The carriage ride was peaceful. A nagging sensation occupied the back of my head as my feet were off the ground, but it was tolerable. My ‘magic’ might be affecting me more than I thought possible. There is more to the arcane than I had surmised.

The bank was a two-story grandiose building, lavishly decorated. After a few minutes of wait, we entered a disappointingly average room. 

“I’m sorry, but that’s not possible, sir.” Said the man with the flat nose and triangularly pinkish ears.

“Why is that?” I asked.

“No foreigners are to own property in Candra.” He replied, adjusting his glasses.

His few glances at my face and ears made it rather obvious, but before I could talk, Valeriana interjected. “What does that mean?”

“By the council’s law, only natives are to own any property within Candra’s walls.” Valeriana frowned. “I’m sorry, there is nothing I can do.”

I stayed quiet, contemplating my options. I could ask Valeriana to own the place, at least in name, but land owned by a council’s daughter isn’t the most discrete.

Valeriana shot me a look, interrupting my musing. She probably came to the same conclusion, although not the secrecy part. My lips tugged up as I whispered. “Let’s see if this works first.”

Addressing the bank employee, I asked. “How about something outside of Candra?”

He glanced at Valeriana first and gave me a well-practiced smile. “Of course, sir. What exactly are you looking for?”

I rubbed my chin in thought. “Nothing special. Somewhere quiet and close enough to the city.”

Unimpressed, his smile faltered. “And if I may ask, what is your budget?”

I have about 14,000 points right now and another 14000 unsold, so to be safe, let’s just say…

“Two to three hundred gold coins.”

Valeriana choked, falling into a fit of coughs. “What!?”

The Pigman froze, his eyes widening. “I- uhh… I see. That gives us a lot of options.” The shock did not last, soon replaced by suspicion and disbelief.

Seeing no point in dragging this any longer and ignoring the questioning look to my right, I lifted my cloak, revealing the leather underneath. Not much could be done to clear his doubts right now. Hopefully, the expensive armor would make things a little smoother.

His eyes flickered. Whether it was recognition or otherwise, I did not know, but a greedy glint soon followed.

“I am not from around here, as you can see.” Gesturing to my face, I continued. “So I kept most of my money in points for obvious safekeeping. Would that cause an issue?”

“Of course not.” The salesman refused. “We have multiple payment methods; the goddess’s blessing is among them.” Dusting his trousers, he stood up. “Please excuse me for a minute, I’ll be right back.” With a bow, he was gone.

“You!”

I looked to my side, a pair of eyes staring me down. “Yes?”

Her finger rose, tapping my chest, articulating every word she spoke. “How do you have that much money!?” Her tone incredulous. “I’ve been saving up for years, and I didn't even come close to that.”

“Luck?” She stared impassively. “How about we talk when we get back?”

She huffed and crossed her arms. We sat in silence as the bank staff returned with a stack of papers.

“Sorry for the wait, sir.” He apologized, and I gestured dismissively.

Placing the pile down, he sat down, took the first paper on top, and started his sales pitch. “This is a beautiful home right on the coast of Leu'kon. Not only does it have a great view, but it also-”

I tuned him out as I went through the papers myself. I might have made a mistake. All of the houses were nice, a bit too nice. There were even a couple of mansions here. Most were in neighboring cities and towns, some were in rural areas, a plus; however, unfortunately, almost all of them were far away from the forest, and as the price increased, the distance between followed.

Halfway through the pile, something caught my eye - an empty land far west, bordering the forest.

The salesman noticed what I was reading and paled.

“Ah, I’m sorry sir. I don’t know how that got in here.” He reached for the paper, but I did not let go.

“Tell me about this.” 

“Sir… I really wouldn’t advise on it.” Seeing as I didn't budge, he gave in. “It’s an old abandoned village. Monsters are always roaming through it. The villagers got tired of the constant attacks and vacated it.”

“What about the neighboring lands?”

“The monsters would always roam for a while and return to the forest. No one knows why, but they never moved past the village.”

A quiet piece of land where nobody bothers to look, close enough to the city and forest; nothing fit more perfectly.

