay said, "He's selected a nigh suicidal mission for you." Dick.

"It's a good thing that I've already prepared all of my potions and food, isn't it?" Maxine asked calmly.

"It is," Horatio Quay said in agreement as they landed infront of the spaceport.

"So, what's the mission anyways?" Maxine asked.

"We have to help defend a planet besieged by goblins. A massive hord of goblins," Horatio Quay stated coldly, "The mission even dictates that they expect at least a 90% fatality rate." Going full hydra is looking like it's the way to go.

"What about the strength of the strongest fighters?" Maxine asked. Goblins are like the four-horned kanzils in the regards to their highest strength cultivators, but there are very few, comparitively speaking, silver stage and higher. Very few of them get much stronger than silver, but they make up for this lack with pure numbers. They breed faster than fucking rabbits on aphrodisiacs, so they can easily shoulder the losses.

"Early gold stage is the best guess of the mercenary guild scouts," Horatio Quay answered as he looked around for a few moments before walking towards a particularly large ship, "So that means there is probably mid to high gold stage goblin hiding somewhere amongst that horde. Cowardly beasts always send their minions out to do battle rather than fighting themselves."

"I know. I've read up on all races hostile to the Alliance during my free time after you said that you would be taking me along with you on a mercenary mission," Maxine replied.

"Good," Horatio Quay said and he spoke to the man manning the ramp that lead into a large ship, "Is this the ship designated for mercenary contract H7GR15?"

"That's right. Get on board," the man replied, "We are leaving as soon the next mercenary group arrives."

Horatio Quay nodded and beckoned Maxine to follow him. However she stopped and turned in disbelieve when she heard a familiar voice sound out behind her. "Oh? I didn't realize you took on mercenary contracts, Maxine," Patrick shouted out to her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Maxine demanded.

"I took up a job to go kill some goblins. Is that a problem?" Patrick asked innocently.

"Only if you intend to bring Alice along," Maxine said angrily.

"She's not coming on this mission," Patrick said calmly, "She wants to spend time with her brother."

"Oh, thank god," Maxine said in relief..

Patrick sighed before he asked, "So you were only concerned about Alice? Do really not care what happens to me?"

"I did, but now I don't know," Maxine admitted and turned around before walking up the ramp. That's a lie. I may be angry with you, but I don't want you to die.

After she got into the ship and was about to enter an empty room, Horatio Quay grabbed her arm and asked her, "Why did you treat that young man like that? He could've been a valueable ally in coming fighting."

"He's betrayed me once before. I won't give him a chance to do it again," Maxine said angrily.

"So that explains the remorse I saw in his eyes. I'm surprised you didn't pick up on that," Horatio Quay said aand looked into her eyes for a momebt before he released her, "You're letting your anger cloud your mind. Let it go or it will get you killed."

"I don't think I can," Maxine responded.

"I understand that man betrayed you, but it isn't healthy for your mind to hold this grudge," Horatio Quay stated, "I don't know the specifics since your father neglected to provide me any information on this matter, but I doubt it is as bad as you believe it is."

"It probably isn't, but I still can't forget what he did," Maxine said angrily.

"I only said to let go of your anger. I never said anything about forgetting about his betrayal," Horatio Quay replied. I hate to admit it, but that's some good advice. And he didn't need to tell me that Patrick felt bad about betraying me. When he cried at my funeral, that was proof enough that he regretted it, but I still need time to completely forgive him. It didn't help that Meagan acted like a bitch when she first saw me.

"Fine," Maxine acquiesced, "I told my sister I would try to forgive him anyways."

"Good," Horatio Quay said aprovingly, "Use the time until we arrive to stabilize your emotions."

"Understood," Maxine replied before Horatio Quay took up residence in the room beside hers.

Maxine entered her own room and sighed to herself since she forgot how small they were. However this room had a terminal built into the wall and she used that moment to look up the specifics of their mission. Once she keyed it up, she immediately paled.

Horatio Quay was right in the fact that they were up against a horde of goblins. She thought it would've been something along the lines of a few million combatants. She was wrong. The goblins numbered in the hundreds of millions. This wasn't just an invasion. These goblins were clearly intent on colonizing that planet after they wiped out the inhabitants with a force of that size. What's worse is that the local forces didn't even number one tenth of the invading force of goblins.

Maxine shook her head and looked up how many silver and gold stage goblins were amongst their number in hopes that their numbers were lower than they should be. They weren't. There were over fifty thousand silver stage and less than fifty gold stage goblins by mercenary guild's estimate. But she knew that they hadn't done a thorough analysis. With a force that large, it would've taken too long to do a thorough analysis, so the number of more powerful goblins could easily be double. Fuck. There has to be a reason that the mercenary guild would take this task. Wait, how many people have they hired for this mission?

She quickly checked the recruitment numbers and felt some relief. Roughly 50 million mercenaries took this mission and the numbers were rapidly rising. Unfortunately, those that were joining were almost exclusively iron stage cultivators. Perhaps they are hoping to overwhelm quantity with quality, but even geniuses will fall when they are this absurdly outnumbered. Still, every little bit improves my chances slightly. Hell, if Horatio Quay really is the Blade Demon, he might be able to deal with that goblin horde on his own given enough time. But I have no such capability. Even if I summon every last single one of my constructs, it wouldn't help much considering the difference in numbers.

Maxine had a horrible thought and surprised herself when she glanced at the herbs within her dimensional ring. I can't believe I'm even considering using poison. It's cowardly, but against that many, I don't think I have a choice. Fuck it. She retrieved the necessary herbs and gathered some of her venom before concocting the most lethal poisons that she could.