[Ascension]

[Calmen Town - Marketplace]

On the same day Hecate was training to control her mana clone, Sharp Edge party prepared for a long journey.

Floire wandered around the market area of Calmen Town. This time her appearance was that of an ordinary human, her rabbit ears were gone, replaced by two normal human ears, and under her skirt there was no longer a rabbit tail.

This was thanks to the effect of the disguise choker she was wearing, which their new party member, Hisui, lent her.
(× Hisui's first appearance: Chapter B018)

This choker allows Floire to transform herself into a Human for 2 hours. And thanks to this item upgrade level, she can use this transformation skill 4 times a day, which was about 8 hours in total, enough to last until 8-hours login limit came.

It had some drawbacks though.

Because during the transformation, all of her racial skills like Enhanced Hearing, Power Jump, and so on were sealed, effectively reduced her fighting strength. But as a healer in the rearguard, it didn't matter to her other than the discomfort of having the skills unusable.

As for why she had to wear this choker, it was because of the local prejudice against Beastkin in this Empire.

Even though on the surface they made peace with the Beastkin, but the Human Supremacist belief that had been deeply rooted in the hearts of the Gemmerio Empire's people did not go away easily.

This was clear from the difference in treatment before and after she wore the choker. Previously, the Native peddlers snorted at the sight of her and the prices of their goods had soared to nearly three times the normal price. But when she returned after activating the disguise skill, their disdain had all disappeared and their item prices returned to normal.

Well, it was clear the existence of such an item wasn't well known.

Floire could only sigh.

"Haah, maybe it was a mistake going to this place."

She recalled the moment when their party decided to go to Gemmerio Empire.

At first, it was simply because Minami wanted to explore this Ascension world. They had visited various places in Croissa Kingdom and arrived at Nerkia City. It was at that time that she decided to visit Gemmerio Empire.

This empire was previously at odds with Croissa Kingdom and closed to non-Humans. But due to the spider stampede, they stopped their attack and agreed to sign a truce agreement, in which they had to return the territories they captured, abolish the Beastkin slaves, pay war indemnities, and many more.

The fact that the empire side agreed to such a treaty was a mystery. But from Hisui's information, it seems the Beast King claimed the spider army was their secret weapon and they could release it at any time to destroy Gemmerio Empire.

The king used this claim to force the empire to comply with his demand. In fact, the spider really only attacked the Human's side without touching the Beastkin's side at all, increasing the credibility of the claim. So, the empire side had no choice but to believe this claim and begrudgingly agreed to the demand.

Well, long story short, this treaty indirectly opened up the empire's territory to non-Humans to visit.

Floire rubbed her forehead helplessly.

'What a complicated plot we have been involved in. I just want to have a fun with Onii-chan.'

There was also the A rank quest that Hisui shared to the entire Sharp Edge party member.

It was said that the merchant Georg has stolen something important from Croissa Kingdom, although it was not known what was stolen. And their task was to retrieve the said unknown item and return it back to the Kingdom.

The rewards from A rank quest were of course abundant, including Gold coins and EXP. It wouldn't be an exaggeration if this quest could be successfully completed, they would get enough rewards to buy a mansion, and level up at least 10 times.

Touya and Minami accepted the quest fairly quickly. At that time, Kaire didn't say much and just followed them, so Floire also accepted without much thought.

But later, Floire couldn't help but notice one thing.

— Isn't this the so called Faction Quest?

Floire had not played the game for that long, but at least she knew about the meaning of Faction Quest.

If there are two or more factions in conflict, the quest that benefits one faction and harms the other is called a Faction Quest. Players who do a Faction Quest means they have entered the faction of the quest giver. But simultaneously, they also made opposing factions their enemies.

In other words, carrying out this quest meant that Gemmerio Empire will consider Sharp Edge party their enemy.

'Regardless of whether this quest succeeds or fails, we probably won't be able to go back here in the future!'

Thinking of this, Floire's head became dizzy.

It was too late for her to say anything at this point since they had already accepted the quest. When she brought this up with Kaire, he was a little dumbfounded for a moment, before responding with a serious tone.

