Chapter 35: Pills

Chapter 35: Pills

When Chance got back to the Whiteheart house, Pete and Yeo had already returned. Yeo was locked up in his room, cultivating, but Pete stood behind the kitchen counter, preparing dinner for all of them. He smiled at Chance as he walked into the building, setting aside his knife and wiping his hands off on the stained apron he wore.

Chance. You completed your advancement to Squire?

Yeah. Its seriously something else, Chance said, shaking his head in awe.

Just wait until you get some practice in, Pete said with a knowing chuckle. Thats when youll really start getting dividends. When you focus on the vision you had during the advancement, your cultivation will be much faster, and youll gain more Essence.

Ill try it out tonight, Chance said. I wanted to ask, though. Were you able to find any leads on a way to locate people?

Pete nodded. I was. Theres an Investigator in Gleam that takes cases specifically for people from Earth, trying to locate relatives or family members. Its apparently more common than you would think. Unfortunately, it isnt cheap.

I didnt think it would be, Chance said. How much?

Well, I suppose cheap is relative, Pete said. Its one hundred gold an hour, and he estimates about a week until he can locate someone if theyre on Centurion. If theyre somewhere else in the universe, then no promises at all.

Chance did some quick mental math, then frowned. Thats around seventeen thousand gold. God, thats a lot.

Its not impossible to earn as a Shikari. Fairly realistic, actually. Some of the best Shikari earn far more than that, and if you can place high in tournaments or other competitions, youll get pretty sizable bonuses.

Chance nodded, but his mind was already drifting elsewhere. Tournaments and competitions were great, but he suspected nothing around their level would be paying anything too crazy.

But if he hunted monsters in the Old City and turned them in on his own that would pay quite well. Hed have to find a way to conceal his identity, but that was better than waiting around forever and not getting to spend any of his money while saving up.

Chance felt slightly guilty for working behind Bella and Yeos backs, but there was no way he was going to risk their lives by bringing them into the Old City. Not with Yamishs threat hanging over him he had no doubt the man was strong enough to kill any of them if they went against his orders.

Its not all bad news, though, Pete said, walking over to the dining table and picking up a dense leatherbound book. The words on its cover were faded not that it mattered, Chance couldnt have read them either way. I got a technique manual for you. It was difficult to find. There really isnt much in the way of information on Karma cultivation. Luckily, that meant there wasnt a lot of demand for things like this in the library.

Thank you, Chance said, tucking it under his arm. I dont suppose you have a book thatll teach me the written language as well? Im afraid I cant read anything here.

Pete chuckled, revealing a second, considerably smaller book. It was only a little larger than his palm. English-to-Common. This one is yours to keep. Youll have to return the technique manual if anyone requests it, but since the demand is so low, I doubt youll have much difficulty there.

Chance took the second book with a relieved grin. Thank you again, Pete. This is fantastic.

Its the least I can do. Im supposed to be teaching all of you, after all, the old man chuckled. All three of you are clearly taking this very seriously. I want to support that, while you still have someone to lean on.

Whats that supposed to mean? Chance asked, cocking his head to the side. Sounds ominous.

I didnt mean it to. Pete adjusted his grip on his staff and sighed. As you know, the Shikari teams are initially established to make sure young cultivators survive long enough to become really useful to Gleam. But, once you reach Knight rank, youll be eligible to branch out on your own. And, inevitably, you will. Cultivation does not lend itself well to remaining on the same path with people for long. Cultivation is a path that leads you to strive for the heavens, and there is little safety along it. Id like to think that Im doing enough to make sure your chances of survival are high, but theres always something I could have done better.

Ah, like if you managed to purge everything? Some really powerful cultivators or rich families try to do that for their kids, Yeo said thoughtfully. If youve got no impurities, then you could technically take as many pills as you wanted. But, the more Essence youve gathered within you, the more potent pills youll need to get stronger. It would be worth it if you could get completely pure, though. Its just really difficult to get to that level of purity.

Let me guess, the more potent ones are stupid expensive?

You got it, Yeo said with a grin. So how about that job?

Lets go get Bella.

Yeo grinned and darted over to Bellas room. Chance followed him out as the dark-haired boy eagerly rapped on the door. It swung open a minute later and Bella emerged.

Ready for another job? she asked.

Do you want to go do oh, Yeo trailed off. Well, great. I was kind of expecting to have to argue for it. Im not sure why.

Bella rolled her eyes. While you and Pete were off practicing, some more job offers rolled in. Ive been sorting through them to try and find the best ones. Were Squires, but since we havent gotten our ranks confirmed by the Shikari, they still see us as Foundlings. Because of that, our offers were pretty crap.

Nothing interesting at all? Yeo asked, scrunching his nose. Nothing at all?

I didnt say that. I just said they werent very good, Bella corrected. I found one that I think could pay pretty well, actually. Its just going to be a bit of a slog. Theres apparently been a weird increase in the number of Soothounds wandering around the city. Theres a job to kill as many of them as possible, and theyre paying ten gold per monster.

Chance kept his features plain, but he couldnt help but feel a flicker of unease.

What is it with Soothounds? Why is it always them? Shit, I hope theyre not the human versions.

Soothounds? Really? Yeo asked. Those were never a problem for us outside of Gleam. I didnt realize there were so many here.

There usually arent, Bella replied, frowning. Not from what I knew, at least. Thats why weve got a job for this, though. Soothounds usually arent too dangerous, especially if they arent fully grown, so its a good task for Foundlings.

Lets do it, Yeo said. Did the job say where they were?

Most of the attacks and sightings have been in the Rose district, Bella said. Its not far from here. Maybe ten minutes.

Are they on the main road? Chance asked carefully. The last thing he wanted to do was go anywhere near something that resembled alleyways. The Old City would probably end up sucking all of them into it.

The main street and in the parks, Bella said. She took a scroll of parchment out and hand it to Yeo, who scanned over it. Chance peered over his shoulder, pleased to find that he recognized enough of it to get a vague understanding of what it said.

Granted, he already had an idea of its contents said because of their conversation, so he had a bit of an unfair advantage deciphering it, but it was still progress.

Lets do this, then. Chance said. This looks like a great way to make a good amount of money in a pretty short amount of time.