Deadmeat Saga

After leaving Scarlet's office, Gerhart went downstairs, his new sword and a dagger strapped to his belt. Ernest, serving an adventurer a drink, noticed Gerhart carrying the new sword.

"Ho... Interesting..." He thought, recalling the ugly expression on Rufus's face as he left.

"How did it go?" He asked.

"It went well. Scarlet helped me a lot." Gerhart said.

The adventurer who was drinking stiffened when he heard Gerhart say that.

"I see. She can be very persuasive." Ernest nodded.

"By the way... She asked me to get her some pudding. Do you know a good place?" Gerhart asked.

"Hm?!" Ernest was taken aback and gave him a one-over. "That's a first... Is she interested in him? But her requirements of men are notoriously high... Did I underestimate him?"

"Ernest? Is everything alright?" Gerhart asked, noticing Ernest turned quiet.

"Ah, nothing, nothing... So she wants you to buy her pudding, hah?" Ernest nodded and took out a wooden lidded bowl. "Take this with you to a shop called Deli-Deli Cakes in the Merchant District. Ask them for Custard Pudding with Caramel, and don't be discouraged by the price. Also, if you lose that bowl, I am making you pay a Silver Coin, so take note of that."

"Okay, thank you," Gerhart said, taking the bowl and leaving the guild.

He didn't notice that the adventurer drinking by the bar was shocked. "I think I heard something juicy... I'll tell the guys later today!"

Gerhart didn't know that this insignificant event would lead to wild rumors spreading in the guild about his relationship with Scarlet, some partially true, but most entirely false...

.

.

.

Exiting the guild, Gerhart went to the Merchant District and first went to a tailor's shop and bought a new set of clothes, selling his old clothes since they were too small. His new clothes were also a bit loose, in case his growth will continue, but not enough to be baggy.

After asking for directions, he went to Deli-Deli Cakes, a high-end dessert shop with upper-class furniture, where he saw through a clear glass window several women dining, eating desserts, and drinking tea from delicate porcelain cups while chatting.

"This is a woman's shop..." Gerhart warily thought and pushed the door open.

Ring* Ring* Ring*

A bell wired to the door rang. As he entered, he felt it was cool and refreshing inside the shop, with a sweet scent filling the air.

"Welcome!" A young waitress wearing a slightly revealing black and white dress greeted him while carrying several used plates back. "I will attend to you in a moment!"

"Right, thank you..." Gerhart said while listening to the women conversing in the background.

"So this sugar merchant approached my family, wanting my little sister to marry his son..."

"I learned the contraception spell now, and I can go raw whenever I want..."

"I wish I could use magic like you do..."

"I heard a rumor that young Countess Winfield rejected another marriage proposal. This time, from another county."

"That's the fifth one, right? She is probably doing this to keep her power..."

"There is a new moisturizing cream in..."

"..." Gerhart felt like he was an alien there.

"Sorry for the wait!" The waitress returned, showing a business smile while giving a one-over to Gerhart, taking note of his clothes and the wooden bowl he was holding. "Never seen him before, but he is dressed like a commoner. Is he on an errand? Or is it to woo someone?"

"Hello. I want a Caramel Pudding, please." Gerhart directly said.

"Ah, the Custard Cream Caramel Pie. Good choice, sir." The waitress smiled. "Would you like to buy a slice or a whole pie?"

"One Slice, please," Gerhart replied.

"Sure. Are you dining or taking away?" She asked while already guessing the answer.

"Taking away. Please put it inside this." Gerhart placed the bowl on the counter.

"That would make things simpler, then. 1.2 Silver Coins, please." The waitress said with the same business smile.

"Whoa... That's expensive... It is like two meat skewers. But then again, refined sugar is a high-end product." Gerhart thought and took out a Silver Coin and two Copper Coins. "Here."

"Thank you. I will return shortly." She said, taking the bowl to the kitchen.

