Depthless Hunger: A Progression LitRPG, page 39
"I was never hired as a hunter," Kai said. "We were traveling together when mercenaries attacked our group for unknown reasons. Because I took an injury defending the caravan, Razzagah paid for recovery at this inn, but I didn't perform any services as a hunter."
"Exactly!" Razzagah shot him a barely concealed grin and then turned to the officials in outrage. "I hired a dozen guards for my journey and every single one of those contracts is on record at the Hunters Guild. Pretending that I was making illegal contracts is entirely spurious."
It seemed that Kai had said the right thing, because the city guard shuffled back awkwardly. The Corinin official looked displeased but made another attempt. "And why are you hiding the other unlicensed hunter who participated in the attack? What are you trying to conceal?"
"Do you accuse every traveler coming to Rayakan?" Kai stepped past Razzagah to look the Corinin man in the eyes. "If you somehow have witnesses to the fight, bring them forward. Will they testify that my companion could possibly be from Goralia? She's willing to come down and answer the accusation."
Just as he had hoped, the official paled. He must be high up enough in the Corinin clan that he had spoken to the mercenaries and heard about exactly what happened. It would be insanity for him to press the issue, both because Zae Zin Nim was obviously foreign and because they could never send their own mercenaries to testify. The entire accusation had been an attempt to push Kai into making an error, but they had nothing.
Well, nothing but a raw power advantage. Kai hoped that his implication that Zae Zin Nim was still healthy had landed. Given that both mercenaries had been knocked away, they might not have seen her collapse, or at the very least they might believe she had recovered easily.
"Is this any way to treat guests to Rayakan?" The innkeeper put her hands on her hips and scowled at one of the guards. "I expected better out of you. Now, all of you go away and deal with your clan business somewhere else! You're bothering my customers."
That finally broke the conflict and the guards began filtering out. It looked like the Corinin hunters might not leave so easily, but as they started to get a good look at Kai, their confidence diminished. Even with his soul thoroughly cloaked by his most recent potion, he would look like a veteran. Since his numbers could do the talking, Kai kept his face neutral, as if he was just a traveler who didn't care about the clan politics.
Once they were all gone, Razzagah turned back to him and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank fuck. I was terrified that you were going to say the wrong thing and get us all in trouble."
"What," Kai said, "you expected me to march down here and announce that I had violated the terms of my banishment?"
"Well, no offense, but a lot of hunters aren't quick thinkers and you look like you spend more time cracking heads than using yours." His tone was surprisingly light, despite the implicit insult. Razzagah stepped closer and grinned again. "But that was perfect. If you'd said I gave you nothing, they could have used the records of me paying for the inn against me. This way we're on solid ground: there was no formal contract and they can't prove that any illicit money changed hands."
"But they can just use the city guard to make accusations? Sorry, but that's not exactly encouraging. And what were you doing here?"
"They were trying to get to you first, maybe get you to testify in their favor. But I was tipped off that they suborned the city guard, so I arrived first. Not first by long, or I'd have talked to you, but it's probably better this way. This way there's less suspicion that we conspired together first."
That gave Kai pause, though he tried not to let it show on his face. It was possible that, if the Corinin clan had arrived first, they would have spoken to him honestly. Razzagah might have intercepted them and twisted the confrontation to his own ends... but that was getting a bit hard to believe. Kai had to admit that Razzagah had been fair with him so far.
"Anyway, I thought you might want to know that everything has worked perfectly." Razzagah's grin welled up again like he was struggling to hold it back. "I made a small fortune on those silks, and more importantly it's a mercantile coup. The Corinins are worried that others will try to cut into their markets, which is why they're retaliating. It's fantastic to see them on the back foot for once!"
"It will be less fantastic if their next retaliation involves sending elite mercenaries to attack us."
"Oh, I don't think they'd do that in the city." Razzagah finally stopped smiling and faced him seriously. "But I understand why you'd be concerned. Your best defense might be to take a formal role here in the city. They're willing to attack unknown travelers, not targets who would draw more attention to them."
"But I really am banished. I can't join any Hunters Guild."
"Did I say anything about the Guild? No, I mean that you need to make a public appearance at one of the clan balls. Doesn't matter if you're Clanless, they like to have visitors, especially if they bring in any exotic flavor. Northerners are welcome, and of course your companion would be as well."
"She'll decline." Kai folded his arms and scowled as he considered the matter for himself. He hated the idea of participating in southern social culture, but he couldn't dismiss the offer out of hand. "What exactly is going to be involved here?"
"Just attending a dinner or two at the Hunters Guild. I'd formally invite you to join the Lantrian clan, but given the accusations..." Razzagah shrugged helplessly. "That doesn't mean that we can't work together off the books. I've been thinking about what you said earlier... you know, about needing a mana pool. We may be able to help each other?"
"How?"
"Best not to get into it here. By tomorrow I'll know more... we'll meet at noon, alright? Wear whatever your best clothes are - no, never mind, I can bring something."
As Razzagah headed out, Kai wondered just what he was getting himself into. The promise of getting access to a mana pool was tempting, but part of him just wanted to abandon the city entirely. Getting entangled in the conflicts of merchants struck him as a headache.
