Abyssal Awakening

She could see two staff members with serious expressions on their faces.

"Can I help you two?"

"I believe you accepted a commission with Lord Andrius Blackthorn earlier today, am I correct?" The first staff member asked as Alice nodded her head, wondering why they were looking for her. If anything, it should be the other way around since the details of the commission were clearly incorrect.

"The body of Lord Andrius was discovered in an alley not far from the Guild. We\'re ordered to take everyone who is involved. That includes you and your friend who took the commission with you." He explained with a serious expression.

Hearing this, Alice couldn\'t help but pause in surprise as she didn\'t think the Lord would just die like that.

"Alright. We were about to report to the Guild regarding an issue with this commission as well." Alice nodded.

"We will listen to what you wish to say once we\'ve gathered all involved parties."

Leading Alice out of her room, they escorted her to the upper floors of the Guild where Alice noticed Ria was also waiting. Sitting down next to her, both of them sighed at the same time.

"What a pain in the ass…" Ria groaned.

"Yep… I just had a shower too. I haven\'t even had food yet." Alice lamented, feeling hungry.

"So Andrius is dead. How are we even going to get our reward money? I really hope they didn\'t make us waste our time."

"I\'m pretty sure he already handed the gold to the Guild. The main issue right now is that he\'s well… Unalived. What do you think happened?" Alice asked curiously.

They were busy with killing the Demonette then waking up on the street so it wasn\'t a crime that they could commit.

The only fear now was that they would get slandered and be blamed for his death.

"Wait, he\'s dead???" Ria blinked her eyes in surprise as she wasn\'t told about that when they took her in.

"Yeah."

"Well sh*t… Were we the last ones that saw him at his house? Though I suppose his butler would\'ve been the last one.

As they were waiting, more and more people were brought in ranging from simple guards to workers of the house.

Alice and Ria were taken to a separate room as there were two people there waiting to question them regarding where they were and what they were doing.

Answering honestly, the two explained that they were in his old mansion tracking down the Unbound Demonette.

Naturally, they didn\'t forget to mention the fact that the Demonette was actually human and not a puppet. Signs of surgery as well as organs could be found within her body and did not match up to what the commission detailed.

Hearing this, the interrogators were concerned about the new information and decided to investigate the old mansion for the Demonette\'s corpse to verify their claims.

With nothing else they needed Alice and Ria to answer, they allowed the two to leave for now.

Sighing out in relief, the two made their way down to the main guild.

"Do you want to try to get our reward money or… Should we go gambling some more? I want to get my mead money soon since I\'m running out of mead." Alice asked while shaking her flask gently.

"Let\'s see if we can get our reward money since we technically completed it. There were just complications at the end since the commissioner is dead." Ria shrugged.

###

"I\'m sorry but I cannot give you the reward money just yet. The Guild has yet to verify the completion of the task and due to the complications on the commissioner\'s side, the reward money will be held in the guild for 3 days or until the higher ups give the go ahead." The receptionist explained as both Alice and Ria groaned before turning around without hesitation.

"Gambling?"

"Gambling. Want to take part this time?" Ria offered as Alice thought for a moment before nodding her head.

"Sure, I\'ll fight a few fights myself. I want to get used to using my blade after all. The last fight with the Demonette showed me that I lack the technique required. What I\'m doing right now is basically swinging on instinct." Alice sighed.

She\'ll admit that she had a talent for these weapons but there was only so far instinct could take her. After a certain point, she\'ll need techniques to bring out more of her potential.

And thus far, the best way she could think of honing her technique would be through experience.

Meaning battles in the gambling den.

Hearing this, Ria had a wide smile on her face as all it took was the first step before she became addicted to the arenas. Not that she was addicted herself of course.

"Alright, leave it to me. I\'ll find the gambling den in no time then we can earn some quick coin." Ria proclaimed while hitting her chest.

Asking Alice to wait by the tables next to the bar in the Guild, Ria ran out in search of the gambling den.

With her now being left alone, Alice wondered what she could do to pass the time.

\'Maybe I should visit the library again.\'

She wanted to see if the library had any books regarding fighting techniques so she could improve her combat with weapons.

However, she doubted she could learn much from just reading as she felt more comfortable with a demonstration.

It was how she learned the skill Nova Core from Allura after all.

As long as she could see it in action and the logic behind the actions, Alice figured that she\'ll have a good chance in replicating said technique.

Just as she was about to stand up and make her way to the library, a man sat down opposite her with a smile.

There was a strange sense of confidence and mystery to him as he made himself comfortable on the seat. He had long black hair that had been tied up into a ponytail and a pair of black eyes filled with amusement.

Dressed in a sleek black suit that showcased his lean figure, he draped a slightly oversized jacket over his shoulders.

Something about him felt familiar to Alice but she couldn\'t quite put her finger to it.

Glancing above his head, she could see six floating Sigils and her guard was instantly up.

"Don\'t mind me, I couldn\'t help but overhear that you are planning to go to the gambling arena to earn some coin." He chuckled while resting his chin against his palm. He narrowed his eyes at the girl in front of him, clearly on guard against his present.

"I am." Alice replied short and direct.

She didn\'t want to say the wrong thing to annoy this man as he is someone dangerous. Or at least, if he was in a bad mood, he could kill her with a single thought.

"How do you feel about earning extra on top of the normal payout? I have a few fighters in mind and let\'s just say if you were able to defeat them, you get a large reward. For each fighter you defeat, the reward is increased. If you lose, the gamble is over. How about it?" He offered causing Alice to furrow her brow immediately.

This deal seemed too nice for her. It was dangerous.

"What\'s in it for you? I\'m sorry but I\'m a simple two Sigil user. I\'m not sure what you\'re expecting from me." Alice asked, taking a step back as the man only tapped his finger against the table.

"Now now don\'t be in a rush. Let me explain my side of things."

An invisible pressure loomed over Alice as it restricted her movements, preventing her from leaving this spot.

All she could do was stay silent and listen to this strange man.

"You see, the gambling arena in this city has been… A little too eager for earnings. While arenas do indeed rig certain matches, this arena rigs every match for coin and it\'s hurting the overall profits in a long term scenario.

"Hence I want you to defeat some of their best fighters and even it out a little." He explained but Alice still wasn\'t convinced.

"You can be honest with me you know?"

Hearing this, Alice couldn\'t help but raise her eyebrow.

\'Like hell I can! You\'re a potential Abyss Lord!!!\'

"It seems too suspicious. I\'m sure there are better candidates than me. What made you approach me out of everyone in this Guild? Not to mention, it seems like they\'re not hearing any of this conversation either. You\'re blocking off the sound aren\'t you?"

Blinking his eyes in surprise, the man paused before nodding his head.

"Indeed. Well then, I\'ll be frank with you. I\'m merely curious about who Allura has decided to train. I\'m an old friend of her\'s you see, very difficult not to notice her presence on you when you\'re wearing her amulet." He admitted while pointing at the amulet hung around Alice\'s neck.

It was the gift that Allura had given her and it was something to be used when her life was in danger.

"And as her old friend, I have a responsibility to see how you are doing while she\'s busy on the frontlines. So do you believe me now? Plus if I actually had harmful intentions for you, do you think you\'ll still be breathing right now?" He squinted his eyes dangerously as Alice gave the Sigils above his head another glance before nodding her head.

"Fantastic. Let\'s work out the arrangement as well as the list of names I want you to beat in combat shall we?" He clapped his hands, dispelling the aura and allowing Alice to move freely.

"Before that, what do I call you?"

"You can call me Thane. You should be honoured to meet me."