In the adventurer's guild a duo quietly walked into the open hall, it was quite rowdy, so most people didn't even notice them.
One was nervous, and the other unbelievable calm if you considered the fact that today was the first time he had ever fought a monster.
Of course, I was the calm one while Alpha was the nervous one.
I quickly surveyed the room with a glance, and noticed the receptionist easily.
I unhurriedly walked to the desk and asked like a normal person "I would like to register as an adventurer, is that currently possible?"
"Yes, sir..?"
"Urial."
"Sir Urial, do you know you need 100g to register?"
"Yes, is it possible to use magic stones instead?"
"Yes."
I gave a slight smile as I felt a ever so slight feeling of nervousness flee the scene, wasn't so sure this place would accept magic stones instead of 'g' to register.
I opened my bag and just took a few I considered useless, and wanted to get rid of. Mostly goblin magic stones but a few from different monsters, mostly flame lizards and such for the non-goblin magic stones.
There were mostly fire monsters where I was hunting "Is that enough?" I asked with a weirdly calm voice, while also giving of a feeling of disdain the moment the receptionist took the magic stones. As if she had touched trash.
Though it was disregarded as an illusion, sadly my supreme acting had been stifled by my own talent for being unreasonable calm looking.
"Please touch this crystal, it'll tell us about your more basic attributes." the receptionist said as she took out a crystal
I obviously knew the crystal, what it would check was 'Raw power (stats)' and 'Battle record (Combat ability based on recent encounters)'. This wouldn't be a problem to me, both were fairly easy to predict.
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Raw power; FFF
Battle record; D+
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Though this was how it was suspected to be, I quickly changed 'Raw power' to an 'E'.
How? Well I used this fun thing called
When the receptionist looked at the card, she wasn't too shocked, an E-rank that probably got good skills as some legacy from their parents or something similar.
She took one of the many blank card under her desk, placed the crystal ontop, and then handed it over "Sir, you are now an E-rank adventurer."
Suddenly I changed the act from unnatural calm to weirdly fitting, as I changed my posture to one of the average C-rank adventurer. One cultivated with time, and fighting with beings that can use magic, sometimes.
Suddenly, my new vibe caused a few more veteran adventurers to look at me for a moment, before returning to what they were doing.
This was certainly noticed by their party members and those surrounding them, but they didn't pay to much attention, except a select view which were overviewing the entire room.
This was step one to recruiting to recruiting a few veterans to my future party, get their interest due to my stance, which was the same as the peak of this city.
There was only one guy with B-rank ability, and he was working for the noble that lived here.
So the feeling of a C-rank where one wasn't a second ago can attract the eyes of those who can sense it.
I quickly picked up a quest for an E-rank quest to exterminate more goblins, and no, these weren't the goblins I had killed, that was a D-rank quest due to the fact that it was an encampment with a chieftain, and not just a goblin residence like this one.
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Maxwell (Tech_field) was looking around with his mana catalyst firmly held within his hand.
He was first trying to find out where some iron and such things were, and then would try to steal them or some money to become an adventurer.
Though he'd like to get iron and make a few artifacts to work with {Mana catalyst (Variant alpha-7-9-4^3)}, creating a basic artifact array.
Though, sadly, this calm period of hasty research was interupted by shouts in a nearby street.
It caught the attention of everyone around, The sounds of a drunken brawl.
The first thought that came to Maxwell wasn't to stop this fight, or hide, but to quickly take a bag of 'g', then he quietly walked over to another stall, and picked up two iron bars and put them in his also stolen bag.
He had stolen quite a few things, and he was happy with the whole encounter, he would make his artifact array, become an adventurer, get to D-rank, make a party, recruit someone with some worth. That would be enough, then he'd plan something a bit more detailed to become a C-rank adventurer.
In the end, the brawl was ended by guards. Of course, those guards were men of culture, and waited until it was absolutely necessary. They needed entertainment too, and no one reported such things, since everyone wanted a good show.
And it was just... Uncool to be a snitch.
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"Sir Vero, here are the materials you asked for, what else may you need?" The maid asked.
Vero skarab (Mad_doctor) answered "Tell me, where is the alchemy labratory within this place? And I'd like a white coat too, plain and simple."
"Sir, the Alchemical labratory is in the east wing of the estate. And I will do my best to bring you your white coat!"
Before the maid was to leave, Vero stopped her with his words "Stop, first, guide me to the labratory."
The maid obliged, and the two quickly entered the abandoned, but still clean room.
There were beakers of all sorts, perfectly clean. There was also an artifact to create a flame for alchemical processes.
Though this wasn't what Vero usually used, it was actually extreme trash too, but, that didn't matter.
He took a beaker, filled it with water, put in almost all the ingredients he asked for, put in on the magical burner and activated
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Formula unknown;
Please select difficulty.