The salesman fidgeted in his chair. Unnerved by my silence, he stood up abruptly and bowed as deep as it was physically possible. “I’m sorry if I offended you, sir.” His voice quivering. “It must be a mistake. I would never offend-”

He rambled on and on. It was a bit unsettling seeing the very people antagonized simply by my existence acting like this. A hand on his shoulder put an end to the apologetic ranting. “It’s fine… Eardock” it took me a moment to remember his name.

“How long has this been abandoned for?” I asked.

He tensed. “Over fifty years, sir.”

“And how long had it been on the market for?”

“Since then, sir.”

I couldn’t suppress a grin from emerging. “Well, Eardock, Congratulations. I’m buying it, the whole 20 acres.”

The pig-featured man went through a multitude of emotions, finally settling on disbelief.

“I’ll check the area first and come by tomorrow or the day after. Might also open up an account.”

With that, we were done. We went back to the inn, ate Hana’s experiments, and retreated to our rooms. A knock on the door interrupted my daily routine. Valeriana entered unbidden. She peeved at my confusion.

“Didn’t you say we would talk?”

“Oh.” Took me a second to follow. “Follow me then. I’ll show you.”

The cauldron was already out. I added the ingredients and slowly started the process, Valeriana watching me closely.

“How are you cooking without a fire?” Valeriana questioned.

Without breaking my concentration, I answered. “A little bit of magic and some igniter stones.”

Valeriana stayed until the batch was done. She had the glass piece in her hand, sitting on her heels, watching as the charcoal dust merged with the rest. At some point, she tried touching it, and I had to make her thoroughly wash her hands.

“So… you made all this money doing this for the last few days.” Valeriana concluded, more of a question than a statement.

“Pretty much, yeah.” I shrugged, adding the newly made batch to the shop.

She frowned. “That’s cheating.”

“I make do with what I have.”

“And dangerous.” A pause. “You’re dangerous.” She mumbled, getting lost in thought.

“By the way, Val, if you need to buy something and you’re short on money, just tell me.” I offered.

“And what’s stopping me from taking it all myself?” A smug smile on her face.

“I don’t think you would, but if you do, I can’t stop you.”

Valeriana scoffed. “As if I need your money.”

The night was over. She headed back to her room. In the early morning, we both headed to the guild looking forward to the near promotion.

“That’s it?” I asked, accepting the pendant, now shinning a faint dark red light.

“Yes!” Alice affirmed. “Normally, the advancing party would be accompanied by a guild employee on a quest; however, the Guildmaster deemed it unnecessary.”

Huh.

“But unfortunately, you’re only allowed a single quest a day.” Alice stated.

“What is the meaning of this?” Hissed Valeriana. “Why are we punished for performing well? How does that make any sense!?”

“I’m sorry.” Alice inclined her head. “I was only informed of the decision. You will have to talk to the Guildmaster yourselves.”

A furious tail whipped beside me as I spoke. “Thank you, Alice.” The Dogkin smiled.

Guiding Valeriana by the shoulder, she narrowed her eyes my way, but thankfully, allowed herself to be lead to the quest board. A few minutes passed, and the nervous furred-whip had not settled yet.

“He’s telling us to slow down a bit, that’s all.”

“I know.” Her eyes fixated on the board. A second later, she had a paper in her hand. “How about this?”

It was a drawing of a horse, with a horn protruding out of its head. A unicorn, presumably. Regardless of my newly rising aversion to horns, not a bad choice. Single kills were the easiest to complete. It only required the location of a single entity, and the creature itself did not matter; Valeriana dealt with all the same.

“Sounds good, but I haven’t seen this one before - I’ll have to hit the guild library.” As I spoke the sacred words, a different quest was chosen, one we didn’t have to wait and research.

Most animals/monsters came in a large variety; some were smaller, were larger, some had more features than others, but most importantly, a few were more dangerous than others. The Tussle-furback is a wild boar with a very furry and sturdy back. Its rigid behind placing it one rank higher than the simple D-ranked furback boar we hunted before.

With a target in mind and a quest in hand we were about to leave the guild when an uninvited guest blocked our way.

“Miss Val, how have you been?” Andrew from Jack’s band of misfits approached us smiling.

“Don’t call me that.” Valeriana stated her tone cold.

His eye twitched. “Ah, of course. I’m sorry. I was just seeing if you have considered my offer, yet.”

