[Anastasia’s POV]

Just like before, I enter the town and look for a craftsman dealing with monsters’ parts. I pick another one and tell him another story. I could maybe pick the same one; it could work, but I decided there’s never too much precaution.

The deal goes well; I get only 42 bronze coins for it, but that’s fine. This package was of lower quality, so it’s understandable. My Haggling skill cap probably went up. This time, I’m not interested in buying ore. It brings too much attention to me, as there’s no point in taking ore outside the town. Maybe for a merchant, but I’m not. I have no guards, no cart, and so on. It’s better to buy directly from the mine anyway.

Today, the plan is to find a contact in the town. To do this, I go to the poorer part of the town. Fikeral is bigger than its population. I guess the town is in decline, or maybe there was a big event in the past that killed a lot of the population. Regardless, there’s no lack of land inside. Some places are outright deserted or just filled with homeless bums, using ruins to protect themselves from rain and wind.

I go to a poorer place, but not the poorest. I’m looking for someone in a bad situation, but not dying, so they can work for me. They have to be desperate, but still useful, and in good general health. All of this makes it hard to find the ideal person. I will probably have to settle for someone less than ideal.

I look for young boys or girls. I find many, but many of them work. Even in the slums, there is some work. The rest is just begging, being thin like sticks. They are not suitable to join the Adventurers Guild right away.

Just as I’m about to cross an alley, someone stands in my path.

“What do you want?”

“Me? Nothing.” He shrugs. I notice someone coming from behind. I turn my head and see four guys closing the passage from the other side, just like another two come from the front. Great. Gangs don’t attack adventurers normally. Adventurers are too strong, plus they are usually not very rich; all their money goes into equipment, which has to be replaced periodically.

“What do you want? If you just want to die, you should have started with it from the beginning.” I say this as I grab my short sword.

“Not much, really. No need to fight.”

“That I will decide.” I keep the tough exterior. Those guys will rip you apart if you show weakness.

“Fine, fine.” The leader says: “No need to fight.” He is delaying. Should I try to fight my way out? Actually, there are only a few reasons for them to corner me here. I sigh. I may as well take some risks.

“It’s about my bounty, isn’t it?” I nailed it, based on their leader’s face. “How about I propose an alternative? I'm willing to pay to get something done.” My remaining debt should be around eighty-something bronze coins, depending on how many interests they added, but the bounty has to be way lower. There shouldn't be much money in reporting me.

"Oh? What kind of job?

This is a bit problematic. I would rather handle it on my own, so nobody knows about the deal. Should I negotiate with him right now? Maybe I should suggest moving somewhere else.

"Not here. Do you have a suitable location?" I ask.

He shrugs. "I need to see money first. We are not charity."

I roll my eyes and shake my purse. The sound of dingling coins echoes in the alley.

"Pennies?" He asks and tries to mock me.

"I'm willing to pay in silver. Only bronze on me here, though." I add quickly, so they don't get ideas.

"How did you get so much money?" He eyes me down. What? I know I'm not the strongest around, but having a few silver coins is not strange for even regular workers who save money.

"That shouldn't interest you." I reply.

He smiles. "Very well. Let's go to our humble quarters."

I'm about to follow him, but I notice that one guy from the group leaves. Damn. Do they plan to stall me like this while they collect a bounty from the Guild? Am I really so untrustworthy? Or is it because a normal person would rather pay up their debt than spend money on hiring thugs? I scowl. It's not even like I want to make a deal with them in the first place.

“Fine. You asked for it.” I say as I jump the man who first blocked my patch. He tries to block, but my stats are way better. Even my sword skills are probably better. I stab him in the chest, then push him onto his companion. Then I turn around. I’m surrounded; I need to fight both sides. The boss is surprised but takes out his weapon. I’m on him; he blocks my first strike.

