The Country of Mercy was one of the 7 mysteries of this world. It was built within the body of a deceased giant because of that it was a popular location for tourism.

But it was also a special town.

It serves as a neutral zone; it has special blessings that prevent it from being occupied by any country. That didn't mean that it was lawless the founders of Mercy created a system of privatization.

It created a society where organizations fight for control and people follow picking up the scraps. Herc was the most surprised by this when he first arrived. He remembered when he first walked into the giant's mouth. On the inside of the giant's body was a natural dungeon, there were 9 layers to it and each one was controlled by a different party & had different Laws so every floor had a different aura about it.

It was truly strange.

Currently, they were on the entry-level, one didn't venture deeper unless you have power or status. Safety wasn't guaranteed

Even if there was a guise of order, it was still very easy to disappear.

Herc checked his status objective [find the children]

Notes: magic kidnapping, suspicious sponsors of orphanage

He went over the information he already had

Normally you would be unsuspecting of the orphanage but he somehow couldn't rule it out. From seeing Sophia's reaction it may be a place made with good intentions but there were some inconsistencies. Usually, places like that should have procedures in place for situations like this. But it was strange to outsource this. Herc still had a lot to learn as a Detective he was still relying too much on his ability. While using his [Jackal Hunt] ability which compiles information within an investigation zone. He can sacrifice additional stats for his [Phone- A-Friend] ability to activate giving him hints useful to his investigation. It would be If he could trust it, he has another ability called [Devil's Advocate] which reduces the reliability of the information. It still had some accuracy but nothing beats plain old logic at the end of the day. Failing because he was overconfident in his skills was something he feared the most.

Some of his past cases flashed in his mind as he walked into the depths of mercy to a certain bar in the Commercial district. This area was open 24/7 and restricted to businesses in the entertainment industry. His destination was the Rusty Crow This business has been around since the founding of Mercy and has a solid foundation with both sides of Mercy, It was also the best place to find information,

The rusty crow had a sign that glowed faint red, magic signs like this are rarely seen in the public Magic devices were still uncommon if you don't have money the only other way is to search a dungeon. Because of that Magic Advancements could only really be found in areas like this.

When he entered a few people reacted not sure whether or not to leave, but settled back in their seats when they realized it was A nobody. One of the reasons this place was popular even though it was an information broker was that this place was warded against spells, especially From the Spy Classes. So it was a popular place for underworld figures.

Herc Sat in the corner of the bar he always made sure he had a view of the exit. The bartender walked over they were polishing a cup. Everyone who worked for the bar was a part of the Lanston family. But each member of the family hides their appearance when doing business to keep anonymous, The Bartender had a mask that looked like a crow

“What can I get you, Traveller?” Herc didn't come to drink but unfortunately there's always a one-drink minimum!

Herc took the opportunity to order one of Mercy's Exclusive drinks [Dragons Blood] it was a cherry mead mixed with magic gems. It boasted that it helped maintain your magic systems and help with magic. This was essential to Herc whose stats were constantly changing. The Bartender walked away and started to prepare the drink, He said prepare but it was more of a Performance! Using magic the cup starts levitating and while using Ice magic it's shaken and served all in one fluid motion, At the perfect temperature!

The bartender walked over placing the drink down, “I would like to know what the wind hears” That was the secret phrase placing two Joy down.

“The wind knows what it knows” The bartender took the money and placed it into a slot behind to counter.

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A joy was the basic currency of Mercy it was used for most basic things, and there was a currency for each Level. The deeper you go the better the quality and the value of the currency go up.

“Have you heard about any kidnappings lately?”

Lanston has worked in this industry for a while and even has a cool code name like Odin! But it was rare for anyone to come hear Investigating anything! Odin started to become curious. There are certain rules in place to prevent the balance of Mercy from being disrupted. The employee handbook would tell him to say yes because he didn't ask a specific question that would suffice as an answer. The goal was to make the client spend as much as possible on information that may or may not help. But Odin decided to bite, "You will have to be more specific things like that happen all the time."

