"I'll call you Bao, my colorful friend. Like a bright little jewel." Li Mei smiled, tangling her fingers in the thick ruff around the horse's neck. He seemed pleased, wagging his tail and prancing in place.

More like a dog than a horse. She paused, a curious thought pa.s.sing through her mind. "Bao."

Tail wag.

"Little horse."

No wag.

"Bao."

Tail wag.

"You know your name already?"

Furious tail wagging.

"Stop wagging your tail."

Bao's tail froze in midair, his head tilted to the side.

"What a good and clever boy you are!" Li Mei grinned, rubbing the horse's cheeks with her palms. He wagged his tail at supersonic speeds again, bright purple tongue sticking out. Definitely more like a dog. She made up her mind to do some research on Elysium horses at the earliest opportunity - she didn't know much about their care or feeding habits beyond what 44 learned through working in the stables, and she didn't want to be an irresponsible owner who picked up an animal without being able to provide for it.

Li Mei had a strong fondness for cute things, especially animals, and the weird alien horse was growing on her with his adorable affectionate mannerisms. She spent a few minutes smus.h.i.+ng Bao's cute face between her hands and making embarra.s.sing cooing noises.

Once she regained her sanity she shredded a s.h.i.+rt from storage, wrapping strips of cloth tightly around her blistered feet to protect them from the ground and ease some of the pain felt with each step. Bao followed at her heels as she headed through a gra.s.sy field towards the cottage she knew belonged to Vigen. Li Mei wasn't strong enough to fight him yet, but she was planning on a treasure hunt not a confrontation.

The cottages were cute structures decorated with flower boxes on the windows. Each had a high peaked roof and a garden in front with various kinds of trees and decorative fountains. Green fields separated each of the structures just enough to give each other privacy, small cl.u.s.ters of pretty wildflowers dotting tall green gra.s.s swaying in the lightest breeze. Very medieval European in aesthetic - it would have been lovely and idyllic if Li Mei didn't know any better about the occupants.

Vigen's cottage had some very interesting and very nude statues in the garden which left a big impression on innocent 44's young mind, so finding the place wasn't difficult. Li Mei covered Bao with a blanket, sternly informing him he needed to stay hidden until she returned. His expression seemed dissatisfied, but the horse still crawled under a brilliantly flowering bush and laid his head on his claws. The blanket blocked the sparkling lights drifting off his fur, making it impossible to notice him in the shadowy garden.

Providing he didn't jump out or make noises, of course. "I mean it, Bao! If they find you they'll put you back in the stable, so stay quiet okay?" Li Mei's hurried whisper made the horse's big ears twitch, the only acknowledgement he heard her. Leaving the sulking horse to his despondent thoughts, Li Mei circled around to the back of the cottage.

Circuit patterns adorned the frame of a door leading into the kitchen. Each cottage was protected by permanent spells called arrays that kept intruders out, incapacitating unauthorized visitors with a burst of electricity. The girl hesitated before touching the doork.n.o.b.

Gentle green light filled the circuit patterns, sending a curious tingle over the surface of her flesh. No electricity or magic-induced pain, just an ident.i.ty check before the door unlocked itself. Li Mei exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding and pushed the door open.

Vigen never removed 44's authorization! A lucky break for sure.

Without the statue plinths in her inventory, she had a lot of room freed up again. As a man who lived alone, Vigen h.o.a.rded a lot of good stuff. Fine wines were the top of his list, but apparently he fancied himself a chef as he also had many high-quality ingredients in the fridge and an entire shelf of various spices. Li Mei grinned and pilfered everything down to the fancy magitech cookware with special arrays that powered themselves with mana drawn from the surroundings. Even slaves could use them!

According to one of the translated books, most magitech required the use and control of mana to operate. Common slaves, who were restricted from using magic in any form, naturally couldn't use such tools. Except 44 wasn't actually restricted from using magic according to her Enslavement Bind. If Li Mei could just find an instruction manual on how to cast Fireball...

She sighed, pus.h.i.+ng aside unrealistic wishes.

Unlike on Earth where first aid stuff was generally stored in or near the bathroom, on Elysium it was common for living rooms to have wide lounge couches with nearby cabinets for medical supplies just in case a visitor needed patching up. Li Mei sifted through bottles of various colorful medicines, most of which had sparks of glowing color inside them.

Scan was upgraded to Lv.2, granting more information on things Li Mei inspected. Coupled with some of the translated books offering their expertise, she was able to determine what everything in the cabinet was supposed to do. In the manor there were only chemical medicines available for injuries, but Vigen had magical ones! 'Low-grade antidotes, healing ointments and elixirs, disinfectant... Even instant relief migraine medicine! Is he just h.o.a.rding everything good for himself?!' She shook her head, stas.h.i.+ng it all in storage.

From the lavatory she took all his toilet paper and the fluffiest towels were grabbed from the bathroom, just to be petty. She paused at the door to the bedroom, listening for Vigen's snoring before she slipped past into his study.

Unlike Master Agilo, Vigen didn't have a fancy magitech computer or dozens of bookshelves holding thick books. The computer on his desk was big and made of a bright green amazonite, almost clunky compared to the elegant transparent quartz one in the manor. Li Mei sat in his chair and sifted through the desk drawers, Scanning everything piece by piece. Writing implements, stationary, notepads... Boring, boring, boring. Nothing sordid at all!

Until she found a handful of locked black boxes each small enough to fit in her palm. She tapped her knuckles against every surface of the desk checking for hidden compartments where there might be keys but turned up nothing. Hesitating, she glanced at the Quest which originally spoke of treasure in the cottage.

