A day and a half later, Adrian reached the kingdom gates.
He was dirty, worn, his clothes stiff with dried blood and sweat. Two guards stood at the gate, along with a bored-looking supervisor.
Adrian flashed his adventurer's badge without a word.
They stepped aside. He walked through.
The guild was crowded.
As he stepped inside, heads turned. He smelled like death. People whispered, noses wrinkled. He didn't care.
He made his way to the front desk. This time, the receptionist was Misha.
Adrian dropped the crumpled quest paper onto the counter. "Hey… I completed the quest."
Misha looked up—and her eyes went wide.
"Oh! It's you, Mister Handso—" She stopped mid-sentence, then blinked. "Holy— What happened to you? You look like you're halfway to the cemetery."
Her tone hovered somewhere between concern and mockery, as if she couldn't decide whether to be impressed or just horrified.
"I met a troll king on my quest. Got lucky and killed it by collapsing their cave," Adrian said, his voice strangely cheery.
He had been drinking again—he'd downed all six orbs he had on the trip back.
"A—a troll king? And you collapsed their cave?!" Misha stared at him, both intrigued and horrified. "Are you sure you're C-rank and not A-rank?"
"Your rank only measures mana amount, so no shit I'm stronger than C-rank," Adrian replied, still grinning.
"Hmm... where's the other one? The one with the ponytail?" he asked, finally noticing Annie wasn't even in the building.
"It's her day off," Misha said, a little relieved at the change in topic.
Then her eyes dropped to the quest report. "Where's the blood?" she asked, scanning the parchment.
"Ah, right," Adrian muttered, checking his pockets. He pulled out several compressed orbs of blood and placed them on the counter.
"Um, mister... what's this?" Misha asked, confused.
"The blood," Adrian replied casually.
"They're just red marbles," she said, eyebrows furrowed.
"Bring a jar. Two liters or bigger," Adrian said, unbothered.
"Why?" Misha asked.
"Well, the red marbles are the compressed blood," Adrian replied, still not offering much explanation.
"Compressed? What do you mean?" Misha asked, raising an eyebrow.
Adrian sighed and finally elaborated.
"I use matter manipulation magic. It lets me directly control the structure and arrangement of physical matter. When I collect blood, I manipulate the space between the particles—basically forcing the molecules closer together without changing the substance itself. It's still blood, just extremely compacted. Kind of like packing a tent into a pouch the size of your fist."
He picked up one of the marbles and rolled it between his fingers.
"These marbles each hold about two liters of blood. It saves space, keeps things clean, and makes transport way easier. You just need to add mana to undo the compression and return it to liquid form."
"Ohhhh," Misha said, listening intently. "But... if you can do that, why did you struggle against the troll king? Can't you just compress him to death?"
"Well, no. I can't," Adrian replied. "Matter manipulation doesn't work on anything alive. Or flesh at all, actually."
"Why?" Misha asked. "Isn't blood also kind of flesh? I mean, it comes from living things."
Adrian scratched his head. "Yeah... I'm not really sure why I can manipulate blood. Huh. I've never actually thought about that. It doesn't make much sense—I can compress blood once it's outside the body, but I can't affect living tissue at all."
"Maybe it's a mental thing," Misha offered. "What if you can only do it because you think you can?"
"No, it doesn't work like that," Adrian said, shaking his head. "If it did, I would be able to manipulate flesh. Trust me, I've tried."
"Well, if you ever figure it out, tell me," Misha said, her voice tinged with regret. "I love magic... I just don't have the talent for it."
"Oh? Is it that you don't have any mana, or is it because you can't grasp the theory behind magic?" Adrian asked.
"I don't have any mana," Misha replied. "But I do understand the theory behind pyromancy and cryomancy."
"Really?!" Adrian perked up, suddenly interested. "I actually know a method to gather mana. If you want, I can teach it to you—but I want something in return. Teach me the theory behind those two magics."
"What?" Misha looked surprised, her expression lighting up briefly before she caught herself. "Don't mess with me. I know I can't get mana. I've been tested."
"You can," Adrian said, still smiling. "It's a technique I was taught a long time ago. It's really useful when your mana is low—or in your case, nonexistent. It trains your body to passively absorb ambient mana. It's slow, yeah, but over time, it builds your mana capacity. I've done it so much I don't even have to think about it anymore."
