Chapter 13: Contract

Dungeon, First Floor, Imperial Empire.

A small building located in the southern region of the kingdom. The building is located in a fairly remote corner and it seems that it is rare for anyone else to pass from that location. Right now inside the building, you can see a girl who is around eighteen years old who is currently working hard to clean the inside of the building. It seems that the front of the building wants to be used by the girl to serve as an area for selling goods.

The girl had short, shoulder-length black hair with fair skin. She was wearing clothes that were quite worn out.

"Money is everything"

The girl could be seen sighing, "Since I only come from a poor family, I can't rent a building in the city center to be my first shop area. With the capital that belongs to me…This place is all I can get…It should be with this kind of place…"

"No, no, no. You shouldn't give up too quickly. Everything has a chance and as long as I try hard, even though my place is very far from the city center, as long as I can lower the price to a reasonable price, there should be a lot of people coming to my place to buy elixirs, especially adventure, ers…As long as I can get them to lend me a helping hand. marketing my product to their friends, I would be able to succeed even though my beginnings—"

"Ring!..."

The ringing sound from the doorbell hanger immediately stopped the work being done by the girl. She immediately turned her attention to look at a white-haired old man who had walked into her shop and her expression was slightly surprised.

"Are you an adventurer who will carry out a mission issued by me?"

The girl immediately knew the parent's identity who came to her at this time because there was an identification mark clearly visible above her head.

"Silver Rayleigh" Rayleigh immediately introduced himself politely with a smile, "You should be Viena Miries, right? The client?"

"Sure." The girl named Viena nodded and immediately said embarrassedly, "Uhm, I'm sorry this place is messy. It just so happened that I just arrived and cleaned up this place."

"Hahaha~ Don't worry, compared to the places I visited before, your place is still clean" Rayleigh replied in a friendly manner, "Can I sit where there is?"

"Please"

Rayleigh immediately went to a chair in the room and sat down immediately. Vienna quickly followed suit.

"Miss Viena, the mission issued by you is the mission to collect 100 units of Judeum plants, right?" Rayleigh tried to confirm again and continued, "Can you help me explain the information about this plant along with the location where this plant can be found?"

"Is this your first time on a retrieval mission, Mr. Rayleigh?" Vienna was a little surprised to hear Rayleigh's question.

"Well, this is my first time and there are still many things that I don't understand"

"I see" Viena nodded and continued, "The Judeum Plant is something that has the shape of a finger. On the leaves of the plant, it has a shape like a finger where the color is blue. There are also stripes on the leaves of the plant where the lines are golden. This plant usually grows in places that have high land. If Mister Rayleigh wanted to quickly gather these plants, Master Rayleigh might be able to go to the southern region of this kingdom. There is a floating island located about 7 kilometers from this place and usually on that island, there are lots of Judeum plants growing there."

"Floating Island? Interesting, I didn't expect that in this place there are also things like this. But…" Rayleigh said casually, "Miss Viena, if I may ask, how do you get on the island? Is there the fastest way or do you have to use the manual method?

"There are two ways to get on the floating island. The first method uses the ability to fly and it is included in the manual method. Usually, this method is only a few people who can use it…"

"The ability to fly…Is there any possibility for me to learn this ability? It's a very practical ability as long as it's usable."

"...Then the second way is to use a portal that is at the bottom of the land that is under the floating island" Viena immediately continued, "Floating islands are usually at the top of land where at the bottom there will be a place where there is a blue portal. The portal is the entrance that can help Mr. Rayleigh get to the floating island."

"Uhm," Rayleigh nodded and put the information he had just obtained to good use.

"By the way, Mister Rayleigh. I hope you can be careful during this mission." Viena said seriously, "I'm sorry but I'm not looking down on you. It's just that, the location of Floating Island itself is quite far from this kingdom and usually many strong monsters are roaming around it. Apart from that, Mr. Rayleigh also needs to pay attention to the problem of the portal you are about to enter."

