Abella turned around with a surprised look. Vernisha didn’t know why she was baffled. Anyone would be curious about such things.

  She replied, “Respect… and you can sell monster goods to the Adventurer Guild and legal establishments that purchase such goods.”

  Vernisha liked the sound of that. She really did. The sound of coins raining around her was all she could imagine.

  She smiled and asked, “Nice. Was it easy to do the paperwork for me?”

  Abella made several odd expressions while searching for the right words. “Technically, yes? But they can't say no to me. The Department of National Defense will probably keep a close eye on you for a while, though.”

  Oh great. That’s exactly what I need—more watching eyes.

  Then Vernisha thought about it a little more. They most definitely already had an eye on her.

  “I see…” she said. “But anyway, thanks a lot. I mean it.”

  Abella nodded. “You should invest in the necessities of an adventurer once you make enough money—weapons, armor, combat drugs, a monster farm… I could give you land for a farm.”

  Getting a monster farm for free would’ve been incredible, Vernisha would tell anyone that. But as the saying goes, nothing’s ever free.

  She was already getting a lot of kindness from Abella. Something as personal and valuable as a monster farm was something Vernisha wanted to earn on her own.

  She would feel more comfortable doing things her way.

  She asked, “Thanks. Question— I take it I can’t sell monster parts to regular people?”

  “For the most part, no. But Stars, high nobles, corporators, and other Freebirds are exceptions.”

  Abella continued explaining it in more detail. Even though they had the right to sell monster materials, they would be required to report sales, register dangerous materials, and undergo periodic government inspections.

  After that, Vernisha thanked her again.

  Abella went inside, and Vernisha stayed on the porch, bathing in the starlight.

  Feeling the coolness of the morning breeze, she relaxed. It didn’t feel real.

  She had a lot on her mind. She always did, haha.

  Like Natasha. She was really alive.

  No matter how many times Vernisha thought about it, she couldn’t shake how unreal it felt.

  She was happy. Happy about what Natasha told her—what she helped her realize.

  Because of her, Vernisha felt more… relaxed. Like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

  She held the ring tightly. She was going to try to live happily, no matter how selfish that would be.

  After a while, Vernisha returned to the city and stood on the sidewalk, watching people come and go.

  She wondered what Nub’ol, Lo’jul’s wife, was going through. Vernisha knew she was grieving deeply—that much was certain.

  Vernisha wanted to visit her, but she was afraid to. Nub’ol barely knew her, and Vernisha doubted she’d want to see the person responsible for her husband’s death standing at her doorstep.

  Still, Vernisha wanted to pay her a visit. Badly.

  But she kept that desire to herself.

  The funeral was tomorrow, though. She had to go.

  Vernisha took a deep breath, left the city, and made her way to the Great Monster Forest. She wanted to visit other Monster Zones, but she planned to do that at a later date.

  When she approached the massive bluish dome, she couldn’t help but think how strangely easy it was to enter. You’d think there’d be more guards to stop non-adventurers from going in.

  She wondered why there were so few.

  Eh, who cares.

  As Vernisha entered, static prickled across her skin.

  She sat atop Crusbull, bouncing slightly as it trudged through the zone.

  The inner dome had stronger monsters—that was where her interest lay. But of course, it wasn’t without minor complications.

  Annoying creatures crawled out of the woodwork and watched her. But most didn’t attack.

  They must’ve sensed the difference in power between them and decided it wasn’t worth the risk.

  It took nearly an hour, but eventually, they reached it—the dome within the dome.

  It was thicker and richer in bluish-white energy than the outer one.

  Vernisha entered.

  She wouldn’t bore herself with the details, but she didn’t bother capturing new monsters.

  Her focus was simple: making money.

  And how was she going to do that?

  By collecting EPOs from monsters, along with their corpses. Abella had told her she could sell them separately.

  When Vernisha said she had a business idea, this wasn’t exactly it, but it was good enough.

  When she had returned to Sundawn earlier, she hadn’t just people-watched. She had visited the Adventurer Guild.

  When she walked up the stairs, adventurers and civilians bustled around her. She didn’t need to push the two enormous doors open. They opened on their own.

  And the first person to greet her was one of the many huge Vlandos.