"What, really? You're not messing around?" Misha asked, still looking at him a bit skeptical.
"No, I'm not," Adrian replied, serious but calm.
"Well... ah, I—I'm not sure. Can I have some time to think about it?" Misha asked, knowing this could be a huge turning point in her life.
"Yeah, sure. I'll be back in a few days, so tell me then. Now, can I have my reward?" Adrian asked with a grin.
"Oh, right! Yes."
Misha disappeared into the back room and returned with a small, heavy sack that jingled with coin. She handed it over.
"Here it is—1,500 gulden. That's the full payment for sixty liters of troll blood. The alchemists are going to be thrilled."
"Ah... isn't this a bit much? Why is it so much?" Adrian asked, confused—but still taking the sack.
"Well, there aren't many people willing to go after troll blood," Misha explained. "It's hard to collect, even with a full party of six C-ranks. The blood's always in short supply, and the demand never drops—healing potions don't make themselves."
She paused, then added, "Honestly, it's surprising you can do all that alone. You really should consider joining a party. It would help in situations like the troll king you fought."
"Hm. Why doesn't it list the reward on the paper? Unlike in Vatra," Adrian asked, raising an eyebrow.
Vatra—the kingdom he came from—was rich and powerful, known across the continent as the heart of trade for weapons, armor, and rare ores. According to legend, the God of Fire descended a thousand years ago and blessed the land, granting its people unmatched skill in forging.
"Oh, that's because prices change a lot," Misha explained. "We got tired of constantly updating reward amounts. So now, guild quests just pay based on the current market value. Only civilian-requested quests show a set amount—that's why those ones still list a fixed reward."
"Ah. Makes sense," Adrian muttered, tightening the drawstrings on his coin pouch. "Well, anyway, I'll be going."
He turned and began walking toward the door.
"Hey—wait!" Misha called after him. He paused and looked back as she pointed toward the quest board. "If you have the time, could you take that one?" she said, motioning to an old, yellowing piece of parchment stuck in the corner.
"It's something about a church. Every time someone takes it, they come back saying they couldn't complete it. But here's the weird part—after that, they just disappear. They never step foot in the guild again. We tried tracking a few of them down and found they'd all entered a church called Fleur de Sel. They claimed they'd 'retired.' Just like that. So the guild dropped the quest eventually."
She glanced away, hesitant.
"Well... Annie thinks there's more to it. She's been quietly looking into it herself, but I'm worried she's getting too involved. If something is going on, I don't want her getting hurt."
Misha looked back at Adrian, her voice softer now.
"Could you do me a favor and check it out for me? Not for the guild—just for her."
Adrian walked over to the quest board and pulled the yellowed piece of paper from the corner. He read it over in silence, eyes scanning the vague and oddly worded request.
"So, where is this church?" he asked, glancing back at Misha.
"It's on the east side of town, near an old inn," she said. "The area's usually full of beggars lying along the roadside. Most people avoid it."
Adrian blinked—he knew exactly where she meant.
"That old inn... I stayed there," he said. "Alright, I know the place. I'll check it out now."
He had planned to spend the next few days relaxing with a few drinks, but honestly? Investigating a creepy church sounded way more entertaining.
"Thank you so much," Misha said, lighting up. "I promise, I'll pay you double the reward—out of my own pocket."
"Don't worry about it," Adrian said with a grin. "If it's fun enough, I might even do it for free."
Misha blinked, caught off guard by his enthusiasm.
"Ah... okay," she replied, slightly weirded out.
Why is that kind of hot? she thought, biting her lip. My gods... I'm into crazy people.
"Why are you biting your lip? It's creepy," Adrian said, staring at her with a mix of shock and mild disgust.
Misha's eyes widened as she snapped out of her thoughts, face going red.
"I—I wasn't! Shut up!" she snapped, turning away quickly and pretending to organize some papers that absolutely didn't need organizing.
Adrian kept staring for a second longer, then turned toward the door.
"You've got weird tastes," he muttered on his way out, smirking.
Misha groaned quietly, burying her face in her hands.
Yep. Definitely into crazy people.
She peeked up just in time to see Adrian push open the guild doors and disappear into the daylight.
I should just leave him for Annie, she thought, sighing. At least she likes trouble.