—Yes you're right. If we do this quest, we will become enemies of the empire. But, this quest rewards were too good to give up. As expected from an A rank quest, I say. There's always going to be a risk we have to go through.

—But, there is a way, if we can do this without any of them noticing, then...

Kaire proposed somewhat bold strategy.

Firstly, they had to secretly steal the item without anyone noticing. Then he, as a Rogue, could use the Plagiarize Item skill to fake the item. For the rest, they just have to pretend they don't know anything. This strategy was also discussed with the rest of the Sharp Edge party and they all agreed.

So, Floire's goal for shopping this time was to get the materials needed for the skill.

"Clay, Lime Powder, All Purpose Dye, also a catalyst... Well then, what should I get for the last one?"

Most of the materials are obtained fairly easily, but for the catalyst, Floire is a little confused about what to choose.

The catalyst used for counterfeiting must be something that can preserve the shape of the item for a long time. This preservation was not as physical as glue or cement, but magically related. It had to be a good mana conductor, but at the same time not transmit any mana signals, so the item wouldn't be detected as a counterfeit.

Items like that, rather difficult to obtain in the market.

After wandering through the marketplace for a few hours, Floire finally stood up at a Player's stall. When she glanced at the goods in the stall, the seller, Harris greeted her with his business smile.

"Welcome miss, is there anything here that interests you?" (Harris)

"Uncle, I'm looking at a good catalyst that doesn't emit any mana signals. Do you have it here?" (Floire)

"Well, of course. What kind of catalyst do you need? Crystals, Ore, Jewelry, or anything else?" (Harris)

As he said that, Harris pointed at some of his items.

Looking at so many kinds of items pointed, Floire couldn't help but asked.

“Oh, there are so many kinds. Is there any difference between them?" (Floire)

"Depends on what you want to use it for. If you want to use a catalyst to cast spells, Jewelry is what you need. But if you want to use a catalyst to make a staff, Crystals are best." (Harris)

Harris patiently explained some other example that require a catalyst. However, Floire who wasn't really involved in such things couldn't even understand a quarter of the explanation.

"What about, ehm... Plagiarize Item?" (Floire)

"Oh, I see... I understand, I understand. Wait for a minute, I do have something for that in my inventory."

Hearing what the catalyst would be used for, Harris nodded in understanding.

He searched his inventory for a few moments, before taking out a rather luxurious box and placing it in front of Floire. Seeing the elaborate decorations on the box, Floire became curious as to what was inside.

After a few click, Harris unlocked the box and opened the lid.

"I believe, this is what you need." (Harris)

"Uwegghh?!" (Floire)

When the lid was opened, a rather disgusting smell emanated from the box.

Thankfully, Harris quickly closed the lid to keep the smell from spreading any longer. Floire who was originally curious about the contents of the box couldn't help but vomit after inhaling quite a lot of the smell.

"Umpgh... Peh, peh, peh. What the heck is that!?" (Floire)

"Well, that is the Princess Nasherka's... poop. Freshly smuggled out of the Solstreus Castle latrine last week. Despite its appearance, this thing has some magical properties and is a very good conductor of mana as well." (Harris)

Hearing what Harris said, Floire couldn't help but stunned.

Nasherka Valerri Solstreus, the third princess of Gemmerio Empire, currently 18 years old, and very popular with the masses because of her beauty. This princess has even frequently appeared in game advertisements, and her name has won 6th place in popularity polls.

Seeing the item's information, Floire thought that the world had gone mad.

Why, and who the heck is so eccentric as to collect the princess's excrement, and even go so far as to smuggle it out?

But well, small or big, anything can happen in this game. It wasn't the first time the Players had done something stupid, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

Floire decided not to think too much.

"Is that thing can really be used? Won't the smell affect the finished item?" (Floire)

"Of course it can't be used as it is. You need to eliminate the smell with..." (Harris)

After a few moments of conversation, Floire completed the transaction.

She bought the box containing the poop, as well as several bottles of Deodorizing Potion to mix with the thing later. Finished with her shopping, she returned to the inn where her party was staying.

Anyway, it wasn't her who would touch that cursed thing later.