“You bitch!” His minion tries to help, but he is even worse. I attack the boss, then faint and strike the minion’s neck. I watch for the boss's counterattack, but it isn’t happening. The boss is running away with his men. I turn around to face the other side and lock my eyes with the one remaining man. I rush him, but he flees in terror.

I shake my head, clean my sword, and leave. I go straight to the town’s gates; they will inform the Guild.

It’s not strange that gangsters fled. There are not many ways gangsters can earn Experience Points. Killing is always a way, but it’s not like there are monsters in the town. You also can’t massacre the population. Guards, soldiers, and adventurers will kill you. There are also enlightened skills. Monsters can only get Experience from crafting, but enlightened people can get experience from any skill in the section. The only requirement is that you have done something skillfully.

You can get Experience for Intimidation skill usage, but it can’t be crude. You have to actually know what you are doing. The experience is awarded based on how challenging it was, just like crafting. All of this means gangsters mostly don’t have much Experience accumulated.

I leave the city and sigh in relief. I’m mostly fine now, but I shouldn’t leave tracks. I’m sure someone will try to track me. I move fast, but carefully. I don’t carry anything heavy, and it helps. In another hour, I find Smag. Now, I just need to explain that I messed up and hope Smag won’t kick me out.

[Smag’s POV]

“No, you were right. I’m not blaming you.” I answer. Anastasia sighs in relief. I’m not an idiot. There are always mishaps and problems. You can’t always expect everything to go according to plan.

“Don’t worry. You are a member of the tribe. Once I decided, it’s not like I’m going back on my word, that is, unless you betray us.”

She nods. We are currently moving through the forest. We could be tracked, so we try to move through streams and harder ground. Hopefully, it will be enough. I’m still going to the tribe, though. Sure, I may bring humans to it, but I would rather fight alongside the tribe than with our small group. In the end, the tribe is for me. I’m not going to sacrifice myself for it.

“What about our plan? I can’t go back to town.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“It’s fine. The goal was always to speed up my research by using the Guild’s knowledge. It will be just longer. We can also always rob a caravan if we really need something. Or just travel to next town.” I dismiss her worries.

[Diego’s POV]

And he comes again. Yes, I know you want money. Yes, I know you want me to issue new bounties. And no, I don't have money.

"I bring dire news to the governor's ears."

No doubt. "Please, guild master. I'm listening."

"I have information about a witch."

"A witch?" I ask.

"Yes. You must admit it's a serious matter."

"Like the orc?"

"I admit I may have been mistaken, but it's always good to properly investigate."

Once again, sure. I placed a bounty on the sighing of an orc, so I paid nothing. I will do the same now as well. The witch, though, would be problematic. There are only a few cases where someone decides to side with monsters. The first option is greed for power and a lack of talent. Warlocks want to change into monsters to break their bottlenecks on skill caps. It won't help with skills, but monsters can evolve their race; they don't need skills to become stronger. Even if that's not the goal, warlocks can control monsters for their own use. I doubt that's the case now. Our region is too weak and poor for a powerful warlock or a witch. The next case, which is way more probable, is revenge. Someone abandoned by society but not broken, with a grudge, can easily turn to monster side. One of the Dark Gods is a God of Revange. This means there may be a woman out there preparing a horde of monsters to attack us. This could be worrying.

"Evidence? Maybe your people saw a tamer?" I counter.

"I doubt it. Some time ago, adventurers saw in the forest a woman moving with goblins. She wasn't a prisoner, and goblins didn't look tamed. They parted in peace, though. Yesterday, someone came to the guild to cash in a bounty on one of the debtors. It was the woman from before; previous adventurers confirmed it was her from the portrait. I naturally sent someone to investigate her activities. She sold a bunch of monsters' materials, which isn't that strange, I admit. She bought iron ore, though not yesterday, but a few months before. She also lied about everything, creating fictional stories about her circumstances. She most likely brought ore to some goblin tribe and tried to teach them metallurgy."