"Noticing the portal?" Rayleigh frowned at this.

"There are three types of portals in this place," Viena said back, "The first portal is a blue portal which is usually used to move to a location where the location is random but does not pose a threat to people who come to that location. Then there is also a red portal where the portal is usually a portal that leads directly to a place filled with various kinds of very strong monsters. While the last one is a black portal where this portal is portal that leads directly to a place filled with monsters with very terrible powers besides that, anyone who has entered the black portal will not be able to get out unless that person has managed to kill all the monsters that are in there."

"…Sir Rayleigh, even though the blue portal is a portal it probably won't pose any serious threat to those who come to the location the portal points to. You have to keep your eyes peeled. The blue portal is very different from the red and black portal. These two portals can tell you there is a strong enemy in there while the blue portal is not because the blue portal itself has been determined to be in that place and its location can't change like the red and black portals"

Rayleigh narrowed his eyes at the information and slowly digested it.

"I understand, I'll pay attention to this" Rayleigh nodded then continued, "Is there anything else I need to pay attention to?"

"I guess that's it." Viena thought for a moment and continued, "If Lord Rayleigh feels your abilities are lacking, it might be better to gather the needed plants in the land area located in the northern area of this kingdom. About five kilometers from the northern entrance there is a fairly wide plateau there and there are also many Judeum plants growing even though the amount is less than in the mainland area on the floating island."

"Hahaha ~ " Rayleigh laughed at that and it made Viena a little confused by the response.

"Thank you for the worry you have, Miss Viena" Rayleigh smiled looking at the girl who was far away compared to his age, "You don't have to worry about me. Even though I'm old, I can still fight some of the monsters that exist. They can't kill me this time. There is still something to be achieved by me at this time. Hence, I can't die quickly now."

Rayleigh's gaze was full of determination which made Viena completely speechless.

"By the way, Miss Viena" Rayleigh suddenly changed the subject with a confident look, "Do you want to make a contract with me?"

********

Guilds.

"Hmm?"

Allen who was sitting casually in the guild suddenly felt several people going into the guild through the dungeons. Allen immediately looked towards the exit portal and found that the people who came out were Hancock and the others.

"They…Ah ~ Looks like they are unlucky"

Unlike the appearance, they had when they first came to the guild. The appearance of Hancock and the others was already very messy. Starting from Hancock, who currently looks very messy. Her body seemed to have several wounds and at this time fresh blood was still coming out of these wounds. Some of the clothes she was wearing had holes, plus there was a lot of dust and dirt on her clothes and body. Her beautiful face at this time was also filled with dust and dirt plus on her lower lip there were traces of blood that had just been cleaned.

The performances of Sandersonia and Marigold were worse than Hancock's. The clothes they were wearing, especially the robes they were wearing, had been torn apart. Their clothes had lots of holes and also damage. There were many wounds even stab wounds visible on their bodies at the moment. It can also be seen that Sandersonia is currently holding her left hand, which is likely to have a very fatal injury. Meanwhile, Marigold, who previously carried the naginata, saw that her weapon was no longer with him.

Meanwhile, Salome is also in very poor condition. Her body received a lot of injuries.

"You guys seem to have just had a great adventure"

Hancock who heard Allen's casual words gritted her teeth while looking at Allen with a sharp gaze, "Are you making fun of us?"

"Teasing?" Allen raised his eyebrows and said, "I don't mean to make fun of you and what I say is fact, okay? You guys just had a great adventure in the dungeons. Hmm, I haven't received confirmation of the mission that you guys carried out before. You shouldn't have completed this mission, right?"

"..."

Hancock and the others immediately fell silent upon hearing this. Sandersonia and Marigold's gazes immediately lowered in embarrassment. While Hancock clenched her fist very strongly.

"Hmm… Let me guess. You should meet quite strong monsters during missions, right?" Allen asked back, "Which monster did you meet?"

"...Ogre" Sandersonia answered quietly.

