Chapter 35 - Shopping District

Mercedes was navigating through the shopping district which resided between three districts, including hers. Numerous people were having the time with their lives as they went along with their friends to enjoy the early morning of their weekdays.

It was somewhat crowded, but Mercedes swiftly passed through them with ease while carrying a couple of shopping bags under her pale hands. While walking through the walkway of pavement surrounded by dozens of shops, Mercedes could feel the gaze of others tingling her skin.

As she got stronger and stronger, it was becoming easier for her to notice things she shouldn't usually notice. Since Mercedes grew alert, it was becoming hard to lower her guard which shouldn't be bad. However, it was becoming hard for her to have a normal life.

'I guess this is the price for power and truth. Awareness of things that people shouldn't be perceptive about.' Mercedes thought while ignoring the gaze of the crowd.

Their glances weren't unexplainable. Mercedes was carrying a couple of bags that should be hard for a lady of her stature. Because of the unnatural compatibility of her circumstances and appearance, it was bound to gain some attention.

Anyhow, Mercedes bought a lot of things within the shopping mall. Most of them were clothing ranging from usual to special clothes for her future endeavors. There were also a couple of accessories along with some equipment.

Her mother might start chasing her with a broomstick if she ever heard of the expenses that Mercedes brought upon herself during the shopping spree. But Mercedes had a way to avoid such an unfortunate fate.

It was none other than through extortion.

"Oi, oi, do you need some help, young lady?" A teasing voice erupted from behind her, making Mercedes turn her gaze at the back. She noticed a young man along with two burly men with tattoos on their faces.

From their appearance, Mercedes could already guess their identities. There were none other than the thugs who sought an opportunity to rob people within the shopping district. Authorities should be in every corner, but it looks like they were distracted by breakfast.

This time might have been the schedule for them to start eating their meals, which meant that these bastards picked the perfect time to rob people. The time might not even be a coincidence.

"I don't need your help. I can handle these on my own."

Mercedes made a humble smile and continued on her way. However, the young man wasn't willing to back off and wanted the things inside the shopping bag. So he signaled the two burly men beside him to begin robbing the young lady.

Before they could take a single step, Mercedes stopped and gazed at them coldly. A strange aura was being emitted from her body. It was dense bloodlust. The thugs trying to rob her then felt chills all over their bodies.

One must not misunderstand, but what Mercedes had done wasn't a superpower of some sort. Aura wasn't something that would cause physical pressure in the surroundings. Instead, it would bring about a mental pressure that specifically targets the instincts.

It was something Mercedes had learned during the training session. Certain body language will emit an atmosphere that would cause a distress signal to be discharged from one's instincts. It would cause chills and practically affect their mental fortitude.

The ability to emit bloodlust was a useful skill to have, despite not being a skill. Mercedes simply used it against enemies that weren't worth her time, or as a warning for others to not test her patience.

The burly men backed away while the legs of the young man trembled. Mercedes was about to continue on her way until she realized that there was something she needed to do. A grin then emerges on her face as she remarks at the thugs.

"You wasted my time for no reason and wanted to rob me. I'm sure that you knew that a price must be paid for your foolishness." Mercedes's grin got wider and wider as she continued. "Give me all of your money if you want to be given mercy."

"Otherwise, death will be a way to escape your suffering."

It was a warning for the bastards that dared to mess with her. She also needed some money to get back from the expenditures she had made in the shopping mall.

Without hesitation and delay, the burly men and the young man unraveled their pockets and gave her all they had. Mercedes gazes upon the cash with a satisfied smile and glances at the thugs.

"I'm sure you won't mind, right?"

"And if you dare think about revenge, I'll slit your throats."

Mercedes used her fingers while carrying the shopping back to do a slicing motion with her pale neck. The thugs nodded at the same time, which made Mercedes delighted, and signaled them to continue on their way.

"Take my advice."

"You should be careful who you mess with if you don't want to die."

She continued on her way leaving them behind. The thugs were frozen and immediately retreated after realizing that she was gone. As she navigated through the pavement, Mercedes started humming, ecstatic by her good luck.