“There was an incident at Twilight Orphanage, any information specifically targeting kids and teens?” Herc realized he had made a mistake

“Twilight orphanage” Odin began to think “Usually only adults or people weakened by the dungeon are the ones that disappear, They end up being slaves for a Farm or some Royal somewhere. If they are targeting kids they don't have much value around here. So they were either a newbie or they were taken for a different purpose.

Herc thought about it that was true it wouldn't make sense for a slaver to travel to Mercy just to ship them out. That would be too expensive and too many checkpoints in nations with anti-slave laws to go through would mean using Mercy slave markets was the only option.

“Could you tell me about the sponsors of Twilight Orphanage” Herc Paused Before clarifying, “Any useful information would be fine, I'm just curious where the money is coming from”

Odin held up his hand showing 4 fingers. Pushing four more coins onto the table, Once again Odin put the coins into a slot behind the bar.

“Twilight Orphanage is an interesting place I never would have thought it would be where it is today. The surrounding area has a special area that made it difficult to work on, But the Mad Inventor Larz, Turned it into what it is today."

Herc nodded he had never seen anything like it.

"But Twilight Orphanage doesn't have any sponsors at least from a country it's a non-profit organization. Rumors are the owner is an Adventurer that retired but we haven't looked into it.”

Herc started tapping the counter; it was something he did unconsciously when he was deep in thought.

This case was growing cold fast he was going to have to think of something fast. Magic makes it Dam near impossible to gather information.

“Thank you” Herc motioned to get up Odin stopped polishing the glass and placed it down

“I will offer you a piece of advice, Packs of wolves like to hunt in the winter night”

Herc had a confused look He wasn't sure what to make of that riddle. When Herc walked outside it was more busy than before. He instantly went to blend in with the crowd.

Herc went over the information he still couldn't rule out the Orphanage involvement there must be a reason Sophia was nervous he was sure of that. But what was the goal he could only think of one thing Alchemy one of the banned magics. The Magical Forum has annual meetings to ban or support a profession based on what they think the education curriculum should be to keep the world balanced. If you happen to be skilled in such a field you had no resources to grow and get forced to just work general jobs.

It wasn't long till Herc noticed someone was following him.

That didn't take long, Did someone find out what I was investigating? As long as the information won't disrupt the balance of the underground it was fair game. Was that what the riddle was? Wolves hunt in packs, Could these be a group of kidnappers?

Herc started to move through the crowd, during an investigation he could create a map that he could interact with.

This looks like the right spot Herc took a sudden right and then ran down an alley it was a dead end but he was expecting that.

Unsheathing his sword, He didn't even have a chance to breathe Herc lowered his stance narrowly dodging a blade. Using his momentum Herc quickly countered and attacked hitting the assailant in the stomach with the base of his sword “Gack”

The Shadow figure dropped down to the ground, Herc picked him up by his head when he got a clear look he saw how young he was. “What are you doing” the man just stared at him he had no plans on talking.

Herc Decided it was a good time to use his ability, [Dead Hand] when using this ability he would be able to increase to pain of his target. 25% is redirected to the user.

The assassin was confident he was trained to deal with the most horrible torture but why was he feeling so much pain already? The man was just touching him but he was already seething with pain. Bubbles foamed out the mouth as he spit out curses “Dam You what are you doing”

Herc was groaning he hated using this ability, “I believe I asked you that” Increasing the pressure of his grip the assassin started crying “OK! OK!”

Herc weakened his grip “ Why did you attack me?”

“I don't know ok The Guild master told us to take out anyone looking into kidnappings”

Was this related?

“Why”

“All I know is the guild master couldn't turn it down, it's just business”

Just business huh Herc sighed increasing his output he would leave this guy in a state of sleep for a bit. Herc got up to brush himself off, He considered this a success he now had an idea of what was going on.

Herc was planning to head to a Unit close by to drop this guy off, But who was powerful enough to make the Assassin Guild move?

Was a new powerhead moving into Mercy Herc couldn't help but wonder if this was a sign the town was going to change