"Ogres?" Allen asked back, "Hmm, well, that means you guys are out of luck. Ogres are relatively strong monsters and it's impossible with your current strength to defeat them. At least for now, as long as your strength can reach level five, you have the possibility of defeating them. "

Hancock who heard this clenched her fist very tightly. She wasn't willing to run away from the previous battle. If it wasn't for the existence of Sandersonia and Marigold who had been seriously injured in the battle, Hancock would have been willing to die there.

"Allen" Marigold called out weakly to Allen, "Is there a penalty for us as long as we don't complete the mission within a certain time limit?"

"Surely there is a punishment that will be received by the adventurer"

"What's the penalty?" Hancock asked in a serious voice.

"The punishment given depends on the level of the mission you take." Allen then started to explain, "The missions themselves are divided into levels. The higher the mission prize given, the mission carried out by you will also be at a higher level. The lowest tier mission is the E-tier mission while the highest tier mission is the SS-tier mission. The division of the level of this mission is carried out on each floor of the dungeon. E-tier missions are usually missions whose rewards received by adventurers are below 500 Exp points. This mission usually has a one-day duration and as long as the adventurer cannot complete this mission within one day's time period, the adventurer must pay double the mission reward issued to the person issuing the mission."

Hancock and the others immediately digested the information slowly.

"…Then there are the D-grade missions. The D-grade missions are usually the ones that reward adventurers below 5,000 Exp points. These missions usually have a duration of one week and as long as the adventurer is unable to complete the mission within the specified period, the adventurer will be prevented from carrying out the same mission within a full month's time period plus they are required to pay the person issuing the mission a sum of two times the reward to be received." Allen paused for a moment and looked at Hancock and the others,

"The mission you are currently doing is a D-tier mission. This means that you have one week to complete this mission. As long as you can't complete this mission, you won't be able to take missions related to collecting materials for making weapons equipment. However, that only applies to D-level missions. As long as the mission to collect weapons materials is an E-level mission, you can still carry out the mission."

"We currently do not have the money to pay the penalty. What happened to us as long as we couldn't pay the penalty?" Sandersonia asked quickly.

"Hmm, well, you guys are required to work for the person who issued the mission until your forest is paid"

"Hmph! What if we don't?!" Hancock asked in a serious voice full of arrogance.

"Are you sure you don't want to do this?" Allen asked back, "Hancock, don't think that just because you are strong in the outside world you can do whatever you want." Allen's voice immediately changed from calm to cold.

"Agh!..."

"Heavy…"

"What's this?"

Hancock and the others immediately felt their bodies being pressed down by an extremely terrifying force to the point where their bodies were instantly made to fall onto the guild floor. Expressions full of fear were immediately shown by Sandersonia, Marigold, and Salome where their gazes were directed downwards not daring to look up. While Hancock could only grit her teeth where inside herself was already feeling fear when she felt that terrifying pressure.

"You can do whatever you want. But…You need to remember this, Hancock" Allen said coldly, "I'm not someone who will interfere but there are officers of the law who will interfere as long as you don't carry out the sentence. Rest assured, every related law officer has extremely terrifying strength. They are the chosen ones whose job is to uphold the laws and regulations that exist within the dungeons and every one of them…They have the power to destroy the island where you lived before with just one strike."

"!!!!"

The fear grew when Hancock and the others heard Allen's words. Allen immediately withdrew the pressure that was released by him whereupon Hancock and the others sat down on the guild floor while their breaths became very fast. Sandersonia was currently forced to struggle because her previously broken hand immediately increased in pain when she received the release of pressure released by Allen earlier.

"If you don't want to receive the punishment, then, complete the mission that you took on, and if you can't complete the mission, then accept the punishment that is there." Allen said in a calm voice again, "As long as you carry out the punishment, then, you won't be received very serious consequences. But…" Allen's voice became colder than before, "If you don't do it…Don't expect you to survive. You will receive more serious consequences than the previous punishment."

