Abyssal Awakening

After finishing the letter, Alice handed it off to the office and decided to roam around the market for a bit.

Since everything she needed to do had been sorted, she had some time to herself.

Most of the merchandise available was just supplies and clothing. The weapons were mostly negligible especially since she can make her own using blood and metal. Granted, it might be weaker than the high grade gear but it served its purpose.

Plus, when it came to high grade gear, Alice had her sealed Void Fang and Ruinous Void. Both weapons acting as core parts of her fighting style.

Just thinking about the Void Fang made her smile as she waited dearly for the moment her seal broke. She wanted to see how the weapon would change upon coming into contact with her new skills and energy control.

But that was in the future. For now, she wanted to focus on her mastery over the Void.

Wandering around the market, Alice decided to buy some street snacks while seeing if there were any cute clothing she could buy.

But the aesthetics of the North were mostly focused on keeping you warm rather than cute.

Thick hide coats, large shirts and so on. Everything was made with the intention to keep you warm.

'Well duh, who's gonna focus on looking cute when they're about to freeze to death?' Alyss rolled her eyes.

'Who knows, maybe someone wants to look cute.' Alice stuck out her tongue.

For Hunters, the natural cold wasn't something they needed to worry too much about. Of course, it still affects them to some extent but not enough to wear overly warm outfits.

Aside from the supplies, the next most popular thing in the market was sending and receiving letters from loved ones. Not everyone could afford a Void Hawk service so they chose to send letters the traditional way.

With her interest of the market dwindling, Alice looked around for Selen and Egil. It's a little earlier than planned as there were still half and hour to go before the hour passed.

However, her thoughts were cut short as she caught a whiff of a mesmerising scent in the air.

"Ohya? Ohya ohya?" Alice blinked her eyes as she began to drool.

Swallowing her saliva, she followed the scent to a small stall that seemed to be selling alcohol.

The stall was hidden between two large stalls focused on selling supplies so not many took notice of it.

Sitting on the floor, an woman could be seen sitting cross legged while slowly falling asleep with her head on her palms. She had long blonde hair, a pair of mismatched eyes similar to Alice should she unseal Cayla. The left was white while the right was red.

She wore a rather standard northern attire to keep herself warm but the most noticeable part of her appearance was the 'side effects' on her body.

A pair of small horns, elongated ears that drooped down and sharp canine teeth.

Perhaps the reason why most ignored her stall was also because of her appearance though Alice didn't understand the dislike towards people with side effects.

It's not like they've committed a crime, merely drank too much Abyss Blood.

Plus, it's not too different from people acquiring Sigils for power. Though… Perhaps the north take it more harshly when its done by people who aren't warriors.

They consider these people devil worshippers who sold their souls for power after all.

"Miss? Are you awake?" Alice waved her hand in front of the woman as she snapped awake.

"Huh? Oh sh*t a customer. Welcome to my store where I brew the best beverages using Abyss Blood. Guaranteed to give you a small boost to fertility, enhance power in bed and makes sure your partner won't be able to walk tomorrow mornin'. I have other stuff but the boost in fertility is no joke young miss." The woman introduced as she tapped each of the containers with her finger.

Glancing around her for a moment, she leaned forward and whispered towards Alice.

"If you really want a good time you can go for this one too. I guarantee that your partner will leave you begging for more after round 1." She smirked while making suggestive motions with her fingers.

However, Alice only blinked in confusion.

"Round 1? Ohhh you mean like increasing stamina?" Alice folded her arms as she looked at the selection available.

"Exactly! You get it young miss hehe~" The woman clapped her hands.

"Does it boost energy and control as well?" Alice asked curiously.

"Huh? I mean it boosts energy but control… If anything it's more loss of control and losing yourself to desire." The woman tilted her head, feeling a bit confused by Alice's response.

"Hmm… That's no good. If I lose control then there's not really any point."