  In a dull, robotic tone, he said, “How can I help you, little miss…”

  Vernisha got straight to the point, showing him her Freebird ring. “To make a contract with the Guild so I may sell monster parts to them.”

  He raised a brow at the ring, then rolled his eyes like she was showing him a fake.

  “Kid, I don’t have time for this. Please, get out.”

  Vernisha wanted to punch him for that.

  But there were multiple ways to verify the ring’s authenticity.

  She chose the quickest.

  She pressed her thumb against the bird’s wing until it pierced her skin and her finger bled over it.

  The ring immediately projected a red, cracked holographic sphere. Strange runes circled it. These runes formed images of all the Kings of this land with characters of the alphabet.

  The man froze, then turned red with embarrassment. He didn’t question a thing after that.

  He simply led Vernisha to a room labeled “Special Contracts.”

  She thanked him and stepped inside.

  A short man sat behind a long black table. Vernisha assumed he was very untidy too since the table was filled to the brim with papers and empty coffee cups.

  She didn’t think there was a single stack of paper; everything was scattered.

  He looked startled, quickly pulled his feet off the desk, and nearly knocked a cup down.

  The man stood with a pace and gave a small bow. “Nice to meet you, miss…?”

  “Vernisha. Vernisha Holinestone.” She showed him the ring and its authenticity.

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  He tried to hide his shock but was awful at it. “You’re awfully young for a Freebird. Are the Holinestones a new corporator family?”

  He searched her face for tattoos but found none.

  Vernisha shook her head. “I’m under the care of Abella Starlight.”

  “Excuse me?” His eyes widened. “Ah… yes. I heard she was seeking Freebird status for a child.”

  He muttered to himself, then sighed and sat back down. “Let’s get you set up.”

  Vernisha took a seat. “I’d like to sell the monster parts I collect to the Guild.”

  He tapped on his mark-stone. “For when you’re older?”

  “No. Now.”

  “The fuck…” he muttered, blinking.

  After a moment, he pulled up a holographic contract as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

  “Don’t I need a guardian to sign this?” Vernisha asked.

  “Freebirds are treated as adults.”

  Well, she was going to be fighting monsters, so she might as well be treated as one.

  She skimmed the contract. It was surprisingly lenient, mainly defining their relationship as buyer and seller.

  Vernisha pressed her fingerprint to sign.

  And just like that, she was self-employed.

  Back to the present.

  Vernisha used her knife to slice open a slain monster’s belly and dug through its innards to harvest the squishy Ether Processing Organ.

  She repeated the process until the Silo began to descend. By the time she was done, she had sixty-three corpses—about seven kills an hour.

  She was… pretty damn strong. Not a single scratch on her, thanks to her healing powers and armor.

  She’d gained quite a few levels. Not just from today, but also from killing that bastard earlier.

  Five levels from him, six from the massacre here.

  She was level thirty-one.

  Her new Life Buff options were between Action Sequence and a forty-one percent boost to travel, combat, and seal ejection speed.

  She chose Action Sequence. It let her create mental “programs” to follow by command.

  It sounded silly, but she sensed huge potential in it. Of course, the speed boost would've been incredibly useful, but Action Sequence was going to be totally worth it.

  “Holy shit…”

  Vernisha turned toward the voice of a girl around her age—brown hair, brown skin, and definitely not a Terrafallen accent.

  “Hello?” Vernisha said.

  The girl looked around at the ruined part of the forest and piles of corpses, eyes wide. “You did all that?”

  “What do you think?” Vernisha said.

  She could’ve lied, but there was no point hiding it.

  “That’s… kinda insane.” She straightened her back and extended her hand. “I’m Brenda.”

  Vernisha shook it. “Vernisha. What are you doing here?”

  Brenda blinked before cringing. “Adventuring? It’s my third day.”

  Vernisha frowned. “Aren’t you too young?”

  Brenda glared. “Are you a dwarf? We look the same age. What? What?”

  Yeah, but Vernisha was special.

  “Yeah, but I have reasons.”

  “Me too. I need money.” Brenda pointed at a tree, where some idiot was hiding. “Like him.”

  “Your friend?” Vernisha asked.

  Brenda grimaced. “No. The dumbass is new too. We’re just tagging along because of guild rules.”