I sigh. This is not conclusive evidence, though I have to admit Mr. Ferdinard did a thorough job with it. Whatever. It's just like always.

"You are right, guild master. I will place a bounty on information about any person working with monsters. "

"Then I hope you will receive it soon, and then there will be a proper extermination quest." He says it with conviction and then leaves.

Witches. I really hope it's just one woman with a grudge. Some countries employ warlocks, so they lead armies of enslaved monsters for them. There is a difference between tamers and warlocks. Tamers overpower monsters' minds, making them docile and completely under control. It only works for weak-willed, stupid monsters. Warlocks treat them more like slaves, and monsters can rebel and make their own decisions.

All churches hate warlocks, but they are not omnipotent. There is a chance this is some elaborate plot of a stronger kingdom wanting to conquer us. Assuming the witch exists in the first place.

The last option is that there is no witch, only a desperate woman. It's not impossible for a person with a lot of powerful social skills to enthrall monsters. It usually doesn't work for long, though. It's strange she would return to goblins, so that's probably not the case here. Whatever. The guild master wants it to be a real witch and force me to take action and pay for subjugation quests. I can just wait for his investigation.

[Smag’s POV]

I have already capped all my skills, but Experience is useful for my levels, so I still hunt. I naturally spend more time training. I want to increase my caps. My new perk, Borrowed Vitality for Transplant Soul skill is nearly useless. It doesn’t really work on fetuses since they have only a small flow. Replacing it disturbs its growth too much, leading to miscarriage. It works on adult bodies, though. Transplanting the soul with some of the original vitality flow means there are not many conflicts at first. The body is still different, so vitality slowly deteriorates, and the subject dies after a few days. I suppose it provides a way to create temporal thralls or something; maybe borrow someone's body. Not very useful for most of my purposes, that is, keeping my companions alive.

Next week, after our second visit to the town, Anastasia notices something during our hunt.

“What’s there?”

“I don’t know.”

We move slowly in that general direction. Not straight at it, but more to the side. We are still getting closer. As we move, something flickers. I groan in pain and notice an arrow in my chest. Damn it! I rip out the arrow and throw vitality at the problem, observing as the wound closes. Anastasia returns fire, and goblins run ahead to engage. Three humans leave their cover and attack. Anastasia shoots at one of them, hitting the man in the shoulder. They all wear leather armor, so it’s probably not a serious wound.

I rush forward and activate the Vitality Buff, keeping an eye on the archer’s former position. I look at humans with my mana senses. They have feeble mana shields on. I close on one of them and shot him with my shield-breaker spell. It’s a variation of my former Mana Orb spell but designed to damage shields rather than vitality flow. The spell hits the shield and explodes with mana, destroying the mana shield around the explosion. Vitality Clot follows after.

“Fuck! A mage!” One of them shouts. I’m lucky, and my victim falls dead from the spell. The shields of the remaining two suddenly got better. I guess they have done sloppy work out of laziness. Arrow shoots at me, and Anastasia imminently returns a shot. I try to block or dodge it, but the arrow is too fast. I block with my vambrace. The arrow still pierces leather, but the wound is shallow. I rip the arrow again. In the meantime, I hear a pained shout from the bush. Anastasia got their archer.

The two remaining humans are not harmless; they have already killed four goblins and one hob. The rest of my group start to flee. I can’t let it happen. I shout a war cry and rush forward with my sword. I attack the first warrior, and he defends. We start to exchange swings, and I notice I’m stronger with the buff, but he is more skilled. No matter. The rest of the goblins attack the second warrior, and Anastasia helps them with her Archery. I don’t play around and charge shield-breaking Mana Orb and Vitality Clot. I first attack his shield with my will, trying to rip it apart. It shivers but stays on as the human fights with me over control of the mana. I finish it with a Orb and send Vitality Clot after. This one only gets paralyzed. I don’t finish him, though. I take the chance to hit him in the head. He loses consciousness. I rush the second one, but he is already dead, with an arrow sticking from his neck.