“Not interested.”

The plastered smile wavered at the curt reply. Before he spewed again, I asked. “Where is your friend?”

Turning his gaze, he glared at me. “She’s gone.”

Valeriana raised a brow and walked around him. “What was that about?”

I shrugged in return.

 

We passed through the southern gate into the forest. The guards nudged their head in greeting. They hadn’t stopped me since, just the curious look at the crimson piece dangling from my neck.

Reaching the forest’s entrance, we headed west. The clansman appointed was nowhere to be found. He would usually be sitting in his little shack hiding from the sun with a bottle in his hand - only a frown and a scornful glare worn on his face. To be honest, I was a little disappointed. I was curious to seeing his reaction to the rank-up.

We went the furthest we had been yet – deep into the forest – finally reaching stretched greenery intercepted by bark in different shades of brown, a jungle within. The forest’s presence stronger, more concrete.

“Do you feel that?” I voiced my doubts.

“Feel what?” Valeriana replied, glancing my way.

“I don’t know. It’s like a constant pressure. I don’t really know how to describe it.”

She shrugged. Deciding to shelve it, for now, I shoved it at the back of my mind. It might be something related to my magic screwing with my senses.

The quest went like any other. We reached the location where the beast is most likely to be found. I sat down somewhere and did my thing. Valeriana patiently waiting nearby.

Once located and depending on the monster, she would either sneak up on it or run headfirst towards it. She had been getting terrifyingly good at stalking; the unsuspecting victims barely registered anything as a sword was lodged into them. I feel pity for the poor mindless bastards.

I followed behind, making sure to not disturb her hunt. Valeriana snuck quietly, the boar only a few steps away. She lunged, too fast for the beast to react, and struck. Blade met flesh. Blood splattered, and fur was torn.

The boar had a line on its side; however, instead of naked flesh, white strings laid underneath. The wild animal had a heavy layer of fat covering it, much thicker than its simpler cousin. Ultimately, it did not matter. Valeriana simply struck again. And again. It tried fleeing, but it was all in vain; she was much faster. Met with the futility of the situation, the boar hunkered down – exposing its rigid back, a cocoon of fur and blood. Two large eyes glared Valeriana down as she stared back, annoyed.

Closer to the action, I pulled out my spear and threw it over to her. The boar traced the pointed weapon and its eyes quivering. Valeriana gripped the spear and thrust, the mangled beast whining at every strike.

It was not long until it succumbed to its fate as its body slackened, neck exposed, and head went flying. A little messier than usual, but a job well done nonetheless.

“Nice work.” I remarked.

She smiled in pride, untouched, a few drops of blood on her cheeks making her even more menacing.

I took a dagger and cut the dead beast tail alongside some fur. It should be enough for proof of completion.

Valeriana was wiping her sword with a cloth when I spoke. “Done.”

Nodding, she replied. “Let’s go.”  But, instead of going back towards the road, she went west. Rolling her eyes at my confusion, she smirked. “We’re visiting your little village. Come on.”

I threw the spear on my shoulder as a smile formed on my face. I wanted to kill two birds with one stone and finish both tasks consecutively. The boars just happened to fit the bill.

It took about fifteen minutes for us to arrive. Finding the locations was not difficult, even without the marker on the map. The village was cornered between the forest from the south and the open water from the west. The eastern and northern side was neighboring land, but separating the two was serious of cliffs- the village resembling a tiny island.

Empty and broken down houses occupied the land, remnants of a time before, green moss growing rampant. We walked into the vacant village. It would have been quite eerie was it not for the glaring sun. I parted away from Valeriana, heading into one of the empty shacks.

There were none of the fancy mana-fueled inventions back at the inn, just simple primitive tools. I was walking through a broken door when movement caught my eye. Dagger in my hand, I stood attentive. The silhouette moved again, hiding behind a flipped table. I wanted to leave, but giving it my back would be the worst decision possible. I linked to the earth. The intruder was light, far too small for it to overpower me, and impossible for me to outrun it. Going on the offensive, I threw the table to the side and braced the inevitable brawl.

However, nothing came. A scrawny figure was huddled behind. Valeriana came bursting through the door, sword drawn in hand. “What happened? A Monster?”

“Worse.” I replied grimly. “A child.”