When he headed back upstairs, he found Zae Zin Nim sitting up in bed, so he explained what she hadn't been able to hear. She nodded quietly, following the clan politics despite her lack of familiarity. Then, when he started to explain his reluctance, she surprised him by immediately shaking her head.
"No, you need to get involved. Maybe not with Razzagah, but somehow. I'm not just saying that because I need a mana pool. This is your best chance to move forward."
"And how is that?" Kai asked.
"I like merchants even less than you do, but they're necessary. So far, you've been fighting opponents with weapons you've put together out of sticks and mud." She settled back against the headboard and closed her eyes. "The mana is dense here... denser than I've ever felt in Cloudspire, even if it doesn't compare to the qi. And it's being controlled by the merchants and other powers. You've gotten far on your own, but eventually you need to take advantage of those resources."
Kai sighed and accepted that he didn't have a choice. Not only was he getting involved in the clan politics he'd always tried to avoid, he was doing it along with a Lantrian.
Chapter 71: A High Society Hunters Guild
Rayakan was flatter than Monskon City, so Kai wasn't able to instinctually navigate his way to the upper class section. Instead of large defensive walls, the city seemed to be divided into neighborhoods differentiated by nothing but architecture. As he got out of the rough wooden housing around the docks he began to see more stone buildings. Not rough stone like he knew, but every house fancily dressed with elaborate curling stonework.
The most important people in the city still managed to lord it over others: if they didn't have a hill, they just built higher. Instead of clusters of clan buildings, there were enormous enclosed estates that loomed several stories over the city. On the west side of the river, the Hunters Guild was the tallest of all. It, at least, was built of sturdy stone remarkably similar to the Guild he knew, but it was in rather poor repair.
Before he got too close to the Guild, Razzagah caught up with him in an alleyway as agreed. "Okay, Kai, this is just a dinner. You don't need to worry about any exact manners because no one will expect them from you. Don't be an asshole and you'll be okay. But, uh, do change clothes."
"Fine." Kai took the tunic the other man offered and shucked off his shirt to change. "But I don't see how this is going to benefit me."
"If people know who you are, the Corinins can't send their mercenaries to assassinate you, at least not as easily. And even if you can't join the Guild, if you're a familiar face they won't send people after you. So just make a good first impression."
"And that's really it?" Kai was surprised how rough the tunic was - he'd been expecting the fine silks that he'd protected to this point. Perhaps not the appropriate garb for a dinner, or they were being saved for later events.
"This is also your chance to meet the Corinin clan's top members. If possible..." Razzagah glanced away from the Hunters Guild to the opposite side of the river. "They're holding a more significant celebration next week. If you can get an invitation, that could be very beneficial. Don't ask about it, just accept if it's offered. Make sense?"
Kai grunted affirmation. He left the alley and headed toward the Guild, on his own from that point. Though everyone knew there was some connection between him and Razzagah, he needed to establish himself as his own person instead of a Lantrian flunky. All he had to do was act like he belonged.
The instant he stepped into the Guild, someone handed Kai a potion and he realized that he had no idea what he was doing.
It had been called a dinner, but there were barely any tables. Everyone was standing in small clusters, only occasionally taking food from plates being carried by servants. He noted that everyone was better dressed than him, including some silk robes. But the oddest thing was the fact that almost everyone was carrying a potion just like his.
Just in case he was mistaken, Kai took a drink, acting as if he was casually surveying the room. Definitely enough mana for a potion... but it wasn't really. The base ingredients were mixed with fruit and sugar in a way that meant it had to be a drink.
He drank more to hide how astonished he was. Almost all the mana being drunk was going to waste, which made it an astonishing display of wealth. Except no one seemed surprised, so was this just the normal level of waste in Rayakan? Most of the people he saw were hunters, yet they made no effort whatsoever to make use of the mana they drank. By the end of the night, they would have literally pissed away a small fortune.
"So you're the northerner." A man's gruff voice took him off guard and Kai pivoted toward a middle-aged man. "I'm Dommag Corinin. You may not have meant any harm, but the way you stumbled in created a bit of a problem for the clan."
Dommag was a tall man who Kai would have called powerfully built if he showed any signs of hunter training. No, the cut of his tunic and the sheer number of layers pinned him as a merchant. He was slightly older, with patches of gray through his hair and beard. Still, this was Kai's first chance to talk to a local Corinin directly.
"I understand there's a rivalry going on, but I didn't know anything about that." Kai gave the man a friendly nod. "There wasn't anything illegal involved, was there? I wouldn't want to harm the defense of your city."
"Defense of the city?" Dommag's lip actually curled. "I will be blunt. What you consider defense is wasting the strength of Goralia against vermin. The monster threat is trivial compared to the real problems of the nation: trade with Irun or invasion from Krysal. You should be our nation's military, yet you play your games in the north. Go back and stop interfering."
Stunned, Kai wasn't able to say anything before Dommag walked away from him. He'd never imagined that anyone in Goralia could treat the Frontier like it was a trivial distraction. In the past, monster incursions had penetrated to the south... but maybe that seemed like ancient history when you were making a fortune in fine silks and drinking mana as a refreshment.