Anger was boiling inside Hancock by this time. Her hands clenched very tightly. She didn't want to be in her current position. Only, she knew that it would be impossible for him to fight back. As long as she resisted, she would likely lose and the worst consequence would be that her two sisters would die. It didn't want Hancock to see.

"Sister…"

Sandersonia and Marigold who were behind Hancock could feel the anger Hancock was having. Usually, they would have helped, but, in the current situation. They couldn't do so because they knew that their actions would only lead to worse repercussions.

Moreover, from the previous incident, the three of them finally knew the reason behind Shakuyaku who asked them not to provoke Allen. Allen's strength is terrifying and can destroy them very easily. As long as they provoked Allen, they would get only one end.

"I will not continue explaining about the punishment that will be received because, at this time, you can't take on a higher level mission than a D level mission," Allen said again, "Rather than you having to listen to my explanation, you guys should go back and treat your current injuries. then return to the dungeon to complete the mission you have taken. Of course, you can forget about the mission and happily accept the existing punishment."

"Hmph!" Hancock sniffed disdainfully at this, "Give up your word?" Hancock immediately got back up while enduring the pain she was suffering from where her gaze was currently looking at Allen with a sharp gaze.

Sandersonia and the others also got up from their current positions but they didn't dare to give Allen a glare like Hancock.

"Did you think I was that low? Do you think we can't complete this kind of lowly mission? Nonsense!" Hancock immediately said in a sharp voice.

"Sister…"

Even though they were currently afraid of Hancock's current attitude where they were afraid that Allen would get angry or might retaliate, there was also a warm and joyful feeling within them.

"Oh? Want to continue the mission?" Allen said casually, "Well, then, I hope you guys can—"

"We'll work it out!" Hancock immediately interrupted Allen's words firmly, "There is no other result other than the mission being completed by us! We will prove to you that we are not weaklings and can only accept that stupid punishment for not completing such a lowly mission!"

"Prove? This woman…Did she misunderstand me?" Allen thought confusedly.

"Sonia, Mary. Let's go. We need to heal our wounds and come back to complete the mission."

"Fine, Sister!"

The fighting spirit within Sandersonia and Marigold immediately rose upon hearing that. Hancock immediately led them to walk out of the guild to return to their ship so they could get treatment for the wounds they had just received at this time.

Allen who saw the departure of Hancock and the others could only shake his head and then thought, "With Hancock's current injuries…Ah, ~ Marko will have more chances to restrain Hancock this time. The injuries received by him were not small and it would be impossible for him to fight Marko using his full power. Marko will have more advantage here and maybe…Marko will be able to force Hancock not to bring other members to come here until Whitebeard comes here…But…Hancock also has very high self-esteem. She definitely wouldn't immediately agree to an order Marko gave him. The battle between the two was impossible to avoid. It's just… Back to before…Marko would win as long as the two of them fought. Hmmm, Looks like Hancock's luck isn't great at the moment. Apart from receiving a heavy blow from being attacked by a monster with stronger strength in the dungeon, she is also required to fight Marko, whose stamina is likely to have recovered after eating. Well ~ Let's hope he can pick the right choice"

"…By the way, I'm interested in Rayleigh's current situation…How about the contract? Did he get it or maybe not?... Maybe I should try coming over to Viena's place to ask…No, forget about that matter. I can ask about the result of the contract after Rayleigh came here to collect the reward…Hmm, as long as he can get a contract with an Alchemist, Rayleigh has many chances to make a lot of money"

"Hmmm, but, hey, with the nature that belongs to him. As long as he knows the gambling establishments in the kingdom, there's a chance that the old man will come there." Allen shook his head, "Forget it, that's the problem and I hope he can repent from the gambling. After all…Only a fool would go gambling. It was obvious that the bookmaker had arranged the bet, there was no way they could win. But, hey, I don't know why they still like to gamble"

Allen immediately returned to his seat and sat relaxed there.

"Long enough for Marko to come back. I can't wait to taste the snacks out of this world…"