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Vero quickly choose the 'Grand-master' difficulty.
Now, what was this about? A mini-game.
A rythm mini-game.
♪Aishite, aishite, ashite♪
*Tap!* *Tap!* *Tap!* *Tap!* *Tap!* *Tap!* (Done within 0.1)
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ALL PERFECT!
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"Ez."
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Heavenly bliss (Low-class)-(98.999% purity);
Makes you forget the pain.
*1; A substance of unbelieveable quality, created by very experienced hands.
*2; Potentially (Highly)-(Forcefully)-addictive if combined with another substance.
'Forget it all, and feel bliss.' -Vero Skarab
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7 small, perfectly white, balls of {Heavenly bliss (Low-class)} lay before him.
There were other formulas for the greater versions of {Heavenly bliss}, but this was enough for Vero if he didn't want to mind-break someone, in most cases.
The moment he wanted to have a drug-slave he would make {Infernal chain} and then mix it together with {Heavenly bliss} to make; {Mythical illusion}.
Now, don't misunderstand that {Heavenly bliss} is not addictive, the ability to just forget all pain, psycological and physical, and feel unbelieveably great, could make anyone feel an un-ending need for it.
{Infernal chain} is a lot more... Evil than {Heavenly bliss}. The moment you take it, you will feel endless pain, after which, your body will become dependant to the drug, and if you don't take another in seven days you'll be subjected to an even worse pain than if you took it, increasing over the last day. Ending with a 35% chance of death if you don't take one in the end.
If you survive after that, then the peak pain of the seventh day will pang every hour, and at the end of that day you will have a 70% chance of death... if you have less than 210 consitution. The pain will still be their anyways.
After that, if you're still alive, you will feel constant pain all over your body for the entire day, forever, unless you take {Abolishment (Low-rank)}.
Low-rank, because we're just talking about a low rank {Infernal chain}'s effect.
You could also undo the constant pain by taking an {Infernal chain}, and re-entering the loop of suffering.
But, if you take it, you will gain a +5 to all stats that weren't meta-physical, except mental stats. Like, 'Luck' won't get a boost. Till the seven days are up.
Doc invented this himself, and it's not exactly a secret recipe. Though, for it to be useful, you needed it at 80%> purity. Otherwise it'd be transformed into {Icarus' arrogance}, which was a poison that'd cause a strong desire to 'Fly high', and be great. Slowly corrupting the mind into an arrogant mess without self-preservation.
Vero honestly felt bad for all the persons who had consumed the pill without checking if it was good enough, and then lost their character to {Icarus' arrogance}. Why did players take a drug? Because it's a pain killer for players, it even speeds up the player's perception of time in the game.
But now it was time to hide his drug recipe behind a recipe for higher quality health potions, so he put a Vita herb into a beaker flask, while activating
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Choose difficulty
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"Change song."
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Think of song, then say it's name aloud.
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"Mind brand"
"The difficulty will be 'Supreme', got it?"
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Difficulty accepted
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♪Daremoga yagate wa jigoku no okusoko e♪
*Intense sweating intesifies* *TAPTAPATPATPAPAT!*
*Trancends the 4th dimension*
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Success!
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Vero felt great dissapointment directed at himself, he didn't even get a full combo with his intense sweat behavior.
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E-rank health potion (Base formula) (99.5374% purity)
Heals the body in exchange for pain.
1*; Made by the hands of a being which is close supremacy, and of almost unparreled quality.
2*; Can heal almost anything (Theoretically)
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This was for his personal use, then he made another with 42.8329% purity for the masses to know he made.
Then finally, one that could regrow limbs of low leveled people, 76.3937% purity, this was to recruit the first member for his party member.
After waiting for a few more minutes, the maid returned with a coat that was white, and as bland and normal as she could find.
It wasn't the lab coat he wanted, but he would be able to get one when he met with Tech_Field, it would probably even be an artifact array.
He found it good enough at least, so Vero put it on, over his other clothes "Is there any talented alchemist that is currently emprisoned?"
"...Yes, sir," The maid seemed to think if she should tell him "Hiari, an alchemist, that you previously tried to woo, but then imprisoned since she... Didn't comply. In the mean-time, she's lost digit or two."
"How old is she now?"
"19."
"When did I try to 'Convince' her?"
"Three years ago..."
"Take me to her." Vero said, as he pinched the bridge of his nose 'Why did I have to take over a lecherous noble?'
"But-"
"What!?" He yelled with slight annoyance.
"She has refused to talk to you multiple times."
Vero calmed down "Don't worry about that, she'll comply if she wants any of her fingers back."
"...Okay, she should be in the prison on the right side of the estate."
"How do you know that?"
"It was quite the famous incident among the maids."