“You! Check the archer.” I delegate the dangerous job to one of the remaining goblins. There could be a trap. The goblin returns, so I check myself, and the archer is dead.

“I got another title,” Anastasia says.

“Yeah. I thought so.” I conclude. This was an easy guess. “Let’s check them out,” I say, but then I feel unwell.

“What?” Anastasia says as I stumble.

“Give me a second,” I say, checking my body. I quickly notice my liver starting to get worse.

“Damn. Poison.” I conclude. I start to slowly keep feeding vitality to the liver, but I notice more of my organs are getting worse.

“Are you going to be fine? Wait! That archer should have an antidote!” She runs to find it. It seems poisons are my nemesis. I don’t use much vitality for healing, though. I have the Vitality Mana Affinity trait. My body is receptive to healing.

“Shit! He has all kinds of poisons and vials. I have no idea which one.”

“Good thing we left one of them alive. I should be fine for some time, though. Let’s check the loot.”

We go through their stuff. Their weapons are not super good; I’m sticking with my current sword for now, but Axi is still not a very good bowyer. Anastasia changes her bow.

“Hey, what’s that?” I ask about a vial. “It’s full of vitality.”

“That? I think it’s a health potion.”

I smile. “Is it expensive?”

“Quite. I think that vial is around a few silvers.”

“Ha! I think I know how we can get a lot of money. I just need to figure out how to seal my mana into a liquid.” I say it with a smirk.

“That… yeah. That could work. We are going to be rich!” She shouts.

“I’m not sure it’s that simple. I doubt an Archmage with vitality mana created this, so I should have an advantage, though.” I pocket the vial and observe my vitality. The poison is draining it somewhat faster, but still slower than my natural mana recovery speed. Monsters recover their mana via their core. The core collects nearby ambient mana and changes it into a mana type. This means I will have higher mana regeneration in a place of higher mana density.

We bound our captive and wake him up.

“Hey. No more sleeping.” Anastasia starts the interrogation.

“Fuck.” He looks around. “Fuck. Can you let me go?”

“How about answering a few questions of mine first?”

“What do you want, witch?”

“Do you know about me?” She asks, surprised. I mean, it’s pretty obvious due to her company, but I guess she wants to lead the man.

“Yeah. Who doesn’t? You have the bounty on your head, after all.”

“Oh? How much?” She asks, curious.

“Five silver coins for finding you.”

“Shit.” She curses.

“Hey. We can be friends. Let me go, and I will tell them we found you in a different part of the forest. I will give you time. How about it?”

“Sure, I will let you go. First, I need you to tell me about the antidotes of your archer friend.”

“He got you?”

“No, one of my monsters.” It seems Anastasia doesn’t mind being a witch.

“Just leave it to die.”

“It’s one of my strongest. Just be useful.”

“Fine, fine. I will tell you. Which poison?”

Anastasia shows him a bottle. It was open, so she believes it was the one.

“The blue one, with a green strip, I think.” He replies. Anastasia gives me the bottle, but I don’t think it’s a good idea. He could be lying, or maybe it was another poison. I reply in goblin language.

“I will wait for now. Maybe I can recover on my own.”

"Fine." Anastasia asks him more about the whole witch hunt, but he mostly repeats himself.

“I told you everything. So, can I go now?”

“Sure.” Anastasia smiles. “I told you so. You are free to go.”

“Thanks.” He smiles. It seems he wasn’t very close with his teammates. He raises his hands so Anastasia can cut his binding, but she stays still. “So?”

I walk forward. “She promised to let you go, but not me,” I say with perfect language, and his eyes nearly pop free. I swing the sword. He tries to block, but he has no chance with his bound arms. His head rolls. It's time to go back to the tribe and figure out what to do next.

You have killed 2 1st tier enlightened. You have earned 620 Experience Points.