-----

[Gaining Strength]

Elysium is a highly dangerous world, one's personal strength is important. Without strength one is doomed to life as a servant or slave, where your existence depends on the whims and protection of those you serve. While that may be fine for some, your heart longs to achieve better.

Hints:

- Searching Vigen's cottage may unearth useful treasures if you're thorough.

- The wilds of Elysium harbor many fierce creatures. The estate is strictly managed, what lives in the hunting forest is likely to be within your capability to handle. Take something to use as a weapon and brace yourself for violence.

- Forests contain bountiful mana within that will be beneficial to your growth.

Reward: Independence, strength, 1000 EXP

-----

The line recommending Li Mei ask a horse to accompany her was gone, indicating the Quest was keeping track of her progress. That also meant she hadn't found the treasure in Vigen's cottage yet since the hint was still there even after finding the good food, the medicine, and the little boxes. They weren't the treasure the Quest meant for her to find. And it said to be thorough...

After stas.h.i.+ng the boxes away, she searched the cottage again a bit more carefully for hidden spots. Other than copious amounts of dust bunnies indicating the steward wasn't as strict with himself as he was with his subordinates, Li Mei didn't find anything out of the ordinary.

Which only left the bedroom where Vigen was fast asleep. Li Mei pushed the door open inch by inch, listening to the pattern of his breathing. Every hitch, every sigh, every grunt or snort made her pause and wait until the snoring resumed.

Vigen had a very large bed for an old, single man. Lots of pillows, satin sheets and lace drapes hanging from ornately carved bed posts shaped like curvaceous women in the midst of some very sensuous dances. Paintings and photographs framed on the walls involved similar subject matter in very high definition. Even the enormous wardrobe taking up an entire corner of the room was decorated with lascivious carvings.

Li Mei made a strange face, deciding not to think too much about such interests.

She was opening the wardrobe when something on the nightstand lit up, letting out chirping tones that seemed shrill and harsh in the otherwise quiet night. Li Mei froze in place until Vigen grumbled and rolled over. Without a second thought she scrambled into the giant wardrobe, closing the doors as best she could from the inside and burying herself behind hanging rows of pinstriped coats and collared s.h.i.+rts.

"Sorry to wake you so late, Vigen."

Li Mei froze again. For the second time she heard a specific voice while hiding somewhere she shouldn't be in the middle of the night. She was absolutely positive the voice belonged to the intruder who had that Quest-triggering clandestine conversation in the manor study.

What a weird coincidence! Did the guy just have a penchant for night hours? And what connection did Vigen have with the intruder? Li Mei inched closer to the wardrobe doors, straining her ears to catch every word coming from the communication device on the nightstand.

"It's no bother at all, Master Agilo. I am always at your service." Vigen sat straight up in bed when he heard the voice, rubbing his hands over his face to wake faster. He was topless, a patch of grey hair on a surprisingly well-muscled chest.

'Master Agilo! That man was Adalrich Agilo!? So he wasn't an intruder after all...' Li Mei scowled, wis.h.i.+ng she'd bit the man's knee and run like h.e.l.l instead of letting him smoke a cigarette in peace.

"Meet me at the lab as soon as possible. And I need you in top form, Vigen. This is important."

"Yes, sir."

The device chirped again and stopped glowing. Vigen groaned and rolled himself out of bed, fetching a keychain from behind a photo frame. One of the silver keys was used to open the nightstand cabinet to reveal several rows of glowing blue vials, one of which he slammed the contents of like a college student drinking a shot of alcohol. The muscles of his back and shoulders rolled and flexed, bulging strangely within the confines of his skin.

'The treasure!' Li Mei's mauve eyes flashed with interest.

Vigen locked the cabinet, returned the keys to their hiding place, and approached the wardrobe while muttering under his breath. Li Mei s.h.i.+fted back further into the wardrobe, willing herself to be one with the clothes and shadows.

The steward glanced right at her face, but his eyes were bleary with sleep and the room was dark. He grabbed a s.h.i.+rt and coat and slammed the wardrobe doors shut without even registering her existence despite the loud pounding of the hiding girl's frantic heartbeat.

Another banging of doors as he left the bedroom and went into the bathroom across the hall. Li Mei slipped out of the wardrobe, holding still until she heard the sound of water running. She s.n.a.t.c.hed the key ring and opened the nightstand cabinet again, eyes sparkling with antic.i.p.ation.

-----

[Empowerment Serum #3 (Low-Grade)]

Forcefully increases STR, CON, and DEX by an incremental amount. Also restores 1% Health.

Permanent effect for those with relevant stats below 10.

For those with stats above 10, it provides a temporary boost and adrenaline rush.

WARNING: The process of increasing stats through a low-grade serum will be incredibly painful. Falling unconscious during the process can nullify the effect or even cause temporary stat loss. Never consume more than one per 30 hour period, or damages may be irreparable or lethal. Temporary boost and adrenaline rush may be addictive. May affect disposition when used habitually.

-----

'Jackpot!' Li Mei stuffed all the serums into storage. She stared at the keys for a long moment, then pulled out a little black box. As she hoped, one of the keys eventually fit into the lock. The box and the keyring were tossed into storage - she could examine the contents when she wasn't sneaking around some violent old jerk's house.

Li Mei glanced around the bedroom with a sneer. From storage she pulled the b.l.o.o.d.y dagger once used to murder 44. She slashed the horrible lace drapes and awful satin bed covers, shredding the fluffy pillows before stabbing the dagger into the nightstand with all her strength.

Two points of strength, granted, but enough for the blade tip to sink an inch into the nightstand's wooden surface.

The sound of running water stopped. Li Mei bolted for the door, racing down the hall and through the kitchen into the cool, clear night.