ALL NOVEL Chapter 41 : A drop of blood
Currently, Alice, Arina, and Clarissa are still walking while admiring each building in the city, which seems to have a high artistic value. Alice knows that she has very little information, so she needs to ask Clarissa, who is a native of the Igrasian Empire.
Alice also remembers that there are usually adventurer guilds in every fantasy city. Just using magic alone is considered a fantasy element, and Alice is well aware of that. Adventurer guilds are typically created to perform various tasks that regular warriors cannot do, such as guarding against monster attacks, slaying powerful monsters, and other jobs.
Adventurer guilds can also serve as a shortcut to earning a significant amount of money by completing difficult tasks. Alice and the others possess very strong abilities, so they should easily make money in the adventurer guild.
(I need money; maybe I should look for an adventurer guild.)
Alice is convinced with 100% certainty that there will be an adventurer guild in this city. However, throughout their journey, Alice does not see any adventurers, only warriors, knights, and ordinary citizens going about their business. Due to her high curiosity, Alice decides to ask Clarissa.
"Clarissa, where is the location of the adventurer guild?"
As she asks, Alice glances back towards Clarissa.
"W-what is an adventurer guild, Your Majesty?"
Alice is surprised that Clarissa doesn't know about adventurer guilds. Several questions arise in Alice's mind, but she has to explain to Clarissa what an adventurer guild is.
"An adventurer guild is..."
Alice looks up at the sky, thinking for a moment.
The three of them continue to walk without a specific destination, just wandering around the city.
"An adventurer guild is like a mercenary group, but they can perform various tasks beyond combat-related ones. You could say adventurers are flexible workers."
(And from many novels and fantasy stories I read in my previous life, almost all of them have adventurer guilds. This is a fantasy world too, right?)
(If there's no adventurer guild here, then I'll have to find another way.)
Alice also remembers Aether, Exypno, and Aurelle, who are currently on a mission to conquer all races and monsters in the Abyssal Forest.
"By the way, I'm curious about the outcome of 'Operation: Azaroth Awakening.'"
Clarissa thinks for a moment; this is the first time she's heard of adventurer guilds. But Clarissa recalls something.
"I'm sorry, but I only know of something similar to what Your Majesty is talking about."
"Explain it to me, Clarissa."
"Yes! The Igrasian Empire had a well-structured and organized military, from the lowest ranks to the highest. Soldiers who don't have talents like skills or magic become regular soldiers, while those with skills or magic become knights."
Alice listens attentively to Clarissa's explanations, contemplating each one.
(So, regular soldiers will find it very difficult to rise to the rank of a knight... Interesting...)
"Any job needed by the citizens is carried out by soldiers or knights, like protecting something, eradicating monsters, finding lost items, and so on."
(Oh, so knights monopolize all those jobs. I understand the system here now.)
"If the citizens need assistance or want to hire someone, they go to the knights' office located in the city center."
(This is like reporting a case or seeking help at a police station; the system here is very different.)
"To balance each sector of work and prevent chaos, the Emperor decided to tighten the selection process for becoming a soldier or knight. If too many citizens become soldiers or knights, there would be an imbalance between warrior jobs and other jobs."
(This makes a lot of sense... If everyone wanted to become an adventurer, there would be no one to fill jobs like farming, animal husbandry, sanitation, waste management, and more.)
(I commend the Emperor in this land; he has taken very effective and efficient steps.)
Alice recalls that she hasn't found a way to make money in this city, which makes her expression a bit gloomy. However, no one can see Alice's expression as it's concealed by a mask.
Before Alice can speak, Clarissa continues her explanation.
"In the Igrasian Empire, there are ten of the strongest knights known as the Emperor's Ten Fingers. They all possess incredible power. You could say they are the Emperor's right hand."
Alice's expression immediately turned very joyful, and she became quite excited upon hearing Clarissa's explanation.
(This means that in the future, I might have strong adversaries to look forward to.)
"How big is the difference in their strength compared to ours?" Arina asked, tilting her head slightly.
Clarissa was quite surprised by Arina's question, and she genuinely didn't know and couldn't answer.
"I don't know, Arina-sama, as I've never seen their strength directly. I don't know if the rumors about them are accurate or exaggerated."
"In that case, there's nothing to worry about."
"I understand, Arina-sama."
"Alright, I understand everything now. So, Clarissa, is there an easy way to make money here?"
Clarissa thought for a moment and finally remembered something.
"Yes, Your Majesty, at the knights' office, they usually post bounties and rewards if someone successfully captures the wanted individuals."
(Wow, this royal military is quite cunning; they outsource jobs they can't handle to the citizens.)