More importantly, he was now willing to abandon his ideas about the Corinin clan. It was still possible that Razzagah was pulling something over on him, but if so, the other clans didn't seem eager to reach out. Kai didn't want to have anything else to do with them and forced himself in anyway.
"Oh my, oh my!" An older woman with heavy makeup approached him, hands fluttering beside her. She wore the most elaborate costume he'd seen to that moment, an explosion of colored fabric. "My husband can be so unkind, the cruel man. You are our newest guest from the north, aren't you?"
"Right, I'm Kai Clanless. I didn't realize guests were so rare."
"Guests pass through every day, but not such handsome young men. Please let me be the first to introduce myself: I'm Kalliay Corinin." She took his arm and brazenly stroked it as she pulled him inward. "So glad you've decided to join society. The Lantrians have a bit of a history here, but they've fallen on such hard times, you know."
"Uh, is-"
"Mmm, such a strong young man." Kalliay spoke right over him as she tugged him toward a circle of younger nobles. "I'd love to eat you up myself, but some of my dears were just dying to meet you. Now, why don't you have fun and we'll talk later?"
She giggled and pushed him toward the circle, squeezing his ass in the process. Kai's head whipped around to stare at her, but she was already gone. Now he was surrounded by young hunters about his age, though few of them were rated above 20. Many of them were young women wearing Corinin or Orgoron sigils, while the men looked more surly at his arrival.
For a while Kai was swept away as they asked him questions and showed more interest than he'd ever received in his life. Kai knew he wasn't hideous, but he had never stood out among other men his age except via his hard work. Receiving so much female attention was downright dizzying and he struggled to keep in mind his original goal.
"I heard you were banished from a northern city after a fight," one of the young women said shyly. "Was it a blood feud? Did you kill him?"
All the pleasure of the encounter drained away as Kai realized the truth. He was a curiosity to them, a northern brute to be put on display. Their interest in him meant nothing, even if it was genuine.
Kai wasn't sure how he looked in that moment, but the young woman's eyes widened and she took a step back. Several of the others giggled while she retreated. Did she actually think he was going to hit her for the insult or something? Perhaps that was exactly what they expected of him. If he was supposed to get an invitation somehow, did he need to play into the stereotype?
Before things could devolve too far, a voice from behind saved him.
"How is your Class so weak when you've advanced that far with your Physique?"
When Kai turned he saw a woman wearing an expensive but more sensible tunic. The hand wrapped around her glass looked like it had some calluses on it and she was carrying a sword. Those facts jumped out at him and he only later noted that she was lean with a sharp face and carefully styled hair. Her impression was so much closer to a real hunter than the others that he automatically opened his spiritual sight.
<
Name: ???
Total Power: 65
Warrior Class: 33 (43)
Physique Level: G-9 (18)
Soul Level: 2 (4)
>
At 65 power she was in roughly his same tier, which wasn't bad considering she was probably only a few years older than him. His combat instincts had activated instantly, so there had barely been any pause since her question. He had expected more people to wonder about the discrepancies in his soul, so he had an answer ready.
"Good question," Kai said with a smile. "I've been more focused on practical techniques than on mana skills so far. It's still my first year since the Hunter Trials."
She frowned and peered at him as if skeptical. He doubted that she could pierce the deception, but his answer didn't seem to satisfy her, because she turned around and stalked away.
"Who was that?" Kai asked.
"Soeraina Corinin," a woman said as she draped herself over his shoulder. "She's essentially the leader of the Guild, but she's such a bore. Good thing you scared her off."
Pushing away the one person who might have given him an interesting conversation. Kai struggled with the impulse to brush off everyone and leave, or maybe jump up on a table and scream at them. Instead he decided that this was another battle: Zae Zin Nim had said that he needed merchant resources, so he needed to play their games. That meant making a good impression and getting an invitation.
So Kai gave them all his best barbarian smile and got started.
.
..
.
By the end of the night when Kai left the Hunters Guild, he was numb. The female hunters had pushed more drinks filled with mana on him and been getting steadily drunker themselves, but he'd felt fine. Kai might have given more thought to that if he wasn't so exhausted from meaningless social interactions. He'd much rather sit and cultivate with Zae Zin Nim in silence than be fawned over by so many women who viewed him as little more than an animal.
But he'd been invited to the Corinin estate. It had taken a lot of flirting, eventually even with Kalliay Corinin. He wasn't sure if the woman was completely sincere or just liked to act young, but she had been all over him by the end. That, more than all the drinking, left him feeling a little sick.
As soon as he was safely away from the wealthier districts, Kai sat down on a bench and dropped his head into his hands. He might have stayed there forever if Razzagah Lantrian hadn't caught up to him.
"Uh, Kai? You alright?"
"Hey, Razz." Kai straightened up and pulled two metal emblems from his tunic. "Are these the kinds of invitation you wanted me to get?"
"Perfect!" Razz inspected them with obvious approval. "They have a lot of guards and even a mana barrier on their estate, so it's practically impossible to get in normally. Is this one for you and one for a guest?"