  Vernisha nodded. “Cool… cool. Well, I gotta go.”

  “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to waste your time. I’m just trying to get to know others in the same field.”

  Huh. Fair enough.

  “You want to hunt monsters together?” Vernisha asked.

  “Kinda. Though I shouldn’t even be in the second dome—I’m only level nine. But sure, that’d be nice.”

  That sounded inconvenient. Vernisha couldn’t use her powers freely around others.

  But… it was lonely spending hours here alone.

  She’d lost that hunger for power lately, so she actually felt things again.

  “Would your friend be there too?”

  “He’s not my friend. And no.”

  “I guess we can team up sometimes,” Vernisha said. “Not always.”

  Brenda grinned. “Awesome.”

  Vernisha asked, “So how are you even here with that level?”

  “Our guide brought us. He went to take a piss.”

  Said “guide” stumbled over just then and froze at the sight of the corpses. “Who the hell are you?”

  Vernisha waved her Freebird ring.

  His eyes widened. “Who the hell are you?”

  She checked his level—twenty-nine. “None of your business,” she said.

  He blinked, baffled. “How… when did you become a Freebird?”

  “Recently.”

  He tried to continue the conversation, but Vernisha had no interest in talking to that man. He had that weird look in his eye, like he had come across a dangerous criminal.

  His mouth flapped open and closed endlessly.

  While he did that, Vernisha hooked every monster corpse with an iron hook before tagging it on a pulling saddle on Crusbull.

  Obviously, she had been given these things by Abella. Even if Vernisha wanted to avoid getting free stuff from her, there was some stuff she just needed to ask for.

  At first, she had planned on getting a cargo cart, but that would've been a horrible idea due to the terrain in this forest.

  Once she was done, Crusbull began pulling over seven thousand pounds of cargo. It was an absolute work beast.

  Vernisha placed her hands on her waist as she looked at the many monster corpses being dragged across the bloody grass.

  A firm hand grasped her shoulder.

  “Show respect to your elders, you fucking runt. I don't know what games you're playing, but—”

  Vernisha interjected, “Before you do something stupid, maybe you should check my level.”

  “It’s clearly fake. You’re obviously using some kind of monster skill to hide your real level.”

  This guy couldn’t be for real.

  But to be fair, Vernisha did look like a walking impossibility.

  But she also didn’t care.

  “I said, “Get your hand off my shoulder.”

  “No, I’ll be taking you to the guild.”

  Vernisha sighed and appeared to be conceding defeat—right before she slammed the back of her fist against the man’s jaw.

  His head snapped to the side and he yelped in pain.

  But almost immediately, he turned to her in rage.

  His palm began to glow a bright white, and at the same time, Vernisha’s Crusbull began turning red.

  However, before tensions could rise even more, someone dropped between them.

  That individual was in complete blue and green armor.

  What stood out was their helmet.

  It showed the image of a dead dragon with two swords inserted in its back.

  The same symbol as the Adventurer Guild. She worked for them.

  That person looked at them both before saying, “In these forests, the only fights allowed are friendly duels. Murder or murderous intent among each other is not allowed.”

  A guard? Of course she was a guard.

  Vernisha clicked her teeth. “I see.”

  She didn’t care to explain the situation; she just needed to get out of here to conduct her business.

  The man went on about how she was suspicious and whatnot, but the lady did not heed his words.

  She responded, “She’s a Freebird. I double-checked before I dropped from the sky.”

  It was a good thing Vernisha had started being a lot more careful with her healing powers.

  As she left, Brenda waved goodbye to her. “Take care.”

  Vernisha nodded.

  By the time she got out of the Monster Forest, it was pitch black. Monsters couldn’t enter the city, so she’d arranged for cargo transportation.

  A man with gray-and-black hair was waiting for her. When he saw her, he mustered the will to stand and tapped on his massive red lizard’s head before walking toward her.

  The red lizard woke up quickly before rising to its seven-foot height and following the man.

  Jouzi looked exhausted but still tried to sound professional. “Young Miss Vernisha, you’ve finally returned…”

  He sounded dead tired, not that she could blame him.

  Vernisha smiled politely. “Thank you for being on time.”

  She pointed to the pile behind her. “This is what I need you to carry.”