(It seems there's a little foolishness in this world.)
(From the system's perspective, it seems this kingdom will be quite challenging to conquer, but it must be conquered no matter what.)
With full confidence, Alice decided to go to the knight's office.
"In that case, we'll go to the knights' office now."
"Okay!"
Clarissa walked ahead of Alice because she was the only one who knew the location of the knight's office, and Alice and Arina followed Clarissa from behind.
After walking for a while, they arrived in front of the knight's office. The building was quite large, and many soldiers and knights were bustling around the knights' offices. Of course, Alice's somewhat unusual appearance made her the center of attention.
(Is... my appearance like that of a chunnibyou?)
(I mean, wearing a mask like this should be normal, and my body is covered by a cloak.)
(But why are they staring at me?)
Certainly, Alice didn't have an answer to the questions in her mind. However, Alice decided to enter the knight's office, and a few citizens were seen exiting the main room of the knight's office.
The main room of the knights' office could be considered quite large. On the right and left sides of the room, large circular staircases were leading to the second floor. In between the two staircases, there was a small reception area.
On the left wall, there was a bulletin board with a list of wanted criminals, their portraits, and the rewards to be given if they were successfully captured. The atmosphere in the knights' office was very lively, and everyone seemed busy with their respective tasks.
[Telepath]
"Arina, Clarissa, we'll take a look at the list of bounties, and please don't do anything unnecessary."
"Alright!"
[Telepath end]
The three of them then walked and stood in front of the bulletin board with many wanted posters. Alice began to read each wanted poster one by one, but someone caught her attention. Alice then started to read the description of one of the wanted posters.
"Wanted: This person is a criminal who has killed dozens of people in the past week. However, every victim found has been missing their hearts, and he likely took the hearts of the victims."
"If you have any information about this person, please report it to the soldiers or knights you encounter, and the reward for capturing him is 15 gold coins and 50 silver coins."
"Additional note: He has killed a noble and their child."
"Alice-sama - no, I mean, Lord Arthur, it seems like a very suitable target for your next step."
Alice also remembered that she was currently disguised as someone named Arthur.
"Yes, I agree, Lord Arthur."
"Claris - I mean, Clariel, how much is the value of a gold coin in this world?"
"If Lord Arthur has a gold coin, it's already enough to cover food and standard accommodation expenses for about five to seven months."
(Oh, that's very high!)
Alice was quite surprised after hearing Clarissa's explanation. Alice wanted to ask further questions, but because they were currently in a crowded place, Alice decided to ask later.
"Clariel, if it were me who sent you, could you kill this person alone?"
"Yes, after Lord Arthur grants his blessing, I'm confident I can defeat him."
"Alright, good confidence. We'll go after this target."
Alice then cast a spell on the wanted poster, and the spell she cast was a detection spell. After that, Alice decided to leave the main room of the knight's office. Her red eyes also lit up from behind her mask, indicating that Alice was quite excited.
===================
A few hours earlier, precisely in the Azaroth warehouse.
Alice was currently standing, with Arina behind her. In front of Alice, Clarissa was kneeling, bowing her head deeply, and not daring to look at Alice.
"Clarissa, your knowledge of this world has been very helpful to us, so I want to give you something."
"But I'm not worthy of it; I'm grateful just to be alive, Your Majesty."
Clarissa's voice trembled with fear as if she were facing a king.
"No, I want to make you even more useful. I will give you power so you can take on more significant tasks from now on. Don't worry about all your needs as well."
"In that case, I'll gladly accept it."
Clarissa then changed her position to prostrate herself and pressed her forehead to the floor of the room.
"Very well."
Alice then pointed at Clarissa using her index finger, and a small drop of black blood emerged from the tip of Alice's finger. Alice immediately shot the drop of blood toward Clarissa, and screams of intense pain were heard.
"AARRKKKKGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
"IIIAAAAKKKKHHHHHH!!!"
Clarissa, who was initially prostrated, was now writhing on the floor in extreme pain after Alice gave her a small drop of her blood. The pain Clarissa felt was as if each of her bones was breaking one by one, and every muscle in her body was cramping.
On the other hand, Alice remained very relaxed and enjoyed watching Clarissa's intense suffering.
"She's excellent as my experimental subject. Can my blood grant someone power?"
"Yes, Alice-sama's thoughts are truly amazing; I've never even thought of something like this."
(Yes, even though this doesn't exist in the game, I'm still curious because of the many myths I've read about blood-giving.)
"I wonder if she'll become strong, or keep screaming in pain until she dies, or if her body will explode?"
Alice smiled slightly while watching Clarissa in agony.