While waiting, Gerhart continued overhearing the dining women in the shop, who likely chose to ignore him due to his clothes and looks. However, he did hear two pieces of news that interested him.

"So, did your family decide to buy or build a house?"

"They would do a fifty-fifty split with the merchant and have one built."

"Did you hear? New slaves are in the slave market. I heard there are a few combat slaves in the mix..."

"A house and a combat slave..." Gerhart thought. "I would hesitate if it was before... But now, I have the money..."

A small, unfurnished two-room house costs about 3,000 Silver Coins. Even if he didn't want to buy a home, he could also rent one for a hundred Silver Coins a month. It might sound expensive, but considering it includes taxes, which is half what he pays, it isn't that much.

As for slaves, they were cheap. He could buy a slave with some slave training for 250 Silver Coins, which is the price of a warhorse. The real problem was the upkeep of keeping a slave. However, he wasn't looking for a common slave but a combat slave. Combat slaves could be indentured slaves with unpayable debts, chattel slaves with combat abilities, or criminal slaves without any rights. Either way, decent combat slaves could vary wildly in price due to many factors, and a highly talented slave would cost a premium... But Gerhart was willing to pay up to 10,000 Silver Coins.

However, Gerhart had some concerns. "If I buy a slave... Would he be able to keep up with me?"

Even if he bought a slave with huge potential, it was useless if the slave couldn't improve as fast as him. After absorbing various monsters and talents, Gerhart might leave them in the dirt.

"If only it were possible to give energy to others..." Gerhart thought.

"Sorry for the wait! Here is your pudding." The waitress returned with the bowl.

Gerhart opened the lid to confirm and saw a yellowish pie covered in a syrupy brown liquid, a sweet scent coming from within.

"Thank you. Bye." Gerhart smiled at the waitress and left the shop.

On the way back, he continued thinking.

"The simplest way is to buy a criminal slave who committed some horrible crime, test things out with him, and kill him later on before absorbing him... One with Self Status Appraisal would be best. Two birds with one stone... Yeah, no. I am not so evil as to purposely buy a person to kill him, even if he is a criminal slave who committed a heinous crime like rape or murder. Can I buy a dying slave instead and let him die from natural causes?" Gerhart thought.

There were no shortages of such slaves... because no one would buy them even at a discount. At most, they might be rented out if they have some non-physical use, such as scribes. If not, the slave would likely be abandoned outside the city walls, where you would find his body a few days later half-eaten by wild animals or monsters. If the owner had some empathy, they would feed them until the slave breathed his last breath.

"Well, I don't want weird rumors to spread, so I shouldn't do something like that more than once." Gerhart thought. "No, wait... Maybe I can test things out with the orphanage kids? They wouldn't mind if I held their hand after I gave them some sweets... I would only test how the relic reacts. I wouldn't do anything weird to them. Okay, I'll buy them a tasty snack later and visit after I buy a Magic Stone."

After walking a bit longer, he returned to the guild and walked to Ernest.

"Oh, I see you bought some new clothes," Ernest commented.

"Yeah, my old ones were too tight," Gerhart replied, placing the pudding bowl on the table.

Ernest opened the lid and saw the desert before nodding. "Alright, that is definitely what she wants."

"Yes, it was a bit expensive." Gerhart lamented.

"That it is, but sweets go a long way to get a woman's heart, aye?" Ernest grinned and winked.

"I don't want to woo her, though."

Gerhart warily thought.

"Anyway, I will inform Scarlet you bought her the pudding. You don't have to stay here until her lunch break." Ernest said, taking the bowl.

"By the way, I want to buy a house, but I can't read. Can the guild act as a mediator?" Gerhart asked.

"We can act as mediators. Renting isn't an issue, but buying a house, even a small one, requires you to be a Burgher or an E-rank." Ernest said.

Burghers. They were part of the middle class and were from respectable professions, such as blacksmiths and merchants. You had to accumulate a good reputation with a reputable guild and prove your skills and financial stability. Unlike F-rank adventurers, who are the same as residents or commoners, E-rank adventurers have proven themselves by risking their lives and having good combat equipment, proving their reputation, strength, and financial ability.

