Practice pt2

Draig had fallen asleep after brewing the potion the night before, it was comforting for him to know he wouldn't have to rely on the shops for something so important. It must be known that if one wished to take on higher level quests and one didn't have a healer in their group then they would certainly be racing to their doom but this is where the beauty of potions came into play. Injuries and exhaustion could be wiped away with the use of a health potion quickly depending on the quality but then again the rejuvenated feeling could become addicting.

This was why potions had become a controlled substance among the populace as even the normal people could purchase these if they had the money and that was where the addiction was thought to be the highest but it was actually among the Guilders where the most potions abuse could be found however they were still allowed to buy them in a large quantity because of their duty. Thus making a perpetual black market for those who had heavier needs for the wonderful tonic but this would often end up being cut with other magical substances that would temporarily boost healing rate but then there would come a backlash in the form of crippling cramps, cold sweats, vomiting, etc.

However Draig had no intents of selling the potion for now, it was for his personal use as it was needed because he wished to test the full effects of his precious Passive. However unknown to him Zarra was having a talk with two of his old friends who had chosen to retire from leading their Respective districts in order to enjoy a peaceful life in the place they had grown up.

"It's good to see you both again, it's been many years since the last time we could sit down face to face" laughed Zarra as he truly seemed happy to see the two men in front of him.

"Oh don't get sentimental Zarra" came the voice of a man his leathery skin that seemed to be decayed.

"Gregory, you know you are just as excited as he is and as am I. It really is good to see you again Zarra" chuckled a large man in a red suit of armor reeking of blood.

"Shut it blood breath" shot the one who had been called Gregory in embarrassment

"Jared, my old friend how is the wife. I heard you had a daughter and what about you Gregory, how is the misses and your little terror" laughed Zarra as he waved his hand causing some drinks to appear.

The two men smiled as they were ready to drop the bomb on their poor friend.

"Well to put it simply they have transferred over to this district" smirked Jared his chuckles echoing in the large suit of armor.

"My beloved angel has as well and that is part of the reason we have come here besides to see an old friend" continued Gregory as he saw the questioning look on Zarra's face, the mage couldn't understand why the two of them would be laughing.

"I assume it's to reissue their Licenses for this district" asked Zarra as he was trying to figure out what was hidden behind their smiles.

"That is indeed the case, anyways Zarra. Enough about our brats, where is yours." asked Gregory causing the mage to become slightly put off.

"He's busy at the moment on a quest" stated the Mage as he dodged the question not really sure how he should answer.

"Over achiever just like you" chuckled Jared as he remembered the days where the mage before him was an excitable delinquent always trying to rope them in on a quest.

"Not really, he is similar to me in some aspects though but as I said let's leave this for later" stated Zarra causing the two men to be confused as they recalled this man to be constantly talking about his child.

"So let's go ahead and get business out of the way, have your girls decided which Guild they will be joining" asked Zarra as he pulled two pieces of plastic from his desk while channeling his Mana into them and encrypting it with their information.

"They are Soloers just like we were, you know how we feel about the Guilds. A bunch of idiots that don't know a good thing when they see it, right Zarra" snorted Gregory which had subconsciously earned a nod from the mage.

"So you two never did tell me, what class did your brats end up with anyways" asked Zarra suddenly causing the two men to look at each other.

"You first Zarra" said Gregory quickly.

"Rather not, but you on the otherhand have to tell me so I can complete these licenses" smirked Zarra causing the two to sigh as they didn't like the secrecy Zarra was showing.

"Puppeteer, it works a bit like my Necromancy" explained Gregory sighing as he thought about the trouble the girl had caused for him with the class.

"Dark Knight, she's a bit of a brute" answered Jared as he seemed to sulk at some of his memories.

"So both of your kids took after you....." muttered Zarra as he thought of his own child that seemed to be on a different path entirely.

"Don't tell me your brat is on the light side" asked Gregory with a shocked look.

"No, don't be ridiculous. With my Dark energy and my beloved's affliction it would be impossible for him to be one of those bigots. I mean to say that he isn't a mage like me, your girls both take after you way more than my brat takes after me is all I'm saying" explained Zarra but still he had tweaked the Machine with the help of it's engineer, a man who boasted the noble lineage of the one who created the System Bestowal Unit.

While the three men talked and reminisced about their good old days Draig was busy outside the Farmhouse training with his Blood Armory skill, he found it to be perhaps the most amazing ability he had ever heard of.

The Blood Amory skill allowed him to use his blood to form a weapon based on his will, it could become an axe, a sword, a spear, literally anything he wished and his Blood would take the shape. The only constraint on it was it required a good deal of Mana to shape the blood and solidify it into a viable weapon but after these two steps were done it didn't require anything else to use it.

Scattered around Draig one could see a few vials which had just the tiniest amount of glowing red liquid inside which was proof that he had truly been trying his best to get a handle over the Skill as the constant failures he had faced in the beginning had left him feeling dizzy on more than one occasion. This had inadvertently lead to him becoming exhausted which proved as a good test for his potion which he had to say was quite effective as he found himself able to go longer after he had drank it.

'Blood Armory Lvl 2, Blood Armory now requires less Mana to use' came the ding from his system causing him to smile as he did a small wave of the sword in his hand formed from blood and sat it down causing it to lose it's shape.

'Ha, can't wait to try this out when I go back into the forest' thought Draig with a smirk, he was really looking forward to it when suddenly he heard his stomach growl.

"Looks like that's the sign to pick up another quest" chuckled Draig as he rose to his feet and made his way to the Work station. He would see about finding another quest involving a talented species.

He would make sure to use this time wisely to gather as many ingredients as possible so he wouldn't have to worry about involving himself with the so called Mercy Tax.

'Mercy Tax, it's a mercy I didn't beat you on the spot' came the thought before Draig realized what had just went through his head.

"Not like the bastard doesn't deserve it" muttered Draig reassuring himself that it wasn't an unreasonable thought.

The Vampire made his way into the Guilder District picking up several low income quests as they were the most prominent and not many Guilders would bring themselves to do them unless they needed cash fast. However with the number Draig had picked up this time it would be a nice little sum.

'The Farm shouldn't be too expensive considering nobody would want to live that close to the Beast lands' thought Draig as the amount shouldn't be more than a couple thousand silver at best which could be easily covered with maybe a hundred or so gold.

However he was brought from his thought when he saw the frightened look on the clerk's face behind the quest window as she cycled through the quests that Draig had picked out. Seeing her eyes dart up to him he seemed to understand why, he had only picked out culling Quests. In other words he had picked out only quests requiring the surrounding monster population to be thinned out in order to keep them from encroaching.

"Are you finished" asked Draig as he didn't feel like dealing with this person anymore and it showed on his face as he looked at her with disdain.

"H-Here" panicked the clerk, she was still shaken from the last time when Zarra had shown up in person to reprimand her.

With a snort Draig left the Work station and made his way to the Beast lands to reek havoc on it's inhabitants.