"Then guide me there." It didn't really bother him so much that the incident was wide spread, but he would use this excuse to cross-reference with another maid to make sure she doesn't know too much.
Vero would remember those words.
But, for now, he followed his maid to the prison of higher quality. There wasn't fecal matter at every turn, it was actually quite clean. Though don't mistake it for high-class, you could only be sure not to get disentary.
"Maid, how did I get her into prison, because I'm probably not powerful enough to put an innocent talented person in jail."
"She had a problem with your sister as well, which allowed you two to combine your power to put her in jail. Though, now she no longer cares, so it's not a problem for you to free her whenever you wish."
'She knows too much-' Vero thought '-But I don't really care if she does.'
"Which cell is she in?" Vero asked while annoyed.
The maid thought for a moment "The third on the left, in this hallway."
Vero nodded silently as he walked towards the door, and promptly opened it.
What was on the other side, did not shock him. It was a girl with clean clothes sitting in a room with bricked floors and walls, by the corner. She was obviously crying, which caused Vero to frown "Is this all it took for you to break?"
He walked up to her, standing right infront of her.
He quickly examined her, she had slightly yellow-ish hair that turns slightly red at the ends. It's ends were at around the middle of the neck. He wasn't able to see the face since she was hiding it behind her knees, as she was in a fetal posistion.
But he could see one thing "You've lost a few fingers..."
Seeing her just sob, Vero was annoyed, he needed her to listen to her to bribe her with new fingers "Wake up dumbass! Do you not hear my voice?! Are you deaf!?"
Vero took out the red health potion within a vial from his coat, and started to shake it infront of her "Do you want your fingers back?" He said these words as gravely as possible.
Vero changed his face from the normal face his body gives of naturally, to an emotionless and war-torn face. shamefully, he still had the baby fat on his face, but that can be less noticeable with a few changes in expression.
"Snfff, What do you want!" She yelled after another sob, revealing her tear stained face, after which her eyes quickly locked on to the red potion.
"Inspect it, you're an alchemist, right?" He said.
She took the invitation to inspect his potion with
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E-rank health potion (76.3937% purity)
Heals the body in exchange for pain.
1*; Made by the hands of a being which is close supremacy, ???????????????????
2*; Is able to heal lost limbs (????????)
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Her wet eyes quickly looked at her fingers, and those she had lost, and then looked at the face of Vero. She didn't really recognize, since it was purposefully changed, and she hadn't seen it for about two and a half years. Each time she saw him, he was also looking at her body with lecherous eyes. Finally, he didn't have a bunch of trendy clothing on at the moment.
So this Vero in her eyes was automatically disconnected from the old Vero's identity.
"That got your attention, didn't it?" Vero said as he put the small vial back into his white coat "Someone is interested in you, as a lab assistant. they've heard you're quite talented."
"...Yes, and how are you going to get me out of this place? That Skarab put me in here."
Vero couldn't help but chuckle a bit "Vero has completely forgotten about you, he is currently focused on... Another venture. And, as long as that person asks him, he'd open up your door, allowing you to finally see the sun, properly."
This sounded a lot like Vero, the old one. Though Hiari didn't realize it was honest in a different way than she believed, and that there was a slight lie in the words 'Properly', if you don't think of overworking in an alchemy lab properly enjoying the daylight.
"And?"
"You just have to prove yourself," Vero looked behind him, quickly waltzed to the door, and told the maid that was waiting there "Get me that burner, a beaker filled with water, and a Vita herb."
"Yes sir." She said curtly, making Vero smile slightly, she hadn't said 'Sir Vero', so this disception could go on a little longer.
Though he wasn't so good at this, recruitment is a basic skill, and making people dissasociate you from your old identity is also foundational.
Vero quietly waited until the maid arrived with what he asked, mostly looking annoyed while tapping his feet, and yes, he made sure to close the door to the cell.
He even made a bit of small talk "...Nice weather we're having here."
"You mean the outside?" Hiari asked confoundedly
"No, I meant your face." Vero said sarcastically
"..." Hiari was speechless 'Is that meant to be a compliment?' She thought as she touched her face, and realized it was wet with tears. She realized he had dissed her face, which had been 'Rained on'.
Her cheeks went red from shame, not because her face was beeing seen in tears, but because she felt she had been made fun off.
Unlike what Urial would do (Ignoring it, or not caring enough to notice because he wasn't in 'Manipulation mode'), Vero noticed and said slightly "Don't take it negatively, just... clean your face with your rags." He made it worse while sounding as if he wasn't trying to beat her while she was down.
She became even more embarrased, and used the rag-like clothes Vero just noticed she was wearing, to clean her face. Though it felt rough and disgusting, the rags were still clean.
-Written in the 4th of febuary, 2023.