  He turned and froze.

  Then shouted, “My days!”

  He went from weary to ecstatic in seconds. Ten percent of her sales was his pay.

  He’d only agreed to that low rate because her Freebird status made him think she was backed by powerful people.

  He wasn’t wrong.

  The red lizard immediately sat down when it reached its master. Vernisha had always heard red lizards were the strongest domesticated big lizards, but seeing it able to pull two long and massive containers was still unbelievable.

  Each container was twice her height and looked like it could crush her in an instant if it fell on her.

  Jouzi opened both containers with a bronze key, then used every single muscle in his body to swing their doors open.

  When he was done, he turned to her while breathing heavily. “Let’s start loading them.”

  They spent half an hour loading the two containers. Vernisha didn’t summon her monsters to help; her mind needed rest.

  When they finished, Jouzi gasped his way to the carriage, all while massaging his wrist.

  He muttered as he took a seat. “You’re a strong kid, goddamn.”

  Actually, he practically melted into the wooden seat. “Shit…”

  Vernisha laughed. “Let’s go so you can get paid.”

  Immediately, strength returned to him, and his eyes shone like a star.

  Jouzi slammed his fist on his lap and roared like an army commander. “To the city, boli!”

  The lizard dashed toward the city gates.

  The ride was the worst Vernisha had ever had in her life, but if it meant reaching the city faster, she was more than willing to endure it.

  But damn, she wished the carriage wasn’t shaking and swaying so much. She didn’t vomit, but it felt like she was close to it.

  After what felt like forever, they reached the city gates, which opened once she showed her ring and everything in the containers was inspected.

  On the way to the Adventurer Guild, Vernisha looked out the window, watching people move about as usual.

  Ahead of them were two caravans driven by Guild employees. She wondered if they were filled with monster corpses or maybe tech.

  Soon, they reached one of the largest buildings in Sundawn.

  The guild hall was impossible to miss—a grand, sturdy structure built from concrete and dark wood. The lower half looked unbreakable, while the upper floors gleamed with green-tinted glass catching the light from the flame orbs.

  The front bore stripes of green and gray, and above the doors hung the circular emblem of a dead dragon—simple yet striking.

  Balconies overlooked the square, lined with frayed guild flags. Pipes and lanterns ran along the walls, giving it an industrial feel.

  They entered the premises and drove to the storehouse section, protected by a massive iron gate.

  A single knight stood before it, clad in gold armor and wielding two enormous shields.

  He watched them closely as they approached.

  Vernisha glanced up at the walls and spotted cannons—some large, others slim and long. Probably fired something nastier than cannonballs.

  The carriage stopped.

  She stepped down and approached the knight, showing her ring. “I already made a contract—”

  The knight cut her off, glancing at the hologram on his wrist device. “I know. Vernisha Holinestone.”

  Vernisha blinked, surprised but impressed.

  “So what do I do?” she asked.

  “Leave everything here.”

  Jouzi didn’t need to hear it twice. He went to the containers and disconnected them by pulling a lid.

  The front of the containers landed with a bang when they were dropped on their iron “legs.”

  Then someone with shoes that made loud clanking sounds approached them.

  She sighed when she saw the two containers. “How much of them are empty?”

  Jouzi unlocked each container, and Vernisha swung their iron doors open.

  Before the first container door could hit the sides, the stench of death rushed out.

  Vernisha pointed at the corpses. “It’s full.”

  The woman squinted and scanned them with her mark-stone.

  She repeated this for a while like a broken record, growing visibly more confused and frustrated before finally accepting reality.

  Then she turned to Vernisha in utter disbelief and asked, “Who… No. Did Abella’s children help you?”

  “Nope. Did it all myself.” Vernisha smiled.

  “…What the hell.”

  Her face dropped and her mark-stone nearly slipped from her hands.

  Vernisha would’ve kept her strength a secret, but that was pointless now. She was tied to Abella and her family. She was a Freebird.

  It was obvious she was special in some way. Showing strength only made them think they knew why Abella took her in.

  Was that her real reason? No.

  She just hated being bound by limits. The fewer thorns she had to step around, the better it was for her sanity.

  In the end, she wanted to make money, gain levels, feel strong, be safe…

  All so she could be happy.