Meanwhile, the thugs were in an alleyway while heavily breathing and puking within garbage bins. Cold sweat dripped from their forehead as their bodies trembled.

The young man slumped on the wall and muttered.

"That girl was a monster."

The burly men, hearing his words, nodded along in agreement. The young lady was a monster and exuded a terrifying aura that even their boss didn't have. So with this in mind, the three of them agreed to forget their meeting with the young lady.

It would be better if she forgot about them.

"I hope to not meet her again."

"I agree."

"Me too."

Such was the agreement amongst men.

Back to Mercedes, she had finally arrived at the public library after taking a cab in the shopping district. The public library was rather large, though she noticed the lack of people dwelling within it. From the looks of it, libraries were losing their popularity.

Nonetheless, that wasn't her problem.

After placing her shopping bags in the storage receptionist, Mercedes stood in front of the librarian's table. She glanced at the old yet beautiful woman who was writing a document on a computer. Mercedes wanted to interrupt her but couldn't find the opportunity.

So she waited for a short while until the old woman noticed a beautiful young lady. The old woman stopped writing on the computer and gazes at the young lady. A smile emerges on her face as the old woman expresses.

"How rare it is for a gorgeous one such as you to visit this humble library."

"May I inquire your reason for entering the institution, young lady?"

Mercedes thought about it for a short while and calmly answered the old woman's inquiry. There was one reason why she was planning to stay in the library, and that was to activate a sub-quest related to knowledge.

"I'm here to check out high school and college curriculum subjects." Hearing Mercedes's answer, the old woman went through the computer and looked directly at Mercedes's sapphire-like eyes.

"It should be in 1-Z and resides within the IV Shelf."

"Thank you," Mercedes lightly nodded which made the old woman misunderstand the young lady being shy. So the old woman coolly smiled and responded. "I am delighted to be helpful."

Mercedes went on her way and while walking towards the staircase. She couldn't help but think to herself, wondering if the old woman was hitting on her. The way the old woman spoke was somewhat strange, resembling that of a gentleman.

Though... The entire conversation did make Mercedes realize something. Despite her skills in communication, there were still people she couldn't easily understand. To be honest, it made her a bit happy. Since some things or some people were still beyond her.

It made her a bit less ignorant of her current standing in the world.

Mercedes might have been powerful and skillful in manipulation. But who knows. There were probably monsters hiding in human society waiting to emerge.

As she arrived at the section 1-Z, Mercedes started looking for the IV Shelf. It took some time, but she soon found it and saw the subjects related to the high school and college curriculum neatly stacked on the bookshelf.

She stepped forward and stood in front of it. Mercedes began taking dozens of books without any discomfort and brought them along with her to a random empty table. Some people who were reading books noticed her appearance and glanced at her.

A young lady holding a dozen of empty books was quite a sight. Many would have tried helping her, especially with someone as gorgeous as her. But they couldn't find a chance. The young lady wasn't bothered by the weight and arrived at the table.

Mercedes sat on the chair and began her reading session which had received a familiar notification ring. Her sapphire-like irises glimmered like lustrous gems as she swiftly opened her notification tab. Examining it, she noticed the sub-quest.

It was titled, Thirst For Knowledge.

"Interesting..." Mercedes muttered while calmly reading it.

―<▼>―

[𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞(𝐒𝐮𝐛 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭)]

●[𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞:𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞]

●[𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬. 𝐓𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐳𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐡. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐱 𝐨𝐟 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝟐𝟎 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞.(𝐃𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝟏 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤).]

➤[𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: 𝟏.𝟎 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐄𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲(𝐁)]

―<▲>―

"It looks like I'll have to start grinding for knowledge."

"*Sigh...* Why am I acting like this. Am I a masochist of some sort?" Mercedes sighed, wondering why she was torturing herself. Physical training was already exhausting for her. Now, she's finally starting a torturous mental and intellectual training.

She'll probably have a couple of headaches during the week. But all was well since there was a clear quest reward which could be her goal. Though, nevertheless, Mercedes felt a bit resistant to the reading session that would last an entire week.

"With how things are going, I might die early from cardiac arrest."