[Mercenary Group], [Merchant Associations], and [Nobles] are known as the three main player guild organizations.
The Eternal Pacificus has very strict punishments for killing, but Mercenary Group organizations live by the sword and thus receive some degree of punishment reduction—one piece of evidence is that the assassination organization Assassin is also considered a branch. There are even groups composed of female players.
This doesn't mean all Mercenary Group players enjoy killing.
In fact, a Mercenary Group's business isn't limited to just taking money to kill people. Nobles sometimes commission them to eliminate nearby mountain bandits, and during wartime when short on troops, they might hire groups to turn the tide of battle; As for Merchant Associations, they mainly hire Mercenary Group for trade route protection, which players colloquially call "escort missions," and sometimes they'll also request Mercenary Group to investigate suspicious incidents. Players complain about having to work as detectives while being mercenaries, but actually, as long as an event appears dangerous in nature, NPCs might seek mercenary groups to investigate and resolve it—after all, you players can't die, but when we die, we're really dead.
Of course, once a mercenary group makes a name for itself, some organizations will issue secret commissions to execute certain shady work. For instance, Merchant Associations might request Mercenary Groups disguise themselves as bandits and raid opposing associations' trade routes.
Anna's Support Group is a guild of [Mercenary Group] nature.
At dawn's first light, I used spatial transfer magic to bypass the patrolling guards and directly reached the outskirts of Rothschild village. The outskirts were dotted with many campsites, all temporary settlements for players' characters.
Just as Merchant Associations often have a place within towns, Mercenary Group organizations aren't concentrated in towns, but rather in suburban camps. Upon successful certification as a Mercenary Group, the leader and organization officers gain the privilege to establish camps in certain locations. Mercenary Group camps have more defensive mechanisms than ordinary player campsites.
Anna's Support Group's main camp is located near Rothschild, probably because I reside in Rothschild.
I activated my stealth skill to bypass the players' campsites, avoiding disturbing them.
Sorry, I'll make sure to return home before dark.
Come to think of it, this is my first time leaving the village since arriving in Lemoria.
Near Rothschild village is a forest. Even within the kingdom's borders, not every piece of soil is covered by towns. In a medieval-based worldview, it's normal for wilderness to occupy the majority of space.
The morning breeze blew, a warm wind that made my beautiful, long hair flutter gently.
Fixing a few mischievous strands of long hair is quite a novel experience for me. Fortunately, maintenance is relatively simplified in the game world; otherwise, I might cut some off for convenience. I really like long hair, but cleaning it is super troublesome.
"Let's take a look inside."
On impulse, I turned into the forest. The game is divided into three areas: safe, neutral, and dangerous. Safe areas generally refer to places where NPCs live and are managed, where malicious conflicts will bring guard intervention; dangerous areas are the opposite, typically dominated by undead species' territories; most remaining places are neutral zones.
The forest near Rothschild isn't considered a hunting restricted area designated by nobles and clergy. In medieval times, uninhabited forests were also regarded as noble territory, meaning the creatures within were nominally noble property—this means hunting was only allowed with noble permission, otherwise it would be considered poaching; the same applied to clergy-managed forests, though they generally viewed forests as one of God's creations and wouldn't advocate hunting except for large banquets, while also prohibiting others from doing so.
The game restored these hunting prohibition characteristics, but the map is vast, so there are always some free forests to find. If Rothschild were a baronial domain, the adjacent forest would undoubtedly become the baron's property, prohibiting unauthorized hunting.
"I can't believe this is a game-simulated world..."
A leaf fell, and I reached out my palm, catching it steadily. Up close, not only could I smell the natural fragrance, but even the leaf's veins were clearly visible. The Eternal Pacificus's virtual technology truly deserves its industry-leading reputation.
I activated my detection skill, sacrificing precision for a wider detection range. There are no large, vicious monsters in the forest near Rothschild; I just need to identify where the large game is.
Soon, the detection skill's heat sensing outlined a deer-shaped creature.
This is it.
Though venison is delicious, deer are tough to raise in captivity. They possess extremely high alertness, making deer hunting an annoying task. Venison usually only appears on noble tables, making it completely qualified as a meeting gift. Going empty-handed feels somewhat awkward.
Another reason is that I want to test my combat ability. My memories contain no combat-related records, and my original master no longer logs into the game, meaning I've never had the chance to fight.
After entering combat status, items in storage space cannot be temporarily retrieved until combat status ends.
In my storage space... there are no weapons.
Huh? Is my combat style supposed to be bare-handed Gundam demolition? One-Punch Maid?
I must be accessing it wrong. I closed my eyes, imitating how I once summoned fire elements to heat bath water, inputting commands in my mind, thinking I might be able to summon my weapon...
No, that's obviously unrealistic.
Even mages in the game can't hide their staves and summon them at will; I'm overthinking it.
Just when I was about to give up, a heavy weight gradually appeared in my hand.
Wait! Could I have coincidentally—
I eagerly opened my eyes, but when I clearly saw what was in my hand, I immediately gave up thinking.
Several seconds later, my wail echoed through the forest.
"W-why are they chains?!"