As a Burgher, one had the privilege to buy property, join the City Guard, gain political office, have voting rights, and refuse conscription or mandatory service if requested, but they did need to pay taxes. When he was 16, he was required to help repair a stable for the local lord, the Garrington Ducal Family. Luckily, they didn't conscript him to the army, or he might have needed to defend against a monster tide or an enemy kingdom as a poorly-equipped foot soldier.

"I am E-rank," Gerhart replied, showing him his guild card.

"Whew... That was fast." Ernest raised an eyebrow and whistled. "Yeah, that would be enough, alright. But don't buy a house unless you have at least twice its worth as liquid assets, or you will be in financial trouble." Ernest warned.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful," Gerhart reassured.

"I am only going to buy a small house worth 3 to 4 thousand while I have over 40 thousand. What should I be afraid about?" Gerhart secretly thought.

After saying goodbye, Gerhart went to the reception desk, which had no line due to it being late morning.

"Hello, I want to buy a house," Gerhart said.

"I see. Guild rank?" A female clerk asked.

"E-rank." Gerhart showed his card.

"... Okay." After checking the card, the clerk nodded and took out a ledger. "It will cost you 10 Silver Coins as a mediation fee. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes." Gerhart nodded.

"Show up tomorrow at 8 in the morning in the City Hall. If you are late, the money is forfeit, so please arrive on time." The clerk warned after deducting money from the card.

"Thank you. Oh, and I want to buy a Magic Stone." Gerhart said.

As a controlled commodity, Magic Stones were purchased from relevant channels. One can buy a limited amount of stones, but they were meant for personal use only.

"Okay. You have yet to buy one today. You may purchase one from up to the 20th floor. From which floor do you require it?" She asked.

"Give me a tenth-floor one," Gerhart said.

"That would be 3 Silver Coins." The clerk replied.

The price of Magic Stones was typically 50% higher than what explorers received, and Gerhart knew it was a tax.

"Okay. Pay it from my account." Gerhart said.

The clerk nodded, charged his card, and went to the storage. Half a minute later, she returned with a Magic Stone, placing it on the counter.

"Here you go, sir. Remember that selling it to others is a crime and can be punishable by smuggling charges." The clerk warned. "Anything else you need?"

"No, thank you," Gerhart replied, pocketed the stone and card, and left the guild.

He returned to the market and bought a pound of raisins, bringing them in a stoneware bowl.

"The kids would love having something sweet..." Gerhart thought.

While walking toward the orphanage through the streets, Gerhart sensed a hand trying to reach for the dagger on his belt...

Grab*

Gerhart swiftly grabbed the hand with his available hand and looked toward the would-be thief with a hardened look, only to find a terrified-looking young face. Gerhart's expression immediately softened.

"Billie, it isn't nice to steal." Gerhart gently smiled and let go of the boy.

"S-Sorry, Gerhart... I didn't know it was you..." Caught red-handed, Billie embarrassedly said, rubbing his hand.

Billie was one of the orphans in the orphanage. To sate their growing body's nutritional needs, some orphans resorted to stealing... But many of them ended up in the wrong places... Or dead.

"Try not to steal. You will carry the raisins I bought for the kids as punishment." Gerhart said, placing the raisins in the boy's hands.

"Thank you, Gerhart..." Billie smiled again, hugging the bowl of raisins.

As the two returned to the orphanage, Gerhart secretly grabbed the magic stone in his pocket while holding the kid's hand.

 

Energy Detected. Absorb?

 

"No, but can I let Billie have it instead?" Gerhart tried his luck.

To his surprise, he received a new message for the first time.

 

Unauthorized Entities May Not Recieve Blessings. Convert Unauthorized Entity Into A Thrall?

 

"It is doable?!" Gerhart widened his eyes.