She wanted more control without losing too much power if possible. But if this only boosts stamina and energy while sacrificing control, there's no reason for her to make this trade.

"Ohhh I get you now young miss. You're the hardcore type huh? Don't worry, I gotcha covered too. You just gotta use a few tools to offset it so you have a good time ya know?" The woman slapped the knee.

"Oh? What kind of tools?"

Gesturing for Alice to come closer so the others couldn't see, the woman grabbed a suitcase she had in the back and opened it slightly for Alice to see.

However, the sight of these elongated objects only confused her further.

"How is this supposed to help with energy control?"

". . ." The woman was speechless.

'. . .' Alyss face palmed.

Alice blinked her eyes feeling confused by the conversation.

"Miss… I must ask… how old are you?" The woman's smile twitched.

Considering she was wearing the uniform for the army, she figured the girl in front of her was an adult. But if she was this clueless and innocent then…

"A bit rude but I'm 20." Alice furrowed her brows.

"Have you ever been… Told about the birds and the bees?" The woman asked nervously.

"Are they specific beasts that'll help energy control?"

". . ."

'Alice, twin, my dear sister and whom I share a body with. Please tell me you're joking and you're not actually this stupid.' Alyss was practically begging at this point.

'Hah?! What do you mean am I actually this stupid???' Alice felt offended. If anything, she thought she was pretty smart all things considered.

Hearing this, Alyss almost fell off her bed as she ran over to Cayla who was resting and shook her awake.

[What is it?] Cayla groaned, feeling annoyed by Alyss shaking her.

'We're gonna have to teach Alice about the birds and the bees.'

[Oh f*ck no.]

Cayla went back to sleep.

Alyss's smile twitched as she tried to wake up Cayla but she refused to budge.

While Alyss was trying to get help from Cayla, the woman who owned the stall put the suitcase away and coughed awkwardly.

"Erm… yeah. But I don't have that kind of alcohol here."

"You don't? Then what do you have? I thought you said the drinks boosted energy." Alice asked, feeling scammed while the woman choked on her saliva.

Thinking about it for a moment, she decided to show Alice a selection of three drinks.

These were… standard drinks that weren't enhanced aphrodisiacs.

Giving Alice a small sample from each of them, she waited for her reaction.

Licking her lips, Alice folded her arms.

These were good but they weren't what attracted her attention in the first place.

Closing her eyes, she tried to track down which container held the correct drink and soon pointed to one of them.

"What's in this one?"

Seeing what Alice was pointing to, the woman's pupils constricted as she wanted to cry.

'Miss, young miss, out of all the ones you could've picked, why did you pick the strongest aphrodisiac that I have?!?!?! So you wanna die for your first time???'

"I… I don't suggest buying this one." The woman cleared her throat awkwardly.

Hearing this, Alice blinked her eyes. What kind of merchant suggests that the customer doesn't buy?

In the end, the woman relented as Alice seemed rather insistent on buying it and wouldn't take no for an answer.

There was only one suggestion that the woman had for Alice and that was to get someone to teach her about the birds and the bees before drinking it.

A rather strange requirement in Alice's opinion but she stored the vial away and made her way through the marketplace in search of Selen and Egil.

###

"You want me to tell you about WHAT???" Selen wanted to punch a wall while Egil couldn't look Alice in the eye.

"Well I found some nice smelling alcohol but the woman said I needed to learn about the birds and the bees first. Is that slang for a beast or something? If it is then it should be fine no? it's not like… well ya know." Alice hinted as she glanced at Egil.

Selen understood that Alice was talking about side effects but this isn't really a case of side effects but rather who the hell asked her to find out about the birds and the bees.

But more than that, how the hell does Alice not know about it???

She was excited to tell Alice about her new idea for a skill but this one question had completely taken her by surprise.

The girl in front of her could drive away gods and flip conventional wisdom on its head but she didn't know about the birds and the bees.

'Gods help me…' Selen cried internally.

For the first time in her life, she didn't know what she should do.